<!-- Authored per the the-loop:writing skill. -->

Tasks: a work item's terminal record outlives its checkout

Phase 4 of 4. Each task names the requirement it satisfies and the testing-plan row that proves it; the test lands with the change (red first).

Task list

• [x] A1 — the_loop/archive.py. terminal_record, closure_outcome, cancelled, ended_for, archived_report. Req: R1.1–R1.3, R2.1, R2.2 · Test: T1, T7.
• [x] A2 — GraphLink.terminal_record. The guarded read. Req: R1.1 · Test: T3. Deps: A1.
• [x] B1 — the close path. _close_ended_session reads before close_session; _record_closure stamps outcome + terminal; cleanup_work_item backfills. Req: R1.1, R1.2, R1.4, R1.5, R1.7 · Test: T3. Deps: A2.
• [x] B2 — the poller's state_reason. GhItemState, Closure, closure_event. Req: R1.6 · Test: T4.
• [x] C1 — core.graphs.check archived branch. Req: R2.1–R2.4, R2.6 · Test: T2, T10. Deps: A1.
• [x] C2 — CLI rendering. check and graph status print the archive. Req: R2.5 · Test: T5. Deps: C1.
• [x] D1 — docs and evidence. API/MCP descriptions and the authored OpenAPI text, docs/cli/commands/check.md, capability docs, evidence files. Deps: B1–C2.

Dependency graph (DAG)

Checkpoints

• After A1 + C1: tests/test_archive.py green.
• After B1 + B2: tests/test_archive_dispatch.py and the existing closure/cleanup suites green.
• After C2: tests/test_archive_integration.py green.
• After D1: full suite, ruff, pyright, markdownlint.

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