---
name: vi-close-pipeline
description: "Station VI (Close Pipeline) — Final station. Post-merge closeout: verifies the issue is closed, sweeps stale per-issue artifacts via signal-based discovery (works in any project layout), investigates before staging anything to git, handles dead code on the spot as the pipeline's single approved code-change exception (zero-reference proof + targeted tests), and ends with the mandatory Clean Exit Gate — base branch pushed, synced, spotless, ready for the next run."
---

# Station VI: Close Pipeline (`vi-close-pipeline`)

Post-merge closeout that leaves the repository carrying only live knowledge — and leaves the working folder on a clean, synced base branch, ready for the next issue. Works across **any project, language, or repository** without assuming repo-specific folder naming.

## Pipeline Position
- **Station:** Station VI of VI — pipeline closeout
- **Previous Station:** `v-babysit-pr-and-merge` (Babysit & Merge)
- **Next Station:** none — the pipeline ends here
- **Optional follow-up (outside the pipeline):** suggest `/present-pr <id>` — the ad-hoc visual presentation skill. It is NOT a pipeline station and is never mandatory.

---

## 1. Step 0 — Verify Merge & Close the Issue

1. Confirm the PR is merged: `gh pr view <n> --json state --jq .state` → must be `MERGED`. If not merged, stop and route back to `v-babysit-pr-and-merge`.
2. Check the issue: `gh issue view <id> --json state`.
   - If **CLOSED** — continue.
   - If **OPEN but the PR is MERGED** (the PR body lacked `Closes #<id>`) — close it now:
     `gh issue close <id> --comment "Closed via PR #<n> (merged)."` and report it.
   - If tracker state is ambiguous — ask the operator. Never guess.

---

## 2. Signal-Based Artifact Discovery (generic — never assume layout)

A file is a **prune candidate** if it carries an identity of specific, finished work. Detect by signals, not by folder names:

1. **Filename signal:** the issue/PR number or slug in the name (`42-*`, `*42*plan*`, `<slug>-todo`).
2. **Content signal:** frontmatter (`issue: 42`), references to `#<id>` or the PR URL, or a checklist tied to the shipped work.
3. **History signal:** the file was created/touched only by commits of the merged feature branch (`git log --follow -- <file>`).
4. **Location signal (weak, corroborating only):** lives outside recognized knowledge homes — typical scratch spots are `tasks/`, `scratch/`, temp dirs, repo root — but ANY path can host a candidate, and ANY path can host a keeper.

Scan the whole repo (excluding `.git/`, dependency folders, build output) for `*.md`, `*.txt`, `*.html`, loose scripts, and scratch-like directories. Match candidates against the just-merged issue AND against any other closed issue whose leftovers are still lying around.

---

## 3. Two-Gate Obsolescence Test

A candidate file is eligible for deletion **only when BOTH conditions hold**:
1. **Work is Closed:** the associated issue is CLOSED / PR MERGED (verified in Step 0 or via tracker CLI).
2. **Zero Inbound References:** a full repo-wide search (excluding `.git/`) finds zero active references or links to the file.
- If either gate fails (work open OR file referenced): the file MUST be kept.
- Ambiguous tracker state → prompt the operator, never guess.

---

## 4. Knowledge Is Untouchable (Strict Preservation Rule)

**PERMANENT KNOWLEDGE — never deleted:**
1. **Visual presentations:** `docs/issues/<id>-presentation-*.html` (legacy: `<id>-showcase-*.html`, `<id>-explained.html`) — historical showcases of record, kept even when the issue is closed.
2. **Research papers & findings:** `runs/.../research-papers/`, dated reports and benchmarks.
3. **Active planning & backlog:** `TODO.md`, `ideas/`, active RFCs.
4. **Permanent docs:** anything linked from `README.md` or indexed in project documentation.

---

## 5. Investigate Before You Touch (no blind git adds)

Every untracked or unknown file the sweep finds gets **read and classified first**: permanent knowledge / prune candidate / foreign (belongs to other in-flight work).
- Knowledge → stage it (see commits below).
- Prune candidate → two-gate test.
- Foreign → leave it alone and name it in the report. **Never `git add` a file you have not read.**

### Relocate misplaced keepers
A valuable document sitting in scratch or repo root → propose moving it to `docs/` or `docs/issues/` with a clean kebab-case name (`<topic>-<date>-<kind>.<ext>`). Confirm before moving; update inbound references.

---

## 6. Dead Code — the Pipeline's Single Approved Code-Change Exception

Dead or zombie code tied to the merged work (unused modules, superseded APIs, orphaned exports) is handled **on the spot, in this station** — no new issue, no full pipeline. Guardrails compensate for bypassing review:

1. **Mechanical proof of zero references first:** run the ecosystem tool where applicable (knip / depcheck / ts-prune for TS/JS, vulture for Python, deadcode for Go — whatever the project has), PLUS a repo-wide text search. Both must agree: zero live references.
2. **Run the targeted tests after deletion.** Any failure → `git checkout` the deletion, report it, stop that item. Never push broken code.
3. **One focused commit:** `refactor: remove dead code from #<id>`.
4. **Any ambiguity** (dynamic imports, reflection, string-based references, public API surface) → do NOT touch. List it in the report as "suspected dead code — needs human judgment".
5. Larger deprecations (renaming live APIs, migrating consumers) are out of scope → route to `deprecation-and-migration`.

---

## 7. Execution Order (strict)

1. **Dry-run preview table first** — Keep / Delete / Relocate / Dead-code, with path, classification, issue state, and rationale per row. Get operator approval when anything is non-obvious.
2. Delete approved files; verify and remove now-empty directories.
3. Handle dead code per Section 6.
4. Commit(s), keeping concerns separate:
   - `chore: prune closed-issue artifacts (#<id>)` for deletions/relocations/staged keepers.
   - `refactor: remove dead code from #<id>` if Section 6 fired.
   - If foreign dirt exists (files you did not touch), commit ONLY your files and list the foreign paths in the report — never bundle strangers.

---

## 8. The Clean Exit Gate (mandatory, last step)

The pipeline is NOT closed until every check passes:

1. `git push` — nothing committed locally stays unpushed.
2. Confirm checkout is on the base branch (`master`/`main` per `gh repo view --json defaultBranchRef`).
3. `git status --porcelain` → **empty**.
4. `git status` → `up to date with 'origin/<base>'` (no ahead/behind).
5. `git fetch --prune` → no dead remote branches; `git branch` → no leftover merged feature branches.
6. Stashes: none related to this issue remain (list any foreign stashes in the report).

If any check fails → fix it or escalate with the exact state. **Never declare closeout on a dirty or diverged folder.**

---

## Hebrew Chat Output Contract (חובת דיווח בעברית)

```markdown
# 🏁 VI - סגירת צינור — Issue #<id>:

## ✅ סטטוס Issue ו-PR:
* **PR:** [#<n>](<url>) — [מוזג / סגור]
* **Issue:** [#<id>](<url>) — [פתוח / סגור]
* **Current Branch:** [מה המצב ענף עכשיו? Master נקי / מלוכלך, יש ענפים נוספים שקשורים למשימה / שלא קשורים למשימה וכו' וכו'. אם נקי אז לציין פשוט Master נקי. אם יש ענפים נוספים שקשורים לISSUE, לציין את זה כאן. ] 

## 💡 סיכום:
* [תיאור של מה שנעשה החל מהצגת הבעיה / תיאור הISSUE להצגת הפתרון, מה שנעשה בפועל, הסבר טכני ופשוט, ואיך להשתמש במה שנעשה. סדר עניינים כללי. במידה ורלוונטי, אפשר להוסיף קצת מידע כללי על הבעיה עצמה, ולא רק על הפתרון.]

## 🎬 פרזנטציה:
* אם רלוונטי, הרץ `/present-pr <n>` כדי להכין פרזנטציה ויזואלית.

👉 **שלב הבא:**
* אין — הצינור סגור, מוכן ל-`/i-pick-issue` הבא.
```