task-id-normalize-helper: false-positive advisory on HTML-commented TODO examples; range/slash IDs left half-normalised

What

task-id-normalize-helper.sh (added by GH#33612) has two defects observed on aidevops v3.39.43:

False-positive advisory from HTML-commented format examples. Repos initialised from the GH#17804-era template wrap the format examples in an HTML comment:
```

```
active_lines() tracks code fences, TOON blocks and archive headings, but not plain  comments. The task_line regex therefore treats these four example lines as live tasks. aidevops update printed the padded-ID advisory for 3 of my 4 managed repos, and in each of those 3 the only matches were these commented examples. --dry-run then proposes rewriting only those four lines. Per reference/task-identity-parser-inventory.md, examples "must not be mechanically rewritten".
Range and slash-separated IDs are skipped, which leaves mixed forms. task_pattern uses (?<![\w./-]) / (?![\w./-]), so tokens next to - or / never match. In todo/PLANS.md the dry run produces half-normalised prose such as:
- (t038.24-t038.25, t038.27, t038.29-t038.30) -> (t038.24-t038.25, t38.27, t038.29-t038.30)
- (t049: t050-t056) -> (t49: t050-t056)
- t095-t098 (... t098 blocks t113) -> t095-t098 (... t98 blocks t113)
- t065/t066 unchanged while neighbouring IDs are rewritten
The exclusion is presumably there to avoid branch names (feature/t022-x). An explicit tA-tB range form (both ends task tokens) and tA/tB could be handled separately.

How (worker-ready)

File: .agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh
- active_lines(): track an html_comment state. Enter it on a line containing . Yield those lines as inactive. Apply the same logic in --advisory mode, which already goes through active_lines().
- Add a range/pair pass: match (?<![\w./-])(t\d+(?:\.\d+)*)([-/])(t\d+(?:\.\d+)*)(?![\w./-]) and unpad both sides. Keep the existing single-token lookarounds so branch names stay untouched.
Reference pattern: the existing fence/TOON state machine in active_lines().

Verification

Temp git repo whose TODO.md contains the HTML-commented block above and nothing else: --advisory prints nothing and --dry-run proposes no rewrites.
PLANS.md containing t038.24-t038.25, t065/t066, feature/t022-x: dry run gives t38.24-t38.25, t65/t66 and leaves feature/t022-x unchanged.
Existing conflict refusal (t039 alongside t39) still exits non-zero.
shellcheck .agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh reports zero violations.

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This externally authored issue requires maintainer trust review before it can be processed by the pipeline.

A maintainer can approve it using:

sudo aidevops approve issue 34969

This posts a cryptographic approval comment and removes the label, allowing the pipeline to process the issue on the next pulse cycle.

@robstiles

Review: Recommendation: Approve

Pre-Review Context

Check	Result
Pre-existing duplicates	None (searched `task-id-normalize`, HTML comment, padded IDs)
Superseded by recent work	None. The helper has a single commit, `2a10aa4bba` (GH#33612/#33613); it is unchanged since. Checkout `bf5f46a576` equals remote `main`.
Framing matches reality	Yes. Both defects reproduce on current `main` (evidence below).
Current file state matches issue body references	Yes. `active_lines()` is at `.agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh:45-76` and `task_pattern` at `:34`.

Issue Validation

Check	Status	Notes
Reproducible	Yes	Defect 2 shows up on this repo's own `--dry-run`. In `TODO.md`, `t004 (~20h)` becomes `t4`, but `t004.1-5, t005.1-6` on the same line stay padded. `t012.6` becomes `t12.6`, but `t012.1-t012.5` stays padded. In `PLANS.md`, `t083-t094` stays padded while the table rows become `t83`…`t94`.
Not a pre-existing duplicate	Yes	—
Not superseded by recent work	Yes	—
Actual bug	Yes	Defect 1: `.agents/templates/todo-template.md:19-26` keeps format examples inside a GH#17804 HTML comment. Older installs had padded `t001` examples there. `active_lines()` does not track `<!-- … -->`, so `task_line` (`:37`) treats those lines as live. The sibling parser `issue-sync-lib-parse.sh` (`strip_code_fences` → `strip_html_comments`, `:54-64`) already excludes them, so the normalizer is the one that's out of step. `reference/task-identity-parser-inventory.md:24-26` says examples must not be mechanically rewritten. `aidevops update`/`init` run `--advisory` on every managed repo (`aidevops-update-lib.sh:145`, `aidevops-init-lib.sh:1277`), so the false positive reaches users.
In scope	Yes	Opt-in migration helper owned by GH#33612.

Root cause: the helper uses one fixed lexical grammar. The context state machine has no HTML-comment state. The token regex's lookarounds (?<![\w./-])…(?![\w./-]) reject branch names, but they also reject legitimate tA-tB, tA/tB and tA.N-M compounds.

Resolution plan (one canonical fix in `.agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh`)

HTML comments in active_lines(): add a comment state next to fence/toon. A line that opens  on the same line enters the state. The line containing --> leaves it. Exclude  on a task line leaves the task line active. Match the semantics of strip_html_comments. Keep the existing TOON close at :74 so it doesn't consume the HTML-comment terminator.
Compound tokens: replace the reporter's separate pair pass with one compound tokenizer, so that chains and shorthand ranges are handled too. Let T = t[0-9]+(?:\.[0-9]+)*. Match (?<![\w./-])T(?:[-/](?:T|[0-9]+))*(?![\w./-]) and unpad each T member inside the match.
- feature/t022-x stays unchanged (the lookbehind rejects it).
- t005.1-diag-1 stays unchanged (the lookahead still rejects it).
- t004.1-5 becomes t4.1-5, and t038.24-t038.25-t038.27 is normalized in full.
Conflict safety (required): ids() (:78) and seed() (:147) must use the same tokenizer. If they don't, range members bypass the t039/t39 ambiguity refusal at :126-145 and the counter-seed invariant.

Verification

A scratch repo whose TODO.md holds only the commented example block: --advisory prints nothing and --dry-run proposes no rewrites.
PLANS.md containing t038.24-t038.25, t065/t066, t004.1-5, t005.1-diag-1, feature/t022-x gives t38.24-t38.25, t65/t66, t4.1-5 and leaves the last two unchanged.
t039-t040 alongside t39 exits non-zero with CONFLICT.
--dry-run on this repo shows no line that is still mixed padded/unpadded after rewrite.
shellcheck reports zero violations.
No test file exists for this helper. A small focused tests/test-task-id-normalize-helper.sh is justified here, because --apply rewrites planning files.

Second-Order Effects

Dimension	Finding
Architectural intent	Aligned. This brings the helper in line with the issue-sync parser and the inventory rule on examples.
Safety gates touched	None. It does not touch dispatch, approval or privacy gates. The conflict-refusal invariant must be preserved (step 3).
Symptom vs root cause	Root cause (grammar/context), not an output filter.
Ripple effects	`--advisory` output during `aidevops update`/`init` goes quiet for commented-only repos. `--dry-run`/`--apply` rewrite more range IDs, which is intended. The counter seed may count more padded IDs, but only to the extent they already counted as single tokens, so the high-water mark cannot decrease. Docs in `task-identity-parser-inventory.md:32-38` stay accurate.
Rollback path	Trivial revert of one helper. `--apply` was always opt-in.

Scope & Recommendation

Scope creep: Low
Complexity: Medium (tier:standard). The tokenizer and conflict-set coupling need care.
Recommendation: APPROVE
PR disposition: NOT APPLICABLE. No PR yet. After approval this goes to the worker pipeline.
Labels: bug, tier:standard, auto-dispatch
Implementation guidance: the plan above. The reporter's "How" is accepted with two refinements: the compound tokenizer instead of a pair-only pass, and the shared tokenizer for ids()/seed().

Dispatchability Assessment

Check	Status	Notes
Brief exists	No	The issue body acts as the brief: file, pattern and verification are present.
Brief has code blocks	Partial	Regex given inline; enough for `tier:standard`.
TODO entry with ref	No	—
Task ID claimed	No	—

Tier prerequisite met: Yes for tier:standard.
What's needed to dispatch: maintainer approval (clears needs-maintainer-review), then the tier and auto-dispatch labels.

Maintainer approval

sudo aidevops approve issue 34969 marcusquinn/aidevops

Thanks for the precise report and repro, @robstiles.

aidevops.sh v3.39.43 plugin for OpenCode v1.19.3 with claude-opus-5-5

Maintainer Approval (cryptographically signed)

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task-id-normalize-helper: false-positive advisory on HTML-commented TODO examples; range/slash IDs left half-normalised #34969

What

How (worker-ready)

Verification

Review: Recommendation: Approve

Pre-Review Context

Issue Validation

Resolution plan (one canonical fix in `.agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh`)

Second-Order Effects

Scope & Recommendation

Dispatchability Assessment

Maintainer approval

Maintainer Approval (cryptographically signed)

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task-id-normalize-helper: false-positive advisory on HTML-commented TODO examples; range/slash IDs left half-normalised #34969

Description

What

How (worker-ready)

Verification

Activity

github-actions commented on Oct 18, 2026

marcusquinn commented on Oct 18, 2026

Review: Recommendation: Approve

Pre-Review Context

Issue Validation

Resolution plan (one canonical fix in .agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh)

Second-Order Effects

Scope & Recommendation

Dispatchability Assessment

Maintainer approval

marcusquinn commented on Oct 18, 2026

Maintainer Approval (cryptographically signed)

marcusquinn commented on Oct 18, 2026

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Issue actions

Resolution plan (one canonical fix in `.agents/scripts/task-id-normalize-helper.sh`)