# Handoff — Deprecate Node CLI Encode Path > The Cloudflare Workers MCP server (`workers/src/orchestrate.ts:runEncodeAction`) is governance-driven and current. The Node CLI MCP server (`src/tasks/encode.js`, wired via `src/mcp/orchestrate.js` and `src/core/actions.js`) still uses the original four-keyword `detectEncodeType` regex. Same tool name, two surfaces, divergent behavior. The audit confirmed this; the operator confirmed deprecation is the right path. This handoff queues the work. --- ## Summary — What and Why The CLI encode path is not just stale — it is structurally inconsistent with the canon-driven worker. Maintaining two implementations of the same MCP tool is a vodka-architecture violation: the code surface that consumes the canon should be a single thin server, not two diverging ones. Operator decision is to deprecate the CLI path rather than port it. This is not a Phase 2 blocker. The CLI is rarely used (consumer count unknown but presumed near-zero — the production deployment is the worker). Deprecation can run on its own timeline, gated only by confirming there are no active CLI consumers. --- ## Scope **In scope:** 1. Add a deprecation notice to `src/tasks/encode.js` (top-of-file JSDoc warning + console.warn at runtime). 2. Add a deprecation notice to `src/mcp/orchestrate.js` and `src/core/actions.js` for the `encode` action paths. 3. Update `README.md` and any setup docs that mention the Node CLI as an alternative to the Workers deployment. 4. Schedule removal: target oddkit 0.30.0 (or whatever minor lands one quarter from this handoff date — operator confirms before removal). 5. Confirm zero active CLI consumers via telemetry (`telemetry_public` query for `transport: "stdio"` or equivalent, last 30 days) before final removal. **Out of scope:** - Porting the CLI parser to governance-driven. Decision is deprecation, not parity. - Removing the Node CLI entirely. Other CLI tools (search, get, catalog, version) may remain; only the encode action is deprecated. (Verify this — if the entire Node CLI is dormant, broader retirement may be cheaper than per-action deprecation.) - Worker-side changes. The worker is the source of truth and is unaffected. --- ## Acceptance Criteria For the deprecation PR: 1. CLI users invoking `encode` see a clear deprecation notice with a link to migrate to the Workers MCP server URL. 2. README and docs no longer present the CLI as a peer to the Workers deployment for encode functionality. 3. The deprecation notice references this handoff and the target removal version. For the eventual removal PR: 1. Telemetry shows no encode CLI calls in the prior 30 days. 2. `src/tasks/encode.js`, `src/mcp/orchestrate.js` encode wiring, and `src/core/actions.js` encode handler removed in one commit. 3. Tests touching the CLI encode path removed; coverage gate not regressed. 4. CHANGELOG entry naming the removal version, the date, and the operator decision. --- ## Pitfalls - **Don't remove without telemetry confirmation.** If a single consumer is still calling the CLI encode path, removal will break them silently. Telemetry first, removal second. - **Don't conflate CLI encode with CLI as a whole.** Other CLI actions may have their own consumer profiles. Scope discipline matters. - **Don't backport governance-driven encode to the CLI as a "nice to have."** Operator decision is deprecation. Backporting is parity work and was explicitly declined; doing it anyway is mode collapse. --- ## Open Items | Tag | Description | Priority | |---|---|---| | O-open | Confirm zero active CLI encode consumers via telemetry before scheduling removal. | P2 | | O-open | Decide whether the entire Node CLI should be retired alongside the encode path or whether other CLI actions remain. Cheaper to retire whole if dormant. | P2 | | O-open | If retaining the CLI for non-encode actions, decide whether to ship a polyfill that proxies CLI encode calls to the worker rather than failing outright. Adds compatibility surface; pure deprecation is cleaner. | P3 | --- ## See Also - [Audit 2026-04-30 Cleanup Ledger](https://klappy.dev/page/odd/ledger/2026-04-30-audit-cleanup-encode-artifacts-landed) — the parent handoff that surfaced this - [Encode Current State (2026-04-30)](https://klappy.dev/page/docs/architecture/encode-current-state-2026-04-30) — what the worker actually does today - [Vodka Architecture](https://klappy.dev/page/canon/principles/vodka-architecture) — the principle that motivates single-implementation discipline - [Code Claims Require Code Observation](https://klappy.dev/page/canon/principles/code-claims-require-code-observation) — the principle this audit graduated