Deprecating --auto-prefix in the Multi-Fact Stressor — 2026-06-27

Question

Now that --use-agent-prefix validates the live CortexAgent prefix path, should the stressor-only --auto-prefix wrapper be deprecated?

Decision

Yes. --auto-prefix is kept for backward compatibility but now emits a clear deprecation ASI pointing users to --use-agent-prefix. The wrapper path will likely be removed in a future cleanup.

Changes

• Added deprecation ASI in multi_fact_stressor.py when --auto-prefix is used.
• Updated --auto-prefix help text to mark it [DEPRECATED].
• Reconstructed the argparse block after earlier edits accidentally duplicated entries for --use-agent-prefix and --auto-consolidate.
• Updated tests:
  • test_multi_fact_stressor_auto_prefix_mock asserts the deprecation ASI.
  • test_multi_fact_stressor_auto_prefix_empty_fallback_mock asserts the deprecation ASI even when no prefix is derived.

Results

• Stressor tests: 16 passed.
• Fast suite: 310 passed, 24 deselected.
• ruff check clean.
• Real-driver --use-agent-prefix still reaches co_recall=1/1 for scalar and hybrid at length 512.
• Benchmark code_qa_accuracy=1.0 (run #99).

Rationale

• Avoid maintaining two prefix mechanisms.
• The live agent path is more representative of production behavior because it exercises CortexAgent.articulate() rather than the stressor wrapper.
• Deprecation rather than removal preserves any external scripts relying on --auto-prefix while signaling the migration path.

Next steps

• In a future run, remove _derive_prefix_from_hippocampus() and the --auto-prefix code entirely once --use-agent-prefix has been the default path for several benchmark cycles.
• Continue with IdentityHypernetwork adapter effect measurement or generalize keyword extraction.

Artifacts

• src/oczy/experiments/multi_fact_stressor.py
• src/oczy/experiments/tests/test_multi_fact_stressor.py

Commits

• c6a5beb — Deprecate --auto-prefix.
• adb2d91 — Update SUMMARY.md with run #99 result.

Run

Run #99: benchmark code_qa_accuracy=1.0, fast suite 310 passed.