steps/<key>.felhom.yml: gate rule 4b, writer, backfill (8) (R-664)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0159rPz1ZhFKsS53msqPYxtS

scripts/ladder.py

@@ -210,3 +210,19 @@ def step_key(to):
 def step_file(to):
     """The step definition's path RELATIVE to the template directory."""
     return "steps/%s.yml" % step_key(to)
+
+
+def step_meta_file(to):
+    """The step's own `.felhom.yml` (R-664, 2026-09-24): its probe, memory limits and applied record — the
+    box judges the step with it. RELATIVE to the template directory."""
+    return "steps/%s.felhom.yml" % step_key(to)
+
+
+def strip_ladder_block(felhom_text):
+    """A `.felhom.yml` without its update_ladder block (and the header comment the writer puts above it):
+    a step's own copy carries no ladder — only the template's is read for one."""
+    lines = felhom_text.splitlines()
+    for i, l in enumerate(lines):
+        if l.startswith("# update_ladder") or l.startswith("update_ladder:"):
+            return "\n".join(lines[:i]).rstrip("\n") + "\n"
+    return felhom_text