fix(ceo-approve): require substantive notes; panel collects them

ceo-approve was bound to QANotes (notes required), so the panel's
one-click approve (posts {}) 422'd. The wrong fix is to waive notes —
that empties the audit record for a production merge. Instead require
substantive notes (>=20 chars, mirroring pass-qa) and make the panel
COLLECT them: a new CeoApproveDialog (mirrors the reject dialog) gates
the 'Approve & Merge' action, and the dashboard approval-queue enforces
the same before POSTing. The CEO sign-off note is now always captured.

panel/src/app/(dashboard)/tasks/[taskId]/page.tsx

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { useCreateBranch, useCreatePR } from "@/hooks/use-git";
 import { TaskHeader, TaskMetadata, TaskTabs } from "@/components/tasks/task-detail";
 import {
   EscalateToCeoDialog,
+  CeoApproveDialog,
   CeoRejectDialog,
   CreateBranchDialog,
   CreatePRDialog,
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ export default function TaskDetailPage({ params }: TaskDetailPageProps) {
 
   // Dialog states
   const [escalateDialogOpen, setEscalateDialogOpen] = useState(false);
+  const [approveDialogOpen, setApproveDialogOpen] = useState(false);
   const [rejectDialogOpen, setRejectDialogOpen] = useState(false);
   const [branchDialogOpen, setBranchDialogOpen] = useState(false);
   const [prDialogOpen, setPrDialogOpen] = useState(false);
@@ -103,9 +105,8 @@ export default function TaskDetailPage({ params }: TaskDetailPageProps) {
           toast.success("Submitted for PM review");
           break;
         case "ceo-approve":
-          await lifecycle.ceoApprove.mutateAsync({ taskId: task.id });
+          setApproveDialogOpen(true);
-          toast.success("Task approved and completed");
+          return; // Don't refetch yet — dialog collects the required note
-          break;
         case "ceo-reject":
           setRejectDialogOpen(true);
           return; // Don't refetch yet, dialog will handle it
@@ -167,6 +168,19 @@ export default function TaskDetailPage({ params }: TaskDetailPageProps) {
     }
   };
 
+  const handleCeoApprove = async (notes: string) => {
+    if (!task) return;
+    try {
+      await lifecycle.ceoApprove.mutateAsync({ taskId: task.id, notes });
+      toast.success("Task approved and completed");
+      setApproveDialogOpen(false);
+      refetch();
+    } catch (err) {
+      toast.error("Failed to approve task");
+      console.error(err);
+    }
+  };
+
   const handleCreateBranch = async (branchType: string) => {
     if (!task || !project) return;
     try {
@@ -280,6 +294,13 @@ export default function TaskDetailPage({ params }: TaskDetailPageProps) {
         isPending={lifecycle.escalateToCeo.isPending}
       />
 
+      <CeoApproveDialog
+        open={approveDialogOpen}
+        onOpenChange={setApproveDialogOpen}
+        onConfirm={handleCeoApprove}
+        isPending={lifecycle.ceoApprove.isPending}
+      />
+
       <CeoRejectDialog
         open={rejectDialogOpen}
         onOpenChange={setRejectDialogOpen}

panel/src/components/dashboard/ceo-approval-queue.tsx

@@ -83,7 +83,13 @@ export function CeoApprovalQueue({ className }: CeoApprovalQueueProps) {
     if (!selectedTask) return;
 
     if (actionType === "approve") {
-      approveMutation.mutate({ taskId: selectedTask.id, notes: notes || undefined });
+      // The approval note is the audit record for merging to production —
+      // required and substantive (>= 20 chars), matching the server gate.
+      if (notes.trim().length < 20) {
+        toast.error("Approval notes are required (>= 20 characters)");
+        return;
+      }
+      approveMutation.mutate({ taskId: selectedTask.id, notes: notes.trim() });
     } else if (actionType === "reject") {
       if (!notes.trim()) {
         toast.error("Rejection reason is required");

panel/src/components/tasks/task-detail/task-action-dialogs.tsx

@@ -139,6 +139,72 @@ export function CeoRejectDialog({
   );
 }
 
+// CEO Approve Dialog — the sign-off note is the audit record for merging to
+// production, so it is REQUIRED and must be substantive (>= 20 chars), matching
+// the server's CEO_NOTES_REQUIRED gate.
+const _CEO_NOTES_MIN = 20;
+
+interface CeoApproveDialogProps {
+  open: boolean;
+  onOpenChange: (open: boolean) => void;
+  onConfirm: (notes: string) => void;
+  isPending?: boolean;
+}
+
+export function CeoApproveDialog({
+  open,
+  onOpenChange,
+  onConfirm,
+  isPending,
+}: CeoApproveDialogProps) {
+  const [notes, setNotes] = useState("");
+  const tooShort = notes.trim().length < _CEO_NOTES_MIN;
+
+  const handleConfirm = () => {
+    if (!tooShort) {
+      onConfirm(notes.trim());
+      setNotes("");
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <Dialog open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
+      <DialogContent>
+        <DialogHeader>
+          <DialogTitle>Approve &amp; Merge</DialogTitle>
+          <DialogDescription>
+            Record why this work is approved for production. This note is the
+            permanent audit record for the merge and is required.
+          </DialogDescription>
+        </DialogHeader>
+        <div className="grid gap-4 py-4">
+          <div className="grid gap-2">
+            <Label htmlFor="ceo-approve-notes">Approval notes</Label>
+            <Textarea
+              id="ceo-approve-notes"
+              value={notes}
+              onChange={(e) => setNotes(e.target.value)}
+              placeholder="Verified against acceptance criteria; approving for production because..."
+              rows={4}
+            />
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+              {notes.trim().length}/{_CEO_NOTES_MIN} characters minimum
+            </p>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+        <DialogFooter>
+          <Button variant="outline" onClick={() => onOpenChange(false)}>
+            Cancel
+          </Button>
+          <Button onClick={handleConfirm} disabled={tooShort || isPending}>
+            {isPending ? "Approving..." : "Approve & Merge"}
+          </Button>
+        </DialogFooter>
+      </DialogContent>
+    </Dialog>
+  );
+}
+
 // Create Branch Dialog
 interface CreateBranchDialogProps {
   open: boolean;

roboco/api/routes/tasks.py

@@ -1266,8 +1266,21 @@ async def ceo_approve_task(
             status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Task not found"
         )
 
-    notes = data.notes if data else None
+    # The CEO sign-off note is the audit record for merging to production —
-    task = await service.ceo_approve(task_id, notes)
+    # it must be present and substantive. An approval with no rationale leaves
+    # the audit trail empty, so reject it (the panel collects the note before
+    # POSTing). Order mirrors pass-qa: 404 before the notes gate.
+    if not data or not data.notes or len(data.notes.strip()) < _MIN_NOTES_CHARS:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,
+            detail=(
+                "CEO_NOTES_REQUIRED: CEO approval must include notes (>=20 "
+                "chars) recording why the work is approved for production. "
+                "POST /api/tasks/{id}/ceo-approve with notes='...'."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    task = await service.ceo_approve(task_id, data.notes)
     if not task:
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST,

tests/integration/test_tasks_routes.py

@@ -2434,7 +2434,7 @@ async def test_ceo_approve_service_returns_none(ceo_client: dict) -> None:
     await ceo_client["db"].flush()
     response = await ceo_client["client"].post(
         f"/api/tasks/{task.id}/ceo-approve",
-        json={"notes": "approved"},
+        json={"notes": "Reviewed and approved for production release."},
         headers=_HDR,
     )
     assert response.status_code == HTTPStatus.BAD_REQUEST
@@ -2452,12 +2452,31 @@ async def test_ceo_approve_success(ceo_client: dict) -> None:
         mock_factory.return_value = instance
         response = await ceo_client["client"].post(
             f"/api/tasks/{task.id}/ceo-approve",
-            json={"notes": "approved"},
+            json={"notes": "Verified against all acceptance criteria; approved."},
             headers=_HDR,
         )
     assert response.status_code == HTTPStatus.OK
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_ceo_approve_without_notes_rejected(ceo_client: dict) -> None:
+    """Audit: a CEO approval with no/thin notes leaves no record of WHY the
+    work shipped, so the endpoint must reject it (>= 20 chars required). The
+    panel collects the note before POSTing."""
+    task = _seed_task_ceo(ceo_client)
+    await ceo_client["db"].flush()
+    for body in ({}, {"notes": ""}, {"notes": "lgtm"}):
+        response = await ceo_client["client"].post(
+            f"/api/tasks/{task.id}/ceo-approve",
+            json=body,
+            headers=_HDR,
+        )
+        assert response.status_code in (
+            HTTPStatus.BAD_REQUEST,
+            HTTPStatus.UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY,
+        ), (body, response.status_code)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_ceo_reject_task_not_found(ceo_client: dict) -> None:
     response = await ceo_client["client"].post(