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`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/tests/integration/subtrack_mapping). Remaining test-suite cleanup is now mostly about migrating and shrinking the legacy harness surface under [`tests/legacy`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/tests/legacy).
- Shared CLI defaults for container/output tokens now live outside [`src/ffx/ffx_controller.py`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/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`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/src/ffx/help_screen.py) and [`src/ffx/settings_screen.py`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/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`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/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`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/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`](/home/osgw/.local/src/codex/ffx/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.