Every migration in `LifeosUpgrade.ts` throws on `apply()`, so its documented default mode cannot succeed

[tzioup]

---

LIFEOS/TOOLS/LifeosUpgrade.ts documents itself as a migration runner, but all seven registered migrations throw unconditionally when applied. The default mode described in the header can therefore only ever exit 1 at the first not-yet-applied migration.

Reproduced against a clean clone of main at 4e33cc8 — no local install involved.

Reproduce

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/danielmiessler/LifeOS /tmp/lifeos-check
cd /tmp/lifeos-check/LifeOS/install/LIFEOS/TOOLS

# 7 migrations registered
grep -cE '^\s*id: "m-' LifeosUpgrade.ts
# → 7

# 7 apply() bodies that throw
grep -cE 'throw new Error\("m-00' LifeosUpgrade.ts
# → 7

# rollback is declared but never called anywhere in the file
grep -n 'rollback' LifeosUpgrade.ts
# → 37:  /** Optional rollback for emergencies; not run automatically. */
# → 38:  rollback?: (ctx: MigrationContext) => void;
# (no call site)

The contradiction

The file header (lines 3–7) states:

default runs all not-yet-applied migrations in registry order, fail-loud.

and documents exit code 0 as "all migrations applied or already-applied".

runMigrations() (line 259) iterates toApply and calls m.apply(ctx) inside a try/catch that exits 1 on throw (lines 268–275). Since every apply() throws, the only reachable exit-0 path is toApply.length === 0 — i.e. everything already detected as applied. If any migration is detected as not-applied, the tool cannot do anything about it; it reports and exits 1.

The individual throw messages are consistent about this and read as deliberate — several say "detect-only", "manual remediation required", or point to an interactive session (m-004: "Run the Phase G migration session interactively per PhaseG-design.md, NOT via LifeosUpgrade.ts. This migration is detect-only."). So the implementation looks intentional; it's the documented contract that doesn't match it.

Why this matters for the project

Anyone upgrading in place reads "idempotent migration runner", runs the default mode, gets a non-zero exit and the words "Migration halted. Partial state may exist." That message suggests a failed write and a possibly-inconsistent install, when in fact nothing was attempted or mutated. That's an alarming false signal on a path users hit exactly when they're already unsure whether their install is healthy.

There's also no persisted ledger — applied-state is re-derived by filesystem inspection on every run (each migration's isApplied()), so there's no record of what a previous run concluded.

Suggested fix (one concrete action)

Make the contract match the code: document and behave as a detect-only diagnostic.

• Header: replace "default runs all not-yet-applied migrations" with a statement that all current migrations are detect-only and remediation is manual.
• runMigrations(): when every toApply entry is detect-only, print the remediation list and exit 0 with findings (or a distinct code documented as "action required"), rather than exiting 1 with "Partial state may exist" after attempting nothing.
• Either drop the unused rollback? field or note in the interface comment that no migration currently implements it.

Happy to open a PR for the header + runMigrations() change if that framing is right. I've deliberately not proposed implementing the seven apply() paths, since the throw messages suggest that's intentional and some of them require interactive authorization.

---

Related context, not duplicates: #1539 (installer hook inventory), #1541 (ReferenceCheck.ts), #1543 (nudge layer). This one is a separate subsystem with a separate fix.

[danielmiessler]

Fixed in source. You were right that the contract and the code disagreed. All seven migrations are now explicitly marked detect-only; default mode reports pending ones with their remediation instructions and exits 3 (action required, nothing modified) instead of exit 1 with the false "Partial state may exist". Exit 1 is reserved for a genuine apply failure. The header now documents the real semantics. Ships with the next release.