chore: delete dead tap-by-text runner arm and settledAfterMs; hint on tiny stable trees

[thymikee]

Dead-code/polish pass (tier-1 items from the dead-code audit). Refs #1078.

Changes

1. Delete the runner tap-by-text arm

The .tap case's if let text = command.text { ... } branch in RunnerTests+CommandExecution.swift is dead: the daemon only ever sends selectorKey/selectorValue or x/y taps (src/platforms/apple/interactions.ts), and daemon + runner ship in lockstep. The findElement(app:text:) helper stays — the findText probe still uses it. The tap fallthrough error message now says "tap requires a selector or x/y".

The text? field on RunnerCommand (runner-contract.ts) is a shared flat field legitimately used by type/findText/readText, so the contract type is unchanged.

2. Delete settledAfterMs from the wait stable result

It always equaled waitedMs and has never shipped: the latest tag (v0.18.3) predates the wait-stable merge (#1059, ab55db0 is in v0.18.3..HEAD; no tag contains it). Removed from WaitCommandResult, the waitForStable return, toDaemonWaitData, and the test assertion. No client-types/docs references existed.

3. Tiny-tree hint for wait stable (#1078)

When wait stable settles on a tree with fewer than 5 nodes, the result now carries:

Settled on a nearly-empty tree — the app may still be loading. Wait for specific content (wait text ...) before interacting.

toDaemonWaitData passes the hint through. Tests: 3-node settle asserts the hint; 6-node settle asserts no hint key.

4. interaction-common.ts sweep

Audit-only outcome: after #1083, everything still exported from src/daemon/handlers/interaction-common.ts (finalizeTouchInteraction, ContextFromFlags, InteractionHandlerParams) has 3-4 consumers each. Nothing single-consumer or dead; fallow audit --base origin/main and --gate all report no issues. No code change.

5. GENERIC_EXIT_MESSAGE audit (no code change)

The GENERIC_EXIT_MESSAGE replacement branch in src/kernel/errors.ts is still load-bearing post-#1074: createExitError (src/utils/exec.ts:334 sync path, :684 async spawn close path) remains the default failure shape for every non-allowFailure exec and produces exactly "<tool> exited with code N" with processExitError: true via execFailureDetails. The branch is NOT deletable.

Verification

• pnpm format:check && pnpm typecheck && pnpm lint
• pnpm exec fallow audit --base origin/main — no issues
• pnpm exec vitest run src/commands src/daemon src/contracts — 142 files, 1229 tests
• pnpm exec vitest run test/integration — 27 files, 89 tests
• Runner Swift files pass swiftc -parse
• Note: request-handler-catalog.test.ts and the doctor integration scenario timed out once each under heavy host load (load avg >60); both reproduce on origin/main and pass on retry — the known flaky-under-contention pattern, not a regression.

[thymikee]

Reviewed by diff (suites already gated by the author; host is busy running the react-navigation replay suite, CI will re-confirm). All five items check out:

• The tap-by-text deletion is exactly the audited arm, with the shared text contract field correctly left alone (type/findText/readText use it) and the fallthrough error updated.
• settledAfterMs: the tag check (v0.18.3 predates feat: add wait stable settle primitive #1059, git tag --contains empty) is the evidence that makes this deletion free — good that it's recorded in the PR.
• The tiny-tree hint reads well and the threshold constant carries its rationale; the exact-hint + absent-key test pair is the right shape.
• interaction-common "no action needed" with consumer counts is a valid audit outcome — better than forcing a change.
• The GENERIC_EXIT_MESSAGE verdict (NOT deletable, two live producers at exec.ts:334/:684) closes that audit question honestly.

LGTM pending CI.

[github-actions]

Size Report

Metric	Base	Current	Diff
JS raw	1.5 MB	1.5 MB	+97 B
JS gzip	486.7 kB	486.7 kB	+52 B
npm tarball	591.2 kB	591.2 kB	0 B
npm unpacked	2.1 MB	2.1 MB	-434 B

Startup median (7 runs, lower is better):

Scenario	Base	Current	Diff
CLI --version	27.9 ms	27.3 ms	-0.6 ms
CLI --help	51.9 ms	49.4 ms	-2.6 ms

Top changed chunks:

Chunk	Raw diff	Gzip diff
dist/src/2426.js	+127 B	+62 B
dist/src/selector-runtime.js	-30 B	-10 B

[thymikee]

Readiness update: prior review found no actionable blockers, and GitHub checks are now green (21/21). Added ready-for-human.

[github-actions]

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2026-07-04 13:59 UTC