name	refactor-to-objective
description	Autonomous goal-driven loop to move the code toward the agreed objective (CLAUDE.md § Objective). Resume protocol + dead-code review + blocked-task pivot. Gates, fallback policy, and chunk-done criteria live in CLAUDE.md (single source of truth) — this skill only adds the loop mechanics.

refactor-to-objective

Implement or refactor toward the agreed objective. CLAUDE.md is the authoritative source for: the objective, all quality gates (CPU + size + complexity + circular + docs + objective gate), the runtime fallback policy, and the Chunk DONE / NOT DONE criteria. This skill describes only the loop protocol to apply them — it does not re-list them.

When the objective and the user's in-session input conflict, surface it and prefer the user's input for requirements, the objective for implementation approach. Do not edit the objective unilaterally.

This repo has tracked debt (god-files > 600 lines, C901 violations); opportunistically refactor while preserving behavior (CSV set, sidecar volume/schema/provenance intact). GPU inference (TensorRT/CUDA) is non-deterministic — the golden gate checks structure + provenance + validity, not byte-match (see CLAUDE.md § Objective verification). The gate validates correctness, not wall-time — a performance optimization (e.g. model-loading, stage overlap) can't be gate-validated; measure it on a real large run before building, and prefer the simple-correct memory-safe design over a complex one built preemptively (see docs/PROGRESSIVE-WORKERS.md).

Dispatcher vs god-method (don't relocate): a function whose length comes from arg-passing verbosity to already-extracted stage helpers (e.g. run_pipeline's stage-wiring, the orchestrator_plan builders) is a dispatcher, not a god-method of logic — its length is intrinsic, not a concentration problem. Do NOT force such a dispatcher under an arbitrary line cap via a context-object refactor: that trades explicit args for ctx.attr indirection (relocates complexity, high churn across many helper signatures, high regression risk) and is NOT a maintainability win. Accept a readable dispatcher as the wiring layer. The god-method gate is about logic concentration, not raw line count.

Resume protocol (each session)

Recall the objective. Read CLAUDE.md § Objective + the relevant sub-doc (docs/0-GETTING-STARTED.md, docs/1-ARCHITECTURE.md, docs/2-LINEAGE.md, docs/3-ANNOTATIONS.md) as output-format references, NOT the acceptance criterion. For refactor history, git log. The local auto-memory (MEMORY.md) is loaded automatically each session by the harness — don't hardcode its machine-specific path.
Index first. Invoke socraticode-index-first (SocratiCode index, then codebase_search/flow/impact/graph) before navigating code — don't fan out with grep/glob until the index is ready.
Check tasks. TaskList for in-progress/pending tasks; pick the next one. If empty/stale, rebuild the work list from the objective.
Implement one concrete chunk — not the whole project. Refactor opportunistically as you go: when the code you're touching (or the code it calls) shows duplication, poor naming, mixed responsibilities, or a missing pattern, improve it in the same chunk. Don't gold-plate unrelated code, but don't leave nearby rot that you just created or stepped through — fix it while the context is loaded. Keep refactors behavior-preserving (CSV set, sidecar volume, provenance links, schema-validity preserved — NOT byte-identical inference, which is GPU-non-deterministic) and separate from new-feature logic in the change so the diff reads cleanly.
- Do not add runtime fallbacks without asking the user first — surface the failing path and let the user choose. Only the exceptions listed in CLAUDE.md § Runtime fallback policy are pre-approved; any other fallback needs explicit user approval before implementing.
Dead-code review — every chunk. While the context for a chunk is loaded, hunt for dead code: unused imports / functions / variables / classes / modules, unreachable branches, commented-out blocks, aspirational stubs never called, leftovers from removed or renamed stages/models. Use SocratiCode codebase_symbol (callers/callees) + codebase_impact (reverse blast radius) and ruff (F401/F811/F841) to find candidates. For each candidate, investigate why it's there before deleting: grep for references across the repo, check git log -S / blame for origin and intent, and weigh public-API (the library API in docs/5-LIBRARY-API.md) or planned-future-use value. If the reason is unclear or it might be deliberate, ask the user — do not delete silently. If it has no justification, delete it in the same chunk and prune its references. Log what was removed (and what was kept-after-asking) in the chunk's progress note.
Run the gates — MANDATORY before marking done. Run every gate listed in CLAUDE.md § Objective verification + § Refactor methodology. All must pass; C901 count must not increase from chunk start. A green pytest does NOT substitute for the objective gate.
Verify before done — objective gate is MANDATORY, not optional. Run CLAUDE.md § Objective verification Step 1 (pipeline EXIT 0) + Step 2 (golden snapshot EXIT 0). If either fails, the chunk is NOT done — fix and re-run. Triple-platform: if claiming cross-platform parity, test on Linux + Windows + macOS; if a platform can't be exercised, surface that honestly.
Update tasks (TaskUpdate) and append a short, dated progress note to the loop memory (most-recent-first, absolute dates).
Stop and request review. Once a functionality is implemented and the gates pass, PAUSE the loop. Do not auto-continue to the next chunk. The user commits — never commit yourself, not even after they approve (see CLAUDE.md § "Working rule — the user commits, never the assistant"). Summarize what changed (files, behavior, lint/type/golden result, gates, platform coverage) and hand the diff to the user. Do not run git add, git commit, or git push. Wait for the user's decision before resuming.

Scope honesty

Each session does one concrete chunk. The Chunk DONE vs NOT DONE checklist is in CLAUDE.md § Scope honesty — use it as the gate. Critical rule: if the objective gate is pending or failing, the chunk is NOT done, no matter how green the CPU gates are. Surface status honestly — "CPU gates ✅, objective gate 🔄 IN PROGRESS" or "objective gate ❌ FAILED (reason)" — do not invent a "done" state.

Blocked-task pivot

When a task is blocked on validation (missing tooling, env, access, or an un-ratified baseline): do NOT burn the loop on unvalidatable hand-written work. Document the gap + fallback strategy in code and memory, keep the task pending/blocked, and pivot to unblocked tasks. Revisit when the blocker lifts (e.g. a new snapshots/ baseline pending the user running the pipeline on test media).

refactor-to-objective

Resume protocol (each session)

Recall the objective. Read CLAUDE.md § Objective + the relevant sub-doc (docs/0-GETTING-STARTED.md, docs/1-ARCHITECTURE.md, docs/2-LINEAGE.md, docs/3-ANNOTATIONS.md) as output-format references, NOT the acceptance criterion. For refactor history, git log. The local auto-memory (MEMORY.md) is loaded automatically each session by the harness — don't hardcode its machine-specific path.

Index first. Invoke socraticode-index-first (SocratiCode index, then codebase_search/flow/impact/graph) before navigating code — don't fan out with grep/glob until the index is ready.

Check tasks. TaskList for in-progress/pending tasks; pick the next one. If empty/stale, rebuild the work list from the objective.

Implement one concrete chunk — not the whole project. Refactor opportunistically as you go: when the code you're touching (or the code it calls) shows duplication, poor naming, mixed responsibilities, or a missing pattern, improve it in the same chunk. Don't gold-plate unrelated code, but don't leave nearby rot that you just created or stepped through — fix it while the context is loaded. Keep refactors behavior-preserving (CSV set, sidecar volume, provenance links, schema-validity preserved — NOT byte-identical inference, which is GPU-non-deterministic) and separate from new-feature logic in the change so the diff reads cleanly.

Do not add runtime fallbacks without asking the user first — surface the failing path and let the user choose. Only the exceptions listed in CLAUDE.md § Runtime fallback policy are pre-approved; any other fallback needs explicit user approval before implementing.

Dead-code review — every chunk. While the context for a chunk is loaded, hunt for dead code: unused imports / functions / variables / classes / modules, unreachable branches, commented-out blocks, aspirational stubs never called, leftovers from removed or renamed stages/models. Use SocratiCode codebase_symbol (callers/callees) + codebase_impact (reverse blast radius) and ruff (F401/F811/F841) to find candidates. For each candidate, investigate why it's there before deleting: grep for references across the repo, check git log -S / blame for origin and intent, and weigh public-API (the library API in docs/5-LIBRARY-API.md) or planned-future-use value. If the reason is unclear or it might be deliberate, ask the user — do not delete silently. If it has no justification, delete it in the same chunk and prune its references. Log what was removed (and what was kept-after-asking) in the chunk's progress note.

Run the gates — MANDATORY before marking done. Run every gate listed in CLAUDE.md § Objective verification + § Refactor methodology. All must pass; C901 count must not increase from chunk start. A green pytest does NOT substitute for the objective gate.

Verify before done — objective gate is MANDATORY, not optional. Run CLAUDE.md § Objective verification Step 1 (pipeline EXIT 0) + Step 2 (golden snapshot EXIT 0). If either fails, the chunk is NOT done — fix and re-run. Triple-platform: if claiming cross-platform parity, test on Linux + Windows + macOS; if a platform can't be exercised, surface that honestly.

Update tasks (TaskUpdate) and append a short, dated progress note to the loop memory (most-recent-first, absolute dates).

Stop and request review. Once a functionality is implemented and the gates pass, PAUSE the loop. Do not auto-continue to the next chunk. The user commits — never commit yourself, not even after they approve (see CLAUDE.md § "Working rule — the user commits, never the assistant"). Summarize what changed (files, behavior, lint/type/golden result, gates, platform coverage) and hand the diff to the user. Do not run git add, git commit, or git push. Wait for the user's decision before resuming.

Scope honesty

Blocked-task pivot

refactor-to-objective