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+# Audio Ownership & Mixer Plan — Routes, Leases, and the Engine-Owned Mixer
+
+Follow-up track to `docs/audio-engine-tlc.md` (Part V step 7, "ownership work",
+deferred there because it needs the rig_builder repo). Drafted 2026-07-14 on
+`refactor/audio-engine-tlc` after the TLC phases + PR #107 review fixes landed.
+
+**Goal**: the audio engine *owns* audio settings, devices, chains, and output.
+Everything else — bundled screens, plugins, minigames — is a *client* that
+requests routes and holds leases. One ownership model (leases), one output
+model (mixer channels), meeting at the route.
+
+Substrate this plan builds on (already shipped on the TLC branch):
+
+| Shipped | Used here as |
+|---|---|
+| `chainGeneration` + mutation serializer | tamper-evident seal under the lease protocol; becomes per-route |
+| refcounted monitor-mute arbiter | precedent + implementation pattern for lease scopes |
+| single persistence store (file-backed) | where lease-relevant user prefs (tone engine) live |
+| `PackedStereoRing` template | the mixer channel's ring |
+| `RendererBus` (ring + resampler + prime gate + fill clamp + metrics) | becomes `MixerChannel`, instantiated N times |
+| executor route map + outcome vocabulary + authorization gating | grows into the lease registry |
+| rebuild barrier + editor try-lock discipline (PR #107) | unchanged; leases sit above it |
+
+---
+
+## 1. Terminology (binding — settle it before any code)
+
+| Term | Meaning | Today's artifact |
+|---|---|---|
+| **source** | engine-side pool entry (`SourceChain`, max 8): capture binding + detection + its own `SignalChain` | `sources[i]` |
+| **route** | the executor/lease-level name for a source's chain or a mixer channel; what callers request and hold | route key (`desktop-main`) |
+| **slot** | a processor position *within* a chain | `ProcessorSlot`, `slotId` |
+| **lease** | exclusive, revocable authority over one scope (a route's chain, device config, …) | monitor-mute arbiter (single-scope precursor) |
+| **channel** | a mixer input: ring + gain/mute/meter, owned by the engine, held by a client | `RendererBus` (the only one today) |
+
+"Slot" is NOT used for sources/routes anywhere — it already means chain
+position and overloading it will corrupt every future review. The user-facing
+"player slot" is the `desktop-main` route bound to source 0.
+
+---
+
+## 2. The lease registry
+
+Lives in the **main process** as an extension of `audio-effects-executor.ts`
+(it already has routes, outcome strings, and authorization gating). Native
+stays dumb: per-route `chainGeneration` remains the detection layer beneath
+the polite JS protocol — a lease violation that somehow reaches native is
+still caught as a foreign write.
+
+### Two primitives, not one
+
+The conflict inventory (§6) shows two distinct shapes of contention, so the
+registry offers two primitives:
+
+1. **Exclusive lease** — conflicting authority; one holder at a time
+   (refusal / takeover semantics as below). For: chains, device config,
+   transport.
+2. **Refcounted demand** — *additive* intent ("I need X on") where multiple
+   consumers legitimately overlap; the engine acts while count > 0. For:
+   engine-run/capture, detection arming. This is the monitor-mute arbiter
+   generalized into a registry primitive — same semantics, one
+   implementation instead of one per setting.
+
+### Scopes
+
+Exclusive-lease scopes:
+
+- `device-config` — device/type/sample-rate/buffer AND input-channel select
+  (one global scope)
+- `signal-chain:<route>` — a specific route's chain, including its noise
+  gate (per-route)
+- `playback` — backing transport + playhead authority (one global scope;
+  the playback screen acquires on song load, releases on exit — verified
+  2026-07-14 that splitscreen followers are transport read-only)
+- `monitor-state` — already arbitrated; folds into the registry as a scope
+- `mixer-channel:<id>` — an output channel's gain/mute (per-channel; the
+  holder is whoever requested the channel)
+
+Refcounted-demand scopes:
+
+- `capture` — "the engine must be running and capturing"
+- `detection:<route>` — "ML note detection must be armed on this route"
+
+Different holders hold different scopes concurrently. The tuner reading pitch
+holds nothing — reads are never lease-gated, only mutations.
+
+### Holder identity is DERIVED, never declared
+
+The main process derives `holderId` from the IPC sender (webContents id +
+plugin manifest), never from a caller-supplied string. Main-process /
+engine-internal callers use a fixed enum of well-known synthetic ids (§8.4).
+Granularity limit: plugins sharing one renderer are distinguished only by
+capability-layer attribution — see compound identity, §9. Consequences, all
+load-bearing:
+
+- **Death invalidation is automatic**: webContents destroyed → every lease,
+  demand, and channel handle it held is released; reload gets a short grace
+  window instead (§8.2). No heartbeat protocol needed for the realistic
+  failure modes.
+- No spoofing, no accidental identity collisions between plugins.
+- `getHolder()` and telemetry name the real owner, which is what makes the
+  takeover UI and field diagnostics honest.
+
+### Layered values (base + override)
+
+For settings both the user AND a lease holder legitimately write (first
+case: the noise gate, §6.2): the user surface writes a persistent **base
+preference**; the scope's lease holder may set an **override** that lives
+exactly as long as the lease; release (or revocation, or holder death)
+restores the base. The monitor-mute arbiter's user-pref-plus-overrides
+model applied to arbitrary scalars — implemented once in the registry, used
+by any scope that declares a layered setting.
+
+### API shape (executor-level, contract-snapshotted)
+
+```
+acquireLease(scope, holderId, opts) -> { granted | refused(holder, reason) }
+releaseLease(scope, holderId)
+getHolder(scope) -> holderId | null
+events: lease-granted, lease-released, lease-revoked, lease-refused
+```
+
+### Policy decisions (settled in discussion, 2026-07-14)
+
+- **Refusal by default.** A second caller is refused while the scope is held.
+  No silent stealing — that recreates today's races with extra steps.
+- **User-initiated takeover** as the only revocation path for contended
+  scopes (practically: `desktop-main`). The UI offers "take over"; the
+  registry revokes with a `lease-revoked` event so the old holder can
+  degrade gracefully. Per-route leases make contention rare — a refused
+  caller can usually request its OWN route instead of fighting.
+- **Death-triggered invalidation** — the hard requirement. Leases are tied
+  to observable lifecycles: webContents destroyed (reload = grace window,
+  §8.2), plugin teardown, or executor route release. A wedged/crashed holder
+  must never brick a scope until restart. Pattern precedent: vst-crash-guard
+  sentinels.
+
+---
+
+### Ownership at a glance
+
+Every aspect of the engine, its owning authority, and who holds what. "Engine"
+in the authority column means: the engine is the only mutator; everyone else
+goes through the named scope/API. Reads (meters, playhead, chain state,
+detection results) are always free.
+
+| Aspect | Authority | Scope / primitive | Typical holder | Everyone else |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| Devices, types, sample rate, buffer sizes | Engine | `device-config` lease | audio_engine device screen | read-only; route requests |
+| Input channel select (per source) | Engine | `device-config` lease (per-route later) | device screen | request via route API (6.6) |
+| Engine run / capture state | Engine | `capture` demand (refcount) | any consumer needing live input (tuner, minigames, notedetect, bongocat) | raw start/stop = device screen only |
+| Signal chain of a route (slots, params, presets) | Engine | `signal-chain:<route>` lease | tone engine (Rig Builder or native) for `desktop-main`; requester for own routes | refused (`held`); takeover UI on `desktop-main` |
+| Noise gate (per route) | Engine | layered value on `signal-chain:<route>` | base: user settings UI; override: chain lease holder | refused |
+| Monitor mute / kill | Engine | `monitor-state` (arbiter: user pref + overrides) | user pref + transient suppressors | via arbiter only |
+| Master / backing / input gains | Engine | user-scoped, native-clamped (TLC fix) | user UIs | last-writer-wins, sanitized |
+| Backing transport + playhead | Engine | `playback` lease (global) | playback screen | refused; verifier feed rides the scope's contract (6.5) |
+| Detection arming (ML/ONNX) | Engine | `detection:<route>` demand (refcount) | notedetect, minigames, strum-fighter — concurrently | reads (`getActiveDetection`) always free |
+| Verifier offsets (per route) | Engine | route's detection scope | calibration UI of the route holder | plugin-local verifiers unaffected (6.7) |
+| Mixer: channel lifecycle + audio content | Engine | tier-3 produce handle (§5.1) | the channel's requester | no handle, no writes |
+| Mixer: channel gain / mute (the fader) | Engine | tier-2 mix control — NOT leased | the user, via any mixer UI (`audio-mix` capability for plugins) | last-writer-wins, native-clamped, event-synced |
+| Mixer: default channel #0 content | Engine | channel #0 produce handle | juce-audio feeder (feedBack repo) | push refused without handle |
+| Mixer: which channels StreamSink taps | Engine | structure (tier 4) | stream-settings UI via lease | read-only |
+| Settings persistence | Main process | file store (single writer since TLC) | audio-bridge | localStorage = migration source only |
+
+Rule of thumb encoded above: **content and structure are held; faders and
+reads are free.**
+
+## 3. Route requests — input AND output through one API
+
+Callers never touch source indices (the `stageSlots` fragility lesson: no
+client-side index coupling). They request a route with properties and get an
+opaque handle they now hold.
+
+```
+requestRoute({ kind: 'input-physical', device, channel })  -> route | refusal
+requestRoute({ kind: 'input-virtual', midi: true })        -> route | refusal
+requestRoute({ kind: 'output', label, latencyHint })       -> route | refusal
+releaseRoute(route)
+```
+
+- **input-physical** — a device+channel binding (existing bind rules: pool cap
+  8 sources, 3 extra devices, duplicate/primary checks). Comes with a leasable
+  signal chain. **Consent-gated**: binding a microphone/interface is a
+  privacy-adjacent user-visible act → flows through the executor's existing
+  authorization gating (`user-action` / `restore-selection`); a plugin cannot
+  silently start capturing.
+- **input-virtual** — NEW engine capability (`addVirtualSource()`): a pool
+  source with no capture binding, silent input feed, full chain + detection +
+  mixer participation. MIDI reaches its chain via the existing per-slot
+  `queueMidiMessage`. Unlocks: MIDI-driven minigames (VSTi in the chain),
+  metronome, device-setup test tone.
+- **output** — a mixer channel: ring + gain/mute/meter, no chain. Cheap;
+  granted freely up to a hard cap (~16–32, refusal `no-capacity`); channels
+  silent + unfilled for N min are reaped (`channel-removed`), holder
+  re-requests transparently on next push.
+- **Composite for free**: an input route's chain output IS a mixer channel;
+  requesting an input route implicitly yields its output channel.
+
+Refusal vocabulary (extends the executor's outcome strings): `no-capacity`,
+`device-unavailable`, `already-bound`, `user-action-required`, `held`.
+
+Asymmetry to encode deliberately: output = cheap + consent-free; input =
+scarce + consent-gated.
+
+The device-setup flow creates the physical routes the *user* wires up
+(`desktop-main` = source 0); plugins request additional routes.
+
+---
+
+## 4. Tone-engine consolidation
+
+A "tone engine" is simply **the holder of `signal-chain:desktop-main`**.
+
+- New user setting (file-backed store): which provider auto-acquires that
+  lease on session start / song load — Rig Builder, Audio Engine native,
+  (future providers register through a capability).
+- Everyone else's chain writes are *refused*, not raced. Kills, permanently:
+  rig_builder's transient-kill/`_rbUnmuteTimer` timing hacks, the audio_engine
+  screen's ~30 direct `clearChain` sites, the legacy direct `loadPreset` path
+  (`audio-effects.legacy-native-load`).
+- **Tone auto-switching moves INTO the tone engine** (decision): switching is
+  a tone-engine responsibility, not a separate service. The audio_engine
+  bundle's `applyToneMappingsNow` / `applyToneAutomationFor` migrate behind
+  the provider interface.
+- Cross-repo sequencing: executor lease API lands first (this repo),
+  rig_builder migrates second (own repo), legacy path goes log-once-
+  deprecated, then dies.
+
+---
+
+## 5. The engine-owned mixer
+
+Every audible thing becomes a channel on one native mixer:
+
+```
+Mixer (engine-owned)
+  ├─ guitar buses        (input routes' chain outputs — incl. virtual sources)
+  ├─ backing player      (engine-internal channel)
+  ├─ default channel #0  (permanent: renderer master via loopback capture —
+  │                       every sound that doesn't claim a bespoke channel)
+  ├─ plugin channels     (stems, metronome, minigame SFX — requested routes)
+  └─ → device output; StreamSink taps configurable channel subsets
+```
+
+- **`MixerChannel` = RendererBus generalized.** The ring, producer-side
+  linear resampler, prime gate, fill clamp, flush flag, and metrics move
+  as-is behind a channel registry; per-channel gain/mute/meter on top.
+- **Channel #0 is the permanent default, not a compat shim** (decision,
+  2026-07-14): the `getDisplayMedia` loopback capture keeps feeding it, so
+  any renderer audio that never requests a bespoke channel — legacy plugins,
+  UI sounds, one-off `<audio>` tags — still reaches exclusive-mode outputs
+  with zero integration work. Bespoke channels are the opt-in upgrade for
+  producers that want their own gain/mute/meter/diagnostics.
+- **Double-audio guard**: a producer that migrates to a bespoke channel must
+  route its WebAudio graph away from the renderer master (its own
+  destination), otherwise it plays twice — once through its channel, once
+  through #0's capture. The channel-request API docs make this the
+  requester's contract; the stems migration is the reference example. A diag
+  heuristic (bespoke channel active + #0 meter elevated) flags violations
+  (§8.6).
+- **Direct tester payoff**: the stems plugin pushes PCM into its own channel
+  instead of riding the aggregate #0 path, so a renderer main-thread stall
+  no longer starves stem audio behind everything else, and per-channel
+  underflow counters mean field logs name WHICH channel starved (the ASIO
+  stem-glitch investigation wanted exactly this).
+- **Latency**: each channel reports its residency into `getLatencyBreakdown`
+  (one owner for every term — the TLC invariant holds).
+- **Transport v1 = per-channel IPC push** (today's known-good renderer-bus
+  path). Channel handles are opaque so a SharedArrayBuffer ring can replace
+  the transport later without API change.
+- **Format contract v1**: interleaved stereo float32 at a declared source
+  rate, producer-side resample. Multichannel/int16 are non-goals.
+- **Reclaim behavior**: channel death (holder gone) fades to silence — never
+  a click, never a stuck channel.
+
+### 5.1 Exposed surface — authority stays in the engine, control is tiered
+
+Principle: the engine owns the mixer; callers get *tiers* of access. The key
+separation is **producer vs. mix**: the holder controls a channel's content
+and lifecycle, but the *fader belongs to the user* — mix controls must work
+from any UI without holding anything (OS-volume-mixer model).
+
+| Tier | Who | Gate | Surface |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **1. Observe** | anyone | none (read-only) | `mixer.listChannels()` → id, label, kind (`default` / `plugin` / `engine`), holder, gain/mute, meters, fill + underflow counters; events `channel-added` / `channel-removed` / `channel-changed`. Fully event-driven mixer UIs — playback screen, plugins, diag overlay all render from the same feed. |
+| **2. Mix** | user-facing UIs; plugins via the existing `audio-mix` capability | capability, NOT a lease | `mixer.setChannelGain(id, v)` / `mixer.setChannelMute(id, bool)`. Engine clamps natively (`sanitizeStreamGain` pattern — no JS-side trust), broadcasts `channel-changed` so every open mixer view stays in sync. Last-writer-wins is CORRECT here (two sliders on one fader is solved UX; unlike chain writers there is no compound state to corrupt). Gains persist per `holderId + label` in the file store (§8.8). |
+| **3. Produce** | the channel's holder only | opaque channel handle from `requestRoute` | push audio, flush, latency hint, release. The handle is the authority token; no handle, no writes. |
+| **4. Structure** | lease holders | lease scopes (§2) | StreamSink channel taps, device config / sample rate, channel policy. |
+
+Why tier 2 is not lease-gated: routing "turn down the stems" through the
+stems plugin's lease would force every producer to reimplement a volume API
+and would break the playback screen's mixer whenever a holder is busy or
+gone. The engine's native clamp + single event stream keeps authority intact
+while multiple UIs share the fader.
+
+Wiring: tiers 1–2 land on the preload surface as `audio.mixer.*` alongside
+the existing ~99 methods; IPC channels + result shapes join the phase-A
+contract snapshots. The playback screen's in-song mixer and the stem_mixer
+plugin both become tier-1/2 clients of the same endpoints — no bespoke
+side-channel per consumer.
+
+---
+
+## 6. Ownership conflict inventory — verified against code (2026-07-14)
+
+Sweep of every audio write-API caller across feedBack-desktop, the feedBack
+server repo (static/ + plugins/), and the plugin repos. Beyond the chain /
+monitor-mute / gains / device-settings conflicts the TLC doc already
+catalogued (Part II), these need an ownership declaration:
+
+### 6.1 🔴 `startAudio` — five-plus independent writers, no stop ownership
+
+Callers found: audio_engine screen (multiple), audio-effects-executor
+(`startAudio: true` plans), **bongocat** (`run-controller.js` — starts the
+engine if not running, with a compensating `stopAudio` if superseded),
+**tuner** (`feedBack/plugins/tuner/utils/audio.js` — same start-then-undo
+hack), **minigames** (`feedBack/plugins/minigames/screen.js`),
+**notedetect** (`screen.js`, 2 sites). Every caller reimplements
+"isRunning? → start; remember whether *I* started it" with private undo
+logic — five copies of an implicit refcount, each of which can strand the
+engine running or stop it under another user.
+
+**Declaration**: raw start/stop becomes user-only (device screen). Everyone
+else calls `requestCapture(holderId)` / `releaseCapture(holderId)` — a
+refcounted run demand on the lease registry (the monitor-mute arbiter
+pattern applied to engine-run intent; the phase-1 `userWantsAudio` split
+gave it a natural native anchor). Plan home: **phase A** (registry scope),
+migration in **B/C**.
+
+### 6.2 🔴 Noise gate — settings UI vs. nam_tone presets
+
+audio_engine screen: 17 `setNoiseGate` sites (user gate settings UI).
+nam_tone `screen.js`: writes gate threshold/enable on preset apply (2
+sites). Last-writer-wins; the settings UI silently shows stale state after
+any NAM preset applies its own gate.
+
+**Declaration**: the gate is part of the tone — it belongs to the
+`signal-chain:<route>` lease holder. The user's gate UI writes a *base
+preference*; the tone engine may override per-preset while it holds the
+lease, and the base restores on release (exactly the arbiter's
+user-pref-plus-overrides model). Plan home: **phase C/D**.
+
+### 6.3 🔴 ML detection arming — boolean toggled by multiple armers
+
+`setNoteDetectionEnabled` / chart+scoring consumers: notedetect (60 call
+sites — the primary owner), **strum-fighter** (`game.js`, chord modules),
+**highway_3d** (`feedBack/plugins/highway_3d/screen.js`). Arming is a plain
+boolean: whichever minigame/screen disarms last kills detection for a
+concurrent consumer (and arming is what gates the ONNX inference cost, so a
+leaked arm quietly burns CPU forever).
+
+**Declaration**: detection demand becomes a refcounted registry scope
+(`detection:<route>`), same pattern as 6.1. `getActiveDetection()` stays
+free (read). Plan home: **phase A** scope, consumers migrate in **C/E**.
+
+### 6.4 🟠 Renderer bus / default channel #0 — feeder lives in another repo
+
+`feedBack/static/js/juce-audio.js` owns the loopback/stems/element capture
+modes and flips `setRendererBus(enable, gain)` at 8 sites; it is today the
+*only* legitimate feeder — but nothing enforces that, and the API is on the
+public preload surface next to the ones bongocat already helps itself to.
+
+**Declaration**: channel #0's producer handle (§5.1 tier 3) is held by the
+juce-audio feeder module; `setRendererBus`/`pushRendererAudio` become the
+handle-scoped produce API and leave the free-for-all surface. Cross-repo:
+the feeder lives in the feedBack server repo. Plan home: **phase B**.
+
+### 6.5 🟠 Backing transport + playhead — split-brain across repos
+
+`juce-audio.js` (feedBack repo) drives `loadBackingTrack`/`startBacking`/
+`stopBacking`; `transport.js` + `player-controls.js` drive start/stop/seek;
+the sloppak path freezes the engine playhead and **notedetect** pushes the
+corrected playhead via `setPlayhead` for the verifier. Three modules in two
+repos plus one plugin all steer "what time is it" — the TLC doc's
+frozen-playhead leak (Part I §5), now with its writer set mapped.
+
+**Declaration**: one transport owner — the playback screen — holding the
+global `playback` scope; `setPlayhead` stops being a
+free-standing write and becomes part of the detection contract tied to that
+scope. Plan home: **phase C**, aligned with the tone-switching migration.
+
+### 6.6 🟠 Input channel selection — notedetect writes device config
+
+notedetect `screen.js` calls `setInputChannel`/`setSourceInputChannel` (4
+sites) and reads `loadDeviceSettings` — a plugin mutating what the device
+screen owns. Its motive is legitimate (calibration needs the right channel)
+but the write path is a silent conflict with the `device-config` owner.
+
+**Declaration**: channel select is `device-config` (or per-route input
+config) — notedetect *requests* it through the route API and the grant is
+user-visible. Plan home: **phase C**.
+
+### 6.7 🟡 Verifier offsets — parallel calibration surfaces
+
+Core screen sets native per-source verifier offsets; **splitscreen** runs
+its own contained-verifier offset UI (plugin-local, benign today); nothing
+stops two calibration UIs fighting over the native offset later.
+
+**Declaration**: per-route setting under the route's detection scope.
+Low urgency; document now, enforce when 6.3 lands.
+
+### 6.8 Resolution mechanics — three families, one migration strategy
+
+The seven conflicts collapse into the registry's primitives; nothing needs a
+bespoke mechanism:
+
+| Family | Mechanism (§2) | Solves |
+|---|---|---|
+| Refcounted demand | `capture`, `detection:<route>` counters | 6.1 startAudio, 6.3 detection arming |
+| Exclusive lease (+ layered values for the gate) | `signal-chain:<route>`, `playback`, `device-config` | 6.2 gate, 6.5 transport/playhead, 6.6 channel select, 6.7 verifier offsets |
+| Producer handle | channel #0 tier-3 handle (§5.1) | 6.4 renderer-bus feeder |
+
+**Migration without a flag day — deprecation shims.** Existing surfaces keep
+working while callers migrate lazily:
+
+- `startAudio()` / `stopAudio()` from a plugin context become shims over
+  `requestCapture` / `releaseCapture` with the derived holder (log-once
+  deprecated). The five hand-rolled "did *I* start it?" undo hacks
+  (bongocat, tuner, minigames, notedetect ×2) are deleted in their repos as
+  they migrate; until then the shim makes them merely redundant, not
+  harmful. Raw start/stop stays available to the device screen only.
+- `setNoteDetectionEnabled(true/false)` becomes demand acquire/release on
+  the derived holder. A holder that leaks its arm loses it on death —
+  closing the "leaked arm burns ONNX inference forever" failure by
+  construction.
+- `setNoiseGate` from the settings UI writes the base preference; from the
+  chain-lease holder it writes the override; from anyone else it is refused
+  (`held`). nam_tone's preset gate rides its tone-engine lease (phase D).
+- `setPlayhead` / backing transport calls check the `playback` scope;
+  notedetect's verifier feed becomes part of that scope's detection
+  contract rather than a free write.
+- `setRendererBus` / `pushRendererAudio` become the produce API on channel
+  #0's handle; the juce-audio feeder (feedBack repo) is granted it at
+  startup. Enforcement is telemetry-gated (§8.5): unhandled callers log-once
+  through phase B, refusal flips only at zero legacy calls.
+
+Every shim logs once per session per caller with the derived holder id —
+that telemetry IS the migration progress dashboard, the same trick as
+rig_builder's `legacy-native-load` counter.
+
+### Inventory summary
+
+| Conflict | Writers today | Scope it maps to | Phase |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| startAudio/stop | 5+ (2 repos + 3 plugins) | `capture` refcount | A (+B/C migration) |
+| Noise gate | 2 (core UI, nam_tone) | `signal-chain:<route>` | C/D |
+| Detection arming | 3+ (notedetect, strum-fighter, highway_3d) | `detection:<route>` refcount | A (+C/E) |
+| Renderer bus feeder | 1 legit (feedBack repo), unenforced | channel #0 produce handle | B |
+| Backing transport/playhead | 3 modules, 2 repos + notedetect | `playback` | C |
+| Input channel select | 2 (device screen, notedetect) | `device-config` / route | C |
+| Verifier offsets | 2 (core, splitscreen-local) | route detection scope | C+ |
+
+## 7. Phasing
+
+Same discipline as the TLC branch: contract snapshots first, no behavior
+change per move-phase, fixes as separate commits, every phase ships with its
+tests, existing suites stay green throughout.
+
+| Phase | Content | Repo(s) | Gate |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **A** | Lease registry in executor: scopes, acquire/release/refuse, death invalidation, `getHolder`, events. Contract-snapshot the surface. No behavior change for non-participants. | desktop | holder-death matrix as e2e against real webContents lifecycles (§8.14); contract-check green |
+| **B** | **Mixer**: `MixerChannel` from RendererBus (renderer bus = permanent default channel #0, byte-compatible), channel registry (native + IPC), tiered `audio.mixer.*` surface (§5.1, tiers 1–3), output-route requests (cap + idle reap, §8.9), channel groups (§8.13), double-audio diag heuristic (§8.6), stems → own channel (WebAudio graph rerouted off the renderer master — double-audio guard), StreamSink taps mixer | desktop | renderer-bus unit suite passes against channel #0 unchanged; stems-on-ASIO manual test (the tester's 5-stem file) incl. no-double-audio check; mixer surface contract-snapshotted; two concurrent mixer UIs stay in sync via `channel-changed`; per-channel metrics in diag |
+| **C** | Chain ownership: per-route `chainGeneration`, audio_engine screen → lease-scoped executor ops, rig_builder migrates, legacy direct path log-once → deleted, takeover UI for `desktop-main` | desktop + rig_builder | storm test asserts *refused not raced*; rig_builder timing hacks deleted; `legacy-native-load` telemetry at zero |
+| **D** | Tone-engine selection: user setting, provider registration capability, auto-switching migrates into providers | desktop + rig_builder | switch-engine e2e: mid-session provider swap without audio dropout |
+| **E** | Virtual sources: `addVirtualSource()`, input-virtual route requests, MIDI→chain path e2e (VSTi minigame scenario) | desktop | virtual source in pool/mixer/verifier without device; pool-cap refusal test |
+| **F** | Cleanup: `slopsmith*` aliases, localStorage keys, frozen legacy surfaces (TLC Part II §5 deprecation plan) | desktop | grep-zero on deprecated surfaces; contract snapshots updated deliberately |
+
+**B before C deliberately**: the mixer is independent of chain ownership,
+single-repo, and carries the direct tester-visible payoff (ASIO stems). C/D
+are the cross-repo track and can proceed in parallel after A.
+
+### Open items / risks
+
+- Lease heartbeat vs. lifecycle-only invalidation: start lifecycle-only
+  (webContents + plugin teardown cover the real cases); add heartbeat only if
+  a holder class appears that neither covers.
+- `getDisplayMedia` loopback: **kept permanently** as the feed for default
+  channel #0 (decision, 2026-07-14) — the zero-integration path every
+  renderer sound gets for free. Consequence accepted: the aggregate-path
+  failure mode (a renderer stall starves EVERYTHING on #0 at once) remains
+  possible for whatever still rides #0; the mitigation is migrating
+  stall-sensitive producers (stems first) to bespoke channels, not deleting
+  the default. Double-audio during migration is guarded by the requester
+  contract in §5.
+- Sample-rate authority: the mixer runs at device rate; channels resample
+  producer-side (unchanged from RendererBus). `device-config` lease holder is
+  the only writer of that rate.
+- macOS is **first-class** for all phases (per 2026-07-14 decision); the
+  message-thread constraints from PR #107 (try_lock on the message thread,
+  serializer coverage for the inline macOS paths) apply to all new native
+  surfaces.
+
+---
+
+## 8. Review decisions (2026-07-14, plan review)
+
+Fourteen gaps found in review, each settled. These are binding alongside §2's
+policy decisions.
+
+### Lifecycle edges (the blockers — all Phase A)
+
+1. **Revocation handover = drain-then-grant.** Revoke → serializer stops
+   accepting the old holder's ops (`lease-revoked` fires here so it can stop
+   enqueueing voluntarily) → queued ops drain → route generation bumps → new
+   holder granted. No cancel path, no generation-fence-only race.
+2. **Reload = grace window.** webContents *reload* (not destroy) suspends the
+   holder's leases ~5–10 s keyed on manifest identity; the same identity
+   re-requesting restores them; timeout or destroy releases for real and
+   notifies waiters. Destroy stays immediate. F5 never changes ownership.
+3. **User stop suspends demands.** Raw stop (device screen) always wins:
+   engine stops, `capture` demands enter *suspended* (not cleared), holders
+   get `capture-suspended` / `capture-resumed` events. Only user start
+   resumes. Same ride-through for `device-config` changes that restart the
+   engine.
+4. **Well-known internal holders.** Main-process / engine-internal callers
+   use a fixed enum of synthetic ids (`engine:backing-player`,
+   `main:startup-restore`, `main:executor`), registered at boot, lifecycle =
+   process (or explicit module teardown). Same registry rules — internal
+   callers can be refused, and telemetry names them honestly. No open
+   registration API.
+
+### Mixer + migration
+
+5. **Channel #0 migration is telemetry-gated.** `setRendererBus` /
+   `pushRendererAudio` stay ungated but log-once with caller id through
+   phase B; refusal flips only after telemetry shows zero legacy callers for
+   a full release cycle. Never a silence window from cross-repo skew.
+6. **Double-audio gets a diag heuristic.** Bespoke channel active AND #0
+   meter concurrently elevated → diag-overlay warning + log marker naming
+   the channel. No correlation DSP. Phase B gate item.
+7. **Demand leaks get diag visibility, not auto-release.** Registry tracks
+   per-holder demand age; diag overlay + field logs surface it ("notedetect
+   holds detection:desktop-main for 47 min"). Policy may tighten later with
+   data; no visibility-tied or timeout-based auto-release now.
+8. **Channel gain persistence keys on `holderId + label`**, never label
+   alone. Engine-internal channels use the well-known ids from (4).
+9. **Channel cap + idle reap** — details folded into §3's output-route
+   bullet; referenced from Phase B.
+
+### Scopes + UX
+
+10. **Base pref editable during override.** Layered values accept base
+    writes anytime (persist, apply on release); the owning UI shows an
+    override-active indicator ("controlled by Rig Builder preset") so the
+    audible no-op isn't mysterious.
+11. **`playback` is one global scope** — folded into §2/§6.5. Evidence:
+    splitscreen followers are transport read-only (one-way BroadcastChannel
+    `time`/`playstate` from the main window; popup `<audio>` force-paused).
+12. **Startup restore re-binds user-created routes only.** Plugin-requested
+    physical input routes are not restored; the plugin re-requests on load
+    and the consent gate applies fresh.
+13. **Channel groups in Phase B.** Grouped channels share a prime gate /
+    common clock reference so producers that need cross-channel sample
+    alignment (multi-channel stems, metronome-against-backing) can opt in;
+    ungrouped channels stay independent streams with no alignment guarantee.
+14. **Death-invalidation tests are e2e.** The Phase A holder-death matrix
+    must exercise real webContents lifecycles (crash, destroy, reload,
+    navigation) — not a mocked event emitter.
+
+---
+
+## 9. Capability-pipeline integration (2026-07-14)
+
+The renderer capability registry (`static/capabilities.js` + domain hosts,
+feedBack repo) is the plugin-facing half of this plan. Verified against code:
+the existing domains map near-1:1 onto the plan's scopes, so the plan reuses
+them instead of growing a parallel surface.
+
+### Division of authority
+
+- **Capability layer = policy, eligibility, attribution, UX.**
+  Manifest-declared roles, safety classes, consent surfaces, compatibility-
+  shim telemetry, Capability Inspector.
+- **Lease registry = enforcement.** Main process only. The capability layer
+  is in-renderer and self-declared (`registerParticipant` is honor-system);
+  anything checked only there is bypassable by direct preload callers — the
+  exact 6.1/6.4 failure. Enforcement never lives renderer-side only.
+- **No mirroring.** The capability layer *reads* lease state (`getHolder`,
+  lease events) and renders it; it never caches its own copy of
+  who-holds-what. One source of truth, no drift.
+
+### Plugins never see `acquireLease`
+
+Capability commands are the plugin-facing API; domain hosts call the
+executor's lease/demand ops underneath. Refusals surface as capability
+outcomes. Mapping:
+
+| Plan scope / primitive | Capability domain (exists today) |
+|---|---|
+| `signal-chain:<route>` lease | `audio-effects` — routes, providers, executors, `select-chain` / `load-plan` / `release-route`, `user-action-required` outcome |
+| `playback` scope | `playback` — already tracks `requesterId` + command sequence |
+| `detection:<route>` demand | `note-detection` |
+| `capture` demand | `audio-input` / `audio-session` |
+| Mixer tier 1 | `observer` role (any domain) |
+| Mixer tier 2 | `audio-mix` — exists, incl. fader-registry bridge |
+| Mixer tier 3 | produce handle issued through the domain host (`stems` domain for the stems producer) |
+| Mixer tier 4 | lease scopes (§2) |
+| §4 provider selection | `audio-effects` `register-provider` / mappings — largely built; Phase D shrinks to "wire active-provider selection to lease auto-acquisition" |
+| §6.8 shim telemetry | `registerCompatibilityShim` — `legacy-native-load` is already one of five registered shims; the Inspector renders migration progress for free |
+
+### Compound holder identity (decision)
+
+§2's derived identity has a granularity limit: all plugins share the main
+renderer webContents, so the main process cannot distinguish nam_tone from
+notedetect at the IPC boundary. Resolution — **compound identity**:
+
+- **Hard part (enforced)**: webContents id. Enforcement boundaries, death
+  invalidation, and the "no spoofing" guarantee hold at this granularity.
+- **Soft part (attributed)**: capability-layer plugin id, carried for
+  telemetry, diagnostics, and takeover-dialog naming. Plugin-level
+  arbitration *within* one renderer is delegated to the capability domain
+  host there — as the single dispatcher it can arbitrate honestly among its
+  own participants, but this is a trust step, not enforcement, and is
+  documented as such.
+- Plugin teardown inside a living renderer is only visible to the capability
+  layer → plugin-level release is capability-initiated (advisory); the hard
+  backstop remains webContents death.
+
+### Alignment items
+
+1. **One outcome vocabulary.** Plan refusals (`held`, `no-capacity`, …)
+   extend the capability outcome set (`denied`, `no-owner`,
+   `user-action-required`, `stale`, …) — never two parallel vocabularies.
+2. **Timeout class for takeover.** Capability command dispatch has
+   per-command timeouts; drain-then-grant (§8.1) can exceed them under a
+   deep serializer queue. The takeover command gets a longer timeout class
+   or completes asynchronously via a lease event.
+3. **Cross-repo note.** Domain hosts live in the feedBack server repo; the
+   lease registry lands in desktop (Phase A). Domain-host wiring to lease
+   ops rides the same telemetry-gated migration as §8.5 — no flag day.