change check rejects unchanged Git LFS assets through the whole-workspace evidence digest

[0xGaspar]

Summary

SpecSync 6.0.0 cannot finish change check in a repository containing unchanged, tracked Git LFS assets, even when the change only touches code/specs and the asset directories are outside the configured source scope and listed in SDD ignored_paths.

Confirmed by rerunning the real command in CorvidLabs/peck and tracing the matching v6.0.0 source. This is a workspace-evidence compatibility problem, not a Godot failure or missing requirement-evidence row.

Reproduced environment

• macOS; specsync --version → specsync 6.0.0.
• Consumer: CorvidLabs/peck at a3f08ca, branch refactor/enemy-scene-presentation.
• Approved change: let-enemy-scenes-own-animation-facing-and-damage-presentation-without-changing-combat-rules.
• The change's tasks and requirement-evidence table are populated. The strict module/spec coverage check passes; all 18 Godot suites passed separately.
• No asset archives or NFT sources changed between the refactor base 03a1082 and this head.

Relevant .specsync/config.toml:

source_dirs = ["godot"]
source_extensions = ["gd"]
exclude_dirs = [".godot", "build", "content", "fonts"]

Relevant .specsync/sdd.json:

{
  "meaningful_paths": ["godot/", "tools/asset-library/", "scripts/godot-preview-plugin.mjs", "fledge.toml", ".specsync/sdd.json", ".specsync/config.toml", ".specsync/registry.toml", ".specsync/version"],
  "ignored_paths": [".specsync/", "specs/", "assets/archives/", "assets/nfts/"]
}

.gitattributes:

assets/archives/*.tar.zst filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
assets/nfts/**/*.png filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text

Actual reproduction

In that checkout, using the existing installed binary:

specsync change check let-enemy-scenes-own-animation-facing-and-damage-presentation-without-changing-combat-rules

Exits 1:

error: Git `filter` attribute is not supported for canonical evidence: `assets/archives/2d-animals-mega-pack-1.tar.zst`

Checks establishing why this is unrelated to the implementation:

git check-attr filter -- assets/archives/2d-animals-mega-pack-1.tar.zst
# assets/archives/2d-animals-mega-pack-1.tar.zst: filter: lfs

git diff --name-only 03a1082 a3f08ca -- assets/archives assets/nfts
# no output

fledge run spec-check
# 4 specs passed, 0 warnings/failures; 90/90 source coverage

The preceding player-scene change hits the same archive/error. No LFS fetching or tool installation is necessary to establish the attribute rejection; it also occurred when the local archives were LFS pointer files. Current reproduction confirms attribute rejection without modifying the asset configuration.

Source trace (v6.0.0)

1. check_change verification construction records workspace_digest: project_input_digest(root)? after the spec/code evaluation.
2. project_input_digest_uncached calls stable_discovered_evidence(root, None, ...), i.e. without scoped paths. Git inventory includes tracked files; filtering here uses the hardcoded volatile-path predicate, not SDD ignored_paths.
3. stable_discovered_evidence_with_hook_internal discovers that inventory and passes it into Git inspection.
4. inspect_git_candidates validates content attributes for clean, present regular files.
5. validate_git_attribute_output rejects any filter value other than unspecified/unset, including lfs, producing the exact observed error.

The same implementation was present in the inspected upstream main source at c8518b9b91176c664256d290fed4310ec0c12929. I did not build or run a separate upstream binary.

Expected outcome / acceptance

• A supported, integrity-preserving route for completing scoped changes in repositories with Git LFS assets.
• Explicit canonical semantics for LFS pointer versus hydrated content, or a documented evidence-scope policy that safely excludes unrelated asset trees. Do not blanket-disable content-attribute validation or make protected evidence silently skippable.
• Regression coverage for an otherwise valid approved source-only change plus an unchanged tracked LFS pointer outside its scope and in ignored_paths.
• Coverage for both pointer-only and hydrated checkouts, and an in-scope LFS input so the chosen policy cannot hide meaningful changes.
• Clarify that current ignored_paths controls meaningful-change policy but does not exclude files from the whole-workspace digest. The current error gives no usable recovery path for this normal repository layout.

Duplicate check

Searched all-state issue results for LFS and the exact phrase canonical evidence, and inspected recent reports. No matching issue was returned. Peck's earlier consumer-side report is CorvidLabs/peck#13; that ticket is closed, but the failure remains reproducible with the installed 6.0.0 binary and the configurations above.