# Recommend Prune

> Recommends structural cleanups for the substacker section map — sections to retire, sections to merge, posts to reassign. Applies under-filled, stale, and overlapping heuristics. Writes proposals with reasons-to-reject (steelman counter). Does not execute. Use once per Curator run, after drift audit. Trigger keywords — prune, retire section, merge sections, reassign post, cleanup.

- Skill: `lyndonkl/recommend-prune` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add lyndonkl/recommend-prune`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/lyndonkl/recommend-prune/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Security
- Author: lyndonkl (https://skillmd.com/u/lyndonkl)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/lyndonkl/recommend-prune

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# Recommend Prune

## Three cleanup categories

1. **Retire**: section with <2 posts added in 3 months AND no new cluster signal → candidate for retirement.
2. **Merge**: two sections whose promises overlap >60% semantically OR whose post-sets have >40% cross-fit → merge candidate.
3. **Reassign**: posts from `audit-drift` flagged as genuine-drift → suggest target section or move to `unassigned`.

## Workflow

```
Per Curator run:
- [ ] Step 1: For each section, check retire conditions
- [ ] Step 2: Cross-check section promises for merge candidates
- [ ] Step 3: Collect reassignment candidates from drift audit
- [ ] Step 4: For each proposal: write reasoning + reasons-to-reject
- [ ] Step 5: Emit three lists (retire / merge / reassign)
```

## Guardrails

1. Never delete. Only retire (mark status: retired, keep in map).
2. Never merge without the merge proposal fully visible in review artifact (both original promises preserved verbatim).
3. Never recommend pruning a provisional section in its first 2 cycles — give it probation time.
4. Reasons-to-reject are mandatory for every proposal. Writer needs the counter-argument pre-built.