VCO Release v2.3.54

Highlights

Closed the release-surface truth gap left by v2.3.53: release-cut.ps1 is now the authoritative path for version governance, changelog / ledger writes, docs/releases/README.md, dist manifest source_release updates, and bundled / nested bundled sync during release apply.
Promoted runtime contract debt work into a documented baseline instead of scattered implicit structure. Runtime packet projection, schema references, contract goldens, and host/runtime projection tests now give the release a stable proof surface for future refactors.
Finished the tracked outputs boundary migration for the currently targeted fixture families and kept compatibility honest: canonical baselines moved to governed fixture/reference surfaces while release verification continues to prove no regression.
Landed install-time generated nested compatibility as a real supported release/install path rather than a hand-maintained assumption, and kept installed-runtime behavior working without repo-level adapter-registry dependence.
Hardened release truth itself: release notes now have a dedicated quality gate, v2.3.54 replaces the outdated v2.3.53 current-release surface, and the published summary now matches the code that actually shipped in this worktree.

v2.3.53 primarily described specialist-dispatch closure, Windows PowerShell host resolution, and cleanup-truth wording.
v2.3.54 is the version that actually carries the later non-regression remediation waves that were completed after that cut: release operator closure, runtime contract schema baselining, outputs-boundary migration, install-time generated nested compatibility, and release-note truth hardening.
This is a release-surface correction as much as a code release. The main difference is not a new user-facing product lane, but that release/readme/version/manifests/runtime proofs now describe the same repaired repository state.

pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_release_cut_operator.py -> 2 passed
pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_release_notes_quality.py -> 4 passed
pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_outputs_boundary_migration.py -> 2 passed
pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_install_generated_nested_bundled.py tests/runtime_neutral/test_generated_nested_bundled.py -> 5 passed
pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_runtime_contract_schema.py tests/runtime_neutral/test_runtime_contract_goldens.py -> 13 passed
pytest -q tests/runtime_neutral/test_installed_runtime_scripts.py -k "nested_runtime_skill_entrypoints_sanitized or installed_shell_scripts_work_without_repo_level_adapter_registry" -> 1 passed, 11 deselected
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-version-consistency-gate.ps1 -> PASS
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-dist-manifest-gate.ps1 -> PASS
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-version-packaging-gate.ps1 -> PASS
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-nested-bundled-parity-gate.ps1 -> PASS
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-release-notes-quality-gate.ps1 -> PASS
pwsh -NoProfile -File scripts/verify/vibe-release-install-runtime-coherence-gate.ps1 -> PASS
git diff --check -> clean

Operators should treat scripts/governance/release-cut.ps1 as the authoritative release cut path for version surface updates. Hand-edited release README / dist manifest drift is now a correctness bug, not a normal workflow.
Installed-runtime and release/install flows no longer need a permanently tracked nested mirror baseline to remain valid. Compatibility is materialized through the governed release/install path and remains covered by parity and installed-runtime tests.
The outputs/ tree continues to exist for generated verification artifacts, but the migrated baseline families are no longer the canonical tracked truth surface. Downstream tooling should prefer the governed fixture/reference paths introduced by this remediation.
This release improves truth alignment and maintainability. It does not claim that the entire long-tail technical-debt roadmap is finished.