rootnode-academy/docs/ROOT_FOUNDATIONS_PILOT_READINESS.md

ROOT Foundations Pilot Readiness — ROOT 01-04

Phase 6E §27 — the honest, re-audited READY/PARTIAL/DEFERRED classification for ROOT 01-04, using the same bar docs/ROOT_PILOT_READINESS_STANDARD.md established in Phase 6C. Phase 6D's ROOT 01 classification is not inherited blindly — it is revalidated here against the same standard, using the same evidence discipline (real API verification, not assumption).

ROOT 01 — Computing & Linux Foundations: READY (revalidated)

All 6 modules re-confirmed READY this phase — no ROOT 01 content itself changed, but its real prerequisite gate to ROOT 02 was verified for real (previously it could only be vacuously satisfied, since ROOT 02 didn't exist). e2e-phase6d.js and e2e-phase6e.js both independently re-prove ROOT 01's full lesson→lab→assessment→completion path end to end, fresh, this phase.

ROOT 02 — Linux Administration & Networking: READY

All 6 modules meet the 8-point standard:

Module	Status	Evidence
M1 Linux System Administration	READY	Lesson/demo/kc/guided + 2 real labs (linux-service-inspection — inspects the platform's own real nginx without touching it; linux-service-lifecycle — start/verify/stop a real service) + reflection. Both labs tested end-to-end via the real scenario-validation API, including negative tests.
M2 Storage & Filesystems	READY	Full gold pattern. linux-storage-inspection tested end-to-end, negative-tested.
M3 Networking Mental Model	READY	The course's "critical module," given extra lesson depth. No lab by design (conceptual mastery via knowledge check + guided exercise), matching root-05-m00's precedent.
M4 Linux Network Inspection	READY	Full gold pattern. linux-network-inspection tested end-to-end.
M5 DNS & HTTP	READY	Full gold pattern. linux-dns-http-diagnosis (a genuine port-mismatch diagnose-and-fix) tested end-to-end, negative-tested.
M6 Linux Troubleshooting	READY	Full gold pattern. linux-troubleshooting-framework (a real missing-config-file failure, diagnosed via the RootNode framework) tested end-to-end, negative-tested.

Assessment: rootnode-linux-networking-assessment wired and verified live (2 required + 4 random scenarios, 6 total).

ROOT 03 — Git & Collaborative Development: READY

Module	Status	Evidence
M1 Why Version Control Exists	READY	Conceptual opener (lesson/kc/reflection) — no lab needed, motivational content.
M2 Git Mental Model	READY	Full teaching pattern, no lab by design (model before commands, matching ROOT 02 M3's precedent).
M3 Everyday Git	READY	git-everyday-basics — a REAL local Git repository, init/add/commit, validated by inspecting actual git log/git show state, not just command output strings. Tested end-to-end, negative-tested.
M4 Branching & Merging	READY	git-branching-and-merge — a REAL merge conflict, caused on purpose (two branches editing the same line), resolved by the student, validated by inspecting the real merge commit and confirming conflict markers are gone. Tested end-to-end (including via the real-Lab rehearsal), negative-tested.
M5 Remote Repositories	READY	git-remote-clone-push — a REAL local bare repository standing in for a remote; clone/commit/push validated by inspecting the REMOTE side directly, not just the student's clone. No account, no network, no RootNode credential ever used. Tested end-to-end.
M6 Engineering Git Workflow	READY	Conceptual closer bridging to CI/CD/GitOps — no lab by design.

Assessment: rootnode-git-fundamentals-assessment wired and verified live (2 required + 3 random scenarios, 5 total). All state-validated via real git commands against real repositories, not string-matched command output alone (Step 6's explicit requirement).

ROOT 04 — Containers & Docker: READY

Module	Status	Evidence
M1 Why Containers Exist	READY	Conceptual opener, no lab by design.
M2 Images & Containers	READY	The image/container distinction, no lab by design (model before commands).
M3 Docker CLI	READY	docker-cli-basics — real docker run/exec/inspect against the nested Docker Engine, validated by inspecting real container state. Tested end-to-end, negative-tested.
M4 Container Networking	READY	docker-container-networking — a REAL "works internally, unreachable from host" failure (no port published), diagnosed and fixed by recreating the container with -p. Tested end-to-end via the real-Lab rehearsal AND negative-tested.
M5 Container Storage	READY	docker-container-storage — a REAL destroy/recreate cycle proving named-volume persistence, not just described. Tested end-to-end.
M6 Dockerfile & Image Build	READY	docker-build-image — a real Dockerfile, a real build, a real custom image run. Tested end-to-end.
M7 Docker Compose	READY	docker-compose-multiservice — a real two-service Compose application, real docker compose up, validated via real service state and a real published port. Tested end-to-end.
M8 Containers → Kubernetes	READY	The explicit bridge module — no lab by design (honest: the course's job is naming what Kubernetes adds, not re-teaching Kubernetes itself).

Assessment: rootnode-containers-assessment wired and verified live (2 required + 4 random scenarios, 6 total).

The real ROOT 01→02→03→04→05 chain

Verified live, repeatedly, this phase: a fresh student sees ROOT 02 genuinely LOCKED (not vacuously satisfied — ROOT 01 has real content now) until ROOT 01 completes; the same holds at every subsequent boundary through ROOT 05. Direct API attempts to bypass this were tested and (after a real bug was found and fixed — see docs/PHASE6E_ROOT_FOUNDATIONS_COMPLETION.md) correctly rejected with 403 locked.

Honest totals

READY: 4 of 4 courses (ROOT 01, 02, 03, 04), 26 of 26 modules. Every module in the ROOT Foundations sequence meets the same readiness bar — self-paced sufficient (verified: no "ask your instructor" language anywhere in student-visible content), instructor-notes covered, real hands-on labs with real state validation where hands-on work is the right teaching tool, and honest conceptual-only modules where the subject genuinely doesn't need one.