core: verify and pin the receiver's pre-yield offset() value (review 004 item 12, core-pin-offset-initial-value) — the three engines verified equal live, so the doc-pin branch applies: offset() reads 0 before any yield on every receiver — fresh consumer, stored positive checkpoint, stored negative seed (ADR-023 §2's totality arm, the one a checkpoint-seeded realization would surface on) — the no-yield sentinel, never the stored checkpoint: the checkpoint gates the feed's attach-read start while the receiver's offset tracks the last-yielded event only, composing with the pinned pre-yield save_offset() no-op; the attach read's prefetches sit unobserved and the first recv/try_recv observation is the first move (then the post-yield value, receiver_close_and_save_arms' pin). Verified by code read first (all three offset() bodies are self.position, all three constructors seed position: 0 unconditionally — mem stream.rs:353, sqlite :399, pg :620) then live: new suite row receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero (alkstore-contract-suite, stamped ADR-008 §8 + the core-contract.md pin, four arms incl. the first-observation composition leg) green on all three columns, pg against the harness server (parked pglo-poc :15432); pinned in three places: core-contract.md streams/subscribe row (dated 2026-10-11 annotation) + a verification-backlog bullet recording the verified pin, the core trait doc on offset() (core's doc comments are contract text), and the suite row itself — ADR-008 §8's shape comment deliberately left untouched (doc-only verification takes no ADR amendment, noted in the task); no engine code changed, no divergence to raise; gates green: workspace build/tests server-less, full pg column vs harness (135+26+9), clippy -D warnings, fmt --check, doc gate zero warnings, fuzz corpus replay 6/6, wasm32 mem check, taskgraph validate (96); task -> completed

alkstore-contract-suite/src/lib.rs

@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ pub use properties::{
     payload_round_trip_stores_exact_encoding, payload_too_large_never_produced_on_mem,
     payload_too_large_never_produced_on_sqlite, payload_too_large_produced_on_pg,
     publish_with_key_tx_commit_atomicity, queue_depth_reclaim_and_dead_letter,
-    receiver_close_and_save_arms, scheduler_boundary_fires, scheduler_bounded_catchup,
-    scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence, sweep_no_stranded_rows,
-    trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes, with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
+    receiver_close_and_save_arms, receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero, scheduler_boundary_fires,
+    scheduler_bounded_catchup, scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence,
+    sweep_no_stranded_rows, trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes,
+    with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
 };

alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs

@@ -1508,6 +1508,88 @@ pub async fn receiver_close_and_save_arms(factory: &dyn StoreFactory) {
     );
 }
 
+/// **Receiver pre-yield `offset()` initial value** — `offset()` reads
+/// 0 before any event has been yielded, on every receiver: a fresh
+/// consumer's (no checkpoint), a consumer with a stored checkpoint
+/// (the attach read prefetches past it unobserved), and a consumer
+/// with a negative checkpoint (the ADR-023 §2 totality seed — a
+/// checkpoint-seeded realization would surface it here). The
+/// pre-yield value is the no-yield sentinel, never the stored
+/// checkpoint: the checkpoint gates the feed's attach-read start,
+/// while the receiver's offset tracks the last-yielded event only —
+/// the pre-yield `save_offset()` no-op (stored checkpoint untouched)
+/// and the 0 sentinel compose. The first `recv`/`try_recv`
+/// observation is the first move; the post-yield value is the
+/// last-yielded event's offset (`receiver_close_and_save_arms`' pin).
+///
+/// Contract stamp: ADR-008 §8 (`EventReceiver`'s `offset() -> i64`
+/// shape, "the receiver's current offset") — the pre-yield return
+/// pinned in the core-contract.md streams row (annotated 2026-10-11,
+/// review-004 item 12's named-gap verification).
+pub async fn receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero(factory: &dyn StoreFactory) {
+    let store = factory.open().await.expect("factory opens a store");
+
+    let stream = store.stream("events").await.unwrap();
+    let published = stream.publish(json!({"n": 1})).await.unwrap();
+
+    // Arm 1: fresh consumer — no checkpoint exists at all.
+    let mut fresh = stream.subscribe("fresh-preyield").await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        fresh.offset(),
+        0,
+        "a fresh consumer's pre-yield offset() reads the 0 sentinel"
+    );
+
+    // Arm 2: consumer with a stored positive checkpoint — the attach
+    // read starts past it, yet the receiver's offset stays at the
+    // sentinel until an event is observed.
+    stream
+        .save_offset("seeded-preyield", published)
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    let seeded = stream.subscribe("seeded-preyield").await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        seeded.offset(),
+        0,
+        "a checkpointed consumer's pre-yield offset() reads the 0 sentinel, not the stored checkpoint"
+    );
+
+    // Arm 3: consumer with a stored negative checkpoint (ADR-023 §2's
+    // totality row: the seed stores raw) — the arm where a
+    // checkpoint-seeded realization would diverge.
+    stream
+        .save_offset("seeded-negative-preyield", -5)
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    let negative = stream.subscribe("seeded-negative-preyield").await.unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        negative.offset(),
+        0,
+        "a negative-checkpoint consumer's pre-yield offset() reads the 0 sentinel, not the seed"
+    );
+
+    // The first observation is the first move: the fresh receiver's
+    // attach-read-prefetched event yields and the post-yield value
+    // lands the last-yielded offset exactly (the sentinel composes
+    // with the yield discipline).
+    let first = fresh
+        .recv()
+        .await
+        .expect("the fresh receiver is open and holds the prefetched event")
+        .unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        first.offset, published,
+        "the fresh receiver's first yield carries the prefetched event"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        fresh.offset(),
+        published,
+        "the first yield moves offset() off the sentinel to the last-yielded offset"
+    );
+
+    factory.teardown().await.expect("factory teardown");
+}
+
 /// **Wake semantics under the pinned `WakeReceiver` shapes** — the
 /// wake contract's pinnable core, tolerance-bounded (wakes are
 /// best-effort hints — the row asserts state outcomes, never delivery

alkstore-mem/tests/contract_suite.rs

@@ -47,9 +47,10 @@ mod rows {
         name_validation_rejects_empty_and_reserved, outbox_enqueue_tx_commit_atomicity,
         payload_round_trip_stores_exact_encoding, payload_too_large_never_produced_on_mem,
         publish_with_key_tx_commit_atomicity, queue_depth_reclaim_and_dead_letter,
-        receiver_close_and_save_arms, scheduler_boundary_fires, scheduler_bounded_catchup,
-        scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence, sweep_no_stranded_rows,
-        trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes, with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
+        receiver_close_and_save_arms, receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero, scheduler_boundary_fires,
+        scheduler_bounded_catchup, scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence,
+        sweep_no_stranded_rows, trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes,
+        with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
     };
 
     use super::MemFactory;
@@ -118,6 +119,11 @@ mod rows {
         receiver_close_and_save_arms(&factory()).await;
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "current_thread")]
+    async fn row_receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero() {
+        receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero(&factory()).await;
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test(flavor = "current_thread")]
     async fn row_job_handle_validity_predicate() {
         job_handle_validity_predicate(&factory()).await;

alkstore-postgres/tests/contract_suite.rs

@@ -170,9 +170,10 @@ mod rows {
         name_validation_rejects_empty_and_reserved, outbox_enqueue_tx_commit_atomicity,
         payload_round_trip_stores_exact_encoding, payload_too_large_produced_on_pg,
         publish_with_key_tx_commit_atomicity, queue_depth_reclaim_and_dead_letter,
-        receiver_close_and_save_arms, scheduler_boundary_fires, scheduler_bounded_catchup,
-        scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence, sweep_no_stranded_rows,
-        trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes, with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
+        receiver_close_and_save_arms, receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero, scheduler_boundary_fires,
+        scheduler_bounded_catchup, scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence,
+        sweep_no_stranded_rows, trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes,
+        with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
     };
 
     use super::PgFactory;
@@ -253,6 +254,11 @@ mod rows {
         receiver_close_and_save_arms,
         "row-receiver-arms"
     );
+    harness_row!(
+        row_receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero,
+        receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero,
+        "row-receiver-offset-preyield"
+    );
     harness_row!(
         row_job_handle_validity_predicate,
         job_handle_validity_predicate,

alkstore-sqlite/tests/contract_suite.rs

@@ -74,9 +74,10 @@ mod rows {
         name_validation_rejects_empty_and_reserved, outbox_enqueue_tx_commit_atomicity,
         payload_round_trip_stores_exact_encoding, payload_too_large_never_produced_on_sqlite,
         publish_with_key_tx_commit_atomicity, queue_depth_reclaim_and_dead_letter,
-        receiver_close_and_save_arms, scheduler_boundary_fires, scheduler_bounded_catchup,
-        scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence, sweep_no_stranded_rows,
-        trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes, with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
+        receiver_close_and_save_arms, receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero, scheduler_boundary_fires,
+        scheduler_bounded_catchup, scheduler_leadership_discipline, stream_ordering_equivalence,
+        sweep_no_stranded_rows, trim_to_semantics, wake_receiver_shapes,
+        with_tx_panicking_closure_rolls_back,
     };
 
     use super::SqliteFactory;
@@ -145,6 +146,11 @@ mod rows {
         receiver_close_and_save_arms(&factory("row-receiver-arms")).await;
     }
 
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread")]
+    async fn row_receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero() {
+        receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero(&factory("row-receiver-offset-preyield")).await;
+    }
+
     #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread")]
     async fn row_job_handle_validity_predicate() {
         job_handle_validity_predicate(&factory("row-handle-predicate")).await;

alkstore/src/event_receiver.rs

@@ -53,6 +53,10 @@ pub trait EventReceiver: Send {
 
     /// The receiver's current offset (the last-yielded event's
     /// offset), used when a consumer wants to interleave the direct
-    /// save form with the receiver's position.
+    /// save form with the receiver's position. Before any event has
+    /// yielded it reads 0 — the no-yield sentinel, not the consumer's
+    /// stored checkpoint (the checkpoint gates the feed's start; the
+    /// first `recv`/`try_recv` observation is the first move;
+    /// annotated 2026-10-11, review-004 item 12).
     fn offset(&self) -> i64;
 }

docs/architecture/core-contract.md

@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ publish→wake ordering tolerance recorded; ADR-023 §2's
 `heartbeat(extend)`/`save_offset` classifications;
 `EventReceiver::try_recv`'s closed shape; `get_job`'s id-global prose —
 then wave-8 gate: flipped stable with the close-out pass's suite legs
-landed; the contract text freezes at the gate, ADR-017 §2)"
+landed; the receiver `offset()` pre-yield pin, review-004 item 12;
+the contract text freezes at the gate, ADR-017 §2)"
 ---
 
 # Core contract
@@ -364,7 +365,15 @@ business-tx shape). Depth pinned by
   receiver's engine-side trigger is engine-internal, but events
   never require polling to become visible (the queues row's pg
   re-poll safety net is an admission of LISTEN loss, not the
-  posture).
+  posture). The receiver's `offset()` reads 0 before any event
+  yields *(annotated 2026-10-11, review-004 item 12's named gap)*:
+  the pre-yield value is the no-yield sentinel, not the consumer's
+  stored checkpoint — the saved checkpoint gates the feed's
+  attach-read start, while the receiver's offset tracks the
+  last-yielded event only, so the pre-yield `save_offset()` no-op
+  (stored checkpoint untouched) and the 0 sentinel compose. Events
+  the attach read prefetches sit in the receiver's feed unobserved;
+  the first `recv`/`try_recv` observation is the first move.
 
 ### queues
 
@@ -838,6 +847,16 @@ before the engine specs are called `stable`:
   cadence (config-surface accounting — wall-clock cadence
   measurements stay out of the contract suite's deterministic
   posture).
+- **Receiver `offset()` pre-yield initial value on all three
+  engines** (the 2026-10-11 general review's item 12, the named
+  gap) — `offset()` reads 0 before any yield for a fresh consumer, a
+  consumer with a stored checkpoint, and a consumer with a
+  negative-seed checkpoint (the ADR-023 §2 totality arm) — the
+  no-yield sentinel, never the stored checkpoint; the first
+  `recv`/`try_recv` observation is the first move. Pinned in the
+  streams row above and verified in
+  `receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero`, green on all three columns
+  (2026-10-11).
 
 ## Design Decisions
 

tasks/core-pin-offset-initial-value.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 id: core-pin-offset-initial-value
 name: Verify and pin EventReceiver::offset()'s pre-yield value (review 004 item 12)
-status: pending
+status: completed
 depends_on: []
 scope: narrow
 risk: low
@@ -38,14 +38,14 @@ conversation, not a doc edit.
 
 ## Acceptance Criteria
 
-- [ ] The three engines' pre-yield `offset()` values verified equal by
+- [x] The three engines' pre-yield `offset()` values verified equal by
       live runs (the probe/leg recorded; green on all three columns —
       pg against the harness server)
-- [ ] core-contract.md's `EventReceiver::offset()` text pins the
+- [x] core-contract.md's `EventReceiver::offset()` text pins the
       pre-yield return with a dated annotation
 - [ ] If divergent instead: the divergence recorded and raised with
       the user (this AC replaces the doc pin, not supplements it)
-- [ ] Doc gate green; any new suite leg green on all three columns
+- [x] Doc gate green; any new suite leg green on all three columns
 
 ## References
 
@@ -58,8 +58,59 @@ conversation, not a doc edit.
 
 ## Notes
 
-> To be filled by implementation agent
+- **The engines were equal — the doc-pin branch applies, not the
+  divergence branch.** Read first (all three `offset()` bodies are
+  `self.position`, and all three constructors initialize
+  `position: 0` unconditionally — mem
+  `alkstore-mem/src/stream.rs:353`, sqlite
+  `alkstore-sqlite/src/stream.rs:399`, pg
+  `alkstore-postgres/src/stream.rs:620`), then verified live by the
+  new suite leg on all three columns: 0 on every pre-yield arm
+  (fresh, positive-checkpoint, negative-seed), no divergence to
+  raise.
+- **Probe home: the contract suite** (the task's first choice) — a
+  new row `receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero` in
+  `alkstore-contract-suite/src/properties.rs`, wired into all three
+  engines' `tests/contract_suite.rs` executors. Four arms: fresh
+  consumer, consumer with a stored positive checkpoint, consumer
+  with a stored negative checkpoint (the ADR-023 §2 totality seed —
+  the arm a checkpoint-seeded realization would surface on), and a
+  first-observation composition leg (the attach read prefetches
+  unobserved; the first `recv` moves `offset()` to the last-yielded
+  offset). Stamp per the `version_stamp` convention: ADR-008 §8's
+  `EventReceiver` shape + the core-contract.md pin (no ADR owns this
+  property's pre-yield arm — the review item is the pin's origin, so
+  the backlog row is the cited pin).
+- **Doc pin location**: the task said "core-contract.md's
+  `EventReceiver::offset()` paragraph" — no such standalone paragraph
+  exists; the receiver's contract text lives in the streams/
+  `subscribe(consumer)` bullet (ADR-008 §8 pins only the shape
+  comment "the receiver's current offset"). The pin landed there
+  (dated annotation), *and* on `offset()`'s own trait doc in
+  `alkstore/src/event_receiver.rs` (core's doc comments are contract
+  text per AGENTS.md; dated the same). ADR-008 §8's shape comment was
+  deliberately left untouched — a doc-only verification task takes no
+  ADR amendment.
+- **Verification-backlog bullet added** (core-contract.md), matching
+  the section's evolved role: the new bullet records the verified pin
+  with the row's name and the all-three-columns result, same posture
+  as the review-004 suite legs before it.
+- Frontmatter `last_updated` extended with the pin (dated), keeping
+  the freeze note intact.
 
 ## Summary
 
-> To be filled on completion
+The pre-yield `offset()` question closed: all three engines return 0
+before any yield regardless of stored checkpoint (positive, negative,
+or absent) — the no-yield sentinel, composing with the pinned
+pre-yield `save_offset()` no-op; the first `recv`/`try_recv`
+observation is the first move. Pinned in three places: the contract
+text (core-contract.md streams row + verification-backlog bullet,
+dated 2026-10-11), the core trait doc (`event_receiver.rs::offset()`),
+and the suite (new stamped row `receiver_offset_pre_yield_is_zero` on
+`alkstore-contract-suite`). Verified: the new row green on all three
+columns (pg against the harness server `pglo-poc` :15432), full pg
+column green (135+26+9), workspace tests green server-less, clippy `-D
+warnings`, `cargo fmt --check`, doc gate zero warnings, fuzz corpus
+replay 6/6, wasm32 mem check green. Contract-observation only — no
+engine code changed, no ADR amendment.