Lesson 280: Unity February Fest Live-Ops Hourly jsonl Receipt on BUILD_RECEIPT (2026)

Direct answer: Before February 2027 live-week stand-up declares GREEN, complete J1–J6—export FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json from Unity smoke (Application.version → build_label), recompute honest row_diff[], run verify_february_live_ops.sh, append february_fest_live_ops_hourly_log.jsonl—then promote BUILD_RECEIPT february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok: true. Pair Unity hourly jsonl append preflight (Guide #40), jq hourly row-diff sketch, Thursday row review, and hourly missing build_label help.

Lesson hero for Unity February fest live-ops hourly jsonl BUILD_RECEIPT

Why this matters now (February 2027 live week hour three)

February 2027 D3 hour three: HOTFIX bumps Unity Application.version, Addressables catalog hash drifts, and facilitators still paste Slack screenshots into #fest-live-ops. Thursday row review is weekly—it will not catch 14:00 → 15:00 funnel slip. jq sketch owns strategy + one-liners; Guide #40 owns the ninety-second append ritual—280 latches both on BUILD_RECEIPT so CI refuses “stand-up GREEN” without a verified jsonl line.

Lesson 279 proved HOTFIX identity players can quote; 280 proves hourly ops continuity so Sunday closeout is not Discord archaeology.

Promotion order on BUILD_RECEIPT: Unity smoke files root receipt → february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok (this lesson) → stand-up post → Sunday closeout consumes jsonl.

Beginner path (Unity export → verify → append → promote)

Step	Action	Success check
1	Smoke Unity player; copy label fields	J1–J2 skeleton
2	Fill `build_label` from `Application.version`	J3
3	Recompute `row_diff[]` vs prior hour	J5
4	Run `verify_february_live_ops.sh`	exit 0
5	Append jsonl via `append_february_live_ops_hour.sh`	New line
6	Promote BUILD_RECEIPT	`february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok: true`

Time: ~45 minutes first fest day; ~3 minutes per hour when Guide #40 scripts exist.

Common mistake: Appending before verify—jsonl grows with theater lines that Sunday closeout cannot trust.

Developer path (gates J1–J6)

Gate	Check	Fail when
J1	Schema + fest window	Wrong / March sprint schema
J2	`fest_day` + `hour_utc`	Clock mismatch / missing prior
J3	Unity `build_label` policy	Empty, `dev`, or unlabeled HOTFIX
J4	Cluster snapshot paths	Missing funnel/queue/overlay files
J5	Honest `row_diff[]`	Hand-waved zeros
J6	Verify + jsonl latch	Script exit ≠ 0 / no append

Cousin receipt crosswalk

Field	jq blog	Guide #40	This lesson (280)
Schema	`february_fest_live_ops_receipt_v1`	Same + Unity paint	Same + BUILD_RECEIPT column
Scope	Strategy + copy-paste jq	Unity export → append	Milestone latch for CI
BUILD_RECEIPT	Documents `february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok`	Engine ritual	`february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok`
Path	`…/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json`	+ `hourly_log.jsonl`	Crosswalk both in `cousin_receipts`

Do not merge with March weekly march_post_fest_sprint (Guide #46 / Lesson 287 forward)—different schema and cadence.

J1–J2 — write FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json

release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json

Minimum skeleton:

{
  "schema": "february_fest_live_ops_receipt_v1",
  "fest_window": "2027-02-next-fest-live",
  "fest_day": "D3",
  "hour_utc": "2027-02-18T18:00:00Z",
  "build_label": "february-fest-2027-live-rc2",
  "snapshot": {
    "hour_one_launch_rate": 0.38,
    "february_live_queue_wall_clock_ok": true,
    "fest_stream_overlay_safe_zone_ok": true,
    "wednesday_smoke_ok": true
  },
  "row_diff": [],
  "february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok": false
}

Unity Editor convenience (optional):

// Tools → Fest → Log Build Label For Hourly Receipt
Debug.Log($"build_label={Application.version}+{GitSha}");

J3 — Unity build_label before append

BL=$(jq -r '.build_label' release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json)
test -n "$BL" && [[ "$BL" != *dev* ]]

Label must match player footer / visible build label. If HOTFIX changed the binary, crosswalk Lesson 279 / HOTFIX list—swap Godot Config for Unity Application.version.

J4–J5 — snapshot paths + row_diff honesty

Use jq blog one-liners against the prior jsonl hour. Empty row_diff is allowed only when prior hour is identical—document delta: 0 / unchanged, do not omit the array.

PRIOR=$(tail -n 1 release-evidence/february-live/february_fest_live_ops_hourly_log.jsonl)
jq -e '.row_diff | type == "array"' release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json

J6 — verify, append, promote BUILD_RECEIPT

Pin from Guide #40:

./scripts/verify_february_live_ops.sh \
  release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json
./scripts/append_february_live_ops_hour.sh

Then latch root:

{
  "february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok": true,
  "cousin_receipts": {
    "february_live_ops_latest": "release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json",
    "february_live_ops_hourly_log": "release-evidence/february-live/february_fest_live_ops_hourly_log.jsonl",
    "unity_hourly_append_guide": "guides/unity#unity-february-fest-live-ops-hourly-build-receipt-jsonl-append-preflight-2026-preflight"
  }
}

Fail-closed:

jq -e '.february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok == true' release-evidence/BUILD_RECEIPT.json
wc -l release-evidence/february-live/february_fest_live_ops_hourly_log.jsonl

GitHub Actions fest-week cron (sketch)

name: february-live-ops-hourly-append
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: "5 * * * *"
  workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
  append:
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/fest-demo-2027-02-live'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Append after Unity receipt present
        run: |
          test -f release-evidence/february-live/FEBRUARY_LIVE_OPS_RECEIPT_LATEST.json
          bash scripts/append_february_live_ops_hour.sh

Pin if: to the live branch—do not append year-round.

Common mistakes

Declaring stand-up GREEN from Discord screenshots without jsonl.
Mixing March weekly paths into February hourly folder.
Appending Editor Play dev labels while Steam players are on HOTFIX depot.
Skipping hours “because nothing changed”—still latch for closeout C7.
Treating Thursday review as a substitute for hourly append.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Lane
verify exit 1 schema	Fix `february_fest_live_ops_receipt_v1`—not March sprint
verify exit 3 build_label	Missing build_label help / HOTFIX list / setlive case study
jsonl gaps Saturday	Document waiver; backfill if recoverable
CI append without Unity receipt	Fail job—do not invent snapshot
Weekly GREEN, hourly RED	Expected—different cadences

Mini exercise (45 minutes)

Export Unity smoke → fill LATEST receipt (J1–J2).
Assert build_label (J3).
Recompute row_diff[] vs prior hour (J5).
Run verify (J6).
Append jsonl; flip BUILD_RECEIPT february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok.
Paste one row_diff line into the stand-up note for Thursday review trail.

Continuity — February 2027 live week ops (277–283)

Lesson	Receipt focus
277	OBS February pager clip
278	Fest-day setlive depot manifest
279	Godot HOTFIX visible build label
280 (this)	Unity hourly live-ops jsonl
281 (forward)	Discord moderation webhook

Previous: Lesson 279 — Godot HOTFIX visible build label
Next: Lesson 281 — Construct fest live moderation webhook (forward)

FAQ

Same as Guide #40?
Guide = ninety-second Unity append ritual; 280 = BUILD_RECEIPT february_fest_live_ops_hourly_ok + CI latch.

Same as jq blog?
Blog = strategy + copy-paste gates; 280 = project milestone that flips the root receipt bool.

Same as Thursday row review?
Thursday = weekly ten-minute column ritual; 280 = hourly jsonl between Thursdays.

Godot / GameMaker team—skip Unity menu?
Keep receipt fields; map build_label from your engine version / footer path.

Missing build_label on append?
Hourly jsonl missing build_label help owns recovery—normalize writer schema before flipping hourly ok.