From 9ae9e321a8b9fe3674e143582327b94e7d150cdc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: mesh-admin <mesh-admin@localhost>
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2026 05:51:15 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Add the list of predefined keys, and refuse removing a key a
 module still names

Mesh and node config may hold values only for keys on a fixed, reviewed list (hq ADR 0348 clause 7, design 57 package K2, issue 661). predefined.json at the root starts with font-size (a number of points, 6 to 72) and agent-managed-settings (a trusted object). The merge check refuses a change that removes a key a manifest still names, against the trunk's list at the merge base; whether a removed key still holds a value is mesh-config's to refuse (package K3). Part 1 of 2.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 merge-check.sh  | 16 ++++++++++++++++
 predefined.json | 13 +++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 29 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 predefined.json

diff --git a/merge-check.sh b/merge-check.sh
index 59f73b1e..f007eb27 100755
--- a/merge-check.sh
+++ b/merge-check.sh
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@
 #   6. the secrets (novox/hq issue 342): no mergeable file fills a key with a vault secret that a setting could
 #      replace — the key is `protected`, or left out of the file's `takes-settings`. checks/secrets/known names
 #      the nested ones the controller cannot protect alone yet, and only shrinks.
+#   7. the list of predefined keys (novox/hq ADR 0348 clause 7): a change to predefined.json removes no key a
+#      module still names, judged against the trunk's copy at the merge base. Whether a removed key still holds a
+#      value at the mesh or a node is mesh-config's to refuse; this check reads no store. The list itself and
+#      every manifest against it are judged by the controller's module check in step 1.
 set -eu
 
 (cd checks/words && go test -count=1 . && go run . ../..)
@@ -51,6 +55,18 @@ else
 	echo "NOT COMPARED WITH THE TRUNK: no merge base with $secrets_ref; checks/secrets/known is held to the list it was first written with"
 fi
 (cd checks/secrets && go test -count=1 . && if [ -n "$secrets_base" ]; then go run . -base "$secrets_base" ../..; else go run . ../..; fi)
+# The list of predefined keys (novox/hq ADR 0348 clause 7): no key removed that a module still names. The trunk's
+# list at the merge base is what it is judged against; a trunk without the file had none.
+predefined_base=""
+if merge_base=$(git merge-base HEAD "origin/${MESH_CHECK_BASE:-main}" 2>/dev/null); then
+	predefined_base=$(mktemp)
+	if ! git show "$merge_base:predefined.json" >"$predefined_base" 2>/dev/null; then
+		echo '{}' >"$predefined_base"
+	fi
+else
+	echo "NOT COMPARED WITH THE TRUNK: no merge base with origin/${MESH_CHECK_BASE:-main}; no removal from predefined.json can be seen"
+fi
+(cd checks/predefined && go test -count=1 . && if [ -n "$predefined_base" ]; then go run . -base "$predefined_base" ../..; else go run . ../..; fi)
 # The lists that narrow the paths check may not grow unseen: the base branch's copies are what they are
 # judged against (MESH_CHECK_BASE, main when unset), read from the clone the check runs in.
 base_lists=""
diff --git a/predefined.json b/predefined.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e536767
--- /dev/null
+++ b/predefined.json
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+{
+  "agent-managed-settings": {
+    "type": "object",
+    "description": "The managed settings every agent session on a node is held to (Claude Code's managed-settings.json), as a JSON object.",
+    "trusted": true
+  },
+  "font-size": {
+    "type": "number",
+    "description": "The size a desktop program shows its text in, in points.",
+    "minimum": 6,
+    "maximum": 72
+  }
+}