release-facts-not-fixed-gates

Date: 2026-09-12. Status: implemented.

Decision. Published file/all/live/deleted counts remain blocking inputs in sources.yaml. Header contracts remain explicit. Split/repeated-key/key-length/touching-date/link-category/ambiguity profiles are recorded observations, not fixed 2026/2 acceptance constants. Compare each new snapshot with the previous hash-verified snapshot by natural key, excluding the release label from record changes.

Reason. Normal release changes should be visible to a reviewer without requiring changes to pipeline code or weakening correctness checks. An unavailable comparison is reported explicitly and does not block a source-faithful build.