[11.0][A2] Remove dead author-facing metadata properties (ADR-0049 enforce-or-remove)

[os-zhuang]

Part of 11.0 breaking-change batch (#2364), ADR-0049 enforce-or-remove.

Remove author-facing metadata properties that pass schema validation but have no runtime consumer (verified against packages/spec/liveness/*.json + grep of plugins/services/objectql/runtime). Authoring them is a false affordance — especially dangerous for AI-authored metadata.

Verified-dead set (remove)

• field (spec/src/data/field.zod.ts): vectorConfig, fileAttachmentConfig, dependencies, caseSensitive
• object (spec/src/data/object.zod.ts): versioning, partitioning, softDelete, recordName, keyPrefix, tags, abstract, isSystem, active, dead enable.* flags (trackHistory, searchable, files, feeds, activities, trash, mru), search, defaultDetailForm
• action (spec/src/ui/action.zod.ts): type: 'form' (enum value, no renderer)
• agent (spec/src/ai/agent.zod.ts): tenantId, planning.strategy, planning.allowReplan (keep planning.maxIterations — live)
• dataset (spec/src/ui/dataset.zod.ts): measures.certified

Explicitly KEEP (LIVE — do not remove)

field.currencyConfig, object.apiEnabled, action.disabled/shortcut/bulkEnabled, agent.access/permissions, skill.triggerPhrases/permissions.

Why this cascades

zod schemas are strict — if any example sets one of these, removing the field breaks the example build. Each property: grep examples first (e.g. showcase may set dataset.measures.certified: true).

Per-property checklist

• Remove zod property (+ its dedicated sub-schema export + inferred type if only used here)
• Flip the packages/spec/liveness/<type>.json entry to removed
• Update/remove spec tests asserting the property
• Migrate any example that set it
• pnpm --filter @objectstack/spec gen:api-surface + commit snapshot
• Add a 11.0 changelog/migration note (esp. aspirational versioning/partitioning/softDelete)

Risk: low–medium; many entries → split into 1–2 PRs (field/dataset first, object aspirational blocks with migration note).

[os-zhuang]

De-risking complete — scope split (safe vs risky) + execution plan

Verified across framework + objectui + cloud + hotcrm + templates (BSD-grep caveat: must use [[:space:]], not \s; control label: = 9887 confirms the grep works):

Every dead candidate is set 0× and read 0× in configs/UI across all repos. So removal breaks no config. The real risk is spec's own tests + TS read-access — and that splits the set cleanly:

✅ Safe to remove (unique names, findable test footprint)

• field: vectorConfig (+VectorConfigSchema+types), fileAttachmentConfig (+FileAttachmentConfigSchema+types), maxRating, caseSensitive, referenceFilters — test footprint only in field.test.ts/widget.test.ts (vectorConfig + fileAttachmentConfig have whole describe blocks to delete; maxRating/caseSensitive trivial; referenceFilters = 2 fixture lines).
• object: partitioning, softDelete, recordName, keyPrefix, defaultDetailForm (+ their sub-schemas) — 0–1 spec test files.
• dataset: measures.certified.
• agent: tenantId — findable in agent.zod but the NAME is overloaded in tests (see risky).

⚠️ Risky — DO NOT bulk-remove (names overloaded; can't separate spec-prop test usage from noise)

field.index, field.columnName, field.dependencies, object.versioning, object.tags, object.active, object.abstract, object.isSystem, object.search, object.enable.* (trackHistory/searchable/files/feeds/activities/trash/mru), agent.tenantId, action.timeout.

• dependencies 18 test files, versioning 8, tenantId 21, tags 26, active 21, search 9, index 5 — almost all unrelated (package deps, storage versioning, tenant context, array index, full-text search). Removing risks breaking tests that can't be reliably located.
• These are unenforced but harmless; recommend either leaving them or handling each with per-occurrence inspection in a dedicated pass — NOT worth the blast radius in a batch.

Recommended execution

Per-area PRs for the safe set only (field → object → dataset), each: remove zod prop + sub-schema + type exports → update packages/spec/liveness/<type>.json → delete the matching test cases → gen:api-surface → full vitest run in spec (not just the file). Leave the overloaded-name props.

[os-zhuang]

First batch landed → #2402 (merged). Removed the truly-trivial, zero-non-spec-footprint dead props: field caseSensitive, maxRating; object partitioning (+PartitioningConfigSchema), defaultDetailForm. Ledgers + api-surface updated; spec 6595 + Test Core + liveness all green.

Lesson / scope refinement: softDelete and measures.certified were in my 'safe' list but turned out to be set in non-spec test fixtures (mcp; analytics ×7) → Test Core went red; both deferred (need fixture migration). So the remaining #2377 work = those two + the overloaded-name set (tags/active/versioning/dependencies/index/columnName/enable.*/agent.tenantId/action.timeout). Reconfirms: for spec-prop removal, grep ALL package tests (not just spec) for set-usage before removing.

[os-zhuang]

Re-evaluation + next slice → #3176 (draft).

Re-audited the remaining dead set against the current liveness ledgers on main. Findings that update the earlier triage:

• The "overloaded-name / hard to grep" blocker is gone: every dead prop now carries a status: dead + evidence entry in packages/spec/liveness/*.json, so removal no longer depends on grepping ambiguous names.
• The real remaining gate is the Studio metadata-authoring forms (*.form.ts) + their generated i18n bundles. Many dead props are surfaced in the authoring form, so removing them cascades into i18n regeneration — those are deferred as a coordinated follow-up.

Removed in #3176 (dead and not surfaced in any authoring form → self-contained)

• field: vectorConfig, fileAttachmentConfig, dependencies
• object: versioning, softDelete, search, recordName, keyPrefix (+ sub-schemas; each now a rejecting tombstone in UNKNOWN_KEY_GUIDANCE)
• action: timeout
• agent: planning.strategy, planning.allowReplan (keep planning.maxIterations)
• dataset: measures.certified

Ledgers + README table + api-surface.json + json-schema.manifest.json updated; fixtures migrated (analytics/rest/lint/cli). Spec 6875 green, liveness gate ✓, api-surface ✓. Cuts 16.0.0 (major changeset).

Deferred (dead, but entangled — need a follow-up)

• Authoring-form-surfaced (removal ⇒ i18n bundle regen): field index/columnName/referenceFilters; object tags/active/isSystem/abstract/enable.searchable/enable.trash/enable.mru; agent tenantId.
• action.type:'form' — has a dedicated build-time lint (lint-view-refs.ts) + a first-party app-showcase action; removing it needs a UX decision (what the "Log Time" action becomes), not a mechanical strip.
• field.columnName — additionally referenced by the ADR-0062 D7 external-object lint (whose comment frames it as the "managed-object mechanism", contradicting the ledger's dead), so it needs an owner call, not a sweep.

All deferred entries stay dead + authorWarn so authors still get the build-time warning. Note: several items in the original issue body are already LIVE and must not be removed — enable.trackHistory/files/feeds/activities (plugin-audit enforced) and agent.planning.maxIterations.

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