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Feature plan: Step 1 · Step 2 · Step 3 · Step 4

Debug mode: enabled (debug log)

Effort study: railspike-effort / v3/retraction_speed; host ledger. Standing P2 enrollment.

Extended estimates: enabled

Status: Step 2 approved on 2026-11-09; Step 3 drafted; implementation unapproved.

Cycle estimate: 0.25 (reaffirmed)

Completion Contract

  • Normal entry: an author retracts from the site, or an agent retracts through the API (prepare_retraction, create_prepared_retraction).

  • End-to-end outcome: the retraction returns in about a second; the thread shows the deleted placeholder immediately; unrelated cached pages stay; the read model equals a fresh full rebuild.

  • Required recovery: when the targeted path cannot be used or fails, the retraction completes through today's full rebuild and full page clearing; a repeated request still recovers a half-finished retraction.

  • Deployment/external verification: one signed retraction of a test post by "claude" on zenmemes.com, timed, with the thread and one unrelated cached page checked.

  • Release condition: local equality, fallback and timing tests, then the zenmemes.com check.

Key Risks

  • High risk: a retraction field differs from an operator deletion, so the targeted result drifts from a full rebuild. Validate in Stage 2 with equality tests before anything else in that stage. Mitigate: extend applyPostRemoval() for the field, or fall back.

  • The targeted page set misses a page that showed the post. Validate in Stage 2 by comparing against the pages a full build would clear for that post. Mitigate: the same set already serves delete-record; add the missing page there for both.

Stage 1 - Removal context check is shared

Estimate: 0.04

  • Goal: one place decides whether a post can be removed with the targeted update.

  • Dependencies: none.

  • Expected changes: move SourceLabelRemoval::incrementalContext() into a small shared class (for example RemovalUpdateContext::forPost()) returning thread id, tags and author profile slug, or null. SourceLabelRemoval calls it; behaviour unchanged.

  • Verification approach: delete-record tests (SourceLabelRemovalTest, incremental removal tests) and the smoke set.

  • Estimate details: driver: a mechanical move; uncertainty: low.

  • Risks or open questions: none.

  • Canonical components/API contracts touched: SourceLabelRemoval.

Stage 2 - Retractions update one post and its pages

Estimate: 0.14

  • Goal: a retraction updates the read model and cached pages for that post only, with the full rebuild as fallback.

  • Dependencies: Stage 1.

  • Expected changes: in finalizePreparedRetraction(), take the context before the commit; after it, run applyPostRemoval() with the accepted retraction, AcceptedRetraction::path() and no removed labels, then invalidateRemovedPost(). On no context or any error, run today's refresh and full clearing. Clear the stale marker on success and set it on failure, as the full path does. Remove invalidateRetractedPostArtifacts() if nothing else uses it.

  • Verification approach: new tests comparing the read model after a targeted retraction with a fresh full rebuild for a thread root, a reply, a post with labels and a thread with other replies; a forced failure of the targeted update completes through the full rebuild; an unrelated static page survives; repeating a half-finished retraction recovers. Existing retraction tests in WriteApiSmokeTest and SingleRequestPostingTest.

  • Estimate details: driver: equality tests over all post tables; uncertainty: medium.

  • Risks or open questions:

    • Impact: a mismatch would show wrong state until the next full rebuild.

    • Early warning / validation: equality tests written first.

    • Mitigation: fix the field, or route that case to the fallback.

  • Canonical components/API contracts touched: LocalWriteService::finalizePreparedRetraction(), IncrementalReadModelUpdater::applyPostRemoval(), StaticArtifactInvalidator::invalidateRemovedPost().

Stage 3 - Timing, docs and the live check

Estimate: 0.07

  • Goal: measured speed, updated docs, and the zenmemes.com check.

  • Dependencies: Stage 2.

  • Expected changes: concept entries post retraction and incremental source removal; the checklist moves profile names to cycle 3.

  • Verification approach: time a signed retraction on the 30,000-quote local copy (target under 1 second, against about 9 seconds today). After deploy, "claude" retracts a test post on zenmemes.com through frm.py; record the response time, the thread placeholder and that an unrelated cached page still exists. Smoke set plus changed tests.

  • Estimate details: driver: the host round trip; uncertainty: low.

  • Risks or open questions: if the host time misses about a second, report it before closeout.

  • Canonical components/API contracts touched: concept entries and checklist only.

Concepts Touched

Post retraction changed (Stage 2); incremental source removal changed (Stages 1–2); static publication used; derived read-model rebuild used (fallback).

Study Checkpoint

2026-11-09T23:32:38Z; scope v1/A, starting revision f046bd8, R1/P2; R1 hashes not re-verified. User explicitly approved Step 2. Whole-cycle 0.25 reaffirmed. Stage work 0.04/0.14/0.07, non-additive. Claude, single exposed rater. Await Approved Step 3.

— Claude · 2026-11-09 UTC · Model: claude-opus-5-5