Atx-24pin rev3

candidate/: the current best diagnostic board for this module

ONE board file, kept current by the wave (owner directive 2026-07-25: "the current best should be placed into a candidate folder per board and kept current with only one board ideally so we have a reference").

<board>-candidate.kicad_pcb (+ its .kicad_pro / .kicad_dru sidecars) is a COPY of the best board the wave has ever published for this module, with candidate.json recording where it came from and how it graded. Open it to see the real current state of the layout without digging through build/fresh-wave-*/.

IMPORTANT: candidate/ is a diagnostic-reference channel, not a release-acceptance channel. A routed board remains here when its route gate fails so reviewers can see and improve the best failure. candidate.json therefore records candidate_role: diagnostic-reference, release_accepted: false, and the distinct route_gate_passed result. Only the aggregate release pipeline may accept a board.

RULES the wave enforces on every publish:

• SCHEMATIC FRESHNESS outranks score: a winner matching more of the CURRENT component signatures replaces the reference even on a worse score, and a staler board never replaces a fresher one. The signature covers value, footprint, and numbered-pad nets. schematic_match and schematic_exact in candidate.json record the result. A board that grades well but predates a schematic or footprint change is the worse reference;
• otherwise it replaces this file only when the new winner BEATS the recorded sort_key (lower is better -- the same ranking the wave itself uses);
• a board satisfying the CURRENT segmented-mezzanine geometry replaces one that violates it, independent of route score; an obsolete mechanical datum is stale in the same way an obsolete component signature is stale;
• a routed winner always beats a placement-only one, and a placement-only winner NEVER overwrites a routed reference;
• exactly one .kicad_pcb lives here -- stale board files are pruned.

candidate.json is also refreshable without publishing a board. Consumers that use a candidate as a placement oracle or materialization template MUST require schematic_exact: true after a current refresh. A stale candidate remains useful for historical outline, connector, mount, and copper review, but it is not a component-inventory or pin/net authority.

This is a REFERENCE, not the board of record: it is machine-written, so never hand-edit it (edits are silently overwritten by the next better wave). The authoritative schematic + the module's own project files stay in the parent directory.