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Framework Health Check

A re-runnable audit that checks whether this repository still has all the documents, scripts, and workflows Brain Factory expects — and whether they are current and discoverable. The full set of expectations is the "continuity charter," defined in docs/framework-continuity-and-memory.md. Re-run this audit after large changes, or on a regular cadence (monthly is a good default). New to the project? See How Brain Factory works first.

How to use this document

  • For the step-by-step procedure, see Run the framework health audit.
  • Walk through each section below.
  • For each artifact, confirm it exists, is current, and is linked from the right entry points (README.md and the continuity doc).
  • Capture any gaps as issues or PRs; do not let them live only in chat or review comments.

Charter-to-artifact map

Each row maps one charter expectation to the file (or files) that satisfies it. During an audit, confirm each listed path still exists and remains current.

Charter expectation Artifact path Status
Agent/contributor entrypoint AGENTS.md ✅ Present
Continuity anchor docs/framework-continuity-and-memory.md ✅ Present
Portability/adoption layer docs/framework-portability-and-adoption.md ✅ Present
Starter-kit bootstrap layer docs/framework-starter-kit.md ✅ Present
Repo-transplant checklist layer docs/framework-repo-transplant-checklist.md ✅ Present
Adoption maturity model docs/framework-adoption-maturity-model.md ✅ Present
Framework readiness checklist layer docs/framework-readiness-checklist.md ✅ Present
Automation bundles by profile layer docs/framework-automation-bundles-by-profile.md ✅ Present
Setup intent schema/application model layer docs/framework-setup-intent-schema-and-application-model.md ✅ Present
Framework roadmap queue docs/framework-roadmap-next-prompts.md ✅ Present
Framework prompt library docs/framework-prompt-library.md ✅ Present
Machine-readable framework task queue .github/framework-task-queue.json ✅ Present
Copilot coding agent firewall/API-access guidance docs/gh-agents-and-automation.md + queue docs/runbooks cross-links ✅ Present
Queued execution memory model docs/framework-queued-execution-memory.md ✅ Present
Queue health / drift-detection layer scripts/check-queue-health.sh + docs/runbooks/run-queue-health-check.md ✅ Present
Metrics/feedback loop layer docs/framework-metrics-and-feedback.md ✅ Present
Reporting/review cadence layer docs/framework-reporting-and-review-cadence.md ✅ Present
Framework change governance/deprecation policy layer docs/framework-change-governance-and-deprecation-policy.md ✅ Present
Release/versioning/deprecation layer docs/framework-release-versioning-and-deprecation.md ✅ Present
Release notes / upgrade summary layer docs/framework-release-notes-and-upgrade-summaries.md + docs/framework-release-notes.md + docs/framework-change-summary-template.md ✅ Present
Review cadence packet template docs/framework-review-cadence-template.md ✅ Present
Effectiveness scorecard template docs/framework-effectiveness-scorecard-template.md ✅ Present
Weekly hygiene summary template docs/framework-weekly-hygiene-summary-template.md ✅ Present
Quarterly adoption/portability summary template docs/framework-quarterly-adoption-portability-summary-template.md ✅ Present
Operating model docs/operating-model.md ✅ Present
Governance checklist docs/governance-checklist.md ✅ Present
Multi-agent handoff docs/multi-agent-handoff-playbook.md ✅ Present
Context sync docs/context-synchronization.md ✅ Present
Security and secure delivery guardrails docs/security-and-secure-delivery.md ✅ Present
Projects setup docs/github-projects-setup.md ✅ Present
Work-type matrix docs/work-type-matrix.md ✅ Present
Support/improvement loop docs/product-support-and-improvement-loop.md ✅ Present
Branching/cleanup docs/branching-and-cleanup.md ✅ Present
Redevelopment playbook docs/redevelopment-playbook.md ✅ Present
Prompt cookbook docs/prompt-cookbook.md ✅ Present
Contributor environment docs/contributor-environment-guide.md ✅ Present
GitHub Mobile guide docs/github-mobile-guide.md ✅ Present
ADR template + log docs/adr-template-guide.md + docs/adr/README.md ✅ Present
Upgrade/adoption maintenance layer docs/framework-upgrade-and-maintenance.md ✅ Present
Alignment maintenance runbook docs/runbooks/maintain-framework-alignment.md ✅ Present
Operator runbooks docs/runbooks/README.md ✅ Present
Worked examples examples/README.md ✅ Present
External-context normalization example examples/worked-example-external-context-normalization.md ✅ Present
Downstream adoption worked examples examples/adoption-example-solo-small-repo.md, examples/adoption-example-product-delivery-team.md, examples/adoption-example-platform-infra-team.md ✅ Present
Example issue→PR flow docs/example-issue-to-pr-flow.md ✅ Present
Glossary docs/glossary.md ✅ Present
CONTRIBUTING CONTRIBUTING.md ✅ Present
LICENSE LICENSE ✅ Present
SECURITY SECURITY.md ✅ Present
CODEOWNERS .github/CODEOWNERS ✅ Present
CI guardrails .github/workflows/markdown.yml ✅ Present
Dependabot .github/dependabot.yml ✅ Present
PR auto-labeler .github/workflows/labeler.yml + .github/labeler.yml ✅ Present
Stale-branch cleanup .github/workflows/stale-branches.yml ✅ Present
Code of conduct CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md ✅ Present
Visual diagrams plan docs/visual-diagrams-plan.md ✅ Present
Visual diagrams convention docs/visual-diagrams-plan.md ✅ In sync — rollout completed and convention formalized in ADR 0010
Mobile quick action coverage core docs, runbooks, examples (see inventory) ✅ Governed by ADR 0013; CI-enforced via scripts/check-mobile-quick-action.sh; inventory in docs/github-mobile-guide.md
Mobile quick action CI + inventory scripts/check-mobile-quick-action.* + docs/github-mobile-guide.md ✅ CI enforcement + coverage inventory landed in PR #82
Handoff packet template docs/handoff-packet-template.md ✅ Canonical template — all nine required fields present
Handoff packet enforcement scripts/check-handoff-packet.sh + .github/workflows/check-handoff-packet.yml ✅ Governed by ADR 0015; CI-enforced; inventory in docs/multi-agent-handoff-playbook.md
Security guardrail check scripts/check-security-guardrails.sh + .github/workflows/check-security-guardrails.yml ✅ CI-enforced check for private-reporting and secure-delivery guardrail anchors
Index parity check scripts/check-index-parity.sh + .github/workflows/framework-audit.yml ✅ Governed by ADR 0016; CI-enforced on PR + scheduled monthly; verifies ADR index, runbooks index, and examples index stay in sync
Scheduled framework audit .github/workflows/framework-audit.yml ✅ Monthly scheduled + workflow_dispatch consolidation of all framework check scripts; see ADR 0016
Merge-triggered next-task preparation .github/workflows/prepare-next-framework-task.yml ✅ Push-to-main + workflow_dispatch workflow prepares next dependency-ready queue task as an issue (human-in-the-loop for execution/review remains required)
Framework task queue integrity check scripts/check-framework-task-queue.sh + .github/workflows/framework-audit.yml ✅ CI-enforced queue schema/dependency validation
Queue health and drift detection scripts/check-queue-health.sh + .github/workflows/framework-audit.yml ✅ Governed by ADR 0017; CI-enforced on PR + scheduled monthly; checks related_docs existence, blocked/pending state consistency, superseded-dep traps, multiple in_progress, and (with GitHub API context) merged-PR/open-issue closure drift
Issue templates .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ ✅ Present
Issue taxonomy docs/issue-taxonomy.md ✅ Present
Support routing .github/SUPPORT.md ✅ Present
Pull request template .github/pull_request_template.md ✅ Present
Editor config .editorconfig ✅ Present
Git attributes .gitattributes ✅ Present

See ADR 0010: Diagrams convention for the rules ## Diagram sections follow.

Automated vs manual checks

This table separates what CI verifies continuously from what still requires a manual audit. Use it to set expectations during an audit and to spot where more automation would help.

Check Automated How
Markdown linting ✅ CI (PR + push) markdown.ymlmarkdownlint-cli2
Markdown link check ✅ CI (PR + push) markdown.ymlmarkdown-link-check
Mobile quick-action coverage ✅ CI (PR + push) markdown.yml / check-mobile-quick-action.sh
Handoff packet completeness ✅ CI (PR + push) check-handoff-packet.yml / check-handoff-packet.sh
Security guardrail anchors ✅ CI (PR + push) check-security-guardrails.yml / check-security-guardrails.sh
ADR index parity ✅ CI (PR + monthly) framework-audit.yml / check-index-parity.sh
Runbooks index parity ✅ CI (PR + monthly) framework-audit.yml / check-index-parity.sh
Examples index parity ✅ CI (PR + monthly) framework-audit.yml / check-index-parity.sh
Framework task queue integrity ✅ CI (PR + monthly) framework-audit.yml / check-framework-task-queue.sh
Queue health and drift detection ✅ CI (PR + monthly) framework-audit.yml / check-queue-health.sh
Stale branch cleanup ✅ Scheduled (weekly) stale-branches.yml
PR auto-labeling ✅ Automated (PR) labeler.yml
Next framework task issue preparation ✅ Automated (push to main) prepare-next-framework-task.yml
docs/README.md full index parity 🔲 Manual Health audit walkthrough
Cross-link discoverability 🔲 Manual Health audit walkthrough
Open PRs > 14 days 🔲 Manual Health audit walkthrough
Dependabot PR backlog 🔲 Manual Health audit walkthrough
CI on main green 🔲 Manual Review Actions tab
Latest effectiveness scorecard packet exists with linked follow-up actions 🔲 Manual Review latest effectiveness issue/PR packet

Operational hygiene checks

Governance and review routing

  • [ ] CODEOWNERS covers all paths — confirmed: *, /docs/, /docs/adr/, /docs/framework-continuity-and-memory.md, /.github/, /.github/workflows/ are all mapped to @izakl.
  • [ ] SECURITY.md private reporting path is current — confirmed: uses GitHub's private vulnerability reporting (Security tab → "Report a vulnerability").
  • [ ] docs/security-and-secure-delivery.md remains aligned with issue templates, runbooks, and governance checklist.
  • [ ] docs/governance-checklist.md cross-links CODEOWNERS and SECURITY.md — confirmed.
  • [ ] Every doc in docs/ is reachable from at least one of: README.md, docs/framework-continuity-and-memory.md, or another doc that itself is reachable.
  • [ ] Markdown link-check job has been passing on the latest main runs of .github/workflows/markdown.yml.

Snapshot (as of 2026-05-26, Copilot coding agent firewall/API guidance and queue-reconciliation writeback hardened)

At this snapshot, every charter-to-artifact row is present. Diagram governance is covered by:

  • ADR 0009 (Mermaid as primary format)
  • ADR 0010 (diagram section convention)
  • ADR 0012 (SVG companion convention) — superseded by ADR 0024 (SVG companion layer retired)
  • ADR 0013 (mobile quick action section convention)
  • ADR 0015 (handoff packet enforcement)
  • ADR 0016 (continuous checks and recurring audit layer)
  • ADR 0017 (queue health check and drift-detection layer)

Mobile quick-action coverage now also has a tracked inventory in docs/github-mobile-guide.md and CI enforcement via scripts/check-mobile-quick-action.sh.

Portability/adoption guidance is now centralized in docs/framework-portability-and-adoption.md, including core invariants, essential/recommended/optional inventory, and incremental rollout guidance.

Starter-kit bootstrap guidance is now centralized in docs/framework-starter-kit.md, including copy/adapt/customize mapping, minimum viable bootstrap bundle, and phased first-hour/day/week onboarding.

Framework readiness guidance is now centralized in docs/framework-readiness-checklist.md, adding a lightweight baseline / recommended / advanced self-assessment model that helps adopters confirm coherent, profile-aware, maturity-aware adoption without requiring full-surface adoption.

Automation selection guidance is now centralized in docs/framework-automation-bundles-by-profile.md, including baseline vs recommended vs advanced/situational distinctions, explicit minimum/recommended/deferred profile bundle staging, per-bundle advance criteria and operator runbook linkage, a dedicated least-privilege enablement guardrails section, and a deferred automation registry format for tracking deferred items with durable enablement criteria and owner assignment.

Reusable entrypoint harmonization pass aligned issue templates, PR template, prompt cookbook, examples index guidance, and issue/runbook discoverability links with the current framework contract (work packet fields, normalization, security routing, and canonical-vs-supporting guidance).

Framework effectiveness now has a dedicated metrics and feedback-loop layer in docs/framework-metrics-and-feedback.md, with a reusable scorecard packet in docs/framework-effectiveness-scorecard-template.md.

Recurring review/reporting rhythm now has a dedicated cadence layer in docs/framework-reporting-and-review-cadence.md, with a reusable packet template in docs/framework-review-cadence-template.md.

Compact weekly hygiene and quarterly adoption/portability writeback packets are now available in docs/framework-weekly-hygiene-summary-template.md and docs/framework-quarterly-adoption-portability-summary-template.md.

Framework lifecycle semantics are now centralized in docs/framework-release-versioning-and-deprecation.md, including lightweight PATCH/MINOR/MAJOR classification rules, release communication expectations, explicit compatibility/migration/operator-action signaling, and deprecation lifecycle guidance.

Framework release-note and upgrade-summary guidance now has a dedicated model in docs/framework-release-notes-and-upgrade-summaries.md, a reusable packet in docs/framework-change-summary-template.md, and a durable scan/index surface in docs/framework-release-notes.md. Published summary packets are stored under docs/release-notes/ and linked from the index.

A durable next-prompts roadmap is now available in docs/framework-roadmap-next-prompts.md to queue remaining major bounded framework-completion tasks.

A durable major-prompt library is now available in docs/framework-prompt-library.md to preserve reusable execution packets with explicit ordering/dependencies and bounded-scope guardrails.

A machine-readable queue now exists at .github/framework-task-queue.json, with merge-triggered next-task issue preparation via .github/workflows/prepare-next-framework-task.yml. Queue schema/dependency integrity is CI-validated by scripts/check-framework-task-queue.sh. Canonical queue-entry schema, issue/PR linkage model, state semantics, and drift recovery are now defined in docs/framework-queued-execution-memory.md.

Queue health and drift detection is now a dedicated CI-enforced layer: scripts/check-queue-health.sh checks semantic drift signals (stale related_docs references, blocked/pending state inconsistency, superseded-dependency traps, and multiple concurrent in_progress entries) that the schema validator does not cover, and also checks merged-PR/open-queue-issue closure drift when GitHub API context is available. The operator runbook for queue health is docs/runbooks/run-queue-health-check.md. Governed by ADR 0017.

Copilot coding agent firewall/API-access behavior is now explicitly documented as an operational concern: blocked api.github.com calls can suppress optional API-backed queue closure/linkage checks in agent environments, so queue/issue reconciliation must still be written back durably through bounded maintenance PRs. Guidance is centralized in docs/gh-agents-and-automation.md and cross-linked to queue model/runbook docs.

GitHub Projects guidance is now explicit about minimum viable setup, durable state synchronization across issue/project/PR/handoff, and work-type routing.

Handoff packet completeness now has a tracked inventory in docs/multi-agent-handoff-playbook.md and CI enforcement via scripts/check-handoff-packet.sh.

Security guardrails now have a dedicated framework guide (docs/security-and-secure-delivery.md) and CI anchor check via scripts/check-security-guardrails.sh and .github/workflows/check-security-guardrails.yml.

  • Mobile quick-action convention remains closed-loop and CI-enforced (guidance + inventory + script check).
  • Handoff packet convention is now closed-loop and CI-enforced (template + issue template + inventory + script check).
  • ADR 0014 (deployment/infrastructure scope) remains Deferred — framework stays doc/governance-only; revisit when a concrete consumer need arises.
  • Stale-branch hygiene first pass completed (2026-05-25):
  • Branch inventory at pass start: 92 pre-existing copilot/* branches with no open PRs (plus the current hygiene PR branch copilot/bounded-stale-branch-hygiene).
  • Workflow fix applied: dry_run values corrected from non-documented booleans to "yes"/"no" as required by the action; a workflow_dispatch input (dry_run: boolean, default true) added for safe first-run mode.
  • Decision rule for all 92 branches: all are historical Copilot agent branches whose work is integrated into main; none have open PRs; all meet the ≥7-day age criterion; all are safe for automated deletion via the first scheduled or manual workflow run.
  • The Stale Branches workflow is now ready for first execution. Trigger via workflow_dispatch with dry_run: true to verify the list, then with dry_run: false to execute cleanup.
  • Next automated deletion cycle: next Monday 06:00 UTC (weekly cron), or earlier via manual dispatch.
  • Runbook updated: docs/runbooks/triage-stale-branch-report.md now includes copilot/*-specific decision rules, a first-run procedure, and a cadence table.
  • Branching guidance updated: docs/branching-and-cleanup.md now documents the copilot/* cleanup criteria and the dry-run dispatch mode.
  • Handoff packet enforcement landed (2026-05-25):
  • Canonical template: docs/handoff-packet-template.md — nine required fields, reusable by humans and agents.
  • Issue template: .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/handoff-packet.yml — GitHub-native form with all nine required fields.
  • Enforcement script: scripts/check-handoff-packet.sh — reads inventory from playbook, verifies all required fields in Expected files.
  • CI workflow: .github/workflows/check-handoff-packet.yml — runs on PRs and push to main.
  • Governance: docs/governance-checklist.md and docs/adr/0015-handoff-packet-enforcement.md updated.
  • Handoff completeness is no longer purely advisory.
  • Continuous-checks layer added (2026-05-25):
  • New script: scripts/check-index-parity.sh — CI-enforces that ADR index, runbooks index, and examples index stay in sync with their respective directories.
  • New workflow: .github/workflows/framework-audit.yml — monthly scheduled + workflow_dispatch consolidation of all framework check scripts; a one-click full-framework audit.
  • ADR: docs/adr/0016-continuous-checks-layer.md — decision record documenting the continuous-checks model.
  • Automated vs manual check table added to this document (see Automated vs manual checks).
  • Index parity is no longer purely a manual health-audit item.

ADR log (docs/adr/):

File Indexed in docs/adr/README.md
0001-github-as-durable-control-plane.md ✅ Yes
0002-multi-surface-hybrid-execution-model.md ✅ Yes
0003-pull-requests-as-primary-control-gate.md ✅ Yes
0004-markdown-ci-guardrail.md ✅ Yes
0005-dependabot-for-github-actions.md ✅ Yes
0006-codeowners-for-review-routing.md ✅ Yes
0007-path-based-pr-auto-labeler.md ✅ Yes
0008-stale-branch-cleanup-automation.md ✅ Yes
0009-mermaid-as-primary-diagram-format.md ✅ Yes
0010-diagrams-convention.md ✅ Yes
0011-documentation-navigation.md ✅ Yes
0012-svg-companions-for-diagrams.md ✅ Yes
0013-mobile-quick-action-convention.md ✅ Yes
0014-deployment-infrastructure-scope.md ✅ Yes — Deferred: framework stays doc/governance-only; revisit when a concrete consumer need arises.
0015-handoff-packet-enforcement.md ✅ Yes
0016-continuous-checks-layer.md ✅ Yes

Operational hygiene status:

Check Status
CI on main green ✅ Passing (latest Markdown run on main completed successfully)
Stale copilot/* branches ✅ First hygiene pass completed (2026-05-25): 92 pre-existing copilot/* branches inventoried, all with no open PRs, all safe for deletion. Workflow fixed and ready for first execution via workflow_dispatch. See triage runbook for first-run steps.
Open PRs > 14 days without update ✅ None (no open PRs at review time)
ADR index complete ✅ All 16 ADR files indexed (parity now CI-enforced via check-index-parity.sh)
Docs README index parity ✅ Verified against docs/runbooks/examples/adr directories; runbooks and examples parity now CI-enforced
README links resolve ✅ Verified (AGENTS.md added as new entrypoint; README.md and docs/README.md cross-linked)
Dependabot PRs piling up ✅ No open PR backlog at review time
Runbook index complete ✅ All runbook files indexed in docs/runbooks/README.md

Next audit due: approximately 2026-06-25 or after the next large framework change. Monthly scheduled audit: framework-audit.yml runs on the first of each month; trigger on demand via workflow_dispatch.

Mobile quick action

  • Use when: you need a quick health-audit triage pass from mobile between full desktop audits.
  • Do from mobile:
  • Spot-check key charter rows and hygiene checkboxes for obvious drift.
  • Open one focused issue per confirmed gap.
  • Leave an audit status note naming owner, scope, and next validation step.
  • Do not do from mobile:
  • Mark a full health audit complete without desktop verification.
  • Perform broad status rewrites across multiple audit sections.
  • Escalate to desktop/cloud when:
  • Findings require coordinated updates across docs, workflows, or automation.
  • Validation depends on full markdown lint/link-check and CI run investigation.
  • Primary artifact to update:
  • The health-audit issue or pull request that records findings and closure evidence.