# Root Cleanup — March 28, 2026

**Performed by:** Chronicler #45  
**Reason:** Full repository audit revealed 40 markdown files accumulated in the root directory over many sessions. Root should only contain essential navigation files.

## What Was Here

These files were created by early Chroniclers (roughly #1–#33) as session handoffs, status snapshots, and start prompts. Over time they were superseded by the structured `docs/` hierarchy but never cleaned up.

**None of these files are deleted — they are archived here for historical reference.**

## Files Archived

### Old Session Handoffs
- `NEXT-SESSION-HANDOFF.md`
- `NEXT-SESSION-PRIORITY.md`
- `NEXT-SESSION-PROMPT.md`
- `NEXT-SESSION-START-PROMPT.md`
- `NEXT-SESSION-START.md`
- `NEXT-SESSION-STARTUP-PROMPT.md`
- `SESSION-20-HANDOFF-CODEX.md`
- `SESSION-21-HANDOFF.md`
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-AUDITOR.md`
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-CHRONICLER-33.md`
- `SESSION-END-CHECKLIST.md`

### Old Start Prompt Variants
- `SESSION-START-PROMPT.md`
- `SESSION-START-PROMPT-CORRECTED.md`
- `SESSION-START-PROMPT-FOR-23.md`
- `SESSION-START-PROMPT-MINIMAL.md`
- `SESSION-START-PROMPT-TEMPLATE.md`
- `SESSION-START-MINIMAL.md`
- `CUSTOM-PROMPT-FOR-SESSIONS.md`
- `EMERGENCY-STARTER-PROMPT.md`
- `MANDATORY-READING-ORDER.md`
- `SUCCESSOR-PROMPT-DEPLOYER.md`

### Status Snapshots
- `CURRENT-CONTEXT.md`
- `CURRENT-STATUS.md`
- `DEPLOYMENT-AUDIT-CHECKLIST.md`
- `DEPLOYMENT-STATUS-AUDIT.md`
- `CODEX-DOCUMENTATION-SUMMARY.md`
- `RESTRUCTURING-SUMMARY-2026-02-19.md`
- `README-INDEX.md`

## What Stayed at Root

The root now contains only:
- `README.md` — Repo introduction
- `CHANGELOG.md` — Change log
- `DOCUMENT-INDEX.md` — Master document map
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-NEXT.md` — Current handoff (always current)
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-PREVIOUS.md` — Previous handoff (one back)
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-PROTOCOL.md` — How sessions work
- `SESSION-HANDOFF-TEMPLATE.md` — Template for new handoffs

## Pokerole Files

Five Pokerole root files were moved to `docs/external/holly-project/` where they belong:
- `POKEROLE-API-STATUS-FINAL.md`
- `POKEROLE-GRAPHQL-API-ENABLED.md`
- `POKEROLE-WIKI-DEPLOYMENT-COMPLETE.md`
- `POKEROLE-WIKI-MISSION-SUCCESS.md`
- `POKEROLE-WIKI-QUICK-REF.md`
