D029 - A chain carries its files, and which files is data

Status: decided Date: 2026-09-26

A chain carries captured {path, content} files that deploying puts back verbatim, after the payload list and before the autoload switch is guaranteed on. Which paths are captured is declared in the capture block of chain.json, and shipped chains carry no content.

Why: a payload order alone loses the manager's settings, so a deployed chain behaved differently. The files belong to another tool and their names move, so the program copies bytes rather than parsing them, and the list of paths is edited rather than rebuilt. Shipping one target's settings would impose its habits on every target.

Rejected:

• Parsing the captured settings: breaks when the other tool changes them.
• Paths in code: a list that grows needs a release for each addition.
• Letting captured settings turn autoload off: a deployed list nobody reads.