Research: test-suite state-leak re-audit (#1842 / #1634) — HEAD d63ec2152

Fresh re-audit (2026-07-06, researcher profile) because Stijn's 2026-06-11 8-class audit is ~4 weeks / 100+ commits stale. Method: static verification + two empirical runs (mission-creating slice: 48 passed; e2e slice: 7 passed), then re-check git status / kitty-specs / branches / .worktrees / /tmp.

Per-class verdicts (current)

LCStatusEvidence
LC-1 (#1634)FIXED (masked)After all mission-creating tests: git status 0 lines, no test-feature- dirs/branches, .worktrees/ empty. Tests chdir to tmp_path (test_feature_slug_validation.py:47-49); e2e uses capture_source_pollution_baseline. But .gitignore:143-144 masks test-feature- from git — a regression is invisible.
LC-2FIXEDtest_status.py (both copies) grep-clean for /tmp.
LC-3PARTIAL/RUNTIMECorrection (post-spec squad): the composed writer is LIVE — only the literal composed-accept name is gone. THREE flat-/tmp writers remain: prompt_builder.py:479 (spec-kitty-next-*, ULID → unbounded), decision.py:610/656 (mkstemp("spec-kitty-composed-{action}-"), unbounded — unique suffix per call, no cleanup), workflow.py:704 (`implement
LC-4LEAKS (subset of LC-3)e2e run left /tmp/spec-kitty-next-...golden-path-demo-...research.md.
LC-5FIXED (git-visibility).pytest_cache + .worktrees/ gitignored; no post-remove hook but no live husks.
LC-6RUNTIME-CHANGE-NEEDEDCorrection (post-spec squad): .kittify/workspaces/.json is written by workspace/context.py:305 save_context, from lanes/implement_support.py:127,167 AND lanes/recovery.py:732 — NOT context/resolver.py:270 (which calls the other* save_context in context.store, writing the separate .kittify/runtime/contexts/ MissionContext surface). No completion/cancel tombstone; cleanup_orphaned_contexts gates on worktree_path.exists() → no-op on cancel while the worktree lives (cancel needs targeted delete_context(workspace_name)); merge hook must run AFTER executor.py's worktree removal (~:749). 14 committed orphans for merged 059/060.
LC-7FIXED (#959)prompt_metadata.py:95-123 namespaces under spec-kitty-review-prompts/{repo}-{sha256[:12]}/. Residual: within-repo retention (no cross-repo collision).
LC-8FIXEDout/ gitignored except .gitkeep; no test writes REPO_ROOT out/.
N1 (new)LEAKS/tmp/spec-kitty-test-homes/<run_uid>/ (per-worker HOME, conftest.py:100-108) never removed. 166 dirs / 144 MB, +1/run. No sessionfinish teardown. Biggest disk leak, cheap fix.

#2181 ratchet backlog

tests/architectural/tmp_ratchet_baseline.txt = 99 grandfathered /tmp files, spread across 21 dirs (not a cheap single-file sweep). Hotspots: specify_cli (30) + sync (13) = 43%. Anti-vacuity floor = 50 (healthy). Defer full burn-down; cheap first tranche = specify_cli+sync.

Reaper surface

No session/teardown reaper exists (zero pytest_sessionfinish/sessionstart/unconfigure under tests/). Existing: root conftest.py autouse function-scoped HOME isolation; tests/e2e/conftest.py assert_no_source_pollution (opt-in detector, asserts but doesn't clean). Recommended design:

  • pytest_sessionfinish hook in root tests/conftest.py, controller-gated (session.config.workerinput is None) so workers don't race on shared REPO_ROOT.
  • Snapshot-delta: snapshot at sessionstart (existing kitty-specs/, kitty/ branches, .worktrees/, .kittify/workspaces/.json); reap only the delta matching test patterns.
  • git-unregistered .worktrees/: git worktree prune (clears registered-but-missing) THEN rmtree any .worktrees/* absent from git worktree list --porcelain.
  • /tmp sweep: current-run spec-kitty-next-, spec-kitty-implement|review-, spec-kitty-review-prompts/<this-repo-hash>/, spec-kitty-test-homes/<run_uid>/ (N1).
  • Key on REPO_ROOT (shared), not HOME (per-worker, auto-discarded).

Fix now: session reaper (headline; self-heals LC-1, lets us retire the .gitignore masks) + LC-3/LC-4 /tmp prompt-namespacing + N1 + LC-6 tombstone (folded in per operator). Defer: ratchet burn-down (99 files), LC-7 within-repo retention, LC-3 workflow.py bounded-overwrite. Already-fixed (guards only): LC-2/5/7/8.