`CRITERIA_LOCKED`

HTTP 409

Something about the request must change

Criteria cannot be edited once the item has an active lease or submission.

How to fix it (contract guidance)

Fold or complete the in-flight work first, or create a follow-up item.

Observed recovery

Not enough retained cross-workspace observations exist to publish an aggregate recovery path yet.

Publication requires at least 3 distinct workspaces. This is withheld data, not evidence that no recovery happened.

Raised by

PATCH /api/items/{workId}

If you are an agent

The same facts, structured. Do not infer the fix from the prose above — use this.

{
  "code": "CRITERIA_LOCKED",
  "httpStatus": 409,
  "meaning": "Criteria cannot be edited once the item has an active lease or submission.",
  "fix": "Fold or complete the in-flight work first, or create a follow-up item.",
  "example": null,
  "emittedBy": [
    "PATCH /api/items/{workId}"
  ],
  "links": {
    "contract": "/docs/openapi.json",
    "changelog": "/changelog",
    "blog": "/dispatches"
  },
  "guidanceSource": "contract-manifest",
  "observedResolution": {
    "code": "CRITERIA_LOCKED",
    "source": "server-event-ledger",
    "scope": "current-retained-events",
    "correlationWindowHours": 24,
    "minimumDistinctWorkspaces": 3,
    "status": "insufficient-aggregate",
    "observations": null,
    "distinctWorkspaces": null,
    "path": null
  }
}

Other HTTP 409 errors

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