REQ-F-041: Process CWD Immutability

Tier: Framework-Automatic | Priority: P2

Source: §29 Working Directory Sensitivity

Addresses: Severity: Medium / Token Spend: Medium / Time: Low / Context: Low

Description

The framework MUST prohibit commands from changing the process working directory (os.chdir() or equivalent) during execution. If a command's implementation requires operating in a different directory, it MUST do so by constructing absolute paths, not by changing the process CWD. The framework SHOULD detect and warn at registration time if a command registers a hook that calls chdir.

Acceptance Criteria

The process CWD after any command invocation is identical to the CWD before invocation
A command that internally calls os.chdir() is flagged by the framework's linter/registration check
Operations on files in other directories work correctly using absolute paths constructed from --cwd (REQ-O-017)

Schema

No dedicated schema type — this requirement governs process CWD immutability without adding new wire-format fields

Wire Format

No wire-format fields — this requirement governs framework behavior only

Example

Framework-Automatic: no command author action needed. The framework detects chdir calls at registration and raises an error.

# Rejected at registration — chdir not permitted
def handler(args):
    os.chdir(args.target_dir)
    ...
→ FrameworkError: commands must not call chdir(); construct absolute paths instead

# Correct — absolute path construction
def handler(args):
    target = os.path.join(args.cwd, args.target_dir)
    ...

Requirement	Tier	Relationship
REQ-F-027	F	Provides: `meta.cwd` records the process CWD at invocation time
REQ-F-028	F	Composes: config resolution uses absolute paths, not CWD-relative paths
REQ-O-017	O	Extends: `--cwd` flag supplies the working directory as an explicit argument