deleting-a-pipeline-step

Deleting a Pipeline Step — Removal Workflow

Workflow Phases

PHASE 1: GAP ANALYSIS

• Analyze the impact of removal on predecessors and successors.
• If a Blocking-gap is found (no alternative input source), STOP. The user must provide an alternative source or cancel the deletion.

PHASE 2: MUTATION DESIGN (REWIRE)

• For through-gaps or entry-gaps, present a rewire plan to the user (e.g., "Wire A directly to C").
• Dispatch pipeline-architect in STEP-DELETE mode to stage all changes.
• All mutations (file removals and topology updates) MUST be staged in edit-{ts}/. NEVER delete directly from production paths during design.
• Architect completion manifest gate: After the architect returns, read the STEP-DELETE completion manifest. It MUST cover every file the architect was tasked with touching and use only edited, copied-unchanged, or deleted.
  • If any expected markdown artifact (*.md) is listed as copied-unchanged, STOP before Phase 3. Emit a blocking error naming the file and explain that unchanged markdown in STEP-DELETE staging indicates an architect partial exit.
  • If any expected file is missing from the manifest, STOP before Phase 3. The staging set is incomplete and cannot be audited as a coherent delta.
• Staged markdown modification guard: Independently diff every staged *.md file against its production original before Phase 3. If the staged file has a production source and is byte-identical to that source, STOP before Phase 3 with a blocking error naming both paths. This guard is independent of the manifest and catches partial exits even when the manifest is wrong or missing detail.
• Pre-audit residual-reference scan: Prefer the Phase 3 delta auditor as the authoritative gate. If a manual grep is run as an additional pre-audit smoke check, it MUST explicitly include markdown files (for example, --include="*.md") so .md artifacts cannot be silently skipped.