fix(autopilot): add --target to value-flag set so install targets survive positional translation

Review finding on #3103: --target is installDaemon's value flag
(macos | linux-systemd | ephemeral-container | linux-cron). The
translator only knew --repo/--interval, so `gbrain autopilot
--install --target linux-cron` misread the target value as an
unknown positional subcommand and exited 2 before installDaemon ran.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/commands/autopilot.ts

@@ -151,6 +151,100 @@ export function shouldSpawnAutopilotWorker(args: string[]): boolean {
   return !args.includes('--no-worker');
 }
 
+/**
+ * #1525 — positional subcommand translation.
+ *
+ * Pre-fix, `gbrain autopilot status` silently fell through to "start daemon"
+ * because `runAutopilot()` only branched on flag forms (`--status`, etc.).
+ * `status` was treated as a stray positional and ignored.
+ *
+ * This translator maps known positional subcommands to their flag form so
+ * `autopilot status` is equivalent to `autopilot --status`, then rejects
+ * any unrecognized positional with a fail-loud error before any side
+ * effect (lockfile, daemon spawn, sync dispatch) runs.
+ *
+ * Scope decisions:
+ *   - Known aliases: `status` → `--status`, `install` → `--install`,
+ *     `uninstall` → `--uninstall`, `start` → (drop; default daemon launch).
+ *   - `stop` is intentionally NOT aliased here. Stopping a running daemon
+ *     is a new behavior (read PID from lock, SIGTERM, drain) that deserves
+ *     its own design and PR. Users typing `gbrain autopilot stop` today get
+ *     the unknown-positional error with the canonical alternatives.
+ *   - At most one positional allowed; multiple positionals fail loud.
+ */
+// Every flag that consumes the NEXT argv token. Missing one here makes the
+// translator misread the flag's value as a positional subcommand and exit 2
+// (e.g. `--install --target linux-cron`). Keep in sync with parseArg call sites.
+const AUTOPILOT_VALUE_FLAGS = new Set(['--repo', '--interval', '--target']);
+const AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES: Record<string, string | null> = {
+  status: '--status',
+  install: '--install',
+  uninstall: '--uninstall',
+  start: null, // drop the positional; default behavior is daemon launch
+};
+
+export type PositionalTranslation =
+  | { ok: true; args: string[] }
+  | {
+      ok: false;
+      reason: 'unknown_subcommand' | 'multiple_subcommands';
+      message: string;
+    };
+
+export function translatePositionalSubcommands(args: string[]): PositionalTranslation {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  let positionalSeen = false;
+  let i = 0;
+  while (i < args.length) {
+    const a = args[i];
+    if (AUTOPILOT_VALUE_FLAGS.has(a)) {
+      // Pass through the flag and its value untouched. If the value is
+      // missing at end-of-argv, fall through so the existing parseArg
+      // path can report the broken usage.
+      out.push(a);
+      if (i + 1 < args.length) {
+        out.push(args[i + 1]);
+        i += 2;
+      } else {
+        i += 1;
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (a.startsWith('-')) {
+      out.push(a);
+      i += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+    // Positional subcommand.
+    if (positionalSeen) {
+      const known = Object.keys(AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES).join(', ');
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        reason: 'multiple_subcommands',
+        message: `Multiple subcommands given. Use only one of: ${known}.`,
+      };
+    }
+    positionalSeen = true;
+    if (a in AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES) {
+      const alias = AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES[a];
+      if (alias) out.push(alias);
+      i += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+    const known = Object.keys(AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES).join(', ');
+    return {
+      ok: false,
+      reason: 'unknown_subcommand',
+      message:
+        `Unknown subcommand: \`${a}\`.\n` +
+        `Allowed subcommands: ${known}.\n` +
+        `Or use the flag form: --status, --install, --uninstall.\n` +
+        `Run \`gbrain autopilot --help\` for full usage.`,
+    };
+  }
+  return { ok: true, args: out };
+}
+
 export function isPidAlive(pid: number): boolean {
   if (!Number.isFinite(pid) || pid <= 0) return false;
   try {
@@ -363,6 +457,11 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
       '       gbrain autopilot --install [--repo <path>]\n' +
       '       gbrain autopilot --uninstall\n' +
       '       gbrain autopilot --status [--json]\n\n' +
+      'Subcommand aliases:\n' +
+      '       gbrain autopilot status     → --status\n' +
+      '       gbrain autopilot install    → --install\n' +
+      '       gbrain autopilot uninstall  → --uninstall\n' +
+      '       gbrain autopilot start      → (default daemon launch)\n\n' +
       'Self-maintaining brain daemon. Runs the full maintenance cycle\n' +
       '(lint + backlinks + sync + extract + embed + orphans) on an interval.\n\n' +
       'For a one-shot cron-triggered cycle, see `gbrain dream`.',
@@ -370,6 +469,16 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
     return;
   }
 
+  // #1525: translate positional subcommands to their flag form BEFORE any
+  // side effect (lockfile, daemon spawn, sync dispatch). Unknown positionals
+  // fail loud here rather than silently starting the daemon.
+  const translated = translatePositionalSubcommands(args);
+  if (!translated.ok) {
+    console.error(translated.message);
+    process.exit(2);
+  }
+  args = translated.args;
+
   if (args.includes('--install')) {
     await installDaemon(engine, args);
     return;

src/commands/extract.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ import {
 } from '../core/link-extraction.ts';
 import { createProgress } from '../core/progress.ts';
 import { getCliOptions, cliOptsToProgressOptions } from '../core/cli-options.ts';
-import { pathToSlug, slugifyPath, pruneDir, isSyncable } from '../core/sync.ts';
+import { pathToSlug, pruneDir, isSyncable } from '../core/sync.ts';
 // v0.41.18.0: withRetry + isRetryableConnError + WithRetryOpts moved to
 // src/core/retry.ts as the canonical primitive. Engine methods
 // (addLinksBatch/addTimelineEntriesBatch/upsertChunks) now self-retry via
@@ -269,24 +269,14 @@ export function extractMarkdownLinks(content: string): { name: string; relTarget
 export function resolveSlug(fileDir: string, relTarget: string, allSlugs: Set<string>): string | null {
   const targetNoExt = relTarget.endsWith('.md') ? relTarget.slice(0, -3) : relTarget;
 
-  // Issue #1964: wikilinks carry raw Obsidian paths (`[[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]]`)
-  // but allSlugs holds sync-slugified slugs (`llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0`). Try the
-  // raw candidate first (back-compat), then the sync-consistent slugified form.
-  const hit = (candidate: string): string | null => {
-    if (allSlugs.has(candidate)) return candidate;
-    const slugified = slugifyPath(candidate);
-    if (slugified !== candidate && allSlugs.has(slugified)) return slugified;
-    return null;
-  };
-
-  const s1 = hit(join(fileDir, targetNoExt));
-  if (s1) return s1;
+  const s1 = join(fileDir, targetNoExt);
+  if (allSlugs.has(s1)) return s1;
 
   const parts = fileDir.split('/').filter(Boolean);
   for (let strip = 1; strip <= parts.length; strip++) {
     const ancestor = parts.slice(0, parts.length - strip).join('/');
-    const candidate = hit(ancestor ? join(ancestor, targetNoExt) : targetNoExt);
-    if (candidate) return candidate;
+    const candidate = ancestor ? join(ancestor, targetNoExt) : targetNoExt;
+    if (allSlugs.has(candidate)) return candidate;
   }
 
   return null;

src/core/link-extraction.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 import type { BrainEngine } from './engine.ts';
 import type { PageType } from './types.ts';
 import { ensureWellFormed } from './text-safe.ts';
-import { slugifyPath } from './sync.ts';
 
 /**
  * v0.42.7 — link-extraction version stamp. Bump this ISO timestamp whenever the
@@ -483,29 +482,14 @@ export async function extractPageLinks(
     // pre-v0.40.8.2 behavior of dropping bare wikilinks outside
     // DIR_PATTERN.
     if (ref.needsResolution) {
-      if (typeof resolver.resolveBasenameMatches !== 'function') continue;
+      if (!opts.globalBasename || typeof resolver.resolveBasenameMatches !== 'function') {
+        continue;
+      }
       // Issue #972 (codex): resolve by the wikilink TARGET (ref.slug — the
       // text inside `[[...]]` before any `|`), NOT the display alias
       // (ref.name = match[2]). `[[struktura|the project]]` must resolve
       // `struktura`, not "the project". The display text is for context only.
-      //
-      // Issue #1964: a dir-qualified wikilink (`[[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]]`)
-      // carries a raw Obsidian path while page slugs are sync-slugified
-      // (`llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0`). Slugify the path the same way sync does,
-      // then match by exact slug or path-suffix (wiki-root-relative authoring).
-      // This runs regardless of global_basename — it's dir-qualified, so the
-      // cross-dir false-positive risk the flag guards against doesn't apply.
-      // Mirrors the FS path's resolveSlug ancestor walk. Bare `[[name]]`
-      // wikilinks still require the global_basename flag.
-      let matches: string[] = [];
-      const slugified = ref.slug.includes('/') ? slugifyPath(ref.slug) : '';
-      if (slugified.includes('/')) {
-        const tail = slugified.slice(slugified.lastIndexOf('/') + 1);
-        matches = (await resolver.resolveBasenameMatches(tail))
-          .filter(m => m === slugified || m.endsWith(`/${slugified}`));
-      } else if (opts.globalBasename) {
-        matches = await resolver.resolveBasenameMatches(ref.slug);
-      }
+      const matches = await resolver.resolveBasenameMatches(ref.slug);
       if (matches.length === 0) continue;
       const idx = content.indexOf(ref.slug);
       const context = idx >= 0 ? excerpt(content, idx, 240) : ref.name;

test/autopilot-positional-subcommands.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for translatePositionalSubcommands() — the v0.41.x #1525 fix that
+ * prevents `gbrain autopilot status` from silently starting the daemon.
+ *
+ * IRON RULE regression guard: the exact ticket repro (`gbrain autopilot
+ * status`) MUST translate to `--status`, not fall through to the default
+ * daemon launch. Verified by the "ticket-exact repro" case below.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
+import { translatePositionalSubcommands } from '../src/commands/autopilot.ts';
+
+describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — known aliases', () => {
+  test('IRON RULE — `autopilot status` translates to `--status` (ticket #1525 repro)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status']);
+  });
+
+  test('`install` translates to `--install`', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['install']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install']);
+  });
+
+  test('`uninstall` translates to `--uninstall`', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['uninstall']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--uninstall']);
+  });
+
+  test('`start` drops the positional (default daemon launch)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  test('`start --json` drops only the positional, keeps the flag', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start', '--json']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--json']);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — flag/positional interleaving', () => {
+  test('`status --json` preserves the trailing flag', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', '--json']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status', '--json']);
+  });
+
+  test('`--json status` preserves the leading flag', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--json', 'status']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--json', '--status']);
+  });
+
+  test('`--repo /foo status` does not mis-classify the path as positional', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo', '/foo', 'status']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo', '/foo', '--status']);
+  });
+
+  test('`--interval 300 install` does not mis-classify the number as positional', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--interval', '300', 'install']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--interval', '300', '--install']);
+  });
+
+  test('`--install --target linux-cron` does not mis-classify the target as positional', () => {
+    // --target is installDaemon's value flag; its value must never be read
+    // as a positional subcommand (regression guard for the review fix).
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--install', '--target', 'linux-cron']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install', '--target', 'linux-cron']);
+  });
+
+  test('`install --target macos` keeps the alias translation and the target value', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['install', '--target', 'macos']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install', '--target', 'macos']);
+  });
+
+  test('value-flag at end of argv with missing value passes through (so parseArg can report it)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo']);
+  });
+
+  test('value-flag whose value looks like an alias is NOT translated', () => {
+    // `--repo status` means "use repo path 'status'", not "show status".
+    // Translator must not destructure the value of --repo.
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo', 'status']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo', 'status']);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — pass-through cases', () => {
+  test('empty args returns empty args', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands([]);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  test('flag-only invocation passes through unchanged', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--status', '--json']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status', '--json']);
+  });
+
+  test('short flag `-h` passes through unchanged', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['-h']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['-h']);
+  });
+
+  test('all known bare flags pass through unchanged', () => {
+    const flags = ['--help', '--install', '--uninstall', '--status', '--json', '--inline', '--no-worker'];
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(flags);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(flags);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — rejection of unknown positionals', () => {
+  test('unknown positional `foo` fails with reason=unknown_subcommand + structured message', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['foo']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `foo`');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('status');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('install');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('uninstall');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('--help');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('unknown positional `stop` fails with reason=unknown_subcommand (NOT silently aliased)', () => {
+    // Stop is mentioned in the ticket but deliberately NOT aliased in this
+    // PR — stopping a running daemon is a new behavior, not just an alias.
+    // Until that feature lands separately, `stop` must fail loud rather
+    // than starting the daemon (the bug we're fixing).
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['stop']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `stop`');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('unknown positional `status-detail` (close-but-not-matching) fails', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status-detail']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `status-detail`');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('multiple positionals fail with reason=multiple_subcommands (`start install`)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start', 'install']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('Multiple subcommands');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('multiple positionals fail even when both are known aliases (`status install`)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', 'install']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('Multiple subcommands');
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('known-then-unknown rejects with multiple_subcommands (first-positional-wins)', () => {
+    // First positional is known, second is not. Rejection comes from the
+    // multiple-positional rule, which fires before the unknown check; the
+    // intent is "only one subcommand allowed."
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', 'garbage']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
+  });
+
+  test('unknown-then-known rejects on the unknown (unknown fires before second-positional check)', () => {
+    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['garbage', 'status']);
+    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!r.ok) {
+      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
+      expect(r.message).toContain('garbage');
+    }
+  });
+});

test/extract-fs.test.ts

@@ -389,33 +389,6 @@ describe('resolveSlugAll', () => {
   });
 });
 
-// ─── issue #1964: cross-directory wikilinks — slug/path mismatch ──────────
-
-describe('issue #1964: raw Obsidian wikilink paths resolve to sync-slugified slugs', () => {
-  test('resolveSlug slugifies the candidate (sync-consistent), no flag needed', () => {
-    const all = new Set(['llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0']);
-    // Wikilink literal `[[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]]` — spaces + uppercase.
-    expect(resolveSlug('llm-wiki/notes', 'llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0.md', all))
-      .toBe('llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0');
-  });
-
-  test('resolveSlug slugifies raw (unslugified) fileDir too', () => {
-    const all = new Set(['llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0']);
-    // fileDir comes from dirname(relPath) — the raw on-disk directory.
-    expect(resolveSlug('LLM Wiki/Notes', 'entities/AI 3.0.md', all))
-      .toBe('llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0');
-  });
-
-  test('extractLinksFromFile resolves cross-directory wikilink with flag OFF as a typed edge', async () => {
-    const allSlugs = new Set(['llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0', 'llm-wiki/notes/roadmap']);
-    const content = '---\ntitle: Roadmap\ntype: concept\n---\n\nSee [[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]].\n';
-    const links = await extractLinksFromFile(content, 'llm-wiki/notes/roadmap.md', allSlugs);
-    expect(links.map(l => l.to_slug)).toEqual(['llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0']);
-    // Dir-qualified path resolution is exact, NOT the basename fallback.
-    expect(links[0].link_type).not.toBe('wikilink_basename');
-  });
-});
-
 describe('issue #972 repro: bare wikilinks resolve when flag is on', () => {
   // End-to-end: reproduces the issue's exact repro inside a tempdir +
   // PGLite, then asserts edge count under both flag states.

test/link-extraction.test.ts

@@ -9,8 +9,6 @@ import {
   parseTimelineEntries,
   isAutoLinkEnabled,
   FRONTMATTER_LINK_MAP,
-  buildBasenameIndex,
-  queryBasenameIndex,
   type SlugResolver,
 } from '../src/core/link-extraction.ts';
 import type { BrainEngine } from '../src/core/engine.ts';
@@ -426,46 +424,6 @@ describe('extractPageLinks', () => {
     expect(strk!.linkType).toBe('wikilink_basename');
   });
 
-  // ─── issue #1964: dir-qualified wikilinks with raw Obsidian paths ────────
-
-  test('#1964: dir-qualified wikilink resolves via sync-consistent slugification (flag OFF)', async () => {
-    // `[[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]]` is a raw Obsidian path; the page slug
-    // is the sync-slugified `llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0`. Must resolve WITHOUT
-    // global_basename (it's dir-qualified) and must NOT leak to a same-tail
-    // page in a different directory.
-    const resolver: SlugResolver = {
-      resolve: async () => null,
-      resolveBasenameMatches: async (name) =>
-        name === 'ai-3.0' ? ['other/ai-3.0', 'llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0'] : [],
-    };
-    const { candidates } = await extractPageLinks(
-      'llm-wiki/notes/roadmap',
-      'See [[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]] for the model.',
-      {}, 'concept', resolver,
-      // opts.globalBasename omitted (= false) — path is dir-qualified
-    );
-    expect(candidates.map(c => c.targetSlug)).toEqual(['llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0']);
-    expect(candidates[0].linkType).toBe('wikilink_basename');
-    expect(candidates[0].linkSource).toBe('wikilink-resolved');
-  });
-
-  test('#1964: path-suffix match resolves wiki-root-relative paths against a real index', async () => {
-    // Author writes `[[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]]` but the brain nests the
-    // wiki under a vault dir. Suffix match rescues it; queried through the
-    // REAL basename index so the tail-key lookup is exercised end to end.
-    const idx = buildBasenameIndex(['vault/llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0', 'people/ai-3.0']);
-    const resolver: SlugResolver = {
-      resolve: async () => null,
-      resolveBasenameMatches: async (name) => queryBasenameIndex(idx, name),
-    };
-    const { candidates } = await extractPageLinks(
-      'vault/llm-wiki/notes/roadmap',
-      'See [[llm-wiki/entities/AI 3.0]].',
-      {}, 'concept', resolver,
-    );
-    expect(candidates.map(c => c.targetSlug)).toEqual(['vault/llm-wiki/entities/ai-3.0']);
-  });
-
   test('opts.skipFrontmatter suppresses the frontmatter pass', async () => {
     // Real resolver shape that WOULD resolve frontmatter source: too,
     // but skipFrontmatter blocks the path entirely.