From 1ec0be15be623dbfaa419078333d94f2ad094e3f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:47:42 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 01/11] fix(strix): bounded retry for typed provider outages
 without findings

Transient LLM provider outages (rate limits, connection/warm-up failures,
ModelBehaviorError) previously failed the required strix check on the first
attempt even when no vulnerability was reported, forcing manual reruns of the
whole PR queue. The gate now retries such typed outages up to 3 attempts with
linear backoff inside a deterministic SECONDS-based deadline (100 min cap,
>=10 min remaining required to retry), all inside the existing 120-minute job
budget. Genuine vulnerability reports, configuration failures (exit 2), and
unexpected exit codes never retry; every terminal outcome remains fail-closed.
Signal patterns are defined before the loop and the post-loop classification
is unchanged.
---
 .github/workflows/strix.yml | 63 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/strix.yml b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
index f89119070..d16eb32d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/strix.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
@@ -863,6 +863,17 @@ jobs:
           export "STRIX_PROCESS_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=$process_budget_seconds"
           export "STRIX_TOTAL_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=5700"
 
+          # Recognized signals that the LLM backend was unavailable / starved.
+          # Defined before the gate loop so the bounded retry decision below
+          # can classify outcomes without duplicating the patterns later.
+          backend_unavailable_signal='RateLimitError|Too many requests\. For more on scraping GitHub|exceeded your current quota|insufficient_quota|billing details|"status"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED"|tokens_limit_reached|Request body too large|Max size:[[:space:]]*[0-9]+[[:space:]]+tokens|Error code:[[:space:]]*413|LLM CONNECTION FAILED|Could not establish connection to the language model|LLM warm-up failed|Configured model and fallback models were unavailable|Configured Vertex model and fallback models were unavailable|emitted provider infrastructure or failure-signal output|before provider infrastructure failure|litellm(\.exceptions)?\.NotFoundError[^[:cntrl:]]*Nvidia_nimException[^[:cntrl:]]*Error code:[[:space:]]*404|Error during penetration test: loginAsGuest failed after [0-9]+ attempts: curl exit 7: curl: \(7\) Failed to connect to 127\.0\.0\.1 port 48080'
+          model_behavior_error_signal='(^|[^A-Za-z0-9_])(agents|pydantic_ai|strix)(\.[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)*\.ModelBehaviorError([^A-Za-z0-9_]|$)'
+          # Any evidence that a vulnerability was actually reported. Its presence
+          # forces a hard failure so real findings are NEVER downgraded. Keep the
+          # severity branch anchored away from identifiers so environment lines
+          # such as STRIX_FAIL_ON_MIN_SEVERITY do not look like findings.
+          reported_vulnerability_signal='Vulnerabilities[[:space:]]+[1-9]|(^|[^A-Za-z0-9_])severity[[:space:]]*:'
+
           # Capture the gate exit code plus its console output. The gate returns
           # exit 1 both for genuine blocking vulnerabilities AND for
           # LLM-backend-unavailable outcomes (GitHub Models "Too many requests"
@@ -871,11 +882,50 @@ jobs:
           # could not complete a scan. Provider failure is typed infrastructure
           # evidence, but remains non-passing because no authoritative complete
           # vulnerability result exists.
+          #
+          # A typed provider outage with no reported vulnerability finding is
+          # retried with bounded linear backoff inside this step so transient
+          # provider failures do not fail the required check on the first
+          # attempt. Genuine findings, configuration failures, and unexpected
+          # exit codes never retry; the deadline keeps every path inside the
+          # deterministic 120-minute job budget, and all-terminal outcomes
+          # remain fail-closed.
           strix_run_log="$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_console.log"
           strix_rc=0
+          strix_gate_attempt=1
+          strix_gate_deadline=$(( SECONDS + 6000 ))
           set +e
-          bash "$TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE" 2>&1 | tee "$strix_run_log"
-          strix_rc="${PIPESTATUS[0]}"
+          while : ; do
+            : > "$strix_run_log"
+            bash "$TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE" 2>&1 | tee "$strix_run_log"
+            strix_rc="${PIPESTATUS[0]}"
+            if [ "$strix_rc" -eq 0 ]; then
+              break
+            fi
+            # Only exit-code 1 scan failures can be infrastructure outcomes.
+            if [ "$strix_rc" -ne 1 ]; then
+              break
+            fi
+            # A reported vulnerability is authoritative evidence: never retry
+            # and never risk downgrading it.
+            if grep -Eiq "$reported_vulnerability_signal" "$strix_run_log"; then
+              break
+            fi
+            # Retry only recognized provider-outage / model-behavior classes.
+            if ! grep -Eiq "$backend_unavailable_signal" "$strix_run_log" \
+              && ! grep -Eq "$model_behavior_error_signal" "$strix_run_log"; then
+              break
+            fi
+            remaining_seconds=$(( strix_gate_deadline - SECONDS ))
+            if [ "$strix_gate_attempt" -ge 3 ] || [ "$remaining_seconds" -lt 600 ]; then
+              echo "Provider-unavailable Strix attempt ${strix_gate_attempt} reached the bounded retry limit or the remaining job time budget (${remaining_seconds}s) is too small to retry; failing closed." >&2
+              break
+            fi
+            backoff_seconds=$(( strix_gate_attempt * 90 ))
+            echo "Strix provider outage on attempt ${strix_gate_attempt}; retrying after ${backoff_seconds}s backoff." >&2
+            sleep "$backoff_seconds"
+            strix_gate_attempt=$(( strix_gate_attempt + 1 ))
+          done
           set -e
 
           if [ "$strix_rc" -eq 0 ]; then
@@ -889,15 +939,6 @@ jobs:
             exit "$strix_rc"
           fi
 
-          # Recognized signals that the LLM backend was unavailable / starved.
-          backend_unavailable_signal='RateLimitError|Too many requests\. For more on scraping GitHub|exceeded your current quota|insufficient_quota|billing details|"status"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*"RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED"|tokens_limit_reached|Request body too large|Max size:[[:space:]]*[0-9]+[[:space:]]+tokens|Error code:[[:space:]]*413|LLM CONNECTION FAILED|Could not establish connection to the language model|LLM warm-up failed|Configured model and fallback models were unavailable|Configured Vertex model and fallback models were unavailable|emitted provider infrastructure or failure-signal output|before provider infrastructure failure|litellm(\.exceptions)?\.NotFoundError[^[:cntrl:]]*Nvidia_nimException[^[:cntrl:]]*Error code:[[:space:]]*404|Error during penetration test: loginAsGuest failed after [0-9]+ attempts: curl exit 7: curl: \(7\) Failed to connect to 127\.0\.0\.1 port 48080'
-          model_behavior_error_signal='(^|[^A-Za-z0-9_])(agents|pydantic_ai|strix)(\.[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*)*\.ModelBehaviorError([^A-Za-z0-9_]|$)'
-          # Any evidence that a vulnerability was actually reported. Its presence
-          # forces a hard failure so real findings are NEVER downgraded. Keep the
-          # severity branch anchored away from identifiers so environment lines
-          # such as STRIX_FAIL_ON_MIN_SEVERITY do not look like findings.
-          reported_vulnerability_signal='Vulnerabilities[[:space:]]+[1-9]|(^|[^A-Za-z0-9_])severity[[:space:]]*:'
-
           # An earlier out-of-scope/below-threshold finding may already have
           # been exempted by the trusted gate. Classify a later provider
           # outage from the tail after the last continuation marker, but keep

From e61dd470560b8348dfcbcd8f6889dbd3ee234ace Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:38:06 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 02/11] test(strix): align policy suites with gpt-5.4 fallback
 and restructured gate

- Update stale model assertions from the nonexistent gpt-5.6-luna to the
  shipped openai-direct/gpt-5.4 fallback (left stale by a724582).
- Rework the backend-unavailable tail-scoping test to extract the
  neutralization/classification block (post-retry) and inject the canonical
  signal definitions, matching the bounded provider-outage retry loop added
  for the STRIX_PROVIDER_UNAVAILABLE failure class.
---
 .../test_required_workflow_queue_contract.py  |  2 +-
 ...kend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 28 +++++++++++++++++--
 ...est_strix_nvidia_nim_not_found_fallback.py |  4 +--
 3 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/test_required_workflow_queue_contract.py b/tests/test_required_workflow_queue_contract.py
index e58f5e6c0..1d79f1daa 100644
--- a/tests/test_required_workflow_queue_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_required_workflow_queue_contract.py
@@ -505,7 +505,7 @@ def test_nvidia_nim_defaults_preserve_existing_fallbacks_without_secret(
     assert strix.returncode == 0, strix.stderr
     assert {
         "provider_mode=openai_direct",
-        "strix_model=gpt-5.6-luna",
+        "strix_model=gpt-5.4",
     } <= set(strix_output.read_text().splitlines())
     assert (
         "STRIX_MODEL: ${{ steps.gate.outputs.strix_model }}"
diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index 3355a8448..c3da37c3f 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -63,9 +63,12 @@ def _extract_neutralization_block(workflow: str) -> str:
     stale logic.
     """
 
-    start_marker = (
-        "          # Recognized signals that the LLM backend was unavailable"
-    )
+    # The classification block starts at the neutralization-scope assignment
+    # and runs to the terminal failure exit. The gate-execution retry loop and
+    # the raw signal definitions live outside this region; the signal values
+    # are injected by _run_gate_tail so the extracted decision logic stays the
+    # single tested authority.
+    start_marker = '          strix_neutralization_scope_log="$strix_run_log"'
     terminal_failure_marker = (
         '          echo "Strix reported security findings or failed for a '
         'non-backend reason; failing the required check'
@@ -77,6 +80,23 @@ def _extract_neutralization_block(workflow: str) -> str:
     return workflow[start:end]
 
 
+def _extract_signal_definitions(workflow: str) -> str:
+    """Return the canonical backend-outage / finding-signal definitions.
+
+    Bounded by the same unique anchors used in production so the injected
+    patterns cannot drift from the ones the gate itself classifies with.
+    """
+
+    start_marker = (
+        "          # Recognized signals that the LLM backend was unavailable"
+    )
+    end_marker = "reported_vulnerability_signal="
+    start = workflow.index(start_marker)
+    end = workflow.index(end_marker, start)
+    end = workflow.index("\n", end) + 1
+    return workflow[start:end]
+
+
 def _run_gate_tail(log_text: str) -> int:
     """Execute the extracted block against a synthetic log; return its exit code.
 
@@ -85,6 +105,7 @@ def _run_gate_tail(log_text: str) -> int:
     """
 
     workflow = STRIX_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    signals = _extract_signal_definitions(workflow)
     block = _extract_neutralization_block(workflow)
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="strix-tail-scope-") as temp_dir:
         strix_run_log = Path(temp_dir) / "strix_gate_console.log"
@@ -94,6 +115,7 @@ def _run_gate_tail(log_text: str) -> int:
                 "set -uo pipefail",
                 'strix_run_log="$1"',
                 "strix_rc=1",
+                signals,
                 block,
             )
         )
diff --git a/tests/test_strix_nvidia_nim_not_found_fallback.py b/tests/test_strix_nvidia_nim_not_found_fallback.py
index 990269725..17f0e9a30 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_nvidia_nim_not_found_fallback.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_nvidia_nim_not_found_fallback.py
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ def test_workflow_uses_available_free_first_nvidia_plan(self) -> None:
         workflow = STRIX_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
         default_expression = (
             "steps.target_visibility.outputs.is_private == 'false' && "
-            f"'{DEFAULT_NVIDIA_MODEL}' || 'gpt-5.6-luna'"
+            f"'{DEFAULT_NVIDIA_MODEL}' || 'gpt-5.4'"
         )
         self.assertIn(default_expression, workflow)
         self.assertIn(
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ def test_workflow_uses_available_free_first_nvidia_plan(self) -> None:
         )
         self.assertIn(
             "steps.gate.outputs.provider_mode == 'nvidia_nim' && "
-            f"'{FREE_NVIDIA_FALLBACK} openai-direct/gpt-5.6-luna'",
+            f"'{FREE_NVIDIA_FALLBACK} openai-direct/gpt-5.4'",
             workflow,
         )
 

From 51446e8489935c84a9df6b34737c8c17f5be8e04 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:24:50 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 03/11] fix(opencode-dispatch): drop nonexistent
 openai/gpt-5.6-luna from review pool

Follows a724582's finding that gpt-5.6-luna 404s on the OpenAI API: the
dispatch workflow still routed the review agent through that candidate,
guaranteeing one wasted attempt per cycle and failing the exact-head-path
policy assertions that already expected openai/gpt-5.4. Rename the embedded
openai-direct catalog entry to gpt-5.4, update the pool string and the
rationale comments.
---
 .github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml | 16 ++++++++--------
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml b/.github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml
index dd65d90e1..0df7a17cc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml
@@ -4058,8 +4058,8 @@ jobs:
                   "apiKey": "{env:OPENAI_API_KEY}"
                 },
                 "models": {
-                  "gpt-5.6-luna": {
-                    "name": "OpenAI GPT-5.6 Luna (direct)",
+                  "gpt-5.4": {
+                    "name": "OpenAI GPT-5.4 (direct)",
                     "tool_call": true,
                     "reasoning": true,
                     "options": {
@@ -4471,17 +4471,17 @@ jobs:
           # or used for product/model improvement, so private repositories
           # include neither NIM nor anonymous free candidates and start at the
           # existing keyed fallback list: OpenCode Zen GPT-5.6 Terra, DeepSeek
-          # V3, the direct GPT-5.6 Luna slot, and pinned PAID
+          # V3, the direct GPT-5.4 slot, and pinned PAID
           # OpenRouter coder models (free-tier candidates hit the shared
           # free-models-per-day cap and hung for the full candidate timeout,
           # so the OpenRouter slots use cheap paid models billed against the
           # org's OpenRouter credits), then the full-size GPT-4.1 long-context
           # endpoint and provider-specific GPT/o3 fallbacks.
-          # The direct-OpenAI slot runs GPT-5.6 Luna: the newest family's
-          # cost-efficient tier, cheaper than the legacy gpt-5 it replaced
-          # ($1/$6 vs $1.25/$10 per 1M tokens) so the org OpenAI budget
-          # stretches further between top-ups.
-          OPENCODE_MODEL_CANDIDATES: "${{ needs.validate-pr-metadata.outputs.is_private == 'false' && 'nvidia-nim/nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5 nvidia-nim/nvidia/llama-3.1-nemotron-ultra-253b-v1 nvidia-nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b nvidia-nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b nvidia-nim/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct nvidia-nim/deepseek-ai/deepseek-v4-pro nvidia-nim/mistralai/codestral-22b-instruct-v0.1 opencode-free/nemotron-3-ultra-free opencode-free/deepseek-v4-flash-free opencode-free/north-mini-code-free opencode-free/laguna-s-2.1-free opencode-free/ling-3.0-flash-free opencode-free/big-pickle opencode-free/mimo-v2.5-free opencode-free/hy3-free opencode-free/minimax-m3-free opencode-free/glm-5-free opencode-free/kimi-k2.5-free opencode-free/qwen3.6-plus-free ' || '' }}opencode/gpt-5.6-terra github-models/deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324 openai/gpt-5.6-luna openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2 openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder github-models/openai/gpt-4.1 github-models/openai/gpt-5 github-models/openai/gpt-5-chat github-models/openai/o3 github-models/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528 github-models/deepseek/deepseek-r1"
+          # The direct-OpenAI slot runs GPT-5.4: gpt-5.6-luna returns 404 on
+          # the OpenAI API (see a724582), so the pool keeps the newest VALID
+          # direct-OpenAI model instead of burning a candidate on a certain
+          # failure.
+          OPENCODE_MODEL_CANDIDATES: "${{ needs.validate-pr-metadata.outputs.is_private == 'false' && 'nvidia-nim/nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5 nvidia-nim/nvidia/llama-3.1-nemotron-ultra-253b-v1 nvidia-nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b nvidia-nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b nvidia-nim/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct nvidia-nim/deepseek-ai/deepseek-v4-pro nvidia-nim/mistralai/codestral-22b-instruct-v0.1 opencode-free/nemotron-3-ultra-free opencode-free/deepseek-v4-flash-free opencode-free/north-mini-code-free opencode-free/laguna-s-2.1-free opencode-free/ling-3.0-flash-free opencode-free/big-pickle opencode-free/mimo-v2.5-free opencode-free/hy3-free opencode-free/minimax-m3-free opencode-free/glm-5-free opencode-free/kimi-k2.5-free opencode-free/qwen3.6-plus-free ' || '' }}opencode/gpt-5.6-terra github-models/deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324 openai/gpt-5.4 openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2 openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder github-models/openai/gpt-4.1 github-models/openai/gpt-5 github-models/openai/gpt-5-chat github-models/openai/o3 github-models/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528 github-models/deepseek/deepseek-r1"
           # One attempt per model, then fall through to the next model. Retrying
           # the SAME model 5x let a rate-limited/hung leader consume the whole
           # step, so the pool never reached a healthy fallback model.

From 04755fe8080604a9c8cf3c8eae0fef601e3d7ab9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:37:33 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 04/11] test(opencode-dispatch): re-pin dispatch blob sha and
 align agent-contract pool with gpt-5.4

The dispatch workflow's openai-direct slot is now gpt-5.4 (a724582: luna
404s), so update REVIEW_DISPATCH_BLOB_SHA to the recomputed blob hash and
align the agent-contract candidate list/expectations.
---
 tests/test_opencode_agent_contract.py               | 8 ++++----
 tests/test_pr_review_autofix_nvidia_nim_contract.py | 2 +-
 2 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/test_opencode_agent_contract.py b/tests/test_opencode_agent_contract.py
index 8ee6e86fc..2360fdb26 100644
--- a/tests/test_opencode_agent_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_opencode_agent_contract.py
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ def test_opencode_model_pool_sets_high_effort_for_capable_candidates():
         ["opencode-free", "qwen3.6-plus-free"],
         ["opencode", "gpt-5.6-terra"],
         ["github-models", "deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324"],
-        ["openai", "gpt-5.6-luna"],
+        ["openai", "gpt-5.4"],
         ["openrouter", "deepseek/deepseek-v3.2"],
         ["openrouter", "qwen/qwen3-coder"],
         ["github-models", "openai/gpt-4.1"],
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ def test_opencode_model_pool_sets_high_effort_for_capable_candidates():
         ["github-models", "deepseek/deepseek-r1"],
     ]
     assert zen_models == ["gpt-5.6-terra"]
-    assert direct_openai_models == ["gpt-5.6-luna"]
+    assert direct_openai_models == ["gpt-5.4"]
     assert openrouter_models == [
         "deepseek/deepseek-v3.2",
         "qwen/qwen3-coder",
@@ -1740,7 +1740,7 @@ def test_workflow_provisions_sandbox_tool_and_reviewer_agent():
     assert (
         "opencode/gpt-5.6-terra "
         "github-models/deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324 "
-        "openai/gpt-5.6-luna "
+        "openai/gpt-5.4 "
         "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2 "
         "openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder "
         "github-models/openai/gpt-4.1 "
@@ -1887,7 +1887,7 @@ def test_workflow_provisions_sandbox_tool_and_reviewer_agent():
     )
     assert (
         "github-models/deepseek/deepseek-v3-0324 "
-        "openai/gpt-5.6-luna "
+        "openai/gpt-5.4 "
         "openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v3.2 "
         "openrouter/qwen/qwen3-coder "
         "github-models/openai/gpt-4.1 "
diff --git a/tests/test_pr_review_autofix_nvidia_nim_contract.py b/tests/test_pr_review_autofix_nvidia_nim_contract.py
index 799b9e9fb..a5d25379a 100644
--- a/tests/test_pr_review_autofix_nvidia_nim_contract.py
+++ b/tests/test_pr_review_autofix_nvidia_nim_contract.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 DOCTORING_RECORD = Path("docs/doctoring/hourly-nvidia-nim-autofix.md")
 CHANGELOG = Path("CHANGELOG.md")
 REVIEW_DISPATCH_WORKFLOW = Path(".github/workflows/opencode-review-dispatch.yml")
-REVIEW_DISPATCH_BLOB_SHA = "dd65d90e10e5040562b501ade1a40f89572f0984"
+REVIEW_DISPATCH_BLOB_SHA = "0df7a17cc72a79585cec169c8299e0646f93ab02"
 
 
 def _workflow_text(path: Path) -> str:

From 285d6614256ad2d36ed7ef72b98740b4ae12eefa Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 18:05:09 +0900
Subject: [PATCH 05/11] fix(strix): tail-scope retry decisions to match
 terminal classification

CodeRabbit review finding: the bounded retry loop inspected the full console
log while the terminal classification scopes to the tail after the last
pipeline-continuation marker. An already-exempted finding before the marker
therefore suppressed retries of a genuine later outage. The loop now computes
the same continuation-marker scope per attempt for both the reported-
vulnerability and backend/model-error checks; terminal classification is
unchanged. Adds STRIX_GATE_RETRY_BACKOFF_SECONDS (default 90) so tests can
exercise the loop without real sleeps, plus regression coverage for recovery
after an exempted finding and zero-retry on a real tail finding.
---
 .github/workflows/strix.yml                   |  18 +++-
 ...kend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 100 ++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 114 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/strix.yml b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
index d16eb32d9..5a1ef688d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/strix.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
@@ -906,14 +906,24 @@ jobs:
             if [ "$strix_rc" -ne 1 ]; then
               break
             fi
+            # Scope this attempt's retry decision to the log tail after the
+            # last pipeline-continuation marker, exactly like the terminal
+            # classification below: an already-exempted finding before the
+            # marker must not mask a retryable outage after it.
+            strix_retry_scope_log="$strix_run_log"
+            if grep -Fq 'allowing pipeline continuation' "$strix_run_log"; then
+              strix_retry_scope_log="$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_console_tail.log"
+              awk '/allowing pipeline continuation/{buf=""; next} {buf=buf $0 "\n"} END{printf "%s", buf}' \
+                "$strix_run_log" > "$strix_retry_scope_log"
+            fi
             # A reported vulnerability is authoritative evidence: never retry
             # and never risk downgrading it.
-            if grep -Eiq "$reported_vulnerability_signal" "$strix_run_log"; then
+            if grep -Eiq "$reported_vulnerability_signal" "$strix_retry_scope_log"; then
               break
             fi
             # Retry only recognized provider-outage / model-behavior classes.
-            if ! grep -Eiq "$backend_unavailable_signal" "$strix_run_log" \
-              && ! grep -Eq "$model_behavior_error_signal" "$strix_run_log"; then
+            if ! grep -Eiq "$backend_unavailable_signal" "$strix_retry_scope_log" \
+              && ! grep -Eq "$model_behavior_error_signal" "$strix_retry_scope_log"; then
               break
             fi
             remaining_seconds=$(( strix_gate_deadline - SECONDS ))
@@ -921,7 +931,7 @@ jobs:
               echo "Provider-unavailable Strix attempt ${strix_gate_attempt} reached the bounded retry limit or the remaining job time budget (${remaining_seconds}s) is too small to retry; failing closed." >&2
               break
             fi
-            backoff_seconds=$(( strix_gate_attempt * 90 ))
+            backoff_seconds=$(( ${STRIX_GATE_RETRY_BACKOFF_SECONDS:-90} * strix_gate_attempt ))
             echo "Strix provider outage on attempt ${strix_gate_attempt}; retrying after ${backoff_seconds}s backoff." >&2
             sleep "$backoff_seconds"
             strix_gate_attempt=$(( strix_gate_attempt + 1 ))
diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index c3da37c3f..433a5a250 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import re
+import shlex
 import subprocess
 import tempfile
 import unittest
@@ -135,6 +136,69 @@ def _run_gate_tail(log_text: str) -> int:
     return completed.returncode
 
 
+
+def _extract_retry_loop_region(workflow: str) -> str:
+    """Return the bounded provider-outage retry region, verbatim from the yml.
+
+    Spans the signal definitions through the post-loop success exit so the
+    retry decision, its tail-scoping, and its terminal success path are all
+    exercised against a scripted fake gate.
+    """
+
+    start_marker = (
+        "          # Recognized signals that the LLM backend was unavailable"
+    )
+    end_marker = (
+        "          # Preserve configuration failures (exit 2) and any unexpected exit"
+    )
+    start = workflow.index(start_marker)
+    end = workflow.index(end_marker, start)
+    return workflow[start:end]
+
+
+def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
+    """Run the extracted retry loop against a scripted gate; return (rc, calls).
+
+    The fake gate appends one line to a call-counter file on every invocation
+    so tests can prove exactly how many attempts the loop spent.
+    """
+
+    workflow = STRIX_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    signals = _extract_signal_definitions(workflow)
+    region = _extract_retry_loop_region(workflow)
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="strix-retry-scope-") as temp_dir:
+        counter = Path(temp_dir) / "gate_calls"
+        counter.write_text("0\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        gate_path = Path(temp_dir) / "fake_gate.sh"
+        gate_path.write_text(
+            gate_script.replace("__COUNTER__", str(counter)),
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        gate_path.chmod(0o755)
+        script = "\n".join(
+            (
+                "set -uo pipefail",
+                f"export TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE={shlex.quote(str(gate_path))}",
+                "export RUNNER_TEMP=" + shlex.quote(temp_dir),
+                "export STRIX_GATE_RETRY_BACKOFF_SECONDS=1",
+                signals,
+                region,
+                'exit "$strix_rc"',
+            )
+        )
+        completed = subprocess.run(
+            ["bash", "-c", script],
+            check=False,
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            env={"RUNNER_TEMP": temp_dir, "PATH": "/usr/bin:/bin"},
+        )
+        calls = int(counter.read_text().strip())
+    if completed.stdout.endswith(f"RC={completed.returncode}"):
+        pass
+    return completed.returncode, calls
+
+
 class StrixBackendUnavailableAfterExemptedFindingTests(unittest.TestCase):
     """Protect the PR #392-shaped scenario without weakening the real gate."""
 
@@ -175,6 +239,42 @@ def test_bare_backend_outage_with_no_finding_is_non_passing(
 
         self.assertEqual(_run_gate_tail(GITHUB_MODELS_BROWNOUT), 1)
 
+    def test_exempted_finding_then_outage_recovers_on_second_attempt(self) -> None:
+        """An exempt finding before continuation must not block outage retry."""
+
+        gate = r"""#!/usr/bin/env bash
+calls=$(( $(cat __COUNTER__) + 1 ))
+echo "$calls" > __COUNTER__
+if [ "$calls" -le 1 ]; then
+  printf '%s\n' \
+    "Strix findings are limited to unchanged files in this pull request; allowing pipeline continuation." \
+    "LLM CONNECTION FAILED" \
+    "Configured model and fallback models were unavailable."
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "scan complete"
+exit 0
+"""
+        returncode, calls = _run_gate_retry(gate)
+        self.assertEqual(returncode, 0)
+        self.assertEqual(calls, 2)
+
+    def test_real_finding_after_continuation_never_retries(self) -> None:
+        """A tail-scoped real finding is authoritative: zero retries, fail closed."""
+
+        gate = r"""#!/usr/bin/env bash
+calls=$(( $(cat __COUNTER__) + 1 ))
+echo "$calls" > __COUNTER__
+printf '%s\n' \
+  "Strix findings are limited to unchanged files in this pull request; allowing pipeline continuation." \
+  "LLM CONNECTION FAILED" \
+  "Vulnerability Report" "Severity: CRITICAL" "Vulnerabilities 1"
+exit 1
+"""
+        returncode, calls = _run_gate_retry(gate)
+        self.assertEqual(returncode, 1)
+        self.assertEqual(calls, 1)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()

From 495c02d8a56c648570b3a82d311ac7e9c2727dc5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:02:15 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 06/11] test(strix): remove inert retry helper branch

---
 tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 2 --
 1 file changed, 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index d4e2973cc..60cf57313 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -193,8 +193,6 @@ def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
             env={"RUNNER_TEMP": temp_dir, "PATH": "/usr/bin:/bin"},
         )
         calls = int(counter.read_text().strip())
-    if completed.stdout.endswith(f"RC={completed.returncode}"):
-        pass
     return completed.returncode, calls
 
 

From 5d7f25793c1f2d6a82683960bbc0c6c7f4813967 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:07:23 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 07/11] test(strix): reproduce late retry budget escape

---
 ...kend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 25 +++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 25 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index 60cf57313..5a389e9ab 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -236,6 +236,31 @@ def test_bare_backend_outage_with_no_finding_is_non_passing(
 
         self.assertEqual(_run_gate_tail(GITHUB_MODELS_BROWNOUT), 1)
 
+    def test_each_attempt_is_capped_by_the_remaining_outer_deadline(self) -> None:
+        """A late retry cannot inherit a fresh 5700-second gate budget."""
+
+        workflow = STRIX_WORKFLOW.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        region = _extract_retry_loop_region(workflow)
+        before_gate, _ = region.split(
+            'bash "$TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE"', maxsplit=1
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "remaining_seconds=$(( strix_gate_deadline - SECONDS ))",
+            before_gate,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            "attempt_budget_seconds=$(( remaining_seconds - 300 ))",
+            before_gate,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            'export "STRIX_TOTAL_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=$attempt_budget_seconds"',
+            before_gate,
+        )
+        self.assertIn(
+            'export "STRIX_PROCESS_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=$attempt_process_budget_seconds"',
+            before_gate,
+        )
+
     def test_exempted_finding_then_outage_recovers_on_second_attempt(self) -> None:
         """An exempt finding before continuation must not block outage retry."""
 

From 441401d90f949ea86aadb0f3b8a2e081e9b2301f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:09:49 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 08/11] fix(strix): cap retries by remaining deadline

---
 .github/workflows/strix.yml | 22 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/strix.yml b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
index 668e52b24..7788d0ee4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/strix.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
@@ -915,6 +915,28 @@ jobs:
           strix_gate_deadline=$(( SECONDS + 6000 ))
           set +e
           while : ; do
+            # Rebind every invocation to the remaining outer deadline. The
+            # original 5700/5400 split reserves 300 seconds for gate cleanup;
+            # retain that internal reserve plus 300 seconds for workflow
+            # artifact/status cleanup even when a late retry starts.
+            remaining_seconds=$(( strix_gate_deadline - SECONDS ))
+            if [ "$remaining_seconds" -le 600 ]; then
+              : > "$strix_run_log"
+              echo "Configured model and fallback models were unavailable before another bounded retry could start: only ${remaining_seconds}s remain in the outer Strix deadline." | tee "$strix_run_log" >&2
+              strix_rc=1
+              break
+            fi
+            attempt_budget_seconds=$(( remaining_seconds - 300 ))
+            if [ "$attempt_budget_seconds" -gt 5700 ]; then
+              attempt_budget_seconds=5700
+            fi
+            attempt_process_budget_seconds=$(( attempt_budget_seconds - 300 ))
+            if [ "$attempt_process_budget_seconds" -gt "$process_budget_seconds" ]; then
+              attempt_process_budget_seconds="$process_budget_seconds"
+            fi
+            export "STRIX_TOTAL_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=$attempt_budget_seconds"
+            export "STRIX_PROCESS_${budget_suffix}_SECONDS=$attempt_process_budget_seconds"
+
             : > "$strix_run_log"
             bash "$TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE" 2>&1 | tee "$strix_run_log"
             strix_rc="${PIPESTATUS[0]}"

From 2c32065e1b7a9fd292c22453c5e50442d1100596 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:11:36 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 09/11] test(strix): bind extracted retry budget inputs

---
 tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index 5a389e9ab..0e56b21f3 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -177,6 +177,8 @@ def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
         script = "\n".join(
             (
                 "set -uo pipefail",
+                "budget_suffix=TIMEOUT",
+                "process_budget_seconds=5400",
                 f"export TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE={shlex.quote(str(gate_path))}",
                 "export RUNNER_TEMP=" + shlex.quote(temp_dir),
                 "export STRIX_GATE_RETRY_BACKOFF_SECONDS=1",

From 6cb2d2fe21f23a3d87688c9e55955f3ba608a3b1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:16:53 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 10/11] test(strix): require outer retry audit history

---
 ...ckend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py | 18 +++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
index 0e56b21f3..17712e9a1 100644
--- a/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
+++ b/tests/test_strix_backend_unavailable_after_exempted_finding.py
@@ -155,8 +155,8 @@ def _extract_retry_loop_region(workflow: str) -> str:
     return workflow[start:end]
 
 
-def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
-    """Run the extracted retry loop against a scripted gate; return (rc, calls).
+def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int, str]:
+    """Run the extracted retry loop; return (rc, calls, raw attempt audit).
 
     The fake gate appends one line to a call-counter file on every invocation
     so tests can prove exactly how many attempts the loop spent.
@@ -195,7 +195,9 @@ def _run_gate_retry(gate_script: str) -> tuple[int, int]:
             env={"RUNNER_TEMP": temp_dir, "PATH": "/usr/bin:/bin"},
         )
         calls = int(counter.read_text().strip())
-    return completed.returncode, calls
+        audit_path = Path(temp_dir) / "strix_gate_attempts.log"
+        audit = audit_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8") if audit_path.exists() else ""
+    return completed.returncode, calls, audit
 
 
 class StrixBackendUnavailableAfterExemptedFindingTests(unittest.TestCase):
@@ -279,9 +281,13 @@ def test_exempted_finding_then_outage_recovers_on_second_attempt(self) -> None:
 echo "scan complete"
 exit 0
 """
-        returncode, calls = _run_gate_retry(gate)
+        returncode, calls, audit = _run_gate_retry(gate)
         self.assertEqual(returncode, 0)
         self.assertEqual(calls, 2)
+        self.assertIn("outer-attempt=1 rc=1", audit)
+        self.assertIn("outer-attempt=2 rc=0", audit)
+        self.assertIn("LLM CONNECTION FAILED", audit)
+        self.assertIn("scan complete", audit)
 
     def test_real_finding_after_continuation_never_retries(self) -> None:
         """A tail-scoped real finding is authoritative: zero retries, fail closed."""
@@ -295,9 +301,11 @@ def test_real_finding_after_continuation_never_retries(self) -> None:
   "Vulnerability Report" "Severity: CRITICAL" "Vulnerabilities 1"
 exit 1
 """
-        returncode, calls = _run_gate_retry(gate)
+        returncode, calls, audit = _run_gate_retry(gate)
         self.assertEqual(returncode, 1)
         self.assertEqual(calls, 1)
+        self.assertIn("outer-attempt=1 rc=1", audit)
+        self.assertIn("Vulnerabilities 1", audit)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":

From dcbef2e01f71d122af1e46b45c342cf7ac40442a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seongho Bae <me@seonghobae.me>
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:17:48 -0700
Subject: [PATCH 11/11] fix(strix): preserve outer retry audit logs

---
 .github/workflows/strix.yml | 14 ++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/strix.yml b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
index 7788d0ee4..4bf543e3b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/strix.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/strix.yml
@@ -910,6 +910,8 @@ jobs:
           # deterministic 120-minute job budget, and all-terminal outcomes
           # remain fail-closed.
           strix_run_log="$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_console.log"
+          strix_attempt_audit_log="$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_attempts.log"
+          : > "$strix_attempt_audit_log"
           strix_rc=0
           strix_gate_attempt=1
           strix_gate_deadline=$(( SECONDS + 6000 ))
@@ -924,6 +926,10 @@ jobs:
               : > "$strix_run_log"
               echo "Configured model and fallback models were unavailable before another bounded retry could start: only ${remaining_seconds}s remain in the outer Strix deadline." | tee "$strix_run_log" >&2
               strix_rc=1
+              {
+                printf "=== outer-attempt=%s rc=%s ===\\n" "$strix_gate_attempt" "$strix_rc"
+                cat "$strix_run_log"
+              } >> "$strix_attempt_audit_log"
               break
             fi
             attempt_budget_seconds=$(( remaining_seconds - 300 ))
@@ -940,6 +946,10 @@ jobs:
             : > "$strix_run_log"
             bash "$TRUSTED_STRIX_GATE" 2>&1 | tee "$strix_run_log"
             strix_rc="${PIPESTATUS[0]}"
+            {
+              printf "=== outer-attempt=%s rc=%s ===\\n" "$strix_gate_attempt" "$strix_rc"
+              cat "$strix_run_log"
+            } >> "$strix_attempt_audit_log"
             if [ "$strix_rc" -eq 0 ]; then
               break
             fi
@@ -1032,6 +1042,10 @@ jobs:
             cp "$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_console.log" "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/strix_runs/gate-console.log"
             copied_reports=1
           fi
+          if [ -f "$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_attempts.log" ]; then
+            cp "$RUNNER_TEMP/strix_gate_attempts.log" "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/strix_runs/gate-attempts.log"
+            copied_reports=1
+          fi
           if [ -n "$(find "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/strix_runs" -mindepth 1 -print -quit)" ]; then
             copied_reports=1
           fi