What problem does it solve? It defines the verification bar every change to the HOT-Step CPP three-tier app (C++ engine, Node/TypeScript server, React UI) must clear before being called done, preventing false "done" claims, broken releases, and lost test artifacts. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Per-tier verification bars: TypeScript type-checks, C++ rebuild via dev-rebuild.bat with clean-start log checks, UI visual confirmation by the human, and human-ear audio quality judgment. - Headless end-to-end smoke generation: Submit a generation job through the REST API with auth token, poll status to completion, and confirm WAV output and GENERATION COMPLETED log lines. - Distributability checks: Run check-release-prereqs.mjs to verify model weights, packs, and runtime data actually ship to users, plus a failure-signature table for fast triage. - Use Case: After editing engine source code, rebuild with dev-rebuild.bat, relaunch, confirm the engine log shows Listening on 127.0.0.1:8085, then run a 30-second skipLm smoke generation and hand the WAV path to the human for ear verification. ## Quick Start Ask the assistant to validate the change you just finished by running the appropriate tier checks and a headless smoke generation, then report results honestly.
