Add .gitignore to prevent venv tracking and deployment failures

[Copilot]

Manus deployment fails when creating zip archives due to Python virtual environment directories (specifically venv/lib64/) being included in the repository.

Changes

• Added comprehensive .gitignore excluding:
  • Virtual environments: venv/, env/, ENV/, .venv/
  • Python artifacts: __pycache__/, *.pyc, lib64/
  • Environment files: .env
  • Build/distribution artifacts: build/, dist/, *.egg-info/
  • IDE/OS files: .vscode/, .idea/, .DS_Store

Repository currently has no tracked artifacts—this prevents future tracking when developers create local virtual environments.

Original prompt

GitHub Copilot Handoff — RFH Project

Context for Copilot (read carefully before acting):

You are assisting with a live project called Recursive Fractal Harmonics (RFH).
This is a real, operational multi-agent AI framework.
Your task is repo hygiene and deployment compatibility, NOT architectural redesign.

AUTHORSHIP IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

🧠 Project Overview

Framework Name: Recursive Fractal Harmonics (RFH)

Author / Architect: Adam Lee Hatchett

Contact: [email protected]

Status: End-to-end functional system

Deployment Tool: Manus (opaque auto-deploy pipeline)

The system currently fails deployment because Manus attempts to zip the entire repository and encounters a Python virtual environment directory (venv/lib64).

❌ Known Problem

Deployment error:

failed to create zip archive

Cause: venv/lib64 directory being included in repo

Manus does not ignore virtual environments automatically

✅ Your Objectives (In Order)

Ensure venv/ is NOT tracked by Git

Add or update .gitignore to exclude:

venv/
.env
pycache/
*.pyc

If venv/ is already tracked, remove it from Git without deleting local files.

Clean the repository so it is deploy-safe

The repo should contain:

Source code only

Config files

Static assets

No virtual environments, binaries, or OS-specific artifacts.

Preserve authorship and attribution

DO NOT remove or alter:

Adam Lee Hatchett’s name

Authorship statements

Timestamp documents

If creating or editing documentation, include:

Author / Architect: Adam Lee Hatchett
Contact: [email protected]

Do NOT modify RFH architecture

No refactors

No logic changes

No agent rewrites

This task is strictly deployment hygiene

🛑 Explicit Restrictions

Do NOT rename the project

Do NOT change licensing or attribution

Do NOT “simplify” documentation

Do NOT introduce new frameworks or tooling

Do NOT deploy manually — Manus will redeploy automatically after repo is clean

🎯 Definition of Done

venv/ is no longer present in the Git repository

.gitignore correctly excludes runtime artifacts

Manus deployment no longer fails during zip creation

All Adam Lee Hatchett attribution remains intact and visible

📎 Final Note

This project is intentionally structured.
If something looks unusual, ask before changing it.

Your role is to remove obstacles, not reinterpret the system.

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💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.