fix(harness-config): align audit references, the permission reader and the effort pin check with the docs

.changes/harness-config/fix-10456-harness-config-conformance-a7d3e15c.md

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+bump: patch
+---
+
+### Fixed
+
+- `/harness-config:audit-permission-state`: the reader takes the project file from the primary
+  working directory rather than the repository root. Below the repository root, where it cannot tell a
+  session started there from one that ran a Bash `cd`, it also reads the root's file as
+  `project toplevel`, so a root-started session's deny rules survive a `cd`; run it from the session's
+  start directory, since after a `cd` from another subdirectory that directory's file is not read. The
+  output names both directories,
+  the lint checks each file's values, and `--merge-only` keeps the note that one may be over-reported.
+  Its cloud-session note also covers self-hosted runner images and project cloud threads.
+- `/harness-config:audit`: the baseline drops the `Bash(git push)` ask row, which `Bash(git push *)`
+  already covers, so a project with the wider rule is no longer flagged for lacking the bare one. An
+  absent `effort:` no longer reads as the session level, the family alias record no longer rests on a
+  stale probe. The `fallbackModel` chain cap is read from model-config's Fallback model chains section,
+  where the page now states it, so the check no longer skips every chain. The effort pin check finds the defaults item by what it says, so a renumbered list no
+  longer hides a changed default, and its baseline matches the current page, with the listed levels
+  unchanged.
+- `/harness-config:audit-instructions`: harness thinking-disable forms no longer fire the rejected
+  pairing row on models where they have no effect, exit-2 stderr is no longer stated as always
+  reaching Claude, and the first-run hold and a wrong settings pointer are gone.
+- `/harness-config:audit-permission-grants` and the plugin README: the user settings file is no
+  longer named as where a prompt approval lands.
+- `/harness-config:audit-pass`: the handoff no longer compares a `/doctor` version floor its pointer
+  has stopped stating, names `skillOverrides` as a documented suppression channel, and the report
+  location record points at the plugin data rules instead of quoting them.

.claude/audit-pass.md

@@ -15,12 +15,4 @@ suppressions:
         anchor/v1: "e:b40d4d51d2c2:6e340b9c"
     reason: "Cloud sessions on this repository push their working branch as the harness instructs; an ask-gate on git push would prompt on every run and is never answered. The GitHub proxy does not limit which branch a push updates (https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments#github-proxy, Push restrictions, as of 2026-10-11; recheck when that bullet changes), so the default branch is held by the repository ruleset's pull-request rule, not by this gate. Local operators keep whatever ask rule they want in their user settings."
     date: 2026-09-08
-  52bccf5cafa7fd59:
-    check: harness-config/audit/B/baseline-ask-rules
-    claim: "missing-pattern:Bash(git push)"
-    sites:
-      - surface: .claude/settings.json
-        anchor/v1: "e:b40d4d51d2c2:6e340b9c"
-    reason: "Same posture as the argument-bearing form: the harness mandates the push in cloud sessions."
-    date: 2026-09-08
 ```

docs/conventions/harness-config.yaml

@@ -13,11 +13,3 @@ suppressions:
         "anchor/v1": "e:b40d4d51d2c2:6e340b9c"
     reason: "Cloud sessions on this repository push their working branch as the harness instructs; an ask-gate on git push would prompt on every run and is never answered. The GitHub proxy does not limit which branch a push updates (https://code.claude.com/docs/en/cloud-environments#github-proxy, Push restrictions, as of 2026-10-11; recheck when that bullet changes), so the default branch is held by the repository ruleset's pull-request rule, not by this gate. Local operators keep whatever ask rule they want in their user settings."
     date: "2026-09-08"
-  52bccf5cafa7fd59:
-    check: harness-config/audit/B/baseline-ask-rules
-    claim: "missing-pattern:Bash(git push)"
-    sites:
-      - surface: .claude/settings.json
-        "anchor/v1": "e:b40d4d51d2c2:6e340b9c"
-    reason: "Same posture as the argument-bearing form: the harness mandates the push in cloud sessions."
-    date: "2026-09-08"

plugins/harness-config/README.md

@@ -79,10 +79,11 @@ make a grant silently do nothing: interpreter-wildcard / blanket rules that Clau
 entering auto mode, hardcoded absolute machine/user paths (Bash rules match literally, no expansion),
 and inert plugin self-grants. A deterministic detector scans skill/command/agent frontmatter
 `allowed-tools` and the project, local, and user-global `permissions.allow` arrays, and recommends the
-bare-command-on-PATH pattern. The user-global file
-(`${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-$HOME/.claude}/settings.json`) is where Claude Code's own "Always allow" path
-writes, so on a long-lived machine expect it to carry most of the findings. Their remediation is
-the operator's, since no skill can write that file. The principle and citations live in the marketplace
+bare-command-on-PATH pattern. A broad rule in the user-global file
+(`${CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR:-$HOME/.claude}/settings.json`) reaches every project. The remediation of a
+finding there is the operator's, since no skill can write that file. Where a prompt approval is
+saved is in [permissions: permission system](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permissions#permission-system)
+(as of 2026-11-04; recheck when that section changes the file). The principle and citations live in the marketplace
 [permission-rule-hygiene convention](../../docs/contracts/permission-rule-hygiene/README.md).
 Report-only.
 

plugins/harness-config/skills/audit-automation-gaps/context/gotchas.md

@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ current the claim is, not authority.
 
 | Claim | Basis | As of | Recheck trigger |
 |---|---|---|---|
-| `PostToolUse` cannot block: the tool has already run, and exit code 2 shows the hook's stderr to Claude as a system reminder | [Claude Code hooks reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks), exit-code-2 behavior per event | 2026-09-13 | A re-fetch finds the per-event exit-code table no longer matching this row |
+| `PostToolUse` cannot block: the tool has already run, and exit code 2 only shows the hook's stderr to Claude | [Claude Code hooks reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks#exit-code-2-behavior-per-event), exit-code-2 behavior per event | 2026-11-04 | A re-fetch finds the per-event exit-code table no longer matching this row |
 | `PermissionRequest` does not honor exit code 2: "the permission flow proceeds unchanged. Deny through the `decision` object instead" | [Claude Code hooks reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks), `PermissionRequest` exit-code behavior | 2026-09-13 | A re-fetch finds `PermissionRequest` honoring exit code 2, or the `decision` object renamed or removed |
 | The hooks reference documents 33 hook events | [Claude Code hooks reference](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks), the hook-events section headings, counted 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-13 | A re-fetch returns a different number of documented events |
 | We leave hook enumeration to the native `/hooks` menu, which lists the resolved set with each hook's source; when you need its exact contents, read the section live | [The /hooks menu](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks#the-/hooks-menu) | 2026-10-11 | That section stops showing each hook's source, or the menu stops listing the resolved set of configured hooks |

plugins/harness-config/skills/audit-instructions/reference/conflict-criteria.md

@@ -141,9 +141,9 @@ shapes without this gate produces noise, because most surface pairs never co-loa
 | User `CLAUDE.md` | Every session, unless the file is over the size limit the second pointer names, which skips it | [memory: how CLAUDE.md files load](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-claude-md-files-load); [memory: how it works](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-it-works) |
 | Project `CLAUDE.md` / `CLAUDE.local.md` | Every session in that tree, after user scope, under the same size limit | [memory: how CLAUDE.md files load](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-claude-md-files-load) |
 | Project `AGENTS.md` / `.claude/AGENTS.md`, where no `CLAUDE.md` name displaces it, **and, under `claude-md-and-agents-md`, even where one does**, in both cases only where the session reads `AGENTS.md` natively at all | Every session in that tree | [memory: AGENTS.md](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#agents-md); [memory: choose which instruction files load](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#choose-which-instruction-files-load) |
-| Nested `CLAUDE.md` in a subdirectory | On demand, when Claude works with a file there | [memory: how CLAUDE.md files load](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-claude-md-files-load) |
+| Nested `CLAUDE.md` in a subdirectory | On demand, once Claude works with a file there | [memory: how CLAUDE.md files load](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-claude-md-files-load) |
 | `.claude/rules/*` without `paths` | Every session | [memory: set up rules](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#set-up-rules) |
-| `.claude/rules/*` with `paths` | Only when a matching file is read | [memory: path-specific rules](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#path-specific-rules) |
+| `.claude/rules/*` with `paths` | Only once Claude works with a matching file; read the triggers from the pointer | [memory: path-specific rules](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#path-specific-rules) |
 | Skill body | Only once invoked, then for the rest of the session | [skills: skill content lifecycle](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills#skill-content-lifecycle) |
 | Auto memory `MEMORY.md` | Every **main** session, only its loaded portion, and **not** in a subagent, except a fork | [memory: how it works](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#how-it-works) |
 | A subagent's **own** auto memory `MEMORY.md` (its `memory` field) | Every dispatch of **that** subagent, only its loaded portion, never the main session, and never another agent's | [subagents: enable persistent memory](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents#enable-persistent-memory) |
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ preload limit from those sections when it runs. This table copies none of them,
 moved without an edit here.
 
 - **Pointer**: when deciding whether a surface is resident, fetch the section its row names live.
-- **As of**: 2026-10-11
+- **As of**: 2026-11-04
 - **Recheck trigger**: a row's section is renamed or removed, or it adds or drops a condition on
   when that surface loads.
 
@@ -306,13 +306,12 @@ Three consequences for residency, and each one bounds a pair rather than admitti
   [hooks: SessionStart](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks#sessionstart) live (as of 2026-10-11;
   recheck when its matcher values change).
 - **Exit-2 stderr is turn-scoped error feedback, not a standing directive, and only some events
-  have an act to block.** Exit-2 stderr reaches Claude as an error message
-  ([hooks: exit code 2](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks#exit-code-2), as of 2026-10-11;
-  recheck when that section stops feeding exit-2 stderr back to Claude), so it is not nothing;
-  but it is a one-turn message, never a standing rule. Whether it also carries a *gate* is
-  event-specific, and the sole authority on that is the hooks page's
+  have an act to block.** Where exit-2 stderr goes varies by event, so read whether Claude, the user
+  or nobody sees it from the table below; at most it is a one-turn message, never a standing rule.
+  Whether it also carries a *gate* is event-specific too, and the sole authority on both is the hooks
+  page's
   [Exit code 2 behavior per event](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/hooks#exit-code-2-behavior-per-event)
-  table (as of 2026-10-11; recheck when the table is renamed, removed or restructured, or its
+  table (as of 2026-11-04; recheck when the table is renamed, removed or restructured, or its
   `SubagentStop`, `PostToolUse` or `PreToolUse` row changes, the three cited below). Its rows are not
   reproduced here in either direction: the event set grows, so any list
   copied into this file becomes a closed partition that silently misgrades the next event added.

plugins/harness-config/skills/audit-instructions/reference/criteria.md

@@ -255,10 +255,11 @@ each only on the surfaces its row names.
   and where thinking may not be disabled):
   <https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/effort>
 - Model configuration (the harness-side thinking-display and thinking-disable surfaces, which effort
-  levels each surface accepts, the per-model calibration of the effort scale, the first-run
-  default hold, and the adaptive-reasoning / fixed-thinking-budget partition):
+  levels each surface accepts, the per-model calibration of the effort scale, and the
+  adaptive-reasoning / fixed-thinking-budget partition):
   <https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config>
-- Settings (the `effortLevel` value set): <https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings>
+- Settings reference (the `effortLevel` value set):
+  <https://code.claude.com/docs/en/settings-reference#effortlevel>
 - Environment variables (`CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`, `MAX_THINKING_TOKENS`, and
   `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_ADAPTIVE_THINKING` with the models it reaches):
   <https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars>; read it whole per the
@@ -1169,15 +1170,15 @@ since each prescribes a request the model refuses.
   `Alt+T` / `Option+T` session toggle, or API `thinking: {"type": "disabled"}`, together with
   `xhigh` or `max` effort, on Claude Opus 5 or a later model, or, in the API form only, on Claude
   Haiku 5.5 (see the `haiku-5-5` widening below). Both operands are configuration
-  literals. Fire on the API form and on the harness forms alike: in neither does the prescribed
-  level reach the model, so the finding and its remediation are the same for both. What Claude
-  Code sends in place of the prescribed level is behind the pointer.
-  Pointer: for the harness outcome, see
+  literals. Fire on the API form and, on a model where thinking can be turned off, on the harness
+  forms alike: the finding and its remediation are the same for both. On a model in I17-a's no-effect
+  set the harness forms change nothing, so this arm does not fire on them there.
+  Pointer: for the harness outcome and that set, see
   [model configuration: extended thinking](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config#extended-thinking)
   and [errors: effort isn't available with thinking turned
   off](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/errors#effort-isnt-available-with-thinking-turned-off).
-  As of: 2026-10-01. Recheck trigger: either section changes what Claude Code sends when thinking
-  is off and the prescribed level is `xhigh` or `max`.
+  As of: 2026-11-04. Recheck trigger: either section changes what Claude Code does when thinking
+  is off and the prescribed level is `xhigh` or `max`, or changes which models accept thinking off.
 - **Effort literals do not all reach every surface, and the literal set is not the whole set.**
   Count `max` wherever text sets it through `CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL`, `--effort`, `/effort`, or
   skill and subagent `effort` frontmatter, the frontmatter case being a surface this skill already
@@ -1203,7 +1204,7 @@ since each prescribes a request the model refuses.
   **Only the API form belongs to this arm.** On **the models in I17-a's no-effect
   set** the harness thinking-disable surfaces fail differently, and that failure is I17-a's, not
   this row's: we treat thinking as unable to be turned off there, and the session toggle,
-  `alwaysThinkingEnabled` and `MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=0` as silent no-ops rather than errors. **For
+  `alwaysThinkingEnabled` and `MAX_THINKING_TOKENS=0` as having no effect rather than as errors. **For
   the Mythos models the harness pages state nothing**, so this row makes no claim about their
   harness surfaces in either direction; the API reject is the whole of what is stated for them.
   Pointer: for the per-model accepted values, see [thinking: configuring
@@ -1212,7 +1213,7 @@ since each prescribes a request the model refuses.
   table](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/thinking-troubleshooting#supported-models);
   for the harness no-ops, see
   [model configuration: extended thinking](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config#extended-thinking).
-  As of: 2026-10-01. Recheck trigger: a model gains or loses a 400 for `"disabled"` in either
+  As of: 2026-11-04. Recheck trigger: a model gains or loses a 400 for `"disabled"` in either
   table, or the harness no-op list changes.
 - **Third arm, API requests only: `between_tools` at a level or with a change it refuses.** Flag
   instruction text that prescribes, or a code sample it tells the reader to send, a request to