notebackup: Instructions file for Codex

Apple Notes Snapshot Agent Guide

This repository is a local-first Apple Notes export wrapper for macOS.

Mission

Keep the repository reviewable, path-safe, and open-source friendly.

Rules

• Keep changes surgical.
• Prefer fixing repo-owned wrapper code over editing vendored upstream code.
• Keep all repo-owned documentation in English.
• Never let real secrets, tokens, session material, personal email addresses, or live diagnostic residue enter the tracked tree, Git history, release notes, screenshots, fixtures, or public docs.
• Prefer placeholder paths such as ${HOME}/..., /path/to/..., or <local-reference-root>/... in docs, fixtures, and examples instead of real machine-specific absolute paths.
• Treat any dirty worktree as meaningful until proven otherwise; preserve code before cleanup, rewrite, branch deletion, or remote cutover.
• Before destructive Git or GitHub actions, record a truth anchor and create a rollback asset such as a bundle, backup branch, or equivalent snapshot.
• Never track .agents/, .agent/, .codex/, .claude/, .serena/, .runtime-cache/, generated/launchd/, logs/, or runtime log files.
• AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md may be tracked when they are part of the public repository contract.
• Keep current tracked tree, Git history, and GitHub control-plane statements separate.

Execution hygiene

• Treat browser sessions, cloned browser profiles, Docker containers, and caches as scarce shared machine resources, not disposable scratch space.
• Treat .serena/ as a local MCP/shared-tool cache surface. Keep it ignored and out of repo-owned janitor governance.
• Treat the repo-managed isolated Chrome root as persistent runtime state for this repo. It is excluded from TTL/cap janitor cleanup.
• Before using Chrome / Chromium, inventory the current machine state first: task-owned windows, tabs, and temporary profiles must be attributable to this task.
• If the machine already has more than 6 Chrome/Chromium instances in play, do not open another one. Prefer non-browser evidence paths, wait for cleanup, or use a non-Chrome path that you can keep isolated and short-lived.
• Treat 6 as the hard shared-machine cap. Within that cap, still prefer one task-owned browser session when the current proof does not require more.
• Do not open or reuse Chrome / Chromium / browser instances that belong to a different repo or another active L1 worker on the same machine.
• Prefer one task-owned browser session at a time; close extra tabs, windows, and temporary profiles as soon as the current proof is captured.
• If a task requires a temporary browser profile, record the path, keep it repo-scoped under .runtime-cache/browser/<task-slug>/, and delete it when the task ends.
• A single task should default to one task-owned browser instance and the smallest possible number of tabs.
• If the task only needs to confirm login state, do not keep reopening browser instances. Try once or twice, classify the state, and move on.
• If the browser tooling supports background or non-focus execution, prefer it so the task does not steal focus from other active work on the shared machine.
• Do not leave repo-owned Docker containers, images, or caches running unless the current task still actively needs them.
• If a task starts Docker/compose/temp-server resources, those resources must be identifiable as repo-owned and must be removed before closeout unless an explicit preserved reason is recorded.
• Every task-owned branch, worktree, and PR must end in one of three states: merged to main, salvaged to main then deleted, or closed/deleted as confirmed no-value residue.
• GitHub repo collaboration writes are allowed only when the task explicitly includes branch / PR / review / merge / release closeout for this repo.
• Every non-GitHub external control plane stays read-only by default. Do not perform write actions against Search Console, registrars, social platforms, video platforms, or other outside accounts unless the user explicitly re-authorizes that exact write action in the current conversation.