README and CLAUDE.md link gardener as an open-source companion, but the repo is private #79

What went wrong

README.md ("Running it across many repos") and CLAUDE.md ("What belongs here vs. in gardener") both link
https://github.com/dmccoystephenson/gardener and describe it as "a separate open-source project" /
"this project's open-source companion".

That repo is currently private, so the link 404s for every reader except the account owner:

$ gh repo view dmccoystephenson/gardener --json visibility,isPrivate
{"isPrivate":true,"visibility":"PRIVATE"}

Why this matters

PR #78 ("Remove references to repos that aren't public") existed specifically to make this repo safe to
publish, and its test plan states that no reference to a non-public repo remains. The gardener cross-link
was added by that same PR, so this one slipped through the check.

It is the only remaining unfollowable reference I found in a full sweep of the repo's docs.

Expected vs. actual

Expected: every repo link in the public docs resolves for an anonymous reader.
Actual: two docs link a private repo and call it open source.

Fix requires a maintainer decision

Two valid resolutions, and picking between them is not something a docs sweep should decide:

1. Make dmccoystephenson/gardener public. The docs then become correct as written, and this closes
   with no code change. This looks like the intended end state given PR Remove references to repos that aren't public #78's framing.
2. Soften the docs. Drop the hyperlink and the "open-source" wording, describing the split
   (create-dev-loop decides what a skill knows; a dispatcher decides when it runs) without naming an
   inaccessible repo — the same treatment PR Remove references to repos that aren't public #78 gave the anonymized RESEARCH.md citations.

Note that CLAUDE.md is one of the two files needing the edit under option 2, which the dev-loop treats as
agent-loaded config requiring explicit human authorization to modify.

Notes

• scripts/check_docs.py only validates relative links (check_local_links skips anything starting with
  http:///https://), so CI cannot catch this class of drift today.
• Found during a Stage A documentation-accuracy sweep on 2026-07-29.