fix(review): fold linkedIssuePolicy into linkedIssueGateMode's promotion (#4618)

[JSONbored]

Summary

Part of #4618's item 1 (config-surface-reduction epic). Three independent knobs claimed to express "require a linked issue": settings.requireLinkedIssue, gate.linkedIssue (linkedIssueGateMode), and the yml-only top-level linkedIssuePolicy. requireLinkedIssue already auto-promoted linkedIssueGateMode to "block" when it was off (#797), but linkedIssuePolicy: required had no such promotion — a self-hoster who set only linkedIssuePolicy: required got an advisory manifest_linked_issue_required nudge, never a real gate blocker, because that finding's own escalation was keyed to manifestPolicyGateMode (an unrelated gate that also governs missing-tests policy), not linkedIssueGateMode.

Fixes both halves of the gap:

• resolveEffectiveSettings now promotes linkedIssueGateMode to "block" for linkedIssuePolicy: required too, mirroring the requireLinkedIssue promotion (an explicit gate.linkedIssue override still wins, since the promotion only fires when the gate is still "off").
• manifest_linked_issue_required now escalates to a hard blocker via EITHER manifestPolicyGateMode: block (back-compat) OR linkedIssueGateMode: block (the new promoted path) — without this, the promotion above would be a no-op. manifest_missing_tests is unaffected; it stays keyed to manifestPolicyGateMode alone.

Mirrored in the gate-decision engine twin (gate-advisory.ts) and documented in both .gittensory.yml.example and its canonical copy (config/examples/gittensory.full.yml).

Test plan

• npx tsc --noEmit — clean
• Full unit + integration suite: 686 files / 13,652 tests passing
• npm run test:coverage (unsharded) — zero uncovered statements/branches on every changed line, including the new dual-??-fallback branches introduced by the OR'd escalation check
• npm run engine-parity:drift-check, npm run docs:drift-check, npm run manifest:drift-check — all pass
• npm audit --audit-level=moderate — 0 vulnerabilities

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Superagent didn't find any vulnerabilities or security issues in this PR.

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Status	Name	Latest Commit	Preview URL	Updated (UTC)
✅ Deployment successful! View logs	gittensory-ui	5ff3d71	Commit Preview URL Branch Preview URL	Jul 10 2026, 11:10 PM

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 94.22%. Comparing base (82ccb70) to head (5ff3d71).
⚠️ Report is 3 commits behind head on main.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Additional details and impacted files

@@           Coverage Diff           @@
##             main    #4755   +/-   ##
=======================================
  Coverage   94.21%   94.22%           
=======================================
  Files         440      440           
  Lines       38712    38716    +4     
  Branches    14101    14105    +4     
=======================================
+ Hits        36474    36479    +5     
  Misses       1577     1577           
+ Partials      661      660    -1     

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
...es/gittensory-engine/src/advisory/gate-advisory.ts	100.00% <100.00%> (ø)
src/rules/advisory.ts	97.77% <100.00%> (+0.38%)	⬆️
src/signals/focus-manifest.ts	99.64% <100.00%> (ø)

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⏸️ Gittensory review result - manual review recommended

_{Review updated: 2026-07-10 23:21:46 UTC}

7 files · 1 AI reviewer · 2 blockers · readiness 93/100 · CI green · unstable

⏸️ Suggested Action - Manual Review

• No linked issue detected — If this PR is intended to solve an issue, link it explicitly in the PR body.
• Maintainer requires a linked issue — Link the relevant issue (for example Closes #123) before opening the PR.

Review summary
This closes a real gap in #4618/#797's linked-issue promotion logic: linkedIssuePolicy: required previously promoted linkedIssueGateMode to block in resolveEffectiveSettings, but manifest_linked_issue_required's own escalation check in isConfiguredGateBlocker never looked at linkedIssueGateMode — only manifestPolicyGateMode — so the promotion was a silent no-op. The fix correctly splits the combined branch so manifest_missing_tests still keys off manifestPolicyGateMode alone, while manifest_linked_issue_required now blocks via either gate (OR), preserving back-compat and honoring an explicit gate.linkedIssue override (checked before the promotion line since applyGateConfigOverrides runs first). Both mirrored files (engine package and src/rules/advisory.ts) were updated in lockstep and engine-parity:drift-check passed, and the test suite exercises both branches of each ?? fallback plus the end-to-end promotion path.

Nits — 3 non-blocking

• The manifest_linked_issue_required escalation logic is duplicated verbatim across packages/gittensory-engine/src/advisory/gate-advisory.ts and src/rules/advisory.ts (gate-advisory.ts:589-593, advisory.ts:959-963) — this mirrored-twin pattern is an existing repo convention per the description, but each future policy tweak now needs manual sync in two places relying on drift-check to catch mismatches.
• The comment in focus-manifest.ts above the promotion line is fairly long (5 lines) for what is a one-line condition change; could be trimmed to just the 'why' (the previous no-op gap) rather than re-explaining the whole promotion mechanism already documented in gittensory.full.yml.
• Consider extracting the shared isConfiguredGateBlocker escalation logic (or at least the manifest_linked_issue_required branch) into a single function imported by both the engine package and src/rules/advisory.ts to eliminate the duplication nit, if the mirrored-file architecture allows shared imports — otherwise document why duplication is required (e.g. package boundary constraints).

Concerns raised — review before merging

• No linked issue detected — If this PR is intended to solve an issue, link it explicitly in the PR body.
• Maintainer requires a linked issue — Link the relevant issue (for example Closes #123) before opening the PR.

Signal	Result	Evidence
Code review	❌ 2 blockers	1 reviewer
Linked issue	⚠️ Missing	No linked issue or no-issue rationale found.
Related work	✅ No active overlap found	No same-issue or scoped active PR overlap found.
Change scope	✅ 20/20	Low review scope from cached public metadata (no linked issue context).
Validation posture	✅ 25/25	PR body includes validation/test evidence.
Contributor workload	✅ 10/10	Author activity: 48 registered-repo PR(s), 40 merged, 285 issue(s).
Contributor context	✅ Confirmed Gittensor contributor	JSONbored; Gittensor profile; 48 PR(s), 285 issue(s).
Gate result	❌ Blocking	Repo-configured hard blocker found.

Review context

• Author: JSONbored
• Role context: owner (maintainer lane)
• Public audience mode: oss maintainer
• Lane context: Repository is configured for direct PR review.
• Public profile languages: Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Ruby, Go, Kotlin, MDX, Shell
• Official Gittensor activity: 48 PR(s), 285 issue(s).
• PR-specific overlap: none found.

Contributor next steps

• Treat this as maintainer-lane context rather than normal contributor-lane activity.
• Explain no-issue PR.
• Link the issue being solved, or explicitly explain why this is a no-issue PR.

Signal definitions

• Related work = same linked issue, overlapping active PRs, or title/path similarity.
• Change scope = cached public metadata such as size labels, draft state, and review-burden hints.
• Validation posture = whether the PR provides enough public validation/test evidence for maintainer review.
• Contributor workload = public contributor activity and cleanup pressure, not a repo-wide quality failure.
• Contributor context = public GitHub/Gittensor identity context; non-Gittensor status is not a blocker.

_{🟩 Safe / merged · 🟦 Advisory · 🟨 Held for review · 🟥 Blocked / closed}

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