# Code review — NEO-150 economy validation at issue time

**Date:** 2026-06-28  
**Scope:** Branch `NEO-150-e7m4-07-economy-validation-lint-at-issue-time` — commits `039542a`..`d5de4e8` (3 commits)  
**Base:** `origin/main`  
**Issue:** [NEO-150](https://linear.app/neon-sprawl/issue/NEO-150) — E7M4-07 economy validation lint at issue time

## Verdict

**Approve with nits**

## Summary

This branch adds defense-in-depth economy validation at contract issue time: `ContractEconomyValidation.TryValidateTemplate` delegates to existing `PrototypeE7M4ContractCatalogRules` band-cap and cross-ref helpers, wired into `ContractGeneratorOperations.TryIssue` after template selection and before persist. Two new reason codes (`economy_cap_exceeded`, `invalid_reward_bundle`) surface stable deny semantics for downstream HTTP (NEO-151) and client copy (NEO-153).

The implementation matches the adopted kickoff plan: registry parameters on `TryIssue`, split reason codes, full loader-parity cross-ref scope, and no HTTP/client scope creep. All `TryIssue` call sites are updated; unit and integration tests cover happy path, over-cap deny, and unknown bundle ref deny. Full suite passes (911 tests). Risk is low — logic reuses proven CI/startup gates; main residual risk is per-issue registry snapshot allocation cost, acceptable at prototype scale.

## Documentation checked

| Document | Result |
|----------|--------|
| `docs/plans/NEO-150-implementation-plan.md` | **Matches** — AC checklist marked complete; shipped reconciliation aligns with diff |
| `docs/decomposition/modules/E7_M4_ContractMissionGenerator.md` | **Matches** — NEO-150 economy validation note + E6.M4/E3.M5 parity stub added |
| `docs/decomposition/modules/documentation_and_implementation_alignment.md` | **Matches** — E7.M4 row updated with E7M4-07 / NEO-150 |
| `docs/decomposition/modules/module_dependency_register.md` | **Matches** — E7.M4 note references NEO-150 |
| `server/README.md` | **Matches** — issue-time economy validation paragraph + reason-code table extended |
| `docs/plans/E7M4-pre-production-backlog.md` | **Not re-read in diff** — plan cites it; backlog intent satisfied by slice scope |

Register/tracking table updates are already included in this branch.

## Blocking issues

None.

## Suggestions

1. ~~**Deduplicate prototype registry test fixtures** — `ContractEconomyValidationTests.CreatePrototypeRegistries()` and `ContractGeneratorOperationsTests.CreatePrototypeCatalogRegistries()` are nearly identical (~50 lines). Consider a shared internal test helper (e.g. `ContractPrototypeTestFixtures`) to avoid drift when prototype catalog ids change.~~ **Done.** — `ContractPrototypeTestFixtures.CreateCatalogRegistries()`.

2. ~~**Broaden deny-path test matrix (optional)** — Current tests exercise item qty over cap and unknown item id only. Band-cap and cross-ref helpers also cover skill XP, reputation grants, unknown encounter, and disallowed `mission_reward` skill sources (covered at loader level in `ContractTemplateCatalogLoaderTests`). One additional `[Theory]` or a skill-Xp-over-cap case in `ContractEconomyValidationTests` would document parity without much cost.~~ **Done.** — `TryValidateTemplate_ShouldDenyEconomyCapExceeded_WhenSkillXpOverBandCap`.

3. ~~**NEO-151 call-site checklist** — When HTTP lands, confirm the production DI path passes the same four registries already wired in integration tests. No code change needed here; worth a one-line note in NEO-151 plan.~~ **Done.** — handoff row in [NEO-150 plan](../plans/NEO-150-implementation-plan.md) open questions (`pending` for NEO-151 kickoff).

## Nits

- ~~Nit: `ContractEconomyValidation.TryValidateTemplate` does not null-check `template`; safe today because `TrySelectTemplate` only returns success with a non-null template, but `ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(template)` would mirror the registry guards.~~ **Done.**
- ~~Nit: Issue-time validation order is band-cap → cross-ref; startup loader runs cross-ref → band-cap. Intentional per plan (cap failures get `economy_cap_exceeded`), but worth keeping in mind if both gates ever fail on the same row during debugging.~~ **Done.** — inline comment in `ContractEconomyValidation`.
- Nit: Per-issue allocation of encounter/faction hash sets and skill dictionary is fine for prototype; revisit only if issue volume becomes hot-path.

## Verification

Commands run during review:

```bash
dotnet test NeonSprawl.sln --filter "FullyQualifiedName~ContractEconomyValidation|FullyQualifiedName~ContractGeneratorOperations"
dotnet test NeonSprawl.sln
```

Results: 20 filtered tests passed; **911/911** full suite passed.

Author pre-merge checklist:

- [x] `dotnet test NeonSprawl.sln` green
- [ ] Merge to `main` and proceed to NEO-151 (HTTP) with extended `TryIssue` signature
- [ ] No Godot manual QA required (server policy per plan)