Add the prune rule, its tests, and a corpus validator

The rule PLAN.md describes and the rationale it gives for that rule
disagree on one shape that turns out to be common. 235 checkboxes in the
corpus sit under a plain bullet used as a group label, and by the letter
of the rule those have no checkbox ancestor, so a finished one would be
dropped on its own. But section 4 already argues the opposite case for
checkbox parents: a finished item under an unfinished group is context,
not cruft, and a label like `- Trellis "Ergonomics" Fixes` is a group in
every sense that matters.

Resolved in favour of the rationale, which collapses both cases into one
rule. A top-level bullet is any bullet with no bullet ancestor in its
section. It is dropped, with its subtree, exactly when that subtree holds
at least one checkbox and all of them are [x]. Prose bullets hold none and
so are never eligible, which is the property section 4 wanted.

Validated across all 228 notes with zero invariant failures: no heading,
no unfinished item and no checkbox-free subtree is ever removed, and no
group label is left with its children gone. 270 lines would be dropped
across 118 files.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01PU5ZFfQFtDTFqqhvMTWdGH
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Connor JohnstoneandClaude Opus 5 committed 2026-09-09 18:30:29 -04:00
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#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Prune completed work out of a daily note.
A top-level bullet is one with no bullet ancestor in its section; headings reset
scope. Such a bullet is dropped, with its whole subtree, exactly when the
subtree contains at least one checkbox and every one of them is [x].
That single rule covers both shapes that occur in practice. `- [x] Climb` is a
subtree of one and goes. A group, whether its label is `- [ ] Add OpenID` or a
plain `- Trellis "Ergonomics" Fixes`, survives entire until its last child is
checked, because a finished item under an unfinished group is context rather
than cruft. Prose bullets hold no checkboxes and so are never eligible at all.
"""
import argparse
import re
import sys
BULLET = re.compile(r"^(\s*)([-*+])\s+(?:\[(.)\]\s+)?(.*)$")
HEADING = re.compile(r"^#{1,6}\s")
FENCE = re.compile(r"^\s*```")
DONE = "x"
class Line:
__slots__ = ("text", "indent", "is_bullet", "state", "is_heading", "in_fence")
def __init__(self, text):
self.text = text
self.is_heading = bool(HEADING.match(text))
self.in_fence = False
m = BULLET.match(text) if text.strip() else None
if m:
self.is_bullet = True
self.indent = len(m.group(1))
self.state = (m.group(3) or "").lower() or None
else:
self.is_bullet = False
self.indent = len(text) - len(text.lstrip())
self.state = None
def parse(text_lines):
out = []
fence = False
for t in text_lines:
ln = Line(t)
if FENCE.match(t):
fence = not fence
ln.in_fence = True
elif fence:
ln.in_fence = True
if ln.in_fence:
ln.is_bullet = False
ln.is_heading = False
out.append(ln)
return out
def subtree_end(lines, i):
"""Last index of the subtree rooted at bullet i, wrapped continuation lines included."""
base = lines[i].indent
last = i
j = i + 1
while j < len(lines):
ln = lines[j]
if ln.in_fence or ln.is_heading:
break
if not ln.text.strip():
j += 1
continue
if ln.indent <= base:
break
last = j
j += 1
return last
def top_level_bullets(lines):
"""Indices of bullets that have no bullet ancestor within their section."""
stack = []
for i, ln in enumerate(lines):
if ln.in_fence:
continue
if ln.is_heading:
stack = []
continue
if not ln.is_bullet:
continue
while stack and stack[-1] >= ln.indent:
stack.pop()
if not stack:
yield i
stack.append(ln.indent)
def dropped_indices(lines):
drop = set()
for i in top_level_bullets(lines):
end = subtree_end(lines, i)
states = [
lines[j].state
for j in range(i, end + 1)
if lines[j].is_bullet and lines[j].state is not None
]
if states and all(s == DONE for s in states):
drop.update(range(i, end + 1))
return drop
def prune(text):
lines = parse(text.split("\n"))
drop = dropped_indices(lines)
return "\n".join(l.text for k, l in enumerate(lines) if k not in drop)
def main():
ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
ap.add_argument("file", nargs="?", help="note to prune, default stdin")
a = ap.parse_args()
src = open(a.file).read() if a.file else sys.stdin.read()
sys.stdout.write(prune(src))
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
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#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Cases the prune rule has to get right, including ones the corpus lacks."""
import os
import sys
import unittest
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
from prune import prune
class TestPrune(unittest.TestCase):
def assertPrune(self, src, want):
self.assertEqual(prune(src.strip("\n")), want.strip("\n"))
def test_completed_top_level_item_goes(self):
self.assertPrune("## To-Do\n- [x] Climb\n- [ ] Finish the backpack",
"## To-Do\n- [ ] Finish the backpack")
def test_finished_child_of_unfinished_parent_stays(self):
src = ("## To-Do\n- [ ] Add OpenID to any apps that I control\n"
" - [x] Runway\n - [ ] Shanty")
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_completed_checkbox_group_goes_entirely(self):
self.assertPrune("## To-Do\n- [x] Add OpenID\n - [x] Runway\n - [x] Shanty\n- [ ] Keep",
"## To-Do\n- [ ] Keep")
def test_plain_group_label_protects_finished_children(self):
src = ('## To-Do\n- Trellis "Ergonomics" Fixes\n'
" - [x] Build up a justfile\n - [ ] Add in some unit tests")
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_plain_group_label_goes_when_group_completes(self):
self.assertPrune('## To-Do\n- Trellis "Ergonomics" Fixes\n'
" - [x] Build up a justfile\n - [x] Add in some unit tests\n- [ ] Keep",
"## To-Do\n- [ ] Keep")
def test_prose_bullets_are_never_touched(self):
src = ("### DSA Election Research Tool\n - Work on android rust app\n"
" - Move bike components that I want over")
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_headings_survive_an_emptied_section(self):
self.assertPrune("## To-Do\n- [x] Climb\n\n## Personal\n- [ ] Keep",
"## To-Do\n\n## Personal\n- [ ] Keep")
def test_question_state_is_not_complete(self):
src = "## To-Do\n - [?] Cincinnati Trash"
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_question_state_blocks_its_group(self):
src = "## To-Do\n- [x] Parent\n - [?] Unsure"
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_wrapped_continuation_travels_with_its_item(self):
self.assertPrune("## To-Do\n- [x] Could be good to do a review of the band-aids\n"
" and instabilities\n- [ ] Keep",
"## To-Do\n- [ ] Keep")
def test_headings_reset_scope(self):
# The [x] under Personal is top-level despite following a deeper bullet.
self.assertPrune("## Work\n - [ ] Deep unfinished\n## Personal\n- [x] Climb",
"## Work\n - [ ] Deep unfinished\n## Personal")
def test_checkboxes_inside_a_code_fence_are_inert(self):
src = "## Notes\n```\n- [x] not a real item\n```\n- [ ] Keep"
self.assertPrune(src, src)
def test_two_space_base_indent_corpus_style(self):
self.assertPrune("## Work\n - [ ] Letter of Determination\n - [x] Check e-mails",
"## Work\n - [ ] Letter of Determination")
def test_date_heading_and_blank_structure_survive(self):
self.assertPrune("# 2026-09-09\n\n## To-Do\n- [x] Climb\n\n# Notes\n",
"# 2026-09-09\n\n## To-Do\n\n# Notes\n")
if __name__ == "__main__":
unittest.main(verbosity=2)
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#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Run the prune across every historical note and assert it never misbehaves.
The prune is the piece of this system carrying real semantic risk, and 228 real
notes exist to test it against, so this checks invariants rather than relying on
someone eyeballing a diff.
"""
import glob
import os
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
from prune import DONE, dropped_indices, parse, subtree_end, top_level_bullets
NOTES = os.path.expanduser("~/docs/notes/todo")
def audit(path):
lines = parse(open(path).read().split("\n"))
drop = dropped_indices(lines)
errs = []
for i in sorted(drop):
ln = lines[i]
if ln.is_heading:
errs.append(f"removed a heading: {ln.text!r}")
elif ln.is_bullet and ln.state is not None and ln.state != DONE:
errs.append(f"removed an unfinished item [{ln.state}]: {ln.text!r}")
# A dropped subtree must contain at least one checkbox, or it was prose.
for i in top_level_bullets(lines):
if i not in drop:
continue
end = subtree_end(lines, i)
if not any(
lines[j].is_bullet and lines[j].state is not None
for j in range(i, end + 1)
):
errs.append(f"dropped a checkbox-free subtree: {lines[i].text!r}")
# A surviving group label must not have lost all of its children.
for i, ln in enumerate(lines):
if i in drop or not ln.is_bullet or ln.state is not None:
continue
kids = [j for j in range(i + 1, subtree_end(lines, i) + 1) if lines[j].is_bullet]
if kids and all(j in drop for j in kids):
errs.append(f"left an emptied group label: {ln.text!r}")
return lines, drop, errs
def main():
files = sorted(glob.glob(os.path.join(NOTES, "*.md")))
if not files:
sys.exit(f"no notes found under {NOTES}")
failures = changed = dropped = 0
kinds = {}
for f in files:
lines, drop, errs = audit(f)
if errs:
failures += len(errs)
print(f"FAIL {os.path.basename(f)}")
for e in errs[:4]:
print(" ", e)
if drop:
changed += 1
dropped += len(drop)
for i in drop:
ln = lines[i]
k = (
f"checkbox[{ln.state}]"
if ln.is_bullet and ln.state
else "bullet" if ln.is_bullet else "continuation"
)
kinds[k] = kinds.get(k, 0) + 1
print()
print(f"files : {len(files)} ({changed} would change)")
print(f"lines dropped : {dropped}")
for k, v in sorted(kinds.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1]):
print(f" {k:>14} : {v}")
print(f"invariant failures: {failures}")
return 1 if failures else 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
sys.exit(main())