fix(chat): defer independent pool judges in one-model runs

[santoshkumarradha]

User workflow

Goal: With Model Pool reading enabled, build and use a pantry shopping CLI with a helper and README collaboration, then refine it for purchase quantities and fractional stock.

Observed outcome: The helper produced the initial CLI while the main conversation prepared documentation. A natural request for buy quantities and fractional values was completed in the main conversation after the helper returned its original scope. The final artifact passed 16 tests and actual text, JSON and oats/fraction output checks. All 105 receipts, including auxiliary and helper calls, used the requested DeepSeek model with no pool-judge calls/files.

Watch the workflow (MP4) · Animated GIF · Original terminal recording (.cast)

Evidence: tested revision ffe8a20646a551afeed39c915951e8f70ed670e6. Execution/binary identity, model receipts, checksums and playback details. All 105 recorded calls used OpenRouter deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash, including auxiliary calls. Independent generated-project checks. Source deliverable is retained in the evidence directory.

Playback and limits: Playback is accelerated 3× with idle periods shortened. Model Pool was enabled in read mode and --one-model was supplied. Single-model sessions defer pool judging; ordinary pool resumption is verified by regression tests, not by a live run using alternate models. A note to an active helper does not replace its original acceptance contract; the recorded main conversation completed the revised requirements after the helper returned. This records that behavior rather than claiming helper scope changed automatically.

Revision note: recorded runtime ffe8a20646a551afeed39c915951e8f70ed670e6; later head f1a677383 changes only do_engine_test.go for a fixture resource-setting regression tracked in #1615. The recording is not a new-head binary claim. Final local make pr-ready and CI both passed after that test-only correction.

chat --one-model could call a different model after a helper finished: Model Pool judging chose its own independent model. This launch now defers the optional task-landing judge and startup sweep. Ordinary launches keep independent judging; single-model launches neither self-judge nor consume pending judgments.

Fixes #1608.

Validation: focused launch-policy and pending-sweep regressions passed. Final make pr-ready passed at f1a677383 (affected cmd/codeaf suite 193.816s), and CI run 36334579868 is green. The original local run failed in preexisting test setup; its log is retained. The #1525 fixture correction published separately in #1615 is included here. The recorded runtime is ffe8a20646; only cmd/codeaf/do_engine_test.go differs at the final head, so runtime code is identical. All 105 live receipts used the requested model with Model Pool enabled.

[santoshkumarradha]

Superseded by #1627. The exact reviewed source head is incorporated into Santosh/dev; its issue details, validation and recording links are preserved in the aggregate PR. Source history is retained. The aggregate remains draft pending combined acceptance; this closure does not mean dev has merged.