xlings 2026.9.26.2, the key rule a test still stated, and the graph link measured on four legs

- kXlingsVersion and every xlings pin in .github move to 2026.9.26.2
  (openxlings/xlings#613): xlings.exe declares the UTF-8 code page and its
  main has an exception boundary, so a working directory or an MCPP_HOME
  outside the ANSI code page no longer ends it with 0xC0000409 and no output.
- test_cache_key stated the old rule, that a package's `c_standard = "c11"`
  is keyed; a package that spells the default and one that says nothing
  compile identically and now share a key. CI run 1 failed that test on every
  platform, and nothing else in the unit suites.
- e2e 778 pins each leg to the openkal-musl and openkal-llvm-runtime pair that
  belongs together (the runtime pins openkal-musl exactly, and a root that
  pins another is refused as irreconcilable), and adds the report's aarch64
  case under qemu-aarch64 and a host `-L` refused by the hermetic check. The
  openkal job asserts each leg ran.
- docs: a macOS file name is UTF-8; `allow_host_libs` lifts the graph-link
  refusal rather than turning it into a warning.
- The plan's implementation record carries CI run 1: every Windows row of the
  regression job passes, and the two xcode-27 legs fail as on main (#669).

Author: speak-agent

.agents/docs/2026-09-25-issues-693-696-triage-and-repair-plan.md

@@ -1049,8 +1049,11 @@ Three items are split out, each for a stated reason.
 |---|---|---|
 | 1 | openxlings/xlings#613 | open, CI running; released as 2026.9.26.2, because 2026.9.26.1 had been released separately earlier the same day |
 | 2 | mcpplibs/openkal-musl#43 | merged as `20b92683`; tag `0.19.2`; the GitHub archive (1157319 bytes, sha256 `e8043bcd...c82238`) and the GitCode copy compared byte for byte; the archive carries `port/lib/lib*.a`, eight files of eight bytes |
-| 3 | mcpplibs/mcpp-index#467 | open, CI running |
-| 4 to 7 | | follow in the order of §12.1 |
+| 3 | mcpplibs/mcpp-index#467 | merged as `1529f5f3`; the index artifact `1529f5f` is served by both hosts with the pointer's digest |
+| 4 | mcpplibs/openkal-llvm-runtime#30 | merged as `79671f6b`; tag `0.15.2`; archive 15631743 bytes, sha256 `c2219ad8...c0d0d9`, GitCode copy byte-identical; its mcpp.toml reads openkal-musl `0.19.2` |
+| 5 | mcpplibs/mcpp-index#468 | registration of runtime 0.15.2, CI running |
+| 6 | mcpp-community/mcpp#698 | CI run 1: every Windows row of the regression job passes (below); follow-up commit pending the xlings release |
+| 7 | | after the mcpp release |
 
 **Where the implementation departs from §12.2, and why.**
 
@@ -1081,6 +1084,18 @@ Three items are split out, each for a stated reason.
   there when run from another directory; mcpp resolves it there as a build input.
 - **The rc scanner** tracks a manifest named by the numeric type `24` and treats a statement as
   a manifest only when a file name follows the type, so `FILEVERSION 24,1,0,0` is not one.
+- **A target's entry `main` written in C takes its package's standard.** The entry is
+  synthesized after `make_plan`'s unit loop, so a flag added only inside the loop missed it;
+  found in self-review, one helper now serves both sites (unit test
+  `ACEntryMainTakesItsPackagesStandard`).
+- **The cache key records a package's C standard only when it differs from `c11`.** A package
+  that spells the default and one that says nothing compile identically, so they share a key.
+  The first CI run failed the unit test that encoded the old rule; the test now states the new
+  one (`DeclaringTheDefaultCStandardKeysNothing`).
+- **openkal-llvm-runtime pins openkal-musl exactly.** A root that pins openkal-musl 0.19.2
+  beside runtime 0.15.1 is refused as irreconcilable (measured with e2e 778), so a consumer
+  receives the archives by moving the runtime pin, which is what the #696 note says; the
+  fixture pairs musl 0.19.2 with runtime 0.15.2.
 
 **Test results on Linux** (the worktree at `fix/693-696`):
 
@@ -1090,11 +1105,22 @@ Three items are split out, each for a stated reason.
 | e2e 776, a path with no UTF-8 spelling is named (new) | passes; released 2026.9.25.1 fails at its first criterion with the JSON exception |
 | e2e 777, `c_standard` applies to the package that declares it (new) | passes; 2026.9.25.1 compiles `cdep` and `plain` at the consumer's `c99` |
 | e2e 778, a graph link searches no host directory (new), leg B | passes; 2026.9.25.1 links leg B from the host's `libm` |
-| e2e 778, leg A | runs once openkal-musl 0.19.2 is in the index |
+| e2e 778, legs A, C (aarch64 under qemu) and D (`-L/usr/lib` refused) | run once openkal-llvm-runtime 0.15.2 is in the index |
+| CI run 1 of #698 | the two xcode-27 legs fail as on main (#669, lld 22 rejects `arm64e.x1` in the SDK stubs); `test_cache_key` failed on the old key rule (fixed) |
 | e2e 190 | accepts the byte order mark before `$in_newline` |
 
 The Windows rows run in CI through `.github/tools/check_unicode_paths.sh` (W4f): llvm, MSVC and
 MinGW in an ASCII directory, `caf` + U+00E9 and U+6D4B U+8BD5, plus a path through `build.mcpp`.
+CI run 1 of #698 (windows-latest, code page 1252; `mcpp.exe` self-hosted by the bootstrap
+2026.9.24.1 with `res/mcpp.rc`):
+
+```
+  ok    llvm in 'ascii'        ok    msvc in 'ascii'        ok    mingw in 'ascii'
+  ok    llvm in 'café'         ok    msvc in 'café'         ok    mingw in 'café'
+  ok    llvm in '测试'          ok    msvc in '测试'          ok    mingw in '测试'
+  ok    a path through build.mcpp in '测试'
+OK: every row builds in every directory
+```
 
 ---
 

.github/actions/bootstrap-mcpp/action.yml

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ inputs:
     # `package.name`, so one of the two was simply unreachable — and which one
     # depended on the machine, which is why CI failed on `compat:lua` on
     # Windows and `mcpplibs.capi:lua` on Linux. Never pin below that.
-    default: '2026.9.20.1'
+    default: '2026.9.26.2'
   cache-target:
     description: also restore/save target/ (build artifacts + BMIs)
     required: false

.github/actions/setup-macos-llvm/action.yml

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ inputs:
     # Floor imposed by the index, not a routine bump — see
     # .github/actions/bootstrap-mcpp/action.yml for why 0.4.69 is required
     # (two packages named `lua` in one repo need openxlings/xlings#381).
-    default: '2026.9.20.1'
+    default: '2026.9.26.2'
   image:
     description: >
       The runner label the job runs on (macos-15, xcode-27). It is part of the

.github/workflows/bootstrap-macos.yml

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
       # Dormant (workflow_dispatch only), but kept in step with the rest —
       # check_version_pins.sh holds it there. Floor: 0.4.69, below which the
       # index cannot resolve two packages that share a short name.
-      XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+      XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 

.github/workflows/ci-fresh-install.yml

@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ jobs:
         env:
           XLINGS_NON_INTERACTIVE: '1'
         run: |
-          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.20.1
+          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.26.2
           echo "$HOME/.xlings/subos/current/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
 
       - name: Install mcpp and config mirror
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install xlings + mcpp
         run: |
-          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.20.1
+          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.26.2
           # Deliberately NOT writing to $GITHUB_PATH here. On container
           # images that declare no PATH in their config (opensuse/
           # tumbleweed), appending a single dir to GITHUB_PATH makes the
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ jobs:
           #             (older ones carry minos=15 and refuse to start).
           #   v0.4.51+: in-process sha256 — this image has no sha256sum
           #             binary, so pinned fetches failed before it.
-          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.20.1
+          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.26.2
           echo "$HOME/.xlings/subos/current/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
 
       - name: Install mcpp and config mirror

.github/workflows/ci-linux-e2e.yml

@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Bootstrap xlings + released mcpp
         run: |
-          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.20.1
+          curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openxlings/xlings/main/tools/other/quick_install.sh | bash -s v2026.9.26.2
           export PATH="$HOME/.xlings/subos/current/bin:$PATH"
           xlings update
           xlings install mcpp -y -g

.github/workflows/cross-build-test.yml

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ jobs:
           # release assets were uploaded in a broken state (records present,
           # blobs missing → 404 on GET); re-uploaded clean. The stale-INDEX
           # half is handled by the marker-clear below.
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           tarball="xlings-${XLINGS_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz"
           bash "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/.github/tools/fetch_release.sh" \
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Bootstrap mcpp via xlings
         env:
           XLINGS_NON_INTERACTIVE: '1'
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           tarball="xlings-${XLINGS_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz"
           bash "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/.github/tools/fetch_release.sh" \

.github/workflows/openkal-cross.yml

@@ -637,4 +637,8 @@ jobs:
             "ok: -lm is answered by openkal-musl's own archive, and the program runs" || fail=1
           check 778_a_graph_link_searches_no_host_directory.sh \
             "ok: an unanswered -lm fails, and the note names openkal-musl 0.19.2" || fail=1
+          check 778_a_graph_link_searches_no_host_directory.sh \
+            "ok: aarch64-linux-musl links -lm from the graph and runs under qemu-aarch64" || fail=1
+          check 778_a_graph_link_searches_no_host_directory.sh \
+            "ok: a host directory in ldflags is refused, by name" || fail=1
           [ "$fail" = 0 ] || exit 1

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ jobs:
           # Pin xlings to a known-good version. The upstream install
           # script always grabs `latest` (no version override), so we
           # download + self-install manually to avoid broken releases.
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           if [ ! -x "$HOME/.xlings/subos/default/bin/xlings" ]; then
             tarball="xlings-${XLINGS_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz"
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Bootstrap mcpp via xlings
         env:
           XLINGS_NON_INTERACTIVE: '1'
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           tarball="xlings-${XLINGS_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz"
           bash "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/.github/tools/fetch_release.sh" \
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ jobs:
           # below are pinned to the same version as XLINGS_VERSION; they are
           # NOT interpolated from it, so check_version_pins.sh scans for them
           # explicitly (they were absent from the old lock-step comment).
-          XLA="xlings-2026.9.20.1-linux-aarch64.tar.gz"
+          XLA="xlings-2026.9.26.2-linux-aarch64.tar.gz"
           # NOT fetch_release.sh: this asset is OPTIONAL and the `if` is the
           # point — an arch with no prebuilt xlings must fall through quietly,
           # while the helper retries a 404 five times before giving up. The one
@@ -394,9 +394,9 @@ jobs:
           # cover it.
           if curl -fsSL --retry 3 --retry-delay 2 --retry-all-errors \
                --connect-timeout 20 --max-time 600 -o "/tmp/$XLA" \
-               "https://github.com/openxlings/xlings/releases/download/v2026.9.20.1/$XLA"; then
+               "https://github.com/openxlings/xlings/releases/download/v2026.9.26.2/$XLA"; then
             tar -xzf "/tmp/$XLA" -C /tmp
-            XLBIN=$(find /tmp/xlings-2026.9.20.1-linux-aarch64 -path '*/bin/xlings' -type f | head -1)
+            XLBIN=$(find /tmp/xlings-2026.9.26.2-linux-aarch64 -path '*/bin/xlings' -type f | head -1)
             if [ -n "$XLBIN" ]; then
               mkdir -p "$STAGING/$WRAPPER/registry/bin"
               cp "$XLBIN" "$STAGING/$WRAPPER/registry/bin/xlings"
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Bootstrap mcpp via xlings
         env:
           XLINGS_NON_INTERACTIVE: '1'
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           if [ ! -x "$HOME/.xlings/subos/default/bin/xlings" ]; then
             WORK=$(mktemp -d)
@@ -657,7 +657,7 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         env:
           XLINGS_NON_INTERACTIVE: '1'
-          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.20.1'
+          XLINGS_VERSION: '2026.9.26.2'
         run: |
           # Captured before the `cd` below, in POSIX form: this step never
           # returns to the workspace, and GITHUB_WORKSPACE is a backslash

docs/04-mcpp-toml.md

@@ -937,8 +937,9 @@ is not UTF-8. `cl.exe`, `link.exe` and `lib.exe` read a response file as UTF-8
 only when it begins with a byte order mark, so the response files of the msvc
 dialect begin with one.
 
-**Paths with no UTF-8 spelling.** On Linux and macOS a file name is a sequence of
-bytes, which need not be UTF-8. On a Windows host older than version 1903 the
+**Paths with no UTF-8 spelling.** On Linux a file name is a sequence of bytes,
+which need not be UTF-8 (macOS file systems store names in UTF-8). On a Windows
+host older than version 1903 the
 manifest is ignored, and the process runs in the system's ANSI code page, which
 spells only part of Unicode. On either, some paths have no UTF-8 spelling: