[dmccoystephenson]

Summary

• Seven fixture cases are added to CheckLocalLinksTests in tests/test_check_docs.py, which previously had three (resolvable link, broken link, external/anchor-only links ignored). This continues the Stage B unit-test expansion begun in Add check_placeholders cases for conditionals, section bounds, and trimming #155 and Add check_readme_steps_sync cases for section bounds, ordering, and matching rules #156 for the other two checks.
• New cases cover:
  • the #fragment is stripped before the path is resolved (TARGET.md#section passes)
  • the error message names the containing doc and the full original target (exact-string assertion)
  • links resolve relative to the containing doc, not the repo root (docs/UP.md → ../TARGET.md passes; docs/SAME.md → TARGET.md fails)
  • .md files under .git/ are skipped
  • every broken link in a doc is reported, not only the first
  • characterization: a link to an existing directory passes (exists(), not is_file())
  • characterization: ![alt](path) image links are checked too
• No production code is changed. The two characterization cases record current behavior and do not assert it is intended.

No tracking issue: the coverage gap was found during triage. Every open issue was deferred this cycle because nearly all are template-rule changes to create-dev-loop.md that need a real /create-dev-loop validation run (see #109), and a headless dispatch cannot perform one. #106 edits CLAUDE.md, which is harness-blocked.

Test plan

• python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v: Ran 32 tests, OK (up from 25)
• python3 scripts/check_docs.py: Doc consistency check passed
• Mutation check: the .git skip and fragment stripping were removed from check_local_links and doc-relative resolution was replaced with root-relative resolution. The three targeted new tests failed (test_docs_under_dot_git_are_skipped, test_fragment_is_stripped_before_resolving, test_link_resolves_relative_to_containing_doc). Production code was then restored, and all 32 tests passed.
• Template behavior is untouched, so no /create-dev-loop run applies.

This PR description was drafted during a Gardener session (https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson

[dmccoystephenson]

Self-review rubric (this review was performed inline during a Gardener session, https://github.com/Stephenson-Software/gardener, because no independent reviewer was available):

• Scope: PASS. Only tests/test_check_docs.py is modified (+75 lines). No production code is touched and no unrelated churn is included.
• Tests-new: PASS. No new public functions are added. Seven cases are added for the existing check_local_links.
• Tests-fix: N/A. No bug fix is included. A mutation check was used as a substitute: check_local_links was mutated to remove the .git skip and fragment stripping and to resolve links from the repo root. The three targeted cases failed, and all 32 passed after restoration.
• Sibling structure: PASS. The new cases follow the existing CheckLocalLinksTests pattern: a tempfile.TemporaryDirectory fixture, a REPO_ROOT swap restored in tearDown, and assertions on message content rather than count alone.
• Sibling renames: N/A. Nothing is renamed.
• Docs: PASS. The module docstring ("three checks", reset errors in setUp) still holds. No doc in the Phase 7 table describes check_local_links test coverage.
• Issue resolution: N/A. No Closes #N is included. The gap was found during triage, and this is stated in the PR body.
• CI: PASS. doc-consistency is green on the head commit (run 38870632307). Locally, 32 tests ran with OK, and check_docs.py passed.
• Placeholder parity / README Step parity / fence escaping / phase numbering / version comments / gardener interface / retrofit note: N/A. create-dev-loop.md and README.md are untouched.
• Research grounding: PASS. The PR does not touch the template, so the section is omitted per the PR template. Test expansion as regression guards aligns with RESEARCH.md §3.
• Behavioral validation: N/A. The template is not changed.

Judgment notes:

• tests/test_check_docs.py:258 (test_link_to_existing_directory_passes). This characterizes exists() accepting directories. Directory links render on GitHub as tree views, so this behavior is judged intentional and no bug issue was filed.
• tests/test_check_docs.py:270 (test_image_links_are_checked). Image links are matched by the same regex. This is useful behavior, and the case is recorded as a characterization so that a regex change cannot silently drop it.
• The repeated per-test import tempfile matches the three pre-existing cases. Hoisting it to module level would reduce noise but was left out to keep the diff additive.

Copilot could not be added as a reviewer (Could not resolve user with login 'copilot'), so this rubric serves as the review.

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drafted by Claude on behalf of Daniel Stephenson