# Tidying Files

> Remove untracked or ignored junk and scratch files across fleet repos without touching tracked work.

- Skill: `socketdev/tidying-files` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add socketdev/tidying-files`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/socketdev/tidying-files/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: socketdev (https://skillmd.com/u/socketdev)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/socketdev/tidying-files

---


# tidying-files

OS cruft (`.DS_Store`), editor backups (`*.orig`, `*.swp`, `*~`), build stragglers
(`*.pyc`, `__pycache__`), and stray AI/temp scratch (orphaned `/tmp/cascade-*` dirs, dry-run
logs) accrete across the fleet. This is the conservative, no-prompt sweep that clears them —
the `tidying-*` family member for junk files. It deletes ONLY paths git doesn't track and that
don't live in a submodule, so it can never remove real work.

## When to use

- **Periodic cleanup** — run on a `/loop` so junk never accumulates.
- **Before a commit or cascade** — clear OS cruft that would otherwise ride along.
- **After a long session** — sweep the `/tmp` scratch the fleet's own tooling leaves behind.

## Run it

```bash
# Dry-run (default): report what WOULD be deleted, delete nothing.
node .claude/skills/fleet/tidying-files/lib/tidy-files.mts

# Act: delete the junk fleet-wide.
node .claude/skills/fleet/tidying-files/lib/tidy-files.mts --fix

# One repo.
node .claude/skills/fleet/tidying-files/lib/tidy-files.mts --fix --repo socket-cli
```

Reads the canonical roster from `cascading-fleet/lib/fleet-repos.txt`; resolves repos under
`$PROJECTS` (default `~/projects`).

## Periodic, no-prompt operation

```
/loop 6h /fleet:tidying-files --fix
```

Safe unattended: the deletion is gated to never-wanted patterns AND a per-path
git-safe check, so a `--fix` run can only ever remove junk.

## What it deletes (and what it never touches)

- **Junk basenames**: `.DS_Store` (+ variants), `Thumbs.db`, `Desktop.ini`, `*.orig`, `*.rej`,
  `*.swp`/`*.swo`, `*~`, `*.pyc`, `__pycache__/`.
- **Stray tmp scratch** (outside any repo): orphaned `/tmp/cascade-*` dirs + dry-run logs.
- **Never**: a git-tracked file (a tracked file matching a junk pattern is a deliberate
  fixture), or anything inside a submodule (it belongs to the submodule's own git — deleting
  it would dirty the submodule). Each candidate is checked via `isUntrackedNonSubmodulePath`
  before removal; deletion uses `safeDelete` from `@socketsecurity/lib/fs/safe`.

## Relationship to sweep-ds-store

The `sweep-ds-store` Stop hook removes only `.DS_Store`, at edit time, in the current repo.
This skill is the fleet-wide, multi-pattern, periodic complement.

## Conservative contract

- Dry-run by default; `--fix` opts into deletion.
- Deletes only untracked-or-ignored paths, never tracked files, never submodule-internal paths.
- No prompting — the safety is in the predicate, not a confirmation step.