Retire z_features/ z_vault/ autoprompt/ into complete/archive/

AGENTS.md

@@ -36,10 +36,11 @@ For the full workflow narrative, conventions, and registry schemas, read
     numerical order. `scripts/lifecycle.py` owns the moves and drift-checks
     them.
 
-  Meta folders are **not** lifecycle states and keep their own names:
-  `z_features/` (multi-task epic trackers), `z_vault/` (deferred prompts — the
-  former `shelved/` merged here), and `autoprompt/` (prompts about this repo's
-  own infrastructure).
+  Retired non-record material lives in **`complete/archive/`** (skipped by
+  `lifecycle.py check`/`index`): `archive/epics/` (former `z_features/`
+  multi-task trackers) and `archive/shelved/` (former `z_vault/` deferred
+  prompts + dev notes). The old `z_features/`, `z_vault/` and `autoprompt/`
+  top-level folders were retired here on 2026-07-13.
 - **Registry** — root-level markdown files, each with one job: `active.md`
   (in-flight tasks), `planned.md` (scoped, not started), `complete.md`
   (shipped), `parked.md` (started but not in flight), `queue.md` (ordered
@@ -64,11 +65,10 @@ For the full workflow narrative, conventions, and registry schemas, read
 ## Hard rules
 
 1. **Never rewrite history on any branch with a remote.** No `git init` over an
-   existing repo, no `git push --force` to `main`. The 2026-04-27 drift incident
-   that motivated `autoprompt/03_history_rewrite_guard.md` is the reason.
+   existing repo, no `git push --force` to `main`. (Motivated by the 2026-04-27
+   drift incident.)
 2. **Pull before edit.** `git fetch && git status` first, every time. If behind
-   `origin/main`, `git pull --ff-only` before touching anything. See
-   `autoprompt/04_source_of_truth_rule.md`.
+   `origin/main`, `git pull --ff-only` before touching anything.
 3. **One prompt = one task = one PR.** If a prompt outlines multiple
    loosely-related changes, split into separate prompt files before issuing.
 4. **`tmp/` is scratch.** Never commit anything under it.

REFERENCE.md

@@ -163,14 +163,10 @@ PyAutoMind/
 │   ├── AGENTS.md            ← archive schema + how to look records up
 │   └── 2026/07/<slug>.md    ← bucketed by completion date (zero-padded months)
 │
-│   LIFECYCLE / META — not work-types; keep their own names.
-├── z_features/              ← multi-task epic trackers (one tracker → many sub-prompts)
-│   └── complete/            ← archived trackers (all sub-prompts shipped)
-│
-├── z_vault/                 ← deferred prompts (z_ prefix sorts last in listings)
-
-│
-├── autoprompt/              ← prompts about THIS repo's own infrastructure (meta)
+│   (complete/archive/ holds retired non-record material — see below)
+├── complete/archive/        ← skipped by lifecycle.py check/index
+│   ├── epics/               ← retired multi-task epic trackers (former z_features/)
+│   └── shelved/             ← deferred prompts + dev notes (former z_vault/)
 │
 ├── scripts/
 │   ├── status.sh            ← prompt inventory helper
@@ -249,9 +245,10 @@ experiment/autoarray/jax_sparse_mapping.md
 
 ### Not work-types
 
-`active/`, `complete/`, `z_features/`, `z_vault/` are **workflow lifecycle**
-folders, and `autoprompt/` holds **meta** prompts about this repo's own
-infrastructure. They keep their own names and are not routed by work type.
+`active/` and `complete/` are **workflow lifecycle** folders, not routed by work
+type. `complete/archive/` holds retired non-record material — `epics/` (former
+`z_features/` trackers) and `shelved/` (former `z_vault/` deferred prompts + dev
+notes) — and is skipped by `lifecycle.py check`/`index`.
 
 ### Migration note
 
@@ -351,47 +348,13 @@ Each task is an H2 section:
     Long-form description of what landed, gotchas, follow-ups.
 ```
 
-### `z_features/` (multi-task epics)
-
-`z_features/` holds **umbrella trackers** for multi-task epics — single
-markdown files listing a sequence of sub-prompts that ship as their own PRs
-under `autofit/`, `autogalaxy/`, etc. The tracker itself never becomes an
-issue; only its sub-prompts do.
-
-```
-z_features/
-├── latent_refactor.md            ← tracker (lists sub-prompt links)
-├── ellipse_fitting_jax.md
-├── ...
-└── complete/                     ← archived trackers (all sub-prompts shipped)
-```
+### Epic trackers (retired 2026-07-13)
 
-Use this pattern when a single ask decomposes into 5+ dependent sub-tasks.
-`/start_dev z_features/<tracker>.md` runs in **audit-only mode** — it reports
-which sub-prompts are not-yet-issued / in-flight / shipped, and offers to
-move the tracker to `z_features/complete/` once everything has landed.
-
-**Naming convention for clean audit:** the audit derives task-name
-candidates from each sub-prompt's `active/` filename stem with `_`→`-`. For
-the audit to auto-match against `complete.md` headings, **the task slug in
-`active.md` / `complete.md` must equal the issued filename's stem after
-that transform**.
-
-| Issued filename | Task slug that matches | Task slug that does NOT match |
-|---|---|---|
-| `active/latent_module_autogalaxy.md` | `latent-module-autogalaxy` ✓ | `latent-autogalaxy-module` ✗ |
-| `active/latent_smoke_test.md` | `latent-smoke-test` ✓ | `smoke-test-latent` ✗ |
-| `active/latent_variables_tutorial_expand_autofit.md` | `latent-variables-tutorial-expand-autofit` ✓ | `latent-tutorial-autofit` ✗ |
-
-The third row is the trap — if `/start_dev` renames the prompt on move
-(e.g. appends a repo suffix for disambiguation) and `active.md`'s task slug
-diverges from the issued stem, the audit will report the sub-prompt as
-"in flight" forever and never archive the tracker. The cure is to either:
-
-- Pick the task slug at `/start_dev` time to match the eventual issued
-  filename stem, or
-- Manually archive the tracker (`mv z_features/<name>.md z_features/complete/`
-  + `prompt_sync_push`) when you know it's all shipped.
+Multi-task **epic trackers** (umbrella markdown files listing a sequence of
+sub-prompts) formerly lived in `z_features/`. That folder was retired into
+`complete/archive/epics/` once the `draft/ → active/ → complete/` lifecycle made
+its `z_`-prefixed home redundant. The per-task completion records live in
+`complete/<YYYY>/<MM>/`; the archived trackers keep the epic-level narrative.
 
 ---
 
@@ -404,7 +367,7 @@ bash scripts/status.sh
 ```
 
 Prints counts per category, lists the active and recently-completed tasks, and
-flags anything in `z_vault/` that's been sitting for a while.
+and lists the recently-completed tasks.
 
 ### From inside Claude Code
 

ROUTING.md

@@ -62,6 +62,6 @@ commands; PyAutoBrain performs the routing.* Bodies + the boundary live in
 
 ## Not routed by work type
 
-`active/`, `complete/`, `z_features/`, `z_vault/` are workflow-lifecycle
-folders; `autoprompt/` holds meta prompts about this repo's own infrastructure.
-None of these are work-type folders and PyAutoBrain does not route them.
+`active/` and `complete/` are workflow-lifecycle folders (with
+`complete/archive/` for retired epic trackers + shelved prompts). None of these
+are work-type folders and PyAutoBrain does not route them.

complete/archive/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# complete/archive/ — retired non-record material
+
+This holds material that isn't a **dated task record** (those live in
+`complete/<YYYY>/<MM>/` and pair 1:1 with `complete.md`). `lifecycle.py`
+`check` and `index` deliberately **skip** this directory.
+
+- **`epics/`** — retired multi-task **epic trackers** (formerly `z_features/`).
+  Each tracked a series of related tasks; the per-task completion records live
+  in `complete/<YYYY>/<MM>/`. Kept for the epic-level narrative.
+- **`shelved/`** — **deferred / shelved** prompts and dev notes (formerly
+  `z_vault/`). Not shipped; parked here rather than lost. Pull one back into
+  `draft/<work-type>/<target>/` if you decide to action it.
+
+The `z_features/` and `z_vault/` top-level folders were retired here (2026-07-13)
+once the `draft/ → active/ → complete/` lifecycle (issue #71) made them
+redundant.

scripts/lifecycle.py

@@ -53,6 +53,9 @@
 ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 ACTIVE_DIR = ROOT / "active"
 COMPLETE_DIR = ROOT / "complete"
+# complete/archive/ holds non-record material (retired epic trackers, shelved
+# prompts) — NOT dated task records, so check/index skip it.
+ARCHIVE_DIR = COMPLETE_DIR / "archive"
 DRAFT_DIR = ROOT / "draft"
 ACTIVE_MD = ROOT / "active.md"
 COMPLETE_MD = ROOT / "complete.md"
@@ -365,7 +368,7 @@ def _all_records() -> "list[tuple[str, str, Path]]":
         return []
     recs = []
     for f in COMPLETE_DIR.rglob("*.md"):
-        if f.name in ("index.md", "AGENTS.md"):
+        if f.name in ("index.md", "AGENTS.md") or ARCHIVE_DIR in f.parents:
             continue
         bucket = "/".join(f.relative_to(COMPLETE_DIR).parts[:-1]) or "unknown"
         recs.append((bucket, f.stem, f))
@@ -461,7 +464,7 @@ def cmd_check(args) -> int:
 
     if COMPLETE_DIR.exists():
         for f in COMPLETE_DIR.rglob("*.md"):
-            if f.name in ("index.md", "AGENTS.md"):
+            if f.name in ("index.md", "AGENTS.md") or ARCHIVE_DIR in f.parents:
                 continue
             slug = f.stem
             if slug not in {safe_name(s) for s in c_slugs}:
@@ -474,6 +477,8 @@ def cmd_check(args) -> int:
     if ACTIVE_DIR.exists() and COMPLETE_DIR.exists():
         active_names = {f.name for f in ACTIVE_DIR.glob("*.md")}
         for f in COMPLETE_DIR.rglob("*.md"):
+            if ARCHIVE_DIR in f.parents:
+                continue
             if f.name in active_names:
                 problems.append(f"file in both active/ and complete/: {f.name}")
 

scripts/spawn.py

@@ -57,10 +57,9 @@
     ("draft/*", "SKELETON"),
     ("complete/AGENTS.md", "KEEP"),
     ("active/*", "DROP"), ("complete/*", "DROP"),
-    ("z_features/*", "DROP"), ("z_vault/*", "DROP"),
-    ("autoprompt/*", "DROP"), ("docs/*", "DROP"),
-    # Instance root docs + legacy pre-migration prompt dirs:
-    ("dashboard.md", "DROP"), ("overview.md", "DROP"), ("autolens/*", "DROP"),
+    ("docs/*", "DROP"),
+    # Instance root docs:
+    ("dashboard.md", "DROP"), ("overview.md", "DROP"),
     ("skills/*", "KEEP"), ("policy/*", "KEEP"),
     (".github/*", "KEEP_SUB"),
     # Agent-discovery symlinks are install artifacts (recreated by the

scripts/status.sh

@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ dim()  { printf "\033[2m%s\033[0m\n" "$1"; }
 #   active/                        issued, in flight
 #   complete/<YYYY>/<MM>/          shipped
 # Draft prompts are organised by WORK TYPE (feature/, bug/, …) under draft/.
-# Meta folders (z_features/, z_vault/, autoprompt/) keep their own names.
-# See README "Prompt taxonomy".
+# See README "Prompt taxonomy". (The former z_features/ z_vault/ autoprompt/
+# meta folders were retired into complete/archive/ on 2026-07-13.)
 
 WORK_TYPES=(feature bug refactor docs test release maintenance research experiment triage)
-LIFECYCLE_DIRS=(active complete z_features z_vault autoprompt)
+LIFECYCLE_DIRS=(active complete)
 
 bold "== Draft prompts (by work type) =="
 printf "%-35s %s\n" "category" "count"