I read this as implementation - I’ll extend the artifact-driven Golden Path with a test-first, mutually exclusive installed-wheel provenance mode, then run the specified offline verification suite and report the sealing interface.


I’ve completed the code-path trace. The installed boundary must be established before any lifecycle store write: interpreter and both distributions are authenticated first, imports are then origin-checked, and only that recomputed receipt—not source declarations—can become the candidate authority.


The failing-first provenance tests are now green. I’m moving to end-to-end regression and static validation; this includes the existing full source-mode driver/verifier test to ensure the new installed mode remains mutually exclusive without changing source behavior.


The implementation now also proves the installed branch cannot silently fall back to the immutable profile source: a deliberately incomplete installed package fails at its missing installed module rather than importing the complete source tree. Final validation is running against the full focused verifier suite and all requested static checks.


I read this as implementation - installed-wheel Golden Path support is complete and source-ready.

Implemented:

- New provenance API: `scripts/installed_wheel_provenance.py`
  - Validates runtime interpreter identity/hash.
  - Independently verifies wheel contents and installed `RECORD` hashes/sizes.
  - Captures metadata, package roots, inventories, wheel/RECORD digests.
  - Rejects symlinks, unsafe provenance permissions, path substitution, source precedence, interpreter mismatch, tampered bytes, and invalid origins.
- Extended `scripts/source_golden_path.py`
  - Source and installed modes are mutually exclusive.
  - Installed mode never inserts profile source into `sys.path`.
  - Source remains audit metadata only.
  - Candidate digest binds both distributions, inventories, source metadata, runtime configuration, harness, helper, and verifier.
- Extended `scripts/verify_source_golden_path.py`
  - Recomputes installed provenance and candidate binding before lifecycle verification.
  - Reimports declared modules and verifies actual `__file__` origins and bytes.
- Added `tests/gateway/test_installed_golden_path_provenance.py`.

RED/GREEN:

- Initial RED: 1 collection error because the provenance helper did not exist.
- Intermediate RED: 1 failed, 7 passed while installed CLI exclusivity remained absent.
- Final GREEN: **49 passed** across both complete Golden Path verifier test files.

Validation:

- Ruff: passed.
- ty: passed.
- compileall: passed.
- CLI help surfaces confirmed.
- No wheel build, installation, live service, or lifecycle execution was performed.

Installed driver CLI:

```text
--installed-venv PATH
--installed-site-packages PATH
--profile-wheel PATH
--hermes-wheel PATH
--evidence-root PATH
```

Exact sealer invocation requirements:

```bash
cd "$PRIVATE_ISOLATED_CWD"
env -u PYTHONPATH PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
  "$VENV/bin/python" \
  /home/cube/projects/richard/hermes-agent/scripts/source_golden_path.py \
  --installed-venv "$VENV" \
  --installed-site-packages "$SITE_PACKAGES" \
  --profile-wheel "$PROFILE_WHEEL" \
  --hermes-wheel "$HERMES_WHEEL" \
  --evidence-root "$PRIVATE_BUNDLE"
```

Then independently verify with the same interpreter:

```bash
cd "$PRIVATE_ISOLATED_CWD"
env -u PYTHONPATH PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
  "$VENV/bin/python" \
  /home/cube/projects/richard/hermes-agent/scripts/verify_source_golden_path.py \
  "$PRIVATE_BUNDLE"
```

Requirements: venv and bundle roots must be private, wheel files must be owned regular `0600`/`0400` files, paths must not be symlinks, both wheels and installed trees must remain unchanged through verification, and the working directory must not expose another `checkin_cli` or `gateway` authority ahead of site-packages.