ffx/SCRATCHPAD.md

Scratchpad

Goal

• Capture a compact, project-wide list of optimization candidates after a broad scan of the current FFX codebase, tooling, and requirements.

Settled

• The biggest near-term wins are in startup cost, repeated subprocess work, repeated database query patterns, and general repo hygiene.
• This list is intentionally optimization-oriented rather than bug-oriented. Some items below also improve correctness or maintainability, but they were selected because they can reduce runtime cost, operator friction, or iteration overhead.
• A first modern integration slice now exists under tests/integration/subtrack_mapping. Remaining test-suite cleanup is now mostly about migrating and shrinking the legacy harness surface under tests/legacy.
• Shared CLI defaults for container/output tokens now live outside src/ffx/ffx_controller.py, and a focused unit test locks in the lazy-import contract.
• Helper filename and rich-text utilities now use compiled raw regexes plus translate-based filename filtering, with unit coverage for TMDB suffix rewriting and Rich color stripping.
• Process resource limiting now has explicit disabled/default states in the CLI and requirements, and combined CPU-plus-niceness wrapping now executes as cpulimit -- nice -n ... <command> instead of a less explicit prefix chain.
• FFX logger setup now reuses named handlers, and fallback logger access no longer mutates handlers in ordinary constructors and helpers.
• The process wrapper now uses subprocess.run(...) with centralized command formatting plus stable timeout and missing-command error mapping.
• Pattern matching now uses cached compiled regexes plus explicit duplicate-match errors, and pattern creation flows no longer persist zero-track patterns.

Focused Snapshot

• Highest-leverage application optimizations:

  • Decide whether placeholder help/settings screens should ship or disappear.
  • Trim dead helpers and other dormant surface that still looks active.

• Highest-leverage repo and workflow optimizations:

  • Continue migrating the oversized legacy test/combinator surface into focused modern tests so it is easier to run, debug, and extend.

Optimization Candidates

1. Placeholder UI surfaces should either ship or disappear

• src/ffx/help_screen.py and src/ffx/settings_screen.py are placeholders.
• Optimization:
  • Either remove them from the active UI surface or complete them.
  • Avoid paying ongoing maintenance cost for unfinished navigation targets.
• Expected value:
  • Leaner interface.
  • Lower UX ambiguity.

2. Several helper functions are unfinished or dead-weight

• src/ffx/helper.py contains permutateList(...): pass.
• There are many combinator and conversion placeholders across tests and migrations.
• Optimization:
  • Remove dead code, finish it, or isolate it behind a clearly dormant area.
  • Avoid carrying stubbed utility surface that looks reusable but is not.
• Expected value:
  • Smaller mental model.
  • Less time spent re-evaluating inactive paths.

3. Test suite shape is expensive to understand and likely expensive to run

• The project still carries a large legacy matrix of combinator files under tests/legacy, several placeholder pass implementations, and at least one suspicious filename with an embedded space: [tests/legacy/disposition_combinator_2_3 .py](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/tests/legacy/disposition_combinator_2_3 .py).
• A first focused replacement slice now exists in tests/integration/subtrack_mapping/test_cli_bundle.py, so the remaining work is migration and consolidation rather than creating the modern test shape from scratch.
• Optimization:
  • Continue replacing broad combinator matrices with focused parametrized integration and unit tests.
  • Retire the bespoke legacy discovery and runner path once equivalent coverage exists.
  • Normalize file naming and test discovery conventions.
• Expected value:
  • Faster contributor onboarding.
  • Easier CI adoption later.

Open

• Should optimization work focus first on operator-perceived latency, internal maintainability, or correctness-risk cleanup that also has performance upside?
• Is the long-term supported model still “local Linux workstation plus Textual UI,” or should optimization decisions bias toward a more scriptable/headless CLI?

Gaps Right Now

• No explicit prioritization owner or milestone for the optimization backlog.
• No benchmark or timing harness exists for startup, probe, DB, or conversion orchestration overhead.
• Repo hygiene is still mixed with generated artifacts and some clearly unfinished files.
• The legacy TMDB-backed Scenario 4 path is currently blocked by a pattern/track regression: Patterns must define at least one track before they can be stored. This surfaced while rerunning TMDB-dependent checks after the zero-track pattern hardening.

Next

1. Triage the list into quick wins, medium refactors, and long-horizon cleanup.
2. Tackle the cheapest remaining product-surface cleanup first:
   • placeholder UI surfaces and dead helper cleanup.
3. Continue replacing oversized legacy test matrices with focused modern integration and unit coverage.
4. Triage the legacy Scenario 4 pattern/track failure and decide whether to fix the harness, adapt it to the zero-track guard, or retire that path during the ongoing test-suite migration.

Delete When

• Delete this scratchpad once the optimization backlog is either converted into issues/work items or distilled into durable project guidance.