revert(pkgs): leave the duplicate chromium — honestly, and with the numbers

Bernardo on #121 (shipped in 0b464af): "Let's leave it honestly. Sounds too
much work for a negligible gain." Agreed, and his own reasoning is the
argument: the fix worked, but it substitutes into a buildCommand nixpkgs owns,
which couples us to wrapper internals and has a SILENT no-op failure mode —
so it also needed a permanent check, because nothing about a returning
duplicate breaks a build. That standing maintenance cost buys ~195 MiB of
download and ~19 MiB of disk. Boring beats clever at that exchange rate.

Removed the overlay and checks.chromium-single-closure. The template HM closure
is back to 9.38 GiB with the duplicate present — verified by closure, not by
reading the diff. overlays.default now carries a comment saying the duplicate
is known and deliberate, where the next person will look for it.

The ROADMAP entry stays, downgraded from ✓ to ✗ decided-against: it holds the
measurement, the approach that worked (self-contained -wv copy; repoint the
wrapper's share/* symlinks; .override composes with overrideAttrs), and the
commit to recover it from. The bug is real and worth an upstream patch — the
wrapper should take its desktop entry from the variant it wraps, which helps
every NixOS user with enableWideVine, not only us. Revisit locally if #120's
netinstall ships, since download is the one axis this moves.

What survives is worth more than the fix, and is stamped on #120: closure size
is not disk size and is not image size — measure the artifact. Removing a
687 MiB path moved the ISO by 8 KiB, because mksquashfs dedupes duplicate files
and auto-optimise-store hardlinks them. Without that caveat, #120's "drop the
pin, save 4 GiB" would have evaporated at the squashfs exactly as this did.

V0: nix flake check --no-build passes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

agent/JOURNAL.md

@@ -19,7 +19,32 @@ Template:
 
 ---
 
-## 2026-07-14 — #121: one chromium, not two — 687 MiB off every install (this commit)
+## 2026-07-14 — #121 reverted: the fix worked, the gain didn't survive measuring (this commit)
+- **Task:** Bernardo's call on #121 (shipped 0b464af, reverted here): *"Let's
+  leave it honestly. Sounds too much work for a negligible gain."*
+- **Did:** removed the chromium overlay + `checks.chromium-single-closure`;
+  template HM closure back to 9.38 GiB and the duplicate unwrapped chromium is
+  back, deliberately. `overlays.default` carries a comment saying so, and the
+  ROADMAP entry is now a **✗ decided-against** record holding the measurement,
+  the working approach, and the commit to recover it from.
+- **Why this was right:** the fix worked, but it substitutes into a
+  `buildCommand` nixpkgs owns — coupling us to wrapper internals with a
+  *silent no-op* failure mode, which is why it needed a permanent check too.
+  That standing cost buys ~195 MiB of download and ~19 MiB of disk. Boring
+  beats clever at that exchange rate (CONVENTIONS).
+- **The lesson that outlives it, and the real product of the last two items:**
+  **closure size is not disk size and is not image size — measure the
+  artifact.** Removing a 687 MiB path moved the ISO by 8 KiB, because
+  mksquashfs dedupes duplicate files and `auto-optimise-store` hardlinks them
+  (the two paths share inodes — `stat`-verified; `du` counts 639 MiB for the
+  pair vs ~620 for one). Only the wire can't dedupe. This is stamped on #120,
+  whose entire size table is closure arithmetic — without it, "drop the pin,
+  save 4 GiB" would have evaporated at the squashfs exactly like this did.
+- **Verified:** V0 flake check green; revert confirmed by closure (the plain
+  chromium is back, 9.38 GiB) rather than by reading the diff.
+- **Next suggestion:** #118 (smartd self-gate).
+
+## 2026-07-14 — #121: one chromium, not two — 687 MiB off every install (superseded by the revert above)
 - **Task:** BACKLOG #121, found by measuring #103's ISO delta. Nothing was
   failing — that is the point; a duplicate browser breaks no build.
 - **Did:** nixpkgs' chromium wrapper with `enableWideVine = true` (what the

docs/ROADMAP.md

@@ -404,8 +404,13 @@ Design/decision records and a running log of shipped work (items marked
   decision rather than a drive-by. Proved to fail: dropping snapshot makes it
   name the missing entry. **V3 pending** — that the apps *launch* needs real
   hardware (HARDWARE-QUEUE, Acer M5-481T).
-- ✓ **One chromium, not two (#121):** found by measuring #103's ISO delta
+- ✗ **One chromium, not two (#121) — investigated, measured, DECIDED AGAINST
-  rather than by anything failing — nothing *was* failing, which is the point.
+  (Bernardo, 2026-07-14): "too much work for a negligible gain".** The bug is
+  real and the fix worked; the *gain* is what failed to survive measurement.
+  Kept as a record because the measurement is the valuable part and the next
+  person to spot the duplicate deserves the numbers rather than the discovery.
+  Found by measuring #103's ISO delta rather than by anything failing —
+  nothing *was* failing, which is the point.
   nixpkgs' chromium wrapper, with `enableWideVine = true` (what the template
   ships, for Netflix/Spotify DRM), runs the `-wv` copy but links its
   `share/*` from the **plain** unwrapped build:
@@ -413,17 +418,17 @@ Design/decision records and a running log of shipped work (items marked
   reference, so a whole second **687 MiB** chromium rode along for a directory
   of `.desktop` files nothing executes — on **every installed machine**, not
   just the ISO, for as long as chromium has been the default browser.
-  **What made a fix possible** (checked first, since it decides everything):
+  **A fix is possible, and was proven** (prototyped in 0b464af, reverted in the
-  the `-wv` copy is `cp -a` of the browser and is **self-contained** — it does
+  commit that carries this entry — recover it from there rather than
-  *not* reference the plain build. Had it done so, no wrapper change could
+  rediscovering it): the `-wv` copy is `cp -a` of the browser and is
-  drop the duplicate. Its `share/` is byte-identical, `.desktop` included, so
+  **self-contained** — it does *not* reference the plain build (had it done so,
-  `overlays.default` moves the symlink source to the copy we already run.
+  no wrapper change could drop the duplicate; check this first if you revisit).
-  Both paths are read back out of the wrapper's own `buildCommand`, so the
+  Its `share/` is byte-identical, `.desktop` included, so an `overlays.default`
-  overlay knows nothing of nixpkgs internals beyond two strings; if upstream
+  entry that repoints the wrapper's `share/*` symlinks at the copy we already
-  restructures either, the match returns null and the fix **no-ops** rather
+  run removes the duplicate and nothing else — DRM payload verified still
-  than breaking a build. With `enableWideVine = false` the paths are equal and
+  present, `.desktop` byte-identical to stock, and `.override
-  the substitution is identity. DRM payload verified still present in the build
+  { enableWideVine = true; }` composes with the overlay's `overrideAttrs`, so
-  the wrapper execs; `share/` byte-identical to stock.
+  the template needs no change.
   **What it actually saves — and the lesson, which is worth more than the fix**
   (the first pass at this claimed "−687 MiB on every install"; measuring the
   *artifact* instead of the closure killed that):
@@ -448,15 +453,20 @@ Design/decision records and a running log of shipped work (items marked
   a no-op for the offline ISO that is the default today.
   **Rule this establishes: closure size is not disk size and is not image size.
   Measure the artifact.** #120's size table is closure arithmetic and inherits
-  this caveat.
+  this caveat — it is stamped there.
-  **The guard is load-bearing**, because a silent no-op is this fix's failure
+  **Why it was reverted rather than kept**, though it worked: the fix is a
-  mode and nothing about it breaks a build: `checks.chromium-single-closure`
+  string substitution into a `buildCommand` nixpkgs owns, so it couples us to
-  asserts the *invariant* (exactly one full unwrapped chromium in the template
+  wrapper internals and its failure mode is a *silent no-op* — which meant it
-  closure — plain or `-wv`, never both), not the mechanism, and was proved to
+  also needed a permanent `checks.*` to assert the invariant, since nothing
-  fail by neutering the overlay: it reports "found 2", names both paths, and
+  about a returning duplicate breaks a build. That is a standing maintenance
-  says not to "fix" it by dropping `enableWideVine`, which would silently
+  cost against ~195 MiB of download and ~19 MiB of disk. **Boring beats clever
-  remove DRM. Worth an upstream nixpkgs patch (the wrapper should take its
+  when the gain is this small** (CONVENTIONS: prefer boring, reproducible
-  desktop entry from the variant it wraps); the overlay is the local stopgap.
+  mechanisms) — so the duplicate stays, honestly, and `overlays.default` says
+  so in a comment where the next person will look.
+  **Revisit if** the netinstall (#120) ships, since download is the one axis
+  this actually moves; or better, fix it **upstream** — the wrapper should take
+  its desktop entry from the variant it wraps, which helps every NixOS user
+  with `enableWideVine`, not just us.
 - ✓ **Plymouth logo contrast:** the shipped art was a fixed navy that
   vanished on dark bases. `modules/nixos/plymouth.nix` now recolors every
   element from the palette at build time (flat fill, alpha kept):

flake.nix

@@ -94,42 +94,11 @@
         # Includes nomarchy-what-changed (generation readability, #82).
         nomarchy-lifecycle = final.callPackage ./pkgs/nomarchy-lifecycle { };
         pam-fprint-grosshack = final.callPackage ./pkgs/pam-fprint-grosshack { };
-
+        # NOTE: no chromium override here on purpose — the enableWideVine
-        # One chromium, not two (ROADMAP § one chromium, not two, #121).
+        # wrapper's duplicate unwrapped build is a real upstream bug but is
-        # Upstream nixpkgs bug, worth a patch there: in
+        # worth ~195 MiB of download and ~19 MiB of disk, not the gigabytes it
-        # pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/chromium/default.nix the
+        # looks like. Decided not to work around it locally
-        # wrapper runs the `-wv` copy when enableWideVine is set, but still
+        # (ROADMAP § one chromium, not two, #121).
-        # links its share/ from the PLAIN unwrapped build:
-        #     for f in '${chromium.browser}'/share/*; do ln -s …
-        # A symlink is a store reference, so that retains a whole second
-        # 687 MiB chromium for a directory of .desktop files nothing runs —
-        # on every machine the template installs, not just the live ISO.
-        #
-        # Safe because the `-wv` copy is `cp -a` of the browser and is
-        # self-contained: verified it does NOT reference the plain build (had
-        # it done so, no wrapper change could drop the duplicate), and its
-        # share/ is byte-identical, .desktop included. So share moves to the
-        # copy we already run and nothing else changes.
-        #
-        # Both paths are read back out of the wrapper's own buildCommand, so
-        # this knows nothing about nixpkgs internals beyond those two
-        # strings. If upstream restructures either, the match returns null
-        # and this becomes a NO-OP rather than a broken build — and
-        # checks.chromium-single-closure is what fails, loudly, instead of
-        # the duplicate quietly returning. With enableWideVine = false the
-        # two paths are the same and the substitution is identity, so the
-        # plain package is untouched.
-        chromium = prev.chromium.overrideAttrs (old:
-          let
-            wv    = builtins.match ".*makeWrapper \"([^\"]+)/libexec/chromium/chromium\".*" old.buildCommand;
-            plain = builtins.match ".*for f in '([^']+)'/share/\\*.*" old.buildCommand;
-          in
-          prev.lib.optionalAttrs (wv != null && plain != null) {
-            buildCommand = builtins.replaceStrings
-              [ "'${builtins.head plain}'/share/" ]
-              [ "'${builtins.head wv}'/share/" ]
-              old.buildCommand;
-          });
       };
 
       nixosModules.nomarchy = {
@@ -595,43 +564,6 @@
           # sheet to ✖/exit-1 and names the unit; with the failure
           # cleared it reports healthy/exit-0. Minimal node (just the
           # package) — the disk/flake/snapper checks self-skip in a VM.
-          # One chromium, not two (ROADMAP § one chromium, not two, #121).
-          # The overlay's wrapper fix is a substitution into a string
-          # nixpkgs owns: if upstream restructures that buildCommand, the
-          # match returns null, the fix silently becomes a no-op and 687 MiB
-          # of duplicate browser quietly returns to every install. Nothing
-          # about that breaks a build — which is exactly why it needs a
-          # check. Asserts the invariant, not the mechanism: the closure the
-          # template installs carries exactly ONE full unwrapped chromium
-          # (plain OR -wv, never both; the tiny -sandbox output is a separate
-          # path and is expected).
-          chromium-single-closure =
-            let
-              hm = downstream.homeConfigurations.me.activationPackage;
-              ci = pkgs.closureInfo { rootPaths = [ hm ]; };
-            in
-            pkgs.runCommand "nomarchy-chromium-single-closure"
-              { nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgs.gnugrep ]; }
-              ''
-                set -euo pipefail
-                # Full browser builds only: -sandbox is a few KB and legitimate.
-                full=$(grep -E 'chromium-unwrapped-[0-9.]+(-wv)?$' ${ci}/store-paths || true)
-                n=$(printf '%s' "$full" | grep -c . || true)
-                if [ "$n" != 1 ]; then
-                  echo "chromium-single-closure: expected exactly 1 full unwrapped chromium, found $n:"
-                  printf '%s\n' "$full"
-                  echo
-                  echo "If this is 2, the enableWideVine wrapper is retaining the plain"
-                  echo "build for its share/* symlinks again — the overlay fix in"
-                  echo "flake.nix (ROADMAP § one chromium, not two, #121) has stopped"
-                  echo "matching upstream's buildCommand. Do NOT 'fix' it by dropping"
-                  echo "enableWideVine: that silently removes DRM playback."
-                  exit 1
-                fi
-                echo "chromium-single-closure: ok — one chromium ($full)"
-                touch $out
-              '';
-
           # Live-ISO baseline apps (ROADMAP § live-ISO baseline apps, #103).
           # The live session shipped no
           # browser and no office for as long as it existed — the thing a user