tidy

The law this skill runs on: a loose end you can SEE but don't ACT on still hangs. The hygiene hook (~/.claude/scripts/workspace-reconcile.sh, fired on Stop + push) is the automatic layer — it auto-deletes only what is provably an ancestor of origin/main and SURFACES everything else, because a bash reconciler cannot safely tell a merged-via-squash branch (patch-id-equivalent but not a literal ancestor) from real unmerged work, a sibling-superseded subset from the superset, or ancient divergent junk from a forgotten-but-valuable branch. That discrimination needs git forensics + PR state + judgment. /tidy is where the surfaced judgment calls get made and resolved to zero. The hook surfaces; tidy decides and clears.

Three hard invariants:

• Verify before you delete — every "merged/superseded" is a CLAIM, proven three ways. Before any deletion, prove the branch's work is in origin/main by (1) patch-id equivalence (git cherry origin/main <b> all -), (2) file-vs-main diff (git diff origin/main...<b> empty/already-applied), and (3) PR/log match (gh pr list --head <b> --state merged, or the squashed commit subject in git log origin/main). Two of three agreeing = MERGED-EQUIV. Unsure = KEEP and surface, never delete. (The KNOWN-DEAD gate, applied to branches.)
• Reversible-only + propose-on-approval. Destructive acts (delete branch, remove worktree) touch ONLY merged-equivalent / superseded / stale targets and clean worktrees — all reflog/origin-recoverable. NEVER delete unmerged work, a branch checked out in any worktree, or a worktree that is dirty or a peer session's. Pushes / PRs / merges happen only on the user's explicit nod (the public-repo no-push contract holds); default writes nothing.
• Resolve to zero. The surfaced set must end empty: every loose end exits as DELETED (safe), PUSHED/PR'd (real work, on approval), or KEPT-with-a-stated-reason. "Triaged but left hanging" is the failure this skill exists to kill.

/tidy <repo> (default — triage + propose, act on approval)

1. Gather the surfaced set. Run bash ~/.claude/scripts/workspace-reconcile.sh <repo> (it already did the safe-auto deletes + listed the rest) and read git/PR state: branches not in origin/main, extra/dirty worktrees, uncommitted changes, open PRs (gh pr list). On a repo with many branches, fan the per-branch forensics to parallel subagents — only the verdicts return.
2. Triage each branch (three-way proof above) into exactly one: MERGED-EQUIV (work in main → delete) · SIBLING-SUPERSEDED (a superset branch exists → delete the subset, name the superset) · STALE-DIVERGENT (ancient base, nothing unique → delete) · REAL-UNMERGED (genuine work not in main → push / open PR / keep) · ACTIVE (current branch, WIP, or a peer's → keep). Cite the one-line evidence per verdict.
3. PR-aware: for pushed branches read gh pr view state — merged → delete local (remote auto-deletes if the repo setting is on) · open → note + leave (it's in review) · closed-unmerged → decide with the user.
4. Worktrees: clean + on a merged/deletable branch → propose git worktree remove; dirty or a peer's → surface only. Prune orphaned registrations.
5. Propose the plan — the delete list (each with its 3-way evidence), the push/PR list (each with a recommendation), the keep list (each with a reason) — then act ONLY on approval. On a PUBLIC churning repo the triage itself is often the deliverable: queue the recipe, don't thrash branches a peer/EVOLVE loop is moving under you.

/tidy audit

Read-only. Emit the triage report (the same classification + evidence) and propose nothing, write nothing. The "what's hanging and why" snapshot — mirrors /redline sweep / /raze audit.

/tidy apply

Execute ONLY a plan approved in a prior triage. Re-verify merged-equivalence the instant before each delete (origin/main may have moved — peers, the EVOLVE loop). Safe deletes, worktree removals, and approved pushes only; one concern per action with explicit git add <path>; report what was cleared and what remains. A target that no longer verifies as merged-equivalent is dropped from the batch, not force-deleted.

Rules

• Lane discipline. The hygiene HOOK (workspace-reconcile.sh) is the AUTOMATIC safe-auto + surface layer — do not re-implement its ancestor-merged deletes; /tidy adds only the merged-EQUIVALENT / superseded / stale / PR-state reasoning it cannot do. /nightshift owns the push→PR→Bugbot-converge loop (tidy proposes the push; nightshift or the user runs it). /redline is how this enforcement got installed; the CLAUDE.md "Definition of Done" is the policy tidy enforces. A recurring hygiene gap → /redline; a one-off → just resolve it here.
• Verify-before-delete, default KEEP. Three-way proof or it stays. A confident wrong delete of unmerged work is the most expensive outcome — reflog buys ~90 days, but don't lean on it.
• Peer & public safety. Never delete a branch checked out in a worktree, never remove a dirty/foreign worktree, never push/merge a public repo without the explicit ask. Re-fetch and diff origin/main before treating anything as merged (convergence: your branch may already be in main via a peer's PR, or conflicting).
• Honesty metric. The grade is: surfaced loose ends that reached a terminal state (deleted / pushed / kept-with-reason) ÷ total surfaced. A perpetually non-empty surfaced set means tidy is being run but not resolving — escalate the recurring class to /redline so the hook prevents it instead of re-surfacing it.

Pipeline placement: the hygiene hook auto-cleans the provably-safe + surfaces the judgment calls → /tidy triages and resolves them to zero (delete-safe / push-real / keep-with-reason) → real unmerged work hands to /nightshift (push → PR → Bugbot-converge) or to you. tidy is the bridge from "surfaced" to "resolved"; it judges and clears, it does not auto-enforce (that is the hook) or run the PR loop (that is nightshift).