Source-To-Runtime Gates

A runtime-bearing milestone is not complete until the command a user would run succeeds. Documentation and generated artifacts do not replace executable source-to-runtime behavior.

The normal gate shape is:

.str source -> strata check -> strata build -> mantle run -> trace

For fail-closed runtime behavior, the source must check and build, and mantle run must fail only after Mantle admits the artifact and emits trace evidence for the failure. Source-level rejection gates are different: they must fail before build/lowering and must not leave a target artifact behind.

Canonical Gates

The canonical user-facing gate is:

just source-to-runtime-gates

The split entrypoints are available when only one side of the gate is needed:

just source-to-runtime-success-gates
just source-to-runtime-failure-gates

The maintained command list belongs in the executable gate definitions:

• Justfile owns the commands a user or CI runner executes.
• crates/strata-mantle-acceptance/tests/source_to_runtime_gates.rs mirrors the same source-to-runtime contract as integration tests.
• docs/src/examples.md owns the curated list of runnable examples and the behavior each one demonstrates.

This page intentionally does not enumerate every runtime gate. When a new user-visible language or runtime behavior needs source-to-runtime proof, update the executable gate and document the example on the examples page.

Representative Commands

The minimum success gate checks, builds, runs, and traces hello.str:

cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- check examples/hello.str
cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- build examples/hello.str
cargo run -p mantle-runtime --bin mantle -- run target/strata/hello.mta

A richer state/payload gate follows the same shape:

cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- check examples/state_payload_match.str
cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- build examples/state_payload_match.str
cargo run -p mantle-runtime --bin mantle -- run target/strata/state_payload_match.mta

A source rejection gate must fail during checking and must not create a target artifact:

cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- check examples/failures/effect_authority_missing.str

A runtime fail-closed gate checks and builds successfully, then returns non-zero from Mantle after writing trace evidence:

cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- check examples/actor_panic_no_replay.str
cargo run -p strata --bin strata -- build examples/actor_panic_no_replay.str
cargo run -p mantle-runtime --bin mantle -- run target/strata/actor_panic_no_replay.mta

Each successful mantle run command must admit the generated .mta, execute it, and emit an observability trace under target/strata/. Expected-failure gates must return non-zero with source diagnostics or runtime failure evidence at the layer being tested.

When adding a new user-visible language or runtime behavior, add or update an example that follows this shape. A passing unit test is useful, but it does not replace a runnable source-to-runtime command when the behavior is user-facing.