From a4918678f2a77b0e468e8dcd9eb19f5aefaef3c3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: bowlerjim <jcrews@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2026 23:34:56 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(ProposalGC): ABSORBED requires the whole entry in the
 body, not a 60-char prefix (#2185)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The header states the invariant: "only three removal classes, each PROVABLE
... it cannot drop a live directive", with ABSORBED defined as "the entry's
substantive text already appears verbatim in the file's canonical body".
The code tested `normalize(entry).slice(0, 60)` — any proposal whose first
60 characters appear in the body was deleted whole.

The colliding case is the ordinary one: the reviewer restates an existing
rule in order to extend it. The restatement matches the body, and the
extension is destroyed with it. This is not human-gated: `--auto`, the
documented scheduled entry point, implies `--apply`.

Require the entire normalized entry, keeping the 30-character floor.

Verified on a fixture whose body holds a backup rule and whose proposals
section holds (a) that rule restated with an added offsite-copy clause and
(b) an exact restatement. Before: both classified `absorbed`, and `--apply`
emptied the section. After: only the exact restatement is removed.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01PuS77R8a6Lhp7jK6dnwdTh
---
 LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts | 15 +++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts
index 8dbc6c48d0..628dfdfe93 100755
--- a/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts
+++ b/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS/ProposalGC.ts
@@ -85,9 +85,16 @@ function appliedTs(entry: string): string {
   return m ? m[1].trim() : "";
 }
 
-/** Substantive core of an entry (first ~60 normalized chars) for absorption test. */
-function core(entry: string): string {
-  return normalize(entry).slice(0, 60);
+/**
+ * Absorption test: the ENTIRE normalized entry must already appear in the
+ * canonical body. A prefix match is not proof of absorption — the reviewer
+ * routinely restates an existing rule in order to extend it, and a prefix
+ * test reads that restatement as redundancy and deletes the extension with
+ * it. The 30-char floor keeps a one-word fragment from matching anything.
+ */
+function absorbed(entry: string, bodyNorm: string): boolean {
+  const norm = normalize(entry);
+  return norm.length >= 30 && bodyNorm.includes(norm);
 }
 
 function gcFile(relPath: string): { removals: Removal[]; nextContent: string | null } {
@@ -115,7 +122,7 @@ function gcFile(relPath: string): { removals: Removal[]; nextContent: string | n
     if (/\[SUPERSEDED/i.test(e.text)) {
       removals.push({ file: relPath, reason: "superseded", text: e.text.trim() });
       removeIdx.add(e.i);
-    } else if (core(e.text).length >= 30 && bodyNorm.includes(core(e.text))) {
+    } else if (absorbed(e.text, bodyNorm)) {
       removals.push({ file: relPath, reason: "absorbed", text: e.text.trim() });
       removeIdx.add(e.i);
     }