ADR-0034: Delete patches/ leftover, keep only ffmpeg-patches/¶

Status: Accepted
Date: 2026-04-17
Deciders: Lusoris, Claude (Anthropic)
Tags: workspace, build

Context¶

The tree had two competing patch locations: ROOT/patches/ (a single bare ffmpeg-libvmaf-sycl.patch diff) and ffmpeg-patches/ (proper git format-patch files). Two locations for the same concept confuses readers and invites drift.

Decision¶

Delete ROOT/patches/. Canonical location is ffmpeg-patches/ with proper git format-patch files (0001-libvmaf-add-tiny-model-option.patch, 0002-add-vmaf_pre-filter.patch, 0003-libvmaf-wire-sycl-backend-selector.patch). Dockerfile now copies ffmpeg-patches/0003-libvmaf-wire-sycl-backend-selector.patch instead of the legacy bare diff.

Alternatives considered¶

Option	Pros	Cons	Why not chosen
Keep both	Zero removal risk	Two sources of truth; drift certainty	Rejected
Merge `patches/` into `ffmpeg-patches/`	Preserves content	Duplicates the SYCL diff	The diff was already superseded
Delete `patches/` (chosen)	Single canonical location	Removes a file	Correct; content was redundant

Consequences¶

Positive: one canonical patch location; Dockerfile points at the current series.
Negative: git blame for the deleted diff requires history dive.
Neutral / follow-ups: /refresh-ffmpeg-patches skill maintains the canonical series.

References¶

Source: req (user: "some project rood dirs should be cleaned up/moved as well")
Related ADRs: ADR-0029