refactor: make RECOMMENDATIONS.md forward-looking only

- Add Philosophy blockquote: recommendations only, not changelog
- Replace "Open Questions" with "Recommended Improvements" (delete completed, don't strikethrough)
- Replace "Change Log" with "Deployment Notes"
- Add RECOMMENDATIONS.md Cleanup Rules to status-update-checklist
- Add docs/phases-plan.md to phase transition checklist
- Add strikethrough grep check to verification commands

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.claude/status-update-checklist.md

@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ AI agents and developers should follow this checklist to prevent drift between f
 
 ## When to Use This Checklist
 
-| Trigger | Scope |
-|---------|-------|
-| **Phase transition** (e.g., Phase 0 → Phase 1) | Full checklist — all files |
-| **Milestone completed** within a phase | Sections 1–3 only |
-| **Architecture decision locked** | RECOMMENDATIONS.md + new ADR in `docs/adr/` |
+| Trigger                                        | Scope                                       |
+| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
+| **Phase transition** (e.g., Phase 0 → Phase 1) | Full checklist — all files                  |
+| **Milestone completed** within a phase         | Sections 1–3 only                           |
+| **Architecture decision locked**               | RECOMMENDATIONS.md + new ADR in `docs/adr/` |
 
 ---
 
@@ -20,24 +20,34 @@ AI agents and developers should follow this checklist to prevent drift between f
 Run every item when the project moves to a new phase.
 
 ### 1. RULES.md
+
 - [ ] Update section 6.2: change `Current phase: Phase N` to the new phase
 
 ### 2. README.md
+
 - [ ] Update "Current Status" block (phase badge and status line)
 - [ ] Update footer status line at the bottom of the file
 
 ### 3. DOCS.md
+
 - [ ] Update footer: `**Last Updated:** Phase N (Description)`
 
 ### 4. RECOMMENDATIONS.md
+
 - [ ] Update `Current phase` field in section 1
-- [ ] Add entry to section 6 (Change Log)
+- [ ] Update status line in header blockquote
+- [ ] Update section 5 (Recommended Improvements) — remove completed items, add new recommendations
+- [ ] **Run cleanup** (see RECOMMENDATIONS.md Cleanup Rules below)
 
 ### 5. docs/phases-plan.md
+
 - [ ] Update `**Phase:**` and `**Status:**` in the header
 - [ ] Mark completed phase tasks as done
+- [ ] Update "Current Status" section with resolved/remaining issues
+- [ ] Update "Next Steps" section to reflect what's actually next
 
 ### 6. Architecture docs (if phase affects them)
+
 - [ ] `docs/frontend/architecture.md` — lock decisions after Phase 1
 - [ ] `docs/backend/architecture.md` — lock decisions after Phase 1
 - [ ] Archive `docs/frontend/FRONTEND_ARCHITECTURE_PLAN.md` after Phase 1
@@ -49,14 +59,62 @@ Run every item when the project moves to a new phase.
 Run when a significant milestone is completed within the current phase.
 
 ### 1. RECOMMENDATIONS.md
-- [ ] Add entry to section 6 (Change Log)
-- [ ] Update section 5 (Open Questions) — remove resolved items
+
+- [ ] Remove completed items from section 5 (don't strikethrough — delete them)
+- [ ] Add new recommendations if audit/review produced them
+- [ ] **Run cleanup** (see RECOMMENDATIONS.md Cleanup Rules below)
 
 ### 2. README.md
+
 - [ ] Update "Current Status" block if progress indicators changed
 
 ### 3. docs/phases-plan.md
+
 - [ ] Mark completed tasks
+- [ ] Update "Current Status" section
+
+---
+
+## RECOMMENDATIONS.md Cleanup Rules
+
+**Core principle:** RECOMMENDATIONS.md = "What to do next" + "Locked decisions", NOT "What we did".
+
+### What BELONGS in RECOMMENDATIONS.md
+
+- Project context and locked stack decisions (sections 1–4)
+- Actionable recommendations for improvements (section 5)
+- Active deployment concerns (section 6)
+- ADR links (section 7)
+- 1-line status summary in header blockquote (e.g., "Phase 3 complete. 16 P3 items remain.")
+
+### What does NOT belong in RECOMMENDATIONS.md
+
+- Detailed lists of completed/resolved tasks
+- Strikethrough items (~~resolved item~~) — delete them, don't cross out
+- Changelog / history of changes — use git history instead
+- Sections titled "COMPLETE" with detailed breakdowns
+- Duplicate information about accomplished work
+
+### Where to put completed work instead
+
+- **Git commit messages** — detailed implementation notes
+- **docs/phases/** — phase overview files
+- **docs/improvements/** — improvement summaries
+- **README.md** — brief high-level status in "Current Status" section
+
+### When to clean up
+
+- Every time a phase/milestone completes (mandatory)
+- If file shows strikethrough or "RESOLVED" items
+- If file exceeds 200 lines (target: ~150 lines)
+- If file reads like a changelog rather than a recommendations list
+
+### Red flags (cleanup needed)
+
+- Sections with ~~strikethrough~~ resolved items
+- Sections titled "COMPLETE: [Detailed list]"
+- Multiple paragraphs describing finished work
+- Same completed work mentioned in 2+ places
 
 ---
 
@@ -70,6 +128,9 @@ grep -rn "Phase [0-4]" RULES.md README.md DOCS.md RECOMMENDATIONS.md docs/phases
 
 # Check for stale status markers
 grep -rn "Status.*Draft\|Status.*WIP\|Status.*Complete" docs/ RECOMMENDATIONS.md
+
+# Check for strikethrough items that should have been removed
+grep -rn "~~.*~~" RECOMMENDATIONS.md
 ```
 
 ---
@@ -80,3 +141,4 @@ grep -rn "Status.*Draft\|Status.*WIP\|Status.*Complete" docs/ RECOMMENDATIONS.md
 - **Concrete** — update actual sections listed above, not vague references
 - **Verifiable** — run the grep commands to confirm consistency
 - **Single source of truth** — `RULES.md` section 6.2 is the canonical phase indicator
+- **Forward-looking** — RECOMMENDATIONS.md focuses on what to do next, not what was done