diff --git a/ai/prompt-io/claude/20260702T161624Z_65bf9df5_prompt_io.md b/ai/prompt-io/claude/20260702T161624Z_65bf9df5_prompt_io.md
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+---
+model: claude-fable-5
+service: claude
+session: f4da6654-63f9-4641-b567-f200da46d697
+timestamp: 2026-07-02T16:16:24Z
+git_ref: 65bf9df5
+scope: tests
+substantive: true
+raw_file: 20260702T161624Z_65bf9df5_prompt_io.raw.md
+---
+
+## Prompt
+
+> attempt to resolve
+> https://github.com/goodboy/tractor/issues/474
+> do it with /open-wkt.
+
+Issue #474: "We need test suite for
+`.trionics.start_or_cancel()`" — dig out the use case
+from `modden` as a unit test (and provide motivation
+for upstream `trio` to possibly provide better
+porcelain around this case). The wrapper landed via
+PR #464 with no tests.
+
+## Response summary
+
+New `tests/trionics/test_taskc.py` (9 tests) covering
+`start_or_cancel()`, authored in wkt
+`start_or_cancel_tests_474`.
+
+Behaviour was first probed empirically (trio 0.29):
+the lossy `RuntimeError('child exited without calling
+task_status.started()')` only fires when the child
+exits pre-`.started()` WITHOUT propagating the ambient
+`Cancelled` — i.e. when the child (or lib code it
+calls) absorbs the cancel in a graceful-teardown
+pattern; a well-behaved child surfaces `Cancelled`
+straight out of `.start()`. The `modden`
+`progman.open_wks()` use case was reconstructed from
+`modden/runtime/progman.py` accordingly.
+
+Tests (each `use_start_or_cancel` parametrization also
+pins upstream trio's current lossy behaviour as
+wart-documentation):
+
+- `test_sibling_err_not_masked_by_startup_rte` — the
+  `modden` case: sibling error OOB-cancels the shared
+  nursery scope; with the wrapper ONLY the root-cause
+  `ValueError` escapes; bare `.start()` adds the lossy
+  RTE alongside.
+- `test_pure_oob_cancel_not_morphed_to_rte` — plain
+  ancestor `cs.cancel()`: wrapper → clean exit; bare
+  → eg-wrapped RTE.
+- `test_genuine_startup_rte_still_raised` — no
+  cancellation → protocol-bug RTE re-raised same as
+  bare.
+- `test_childs_own_rte_never_demoted_to_cancel` — a
+  child's own `RuntimeError('never got started!')` /
+  `RuntimeError(1234)` under ambient cancel is never
+  demoted to `Cancelled` (exact-msg-match + str-guard
+  regression cover).
+- `test_started_value_and_args_passthru` — happy path:
+  positional args, `name=`, `.started()` value.
+
+Verified: 9/9 pass; 0 flakes across 50 hammer runs;
+two impl mutations (checkpoint removed; guard relaxed
+to substring match) each caught by exactly the
+targeted tests; `tests/trionics/` +
+`tests/test_trioisms.py` subset green (23 passed,
+5 xfailed); ruff clean; 69-col style.
+
+## Files changed
+
+- `tests/trionics/test_taskc.py` — new
+  `start_or_cancel()` unit-test suite (gh #474).
+
+## Human edits
+
+Pending review — session paused pre-commit per user
+deadline; nothing committed as of this entry.
diff --git a/ai/prompt-io/claude/20260702T161624Z_65bf9df5_prompt_io.raw.md b/ai/prompt-io/claude/20260702T161624Z_65bf9df5_prompt_io.raw.md
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+---
+model: claude-fable-5
+service: claude
+timestamp: 2026-07-02T16:16:24Z
+git_ref: 65bf9df5
+diff_cmd: git diff main..wkt/start_or_cancel_tests_474
+---
+
+# Raw output — gh #474 `start_or_cancel()` test suite
+
+## Generated test code
+
+> `git diff main..wkt/start_or_cancel_tests_474 -- tests/trionics/test_taskc.py`
+
+Prose summary of the generated module
+(`tests/trionics/test_taskc.py`):
+
+- module docstring framing the `trio.Nursery.start()`
+  startup-cancellation wart, the wrapper's repair, and
+  the intent that `use_start_or_cancel=False` params
+  double as upstream-trio wart-documentation (break on
+  a trio upgrade → upstream may have shipped porcelain,
+  re-audit the wrapper); cites gh #474 / PR #464 and
+  `modden`'s `progman.open_wks()` as the source use
+  case.
+- shared children: `absorbs_cancel_pre_started()` (the
+  graceful-teardown cancel-absorber which triggers the
+  lossy RTE path) + `raise_val_err()` (fast-erroring
+  sibling).
+- `test_sibling_err_not_masked_by_startup_rte`
+  (parametrized `use_start_or_cancel`): asserts eg
+  contains exactly one `ValueError` and, wrapper-case,
+  NO residual RTE (`eg.split(ValueError)` remainder is
+  `None`); bare-case, the residual RTE carries trio's
+  exact "child exited without calling" wording.
+- `test_pure_oob_cancel_not_morphed_to_rte`
+  (parametrized): wrapper-case runs clean and asserts
+  `cs.cancelled_caught`; bare-case asserts the
+  eg-wrapped RTE.
+- `test_genuine_startup_rte_still_raised`
+  (parametrized): no-cancel protocol bug → RTE with
+  trio's wording from both call forms.
+- `test_childs_own_rte_never_demoted_to_cancel`
+  (parametrized `rte_arg` in `'never got started!'`,
+  `1234`): child cancels the ambient scope then raises
+  its own RTE synchronously (no checkpoint between →
+  deterministically under-cancellation at catch time);
+  asserts the RTE survives with `args[0]` intact.
+- `test_started_value_and_args_passthru`: `.started()`
+  value, positional args and the `name=` kwarg (via
+  `trio.lowlevel.current_task().name`) all forward.
+
+## Non-code output (verbatim highlights)
+
+Behaviour probe (trio 0.29, scratchpad scripts) — the
+decision basis for the test shapes:
+
+```
+== B-sibling-err use_soc=False
+  start raised: RuntimeError('child exited without
+    calling task_status.started()')
+  top-level: ExceptionGroup([ValueError('sibling blew
+    up!'), RuntimeError('child exited without calling
+    task_status.started()')])
+== B-cs-cancel use_soc=False
+  top-level: ExceptionGroup([RuntimeError('child
+    exited without calling task_status.started()')])
+== B-sibling-err use_soc=True
+  start raised: Cancelled()
+  top-level: ExceptionGroup([ValueError('sibling blew
+    up!')])
+== B-cs-cancel use_soc=True
+  start raised: Cancelled()
+  top-level: clean return
+== own-rte-under-cancel (both) -> RTE('never got
+  started!') propagates unchanged
+```
+
+Key finding: with a WELL-BEHAVED (non-absorbing) child
+an OOB ancestor cancel surfaces `Cancelled` directly
+from `.start()` on trio 0.29 — the lossy RTE requires
+the child to absorb its cancel pre-`.started()`, which
+is what `modden`'s `open_from_wks` teardown did. Trio's
+nursery-exit wait defers cancel delivery to children,
+so all tested shapes are deterministic (0 flakes / 50
+runs).
+
+Mutation verification:
+
+```
+mutation 1 (checkpoint_if_cancelled removed):
+  FAILED test_sibling_err_not_masked_by_startup_rte[True]
+  FAILED test_pure_oob_cancel_not_morphed_to_rte[True]
+mutation 2 (guard relaxed to 'started' substring,
+            isinstance dropped):
+  FAILED test_childs_own_rte_never_demoted_to_cancel[never got started!]
+  FAILED test_childs_own_rte_never_demoted_to_cancel[1234]
+```
+
+Final runs:
+
+```
+tests/trionics/test_taskc.py: 9 passed in 0.03s
+hammer: 0/50 runs failed
+tests/trionics/ + tests/test_trioisms.py:
+  23 passed, 5 xfailed in 3.02s
+```
diff --git a/tests/trionics/test_taskc.py b/tests/trionics/test_taskc.py
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/tests/trionics/test_taskc.py
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+'''
+`tractor.trionics._taskc.start_or_cancel()` unit tests.
+
+`trio.Nursery.start()` collapses an out-of-band (ancestor)
+cancellation into a lossy,
+
+  `RuntimeError('child exited without calling
+  task_status.started()')`
+
+whenever the started child exits pre-`.started()` WITHOUT
+propagating the ambient `trio.Cancelled`; a common outcome
+when the child (or any lib code it calls) runs a graceful
+teardown which absorbs the cancel and returns early. Our
+`start_or_cancel()` wrapper re-surfaces the real in-flight
+cancellation in that case so the true root error/cancel
+propagates to the `.start()` caller instead.
+
+These tests verify both that repair AND document upstream
+`trio`'s current lossy behaviour via the
+`use_start_or_cancel=False` parametrizations; if a `trio`
+upgrade breaks one of THOSE cases it likely means upstream
+shipped better startup-cancellation porcelain and our
+wrapper deserves a re-audit!
+
+The core use case was dug out of `modden`'s
+`progman.open_wks()` program-spawn machinery as per gh
+issue #474; the wrapper landed originally via gh PR #464.
+
+'''
+import pytest
+import trio
+from trio import TaskStatus
+
+from tractor.trionics import start_or_cancel
+
+
+async def absorbs_cancel_pre_started(
+    task_status: TaskStatus[None] = trio.TASK_STATUS_IGNORED,
+):
+    '''
+    Swallow the ambient (ancestor-scope) cancel and return
+    early, a naughty-but-realistic graceful-teardown pattern
+    and the exact shape which causes `trio.Nursery.start()`
+    to raise its lossy startup `RuntimeError` in place of
+    the real `trio.Cancelled`.
+
+    '''
+    try:
+        await trio.sleep(2)
+    except trio.Cancelled:
+        return
+    task_status.started()
+
+
+async def raise_val_err():
+    '''
+    Sibling task which blows up (fast) thus OOB-cancelling
+    the shared parent-nursery's cancel-scope.
+
+    '''
+    await trio.lowlevel.checkpoint()
+    raise ValueError('sibling blew up!')
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'use_start_or_cancel',
+    [
+        True,
+        False,
+    ],
+)
+def test_sibling_err_not_masked_by_startup_rte(
+    use_start_or_cancel: bool,
+):
+    '''
+    The `modden.runtime.progman` use case: a sibling task
+    errors while the `.start()`-ed child is still
+    pre-`.started()`, OOB-cancelling the shared nursery
+    scope; the child absorbs its cancel (graceful teardown)
+    and exits early.
+
+    - with `start_or_cancel()` the in-flight cancellation
+      is re-surfaced as the real `trio.Cancelled` (then
+      absorbed by the cancelled nursery scope) so ONLY the
+      root-cause sibling error escapes the nursery.
+
+    - with a bare `.start()`, upstream `trio` (currently)
+      also delivers its lossy startup `RuntimeError`
+      alongside, obscuring that the child was in fact
+      cancelled due to the sibling's error.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+            tn.start_soon(raise_val_err)
+            if use_start_or_cancel:
+                await start_or_cancel(
+                    tn,
+                    absorbs_cancel_pre_started,
+                )
+            else:
+                await tn.start(absorbs_cancel_pre_started)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ExceptionGroup) as excinfo:
+        trio.run(main)
+
+    eg: ExceptionGroup = excinfo.value
+    val_eg, rest_eg = eg.split(ValueError)
+    assert len(val_eg.exceptions) == 1
+
+    if use_start_or_cancel:
+        # the re-surfaced `Cancelled` is absorbed by the
+        # (sibling-error cancelled) nursery scope leaving
+        # NO startup-noise, just the root cause.
+        assert rest_eg is None
+    else:
+        # the `trio` wart: a lossy startup RTE rides along
+        # with (and distracts from) the root cause.
+        rte = rest_eg.exceptions[0]
+        assert isinstance(rte, RuntimeError)
+        assert 'child exited without calling' in rte.args[0]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'use_start_or_cancel',
+    [
+        True,
+        False,
+    ],
+)
+def test_pure_oob_cancel_not_morphed_to_rte(
+    use_start_or_cancel: bool,
+):
+    '''
+    A plain (error-free) ancestor `CancelScope.cancel()`
+    fired while the (cancel-absorbing) child is still
+    pre-`.started()`:
+
+    - `start_or_cancel()` re-surfaces the `Cancelled` so
+      the cancelled scope exits CLEAN, no error at all.
+
+    - a bare `.start()` (currently) morphs the plain
+      cancel into an (eg-wrapped) startup `RuntimeError`.
+
+    '''
+    async def main():
+        with trio.CancelScope() as cs:
+            async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+
+                async def canceller():
+                    await trio.lowlevel.checkpoint()
+                    cs.cancel()
+
+                tn.start_soon(canceller)
+                if use_start_or_cancel:
+                    await start_or_cancel(
+                        tn,
+                        absorbs_cancel_pre_started,
+                    )
+                else:
+                    await tn.start(
+                        absorbs_cancel_pre_started,
+                    )
+
+        assert cs.cancelled_caught
+
+    if use_start_or_cancel:
+        trio.run(main)
+    else:
+        with pytest.raises(ExceptionGroup) as excinfo:
+            trio.run(main)
+
+        rte = excinfo.value.exceptions[0]
+        assert isinstance(rte, RuntimeError)
+        assert 'child exited without calling' in rte.args[0]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'use_start_or_cancel',
+    [
+        True,
+        False,
+    ],
+)
+def test_genuine_startup_rte_still_raised(
+    use_start_or_cancel: bool,
+):
+    '''
+    Absent ANY in-flight cancellation, a child exiting
+    cleanly without calling `task_status.started()` is a
+    genuine startup-protocol bug; `start_or_cancel()` must
+    re-raise the resulting `RuntimeError` exactly like a
+    bare `.start()` does.
+
+    '''
+    async def exits_wo_started(
+        task_status: TaskStatus[None] = (
+            trio.TASK_STATUS_IGNORED
+        ),
+    ):
+        await trio.lowlevel.checkpoint()
+
+    async def main():
+        async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+            with pytest.raises(RuntimeError) as excinfo:
+                if use_start_or_cancel:
+                    await start_or_cancel(
+                        tn,
+                        exits_wo_started,
+                    )
+                else:
+                    await tn.start(exits_wo_started)
+
+            rte = excinfo.value
+            assert (
+                'child exited without calling'
+                in
+                rte.args[0]
+            )
+
+    trio.run(main)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'rte_arg',
+    [
+        # a bare `'started' in args[0]` substring match
+        # would (wrongly) demote this one to a `Cancelled`
+        # under ambient cancellation.
+        'never got started!',
+        # non-`str` first-arg edge; must not `TypeError`
+        # inside the wrapper's msg-match guard.
+        1234,
+    ],
+)
+def test_childs_own_rte_never_demoted_to_cancel(
+    rte_arg: str|int,
+):
+    '''
+    A child's OWN `RuntimeError`, one which merely smells
+    like `trio`'s startup wording (or carries a non-`str`
+    first arg), raised under ambient cancellation must NOT
+    be demoted to a `trio.Cancelled` by the exact-msg-match
+    guard inside `start_or_cancel()`; the real error must
+    always propagate to the caller unchanged.
+
+    '''
+    async def cancels_cs_then_raises(
+        task_status: TaskStatus[None] = (
+            trio.TASK_STATUS_IGNORED
+        ),
+    ):
+        # cancel the ambient (ancestor) scope then raise
+        # sync-ly, no checkpoint between, so the child
+        # deterministically dies with ITS error while the
+        # caller is under effective cancellation.
+        cs.cancel()
+        raise RuntimeError(rte_arg)
+
+    cs = trio.CancelScope()
+
+    async def main():
+        with cs:
+            async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+                await start_or_cancel(
+                    tn,
+                    cancels_cs_then_raises,
+                )
+
+    with pytest.raises(ExceptionGroup) as excinfo:
+        trio.run(main)
+
+    rte = excinfo.value.exceptions[0]
+    assert isinstance(rte, RuntimeError)
+    assert rte.args[0] == rte_arg
+
+
+def test_started_value_and_args_passthru():
+    '''
+    Happy path: positional args, the `name=` kwarg and the
+    `.started(value)`-delivered value all pass through
+    `start_or_cancel()` identically to a bare `.start()`.
+
+    '''
+    async def echo_started(
+        *args,
+        task_status: TaskStatus[tuple] = (
+            trio.TASK_STATUS_IGNORED
+        ),
+    ):
+        task_name: str = trio.lowlevel.current_task().name
+        task_status.started((
+            args,
+            task_name,
+        ))
+
+    async def main():
+        async with trio.open_nursery() as tn:
+            (
+                args,
+                task_name,
+            ) = await start_or_cancel(
+                tn,
+                echo_started,
+                'chillin',
+                10,
+                name='doggy',
+            )
+            assert args == ('chillin', 10)
+            assert task_name == 'doggy'
+
+    trio.run(main)