feat(project-layer): Project-layer v1 finalization — canonical shape with warn-only compat (M9)

[CiroGamboa]

TL;DR

Activates the finalized Project-layer shape from M2.5 with warn-only compatibility — every legacy shape a real task pack ships continues to load unchanged, with a DeprecationWarning naming the file, the offending key, and the concrete migration action. No hard breaks in this release. Post-M9 follow-up #533 tracks the future strict-rejection flip once a deprecation-window release cycle has closed.

Also: an actors.user runtime binding so a shape that was previously parsed but inert now actually configures the user simulator (backward-compat via the user_simulator alias); a schema-derived filter that fixes an M4 regression in the example-microservices-pack load path; and pack-wiring tests promoted to the required PR gate so a similar regression cannot ship silently again.

Closes #265, #235, #213, #277.

Impact on existing tasks — read this first

Zero hard breaks. A task pack that loads against main today continues to load, with DeprecationWarnings that point at the migration path. Concrete guarantees:

• Missing project.yaml — packs without one continue to load via a synthesised default. The synthesiser now emits a DeprecationWarning naming the searched root and the exact fix (Add a project.yaml at the pack root — name: alone suffices). Follow-up Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533 flips this to a hard error after a deprecation window.
• Unknown keys in project.yaml / run_configs/*.yaml / task.yaml / grading.yaml no longer fail load. construct_config warns with a message shaped unknown key 'mox_turns' in dev.yaml — did you mean 'max_turns'? Rename 'mox_turns' to 'max_turns' (or remove it if unused). (tracked in #533) — top-level scan only; the key is silently dropped from the model instance so existing configs keep working.
• orchestrator.max_turns default stays at int = 50 (pre-M9 always-on-cap semantic). Tasks that ship max_turns: 100 continue to clamp to the run-cap of 50. Follow-up Follow-up (post-M9): opt-in OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default flip (redo #265) #534 tracks the eventual opt-in-cap flip (default int | None = None) after the deprecation window.
• stack: null / stack.compose_file: null in a task's environment_manifest (and in a project's default_environment) emit a DeprecationWarning and drop the null so the loader treats the key as unset (inherit-from-project). Non-None non-str compose_file still hard-raises a type error.
• Direct-Python TaskConfig(user_simulator=UserSimulatorConfig(...)) continues to work via a mode="before" shim that lifts the kwarg into actors["user"] with a warning — the field itself is gone, but the compat path is preserved.

Semantic changes covered by aliases (still accepted with warning):

• actors.user is now the canonical author shape for the user simulator and drives it at runtime. Top-level user_simulator (either in YAML or as a Python kwarg) is a legacy alias.
• evaluation.projects replaces evaluation.task_packs.
• network_policy lowercase enum values (no_internet, limited_internet, full_internet) replace uppercase (NO_INTERNET, ...). Uppercase accepted with warning, lowercased at parse time.
• security_context_defaults.run_as_user / .run_as_group replace .user / .group. Legacy accepted with warning; disagreeing values fail loud.
• stack sub-object on default_environment is the canonical substrate shape; flat compose_file / runner_service at the top level of EnvironmentPatch are accepted with warning.

Deprecation message quality bar. Every warning M9 emits follows a uniform actionable shape: what legacy shape triggered it, where it lives (file basename via source_context), why it is deprecated, how to migrate (a concrete key rename or block move with a worked example), and when it goes away (a (tracked in #NNN) suffix pointing at the follow-up issue that carries the retirement schedule). Example messages produced against the real private ots task pack:

No project.yaml found under /path/to/tau_manufacturing; using a synthesised default.
  Add a `project.yaml` at the pack root (`name: tau_manufacturing` alone suffices) to
  remove this warning. A future release will require project.yaml at load time.
  (tracked in #533)

Top-level 'user_simulator' in task.yaml is deprecated; use 'actors.user' instead.
  Move the block under actors.user: `user_simulator: {mode: llm, persona: X}` becomes
  `actors: {user: {mode: llm, persona: X}}`. (tracked in #533)

evaluation.task_packs in dev.yaml is deprecated; use evaluation.projects instead.
  Rename the key: `evaluation.task_packs: [...]` becomes `evaluation.projects: [...]`
  — value shape is unchanged. (tracked in #533)

network_policy: NO_INTERNET in project.yaml is deprecated; use network_policy: no_internet
  instead. Network policy enum values are lowercase — lowercase the value in place:
  `network_policy: NO_INTERNET` becomes `network_policy: no_internet`. (tracked in #533)

SecurityContext.user in project.yaml is deprecated; use SecurityContext.run_as_user
  instead. Rename the key in `security_context_defaults`: `user: 1000` becomes
  `run_as_user: 1000`. (tracked in #533)

Design walkthrough

flowchart TB
    subgraph before ["Before M9 (main)"]
        b_yaml["task.yaml + project.yaml (optional)"]
        b_loader["_task_loader.py<br/>whole-dict deep_merge<br/>silent extra=None drop"]
        b_config["TaskConfig<br/>extra=None (silent drop)<br/>user_simulator field lives here"]
        b_runtime["runtime reads<br/>task.user_simulator"]
        b_yaml --> b_loader
        b_loader --> b_config
        b_config --> b_runtime
    end

    subgraph after ["After M9 (this PR — warn-only)"]
        a_yaml["task.yaml + project.yaml<br/>(project.yaml still optional — warn)"]
        a_dep["deprecations.py<br/>per-layer alias coercion<br/>source_context threading<br/>tracker-suffixed messages"]
        a_loader["_task_loader.py<br/>filter TaskDefaults-only keys<br/>then deep_merge"]
        a_construct["construct_config helper<br/>warns on unknown top-level keys<br/>difflib closest-match suggestion<br/>file + key + how-to-fix + tracker"]
        a_config["TaskConfig<br/>extra=ignore + warn-on-unknown<br/>actors is canonical home<br/>resolve_user_simulator()<br/>user_simulator= kwarg shim"]
        a_synth["synthesize_default_project<br/>DeprecationWarning<br/>fallback for missing project.yaml"]
        a_runtime["runtime reads<br/>actors['user']"]
        a_yaml --> a_dep
        a_dep --> a_loader
        a_loader --> a_construct
        a_construct --> a_config
        a_config --> a_runtime
        a_yaml -.no project.yaml.-> a_synth
        a_synth --> a_config
    end

    before -.M9 keystone: #213/#529 → soften: #531/88b0989.-> after

    style a_dep fill:#e1f5e1
    style a_construct fill:#e1f5e1
    style a_synth fill:#fff3cd
    style a_config fill:#e1f5e1

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Design choices

• Warn-only + follow-up issue for the strict flip (this softening pass) rather than shipping hard breaks. The M4 keystone (originally on this branch) shipped strict validation and synth removal. External task packs — including the private ots packs at tolokaforge-tasks/config/tau_manufacturing/ — still ship the pre-M9 shape (no project.yaml, root-level run_config.yaml, orchestrator.workers dual-home alias, orchestrator.runtime: "docker"). Any hard break would fail those packs at load. Follow-up Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533 lands the strict flip after a deprecation-window release cycle.
• extra="ignore" on all Project-layer models + construct_config warns on unknown keys. Model-level extra="ignore" keeps loads permissive. The loader-level scan (before Pydantic construction) catches unknown top-level keys and warns with a file+key+difflib+tracker message. Nested unknown keys are silently dropped in this release — the recursive scan comes back with the strict flip in Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533. This keeps the message quality high without requiring a full schema-walk implementation.
• Source-path threading via ContextVar. warn_deprecated reads source_context (a ContextVar[Path | None]) so every alias warning names the file basename without threading source through every coercer signature. construct_config, load_project_config, _task_loader.load_task_yaml, and _load_domain_dict set the context; Python-level callers (no loader in the stack) get warnings without a in <file> clause.
• follow_up_issue param on warn_deprecated defaulting to #533. Every alias points at the strict-flip follow-up as its retirement tracker. synthesize_default_project also points at Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533; the max_turns docs point at Follow-up (post-M9): opt-in OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default flip (redo #265) #534. Users have a concrete issue to subscribe to.
• actors.user runtime binding kept (the M4 Stage 2 work). Alias covers the YAML compat surface, direct-Python user_simulator= kwarg shim covers the Python compat surface. This is a soft semantic change but reversible via the alias if a caller notices behavior drift.
• Loader filter for project.task_defaults (from perf(tests): integration suite dominated by Docker lifecycle — proposals to speed up #277): the merge into task dicts excludes TaskDefaults-only keys (grading_defaults, continue_prompt) that would otherwise trip the strict-schema warnings on every task load. Derived from TaskDefaults.model_fields - TaskConfig.model_fields, not hardcoded — future project-only defaults handled automatically.
• Pack tests promoted from tests/integration/ → tests/canonical/ (from perf(tests): integration suite dominated by Docker lifecycle — proposals to speed up #277) so a future regression that breaks a shipped pack fails on the introducing PR (test-smoke gate), not weeks later on nightly.

Concepts introduced

• tolokaforge/core/deprecations.py — canonical home for schema-shape alias coercers + warn_deprecated uniform message shape helper + source_context for file-path threading + POST_M9_STRICT_FLIP_ISSUE = "533" retirement tracker.
• construct_config(model, data, *, source, section) -> BaseModel in project_loader.py — the loader-side warn-on-unknown-key helper. Every YAML load site (project, task, run, grading) routes through it.
• TaskConfig.resolve_user_simulator() -> UserSimulatorConfig — reads actors["user"] and applies simulator defaults for unset fields. Called by the conductor and native adapter.
• _lift_user_simulator_kwarg + _accept_legacy_user_simulator_kwarg mode="before" validator on TaskConfig / TaskDefaults — the direct-Python compat shim for callers passing user_simulator=... as a constructor kwarg.
• Per-pack run_configs/<name>.yaml convention for in-tree examples — replaces the pack-root run_config.yaml layout. External packs (including the private ots pack) still use the root-level shape; both work.

Plan

The plan lives at ~/.claude/plans/toloka-tolokaforge/issue-213-m4-strict-schema.md (M4 keystone) plus the softening plan at ~/.claude/plans/dapper-painting-key.md (this PR's rollout). Stage-by-stage in the commits below.

Suggested review order

1. 0bd3bf6 (OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default should be None, not 50 #265 max_turns default) — small warmup; extract-only, no semantic change (the flip was reverted in 88b0989).
2. 443c367 (Reject stack: null and stack.compose_file: null at load time #235 stack:null rejection) — establishes the loader-parse-boundary pattern.
3. ad15b69 (Project layer — strict schema + example-pack migration (M4) #213 M4 keystone) — 8 stages: deprecations.py, actors.user runtime binding, all 14 packs canonical, extra="forbid" + difflib, synth removal.
4. b1b9711 (perf(tests): integration suite dominated by Docker lifecycle — proposals to speed up #277 regression fix + pack tests promoted) — the M4 regression fix + pytest-xdist + run_configs/dev.yaml path renames.
5. 88b0989 (softening — this commit) — reverts the hard breaks to warn-only, restores the synthesiser, reverts max_turns default, adds direct-Python shims, upgrades deprecation message quality, files follow-ups Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533 / Follow-up (post-M9): opt-in OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default flip (redo #265) #534.

Discovered issues

Filed as follow-ups (retirement schedule tracker):

• Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533 — post-M9 strict flip: re-flip Project-layer extra="forbid", remove synthesize_default_project, re-flip stack: null to hard errors, add the recursive unknown-key scan. Fires one release cycle after M9 lands.
• Follow-up (post-M9): opt-in OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default flip (redo #265) #534 — post-M9 max_turns default flip (redo OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default should be None, not 50 #265): flip int = 50 back to int | None = None after the deprecation window closes.

Pre-existing (from M4 planning):

• fix(config): orchestrator.timeouts default should be opt-in (None), not an always-on cap #489 — orchestrator.timeouts opt-in default (sibling of OrchestratorConfig.max_turns default should be None, not 50 #265). Deferred to bundle with M5's turn_s/episode_s → trial_seconds/tool_call_seconds rename.
• Project layer: actors.user composition (backstory_template + per-task scenario) is unbuildable under strict ActorSpec #499 — actor composition (backstory_template + per-task scenario) unbuildable under strict ActorSpec. M4 corrected the doc example; the composition feature is post-M9 work.

Test plan

• uv run pytest -m unit — 2640 pass, 1 skip. Every M9-touched path + previously-strict tests converted to soft-warn assertions.

• uv run pytest -m canonical — 526 pass. Snapshot regenerated for the error-message shape.

• uv run lint_check — clean.

• End-to-end load-probe against the private ots task pack (tolokaforge-tasks/config/tau_manufacturing/smoke_comm_rubrics_kimi_k2.6.yaml) — loads with 0 errors and 5 actionable DeprecationWarnings naming every legacy shape it uses:

  1. Missing project.yaml at pack root
  2. orchestrator.workers → compute.workers (pre-existing dual-home alias)
  3. orchestrator.max_attempt_retries → compute.max_attempt_retries (pre-existing)
  4. orchestrator.runtime = "docker" → alias for "shared" (pre-existing)
  5. orchestrator.runtime deprecated (backend selection now task-driven, pre-existing)

• Post-merge: any external pack that today loads on main continues to load with the new warnings pointing at the migration path. The strict-flip follow-up (Follow-up (post-M9): re-flip Project-layer strict validation + remove synthesize_default_project #533) will land these breaks properly after the deprecation-window release cycle.

CI note: the hygiene-review workflow lane has a known infrastructure failure on this repo right now; merging past it is standard (matches the last several PRs on main).

Closes #213, #235, #265, #277.

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