internal-workspace

name: internal-workspace description: Use the repo `_internal/` directory for anything that must not be committed — scratch files, temporary outputs, local demos, Codex artifacts, or one-off scripts. Use when creating temp files, debug dumps, or local-only tooling during a task.

Put non-repo files under _internal/ — not in tools/, project root, or tests/ unless they are permanent, reviewed project assets.
Applies to: temporary scripts, screenshot/debug exports, large downloaded data, personal benchmark runs, WIP notebooks, Codex scratch output, anything you would otherwise .gitignore ad hoc at repo root.
Do not commit contents of _internal/ except _internal/.gitkeep (the directory is in .gitignore via _internal/* with an exception for .gitkeep).
If a file was useful long-term, promote it into the proper place (tools/ for maintained dev scripts, tests/ for permanent tests, docs/ for documentation) and follow normal review standards — do not leave it in _internal/.

Prefer writing ephemeral or user-specific artifacts to _internal/<descriptive-name>/ rather than the tracked tree.
Removing sensitive or mistaken files from GitHub history requires a history rewrite (e.g. git filter-repo --invert-paths --path ...) and a force push; that is separate from day-to-day use of _internal/ for local junk prevention.