feat(mutation): domain-specific operator packs via universalmutator (#141)

.github/workflows/mutation.yml

@@ -126,6 +126,171 @@ jobs:
             mutation-report.md
           if-no-files-found: ignore
 
+  # ── spec-gate: universalmutator + comby custom operators, diff-scoped on PRs ─
+  # The domain-specific complement to cargo-mutants: comby structural operators
+  # for trie arithmetic, canonicalization, and endianness (mutants/operators/).
+  # Only files+lines the PR changed are mutated, so most PRs generate zero
+  # spec-gate mutants and this is near-instant. Shares the scorer with
+  # cargo-mutants (scripts/mutation_gate.py) via the umutate.py results contract.
+  spec-gate:
+    name: spec-gate
+    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0 # need base history for the diff
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Install Rust
+        uses: actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain@v1
+
+      - name: Install cargo-nextest
+        uses: taiki-e/install-action@nextest
+
+      - name: Install universalmutator
+        # Pin the version: a new release can change generated mutants and shift
+        # the gate baseline.
+        run: pip install universalmutator==1.14.1
+
+      - name: Install comby
+        # Pin the version (reproducible mutant generation). The prebuilt binary
+        # links against libev/libpcre, which are not on the runner by default.
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y libpcre3 libev4
+          sudo curl -fsSL https://github.com/comby-tools/comby/releases/download/1.8.1/comby-1.8.1-x86_64-linux -o /usr/local/bin/comby
+          sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/comby
+          comby -version
+
+      - name: Warm test binaries
+        run: cargo nextest run -p salt --no-default-features --features parallel --no-run
+
+      - name: Run diff-scoped spec-gate mutation
+        env:
+          BASE_REF: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
+        run: |
+          python3 scripts/umutate.py run \
+            --diff "origin/${BASE_REF}" \
+            --output target/umutate
+
+      - name: Score and gate
+        run: |
+          python3 scripts/mutation_gate.py report \
+            --results target/umutate \
+            --suppressions mutants/suppressions.toml \
+            --comment spec-gate-report.md \
+            --summary "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+      - name: Upsert PR comment
+        if: always() && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        continue-on-error: true
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        with:
+          script: |
+            const fs = require("fs");
+            let body;
+            try {
+              body = fs.readFileSync("spec-gate-report.md", "utf8");
+            } catch {
+              body = "## Spec-gate mutation\n\nNo report produced.";
+            }
+            const marker = "<!-- salt-spec-gate-mutation-report -->";
+            body = `${marker}\n${body}`;
+            const { data: comments } = await github.rest.issues.listComments({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              issue_number: context.issue.number,
+              per_page: 100,
+            });
+            const existing = comments.find(c => c.body.includes(marker));
+            if (existing) {
+              await github.rest.issues.updateComment({
+                owner: context.repo.owner,
+                repo: context.repo.repo,
+                comment_id: existing.id,
+                body,
+              });
+            } else {
+              await github.rest.issues.createComment({
+                owner: context.repo.owner,
+                repo: context.repo.repo,
+                issue_number: context.issue.number,
+                body,
+              });
+            }
+
+      - name: Upload spec-gate artifacts
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: salt-spec-gate-results
+          path: |
+            target/umutate
+            spec-gate-report.md
+          if-no-files-found: ignore
+
+  # ── spec-gate: nightly full sweep, sharded by pack (informational) ──────────
+  # Each pack stays bounded (analyze is sequential). Surfaces survivors but does
+  # not fail the workflow — triage into suppressions or killing tests.
+  spec-gate-sweep:
+    name: spec-gate sweep (${{ matrix.pack }})
+    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 330
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        pack: [trie, canon, endian]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Install Rust
+        uses: actions-rust-lang/setup-rust-toolchain@v1
+
+      - name: Install cargo-nextest
+        uses: taiki-e/install-action@nextest
+
+      - name: Install universalmutator
+        run: pip install universalmutator==1.14.1
+
+      - name: Install comby
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y libpcre3 libev4
+          sudo curl -fsSL https://github.com/comby-tools/comby/releases/download/1.8.1/comby-1.8.1-x86_64-linux -o /usr/local/bin/comby
+          sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/comby
+          comby -version
+
+      - name: Warm test binaries
+        run: cargo nextest run -p salt --no-default-features --features parallel --no-run
+
+      - name: Run spec-gate mutation (${{ matrix.pack }})
+        run: |
+          python3 scripts/umutate.py run --packs ${{ matrix.pack }} \
+            --output "target/umutate/${{ matrix.pack }}"
+
+      - name: Score (informational)
+        run: |
+          python3 scripts/mutation_gate.py report \
+            --results "target/umutate/${{ matrix.pack }}" \
+            --suppressions mutants/suppressions.toml \
+            --summary "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY" || true
+
+      - name: Upload spec-gate sweep artifacts
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: salt-spec-gate-sweep-${{ matrix.pack }}
+          path: target/umutate/${{ matrix.pack }}
+          if-no-files-found: ignore
+
   # Full-crate runs are far too large for one hosted runner within the job
   # timeout, so scheduled/manual runs shard the mutant universe. Keep the
   # shard denominator in sync with the matrix size.
@@ -196,8 +361,10 @@ jobs:
           filters: |
             hygiene:
               - 'mutants/suppressions.toml'
+              - 'mutants/operators/**'
               - 'scripts/mutation_*.py'
               - 'scripts/mutation_*.sh'
+              - 'scripts/umutate*'
               - '.cargo/mutants.toml'
               - 'salt/src/**'
 
@@ -222,8 +389,27 @@ jobs:
         with:
           tool: cargo-mutants@27.1.0
 
-      - name: Build full mutant universe
-        run: cargo mutants --list --package salt --colors never > universe.txt
+      - name: Install universalmutator
+        run: pip install universalmutator==1.14.1
+
+      - name: Install comby
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y libpcre3 libev4
+          sudo curl -fsSL https://github.com/comby-tools/comby/releases/download/1.8.1/comby-1.8.1-x86_64-linux -o /usr/local/bin/comby
+          sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/comby
+          comby -version
+
+      - name: Build the full mutant universe (both engines)
+        run: |
+          # --package salt: match the driver scope so a stale suppression can't
+          #   be kept alive by a same-named mutant in another crate.
+          # --colors never: CI forces color, which would embed ANSI codes and
+          #   break exact suppression matching.
+          cargo mutants --list --package salt --colors never > universe.txt
+          python3 scripts/umutate.py plan \
+            | grep -oE 'salt/src/[^:]+:[0-9]+:[0-9]+: .*' >> universe.txt
+          echo "universe: $(wc -l < universe.txt) mutants"
 
       - name: Check for orphan suppressions
         run: |

mutants/operators/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+# Domain-specific mutation operators
+
+Custom mutation-operator packs run through
+[universalmutator](https://github.com/agroce/universalmutator) +
+[comby](https://comby.dev), complementing the `cargo-mutants` gate (issue
+#141). `cargo-mutants` ships a fixed set of structural operators and has no
+plugin API, so it never generates the mutations that matter most for a
+state-commitment system. Each pack targets a specific soundness or determinism
+invariant. The selection filter for adding rules: *"what soundness or
+determinism invariant would a surviving mutant here violate?"* Generic
+arithmetic/relational/logical operators are deliberately excluded — the
+`cargo-mutants` gate already owns those.
+
+All packs are driven by `scripts/umutate.py` and scored by the **same** gate as
+`cargo-mutants` (`scripts/mutation_gate.py`), via the
+caught/missed/timeout/unviable results contract. Both engines live in one CI
+workflow, `.github/workflows/mutation.yml`.
+
+## Layout
+
+Each pack is a directory `mutants/operators/<name>/` with:
+
+- `manifest.toml` — pack config: `name`, `description`, `mode` (`comby` or
+  `regex`), `targets` (source globs), optional `match` (a regex file-content
+  filter), the `rules` filename, and the `test_cmd` whose non-zero exit means a
+  mutant was killed.
+- `<name>.rules` — the operator rules. `PATTERN ==> REPLACEMENT` per line, `#`
+  for comments. In `comby` mode the pattern is a
+  [comby template](https://comby.dev/docs/syntax-reference); in `regex` mode a
+  Python regex.
+
+| Pack | Scope | Invariant guarded |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `trie` | `trie/node_utils.rs`, `trie/trie.rs`, `constant.rs`, `types.rs`, `proof/shape.rs` | Level-base and bit-width arithmetic of the two-tier trie (`STARTING_NODE_ID`, 8/24/40 splits, 256-way fanout, ceil rounding) |
+| `canon` | `proof/prover.rs`, `proof/salt_witness.rs` | Canonical form: sort/dedup on the proof path must not be removable or reversible |
+| `endian` | `state/ahash/convert.rs`, `state/hasher.rs`, `types.rs` | Byte-order determinism of the consensus hash and 12-byte metadata codec (see issue #127) |
+
+## Why comby
+
+comby matches **structurally**, not textually, which removes a class of
+regex-fragility bugs:
+
+- A method/path-call template (`:[recv].to_le_bytes()`,
+  `:[ty]::from_le_bytes(:[args])`) can only match a real call — never a
+  substring of an identifier such as `serialize_to_le_bytes`.
+- A single-word hole `:[[recv]]` matches one identifier, so a comparator or
+  receiver hole cannot swallow a surrounding compound expression.
+
+The one case comby does **not** anchor for free is a bare constant that is a
+prefix of a longer one (`TRIE_WIDTH` inside `TRIE_WIDTH_BITS`): a literal
+template is not word-anchored. Pin a boundary with a trailing negated-class
+hole, reproduced in the replacement:
+
+```
+% TRIE_WIDTH:[b~[^A-Za-z0-9_]] ==> % (TRIE_WIDTH - 1):[b]
+```
+
+## Running
+
+```bash
+scripts/umutate_setup.sh          # installs universalmutator + comby
+
+# Show what WOULD be mutated (no tests run, tree untouched):
+python3 scripts/umutate.py plan
+
+# Full pipeline for one pack -> gate-ready results dir:
+python3 scripts/umutate.py run --packs trie --output target/umutate
+python3 scripts/mutation_gate.py report --results target/umutate \
+    --suppressions mutants/suppressions.toml
+
+# Diff-scoped (the PR-gate scope: only files+lines changed vs a base):
+python3 scripts/umutate.py run --diff origin/main --output target/umutate
+```
+
+Mutants inside `#[cfg(test)]` code are pruned automatically (mutating test
+assertions is meaningless), as are — in `--diff` mode — mutants outside the
+changed lines.
+
+## CI
+
+`.github/workflows/mutation.yml` runs three concerns off one file:
+
+- **`spec-gate`** — diff-scoped, blocking, on every PR. Most PRs change no
+  operator site, so it generates zero mutants and is near-instant. An
+  unsuppressed survivor fails the gate and is upserted as a PR comment.
+- **`spec-gate-sweep`** — nightly full sweep, sharded per pack, informational
+  (surfaces survivors to triage; does not fail the workflow).
+- **`orphan-suppressions`** — folds the umutate mutant universe into the
+  `cargo-mutants` universe so a suppression that no longer matches any live
+  mutant (either engine) is flagged.
+
+## Triage policy
+
+Every **survivor** is either:
+
+1. a missing test — add a killing test (preferred), or
+2. an equivalent mutant — record it in `mutants/suppressions.toml` with a
+   justification (prefer a `line = <n>` pin; note that same-line twins cannot
+   be pinned apart — rely on a killing test there instead).
+
+**Unviable** (non-compiling) mutants are fine in moderation; if a rule mostly
+produces unviable mutants, tighten its template.
+
+## Known gaps
+
+- Families C (field-element chunk widths), D (serialization codec config) and F
+  (hash diffusion ops) from issue #141 are staged for a follow-up after the
+  first survivor triage of A/B/E.

mutants/operators/canon/canon.rules

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Family E - canonicalization removal (issue #141), comby structural rules.
+#
+# The proof path sorts and dedups to reach canonical form. Deleting those calls
+# (or flipping comparator direction) is a soundness mutation: duplicates or
+# unordered elements should be rejected or change the root. Statement deletion
+# is not in cargo-mutants' repertoire.
+#
+# `:[[word]]` matches a single identifier (comby's whitespace-delimited hole), so
+# a receiver / comparator operand can't swallow a surrounding compound
+# expression the way a bare `:[hole]` would. `:[args]` spans the (possibly
+# multi-line) closure by balanced delimiters.
+# comby rule format: PATTERN ==> REPLACEMENT ('#' lines are comments).
+
+# Delete single sort/dedup statements.
+:[[recv]].sort(); ==>
+:[[recv]].sort_unstable(); ==>
+:[[recv]].sort_unstable_by(:[args]); ==>
+:[[recv]].sort_unstable_by_key(:[args]); ==>
+:[[recv]].dedup(); ==>
+:[[recv]].dedup_by(:[args]); ==>
+sort_unstable!(:[[m]]); ==>
+
+# Flip comparator direction inside sort closures.
+:[[x]].cmp(:[[y]]) ==> :[[y]].cmp(:[[x]])

mutants/operators/canon/manifest.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Operator pack: canon (Family E, issue #141)
+#
+# Run through universalmutator + comby, scored by the shared gate
+# (scripts/mutation_gate.py). See mutants/operators/README.md.
+
+name = "canon"
+description = "Canonicalization removal: delete sort/dedup calls and flip comparator direction on the proof path"
+
+mode = "comby"
+
+targets = [
+    "salt/src/proof/prover.rs",
+    "salt/src/proof/salt_witness.rs",
+]
+
+rules = "canon.rules"
+test_cmd = "cargo nextest run -p salt --no-default-features --features parallel"

mutants/operators/endian/endian.rules

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Family B - endianness / byte-order (issue #141), comby structural rules.
+#
+# Flipping endianness silently breaks determinism and cross-platform
+# reproducibility (issue #127); no generic operator flips it. Structural
+# method-/path-call matching means these can only hit a real `to/from_*_bytes`
+# call, never a substring of an identifier like `serialize_to_le_bytes`.
+# comby rule format: PATTERN ==> REPLACEMENT.
+
+:[recv].to_le_bytes() ==> :[recv].to_be_bytes()
+:[recv].to_be_bytes() ==> :[recv].to_le_bytes()
+:[ty]::from_le_bytes(:[args]) ==> :[ty]::from_be_bytes(:[args])
+:[ty]::from_be_bytes(:[args]) ==> :[ty]::from_le_bytes(:[args])

mutants/operators/endian/manifest.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Operator pack: endian (Family B, issue #141)
+#
+# Run through universalmutator + comby, scored by the shared gate
+# (scripts/mutation_gate.py). See mutants/operators/README.md.
+
+name = "endian"
+description = "Byte-order flips on explicit to/from_*_bytes packing (determinism / cross-platform reproducibility)"
+
+# Mutation engine mode: "comby" (structural) or "regex".
+mode = "comby"
+
+# Candidate source files (matched from the repo root).
+targets = [
+    "salt/src/state/ahash/convert.rs",
+    "salt/src/state/hasher.rs",
+    "salt/src/types.rs",
+]
+
+rules = "endian.rules"
+test_cmd = "cargo nextest run -p salt --no-default-features --features parallel"