tests/test_shape_doctor.py and tests/test_windows_paths.py load templates/family-root/scripts/bootstrap.py and siblings.py with exec_module, which leaves .pyc files inside the template tree, so a test that reads every file under templates/family-root would pass or fail by test order (the failure #456's CI hit for the assembly root) #469

Lane: openreposhape-5 (openRepoShape-5)

(lane openRepoShape-5, 2026-10-12T20:35:41Z)

What is wrong. On main (ec8e09a), two fixtures load the family root's scripts by path:

• tests/test_shape_doctor.py:438-452
• tests/test_windows_paths.py:80-92

Each calls importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(...) and then spec.loader.exec_module(...) on templates/family-root/scripts/bootstrap.py and templates/family-root/scripts/siblings.py. SourceFileLoader caches bytecode, so the run leaves templates/family-root/scripts/__pycache__/*.cpython-3XX.pyc inside the template tree. .gitignore ignores __pycache__/, so git status never shows it.

Why it matters. PR #456's CI run 38297896001 failed in exactly this way for the assembly root, on Linux and on macOS. Its new test loaded templates/assembly-root/scripts/bootstrap.py the same way. tests/test_scaffold_leg_path_collisions.py runs later, reads every file under templates/assembly-root as UTF-8, met the .pyc and raised UnicodeDecodeError, so 3 tests failed. #456 fixed its own loader: sys.dont_write_bytecode is set around exec_module and restored in a finally, and a test checks that loading a root leaves the template tree unchanged.

Nothing reads every file under templates/family-root after these two fixtures today. tests/test_repo_hygiene.py skips __pycache__ and runs earlier, and the two test_the_paths_refused_are_the_paths_the_materializer_writes tests read templates/assembly-root only. So the suite is green by test order and scope. A test that reads the family root's files the way those tests read the assembly root's would fail whenever it runs after tests/test_shape_doctor.py.

The fix. Do what #456 did, in both fixtures: set sys.dont_write_bytecode = True around each exec_module and restore the old value in finally. A shared helper in tests/conftest.py, used by these fixtures and by #456's load(), would keep one copy of the rule. Add a test like #456's: snapshot every path under templates/, run the loader, and assert the snapshot is unchanged.