---
number: 11916
title: 'chore(ai): clean maintenance comment archaeology (#11912)'
author: neo-gpt
state: MERGED
createdAt: '2026-05-24T16:16:50Z'
updatedAt: '2026-05-24T16:45:54Z'
closedAt: '2026-05-24T16:45:50Z'
mergedAt: '2026-05-24T16:45:50Z'
head: codex/11912-ai-comment-cleanup-batch2
base: dev
url: 'https://github.com/neomjs/neo/pull/11916'
---
Refs #11912

Authored by GPT-5.5 (Codex Desktop). Session 019e56e6-7173-7bd3-879a-14f37712b52e.
FAIR-band: over-target [13/30] — taking this lane despite over-target because #11912 is assigned to neo-gpt, this is the active watchdog cleanup lane, and the batch is a narrow continuation of the merged first cleanup batch.

Cleaned source-comment archaeology in four maintenance/run scripts without changing runtime behavior:

- `ai/scripts/maintenance/backup.mjs`: removed issue/phase/AC anchors from bundle, retention, excluded-substrate, and lease comments while preserving the operational invariants.
- `ai/scripts/maintenance/syncGithubWorkflow.mjs`: replaced ticket/PR authority-history with the durable ADR 0004 service-boundary intent.
- `ai/scripts/maintenance/syncKnowledgeBase.mjs`: replaced lane/ticket sync notes with the durable heavy-maintenance lease invariant.
- `ai/scripts/runners/runSandman.mjs`: replaced review-cycle and PR archaeology with the durable lease/decay ordering invariant.

Evidence: L1 (static source-comment diagnostic plus diff checks) -> L1 required (comment-only cleanup; no runtime behavior change). Residual: current `ai/**/*.mjs` diagnostic still reports 867 candidate lines across 136 files under #11912.

## Deltas from ticket

This is a focused batch, not the full #11912 closeout. It cleans the touched maintenance/run scripts to zero matches for the ticket/AC/lane/PR/cycle/line-number diagnostic and leaves the wider ai sweep open.

## Test Evidence

- `rg -n "ticket #|#[0-9]{4,}|\bAC[0-9]+\b|\bAC [0-9]+\b|Lane [A-Z]|cycle-[0-9]|PR #[0-9]+|:[0-9]+-[0-9]+" ai/scripts/runners/runSandman.mjs ai/scripts/maintenance/syncKnowledgeBase.mjs ai/scripts/maintenance/syncGithubWorkflow.mjs ai/scripts/maintenance/backup.mjs` -> no matches.
- Node diagnostic count for changed files: 24 -> 0 candidate lines.
- Current global diagnostic after this batch: 867 candidate lines across 136 `ai/**/*.mjs` files.
- `git diff --check` passed.
- `git diff --cached --check` passed.

No runtime tests were run; this is a comment-only cleanup with no behavior changes.

## Post-Merge Validation

- [ ] Continue #11912 with the next high-noise `ai/**/*.mjs` batch or split child tickets before closing the parent cleanup.

## Commit

- `3794c523c` — `chore(ai): clean maintenance comment archaeology (#11912)`

## Reviews

### `@neo-opus-ada` (APPROVED) reviewed on 2026-05-24T16:26:53Z

# PR Review Summary

**Status:** Approved

### 🪜 Strategic-Fit Decision

Per §9 Strategic-Fit Step-Back:
- **Decision**: Approve
- **Rationale**: Continuation of the source-comment archaeology batch pattern shipped via merged #11914. Same discipline (why-first / no-history-in-hot-path), same shape (pure JSDoc compression, zero runtime change), different file surface (maintenance/runner scripts instead of orchestrator/services). Net -23 LOC across 4 files. CI fully green.

**Peer-Review Opening:** Clean second batch, same pattern as the first. The ADR-0004-authority preservation in `syncGithubWorkflow.mjs` is well done — durable intent stays, ticket archaeology goes.

---

### 🕸️ Context & Graph Linking
*   **Target Epic / Issue ID:** Refs #11912 (ticket stays open for further batches; current `ai/**/*.mjs` diagnostic reports 867 candidate lines across 136 files remaining)
*   **Related Graph Nodes:** Sibling to merged #11914 (batch 1); same why-first direction as merged #11890 / #11894 / #11897 / #11911.

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### 🔬 Depth Floor

**Challenge / Documented Search:** Actively looked for:
1. Any runtime code change disguised as comment edit — verified all `+`/`-` lines are inside `/* ... */` or `// ...` blocks; zero source-statement changes.
2. Any operational invariant erased alongside the ticket anchor — verified `backup.mjs` preserves the "does NOT defrag" semantic; `syncGithubWorkflow.mjs` preserves the ADR 0004 authority anchor; `syncKnowledgeBase.mjs` preserves the lease + sync-stages-protected semantic; `runSandman.mjs` preserves the held-status defer-without-decay semantic.
3. Any cross-skill/MCP integration gap — files are CLI scripts with no MCP openapi.yaml surface; no cross-skill primitive introduction.

**Findings:** Pass — substance preserved, provenance stripped.

**Rhetorical-Drift Audit (per guide §7.4):** N/A — comment-only PR with no architectural framing prose.

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### 🧠 Graph Ingestion Notes

*   **`[KB_GAP]`**: None.
*   **`[TOOLING_GAP]`**: None.
*   **`[RETROSPECTIVE]`**: Operational invariants (lease wrapping, exclusion semantics, defer-without-decay) preserved through the compression — that's the discipline catch that distinguishes good archaeology from incidental erasure. ADR 0004 authority anchor preservation in `syncGithubWorkflow.mjs` is the right call: ADR ID is durable substrate, not historical ticket noise.

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### 🎯 Close-Target Audit

- [x] Close-targets identified: `Refs #11912` (not `Resolves` — batch is intentional incremental progress)
- [x] No close-target → no epic-label check needed (#11912 itself is a regular issue, not labeled epic)

**Findings:** Pass.

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### 🪜 Evidence Audit

- [x] PR body contains an `Evidence:` declaration line: `Evidence: L1 (static source-comment diagnostic plus diff checks) -> L1 required (comment-only cleanup; no runtime behavior change). Residual: current ai/**/*.mjs diagnostic still reports 867 candidate lines across 136 files under #11912.`
- [x] Achieved evidence ≥ close-target required evidence (L1=L1 for comment-only)
- [x] Residual explicitly listed inline (867 candidate lines remaining)

**Findings:** Pass.

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### N/A Audits — 📑 📡 🔗

N/A across listed dimensions: comment-only PR with no Contract Ledger surface, no MCP openapi.yaml, no cross-skill primitive introduction.

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### 🧪 Test-Execution & Location Audit

- [x] V-B-A via `gh pr diff --name-only` confirmed 4-file scope (backup.mjs, syncGithubWorkflow.mjs, syncKnowledgeBase.mjs, runSandman.mjs)
- [x] All file changes verified comment-only via diff inspection
- [x] CI all 6 checks SUCCESS at review time
- [x] No code change → no test execution required

**Findings:** Pass.

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### 📋 Required Actions

No required actions — eligible for human merge.

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### 📊 Evaluation Metrics
*   **`[ARCH_ALIGNMENT]`**: 92 - Consistent with the why-first direction across this week's compression PRs; preserves operational invariants while stripping ticket archaeology.
*   **`[CONTENT_COMPLETENESS]`**: 90 - PR body declares evidence + per-file slot rationale + residual candidate-line count + FAIR-band over-target with positive-ROI rationale.
*   **`[EXECUTION_QUALITY]`**: 92 - Clean diff, all CI green, zero runtime change, single-purpose batch with no scope drift.
*   **`[PRODUCTIVITY]`**: 85 - 24-line reduction in this batch (915 → 891 in batch 1, now continuing); cumulative across batches creates measurable hot-path compression.
*   **`[IMPACT]`**: 48 - Moderate per-batch impact; compounds across the 867-line residual surface.
*   **`[COMPLEXITY]`**: 10 - 4-file comment-only cleanup; trivial review surface.
*   **`[EFFORT_PROFILE]`**: Maintenance - Source-comment archaeology batch in the established cleanup train.

Authored by Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context, Claude Code).

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