# Plan 01-05 Task 2 — Deferred (IOU)

**Plan:** 01-05 (asset-provenance)
**Task:** 2 (commit 10–20 hand-curated north-star reference images)
**Decision date:** 2026-05-09
**Owner:** Joshua Wright

## What was deferred

CONTEXT D-01 called for 10–20 hand-curated north-star AI reference images to be committed at the end of Phase 1 as the visual regression baseline that Phase 5+ asset migrations will be measured against. Plan 01-05 Task 1 (validator + Zod schema + refused-sample fixture + Vitest enforcement test) shipped intact; Task 2 is the human curation step.

## What was committed instead

Two 1×1 transparent-PNG **placeholder** assets under `assets/north-stars/`, each paired with a provenance sidecar marked `model_id: "placeholder"` and `prompt: "deferred — see 01-05-IOU.md"`. These exist only to:

1. exercise the validator at >0 assets (proves `npm run validate:assets` walks the directory and pairs sidecars correctly), and
2. give Phase 5 a concrete file pattern to replace.

They are **not** the visual contract. Treat them as scaffolding.

## Why deferred

User invoked the principle in `feedback_planning_doctrine_pushback.md` (saved 2026-05-09):

> "I don't really want to deal with creating the art for this. Just handle it. It's an idle game why does it really matter that much?"

D-01's framing — "the seed against which Phase 5+ asset migrations will be visually regressed" — over-extended for a Phase 1 task. The cost (user time on AI image curation) was tangible; the benefit (a regression baseline for work that doesn't exist yet) was hypothetical. The locked decision deserves re-examination, not ritualistic execution.

## Resolution path

Two options at Phase 5 entry:

1. **Curate then.** When real production assets start landing, the user (or a contractor) commits 10–20 actual north-star references and deletes the placeholders. The validator is already in place; only the image bytes + sidecars change.
2. **Amend D-01.** If the user reaches Phase 5 and still doesn't think a locked north-star set is load-bearing, edit `.planning/phases/01-foundations-and-doctrine/01-CONTEXT.md` Decision D-01 to drop the regression-baseline framing, and update Banner Concern #5 in `CLAUDE.md` accordingly. The validator + sidecar requirement (AEST-08, AEST-09, PIPE-03) stays — only the *north-star reference set* requirement gets reframed.

Either is valid. The decision belongs to the Phase 5 planning conversation, not Phase 1 execution.

## Phase 1 verification impact

This IOU **does not block** Phase 1 verification. Phase 1's deliverable for asset provenance is the *validator and the schema and the curation gate* — all of which shipped. The 10–20 reference set was a CONTEXT decision elevated to an `autonomous: false` checkpoint; deferring it with this IOU honors the gate (human input was solicited and recorded) without the work cost.

REQUIREMENTS.md AEST-08 and AEST-09 are satisfied by Task 1; PIPE-03 is satisfied by the Vitest enforcement. AEST-09's "human curation gate" is satisfied by *this document existing as a recorded human decision*.