G-107 proposed: buildsuite library test runs (record/gate external testsuites)

New goal from the 2026-07-21 discussion: the libraries the buildsuites compile
and ship (thread, tclvfs, tcllib+tcllibc, tklib, tk) get their own testsuites
run under the suite-built shell as named recipe steps with per-library policy -
gate (core test-gate mechanism, dispositioned baselines), record (report
artifacts under out/testreports/), or opt-in (tk). Context carries the source
survey, test_gate.tcl generalization notes, G-102 cost knowns, and the G-103
metadata / 8.6-arc relationships.

Assisted-by: harness=claude; primary-model=claude-fable-5; api-location=anthropic.com

GOALS.md

@@ -361,3 +361,7 @@ Detail: goals/G-105-buildsuite-cross-target.md
 ### G-106 [proposed] powershell console-mode fallback: maintained raw-mode path for twapi-less runtimes
 Scope: src/modules/punk/console-999999.0a1.0.tm (enableRaw_powershell/disableRaw_powershell + the persistent server lifecycle), scriptlib/utils/pwsh/ (consolemode_server_async.ps1 canonical + experiment-variant reconciliation), ps-script resolution/packaging across launch contexts (argv0-derived pstooldir; kits via the G-089 scriptlib-in-kits interplay), src/make.tcl shell (the verified launch context)
 Detail: goals/G-106-powershell-consolemode-fallback.md
+
+### G-107 [proposed] Buildsuite library test runs: record/gate external library testsuites
+Scope: src/buildsuites/suite_tcl90/ (per-library test steps in recipe, tools/ runners, tracked dispositioned baselines), src/buildsuites/_build/ (report outputs via existing globs); pattern inherited by later suites (suite_tcl86)
+Detail: goals/G-107-buildsuite-library-tests.md

goals/G-107-buildsuite-library-tests.md

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+# G-107 buildsuite library test runs: record/gate external library testsuites
+
+Status: proposed
+Scope: src/buildsuites/suite_tcl90/ (per-library test steps in recipe, tools/ runners, tracked dispositioned baselines), src/buildsuites/_build/ (report outputs via existing globs); pattern inherited by later suites (suite_tcl86)
+Goal: the external libraries the buildsuites compile and ship (thread, tclvfs, tcllib+tcllibc, tklib, tk; future bi members as they join) have their own testsuites run under the suite-built shell as named recipe steps with per-library policy - gate (parsed totals vs tracked dispositioned baseline, the core test-gate mechanism), record (complete + emit report artifacts the suite summary points to), or opt-in - so suite artifacts carry test evidence for the exact zig-built combinations nobody upstream tests.
+Acceptance: thread and tclvfs run gated with tracked dispositioned baselines, deterministic across two consecutive full runs; tcllib (with tcllibc accelerators engaged) and tklib run in record mode emitting report artifacts whose paths are recorded in this file; a Tk step exists opt-in with a recorded first census; per-library policy is overridable at invocation without recipe edits; a testsuite that fails to complete (no totals) fails its step in every mode; the evidence-summary shape G-103 metadata consumes is documented here.
+
+## Context
+
+Drafted 2026-07-21 from user question: we run and gate Tcl's core testsuite
+(G-098 mechanism, G-102 step shape) but never run or record the testsuites of
+the libraries we build and ship. Survey of the pinned sources
+(_build/suite_tcl90 checkouts, zon pins as of G-102):
+
+- thread: tests/ with all.tcl + 5 test files (thread, tpool, tsv, ttrace, one
+  tkt regression). Standard tcltest; timing-sensitive entries expected ->
+  dispositions.
+- tclvfs: tests/ with all.tcl + 6 files; vfsFtp/vfsUrl are network-reaching -
+  an offline census will skip or disposition those.
+- tcllib: no top-level tests dir - 305 .test files across modules/*/, driven
+  by sak.tcl (its own runner and log format, NOT all.tcl totals).
+- tklib: same sak shape, 8 test files, Tk-dependent.
+- tk: 128-file tests/all.tcl suite - needs an interactive desktop, steals
+  focus, maps real windows, runs tens of minutes, own per-platform census.
+- critcl: has test/ but is a build tool - tcllibc building + its accelerators
+  passing tcllib's tests validates it transitively; its own suite is out of
+  scope here.
+
+MACHINERY: tools/test_gate.tcl is already the generic engine (-testsdir
+-baseline -logfile -testargs; parses all.tcl totals rather than trusting exit
+codes; extracts FAILED names; diffs vs dispositioned baseline; reports stale
+entries). thread/tclvfs should run nearly as-is (verify each all.tcl vintage
+emits standard runAllTests totals; supply a thin standard driver where not).
+tcllib/tklib need a wrapper - drive sak and parse its log, or bypass sak with
+our own tcltest runner emitting standard totals; the latter also forces the
+mode that matters most: tcllib WITH tcllibc accelerators engaged. That is the
+single highest-value run in this space - zig-compiled critcl accelerators on
+windows against a static 9.0.5 tclsh is a combination nobody upstream tests.
+Same argument, milder, for thread/tclvfs: load-bearing for every kit; a
+miscompile surfaces as heisenbugs later.
+
+KNOWN COSTS (all characterized during G-102): initial failure census per
+library per platform (one-time, then stable - zon pins mean baselines move
+only on deliberate repin, not with a moving trunk); base-env needs (cmd.exe/
+COMSPEC/PATHEXT/SystemDrive for process-spawning tests, TCL_LIBRARY for
+cached-exe runs, captureStdOut on cached Run steps); firewall consent when
+socket-using tests first listen (tcllib comm will trigger it); wall-clock
+(thread+tclvfs trivial next to the ~70k-test core gate; tcllib adds real
+minutes; tk is the outlier).
+
+POLICY TIERS (per-library defaults in the recipe, -D overridable at
+invocation; no new config file until suite_tcl86 forces a shared shape):
+
+- gate (after census): thread, tclvfs - small, load-bearing; fail only on
+  UNEXPLAINED failures vs the tracked dispositioned baseline (core-gate
+  semantics, including stale-entry reporting).
+- record: tcllib+tcllibc, tklib - step completes regardless, emits parsed
+  summary + full log under _build/<suite>/out/testreports/, and the suite
+  summary points at them; promote to gate per-library once the census is
+  dispositioned and two-run deterministic.
+- opt-in: tk full suite - named step outside the default composite; intended
+  as mandatory before PUBLISHING a bi artifact, not on every build.
+
+Every mode: a run that does not complete (no totals line) FAILS the step -
+infrastructure breakage must never masquerade as recorded results.
+
+Gate runs stay under the plain built shell (as the core gate today);
+piperepl-variant divergence remains the behaviour-matrix territory of G-096
+(achieved 2026-07-20; its residual patch-characterization item).
+
+Relationships: G-098 (achieved 2026-07-20) - gate mechanism precedent. G-102
+(achieved 2026-07-21) - the post-tclsh step shape these runs slot into.
+G-103 - artifact metadata is the consumer of the evidence summaries (a family
+runtime published to punkbin carries per-component test evidence; aligns with
+G-103's note that punkbin publication follows its artifacts). G-099/G-100/
+G-101 - the 8.6 arc inherits the mechanism (thread 2.8 / tclvfs baselines on
+8.6); same born-onto-the-mechanism fork-timing logic as G-102-before-G-099.
+
+## Notes
+
+- 2026-07-21: drafted and approved from the library-test discussion (survey +
+  policy tiers above). Sequencing recommendation (agent, unconfirmed):
+  activation fits alongside or just after G-103, before the suite_tcl86 fork;
+  the user has not yet confirmed a slot in the G-103 -> 8.6-arc order.