# AI ASSISTANT SESSION START PROTOCOL — v1

```text
Document type : GOVERNANCE
Created       : 2026-08-28 (P3-GOV-1)
Version       : v1
MANDATORY for every new AI session in this repository.
```

## EVERY NEW SESSION

Follow these steps in order. Do not skip; do not broad-search first.

1. Read `docs/CURRENT_PROJECT_STATE.md`.
2. Read the NEWEST `docs/SESSION_HANDOVER_*.md` (by Git ancestry / filename date).
3. Read `docs/CURRENT_DECISION_GATE.md`.
4. Verify Git: `git rev-parse HEAD` == `git ls-remote origin HEAD`;
   `git branch --show-current` == main; `git status --short` empty;
   `git stash list` empty.
5. Verify ONLY the exact files needed for the current phase. Do not broad-search
   the filesystem.
6. Do not repeat completed work.
7. Do not infer from stale prose when machine-readable evidence exists.
8. Do not proceed outside the current authorization.
9. Respect the authorizations and prohibitions in `docs/CURRENT_DECISION_GATE.md`.

## Canonical evidence precedence

```text
  Machine-readable checkpoint / manifest
      >  committed machine-readable evidence
      >  committed report
      >  human prose
```

Where a contradiction exists between these layers:

```text
STOP and reconcile before proceeding.
```

## Integration points

- Frozen-asset rules: `docs/FROZEN_ASSET_REGISTER.md`,
  `docs/AUTHORIZED_CHANGE_MATRIX.md`.
- Verification discipline: `docs/CODE_VERIFICATION_AND_SILENT_BUG_POLICY_v1.md`
  (independent oracle, mutation testing, temporal checks, leakage checks,
  reproducibility, immutable artifacts, no silent repair, no result-driven tuning).
- Phase traceability: `docs/PROJECT_PHASE_INDEX.md`, `docs/PROVENANCE_GAP_REGISTER.md`.

*End of P3-GOV-1 session-start protocol.*