kernel: Phase 2 evaluator — lookup-and-combine + 36 tests [shapes-reflective]

kernel-eval/kernel-combine dispatch on tagged values: operatives see
un-evaluated args + dynamic env; applicatives evaluate args then recurse.
No hardcoded special forms — $if/$quote tested as ordinary operatives
built on the fly. Pure-SX env representation
{:knl-tag :env :bindings DICT :parent P}, surfaced as a candidate
lib/guest/reflective/env.sx API since SX make-env is HTTP-mode only.

plans/kernel-on-sx.md

@@ -61,11 +61,11 @@ The whole interesting thing: there are no special forms hardcoded in the evaluat
 - [x] Tests in `lib/kernel/tests/parse.sx`.
 
 ### Phase 2 — Core evaluator with first-class environments
-- [ ] `kernel-eval expr env` — primary entry, walks AST, threads env as a value.
-- [ ] Symbol lookup → environment value (using SX env-as-value primitives).
-- [ ] List → look up head, dispatch on tag (applicative vs operative).
-- [ ] No hardcoded special forms — even `if`/`define`/`lambda` are env-bound.
-- [ ] Tests in `lib/kernel/tests/eval.sx`.
+- [x] `kernel-eval expr env` — primary entry, walks AST, threads env as a value.
+- [x] Symbol lookup → environment value (using SX env-as-value primitives).
+- [x] List → look up head, dispatch on tag (applicative vs operative).
+- [x] No hardcoded special forms — even `if`/`define`/`lambda` are env-bound.
+- [x] Tests in `lib/kernel/tests/eval.sx`.
 
 ### Phase 3 — `$vau` / `$lambda` / `wrap` / `unwrap`
 - [ ] Operative tagged value: `{:type :operative :params :env-param :body :static-env}`.
@@ -100,6 +100,16 @@ The whole interesting thing: there are no special forms hardcoded in the evaluat
 
 **May propose:** `lib/guest/reflective/` sub-layer — environment manipulation, evaluator-as-value, applicative/operative dispatch protocols.
 
+**Proposed `lib/guest/reflective/env.sx` API** (from Phase 2 chiselling — pending second consumer per the two-consumer rule):
+- `(refl-make-env)` / `(refl-extend-env PARENT)` — fresh / chained envs, plain SX dicts so they're easy to introspect.
+- `(refl-env? V)` — predicate.
+- `(refl-env-bind! ENV NAME VAL)` — local bind; parent is untouched.
+- `(refl-env-has? ENV NAME)` — recursive presence check.
+- `(refl-env-lookup ENV NAME)` — recursive lookup, raises on miss.
+- Representation: `{:refl-tag :env :bindings DICT :parent ENV-OR-NIL}`. Pure-SX dicts so any guest can serialize, diff, snapshot, or rewind environments without help from the host.
+
+The motivation is that SX's host `make-env` family is registered only in HTTP/site-mode platform setup, so a guest that needs first-class envs in CLI / test contexts has to roll its own anyway. A shared kit means the next reflective consumer (CL macro evaluator? metacircular Scheme?) doesn't need to redo the work.
+
 **What it teaches:** whether SX's recent env-as-value direction generalises to "evaluator-as-value." If Kernel implements cleanly in <2000 lines, env-as-value is real. If it requires substrate fixes at every turn, env-as-value was incomplete and the substrate is telling us what's missing.
 
 ## References
@@ -109,6 +119,7 @@ The whole interesting thing: there are no special forms hardcoded in the evaluat
 
 ## Progress log
 
+- 2026-05-10 — Phase 2 evaluator landed. `lib/kernel/eval.sx` is `lookup-and-combine`: zero hardcoded special forms. `kernel-eval EXPR ENV` dispatches on shape — literals self-evaluate, Kernel strings unwrap, symbols lookup, lists evaluate head and combine. `kernel-combine` distinguishes operatives (impl receives un-evaluated args + dynamic env) from applicatives (eval args, recurse into underlying op). `kernel-wrap`/`kernel-unwrap` round-trip cleanly. 36 tests verify literal evaluation, symbol lookup with parent-chain shadowing, tagged-value predicates, and the operative-vs-applicative contract (notably `$if` only evaluates the chosen branch, `$quote` returns its arg unevaluated). chisel: shapes-reflective. Substrate gap surfaced: SX's `make-env` / `env-bind!` family is only registered in HTTP/site mode (`http_setup_platform_constructors`), not in CLI epoch mode used for tests. So Kernel envs are modelled in pure SX as `{:knl-tag :env :bindings DICT :parent P}` — a binding-dict + parent-pointer + recursive lookup walk. This is exactly the `lib/guest/reflective/env.sx` candidate API: any reflective language needs first-class env values that can be extended, queried, and walked. Recording the shape (constructor, extend, bind!, has?, lookup) here for the eventual Phase 7 extraction.
 - 2026-05-10 — Phase 1 parser landed. `lib/kernel/parser.sx` reads R-1RK lexical syntax: numbers (int/float/exp), strings (with escapes), symbols (permissive — anything non-delimiting), booleans `#t`/`#f`, the empty list `()`, nested lists, and `;` line comments. Reader macros (`'` `,` `,@`) deferred per plan. AST: numbers/booleans/lists pass through; strings are wrapped as `{:knl-string …}` to distinguish from symbols which are bare SX strings. 54 tests in `lib/kernel/tests/parse.sx` pass via `sx_server.exe` epoch protocol. chisel: consumes-lex (uses `lex-digit?` and `lex-whitespace?` from `lib/guest/lex.sx` — pratt deliberately not consumed because Kernel is plain s-expressions, no precedence climbing).
 
 ## Blockers