Change boundaries

File and line caps bound the size of an evolution change. Path constraints, validation commands, and recovery policy separately govern where edits occur, whether they work, and what happens after failure.

Global hard caps

Overrides accept positive integers; missing or invalid values fall back to defaults. Global caps apply even without a selected Gene. Gene-level max_files and forbidden paths add constraints. The global cap is not a target change size.

A focused fix can use tighter limits:

EVOLVER_HARD_CAP_FILES=12
EVOLVER_HARD_CAP_LINES=1200

Also define allowed files, forbidden directories, and validation commands. Twelve incorrectly changed files are still incorrect: size compliance proves neither scope nor correctness.

Preserve a baseline

Record Git HEAD, tracked edits, untracked files, and allowed scope. Execute in an isolated checkout and decide whether generated files, dependency installation, and formatting are in scope. Validation commands execute code too; review their filesystem and network effects.

EVOLVER_ROLLBACK_MODE has no v2 effect. Its old hard, stash, and none values do not describe current runner recovery. Do not rely on the old EVOLVE_GIT_RESET setting either.

Distinguish recovery paths

Ordinary execution follows its worktree, snapshot, and recovery policy. Inspect the actual cycle and files before recovery. Process exit is not proof that recovery completed.

autoexec --solo is a separate explicit choice: failure recovery uses git reset --hard and git clean -fd, discarding edits and untracked files in the target workspace. Use only a clean, backed-up checkout dedicated to that task, never a shared directory or one with existing work.

On a cap breach or validation failure

1. Stop further execution and preserve cycle ID, logs, and diff.
2. Separate pre-existing work, this cycle’s edits, and external effects.
3. Check for partial execution, commits, and remote writes.
4. Restore only changes owned by this cycle and handle remote compensation separately.
5. Verify the original issue and recovered state before retrying.

Repeated breaches call for smaller tasks or better selection, not higher caps. Git recovery cannot undo sent messages, publications, or credit transactions.