---
id: "0038"
date: 2026-07-14
status: Accepted
supersedes:
superseded-by:
affected-paths: [plugins/os-doc-hygiene/rulebook.json, plugins/os-doc-hygiene/lifecycle-spec.md, plugins/os-doc-hygiene/scripts/]
affected-components: [os-doc-hygiene]
---

# 0038 — Per-project doc-hygiene rulebook override lives at repo-root .dochygiene-rules.json, not in .cc-os/

## Context

The lifecycle-aware doc hygiene design (wayfinder map #31, ticket #40) gives os-doc-hygiene a global rulebook shipped in the plugin (plugins/os-doc-hygiene/rulebook.json) plus a thin per-project override for exceptions (e.g. repos where specs are the product). cc-os also has a gitignored .cc-os/ directory used for local machine config (e.g. tracker keys), which raised the question of where the override belongs. The override participates in deletion decisions, so it must be reviewable, versioned, and shared by every collaborator and agent working the repo.

## Decision

The per-project override is a committed repo-root dotfile: .dochygiene-rules.json. It follows the existing .dochygiene-ignore precedent. Envelope {"schema_version": 1, "rules": [...]}; merged add-only over the global rulebook with source-then-specificity precedence (project file-rule > project directory-rule > global file-rule > global directory-rule; ties by longest pattern, then last-defined). A project neutralizes a global rule by shadowing it with lifetime "keep" — no rule-removal mechanism.

## Consequences

Rule overrides are visible in review and travel with the repo — a rule that can authorize deletion is never invisible local state. One more root dotfile per opted-in project. Because the merge is add-only, a bad global rule is neutralized by shadowing, not deleted, keeping merge semantics trivially predictable. Full schema: plugins/os-doc-hygiene/lifecycle-spec.md.

## Alternatives rejected

(1) .cc-os/dochygiene-rules.json — rejected: .cc-os/ is gitignored local config; deletion-authorizing rules must be committed, reviewable, and shared, not per-machine. (2) Global rulebook only, no override — rejected: repos where specs/plans are the product need exceptions (ticket #34). (3) YAML/TOML with comments — rejected in #40: JSON parses with stdlib in both the Python pipeline and any tooling; a per-rule note field substitutes for comments.

## Amendment (2026-07-15 — wayfinder map #49)

The rules file's scope now includes **nominations memory**: an optional second top-level key `nominations` with two sub-keys — `consults` (open judge questions that resurface each `:calibrate` run until answered) and `rejected` (declined nominations, judge- or human-declined, that block exact glob+lifetime repeats at nomination intake and travel to the judge as context for variants). The key is additive to schema_version 1 (the v1 loader ignores unknown top-level keys); `rulebook.py` stays nomination-unaware — only the calibrate pipeline reads it. Serialization of the whole file is writer-enforced canonical ordering (rules grouped delete-once-served → temporary → keep, glob-sorted within groups; `nominations` after `rules`, `consults` before `rejected`) — no hook. The global rulebook additionally carries a `**/extracted.md → keep` rule, protecting the per-directory extract-index convention (map #49 ticket #57) in every project with zero per-project bookkeeping. Detail: plugins/os-doc-hygiene/lifecycle-spec.md (§1 extract index; §2 nominations memory + canonical ordering); decision tickets #51–#53, #56, #57.
