1 files changed, 22 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/.ai/workflows/task-audit.org b/.ai/workflows/task-audit.org
index 94b99da..7d2b758 100644
--- a/.ai/workflows/task-audit.org
+++ b/.ai/workflows/task-audit.org
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ For each open task, read its body and cross-check its claims against the actual
 - *Calendar* — did a scheduled event happen; is a SCHEDULED/DEADLINE date now past.
 - *Meeting recordings* — if a task hinges on "did this conversation happen / what was said," check the recording queue (e.g. =~/sync/recordings/=) and transcribe via =process-meeting-transcript.org= if the answer lives in an un-transcribed recording. (This is exactly how a "did the interview happen?" task gets resolved instead of guessed.)
 
+*Spec lifecycle reconcile (docs-lifecycle convention).* If the project has a =docs/specs/=, run the =:SPEC_ID:= query as part of this phase: for each spec whose top-level status heading reads =DOING=, find the =todo.org= task whose =:SPEC_ID:= property matches the spec's =:ID:=. Flag the spec NEEDS-USER when that bound parent is =DONE=/=CANCELLED=, archived, or missing — the build finished (or evaporated) without the =IMPLEMENTED= flip, exactly the drift this check exists to catch. Check the parent's own keyword, not its children (completed children become dated entries and the final flip task is a child, so child-counting misleads).
+
 Assign each task a bucket (CURRENT / STALE / NEEDS-USER) and, for STALE, the specific factual update.
 
 *Scale tactic.* For a large open-task set, dispatch read-only investigation sub-agents over batches of tasks (parallel-safe per =subagents.md= — independent read-only domains). Each returns a per-task bucket + suggested update. *Never* let sub-agents write to =todo.org= concurrently — apply all edits serially in the main thread (concurrent writes to one file race and lose work).
@@ -79,7 +81,7 @@ For every STALE task, edit it in the main thread:
 - *Ensure priority is set per the project scheme.* The top of the project's =todo.org= should carry the priority legend (=[#A]= through =[#D]=). Every task should carry an explicit priority cookie. If a cookie is missing, or no longer matches the reconciled facts, assign the right level per the legend. If the level is unambiguous from the body, do it autonomously; if it's a judgment call (especially the [#A] / [#B] line for important-but-not-urgent work), flag NEEDS-USER. Also enforce the [#A]-discipline rule from the legend — an [#A] task without a =SCHEDULED:= or =DEADLINE:= line is mis-graded and is either down-graded to [#B] (when reconciled facts say "important but not urgent") or surfaced as NEEDS-USER for the user to date.
 - *Ensure a type tag is set.* Every task carries one type tag from the project's tag legend (typically =:feature:= / =:chore:= / =:spec:= / =:bug:=). If missing or wrong, assign or correct it from the body when the type is unambiguous. If two tags fit (a refactor that also fixes a bug; a spec that's also a chore), flag NEEDS-USER rather than picking one silently.
 - *Enforce the project's declared tag vocabulary.* If the project's tag legend declares an *exhaustive* set of allowed tags, strip from each task any tag outside that set — the heading and parent section already carry topic/scope context, so ad-hoc tags only fragment the vocabulary and defeat tag-based filtering. Normalize near-duplicate spellings to the canonical tag (a plural to its singular, say). Where the legend does not declare the set closed, leave existing tags alone; this step applies only where the allowed set is exhaustive by design.
-- *Re-assess the =:quick:= and =:solo:= tags* — reconciliation can change a task's effort or autonomy: a resolved dependency may make a stuck task =:solo:=, a scope cut may make it =:quick:=, and new complexity surfaced by the sources can invalidate either. Add or remove the tags per the definitions in the project's tag legend (and [[file:task-review.org][task-review.org]]) when the reconciled facts make the call clear. When they don't — an effort estimate you can't pin down, a =:solo:= gate you can't confirm — it's a NEEDS-USER flag, not a guess.
+- *Re-assess the =:quick:= and =:solo:= tags (mandatory — an audit that skips this is incomplete).* Reconciliation can change a task's effort or autonomy: a resolved dependency may make a stuck task =:solo:=, a scope cut may make it =:quick:=, and new complexity surfaced by the sources can invalidate either. Add or remove the tags per the hard definitions in [[file:../../claude-rules/todo-format.md][todo-format.md]] ("Hard definitions: :solo: and :quick:"; task-review carries the same three-gate walk). Autonomous execution reads =:solo:= as its eligibility gate and trusts the tag, so a stale one is a run-time hazard, not cosmetic drift. When the call isn't clear — an effort estimate you can't pin down, a =:solo:= gate you can't confirm — it's a NEEDS-USER flag, not a guess.
 - Bump =:LAST_REVIEWED:= on each edited task.
 
 Follow =todo-format.md= for completion mechanics (depth-based DONE vs dated-rewrite) and the working-files / link-hygiene rules when moving artifacts.
@@ -99,6 +101,21 @@ Never merge or re-parent autonomously — which tasks belong together, and wheth
 
 When no clear cluster exists, say so in one line and move on — most audits won't find one, and forcing a merge fragments worse than it consolidates.
 
+** Phase C.6 — Retire completed parents and promote stragglers (interactive)
+
+Phase C.5 consolidates related *open* tasks. This step retires parent tasks whose work is *finished*, so completed containers don't linger in Open Work as scaffolding.
+
+Run =todo-cleanup.el --convert-subtasks= first (it's part of the =clean-todo= / wrap-up cleanup, and =open-tasks.org= runs it too) so every completed sub-task is a dated event-log entry rather than a lingering =DONE= keyword. The closure logic below reads "open child" as a child heading still carrying a task keyword (=TODO=/=DOING=/=WAITING=/=VERIFY=/=NEXT=/=PROJECT=/=STALLED=/=DELEGATED=); a dated entry is correctly not open.
+
+Two shapes, both proposed to Craig (inline numbered options per =interaction.md=, no popup) before applying:
+
+- *Zero open children → close the parent.* A parent whose child *tasks* are all resolved (now dated) and that carries no open child task is finished: close it per =todo-format.md= (=**= parent → =DONE=/=CANCELLED= + =CLOSED:=), and it moves to Resolved on the next =--archive-done=. If the work resurfaces later, a fresh task is created then; a completed container shouldn't sit open as a placeholder.
+- *One or two open children → promote, then close.* When a parent has only one or two open children, pull them out and rewrite them as standalone =**= level-2 tasks — give each a priority per the project scheme, and make the heading stand alone without the parent's context — then close the now-childless parent and let it move to Resolved. The former children become first-class Open Work tasks; the retired parent stops being scaffolding for one or two stragglers.
+
+*The leaf-with-notes carve-out (important).* "Zero open children" is not the same as "done." A =**= leaf task whose only descendants are dated *notes* — a captured "Ideas", "Goals", or "Current State" entry, not a real completed sub-task — is unstarted work with a note attached, not a finished container. Do not close it. Tell the two apart by intent: a container reads as a grouping (a =PROJECT= keyword, an explicit "parent grouping ..." line, or several dated entries that were genuinely separate sub-tasks that shipped); a leaf-with-notes is a single feature/bug task whose title names unstarted work and whose lone dated child is a design note. When the call is ambiguous, flag it NEEDS-USER rather than closing.
+
+Never close or promote autonomously past the ambiguous line — surface the candidates with a recommendation and let Craig ratify, the same interactive stance as Phase C.5. Clear container completions (a =PROJECT= whose every child is dated) can be proposed as a batch; leaf-with-notes ambiguities are flagged individually. Verify open-vs-done counts against the actual headings (a real scan of the subtree), not a fragile regex that a shell's =\b= support can silently break — a miscount here closes live work.
+
 ** Phase D — Flag the judgment calls (interactive)
 
 Present the NEEDS-USER bucket as a short, scannable list — one line per task, naming the decision or the fact required. Adjudicate with the user one item at a time (inline numbered options per =interaction.md=, no popup). Apply the user's calls as they come (which may itself produce more autonomous updates, or new tasks).
@@ -147,3 +164,7 @@ Two Phase C behaviors added, both surfaced by an Emacs-config =todo.org= audit:
 
 - *Tag-vocabulary enforcement.* That project declares a closed tag set (=bug=, =feature=, =refactor=, =test=, =quick=, =solo=); the audit had to strip ~44 ad-hoc tags that had accumulated across the file. The prior workflow only checked that a type tag was *present* — it had no concept of an exhaustive allowed set. The new bullet enforces a declared closed vocabulary and leaves open-vocabulary projects untouched.
 - *Code-complete-but-unverified closing.* Many tasks had shipped (tests green, live in the daemon) but stayed open awaiting a manual or visual verification, so they accumulated as half-open. Leaving them open is noise; auto-closing them would violate "never claim a fix verified before the user confirms." The fix routes the pending human check into the project's =Manual testing and validation= parent (dedup-checked) per =verification.md='s manual-verification hand-off, then closes the implementation task. The work is done and the check is tracked; a failed check promotes to a bug.
+
+** 2026-07-01 — Retire completed parents (Phase C.6)
+
+Added Phase C.6: retire a parent task once its child *tasks* are all done. Zero open children → close the parent; one or two open children → promote them to standalone level-2 tasks, then close. Surfaced by an Emacs-config =todo.org= audit where several PROJECT containers had all children complete. Depends on =todo-cleanup.el --convert-subtasks= running first so completed sub-tasks are dated (not lingering =DONE= keywords) and the open-child count is accurate. Carries a leaf-with-notes carve-out: a =**= leaf task whose only descendant is a dated design note ("Ideas"/"Goals") is unstarted work, not a finished container, and must not be closed — the ambiguous case is flagged NEEDS-USER. The step also warns against counting open-vs-done with a fragile regex (a =\b= that a given shell/awk silently drops miscounts and closes live work).