G-106 [proposed]: powershell console-mode fallback maintenance; G-096 pr-shell user verification recorded

User verified tclsh90spr 2026-07-20: interactive sessions normal with and
without TCLSH_PIPEREPL=0 (closes the G-096 matrix's residual user-level
check), and basic punk features work on the bare pr shell via repo tm
paths (raw mode twapi-reliant). Via './tclsh90spr src/make.tcl shell' the
powershell console-mode fallback engaged and raw mode worked - modulo
consolemode_server_async.ps1 noise and an early server shutdown.

New G-106 captures the requested direction: maintain the fallback as a
dependable raw-mode path for twapi-less runtimes (suite shells/kits),
hardening the known weak points recorded at creation - argv0-derived
pstooldir resolution (works for make.tcl shell by construction, little
else; kits need G-089 scriptlib delivery), server early-shutdown +
startup noise, and the unmarked experiment variants beside the canonical
script in scriptlib/utils/pwsh. Priority rises if G-103's zig-built twapi
investigation proves impractical - cross-noted there.

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

GOALS.md

@@ -377,3 +377,7 @@ Detail: goals/G-104-maketcl-buildsuite-surface.md
 ### G-105 [proposed] buildsuite cross-target builds (zig -target): linux first, WSL-verified
 Scope: src/buildsuites/suite_tcl90/ (target parameterization of recipe + driver; per-target out prefixes), src/buildsuites/ (layout/naming decision: target is an INVOCATION DIMENSION, suite folders stay version-named - no per-target tree copies), bin/runtime platform-dir naming alignment (punkshell's win32-x86_64-style names vs zig triples), punkbin per-target artifact layout (with G-103 metadata carrying the target), local WSL as the first cross-verification environment
 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

goals/G-096-zig-buildsuite-piperepl.md

@@ -298,10 +298,14 @@ Remaining for acceptance:
 - DONE 2026-07-20 (see the Progress increment): piperepl rebase + variant builds +
   behaviour matrix. (Acceptance/Goal wording was first aligned to the G-103
   kit-default policy at user request - the pre-G-103 text described the 2024
-  opt-in gating.) Residual user-level check: a true interactive-typing session
+  opt-in gating.) Residual user-level check DONE (user 2026-07-20): true
-  on tclsh90spr (tty launch behaves as the normal repl; TCLSH_PIPEREPL=0
+  interactive sessions on tclsh90spr behave normally both with
-  likewise) - the automated matrix covers the piped/script-arg forms and the
+  TCLSH_PIPEREPL=0 and without. The user additionally exercised punk on the
-  console-reopen landing, not keystroke-driven use.
+  bare pr shell (tcl::tm::add repo modules; package require repl; repl::init;
+  repl::start stdin - basic punk features functional; raw mode is
+  twapi-reliant), and via './tclsh90spr src/make.tcl shell' the powershell
+  console-mode fallback engaged and raw mode worked (noise/early-shutdown
+  roughness aside) - fallback maintenance now tracked as G-106.
 - Final clean-checkout re-verification of the whole flow once the above land.
 
 ### 2026-07-20 increment: piperepl rebased, gate flipped to G-103 policy, variants built + matrix PASS

goals/G-103-runtime-kit-family.md

@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ third-party binaries. Tk is built today; sqlite3 is a straightforward future bui
 (amalgamation compiles cleanly under zig cc); tdom moderate; twapi historically
 MSVC-leaning - its buildability under the zig-only policy needs investigation before
 it can join a bi kit (until then twapi remains a kit-vfs vendored payload as in
-punk9wintk903.vfs, outside this family's attached-zip guarantee).
+punk9wintk903.vfs, outside this family's attached-zip guarantee). The no-twapi
+mitigation for raw-mode console control is the powershell console-mode fallback -
+maintenance tracked as G-106, whose priority rises if zig-built twapi proves
+impractical.
 
 Metadata format note: toml is acceptable HERE (runtime list/use run in punkshell
 contexts where vendored tomlish exists) - the 2026-07-20 toml drop applies to

goals/G-106-powershell-consolemode-fallback.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# G-106 powershell console-mode fallback: maintained raw-mode path for twapi-less runtimes
+
+Status: proposed
+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)
+Goal: the powershell console-mode fallback - a persistent pwsh/powershell named-pipe server driven by punk::console when twapi is absent - is a MAINTAINED, dependable raw-mode path for twapi-less runtimes (the suite-built shells and kits, until/unless zig-built twapi lands): quiet in normal operation, reliable across the session lifecycle, and resolvable from every supported launch shape rather than only argv0-relative luck.
+Acceptance: on a twapi-less suite runtime, raw enable/disable work via the fallback from (a) the make.tcl shell launch and (b) a kit / plain-tclsh repl launch, with no stderr noise in normal operation; the server lifecycle is verified - starts once per session, stays up for the session's raw transitions (the 2026-07-20 observed early-shutdown mode diagnosed and fixed), and shuts down with the session leaving no orphan pwsh processes; ps-script resolution no longer depends solely on argv0 parent-dir derivation (works from kits and unusual cwds, with the fallback-to-pwd branch replaced by something principled); scriptlib/utils/pwsh is reconciled to one canonical server script with the experiment variants retired or explicitly labelled; the fallback's role as the no-twapi contingency is documented where G-103's twapi investigation will find it, and a repeatable verification recipe is recorded in this file.
+
+## Context
+
+User verification 2026-07-20 on the freshly built tclsh90spr (G-096 piperepl
+variant): with `tcl::tm::add .../modules` + `package require repl; repl::init;
+repl::start stdin`, basic punk features are functional on the bare suite runtime -
+except raw mode, which is twapi-reliant. Launched instead via
+`./tclsh90spr .../src/make.tcl shell`, the powershell fallback engaged and raw mode
+WORKED - modulo consolemode_server_async.ps1 noise and an early server shutdown.
+That working-but-rough state is what this goal hardens. User direction: "we would
+like to look at maintaining this powershell fallback - especially if we can't get
+zig-based twapi builds going."
+
+Mechanism today (punk::console): when twapi is absent, enableRaw/disableRaw are
+aliased to *_powershell variants that talk over a named pipe to a persistent
+`consolemode_server_async.ps1` process (templated per-console id; pwsh.exe probed
+first, then powershell.exe). Known weak points at goal creation:
+
+- Resolution: pstooldir = argv0's grandparent + /scriptlib/utils/pwsh, else [pwd] -
+  works for `make.tcl shell` (argv0 = src/make.tcl -> repo root) and little else by
+  construction. Kits need the script carried/resolved properly (G-089 scriptlib in
+  kits).
+- Lifecycle: observed early shutdown of the server mid-session; startup noise on
+  stderr ("twapi not present, using persistent powershell process: ..." plus ps1
+  output).
+- Hygiene: scriptlib/utils/pwsh holds several sibling experiments
+  (consolemode_server.ps1, *_async1.ps1, *_async.2ps1, consolemode.ps1,
+  consolemode_enableraw.ps1) with no marking of which is canonical.
+
+Relationships: G-103 (bi-kit twapi under the zig-only policy is
+needs-investigation - THIS fallback is the mitigation; if zig-built twapi proves
+impractical the fallback becomes the primary raw path on suite runtimes and this
+goal's priority rises), G-013 (raw mode as the repl default ultimately requires raw
+mode to be dependable on twapi-less runtimes), G-089 (scriptlib in kits - the
+delivery vehicle for the ps script), G-061-era console-context findings (agent
+console-context traps around attached consoles apply to verifying this).
+
+## Notes
+
+(none yet)