Artifact Hygiene

Repository execution should leave governed outputs under artifacts/, not durable clutter at the repository root.

flowchart LR
    A[Repository run] --> B[artifacts/root/...]
    A --> C[Disposable root aliases]
    B --> D[Canonical location]
    C --> E[Compatibility only]

Canonical Paths

Prefer the canonical artifact-owned paths directly when a maintainer command needs a concrete executable or output root:

• root environment: artifacts/root/check-venv/
• tox work directory: artifacts/root/tox/
• hypothesis state: artifacts/root/hypothesis/
• benchmark scratch space: artifacts/root/benchmarks/

Those are the durable contract paths. Root aliases exist only as disposable compatibility conveniences.

Disposable Root Aliases

The root .venv, .tox, .hypothesis, and .benchmarks paths should be treated as temporary alias links into artifacts/root/.

• make setup may recreate them
• make clean-root-artifacts may remove them
• maintainers should not depend on them as the only route to governed environments or caches

If one alias becomes a real directory instead of a symlink, that is drift, not an acceptable steady state.

Review Checklist

• Does a new command write into artifacts/ rather than the root?
• Does a new guide point to the canonical artifact path instead of only to ./.venv?
• Does cleanup remove disposable aliases and stray caches without touching checked-in evidence?

Why This Matters

Public trust is partly operational. A repository that claims governed outputs but leaves unmanaged root clutter behind looks less reproducible and less intentional, even when the code itself is sound.