docs(observatory): record cache activation and Docker memory recovery

experiments/perception/OBSERVATORY_PUBLISHED_CACHE_2026-09-03.md

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 ## Status and scope
 
-Implemented and contract-tested; **not activated on canonical8000 yet**.
+Implemented, contract-tested and **activated on canonical8000** on 2026-09-03.
+Full product acceptance remains open; see the activation evidence below.
 Implementation commit: `1e4ddc2` on `codex/m5-1-observatory` (no push).
 This is stage1 source/provenance/cache work, not model or recorded-run evidence.
 No Worker containers, model profiles, raw recordings, result history, capture,
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ Reproduce backend tests with `.venv/bin/pytest -o addopts='' -q` and these files
 Frontend, from `apps/control-station`:
 `NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=192 node --test --test-concurrency=1 test/observatoryLaboratorySetups.test.mjs test/applicationArchitecture.test.mjs`.
 
-## Activation still required
+## Initial activation hold — historical, resolved below
 
 Mac pressure rose from1 to2 during the turn, swap~7.6–7.8GiB; no temporary heavy job
 remains. Existing operator Docker services were inspected, not stopped. The
@@ -90,3 +91,63 @@ and browser decoder behavior without creating inference jobs, then update this
 status. Do not start a second backend or replay process. Stage2 then implements
 the selector/progress/full recorded calculation and sequential M4.9T5/LAB V1
 acceptance. Neither this report nor a cached viewer FPS proves onboard realtime.
+
+## Resource recovery and activation — 2026-09-03
+
+The earlier memory gate was real, but browser RSS was not a sufficient cause
+diagnosis. After the owner stopped unrelated containers, the23-day-old Docker
+VM retained a14GB footprint (about13GB accounted swapped/compressed), while
+its guest had about12.5GiB available. This was not14GB resident physical RAM
+or a model workload. Chrome, Arc and Little Snitch were not touched.
+
+With explicit owner approval, saved all48 container identities/states/policies,
+temporarily changed the12 stopped Plane `always` policies to `no`, and restarted
+Docker Desktop gracefully. VM PID9403→66297; footprint14GB→1565MB, pressure2→1,
+used swap7722.12→2746.19MiB. Only the same3 Mission Core telemetry containers
+resumed, all healthy. Restored Plane policies to `always` without starting Plane.
+All45 non-Core containers retain their state/StartedAt. Images and mount
+identities are unchanged (Docker reordered some Mounts arrays). No containers,
+volumes or data deleted; Docker MemoryMiB14336/SwapMiB4096 unchanged. Plane can
+start on a future daemon restart: this was only a temporary restart barrier.
+
+Sequential validation under `mission-core-product-ui`:
+
+- Architecture4/4; full typecheck; frontend714/714 unit tests; production build
+  PASS. Typecheck5.47s/peak RSS902152192bytes, tests18.76s/242204672bytes,
+  build15.38s/2255650816bytes. Node heap caps1024/512/2048MiB respectively.
+  Pressure remained1; swap did not grow. Existing large-chunk warnings remain.
+- Built in a fresh ignored staging directory; preserved the old dist for
+  rollback, then replaced the matching frontend/backend via the existing
+  LaunchAgent. Backend PID67747, UI `/assets/index-DSuuMkq4.js`, index SHA256
+  `eb8c47d373a2ce1077557d348e097aa354556ddf2a529e3d6c07b4d5fe91922f`.
+  Health200/reconciler ready. No alternate backend8765 or preview4173.
+- Portable catalogs HTTP200:004TREE/00 compatible with both current profiles;
+  01 remains blocked by missing capture attestation, not a cache failure.
+  No exact published cache hits in current real data. Both new indexes exist.
+- In-app browser: actual new build, source/evidence catalog, portable selection,
+  Refresh, normal/expanded window, dropdown Escape PASS; console warnings/errors0.
+  Initial navigation hit the short backend startup gap; a fresh app tab worked.
+  No heavy replay/model run. Automatic retention of the QA tab was declined by
+  browser action review; no alternate retention mechanism was used.
+- All6 queue-table canonical row hashes unchanged before/after activation and
+  UI checks:11 jobs,50000 legacy claims,1 reconciliation,0 live leases/v3 grants/
+  preemptions. The sole succeeded job is still `not-required`, not a new cache
+  hit. Positive publish→cache→view remains synthetic contract-test evidence.
+
+Private snapshots/logs and previous frontend: `.runtime/docker-vm-recovery-z1636o/`.
+No raw recording content was collected into this diagnostic evidence.
+
+## Remaining product acceptance
+
+The cache increment is active, but the complete workflow is not accepted.
+Browser QA reproduced the next-stage UI mismatch: archived entries and portable
+definitions are mixed in the selector; current M4.9T5 can show an old completion
+label next to Calculate. `useObservatoryRecordedJobs` selects by source/setup,
+then `jobs[0]`, without an exact definition filter; `ObservatoryWorkspace`
+renders `succeeded/not-required` as completed. That is not a current cache hit.
+
+Next: exact-version queue/status binding, selector filtering, publication
+progress, complete recorded calculation and sequential M4.9T5/LAB V1 acceptance.
+Stage1 user-facing reconciliation and the full stage2 workflow remain open.
+Do not repeat the memory recovery or claim/v3 repair, or treat the old realtime
+FAIL as a new gate. No per-LAB UI branch or automatic inference on Refresh.