config/deploy

Stray file committed by blanket staging

#73rare3 sightingsfirst seen September 2026

What goes wrong

A tool or editor writes a by-product (scratch notes, a merge backup copy, a checkpoint folder) outside every ignore rule, and staging every file at once commits it. The repository then carries a frozen, contradictory duplicate, or publishes internal ids that were never meant to leave the machine.

Example

After a merge, staging every file at once picks up the backup copy of the config file; a month later someone edits that copy, believing it is the live config.

Not to be confused with

An accidental file, not deliberate test data and not stale documentation (False Behavioral Guarantee).

Discovered by

@sks24git GitHub

Field notes · 1

@sks24git2026-09-03beat 1 review round
Resolving a workflow merge conflict with a tool left a .orig backup beside the real file, and a tool add swept it in. The repo now carries a frozen, contradictory copy of its CI that nothing runs.
Run a tool status before every commit after patch. Backup files are silent and look like sources.
One file per truth. A stale copy beside the real one is a second source of truth by accident.