Architecture: absorb Data Machine Code and archive its repository

[chubes4]

Problem

wp-coding-agents and data-machine-code now split ownership of one coding-agent operating surface. wp-coding-agents installs, upgrades, configures, verifies, and conditionally excludes DMC, while also replacing DMC worktree callbacks so Homeboy can own the effective lifecycle. DMC retains a large parallel workspace, Git, cleanup, storage, CLI, and ability control plane whose repository boundary now creates adapter churn and duplicated ownership.

The standalone DMC architecture also preserves product modes that may no longer justify their maintenance cost. Co-located coding runtimes already provide native file, search, shell, Git, and GitHub tools; Data Machine owns agent composition and execution; Homeboy owns orchestrated worktree lifecycle.

Related evidence:

• Architecture: simplify workspace execution around bounded operations and explicit services data-machine-code#1243 documents overlapping workspace execution paths and the size of the current control plane.
• Bind DMC worktree abilities to Homeboy without circular provider ownership #474 made Homeboy authoritative while preserving DMC ability schemas through a wp-coding-agents adapter.
• Architecture: unify setup and upgrade behind one desired-state reconciler #455 established the desired-state reconciler direction for wp-coding-agents setup and upgrades.
• Data Machine already owns composed AGENTS.md; wp-coding-agents controls whether that surface is enabled.

Direction

Make wp-coding-agents the sole owner of coding-runtime and workspace integration. Move only the capabilities required by active installations and consumers. Delete or extract the rest instead of transplanting the complete DMC implementation.

Target ownership:

• wp-coding-agents: runtime installation, workspace discovery and policy, host capability detection, coding guidance, process attribution, upgrades, verification, and WordPress-facing adapters.
• Data Machine: generic agent identity, memory, abilities, flows, jobs, and composition.
• Homeboy: orchestrated worktree lifecycle, evidence, promotion, release, and cleanup.
• Focused Data Machine extensions: any confirmed shell-less GitHub or pipeline integration that remains independently valuable.

Because wp-coding-agents is currently an installer/reconciler rather than one conventional plugin, add one small carried plugin or MU-plugin only if a WordPress-resident capability surface is required. Do not copy DMC wholesale into this repository.

Migration Sequence

1. Freeze new DMC feature development and inventory active consumers of PHP classes, filters, WP-CLI commands, ability slugs, persisted flows, and bundle artifacts.
2. Classify every DMC subsystem as move, replace, extract, or delete, with an identified runtime consumer for every retained capability.
3. Implement the minimum WordPress-facing contract in wp-coding-agents and route orchestrated worktree operations directly to Homeboy.
4. Replace DMC environment and capability dependencies in Intelligence, Data Machine, WP Codebox, generated guidance, and other confirmed consumers.
5. Migrate persisted ability/flow contracts where concrete compatibility is required, using a bounded transition rather than permanent duplicate ownership.
6. Remove DMC installation, upgrade, release, adapter, and verification paths from wp-coding-agents.
7. Migrate live installations and prove setup, upgrade, local workspace, external WordPress, and Homeboy-managed workflows without DMC.
8. Release the replacement and archive Extra-Chill/data-machine-code.

Initial Retention Test

Retain a DMC capability only when an active consumer cannot use the simpler owning-layer primitive. Likely retained or replaced surfaces include:

• Workspace root and repository discovery.
• Narrow host capability checks currently consumed by Intelligence.
• WordPress ability adapters required by confirmed in-process callers.
• Temporary stable ability identifiers required by persisted flows or bundles.

Likely deletion or extraction candidates include:

• DMC-owned worktree lifecycle, inventory, cleanup, locks, and retention after Homeboy owns the lifecycle.
• Workspace file read/write/edit and Git wrappers that duplicate coding-runtime tools.
• Runtime release/source reconciliation owned by wp-coding-agents.
• AGENTS.md ownership and projection responsibilities already owned by Data Machine and wp-coding-agents.
• Code-task, run-artifact, review-flow, GitHub, and pipeline surfaces without confirmed consumers.

Acceptance Criteria

• wp-coding-agents setup and upgrade no longer install or update data-machine-code.
• No wp-coding-agents runtime, generated MU-plugin, guidance file, service, or verification path depends on the DMC plugin or repository.
• Homeboy is the only orchestrated worktree lifecycle owner.
• Local coding-agent workflows retain a simple tracked and reviewable Git workspace path without DMC.
• Confirmed in-process or shell-less consumers have an explicit replacement, focused extraction, or documented retirement.
• Intelligence, Data Machine, WP Codebox, and other confirmed consumers no longer reference DataMachineCode\ classes or DMC-owned runtime contracts.
• Persisted flow and bundle migrations are verified on representative installations.
• End-to-end setup, upgrade, workspace, external WordPress, and Homeboy-managed workflows pass without DMC installed.
• DMC open issues are closed, transferred, or superseded with traceable dispositions.
• The Extra-Chill/data-machine-code repository is archived as the final step.

AI Assistance

OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol via OpenCode compared both current repositories, traced their integration contracts and related issues, and drafted this consolidation tracker under Chris Huber's direction. Chris reviewed the architectural direction and requested that the work be tracked here with DMC archival as the terminal step.

Child Trackers

• Inventory Data Machine Code consumers and disposition every subsystem #527 inventory DMC consumers and disposition every subsystem.
• Architecture: unify setup and upgrade behind one desired-state reconciler #455 unify setup and upgrade behind one desired-state reconciler.
• Define DMC-free workspace mode and ownership contract #526 define DMC-free workspace mode and ownership.
• Establish the WordPress integration package boundary #530 establish the WordPress integration package boundary.
• Replace DMC-named integration contracts with owning-layer contracts #528 replace DMC-named integration contracts.
• Add a DMC-free workspace installation verification gate #529 add a DMC-free workspace installation verification gate.

The consumer inventory is the first Cook target; the remaining implementation order follows evidence from that inventory.

AI assistance: OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol via OpenCode de-duplicated and organized the preparatory tracker set under Chris Huber's direction.

[chubes4]

Completed.

• Data Machine Code runtime ownership was retired in Retire Data Machine Code integration paths #562, with supporting migration fixes in Fix retired option verification with noisy WP-CLI output #564, Fix local Kimaki plugin path resolution after desired-state sync #566, and Fix workspace authority reconciliation #567.
• Workspace repository declaration/materialization landed in feat: materialize declared workspace repositories #568.
• Persisted agent identity and automatic managed Codex projection refresh landed in Fix managed runtime projection convergence #569.
• Extra-Chill/data-machine-code is archived read-only; historical issues, plugin files, database state, and the local checkout were preserved.
• PR Fix managed runtime projection convergence #569 passed all 70 CI jobs.
• Live migration verification passed 66 passed, 0 failed, 3 skipped across 33 declared repositories and their origins.
• A repeated live upgrade.sh --agents-md-only run without --agent-slug resolved intelligence-chubes4 from the persisted installation profile and synchronized AGENTS.override.md from canonical AGENTS.md plus current Data Machine memory.

Reproduction: run ./upgrade.sh --local --wp-path <site> --agents-md-only, confirm the log reports the persisted --agent=<slug> during injectable-file discovery, then run ./verify.sh --site-path <site>.

AI assistance: OpenAI gpt-5.6-sol via OpenCode was used to inspect the ownership/convergence paths, implement and test the final repair, orchestrate the live verification, and assemble this completion evidence under human direction.