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+# Reduce Cargo Target APFS Churn Plan
+
+> **For agentic workers:** REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task. Steps use checkbox (`- [ ]`) syntax for tracking.
+
+**Goal:** Make day-to-day Cargo builds and cleanup less painful on macOS/APFS by reducing the number and size of debug artifacts written under `target/`.
+
+**Architecture:** Keep the change local to Cargo profile configuration first, because the observed slow path was filesystem metadata deletion in `target/debug/deps`, not Rust compilation logic. Prefer reversible profile tuning over moving build output or disabling incremental compilation until measurements prove those stronger options are needed.
+
+**Tech Stack:** Rust Cargo profiles, macOS/APFS, `cargo clean`, `cargo nextest`, pinned nightly formatting/lint commands.
+
+---
+
+## Background
+
+On 2026-04-28, `cargo clean` in this repo spent several minutes deleting `target/debug/deps`. A process sample showed the active work was mostly `unlink(2)`, with smaller time in `lstat` and directory traversal. Activity Monitor reported very low write throughput because this workload is metadata-bound: many small file deletions and APFS journal updates, not large sequential writes.
+
+The repo already has:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev.package."*"]
+debug = false # Disable debug info for all dependencies
+opt-level = 1  # Shrinks monomorphized generics, reducing test binary size
+```
+
+That reduces dependency debug info, but workspace crates can still emit full debug info. The sampled clippy command included `-C debuginfo=2 -C split-debuginfo=unpacked` for a Fabro crate, which can create more debug artifacts and cleanup work on macOS.
+
+## Proposed First Change
+
+Add lower-debug Cargo profile settings for local dev and tests:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+
+[profile.test]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+```
+
+Expected impact:
+
+- Keeps source file and line information for backtraces.
+- Usually keeps breakpoints and source stepping usable.
+- Reduces or removes rich local-variable inspection in `lldb` and IDE debuggers.
+- Reduces debug metadata and split-debug filesystem artifacts.
+- Does not change debug assertions, overflow checks, runtime behavior, or optimization level.
+- Causes one rebuild after the profile settings change.
+
+## Task 1: Baseline Current Target Cost
+
+**Files:**
+- Read: `Cargo.toml`
+- No code changes
+
+- [ ] **Step 1: Confirm no `cargo clean` is running**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+ps -axo pid,ppid,stat,etime,pcpu,command | rg -i 'cargo clean' || true
+```
+
+Expected: no active `cargo clean` process, or wait for the existing cleanup to finish.
+
+- [ ] **Step 2: Build the workspace using current settings**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+cargo build --workspace
+```
+
+Expected: build succeeds.
+
+- [ ] **Step 3: Record current target size**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+du -sh target target/debug target/debug/deps 2>/dev/null
+```
+
+Expected: record the three size values in this file under "Results".
+
+- [ ] **Step 4: Record current entry pressure**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+find target/debug/deps -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 | wc -l
+```
+
+Expected: record the entry count in this file under "Results".
+
+## Task 2: Apply Lower-Debug Profile Settings
+
+**Files:**
+- Modify: `Cargo.toml`
+
+- [ ] **Step 1: Add profile settings**
+
+Edit `Cargo.toml` so the release profile section is followed by:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+
+[profile.test]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+```
+
+Keep the existing dependency-specific dev profile below it:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev.package."*"]
+debug = false # Disable debug info for all dependencies
+opt-level = 1  # Shrinks monomorphized generics, reducing test binary size
+```
+
+- [ ] **Step 2: Format if Cargo.toml style changes**
+
+No formatter is required for this simple TOML change. Keep comments and spacing consistent with the surrounding file.
+
+## Task 3: Verify Builds and Tests Still Work
+
+**Files:**
+- Read: `Cargo.toml`
+- No additional code changes
+
+- [ ] **Step 1: Build the workspace**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+cargo build --workspace
+```
+
+Expected: build succeeds. The first build after changing profile settings may rebuild many crates.
+
+- [ ] **Step 2: Run the core test suite**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+cargo nextest run --workspace
+```
+
+Expected: tests pass. If macOS reports `Too many open files (os error 24)`, rerun with:
+
+```bash
+ulimit -n 4096 && cargo nextest run --workspace
+```
+
+- [ ] **Step 3: Run clippy with the pinned nightly toolchain**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+cargo +nightly-2026-04-14 clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
+```
+
+Expected: clippy passes.
+
+## Task 4: Measure Impact
+
+**Files:**
+- Read: `Cargo.toml`
+- Update: this plan's "Results" section
+
+- [ ] **Step 1: Record new target size**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+du -sh target target/debug target/debug/deps 2>/dev/null
+```
+
+Expected: compare against Task 1.
+
+- [ ] **Step 2: Record new entry pressure**
+
+Run:
+
+```bash
+find target/debug/deps -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 | wc -l
+```
+
+Expected: compare against Task 1. The size reduction may be more meaningful than entry-count reduction, depending on how much split debug info was previously generated.
+
+- [ ] **Step 3: Time a clean operation when convenient**
+
+Run only when a full cleanup is acceptable:
+
+```bash
+time cargo clean
+```
+
+Expected: compare wall-clock time against the prior observed multi-minute cleanup. Activity Monitor may still show low MB/s because deletion remains metadata-bound.
+
+## Task 5: Decide Whether to Stop or Tune Further
+
+**Files:**
+- Modify only if needed: `Cargo.toml`
+- Optional local-only config: `.cargo/config.toml`
+
+- [ ] **Step 1: Stop if the result is acceptable**
+
+If `target/` size and cleanup time are acceptable, keep the lower-debug profile settings and do not add more tuning.
+
+- [ ] **Step 2: Consider disabling incremental only if cleanup is still too costly**
+
+Use this stronger setting only if the cleanup pain still outweighs slower edit-compile cycles:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+incremental = false
+
+[profile.test]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+incremental = false
+```
+
+Expected tradeoff: fewer incremental artifacts, but slower repeated local builds.
+
+- [ ] **Step 3: Consider a local target directory only if repo-local `target/` remains disruptive**
+
+For a personal-only setup, use `.cargo/config.toml` if it is intentionally untracked, or a global Cargo config outside the repo:
+
+```toml
+[build]
+target-dir = "/Users/bhelmkamp/.cache/cargo-targets/fabro"
+```
+
+Expected tradeoff: build output is isolated from the repo and easier to exclude from Spotlight/backups, but all developers do not automatically share the same behavior unless the config is committed.
+
+## Rollback
+
+To restore full debug info for normal dev/test builds, remove these settings:
+
+```toml
+[profile.dev]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+
+[profile.test]
+debug = "line-tables-only"
+split-debuginfo = "off"
+```
+
+For a one-off debugger session without changing `Cargo.toml`, run:
+
+```bash
+CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_DEBUG=2 CARGO_PROFILE_DEV_SPLIT_DEBUGINFO=unpacked cargo build
+```
+
+## Results
+
+Fill this in when the plan is executed:
+
+```text
+Before:
+- target size:
+- target/debug size:
+- target/debug/deps size:
+- target/debug/deps entries:
+- cargo clean wall-clock time:
+
+After:
+- target size:
+- target/debug size:
+- target/debug/deps size:
+- target/debug/deps entries:
+- cargo clean wall-clock time:
+```