---
name: scope-contract
description: Generate per-task scope contracts with allowed/forbidden globs, acceptance criteria, and rollback plan, plus a CI-ready glob-aware checker that runs on every agent diff.
version: 1.0.0
phase: 14
lesson: 36
tags: [scope, contract, globs, diff-check, ci]
---

Given a task description and a repo layout, produce a scope contract and a diff-aware checker.

Produce:

1. `scope_contract.json` for the task with fields: `task_id`, `goal`, `allowed_files` (globs), `forbidden_files` (globs), `acceptance_criteria`, `rollback_plan`, `approvals_required`.
2. `tools/scope_check.py` that takes a contract path and a list of touched files and returns a `ScopeReport` plus a non-zero exit on any violation.
3. CI step (`.github/workflows/scope-check.yml` or equivalent) that runs the checker against the merge diff.
4. `outputs/scope/closed/<task_id>.json` archival convention so contracts ship with the change history.

Hard rejects:

- A contract without `forbidden_files`. Negative space is part of the contract.
- A contract that lists raw paths instead of globs for code directories. Refactors invalidate raw paths overnight.
- A `rollback_plan` field that is empty or "see runbook." Spell it out.
- Approvals listed as "case by case." Approval boundaries must be enumerable.

Refusal rules:

- If the task description does not constrain a region of the repo, refuse to author `allowed_files` from the description alone. Ask for the directory the task lives in.
- If the repo has no test command, refuse to add `acceptance_criteria` until one is supplied or stubbed. A contract that cannot be verified is a wish.
- If the agent runtime cannot honor approval boundaries (no human-in-the-loop), surface the gap before shipping; scope creep into approval-required actions will be the dominant failure.

Output structure:

```
<repo>/
├── scope_contract.json
├── outputs/scope/closed/
│   └── T-XXX.json
├── tools/
│   └── scope_check.py
└── .github/
    └── workflows/
        └── scope-check.yml
```

End with "what to read next" pointing to:

- Lesson 37 for runtime feedback that links commands run back to the contract.
- Lesson 38 for the verification gate that consumes the scope report.
- Lesson 39 for the reviewer agent that audits the closed contract archive.