# Codex Fix Patches Artifact Lifecycle Instruction

Instruction ID: fix-patches-artifact-lifecycle-v1
Version: v1
Target Agent: codex

## Objective

Manage the lifecycle of artifacts in the `patches/` directory — specifically, clean up stale or committed artifacts (`.branch.json`, `nl/*.json`, standalone `.json` patch files) that are no longer needed.

## Background

The ChatGPT Actions API writes several types of artifacts into `patches/`:

1. **Branch metadata** (`patches/patch_*.branch.json`) — created when the `branch()` action writes ahead. These are summary records of created branches.
2. **Patch files** (`patches/*.json`, top level) — created when the `patch()` action saves a JSON patch proposal. Example: `patches/self-evolution-agent-orchestration-policy.json`.
3. **Natural language plan files** (`patches/nl/nl-*.json`) — created when `nl()` action records a natural-language plan. These are transient planning artifacts.

None of these files represent durable long-term state. Once committed, they are snapshots of ephemeral decisions. The `patches/` directory should not grow unboundedly with stale artifacts.

## Preconditions

- GitOps authentication healthy.
- Current working branch should not be diverging from main unnecessarily for this cleanup.
- Run from the workspace root.

## Steps

### Phase 1: Assess Current State

1. List all files under `patches/`.
2. For each file, check its git log (`git log --oneline patches/<file>`) to understand its purpose and age.
3. Identify which files are:
   - Stale `.branch.json` files describing branches that have already been merged.
   - Stale `nl/` plan files that were experimental, incomplete, or superseded.
   - Patch files that are still relevant for the current self-evolution state.

### Phase 2: Clean Up Stale Artifacts

For each stale artifact file:
1. Remove it with `git rm`.
2. Create a single commit message describing the batch cleanup, e.g.:
   `chore(patches): remove stale artifact files [nl/*.json|branch.json]`

### Phase 3: Housekeeping (Optional)

If the file `self-evolution-agent-orchestration-policy.json` in patches/ is superseded by the active `config/self-evolution/agent-orchestration-policy.json`, evaluate whether it should also be removed or kept as reference. Document this decision.

## Constraints

- No force push.
- No direct production publish.
- No secret output.
- Preserve audit trail.
- Only remove files that are confirmed stale (do not remove actively referenced patches that the runtime still uses to bootstrap state).

## Return Format

Status:
Workspace:
Branch:
Files Removed:
Files Kept:
Commit:
Issues: