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EXPLAIN FAILURE

EPICON-02 — Why Your PR Failed

This failure is structural, not punitive.

What Happened

You modified files that affect authority or governance. The Mobius PR Bot detected that your PR lacks a valid EPICON-02 intent publication.

This is by design. Governance changes must be legible, time-bounded, and auditable.

Why This Matters

The Problem Without EPICON-02

Traditional GitHub governance has critical gaps:

  • CODEOWNERS can be changed silently
  • Authority shifts are invisible
  • Trust is social and fragile
  • No audit trail for "why"

The Solution With EPICON-02

Mobius governance provides:

  • Authority changes are cryptographically legible
  • Intent must be declared before power is exercised
  • Divergence is visible in real time
  • No accusations required — the system speaks

How to Fix

Step 1: Add Intent Publication Block

Add this block to your PR description:

## EPICON-02 INTENT PUBLICATION

```intent
ledger_id: mobius:<your-ledger-id>
scope: <docs|ci|core|infra|sentinels|labs|specs>
mode: normal
issued_at: <ISO-8601 timestamp, e.g., 2025-12-21T00:00:00Z>
expires_at: <ISO-8601 timestamp, max 90 days from issued_at>
justification: |
  <Explain WHY this change is needed and what it accomplishes>
counterfactuals:
  - <What would change your conclusion?>
  - <Under what conditions should this NOT be merged?>

Step 2: Match Scope to Changed Files

Ensure your declared scope matches the files you're changing:

Scope Allowed Paths
docs docs/, epicon/, README.md, CHANGELOG.md, LICENSE
ci .github/, ci/, scripts/
core src/, packages/, apps/, services/
infra infra/, deploy/, docker/, monitoring/, grafana/
sentinels sentinels/
labs labs/
specs specs/, schemas/, configs/

Step 3: Set Proper Time Bounds

  • Normal mode: Max 90 days between issued_at and expires_at
  • Emergency mode: Max 72 hours, requires emergency_scope field

Step 4: Re-run Checks

After updating your PR description:

  1. Push a new commit (or edit PR body)
  2. Wait for PR Bot to re-run
  3. Verify mobius/epicon-02 status turns green

What This Protects

Stakeholder Protection
You Clear authority documentation
Reviewers No guesswork about intent
The System No hidden power shifts
Future Contributors Audit trail for decisions

Emergency Mode

If you need to act before full justification (genuine emergency):

ledger_id: mobius:<your-ledger-id>
scope: governance
mode: emergency
emergency_scope: ci
issued_at: 2025-12-21T00:00:00Z
expires_at: 2025-12-21T12:00:00Z  # Max 72 hours
justification: |
  Emergency: CI pipeline is broken, blocking all PRs.
  Post-facto justification will be provided within 24h.

Note: Emergency mode creates a Transparency Debt issue that must be resolved within 24 hours.

Common Failure Reasons

Failure Solution
"Missing required header" Add ## EPICON-02 INTENT PUBLICATION header
"Missing fenced intent block" Add ```intent ... ``` block under header
"Missing required field: X" Add the missing field (ledger_id, scope, etc.)
"Scope violation" Change scope to match files, or remove out-of-scope files
"Authority window too long" Reduce time between issued_at and expires_at
"Emergency window too long" Emergency mode max is 72 hours

Understanding Divergence Severity

Severity Meaning
🟢 LOW Minor issues (missing counterfactuals, formatting)
🟡 MEDIUM Scope mismatch, time window issues
🔴 HIGH Missing intent block, core file changes without justification

EPICON-03: Multi-Agent Consensus

For governance-scoped changes, EPICON-03 may also run. This requires multiple AI agents to independently verify the action. See EPICON-03.md for details.

Need Help?

"Even founders don't get a free pass. That's how you know the system is real."

— Mobius Principle