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Fairway five-minute first-value assessment

Date: 2026-07-11
Task: FW-327
Result: pass

Goal​

Prove that a new adopter can run the current Fairway source in a clean Git repository, initialize the local control record, complete one bounded work item, and inspect its decision and evidence without learning the full coordination vocabulary.

Environment​

  • Source: Fairway repository at commit 32aa564 plus the uncommitted FW-326 sidebar-only slice, which does not affect the CLI.
  • Binary: /tmp/fairway-fw327, built with GOCACHE=/tmp/fairway-go-cache go build -o /tmp/fairway-fw327 ./cmd/fairway.
  • Version readback: 0.1.0-dev, expected for a source build without release linker flags.
  • Fixture: temporary local Git repository with branch main, one empty baseline commit, and local test-only Git identity.
  • Network: not required.

Final Command Path​

fairway init
git add .fairway/.gitignore .fairway/AGENTS.md .fairway/config.toml
git commit -m "chore: initialize Fairway"
GOCACHE=/tmp/fairway-go-cache fairway doctor
fairway add FV-001 --title "Verify the local Fairway control record" --role operator
fairway work start FV-001 --session-id first-value --role operator \
  --provider shell --backend shell \
  --summary "Complete the first bounded Fairway record"
fairway decision record FV-001 \
  --decision "Keep first-value proof in Fairway" \
  --trigger "The bounded setup check needs a durable rationale" \
  --alternative "Leave the result only in shell history" \
  --chosen "Record the decision and verification in the local Fairway DB" \
  --reason "The next operator can inspect the claim without provider chat" \
  --risk "Local metadata only; no external action" \
  --validation "fairway task-detail FV-001" \
  --fact-ref "task:FV-001"
fairway work verify FV-001 --command-text "fairway doctor" --result pass
fairway work close FV-001 --session-id first-value
fairway task-detail FV-001

Measured execution after the existing-repository baseline: 0.432 seconds. This is a machine-executed copy/paste proof, not a claim about every person's reading speed. It leaves the five-minute budget dominated by installation, reading, and typing rather than Fairway command latency.

Readback​

  • doctor_ok: true.
  • Task FV-001 moved todo -> in_progress -> done.
  • Evidence recorded fairway doctor with result pass.
  • One privacy-bounded decision row was present with its authority disclaimer.
  • work close reported success and ended session first-value.
  • task-detail FV-001 showed status, history, evidence, and decision in one readback.
  • No dashboard, worktree, reviewer, watcher, provider adapter, or network setup was required.

Confusion Points Found​

Repository without a committed main branch​

The first attempt used a newly initialized repository with no commit. fairway doctor failed with base "main" not found, correctly blocking task work. The quickstart now states that the repository needs a committed main baseline.

Uncommitted Fairway bootstrap files​

The second attempt left the files created by fairway init uncommitted. work verify succeeded, but work close failed because the worktree was dirty. The quickstart now commits .fairway/.gitignore, .fairway/AGENTS.md, and .fairway/config.toml immediately after initialization.

Development version readback​

A source build reports 0.1.0-dev unless release linker flags are supplied. This is expected and is recorded so it is not mistaken for a release mismatch.

Decision quality​

The first decision is stored as draft. The decision explains local setup; it does not grant approval or promotion authority and does not require independent assessment for this reversible task.

Defaults Observed​

  • SQLite DB: .fairway/state.db, ignored by the generated .gitignore.
  • Main branch: main.
  • Dashboard: loopback, full-access default at 127.0.0.1:7878 for direct invocation; no dashboard was started by the rehearsal.
  • Shared server: disabled and read-only by default.
  • Review/evidence gates: no review required for the simple default task; work close still enforced repository cleanliness.

Cleanup Proof​

All temporary rehearsal repositories and the temporary binary were removed after their results were summarized. No dashboard, server, provider session, remote branch, public endpoint, or external resource was created.

Recommendation​

Pass. Publish the short path with the two explicit Git prerequisites. Keep roles, profiles, worktrees, dashboards, shared-team operation, review routing, and release controls behind progressive links unless a user's work crosses one of those boundaries.