<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT -->
<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2025-2026 Marcus Quinn -->
# GH#17204: Simplification debt stall sweep (2026-04-04)

## Origin

- **Created:** 2026-04-04
- **Session:** claude-code:headless
- **Created by:** ai-supervisor (worker)
- **Parent task:** GH#15285 (simplification debt tracking)
- **Conversation context:** Automated stall-detection sweep triggered when simplification-debt count had not decreased in 6h. Dispatched as `tier:thinking` for LLM review of the current state.

## What

Review all open simplification-debt issues, close invalid/stale ones, verify dispatch is working, and post analysis findings. Close the sweep issue.

## Why

The simplification-debt count stalled at 13 open issues. The sweep is needed to determine if issues are blocked, stale, or if dispatch routing is broken.

## How (Approach)

1. List all open `simplification-debt` issues
2. Categorize: actionable vs stale vs blocked
3. Close invalid issues (false positives, 0-violation reports)
4. Verify workers are dispatching (check recent CI runs, closed issues)
5. Post analysis comment on sweep issue and close it

## Findings (2026-04-04)

### State at time of sweep

- **Open issues:** 17 (13 when sweep was triggered, 4 new ones added since)
- **Closed today:** 10 issues (workers ARE dispatching)
- **Active PR:** #17182 (already merged before sweep ran)

### Issue categorization

| Category | Count | Issues |
|----------|-------|--------|
| Actionable (tier:simple doc tightening) | 15 | #17221, #17220, #17219, #17218, #17217, #17209, #17208, #17207, #17206, #17205, #17203, #17199, #17197, #17178, #17164 |
| In-progress/in-review | 2 | #17178 (in-progress), #17164 (merged) |
| Invalid (false positive) | 1 | #17216 (0 violations) |
| Sweep issue itself | 1 | #17204 |

### Actions taken

1. **Closed #17216** — false positive: automated scan reported 0 functions >100 lines (empty violations list). No action needed.
2. **Confirmed dispatch is working** — 10 issues closed today, CI shows active OpenCode AI Agent runs completing successfully.
3. **Confirmed no systemic blockers** — all remaining issues are `tier:simple` doc tightening tasks with clear file targets.
4. **Confirmed open cap not hit** — 17 open issues, well below 500 cap.

### Root cause of stall

The stall was transient. The sweep was triggered during a 6h window where workers were processing other tasks. By the time this sweep ran, workers had already closed 10 issues and merged PR #17182.

### Recommendations

- No changes to `COMPLEXITY_MD_MIN_LINES` or thresholds needed — the pipeline is working.
- The 15 remaining `tier:simple` issues will be dispatched in normal pulse cycles.
- Consider adding a minimum stall window (e.g., 12h instead of 6h) before triggering sweep issues to reduce false-positive stall alerts.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [x] All open simplification-debt issues reviewed
- [x] Invalid issues closed with explanation
- [x] Dispatch confirmed working
- [x] Analysis posted on sweep issue
- [x] Sweep issue closed
