32 added, 54 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: sweep
description: Use only when someone explicitly invokes $hope:sweep in Codex, /hope:sweep in Claude Code, or the host's explicit Hope Sweep command to apply behavior-preserving maintenance across a codebase and its directly supporting material. Do not use for ordinary maintenance questions, reviews, planning, bug fixes, feature changes, or product decisions.
---
# Hope Sweep
- Use the active host session to find and apply evidence-backed maintenance
- changes to operating code and its directly supporting material without changing
- customer-observed behavior.
-
- Read `../../references/code-maintenance.md` before judging code, tests,
- configuration, build logic, documentation, or other support material.
-
- Read `../write/references/writing-standard.md` before drafting user-facing
- language. Apply it without changing evidence, uncertainty, or the required
- result.
+ Use the active host session to apply proven, behavior-preserving maintenance to
+ operating code and its directly supporting material.
- ## Confirm explicit invocation
+ Read `../../references/code-maintenance.md` before inspecting the target. Read
+ `../write/references/writing-standard.md` before drafting user-facing language.
- Start Sweep only when the person explicitly invokes it through the active
- host:
+ ## Require explicit invocation
- - `$hope:sweep` in Codex;
- - `/hope:sweep` in Claude Code; or
- - Hope Sweep's namespaced, explicit Skill command in another host.
+ Start only after the person explicitly invokes `$hope:sweep` in Codex,
+ `/hope:sweep` in Claude Code, or the host's namespaced Hope Sweep command.
Do not infer Sweep from a request to inspect a project, suggest improvements,
choose the next task, review work, fix a bug, or clean up code. A follow-up such
as “do that” is not an explicit invocation.
If an implicit selection reaches this Skill, stop before inspecting or editing
the target and continue the underlying request through the ordinary workflow.
- ## Bind the maintenance target
+ ## Bind the target
- Use the repository named by the person. Otherwise use the current repository.
- The entire repository is the default target. Narrow it only when the person
- names a smaller scope inside that repository.
+ Use the named repository or, when none is named, the current repository. The
+ whole repository is the default; narrow it only when the person names a smaller
+ scope.
- The target includes operating code and the tests, configuration, build logic,
+ Include operating code and only the tests, configuration, build logic,
documentation, comments, examples, generation, and assets that directly
- support it. Do not widen into unrelated material or external directories.
-
- Record the current revision and working-tree state. Preserve unrelated changes
- and project-owned instructions.
-
- Explicit invocation grants authority for reversible local edits within this
- boundary. Do not ask for approval for each candidate. It does not override host
- permissions or authorize commits, pushes, pull requests, or merges.
-
- ## Find and apply proven cleanup
-
- Use the maintenance guidance to inspect only enough surrounding evidence
- to prove a coherent cleanup. Sweep does not require an inventory of every
- project file or a finding in every maintenance category.
-
- Apply proven changes immediately in small, coherent batches. Recheck the
- affected consumers before writing and keep each edit inside the bound target.
+ support it. Record the current revision and working-tree state, and preserve
+ unrelated changes and project instructions.
- Do not fix or report suspected bugs, customer-behavior or public-contract
- changes, product or compatibility decisions, or removals whose safety is
- uncertain. Silently leave them outside Sweep. Do not turn an out-of-scope signal
- into a recommendation or follow-up task.
+ Explicit invocation authorizes reversible local edits inside this boundary. It
+ does not override host permissions or authorize commits, pushes, pull requests,
+ or merges.
- ## Verify the result
+ ## Apply proven cleanup
- Use the maintenance guidance to verify the changed scope.
+ Follow the maintenance guidance to trace active consumers, choose safe
+ candidates, and verify the changed scope. Inspect only enough surrounding
+ evidence to prove a coherent cleanup; Sweep does not require a complete file or
+ category inventory.
- Inspect the final difference against the operating behavior and this Skill's
- allowed categories. Correct or revert a regression introduced by Sweep. Do not
- fix a pre-existing failure or use verification to widen the cleanup.
+ Apply proven changes in small coherent batches. Do not fix or report suspected
+ bugs, customer-visible or public-contract changes, product or compatibility
+ decisions, or uncertain removals. Leave those signals outside Sweep without
+ turning them into recommendations or follow-up tasks.
- Report:
+ Correct or revert any regression introduced by Sweep. Do not fix a pre-existing
+ failure or widen the cleanup during verification.
- - the behavior-preserving cleanup that was applied, or that no proven cleanup
- was available;
- - the supporting code, tests, documentation, configuration, generation, or
- assets changed with it; and
- - the checks run and what passed or failed.
+ ## Report the result
- Do not mention skipped out-of-scope signals or propose work for them.
+ Report the behavior-preserving cleanup, or that no proven cleanup was available;
+ the directly supporting material changed with it; and the checks that passed or
+ failed. Do not mention skipped out-of-scope signals.