Add the CI validation gate and seed ProtoBot's specification store

[JohnStrunk]

Plan ID

EM-08

Purpose

Make ears-manager part of ProtoBot's own repository workflow and prove the first release is usable in CI.

Scope

• Build and test the Go binary in CI.
• Run ears-manager check on specification branches as a merge gate.
• Seed ProtoBot's initial .protobot configuration, artifact registry, and representative records through the governed path.
• Detect direct edits to registered specification files before merge.
• Document the local developer command and CI failure/retry behavior.

Dependencies

Depends on EM-07. The command and validation behavior comes from EM-02 through EM-05.

Acceptance criteria

• CI fails on malformed records, unsafe paths, digest mismatches, dangling references, relationship cycles, and invalid EARS text.
• CI passes on the seeded valid store.
• A direct edit to a registered artifact is detected without staging unrelated files.
• Local and CI diagnostics use the same stable machine-readable error shape.
• The initial self-hosting fixture is reproducible from a clean checkout.

Out of scope

The Drafting Table, WMS, and Job Site integration remain in #66, #76, and #77.

[fullsend-ai-triage]

This issue (EM-08) is confirmed blocked on upstream work that has not yet landed:

• EM-07 (issue Implement the governed Git change-set workflow and repository fixture #114) — the governed Git change-set workflow and repository fixture that this issue's CI/merge-gate integration relies on.
• EM-02 through EM-05 (issues Implement the Go binary and specification-store foundation #115, Implement deterministic specification validation and relationship checks #108, Implement the first ears-manager command set and diagnostics #110, Implement change-set comparison and deterministic impact analysis #112) — the Go binary foundation, deterministic validation, CLI command set, and change-set comparison/impact analysis that ears-manager check needs in order to run meaningfully in CI.

All five prerequisite issues remain open, and no pull request currently addresses any of them, so there is no work in flight to seed the CI gate against yet. The blocked label on this issue reflects the current, verified state of these dependencies rather than a stale assumption.

Once EM-02 through EM-07 land, this issue can proceed — the scope and acceptance criteria in the description are otherwise clear and actionable as written.

Blocked by:

• Implement the governed Git change-set workflow and repository fixture #114
• Implement the Go binary and specification-store foundation #115
• Implement deterministic specification validation and relationship checks #108
• Implement the first ears-manager command set and diagnostics #110
• Implement change-set comparison and deterministic impact analysis #112

[fullsend-ai-triage]

🤖 Finished Triage · ✅ Success · Started 6:03 PM UTC · Completed 6:08 PM UTC

Commit: 98c117c · View workflow run →

Runtime: claude · Model: sonnet → claude-sonnet-5 · Effort: high · Cost: $0.66