feedback clean git tree certifies code not data 20260715T101718

Automated cleanup/teardown logic that uses git status (or any git-diff check) as its sole data-loss guard will happily destroy non-git-tracked artifacts, databases, or in-progress work products, because committing code diligently is exactly what makes the tree look 'safe to discard.'

Why: Discovered 2026-07-15 when the CreatorTrack dev-slot reaper fully tore down a claimed slot mid-ingest: the worker had committed all its code changes (per doctrine), so the reaper's clean-tree check concluded 'nothing to lose' and deleted the slot's ephemeral prod-clone DB, destroying an overnight social-transcript scrape with no backup. See [[creatortrack_reaper_claimed_slot_protection]] for the specific fix applied.

How to apply: When designing or reviewing any automated teardown/cleanup/reaper logic (not just CreatorTrack's), don't treat 'git tree clean' as equivalent to 'safe to destroy.' If a process produces data outside git (DB rows, downloaded files, API-fetched artifacts), either (a) export that data to durable storage in the same step that produces it, or (b) add a data-specific guard (e.g. recent DB writes, running child processes) alongside the git check.

[auto-memory session 60d132de-4659-485c-8044-427af0ccce7f, confidence 0.70, mode staged]