ADR 0004: Task files are gitignored

Status

Accepted. Superseded by ADR-0060 — tasks are committed workspace flow artifacts.

Context

Task files are session-local execution packages tied to disposable worktrees. Committing them clutters history and encourages treating transient checklists as product truth.

Decision

Convention: .agents/tasks/ is gitignored. Durable knowledge must promote to audits, specs, research, bugs, or project docs before status: done.

Consequences

• Positive: worktrees stay disposable; prompts stay reproducible via source docs + template, not accidental task prose.
• Negative: forgetting promotion loses findings — mitigated by the task template's pre-close Self-review gate (the always-loaded manage-task/documentation-gatekeeper skills were removed — see ADR 0017).

Ledger note (2026-06-11): superseded by ADR-0060 (flow artifacts are committed workspace content).