Rebuild the 13.2 notes around the three heroes the operator named

Context

The operator reviewed the 13.2 notes draft (iteration 6, .github/RELEASE_NOTES/v13.2.0.md) on 2026-10-09 around 12:00Z and found it not compelling. His points (recorded on #14800 by Ada, comment 6080548526):

• the story buries what matters;
• the 13.2 window holds roughly 2,000 merged PRs;
• the heroes are the repositories split, then dock layouts with multi-window, then cell editing;
• there is not one screenshot.

He also said the release is not ready yet. Today's goal is Engine 13.2, so the notes are on its critical path.

The Problem

Measured at origin/dev f3b462e84f (286 lines, 55 KB):

• Scale, understated. Line 17 reads "roughly 995 Engine PRs since 13.1.0 after separating the Agent OS and Fleet Manager work that moved to sibling repositories".
  • That figure is the Engine share of a 2026-09-23 census, which counted 1,953 merged PRs, 958 of them split out.
  • It turns the split into a subtraction, which the release-notes workflow §1 rule 4 bans ("Do NOT downplay the release").
  • GitHub search at 2026-10-09 12:17Z (is:pr is:merged merged:>=2026-07-03): neomjs/neo 2,160 · neo-agent-brain 354 · neo-agent-institution 304 · org-wide 2,927.
• The heroes, misplaced.
  • The repositories split has no chapter, only one TL;DR sentence.
  • The Dock chapter opens on a defect ("Select the second tab and resize its split: the first tab could come back.") rather than on the experience.
  • Cell editing is a ### under "Editing, menus and controls that survive change".
  • Buffered List holds its own ## chapter.
• No visuals. 0 images and 1 Mermaid diagram.

The Architectural Reality

• The authoring surface is .github/RELEASE_NOTES/v13.2.0.md: one flat file per version, which buildScripts/release/publish.mjs requires (release-notes workflow §6).
• The structural contract is release-notes workflow §5:
  • a TL;DR and a "13.2 in 2 Minutes";
  • hero chapters, each mined before it is drafted (§3), with per-claim anchors (§4);
  • a War Story;
  • honest bounds;
  • the upgrade path;
  • a Full Changelog tail.
• Link guard: test/playwright/unit/buildScripts/docs/seo/Generate.spec.mjs refuses main and release-tag refs for neomjs/neo source links. dev and full-commit refs pass. Hosting the images is a choice to settle, not a blocker.
• Design authority:
  • the operator's review above, which sets the heroes and their order;
  • release-notes workflow §1 rule 4: "Do NOT downplay the release. A window's headline arc is not its extent".

The Fix

Rebuild the spine:

1. TL;DR and "13.2 in 2 Minutes" around the three heroes, in the operator's order. The scale is stated per repository and org-wide, with its date and query.
2. The repositories split: a chapter slot right before Dock. Ada drafts its content in her own leaf.
3. Dock layouts and multi-window, experience first:
   • a workspace, and a pane torn into a real window and brought home;
   • then the one-document architecture;
   • then "Green in emulation, broken by hand" as the War Story. The tab-resize defect moves to the architecture section, as the reason for the one-document model.
4. Grid cell editing as its own ## chapter (edits follow the record, not the cell), mined per §3.
5. "Also in 13.2": Buffered List, runtime, the package, and menus and controls, condensed into one section.
6. Bounds, upgrading and the Full Changelog stay.

The screenshot slots are marked where Ada's capture lands.

Acceptance Criteria

• AC-1: The TL;DR and "13.2 in 2 Minutes" name the three heroes in the operator's order. The scale line gives the per-repository and org-wide merged-PR counts with their date and query. No sentence frames the split as a subtraction.
• AC-2: The Dock chapter opens on what a user does and sees. The tab-resize defect moves out of the opening and into the architecture section it motivated. (Amended 2026-10-09 by the author, before the PR: the earlier text placed it in the War Story, but the War Story is the cross-window conversion, while the defect is why the one-document model exists.)
• AC-3: Grid cell editing is a ## chapter. Its claims are anchored (§4) and mined (§3).
• AC-4: Buffered List, Runtime, Package, and the menus and controls fold into one "Also in 13.2" ## section.
• AC-5: A repositories-split slot sits right before Dock, and each hero chapter marks its screenshot slot.
• AC-6: The link guard (Generate.spec.mjs) passes, and the iteration is reviewed cross-family before merge (§5).

Out of Scope

• The split chapter's prose, and the screenshot capture and hosting (Ada's leaf under #14800).
• The cut itself: the designation lines, the final scope re-count, the banner removal (§7).
• The release-path audit (Sophie).

Related

#14800 (epic) · #19482 and #19484 (iteration 6, merged) · #14790 (the launch playbook) · #19120 and #19121 (the 2026-09-23 rewrite whose structure this replaces)

Live latest-open sweep: checked the latest 20 open neomjs/neo issues at 2026-10-09T12:17:13Z, plus gh search issues "release notes 13.2" (open); no equivalent. A2A sweep: the last 30 messages in all read states. Ada claims the split chapter and the screenshot spike as her own leaf under #14800, which is disjoint from this one by agreement (A2A 450ac494, 4d83bf1f). No other claim. MC sweep: "13.2 release notes not compelling, no screenshots, repositories split chapter, dock multi-window cell editing heroes, scale understated", 6 results. These are the 2026-09-23 census and rewrite, and Ada's record of today's review. No prior decision against this shape. Own-assignment sweep: #14800 (the parent) and #15000; no overlap.

Origin Session ID: e76b2469-377c-4fec-85a7-4c47b10269b9 Retrieval Hint: "13.2 release notes spine three heroes repositories split dock multi-window cell editing honest scale screenshots"