# INITIATIVE-008R — Validation Report

**Date:** 2026-06-23  
**Phase:** 4  
**Status:** COMPLETE

## Graph State at Validation

| Metric | Value | Source |
|--------|-------|--------|
| Node count | 368 | `data/SKILLS_GRAPH.json` `.meta.node_count` |
| Edge count | 774 | `data/SKILLS_GRAPH.json` `.meta.edge_count` |
| Schema version | 3.1 | `data/SKILLS_GRAPH.json` `.meta.schema_version` |
| Generated at | 2026-06-22T12:03:48Z | `data/SKILLS_GRAPH.json` `.meta.generated_at` |

## Check Results

### Pre-Existing Checks (validate-graph.yml before this initiative)

| Check | Status | Count / Detail |
|-------|--------|----------------|
| Schema validity | ✅ PASS | Valid JSON, `node_count` and `edge_count` readable |
| Duplicate node IDs | ✅ PASS | 0 duplicates in 368 node IDs |
| Self-loop edges | ✅ PASS | 0 self-loops in 774 edges |
| Invalid source edge check | ✅ PASS | All 774 edge sources exist in node registry |

### New Checks Added by INITIATIVE-008R

| Check | Phase | Status | Count / Detail |
|-------|-------|--------|----------------|
| Dangling target detection | Phase 1 | ✅ PASS | 0 dangling targets in 774 edges |
| Duplicate edge detection | Phase 2 | ✅ PASS | 0 duplicate (source, target, type) triples |

### Cycle Fix Verification (Phase 3)

| Item | Status | Detail |
|------|--------|--------|
| Silent suppression removed | ✅ DONE | `ready = [sorted(remaining)[0]]` deleted |
| Explicit ValueError added | ✅ DONE | Raises with full node list on cycle |
| Existing graph compatibility | ✅ PASS | Current REQUIRES subgraph has no cycles; fix does not break any existing functionality |

## CI Coverage After INITIATIVE-008R

| Capability | Status |
|-----------|--------|
| Schema validity | ✅ ACTIVE |
| Duplicate node IDs | ✅ ACTIVE |
| Self-loop detection | ✅ ACTIVE |
| Invalid source ID | ✅ ACTIVE |
| **Dangling target detection** | ✅ **ACTIVE (NEW)** |
| **Duplicate edge detection** | ✅ **ACTIVE (NEW)** |
| Cycle detection (CI) | ❌ Category C — not in scope for this initiative |
| Orphan node detection | ❌ Category C — not in scope for this initiative |
| Unreachable node detection | ❌ Category C — not in scope for this initiative |
| Invalid edge type | ❌ Category C — not in scope for this initiative |

## Summary

All validation checks pass on the current graph. The two new CI checks (dangling target, duplicate edge) are active and will block future PRs that introduce either violation. The cycle suppression in `recommend.py` has been removed; cycles will now fail visibly instead of silently corrupting output.

**GRAPH_VALIDATION_STATUS = HARDENED**
