Require exact resolved paths for explicit help

docs/roadmap/remediation.md

@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ additional discovery check passed on Go 1.26.8.
 
 ## R-3: Preserve exact target lookup for the explicit help command
 
-Status: open. Priority: P2. Category: help grammar regression.
+Status: complete. Priority: P2. Category: help grammar regression.
 
 **Evidence:** [renderHelpTargets](../../execute.go#L155) reuses execution lookup
 and accepts `routeCanonical` results even when remaining target tokens are
@@ -137,6 +137,13 @@ requires operands.
 targets fail with usage status 2; exact aliases, group shortcuts, and discovery
 prefixes still render help without application initialization.
 
+**Completed:** Explicit help now requires all resolved target tokens to form
+the selected path; execution operands no longer disappear into a help view.
+New public-boundary regressions failed before the fix and now reject canonical
+and aliased operand-bearing targets while preserving exact command/group aliases,
+discovery help, and ordinary execution-form help without input initialization.
+The complete offline root suite passed on Go 1.26.8.
+
 ## R-4: Resolve discovery-help contexts through group shortcuts
 
 Status: open. Priority: P2. Category: incomplete alias composition.

execute.go

@@ -161,7 +161,9 @@ func (current *execution) renderHelpTargets(targets []string) Outcome {
 		return Failure(errors.New("cannot render help without command metadata"))
 	}
 	route := resolveEnteredRoute(targets, snapshot)
-	if route.kind == routeUnknown {
+	// Explicit help targets are paths, not command invocations with operands.
+	// Discovery routes have no canonical path and retain only trailing options.
+	if route.kind == routeUnknown || len(route.args) != len(route.canonicalPath) {
 		session := internalcobra.Prepare(snapshot.metadata, current.options)
 		return current.app.renderHelpOutcomeWithSession(targets, current.streams, session)
 	}

route_test.go

@@ -94,6 +94,44 @@ func TestRunnableCommandCanHaveAliasOnlyDiscoveryPrefixes(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestExplicitHelpRequiresAnExactResolvedTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	initialized := false
+	run := NewCommand(CommandSpec[struct{}]{
+		Name: "run", NewInput: func() struct{} { initialized = true; return struct{}{} },
+		Arguments: []Argument[struct{}]{RepeatArgument(ArgumentMeta{Name: "ARG"}, 2, 2,
+			func(value string) (string, error) { return value, nil }, func(*struct{}, Supplied[[]string]) {})},
+		Run: func(Invocation, struct{}) Outcome { t.Error("help ran the command"); return Success() },
+	})
+	app, err := New(Identity{Name: "Demo"}, run, Group("box", "Box", simpleRunnable("show")),
+		Alias("r", "run"), Alias("b", "box"), Alias("list show", "box show"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, args := range [][]string{
+		{"help", "run", "first", "second"}, {"help", "r", "first"},
+		{"help", "r", "first", "second"}, {"help", "r", "first", "second", "third"},
+	} {
+		var output, diagnostics bytes.Buffer
+		outcome := app.Execute(context.Background(), args, Streams{Out: &output, Err: &diagnostics})
+		if outcome.Kind != OutcomeUsage || output.Len() != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("Execute(%q) = %v, output %q, diagnostics %q", args, outcome.Kind, output.String(), diagnostics.String())
+		}
+	}
+	for _, args := range [][]string{
+		{"help", "run"}, {"help", "r"}, {"help", "box"}, {"help", "b"},
+		{"help", "list"}, {"r", "first", "second", "--help"},
+	} {
+		var output, diagnostics bytes.Buffer
+		outcome := app.Execute(context.Background(), args, Streams{Out: &output, Err: &diagnostics})
+		if outcome.Kind != OutcomeSuccess || !strings.Contains(output.String(), "Usage:") {
+			t.Errorf("Execute(%q) = %v, output %q, diagnostics %q", args, outcome.Kind, output.String(), diagnostics.String())
+		}
+	}
+	if initialized {
+		t.Fatal("help initialized command input")
+	}
+}
+
 func routeTestApp(t *testing.T, extra ...Declaration) *App {
 	t.Helper()
 	collections := simpleRunnable("collections")