cc-os/docs/research/clutter-pattern-inventory.md

# Clutter pattern inventory (seed candidates)

_Last updated: 2026-07-14_ — Wayfinder research ticket #41 (map: issue #31)

Read-only survey of non-code / process-artifact file and directory patterns across four
local repos, chosen by recent mtime: `cc-os`, `delta-refinery`, `hyperthrive_dev`,
`llf-schema`. Purpose: seed candidates for a future clutter-management rulebook. **These are
proposals only — a strong model confirms later. Nothing was deleted or modified.**

Lifetime taxonomy used below:
- **keep-indefinitely** — durable project record, never auto-removed.
- **temporary (age-triggered)** — safe to prune after N days/weeks of no relevance.
- **delete-once-served (purpose-triggered)** — safe to remove once its one-time purpose
  (a merge, a migration, a handoff) has completed; optional **extract-then-delete** modifier
  means durable content should be pulled into a keep-indefinitely home first.

## Catalog

| Glob pattern | Repos seen in | What it is | Proposed lifetime | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `graphify-out/` (+ dated subdirs like `graphify-out/2026-06-30/`) | cc-os, delta-refinery, hyperthrive_dev, llf-schema | Disposable/rebuildable Graphify knowledge-graph output (already documented as gitignored, rebuildable per CLAUDE.md conventions) | temporary (age-triggered) — safe to delete any time, regenerable on demand; dated subfolders are stale snapshots left by re-runs | high |
| `autoresearch/<run-id>/` (e.g. `classic-260703-1522/`, `improve-260710-1057/`) | cc-os | Per-run autoresearch loop working directories: round outputs, `results.tsv`, `loop-log.md`, `handoff.json`, candidate drafts | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — keep the final chosen candidate/summary (already promoted to a skill/doc), prune raw round data once the loop concludes | high |
| `.claude/skills/openspec-sync-specs/`, `.codex/skills/…`, `.pi/skills/…` (mirrored skill dirs) | cc-os, delta-refinery, hyperthrive_dev, llf-schema | Per-assistant mirrored copies of OpenSpec skills (CLAUDE.md notes these must stay in sync across three assistants) | keep-indefinitely | high |
| `openspec/changes/<change-id>/` (active) | cc-os, hyperthrive_dev, llf-schema | Live OpenSpec change proposals (design/spec/tasks) | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — archived automatically by `/opsx:archive` into `openspec/changes/archive/`; not clutter while active, becomes archive-managed after | medium |
| `openspec/changes/archive/<change-id>/` | cc-os | Completed OpenSpec changes, retained per project convention | keep-indefinitely (or long temporary — project already treats these as historical record) | medium |
| `docs/plans/*.md` | cc-os, delta-refinery, llf-schema | Point-in-time planning docs for specific efforts (e.g. `ws2-os-vault-write-eval.md`, eval overviews) | temporary (age-triggered), extract-then-delete — durable decisions belong in ADRs/status docs; raw plan often stale once work ships | medium |
| `scratch-plans/` incl. `scratch-plans/archive/old-plans-<date>/` | hyperthrive_dev | Ad hoc planning docs with a **project-owned archival script** (`scripts/archive-scratch-plans.sh`) that already rotates them into dated archive folders | temporary (age-triggered) for the live `scratch-plans/` root; archived subfolders are effectively delete-once-served after some longer retention — project has already solved this locally, a good reference pattern | high |
| `.scratch/active/*.md` (e.g. `progress.md`, `payment-platform-progress.md`) | hyperthrive_dev | Working "current progress" scratch notes, no archive step observed for this dir (distinct from `scratch-plans/`) | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — once the tracked effort finishes, extract durable notes and delete | medium |
| `handoffs/<project>/**` (large multi-stage handoff trees: `deep-research/`, `architecture/`, `implementation/`, `spec/`, `copywriting/`, plus `*.n8n-backup/` variants, `ARTIFACTS.md`, `HANDOFF.md`, `metadata.json`) | hyperthrive_dev | Multi-agent pipeline handoff artifacts (research → architecture → implementation → spec), including duplicate `.n8n-backup` snapshot folders | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — final artifacts (`final-report.md`, `final-spec.md`) worth keeping; intermediate JSON/mmd/png working files and backup-suffixed duplicate folders are safe to prune once the pipeline completed and shipped | medium |
| `HANDOFF-*.md` / `HANDOFF.md` (top-level, not in handoffs tree) | cc-os (`plugins/os-doc-hygiene/HANDOFF-add-deterministic-core.md`), hyperthrive_dev | Single-file handoff notes for a specific piece of work-in-progress | delete-once-served — once the receiving session/agent has consumed it and the work lands, no longer needed; check if content duplicates commit history first | high |
| `PRD.md` (single file, per plugin/feature) | cc-os (`plugins/os-doc-hygiene/PRD.md`), delta-refinery (`docs/tiny-habit-streak-tracker-cli-prd.md`) | Product requirements doc for a specific feature/plugin | keep-indefinitely while the feature is active/unshipped; consider archiving alongside the shipped feature's docs afterward | medium |
| `docs/adr/migration-report.md` | cc-os, delta-refinery | One-time report from ADR-system migration (`/os-adr:migrate`), explicitly documented as non-authoritative/uncertainty-flagged | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — migration_confidence findings should be resolved into real ADRs; report itself is a one-time artifact | high |
| `docs/orchestration-audit/auditor-reports/S*-report.md` | cc-os | Per-session auditor output from the biweekly orchestration IRL audit (`os-context:audit-sessions`) | temporary (age-triggered), extract-then-delete — the tune-up report synthesizes these; raw per-session reports are input data, prunable after synthesis and some retention window | medium |
| `plugins/*/eval/results/`, `plugins/*/eval-b/`, `plugins/*/eval-c/results/` (eval run output only, not scenarios/fixtures/rubric) | cc-os | Eval harness run results (scores, transcripts) | temporary (age-triggered) — CLAUDE.md's eval discipline treats scenarios/reserves as sacred (never touch), but *results* are re-run outputs; keep latest, prune old runs | medium |
| `plugins/*/eval/scenarios/`, `.../scenarios-reserve/`, `.../fixture/`, `judge-rubric.md` | cc-os | Held-out eval scenario sets and fixtures — explicitly protected by repo convention ("never run informally," "reserves never even read") | keep-indefinitely | high |
| `reference-schemas/*-COMPARISON-REPORT.md` | llf-schema | One-time comparison/analysis reports generated during schema research | delete-once-served, extract-then-delete — conclusions likely already folded into schema decisions; raw report is reference-only | low |
| `.dochygiene/report.json`, `.dochygiene/report.md`, `.cc-os/dochygiene/report.{json,md}` | cc-os, hyperthrive_dev | Generated hygiene-scan reports from `os-doc-hygiene`, regenerated each `/os-doc-hygiene:check` run | temporary (age-triggered) — always superseded by the next scan; effectively a cache | high |
| `test/`, `.claude/agents/*.md`, `.claude/commands/scratch-plans/*.md` | delta-refinery, hyperthrive_dev | Code/tooling, not clutter — included here only to note they were correctly excluded from candidates | n/a (not a candidate) | high |
| `features/archive/feature-*.md`, `requirements/feature-level-requirement-*.md` | delta-refinery | Feature-level requirement/handoff docs for an agent pipeline (requirement extraction → handoff), with project already using an `archive/` subfolder convention | keep-indefinitely for `archive/` (project's own durable record); live `requirements/*.md` closer to delete-once-served once implemented | low |
| `docs/agent-pre-post-handoff.md`, `docs/superpowers/plans/*.md`, `docs/superpowers/specs/` | delta-refinery, hyperthrive_dev | "Superpowers" framework plan/spec docs — appear to be a shared third-party or template convention across repos, not repo-specific | keep-indefinitely (treat as vendored/framework docs) pending confirmation they're not stale copies | low |
| `.claude/skills/**`, mirrored `.codex/`, `.pi/` skill dirs generally | all four | Not clutter — actively used tooling, included for completeness of what the scan touched | n/a (not a candidate) | high |

## Notable non-patterns / things ruled out

- `openspec/specs/` (stable, synced specs, not `changes/`) — this is the durable spec store,
  not clutter; excluded from candidates.
- `node_modules/`, `.git/`, `vendor/`, `.bundle/`, `tmp/` were pruned from the search per
  ticket instructions and are out of scope (already well-understood, not novel clutter).

## Method

- Repos chosen by `.git` mtime recency under `~/dev`: cc-os, delta-refinery,
  hyperthrive_dev, llf-schema (most recent 4).
- `find` with an `-iregex` filter for known process-artifact name/path fragments
  (HANDOFF, PRD, TODO, NOTES, scratch, research, transcript, report, openspec, specs,
  docs/plans, graphify-out, eval, CHANGELOG), pruning node_modules/.git/vendor/.bundle/tmp.
- Spot-checked sizes (`du -sh`) for `graphify-out/` and `autoresearch/` to confirm they're
  worth flagging as prunable bulk, not just noise.
- All reads were non-destructive; no files were modified, moved, or deleted in any surveyed
  repo.