# Arcadia Studio contextual authoring preview — validation

Version: `0.2.0-preview.contextual.20260911`, Windows x64 (`x86_64-pc-windows-gnullvm`). This is a development-profile milestone prerelease. Full OA/SA release work continues; Linux work is paused by the user.

## Download and run

Extract the complete ZIP and launch `arcadia-studio.exe`. Keep `libunwind.dll` beside both executables. `START-HERE.txt` describes the portable bundle; `docs/server.md` describes the optional REST server. Examples, offline help and dependency notices are included. Copy a complete example folder before editing it. The separately published CLI is not included.

## Frozen artifacts and source

| Artifact | Bytes | SHA256 |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| ZIP | 32,775,691 | `9186d4fc9a7b52fb195c183c4847c8e3419ea6da8b3f907e0c06f9ceec58dee0` |
| arcadia-studio.exe | 112,239,104 | `5657bab5c841939b66f901efe6c0ffb2d7cbbe8cc5f111a0ca3de8073d3846ce` |
| arcadia-server.exe | 39,743,488 | `efeeb89c0d2e0f93df4472cb3e9f48b2b722a37ae1043c90a5a56f2e845fe665` |
| libunwind.dll | 190,976 | `f45604a12e8bcd839fd86f667c1be1cc7c4f9da2b3c69ff381ac708f0e1ae7d4` |

Source checkpoint: `b2c3e54001fc19a05423bcd5808ceea78d13ff59`. The exact-input reconstruction is `d5650309a93f3d590a41f8a8f0322c6500568f69`, published on `codex/contextual-prerelease-source-20260911`. All 238 recorded GUI inputs match its Git blobs and fresh checkout. Eleven newline-only restorations preserve the measured bytes; `behavior/creation.rs` has mixed line endings. This reconstruction is not the original build commit and is not a reproducible-build claim.

The server is the unchanged September 7 EFEE artifact with its own original build, hash and source records. All 120 recorded core/server files, complete crate file sets, shared resources and raw OpenAPI match the preserved server snapshot and package source. The current workspace adds only the separate local CLI member and lock entry; all 463 original lock package records and existing dependency requests remain unchanged. The server was not rebuilt with this GUI. These comparisons support reuse of the identified binary; they do not silently transfer new GUI tests to the server.

## Build and native authoring evidence

The immutable GUI5657 build passed 26 focused desktop layout tests, strict all-target desktop Clippy, formatting and its matching build. Its immutable test executable passed all 679 desktop tests on the ordinary Windows stack, one test thread, terminal exit 0 at 15:47:53 UTC on September 11. The 26 focused tests are not additional distinct coverage beyond the full suite. A preserved earlier focused fixture failed because its initial repeated label did not overflow; the corrected fixture and actual scrollable containment were then tested. No failed attempt is relabeled as a pass.

Root's real native tests against the same GUI passed minimum 1100×700 client layout, parent/child draft retention and resize, recovery, cancellation, direct lifeline Create/Save/Undo/Redo, and state-machine Create/Save/Undo/Redo plus fresh-process reopen. The unchanged external oracle compared complete models, every reachable and physical source file, and original role UUIDs. These broader tests belong to the same frozen GUI; they were not all repeated in the extracted-package smoke test.

## Package and optional server checks

The unchanged strict Windows packager completed at 16:18:45 UTC. Its initial timing wrapper failed before Cargo; the separate corrected wrapper performed one successful locked/offline metadata operation and no compilation. Notices cover 266 packages rooted in desktop/server; 17 packaged documentation links passed.

An independent reviewer passed 5,231 artifact assertions at 16:20:00–16:21:22 UTC, exit 0. This includes all 559 safe ordinary ZIP members, exact complete extraction, all 558 checksum entries, 553 packaged input hashes, original source/provenance records, 484 referenced notice files and 58 recorded Rust target-library hashes. No user profile, server store, harness or source checkout was bundled. This is a scoped provenance/notice review, not a universal license or binary-secret audit.

The reviewer then passed 1,800 packaged-server assertions at 16:21:55–16:22:12 UTC, exit 0. With Windows-only PATH, private temporary paths, a proxy-free loopback client and a store outside the package, it checked help/version, exact health/readiness, every OpenAPI byte, one model create/GET, full predicted Project and SourceBundle, and exact persisted-envelope/revision/ETag equality across an explicitly stopped and restarted owned server. Both processes were stopped and awaited. This demonstrates process-stop/restart persistence, not graceful-drain acceptance. All 559 package files and the ZIP were unchanged after this review.

## Fresh packaged desktop acceptance

The successful corrected trial launched a fresh exact extraction at 16:36:54 UTC, PID 6344. PATH was only `C:\Windows\System32;C:\Windows`; application data, user profile and temporary directories were private to the trial. Standard Windows path variables were supplied and the private Desktop existed before launch. This is an isolated runtime on the current Windows host, not a fresh operating-system installation. The only loaded modules outside Windows were the packaged GUI and its sibling libunwind.dll.

Through the native desktop, root opened Home with no recent models, viewed the offline Engineering guide, used the real file picker to open the complete source fixture, and created `Assessment lifeline` with a new root OA Activity named `Assess incident work`. The parent and child names stayed independent. Use returned to the pending parent with two accepted objects; Create committed both together, producing four objects; Ctrl+S showed All changes saved. The file picker initially ignored automated text input; ordinary keyboard focus recovery allowed the exact path to be entered. No source-file substitution was used.

At 16:48:57 UTC, the unchanged oracle passed the complete Project, three exact reachable/physical source files and original role UUIDs, exit 0. The full package inventory guard also passed. Native Alt+F4 closed the GUI; a process check at 16:49:52 UTC found PID 6344 absent. A numeric GUI exit code was not observed. After close at 16:50:02 UTC, all 559 files remained identical with no additions. GUI stdout/stderr were empty.

The first packaged GUI trial is preserved separately as a failed package-environment check: its launcher omitted SystemDrive and initially lacked a private Desktop. Windows created one literal `%SystemDrive%/ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/Caches/cversions.2.db` file beneath the extraction. All original files and the model workflow passed, but the strict inventory correctly failed before its oracle. The later explicitly scoped model-only pass did not waive that failure. A fresh extraction and corrected environment produced the successful second trial above; neither the application nor acceptance oracle was weakened.

## Evidence and limits

Repository reports: `harness/release-contextual-source-windows-update-plan-20260911.md`, `harness/release-contextual-source-prerelease-preparation-20260911.md`, `harness/release-contextual-source-prerelease-review-20260911.md`, `harness/release-contextual-source-prerelease-gui-20260911.md`, and `harness/release-contextual-source-native-v2-20260911.md`. The producer and reviewer reports retain their historical scopes; final native acceptance is recorded separately.

Independent artifact result SHA256: `3a6bf2580b25dad696d635dcbbde88522a065f83698229c2a22dda92f2ab6ee8`. Server result SHA256: `37fec9e1a1bcaa8a208233fc56fb78a1e607df32271097ab1a946037f04de3af`. Complete source/model oracle executable SHA256: `967d9ba3c6fb3a7efb410833903ec94556ca2d48a67d5072c8bb160f40a00f9c`.

Some scenario forms retain a previous scroll position and dense labels remain crowded. Newer canvas/chooser/lifetime work, integrated text navigation, executable calculations, dimensional quantities, maintained libraries, full OA/SA parity and optimized builds remain under development. This package makes no current Linux runtime claim.