All 15 make.tcl subcommands are punk::args-declared ((script)::punkboot +
(script)::punkboot::<sub>, built from single-source summary/help/opt dicts with
shared option fragments and explicit @form -synopsis). Bare make.tcl / -help,
'help ?subcommand?' and '<subcommand> -help' render tabled usage; invalid
flags/subcommands raise punk::args usage errors (exit 1) with unambiguous
prefix resolution; 'shell' is a declared passthrough.
Prompt policy: new -confirm 0|1 (default 1) on every confirmation point
(bootsupport minor-staleness gate, vfscommonupdate REPLACE, kit-type mismatch).
Default prompts only on an interactive terminal and aborts fast with guidance
on non-interactive stdin (::punkboot::lib::stdin_is_interactive; Tcl 8.6 lacks
the -inputmode probe and is assumed interactive). -confirm 0 proceeds
(staleness, REPLACE) or skips the mismatched kit. The piped-y agent workflow is
retired; the old vfscommonupdate decline half-abort (printed done, exit 0) now
exits 1.
Degrade rule: punk::args/punk::ansi/textblock boot requires guarded; definition
load caught with fallback to a self-contained scan (-k/-dirty-abort/-confirm
supported) + plain punkboot_gethelp (availability NOTE factored into
punkboot_availability_note, shared by both paths); rendering degrades
independently of parsing (errorstyle minimal / plain help when the ANSI stack
is unhealthy); PUNKBOOT_PLAIN=1 forces degraded mode. punk::args joins the
bootstrap-tracked _runtime_deps staleness set (parsing contract only - the
rendering stack degrades instead; contract docs updated in
src/bootsupport/AGENTS.md + src/modules/AGENTS.md, workflow docs in
src/AGENTS.md + src/tests/shell/AGENTS.md).
Verified: usage/help/error paths, vfscommonupdate fail-fast and -confirm 0 runs
with closed stdin, staleness flag route live (args 0.5.0->0.12.0 tripped the
gate), degraded-mode help/check/info, full 'project -k -confirm 0' kit build.
Dogfooding finding recorded in the goal file: punk::args 0.12.0 reports generic
overflow where 0.5.0 reported choiceviolation for optional-choice mismatches
(worked around with required leaders; candidate error-selection improvement).
Assisted-by: harness=claude; primary-model=claude-fable-5; api-location=anthropic.com
Julian Noble
7ea1deaae5