clean

Delete snapshots older than a given threshold from _Archive/Snapshots/.

Arguments (6.9 — orphan handling)

$ARGUMENTS patterns:

• Number of days (e.g., 90, 30): age-based cleanup. Default: 180 if no argument provided. Orphan snapshots (source file missing) are PROTECTED by default — reported but not deleted. See Step 2c.
• orphans (literal word): delete only orphan snapshots, regardless of age. Skips age-based cleanup entirely.
• Number of days + --include-orphans (e.g., 180 --include-orphans): standard age-based cleanup PLUS delete orphans. Explicit opt-in.
• inbox (literal word): delete files in _Inbox/processed/ older than 180 days (the default). Skips snapshot cleanup entirely. The source URL/path is preserved in the corresponding Research/*.md's source: frontmatter, so processed inbox files are recoverable in principle. Per-file safety net: skip if no corresponding Research note exists (means the original /ingest did not complete cleanly — the source is still authoritative). See Step 2e.
• inbox [days] (e.g., inbox 90, inbox 30): same as inbox mode with custom age threshold.
• daily-intel [days] (e.g., daily-intel, daily-intel 60) — 2026-07-20: delete auto-generated scanning surfaces in Daily Intel/ (n8n news briefs + X dashboards) older than the threshold (default 90). Skips snapshot cleanup entirely. These files are regenerable machine output (n8n Workflows 3 + 5), never hand-edited, and never referenced by propagated_to: chains — deletion is safe by construction. Safety nets: (a) filename must match the n8n output patterns (* - Daily intel - n8n.md, * - News digest - n8n.md, * - X Dashboard.md) — anything else in the folder is user-created and PROTECTED (report, never delete); (b) .data/news_stories/*.json is NEVER touched by this mode — it is the /retro backtest corpus, not a scanning surface. Execution: enumerate matching files with date-prefix older than threshold → report the list + count + protected non-matching files → delete on the standard report-before-delete flow (Step 3's pattern) → release lock.

Universal closure-snapshot floor (applies to ALL modes including orphans and --include-orphans): pre-closure thesis snapshots from /prune Stage 1 or /status active→closed Step 3.1 whose matching manifest's completed_date: is within 30 days are PROTECTED. No /clean argument override — the only path to delete is to wait for the floor to expire OR rm the snapshot manually with full awareness of the consequence (closure becomes unrecoverable via /rollback). See Step 2d for detection and Step 3 for reporting.

Parse patterns in this order:

if $ARGUMENTS first token == "inbox" → inbox-cleanup mode; second token (optional integer) overrides 180-day default; skip Steps 1-4 entirely (snapshots untouched), execute Step 2e + Step 3.5 + Step 4.5 instead
elif $ARGUMENTS first token == "daily-intel" → daily-intel mode; second token (optional integer) overrides 90-day default; skip Steps 1-4 entirely (snapshots untouched), execute per the daily-intel argument spec above
elif $ARGUMENTS == "orphans" → orphans-only mode
elif $ARGUMENTS ends with "--include-orphans" → age + orphans mode; strip flag to get days
elif $ARGUMENTS is integer → age-only mode (default orphans PROTECTED)
else → default age-only mode (180 days; orphans PROTECTED)

Step 0: Pre-flight

Acquire a vault-wide scope lock per .claude/skills/_shared/preflight.md Procedure 1. Timeout budget: 5 minutes. Capture the token emitted at Step 0.1, verify ownership (Procedure 1.5) at every subsequent Bash block, release explicitly in the final reporting Bash block.

Step 1: Inventory Snapshots

List all files in _Archive/Snapshots/:

find _Archive/Snapshots/ -name '*.md' -type f | sort

If no files found, report "No snapshots exist — nothing to clean." and stop.

Step 2: Parse Ages and Safety Net Check

2.0: Single-Bash frontmatter extraction (replaces per-file Reads)

Run ONE Bash block that extracts every snapshot's frontmatter fields into a single pipe-delimited table. This collapses what was N serial Reads into 1 tool call regardless of snapshot count (hundreds of snapshots → same cost as one).

# Verify lock ownership first (preflight §1.5), then extract everything in one pass.
for f in _Archive/Snapshots/*.md; do
  [ -f "$f" ] || continue
  # head -40 bounds I/O; every skill writes frontmatter in the first ~30 lines
  head -40 "$f" | awk -v path="$f" '
    BEGIN {
      in_fm=0; type=""; sd=""; so=""; sb=""; status=""; cd=""
      batch=""; new_value=""; ticker=""
    }
    NR==1 && /^---$/ { in_fm=1; next }
    in_fm && /^---$/ { in_fm=0; exit }
    in_fm && /^type:/            { type=$2 }
    in_fm && /^snapshot_date:/   { sd=$2 }
    in_fm && /^snapshot_of:/     { so=$2; for(i=3;i<=NF;i++) so=so" "$i }
    in_fm && /^snapshot_batch:/  { sb=$2 }
    in_fm && /^status:/          { status=$2 }
    in_fm && /^completed_date:/  { cd=$2 }
    in_fm && /^batch:/           { batch=$2 }
    in_fm && /^new_value:/       { new_value=$2; for(i=3;i<=NF;i++) new_value=new_value" "$i }
    in_fm && /^ticker:/          { ticker=$2 }
    END {
      print path "|" type "|" sd "|" so "|" sb "|" status "|" cd "|" batch "|" new_value "|" ticker
    }
  '
done

This one block emits everything Steps 2a-2d need. Downstream classification consumes the table in-memory — no additional file reads for frontmatter. If source-file mtime comparison is needed (Safety Net Check), that uses stat in a second bounded Bash block, not per-file Reads.

For each file in _Archive/Snapshots/, classify using the extracted data (type:, snapshot_date:, snapshot_of:, etc.):

2a: Non-snapshot artifact guard (must run first)

Some files in _Archive/Snapshots/ are NOT snapshots — they are operational artifacts that other skills store there to survive across sessions:

• _prune-manifest files — written by /prune Stage 1.5 as a crash-recovery breadcrumb. Frontmatter has type: prune-manifest and carries no snapshot_date:. While a prune is in progress (or the prune crashed mid-run), this file is the user's only pointer to the batch that needs cascade-rollback.
• _sync-manifest files — written by /sync Step 2.9 (skeleton) then flipped by Step 7.5. Frontmatter has type: sync-manifest and carries no snapshot_date: (it carries date: and completed_date: instead). Consumed by /rollback Step 2.5b cascade detection. Aged by /lint #41.
• _compare-manifest files — written by /compare Phase 5.5c as a cross-sector atomicity record. Frontmatter has type: compare-manifest. Aged by /lint #45.
• _stress-test-manifest files (T3.1) — written by /stress-test Phase 4.6 to enable /rollback cascade-detection for append-only Log entries. Frontmatter has type: stress-test-manifest. Aged by /lint #47.
• _status-manifest files (T2.2) — written by /status Step 3.0.5 (skeleton) then flipped by Step 7.9. Frontmatter has type: status-manifest. Aged by /lint #48.
• _thesis-manifest files (H1) — written by /thesis Step 3.5 (skeleton) then flipped by Step 7.5. Frontmatter has type: thesis-manifest. Aged by /lint #49.
• Future artifact types — any file whose type: frontmatter is set to anything other than a snapshot flavor.

Detection rule: if the file's frontmatter has a type: field AND that value is not empty AND is not a snapshot-producer identifier (snapshot, or absent), treat the file as a non-snapshot artifact. Also treat any file missing snapshot_date: as non-snapshot (defensive — /clean cannot date-age what isn't dated).

Handling:

• Skip the file entirely for prune manifests with status: in-progress and for any other non-snapshot type.
• For type: prune-manifest with status: in-progress: add a line to the Step 3 report under a new category 🛑 Prune manifest (in-progress) — the user should resolve the in-flight prune (via /rollback cascade) before letting /clean proceed, though /clean itself takes no action on this file.
• For type: prune-manifest with status: completed (5.2 retention fix): compute age from completed_date: frontmatter (not date:, which is the start of prune — completed_date: anchors retention).
  • Age ≤ 30 days: add to Step 3 report under 🔒 Completed prune manifest — in 30-day regret-recovery window — do NOT delete regardless of /clean threshold. The manifest supports /rollback cascade-detection for neighbor Tier B Log entries if the user needs recovery.
  • Age > 30 days: eligible for deletion. Include in the Step 3 "Snapshots to delete" report under the regular age-based cleanup bucket. The 30-day floor is absolute — a user running /clean 10 does NOT delete 15-day-old completed prune manifests (they are still in regret-window regardless of the user-supplied age threshold). A user running /clean 180 DOES delete 40-day-old completed prune manifests (both windows satisfied).
  • Missing completed_date: (legacy manifests or flip-verification-failure manifests that flipped status without adding the timestamp): treat as age > 30 days for cleanup safety — these are stuck manifests whose prune unambiguously succeeded; cleanup is correct. Log ℹ️ Legacy completed prune manifest (no completed_date:) — eligible for deletion.
• For any other non-snapshot type: log ℹ️ Skipped non-snapshot artifact: [path] (type: [value], no snapshot_date).

2b: Classify actual snapshots

For each file that passed the 2a guard (has snapshot_date:, no conflicting type:), calculate age in days from today's date.

Classify each snapshot:

• Retained: age <= threshold (kept)
• Expired: age > threshold — but check safety net status before marking for deletion (see below)

Safety Net Check (expired snapshots only)

For each snapshot classified as Expired:

1. Extract snapshot_of: to identify the source file path
2. Check if the source file still exists at its original path
3. If source exists: check whether it was modified after snapshot_date: (compare file mtime against snapshot_date)
   • Modified after snapshot → reclassify as 🛡️ Active safety net — this snapshot captures a pre-modification state that cannot be recovered otherwise. Exclude from deletion.
   • Not modified after snapshot → keep as Expired — snapshot is redundant (source unchanged since snapshot was taken)
4. If source file no longer exists (archived/deleted) → reclassify as 👻 Orphan (6.9 fix). Handling depends on mode:
   • Default age mode (no orphans keyword, no --include-orphans): PROTECT — do NOT delete. List in Step 3 report under "Orphan snapshots (source file missing)" so the user can review. The snapshot may be the only recovery path if the source file was mistakenly deleted. This is a deliberate fail-safe reversal from the legacy behavior where orphans were treated as "Expired" alongside stale-but-redundant snapshots.
   • orphans mode: mark for deletion. This is the explicit opt-in.
   • --include-orphans mode: mark for deletion as part of age-based batch.

2c: Orphan enumeration (6.9 — explicit pass)

Orphans are identified by snapshot_of: pointing to a path that does NOT exist. Resolve the path:

• Wikilink form "[[Theses/TICKER - Name]]" → check Theses/TICKER - Name.md
• Wikilink form "[[_Archive/TICKER - Name]]" → check _Archive/TICKER - Name.md
• Plain path form "Theses/TICKER - Name.md" → check as-is

If the resolved path does not exist, the snapshot is an orphan.

Why default-protect orphans: the legacy "delete orphans as part of expired batch" behavior created an unrecoverable loss path for scenarios where a thesis was deleted manually (violating CLAUDE.md "archive don't delete") — the snapshots were the user's only lingering audit trail, and /clean silently erased them along with genuinely-stale redundant snapshots. Default-protect surfaces orphans for review; the user can explicitly opt in via orphans or --include-orphans once they've inspected the reported list.

2d: Closure-snapshot 30-day regret-recovery floor (universal — applies to age, orphans, and --include-orphans modes)

The pre-closure thesis snapshots created by /status active→closed (Step 3.1) and /prune Stage 1 become orphans the moment the source thesis file moves to _Archive/ (the snapshot's snapshot_of: "[[Theses/TICKER - Name]]" target is now missing). Without protection, /clean orphans and /clean N --include-orphans silently destroy the recovery path for any recent closure within seconds of the closure landing. /lint cannot retroactively recreate deleted snapshots; git restore only helps if the snapshot was committed before deletion. This 30-day floor universally protects closure snapshots regardless of /clean mode.

Detection procedure — runs for every snapshot classified as 👻 Orphan in 2c:

1. Read snapshot's snapshot_batch: frontmatter. Skip protection check if absent (legacy snapshot).
2. Search _Archive/Snapshots/ for a manifest whose batch: matches the snapshot's snapshot_batch::
   • Status manifest match (type: status-manifest): closure detection requires the manifest's new_value: to contain the literal token closed (covers new_value: closed, new_value: "closed", and compound forms like "monitoring → closed"). Match → it's a /status active→closed (or monitoring→closed) snapshot.
   • Prune manifest match (type: prune-manifest): every /prune Stage 1 snapshot for an Intended Closure target is a closure snapshot by construction. Match → confirmed closure snapshot.
3. If matched manifest found AND manifest's status: completed AND completed_date: is within 30 days of today → PROTECT under closure-floor regardless of /clean mode (age, orphans, --include-orphans).
4. If manifest's status: in-progress → also PROTECT (the closure transaction is unresolved; deleting recovery snapshots compounds the failure state). Surface separately under Step 3 reporting.
5. If manifest matched but completed_date: is missing (legacy or flip-verification miss) → treat as completed-30-days-ago for cleanup (no protection). Log: ℹ️ Closure manifest [batch] missing completed_date: — treating snapshot as past regret window. Verify manually if you need the snapshot.
6. If no matching manifest → snapshot's closure status cannot be confirmed. Treat as standard orphan (default-protected; deletable via /clean orphans per 2c).

Reporting: protected closure snapshots appear under a dedicated Step 3 section (see below) so users see exactly which closures they cannot yet aggressively prune from. The protection cannot be overridden by /clean flags by design — the user's only path to delete a 30-day-floored closure snapshot is to wait for the floor to expire OR to manually rm the snapshot (with full awareness of the consequence).

Why universal across modes: the prior /prune-manifest 30-day floor (2a) only protected the manifest file. It did NOT protect the per-thesis snapshots that the manifest references. /clean orphans could delete a 5-day-old prune's per-thesis snapshots while preserving the manifest — leaving the user with a manifest body listing closures they could no longer restore. This 2d floor closes that gap and extends symmetric protection to /status closures (which have no manifest-floor analog).

2e: Inbox processed-file enumeration (inbox mode only)

Only runs when $ARGUMENTS first token == inbox. Skips Steps 1, 2.0, 2a–2d entirely (snapshots untouched in inbox mode).

_Inbox/processed/ accumulates source files moved by /ingest Mode C after a successful research-note write. The source URL/path remains the canonical provenance record on the matching Research/*.md (source: frontmatter), so processed files become redundant once the corresponding research note is durable. /clean inbox enumerates candidates with a per-file safety net keyed to research-note existence.

Threshold: second $ARGUMENTS token if integer; otherwise default 180. (Same default as snapshot age.)

Per-file enumeration — single Bash block:

THRESHOLD_DAYS=${THRESHOLD_DAYS:-180}
TODAY_EPOCH=$(date +%s)
for f in _Inbox/processed/*; do
  [ -f "$f" ] || continue
  MTIME_EPOCH=$(stat -f %m "$f" 2>/dev/null || stat -c %Y "$f" 2>/dev/null)
  AGE_DAYS=$(( (TODAY_EPOCH - MTIME_EPOCH) / 86400 ))
  echo "$f|$AGE_DAYS"
done

Per-file research-note existence probe (safety net):

For each candidate, the LLM derives the most plausible research-note name from the inbox filename and confirms via Glob:

1. Strip the inbox filename's extension. Strip leading date prefix if present (YYYY-MM-DD - ...).
2. Glob Research/*<keyword>*.md against tokens from the stripped name (use 2-3 of the most distinctive tokens, dedup whitespace).
3. If at least one candidate Research note exists AND its source: frontmatter resolves to (a) the absolute inbox file path, (b) the original URL the file was downloaded from (visible in the research note source: line), or (c) a partial-name match flagged advisory — mark as safe_to_delete.
4. If no Research note matches → mark as unsafe (no Research note found). The original /ingest may have been interrupted between writing the inbox file and creating the Research note; deleting now would lose the source. Do NOT mark for deletion.
5. If multiple Research notes match ambiguously → mark as ambiguous; surface to user under a separate report bucket.

Classification:

• Inbox to delete: age_days >= threshold AND safe_to_delete.
• Inbox protected (under threshold): age_days < threshold.
• Inbox unsafe (no matching Research note): any age. PROTECTED — listed for user review.
• Inbox ambiguous (multiple matches): any age. PROTECTED — listed for user review.

Step 3: Report Before Deletion

Present a summary table. Do NOT delete anything yet.

Snapshots to delete (older than N days)

File	Snapshot Date	Age (days)	Source Note
filename.md	YYYY-MM-DD	X	snapshot_of value

🛡️ Active safety nets (excluded from deletion)

File	Snapshot Date	Age (days)	Source Note	Source Modified
filename.md	YYYY-MM-DD	X	snapshot_of value	YYYY-MM-DD

These snapshots exceed the age threshold but their source files were modified after the snapshot was taken. Deleting them removes the only recovery path to the pre-modification state. To override, re-run /clean targeting specific filenames.

Snapshots retained (within threshold)

File	Snapshot Date	Age (days)

🛑 Prune manifest (in-progress) — do NOT clean

File	Batch ID	Status

These represent in-flight /prune operations. Resolve the batch first (/rollback cascade via any ticker in the batch, then delete the manifest) before running /clean again.

🔒 Completed prune manifests — in 30-day regret-recovery window (PROTECTED)

File	Batch ID	Completed Date	Days remaining

These manifests are within 30 days of completed_date: and are retained to support /rollback cascade-detection if the user decides to undo an approved closure. /clean does NOT delete these regardless of age threshold.

🧹 Completed prune manifests — eligible for deletion (>30 days old)

File	Batch ID	Completed Date	Age (days)

These manifests have exceeded the 30-day regret-recovery window. /clean deletes these alongside regular age-based cleanup (if snapshot threshold is also satisfied). Manifests with missing completed_date: (legacy or flip-verification failures) are also included here — those are stuck completed manifests whose prune unambiguously succeeded.

👻 Orphan snapshots (source file missing)

File	Snapshot Date	Age (days)	snapshot_of (missing)

These snapshots reference source files that no longer exist in the vault. Possible causes: (a) source was manually deleted (violates CLAUDE.md archive-don't-delete rule — investigate), (b) source was archived and the archive was later renamed (snapshots track original path), (c) legacy snapshot from a pre-6.9 vault where the convention drifted.

• Default age mode: orphans are PROTECTED and listed here only. Not deleted.
• To delete orphans: run /clean orphans (orphans only, any age) or /clean [days] --include-orphans (age + orphans).

🛟 Closure snapshots — in 30-day regret-recovery window (PROTECTED across all modes — 2d)

File	Closure Type	Batch ID	Closure Completed	Days remaining

Pre-closure thesis snapshots from /prune Stage 1 or /status active→closed Step 3.1, where the matching manifest's completed_date: is within 30 days of today. These snapshots are the only recovery path for /rollback TICKER if the user regrets the closure. Protected universally — /clean orphans and /clean [days] --include-orphans cannot delete these. Becomes eligible for deletion automatically once 30 days have elapsed since completed_date:.

If you need to delete one of these urgently (e.g., disk pressure + already verified backup elsewhere), rm the snapshot manually with full awareness that the closure becomes unrecoverable.

🛟 Closure snapshots — manifest in-progress (PROTECTED — 2d)

File	Manifest Path	Manifest Batch ID

Snapshots whose matching _status-manifest or _prune-manifest is still status: in-progress. The closure transaction did not complete cleanly — the snapshot is the sole rollback path. Resolve the in-progress manifest first (run /rollback cascade per the manifest's recovery guidance, OR manually flip the manifest after spot-checking that work landed) before re-running /clean.

Non-snapshot artifacts (skipped)

File	Type

Total: X to delete, Y active safety nets (protected), Z retained, V orphans (protected by default | slated for deletion), P prune manifests in regret-window (protected), Q prune manifests eligible for deletion, R closure snapshots in regret-window (PROTECTED across all modes — 2d), S closure snapshots with in-progress manifests (PROTECTED — 2d), W non-snapshot artifacts (skipped).

📥 Inbox files to delete (inbox mode only — older than threshold AND matching Research note exists)

File	Age (days)	Matched Research note

These files are processed sources whose corresponding Research/*.md exists and carries the source provenance in its source: frontmatter. Deleting the inbox copy is safe — the research note (and the original URL within it) preserves traceability.

📥 Inbox files protected (under threshold)

File	Age (days)

⚠️ Inbox files unsafe — no matching Research note (PROTECTED, manual review)

File	Age (days)	Reason

These processed-inbox files have no obvious matching Research note. Likely cause: the original /ingest was interrupted between moving the source and writing the Research note. Do NOT delete — the inbox file may be the only intact copy of the source. Inspect manually: either re-run /ingest [path] (which will short-circuit on URL-dedup if the matching Research note exists under a different name) OR delete after manual confirmation.

📥 Inbox files ambiguous — multiple Research-note matches (PROTECTED, manual review)

File	Age (days)	Candidate matches

Multiple Research notes plausibly cite this inbox file. PROTECTED until disambiguated.

Step 4: Confirm and Execute

Wait for user confirmation before deleting.

Snapshot modes (default age, orphans, --include-orphans) — if confirmed, delete each expired snapshot:

rm "_Archive/Snapshots/[filename]"

Report: "Deleted X snapshots. Y remain."

Inbox mode — if confirmed, delete each safe inbox file:

rm "_Inbox/processed/[filename]"

Report: "Deleted X inbox files. Y unsafe (no Research note) preserved. Z ambiguous (multi-match) preserved. W under threshold."

Inbox mode never touches _Archive/Snapshots/. Snapshot modes never touch _Inbox/processed/. The two modes are mutually exclusive at parse time.

Step 5: Release lock

After Step 4's deletion and report, release the vault lock per .claude/skills/_shared/preflight.md §1.7 as the skill's FINAL Bash block. Runs unconditionally — whether deletions proceeded, user declined confirmation, or there was nothing to delete.

# Lock release — verify ownership before rm (preflight §1.5)
LOCK_FILE=".vault-lock"
EXPECTED_TOKEN="<paste-token-captured-from-Step-0.1>"
if [ -f "$LOCK_FILE" ] && grep -q "token: $EXPECTED_TOKEN" "$LOCK_FILE"; then
  rm -f "$LOCK_FILE" && echo "=== LOCK RELEASED ==="
else
  echo "⚠️ Lock ownership check failed at release — skipping rm to avoid stealing another skill's lock."
fi