fix(OMN-16587): delete orphaned non-canonical validation runner scripts/validate.py

[jonahgabriel]

Summary

Operator ruling: reviewed omniintelligence/scripts/validate.py and asked why it exists. Ruled "it's not a node" — delete it.

Deletes:

• scripts/validate.py (636 lines) — pre-canonical freestanding validation runner (argparse CLI wrapping subprocess.run calls). Not a CONTRACT/NODE/HANDLER; predates the ONEX four-node architecture.
• tests/unit/scripts/test_validate_contract_linter.py (122 lines) — added same-day by fix(OMN-16580): correct nonexistent module path in validate.py's contract linter invocation #849; confirmed via grep it imports/tests only scripts.validate.run_contract_linter, so no other coverage is lost by deleting it alongside the script.

PR #849 (merged 2026-08-26T11:13:32Z, OMN-16580) fixed a real bug in validate.py::run_contract_linter() (wrong module path). That fix is now superseded by this deletion — nothing is lost, since nothing else ever invoked the script.

Orphan verification (re-run independently this pass, all captured to files)

• grep -rn "validate\.py" across *.yml *.yaml *.md Makefile *.toml *.cfg *.ini (repo root, excluding .git/): zero matches outside the script and its own test file.
• .github/workflows/ (34 files): zero references to scripts/validate.py or to any of the specific validator module/CLI names it invokes.
• Makefile: does not exist in this repo.
• README.md / docs/: zero matches for validate.py.
• pyproject.toml: zero matches for validate (no script/entry-point registration).

Coverage mapping — where each wrapped validator runs canonically today

validate.py function	Wraps	Canonical equivalent today	Evidence
run_clean_root()	scripts/validation/validate_clean_root.py	YES — direct pre-commit hook, same script	.pre-commit-config.yaml:472
run_naming()	scripts/validation/validate_naming.py	YES — direct pre-commit hook, same script	.pre-commit-config.yaml:486
run_ruff()	ruff check	YES — CI lint job	.github/workflows/ci.yml:314-318
run_mypy()	mypy --strict	YES — CI type-check job	.github/workflows/ci.yml:388-390
run_contract_linter()	omniintelligence.validators.contract_linter	YES — direct pre-commit hook, same module	.pre-commit-config.yaml:540-542
run_omnibase_validator() × 4 (union-usage,patterns,architecture,contracts)	omnibase_core.validation.validator_cli	NO independent canonical gate found	grep of workflows + pre-commit config for validator_cli/union-usage: zero hits
run_standalone_validator() × 6 (any-type,pydantic,naming-convention,enum-governance,enum-casing,literal-duplication)	omnibase_core.validation.{...}	NO independent canonical gate found	same grep — zero hits for any of the six module names

On the "NO" rows: not a regression from this deletion. validate.py was itself unwired (see orphan verification) — it wasn't enforcing these seven validators against omniintelligence code either, so removing it removes zero live enforcement. omnibase_core's validator ecosystem has since grown newer pre-commit gates that DO run against this repo (check-stub-implementations, no-noncanonical-lifecycle-classes, check-canonical-inference, check-url-authority, validate-no-transport-imports, node-purity, validate-validator-requirements — .pre-commit-config.yaml:275-330,711-726), none of which map 1:1 to the seven modules above by name.

Explicitly out of scope: the pre-commit contract-linter hook's own defect (its files: regex matches 0/67 live contracts — dead no-op gate) is tracked separately as OMN-16585, not touched here.

Related, not touched: epic OMN-2711 and 8 Backlog children (OMN-2201/2202/2203/2204/2205/2207/2208/2209) were opened against these exact validators; their premise (fix violations surfaced by running validate.py) becomes moot once the script is gone. Flagged in OMN-16587 for a separate disposition decision.

Test plan

• uv run ruff check src/ tests/ — All checks passed
• uv run ruff format --check src/ tests/ — 1563 files already formatted
• pre-commit run --all-files — all commit-stage hooks Passed/correctly-Skipped
• uv run pytest tests/ --collect-only -q — 6180 tests collected, zero collection errors (confirms no other file imports the deleted modules)
• uv run pytest tests/unit/scripts/ --collect-only -q — 94 tests collected (5 remaining files in the dir, unaffected)
• Governed pre-push hook (git push, real diff-scoped run — not --all-files): mypy (type checking) and pytest (tools/utils/runtime - full) both (no files to check) Skipped — the deleted files don't match either hook's files: pattern

OMN-16587

Evidence-Ticket: OMN-16587
Evidence-Source: OCC#7176

[coderabbitai]

Warning

Review limit reached

Next included review available in 55 minutes.

View limit details

Limit details: You’ve used the included review currently available. Your 124 included PR review attempts over the past 7 days set your current allowance at 1 review per hour.

Enable usage-based reviews in Billing to review now. Otherwise, wait until the next included review is available.
You're only billed for reviews past your plan's rate limits ($0.25/file).

Learn how review limits work.

Review configuration:

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: c6a05999-dc68-4684-bcbe-02b2d77d00d3

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between d16892d and e68f0f9.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• scripts/validate.py
• tests/unit/scripts/test_validate_contract_linter.py

---

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands.}

[onexbot-occ-writer]

OCC autobind did not mint a companion for this PR: no changed-file candidate could be proven RED against the merge base, and emitting a PR-existence probe instead would be non-falsifiable evidence (OMN-15247). Hand-authored evidence is required.