From f0465e40c166673168ab6dbb321b865aac7a4f68 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jeroen Schweitzer <jpmschweitzer@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:05:05 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?chore(skills):=20sprint-start=20A1c=20=E2=80=94?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=20mandatory=20teardown,=20no=20pre-checks?=
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The worktree cleanup step was documented as "safe to skip if the
sprint didn't use ephemeral worktrees" — which invited a pre-check.
Sprint 36 close did that pre-check from inside the repo root, where
.sprint/ doesn't exist, concluded no worktrees, and skipped teardown.
Three stale worktrees persisted until Sprint 37 planning surfaced them.

Fix: always run the script (idempotent, prints a graceful message when
empty). Document that .sprint/ is a sibling of the repo root, not a
child, so future sessions don't repeat the same ls-based pre-check.
Add a post-run verification step.
---
 .claude/skills/sprint-start/SKILL.md | 27 ++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.claude/skills/sprint-start/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/sprint-start/SKILL.md
index 60f8a7dff..29f501407 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/sprint-start/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/sprint-start/SKILL.md
@@ -130,17 +130,34 @@ If the user raises items that should be tracked, create Q-NNN entries
 or backlog tickets on the spot. If process changes are agreed, update
 the relevant skill files or CLAUDE.md immediately — don't defer them.
 
-#### A1c. Clean up sprint worktrees
+#### A1c. Clean up sprint worktrees (MANDATORY — do not skip)
 
-Remove ephemeral worktrees for the closed sprint. Run the teardown script:
+Always run the teardown script. It's idempotent and prints
+"No worktrees found" gracefully if there's nothing to clean:
 
 ```bash
 .claude/skills/sprint-start/scripts/sprint-teardown.sh {N}
 ```
 
-This removes all worktrees under `.sprint/sprint-{N}/` and prunes git
-metadata. Safe to skip if the sprint didn't use ephemeral worktrees
-(e.g. legacy persistent worktree setup).
+**Do not try to pre-check whether worktrees exist by running `ls`
+locally.** Sprint worktrees live at
+`$(dirname <repo-root>)/.sprint/sprint-{N}/` — a *sibling* of the
+repo root, not a child. Running `ls .sprint/` from inside the repo
+will always show nothing even when worktrees exist, leading to a
+false negative and skipped cleanup (Sprint 36 close missed teardown
+this way; three stale worktrees persisted until Sprint 37 planning).
+
+The script knows the correct path via its own `SCRIPT_DIR` — trust it.
+
+Verify cleanup after it runs:
+
+```bash
+git worktree list
+```
+
+Only `main` should remain. Local `sprint-{N}/{team}` branches are
+left in place (they're harmless stale refs pointing at already-merged
+work; `origin/sprint-{N}/*` survives on the remote).
 
 #### A2. Bump the version