From c4d239e2e2e1f6e863f259d38729df1301578407 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Jonathan D.A. Jewell" <6759885+hyperpolymath@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2026 03:39:01 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] docs: add Signed commits section to CONTRIBUTING

Owner ruling D218. See docs/SIGNING-POLICY.adoc in hyperpolymath/standards.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01WRvDivYwLSeVCJUrfjic3f
---
 .github/CONTRIBUTING.md | 17 +++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 17 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index dc3f8f4..7bb1686 100644
--- a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -119,3 +119,20 @@ Footer: issue reference, e.g. Closes #123
 \[optional body\]
 
 \[optional footer\]
+
+### Signed commits
+
+Every commit that reaches the default branch must be signed; a ruleset refuses
+unsigned pushes. Estate policy:
+[SIGNING-POLICY](https://github.com/hyperpolymath/standards/blob/main/docs/SIGNING-POLICY.adoc).
+
+- **People and interactive agents** sign with an SSH key registered on GitHub
+  as a *signing* key (`gpg.format=ssh`, `user.signingkey=<key>.pub`,
+  `commit.gpgsign=true`). The committer email must be verified on that account.
+- **Apps, bots and workflows** never `git push` local commits. They write
+  through the API (`createCommitOnBranch` or the estate `signed-push` action)
+  so that GitHub signs each commit.
+- Merge PRs with **squash**. The ruleset checks every commit on the PR branch,
+  not just the result, so one unsigned commit blocks the merge. Re-create such a
+  branch with signed commits (`git cherry-pick -S`) and open a new PR.
+  Rebase-merge replays commits unsigned and is disabled.

From 672734d7c13ca36c113ab28b321eb217d9e209a9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Jonathan D.A. Jewell" <6759885+hyperpolymath@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2026 21:21:21 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Potential fix for pull request finding 'Correct ruleset
 description of squash merge commit signing'

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Signed-off-by: Jonathan D.A. Jewell <6759885+hyperpolymath@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 .github/CONTRIBUTING.md | 6 +++---
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 7bb1686..396a044 100644
--- a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ unsigned pushes. Estate policy:
 - **Apps, bots and workflows** never `git push` local commits. They write
   through the API (`createCommitOnBranch` or the estate `signed-push` action)
   so that GitHub signs each commit.
-- Merge PRs with **squash**. The ruleset checks every commit on the PR branch,
-  not just the result, so one unsigned commit blocks the merge. Re-create such a
-  branch with signed commits (`git cherry-pick -S`) and open a new PR.
+- Merge PRs with **squash**. GitHub signs the resulting squash commit, and the
+  PR's individual commits do not reach the protected default branch.
+  Contributors should still sign their own commits as required by estate policy.
   Rebase-merge replays commits unsigned and is disabled.