[v7.0.0] DF-030 Make DOGFOOD the canonical docs surface

[flyingrobots]

Requested classification

• Source lane: up-next
• Applied lane label: lane:up-next
• Legend label: legend:df
• Type label: type:docs
• Priority label: priority:high
• Initial milestone triage: v7.0.0
• Source file: docs/method/backlog/up-next/DF_df-030-make-dogfood-the-canonical-docs-surface.md

Finding

This backlog evidence card existed in the repository but was not represented as a canonical GitHub Issue. Importing it makes GitHub Issues the live tracker while preserving the filesystem card as evidence lineage.

Hill

A Bijou maintainer can triage, pull, split, or close DF-030 from GitHub without relying on local filesystem spelunking or chat memory, while still having a direct link back to the original Method backlog evidence.

Sponsored perspectives

• Sponsored Human: Bijou maintainer or contributor deciding whether this card belongs in v6, v7, or a later horizon.
• Sponsored Agent: Implementation, review, or triage agent using GitHub Issues as the canonical queue and source files as evidence.

Current repo note

Verified against main at edf123f5 on 2026-06-01.

Import status: Open after backlog import; milestone assignment is initial triage and can be reshaped.

Scope

• Preserve the original backlog card in GitHub Issues.
• Keep the issue labeled with its source Method lane.
• Use the milestone as the initial release-horizon triage signal.
• Split or reshape this issue if implementation scope is broader than one cycle.

Out of scope

• Treating the source backlog wording as immutable implementation design.
• Expanding this card beyond the imported problem without a design or triage comment.
• Closing implementation work without evidence.

Acceptance criteria

• Source backlog card is visible in GitHub Issues.
• Source lane label and initial milestone triage are applied.
• Work is either pulled into a cycle, split into sharper issues, or moved to a different milestone with a comment explaining why.
• Closing evidence links tests, playback, docs, retro/closeout, and PR or explicit no-code rationale.

Expected evidence

Tests

Name the deterministic test command, failing-before-fix reproduction, or reason no code test applies when this card is pulled.

Playback

Name the human-visible playback, demo, transcript, or reproduction that proves the result.

Docs

Update affected docs, DOGFOOD surfaces, issue metadata, and changelog entries when behavior or release posture changes.

Retro / Closeout

Record closeout in the issue, linked PR, committed retro, or explicit no-code close reason.

Method artifacts

• Design: docs/method/backlog/up-next/DF_df-030-make-dogfood-the-canonical-docs-surface.md is the imported backlog evidence; create or link docs/design/<LEGEND>-<issue>-<slug>.md if the work needs a design record.
• Witness: Pending unless the issue is closed by import evidence.
• Retro: Pending unless the issue is closed by import evidence.
• PR: Link before closing implementation work.

Imported source card

DF-030 Make DOGFOOD the canonical docs surface

DOGFOOD claims to be the repository's canonical human-facing docs surface, but
today it still hand-publishes a subset of the real docs tree. Some package
pages defer readers back out to package READMEs or the repo, and newer repo
docs such as design-system guidance can exist on disk without becoming visible
in-app. That breaks the "Docs Are the Demo" contract and makes DOGFOOD feel
more like a curated directory than the actual reading surface.

Concrete failure mode:

• in Packages, some package docs still effectively say "go read the package
  repo/README" instead of surfacing that package's real install, usage, and
  guidance content inside DOGFOOD
• the i18n package lane is a visible example of this dishonesty
• design-system docs can be updated on disk and still not appear as first-class
  DOGFOOD pages; docs/design-system/theme-authoring.md is a concrete example
• the current docs app shape is registry-driven, so repo truth can drift unless
  the docs surface is derived from the real docs corpus

What needs to be true instead:

• DOGFOOD should recursively ingest the repository's real docs corpus and
  publish it in-app as the primary reading surface
• this scope must include package docs, design-system docs, doctrine/signpost
  docs, architecture/invariants guidance, and release docs, not just package
  READMEs
• package pages may still link to source files, but they should not offload the
  actual docs burden back to the filesystem or GitHub
• the docs navigation should be shaped from repo truth, with room for curated
  presentation, instead of silently depending on a hand-maintained page subset
• excerpted, generated, or intentionally omitted content should be labeled
  honestly in the DOGFOOD reader

This is not just a copy pass. It is a docs-system honesty bug.

Triage rule

Initial triage is v7.0.0. Move this issue when release planning decides it belongs in a different horizon, and leave a comment explaining the decision.

[coderabbitai]

🔗 Related PRs

#59 - [codex] Make DOGFOOD the canonical docs surface for 4.1.0 [merged]
#69 - feat: add story tooling and shape v6 layout lane [merged]
#78 - test(dogfood): audit app shell story [merged]
#104 - docs: align vision and bearing with DOGFOOD coverage [merged]
#113 - feat(dogfood): add block-authored surface contracts [merged]

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