Detach Govctl

Stop using govctl in a project while preserving its governance history and unrelated user configuration. Detachment is destructive integration cleanup, not artifact deletion.

Read-Only Inventory

Do not mutate anything during discovery. Inspect:

• gov/config.toml and the full gov/ tree;
• configured documentation, source-scan, and agent-asset paths;
• project-local skills and reviewer agents attributable to govctl;
• hooks, plugin metadata, project instructions, and editor configuration that invoke or require govctl;
• [[RFC-...]], [[ADR-...]], [[WI-...]], and other governed references in source and configuration; and
• the logical-to-resolved mapping for every candidate path, using symlink metadata to inspect each existing ancestor without assuming containment; and
• existing gov.archived/, working-copy changes, ignore rules, and destination collisions.

Use structured parsers for structured configuration. Use rg for reference and text discovery. Treat generated projections under configured documentation paths as historical output and preserve them by default.

Ownership must be established before removal. A matching filename or a mention of govctl is evidence to inspect, not proof that an entire file or directory is govctl-owned. When ownership is ambiguous, preserve the content and list it for manual review.

Hard Stops

• Present a file-level mutation plan and obtain explicit confirmation before changing anything. Approval applies only to that stated plan.
• Never delete the authoritative gov/ tree; archive it.
• Stop on an existing archive destination instead of overwriting, merging, or inventing a new destination without user agreement.
• Require gov/, its archive destination, and their existing ancestors to be non-symlink paths contained by the project root.
• Do not remove a shared skills, agents, hooks, plugin, editor, or instruction directory as a unit unless the inventory proves the directory is wholly govctl-owned.
• Default all other mutations to resolved targets contained by the project root. A symlinked or external target requires separate exact authorization after showing its logical path, resolved target, and symlinked ancestors.
• Do not discard unrelated working-copy changes or non-govctl configuration.
• Do not strip plain historical prose merely because it mentions an RFC, ADR, Work Item, or govctl.
• After archiving gov/, do not invoke project-scoped govctl commands unless the archive is first restored.
• Stop on the first unexpected mutation failure and report completed and pending operations; do not continue into a less recoverable partial state.

Mutation Plan

The dry-run report must identify:

• the exact logical and resolved archive source and proposed destination;
• every file to remove;
• every structured configuration entry or text span to edit;
• references that will be removed, retained as useful archival prose, or left for manual review;
• generated documentation and unrelated assets that will remain untouched;
• existing changes that overlap the plan;
• a recoverable baseline for every edited or removed file; and
• restoration steps derived from those baselines and the proposed operations.

Resolve destination collisions and ambiguous ownership before asking for final confirmation. Re-run the inventory if the user changes the scope.

Execution Policy

Apply the confirmed plan in a recoverable order:

1. Preserve the authoritative governance tree by renaming the confirmed, non-symlinked gov/ path to the confirmed non-conflicting, non-symlinked archive path.
2. Remove only verified project-local govctl assets. In shared directories, remove individual owned entries and retain the container.
3. Edit hooks and structured configuration surgically, preserving unrelated entries and valid file structure.
4. Remove governed reference markup from source only where the remaining comment stays accurate. Delete a reference-only comment when it has no other meaning; preserve useful historical context as plain prose when appropriate.
5. Remove govctl-specific instruction sections without altering neighboring project policy.
6. Clean up a directory only when it is empty and was part of the confirmed plan.

Do not automatically rewrite ignore policy. Report archive tracking or ignore implications and apply a change only when it was included in the confirmed plan.

Recovery

Keep an operation record in the final response, not in the archived governed artifacts. If an edit fails, preserve the archive and successfully completed changes, stop, and explain the exact restoration or continuation steps. Never claim atomic detachment when the filesystem operations were not transactional.

Restoration starts by resolving any new gov/ collision, moving the confirmed archive back to gov/, and reinstalling project-local assets only where they were removed. Derive the remaining restoration steps from the recorded plan rather than promising a fixed one-command undo.

Completion Evidence

Detachment is complete when:

• the governance tree exists at the confirmed archive path;
• no active project hook, instruction, or verified govctl-owned local asset still activates the integration;
• source edits preserve code behavior and meaningful comments;
• configured generated documentation and unrelated user assets remain untouched unless the user explicitly included them;
• a final scan reports remaining ambiguous or intentionally preserved mentions; and
• the final report lists archived, removed, edited, preserved, and unresolved paths plus restoration guidance.

Use commit if the user wants the confirmed detachment recorded in VCS.