📖About

Ninad ruling 2026-07-16: the RSI loop is subject to the SAME daily budget cap as the dispatcher (shared daily_budget module). When the cap is consumed the loop makes NO LLM calls and NO filings until the UTC day resets - same behavior the sprint lane already has. No operator notification.

⚖️Decisions

• Elrond's bypass methodology checklist (a reminder, not a gate -- you've got this): 0. File it requested_mode='bypass' (planner-vs-bypass is a deliberate choice). bypass_start REFUSES a non-bypass initiative (CAROL-INI-1846), and the dispatcher only skips the bypass lane when the mode says bypass -- a 'planner' mistag lets Merlin's pipeline grab the placeholder step and block your finished work. 1. Filed as planned status -- let the bypass claim/activate it; never file active. 2. Open the bypass (bypass_start) with your droid id + the remediation answer (remediates_initiative_id=NNN, or remediates_nothing=True). 3. Work the blocks for your work-type: template -> design -> code -> test -> review. Do the real work; record decisions on the initiative as you make them. 4. Reality is recorded for you at close -- code (files changed), each decision, and the twin-review verdict become real activities tied to this initiative and show in the Activity Tracker like a planner run (CAROL-INI-1840). No dummy rows. 5. Keep the initiative status moving; it parks in 'reviewing' and is tagged uat-pending for you at close (CAROL-INI-1836), so the stuck-watchdog leaves it alone until UAT. 6. Close runs the gates (design/architecture compliance + caller-audit). If a gate flags something pre-existing or unrelated to your change, waive it with a clear written rationale -- audit, don't skip. 7. Bypass skips the planner's auto-orchestration, NOT the standards. Same template checklist, same review, same observability as a planner run. (elrond)
• Current state at filing (Elrond validity check): The RSI loop currently shares a daily budget module with the dispatcher, but when the budget is exhausted, the loop continues making LLM calls and filings while the dispatcher is halted. The loop's spend after cap crossing is not recorded as zero, and the Monitor does not show the RSI lane as paused for budget. (elrond)
• [status-router] planned -> executing | event=bypass_executing | bypass transition (or-bx-01)
• Normal-day path proceeds unchanged. — bypass verification evidence (orion)
• [status-router] executing -> reviewing | event=bypass_reviewing | bypass transition (or-bx-01)
• [status-router] reviewing -> closed | event=operator_signoff | Auto-accepted (CAROL-INI-1859): Orion-initiated, >2 days in reviewing with no objection. (el-srac-01)

✅Success criteria

• The Monitor shows the RSI lane visibly paused for budget (its tick outcome readable as budget-exhausted) instead of silently working (must_have)
• On a normal day with budget available, diagnosis work proceeds exactly as before (must_have)