[cixzhang]

Exact decision needed

Whether merge or stable release may wait on real assistive-technology (NVDA, VoiceOver) evidence that contributors cannot produce.

Existing authority searched

• spec:AST-009 (current): FR4/FR8/FR17–FR19 required an explicit trigger classification, a named real-AT matrix, a scenario, and a durable release-block record, and blocked the first stable release until real-AT receipts passed or an owner exception applied.
• Linked records that restated the block or required screen-reader checks: spec:AST-001 (browser evidence and FR7 row), module:Table/useTableRowStatus AR6, module:Table/useTableColumnResize verification, spec:AST-056 (browser evidence line), spec:AST-021 (release boundary phrase), spec:AST-086 (FR6 real-AT row and platform line), component:FieldStatus AR5 and its verification row, spec:AST-020 FR6 ("real-AT contract").
• Open PRs that add release-block sections to AST-009: feat(useCombobox): a combobox over a text field the caller renders #7732, fix(MultiSelector): a refused creation keeps the typed text #7275, feat(MultiSelector): renderCreateOption — caller content in the create row #7272. Under this record those sections are no longer needed.

Decision

• No requirement gates merge or release on evidence that cannot be produced (Intent, FR17, DEC-4).
• Merge and stable release need only the unit, DOM, accessibility-tree, axe, and real-browser evidence the owning records require (FR17).
• Announcements are proved by their routing: which element or channel carries them, their text, urgency, and update count per occasion (FR4, FR19).
• Real-AT observation is recommended follow-up when an outcome depends on AT behavior, may be tracked in a public issue, and holds no pull request or release (FR1–FR6, FR18).
• A change with an AT-dependent claim says so and names its lower-layer evidence; no matrix, scenario, or release record is needed to merge (FR8).
• Evidence-layer boundaries, the representative matrix, failure handling, and durable receipts stay, scoped to when a real-AT check runs.
• The exception process (old FR23–FR26) is removed because nothing remains to except.

Rejected alternatives

• Holding stable releases until named real-AT receipts pass: fixes for known accessibility defects stall when no contributor can run the required pairings.

Claim scope and non-goals

Only the evidence bar for merge and release, and the status of real-AT observation. Component accessibility requirements, evidence-layer boundaries, and focus/announcement behavior stay with their owners.

Evidence and implementation relationship

Status-announcement conformance PRs (#7869, #7870, #7871, #7892, #7900, #7910) stall on the old real-AT release-block requirement because nobody in the review loop can run NVDA or VoiceOver. No implementation is included.

Writing rubric results

• R1 narration: none; present-tense rules throughout. The two earlier holds are described as current follow-ups.
• R2 research in the record: none.
• R3 evidence naming a change: none; the earlier hold sections that named pull requests are replaced by the facts (story names and claims).
• R4 rejected alternatives over one line or outside a decision: one per decision, one line each.
• R5 pull request or issue references remaining: none in AST-009 or the edited lines.
• R6 ruled open questions still listing options: none.

Scope

• This PR contains specification records only.
• It records observable behavior and preserves equivalent internal implementations.
• Any named internal mechanism is intentionally public, names its dependent caller/system, and explains why an equivalent implementation would not satisfy the contract.
• Verification states the evidence layer and failure signal without prescribing CI job/workflow topology.
• It records one intentional durable decision, not a rescue for a separable tagalong.
• The canonical knowledge owner, affected current claims, and overlapping open work are named; any ownership collision is resolved or called out for human decision.
• Adjacent API, visual, accessibility, composition, and implementation facts remain outside scope unless this exact decision depends on them.
• Public text and artifacts contain no internal Meta context.

Validation

• pnpm check:knowledge
• Prettier
• git diff --check

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[astracat-bot]

AI review status for this pull request.

Review status	Updated
🟢 Reviewed (for maintainers only)	Oct 22, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

[cixzhang]

/approve-spec 6b9105f

[github-actions]

PR Analysis Report

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[astracat-bot]

Changes requested: the AST-009 rewrite is owner-approved, but three current records outside this pull request still require screen-reader verification, which the new FR17 says no record may make a gate. Please reword them the way component:FieldStatus AR5 now reads (recommended real-AT follow-up, not a merge or release requirement) and list them in AST-009's Current-state impact:

• docs/specs/AST-001/spec.md: the browser-evidence line (lines 76–78) and the FR7 verification row (line 110).
• packages/core/src/Table/plugins/rowStatus/useTableRowStatus.spec.md: AR6 (lines 217–218) and its AR1–AR6 verification row (line 262).
• packages/core/src/Table/plugins/columnResize/useTableColumnResize.spec.md: the FR8, AR1–AR3, AR6 verification row (line 237).

[Automated review]

[astracat-bot]

This list leaves out three current records that still require screen-reader verification, which FR17 now says no record may make a gate: docs/specs/AST-001/spec.md lines 76–78 and its FR7 verification row (line 110); useTableRowStatus.spec.md AR6 (lines 217–218) and its AR1–AR6 row (line 262); useTableColumnResize.spec.md line 237. Rewording them the way FieldStatus AR5 now reads, and naming them here, keeps the current records from contradicting each other.

[cixzhang]

/approve-spec bdd248c

[astracat-bot]

This looks ready to approve: the AST-009 rewrite is owner-approved for this head, and the three records that still required screen-reader verification (AST-001, Table row status and Table column resize) now describe it as recommended follow-up, so no current record contradicts the new FR17. One follow-up sits outside this spec-only change: internal/a11y-spec/src/patterns/status-message.ts still says AST-009 requires a named real-AT matrix and durable receipts, and should be reworded once this lands.

[Automated review]