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Open Lab

Create an ephemeral host worktree for read/analyze only. Not a container. Not a RAG source.

When to use

  • "Open a lab on this repo" / "I need to orient to this codebase".
  • Employer or untrusted trees that must not enter personal indexes.

What you produce

  • Directory ~/tool-chest-data/lab/<id>/ with LAB.md.
  • Scope recorded: own | oss | employer-ephemeral.

Procedure

  1. Scope. Ask if missing: own, oss, or employer-ephemeral.
  2. Create the dir:
make open-lab ID=SLUG SCOPE=SCOPE [SOURCE=URL]
  1. Copy or clone into that directory (not a bind-mount of ~). Prefer copy-in.
  2. Allowed: read, diagrams, non-executing local SAST.
  3. Forbidden: run/build/install target deps on the host; point library/research/patterns MCP at this path; leave the tree after the engagement (close-lab).
  4. Execute / network / untrusted-build: stop. Use launch-isolated-sandbox.md.

Anti-patterns

  • Don't index lab trees.
  • Don't treat this as own_project just because it is on your laptop.
  • Don't skip close-lab when done.