Phase 0 — Research (pre-spec grounding squad)

Three read-only Explore agents grounded each scope item against the live tree at main@4c93a0f58 (merged #2773) before the spec was written. Findings below are the authority for the plan; re-verify with git grep if the tree moves.

§1 — charter.generator is dead (VERDICT: safe to delete)

compile_charter), write_charter (symlink-guarded md writer) — generator.py:12-73.

__all__ lines 108-110, and tests/charter/test_generator.py:10.

(cli/commands/charter/generate.py:335-350) builds via compile_charter → write_compiled_charter, which writes charter.yaml only (asserted at test_generator.py:123). charter.md is hand-authored post-#2773; _sync_charter_if_present skips entirely when it is absent. charter interview writes only answers.yaml. Nothing bootstraps an initial charter.md from generator.

test_build_charter_draft_invalid_template_set_raises, test_write_charter_respects_force, test_write_charter_rejects_symlink_even_with_force. SURVIVE (cover the live compiler, don't import generator) — the 4 test_write_compiled_charter_* symlink-guard tests.

  • Public symbols: CharterDraft (dataclass), build_charter_draft (wraps
  • Zero live src/ callers. Only references: src/charter/__init__.py:31 (import) +
  • Landmine CLEAR — no charter.md scaffold gap. charter generate
  • Test split: DIE with the module — test_build_charter_draft_defaults,

§2 — charter.extractor is dead (VERDICT: safe to delete; 3 allowlist edits required)

The #2773-deleted symbols (SECTION_MAPPING, write_extraction_result, extract_with_ai, _classify_section) are confirmed gone.

module.) Not reexported in src/charter/__init__.py.

1. tests/architectural/_baselines.yaml:58 — category_5_wp_in_flight_adapters: 1 → 0. 2. tests/architectural/test_no_dead_modules.py:339-344 — "charter.extractor" in _CATEGORY_5_WP_IN_FLIGHT_ADAPTERS. If left after deletion → stale_allowlist_entries assert fails (test_no_dead_modules.py:596-598). 3. tests/architectural/test_no_dead_symbols.py:907-913 — Extractor SymbolKey frozenset _CATEGORY_C_WP_IN_FLIGHT_EXTRACTOR_RETIREMENT + its | term in _SYMBOL_ALLOWLIST. If left after deletion → dangling assert fails (test_no_dead_symbols.py:1753-1790). Note: no symbol-baseline number changes (that category has no key in the baseline section).

no workflow step; lowering 1 → 0 is a legal downward edit.

test_extractor_selection.py, test_sync_authority_paths.py, test_sync_references.py (line 156 already broken Extractor(tactic_registry=...)), plus Extractor usage in test_activate_resolves_no_answers_edit.py:213 and test_charter_context_spdd_reasons.py:459.

  • Remaining husk: Extractor class + _detect_catalog_references + ExtractionResult.
  • Zero non-test src/ callers. (src/doctrine/drg/migration/extractor.py is an unrelated
  • Three deferred allowlist entries (remove together, else gate red):
  • Ratchet direction: _baselines.yaml header — growth FAILS, shrinkage only WARNS and needs
  • Extractor-importing test files: test_extractor.py, test_extractor_activations.py,

§3 — #2373 render-path bug is already fixed; residual churn is elsewhere (VERDICT: bundle deep fix)

made sync() inert; the only write in context.py is _write_state → .kittify/charter/context-state.json at context.py:2896, which is gitignored (.gitignore:88) — intentional untracked runtime state, not the bug.

charter_runtime/preflight/runner.py:340 _attempt_auto_refresh shells out to spec-kitty charter synthesize (:406) when synthesized_drg is not fresh (:404). Freshness is computed in charter_runtime/freshness/computer.py. A misfire (no-op judged stale) → synthesize → doctrine churn. write_pipeline.promote already has partial no-op guards (_substantively_equal, _VOLATILE_GRAPH_FIELDS, #1912).

.kittify/doctrine/, hiding the churn; the committed .gitignore:96-107 tracks those artifacts via negations. Reproduce red-first in a doctrine-tracked checkout.

doctrine_service_factory, preflight runner, charter_runtime/lint/_drg.py, freshness computer — many load from disk, so the fix confines regeneration to explicit write / genuine change, NOT on-demand-only (C-005).

→ add git-clean assertion); tests/charter/synthesizer/test_write_pipeline.py, test_orchestrator_resynthesize.py, test_provenance.py (carry #1912 no-churn assertions → add synthesize-twice-clean ratchet).

  • build_charter_context no longer writes tracked doctrine. #2773 (commit 53030b051)
  • Residual churn lives in the preflight auto-refresh.
  • ⚠ Masking landmine: this checkout's local .git/info/exclude:12 excludes
  • Doctrine readers require materialized artifacts: drg loader, charter/_drg_helpers.py,
  • Existing tests to extend red-first: tests/charter/test_context.py (render byte-stability