[BUG] `cortex logs --clear` removes any old file in the logs directory instead of only `.log` and `.txt` log files

[prinws-11]

Project

cortex

Description

The normal cortex logs view only treats .log and .txt files as logs, but cortex logs --clear deletes every old file in the logs directory with no extension filtering at all. This means sidecar files or unrelated artifacts stored there can be removed even though the command is documented as clearing old log files.

Error Message

Debug Logs

System Information

OS: Windows 10
RAM: 16 GB
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.8GHz(8 CPUs), ~2.8GH

Screenshots

https://github.com/prinws-11/SN_100_MEDIA_Evidence/blob/main/image5.png

Steps to Reproduce

1. Place an old non-log file in the Cortex logs directory, such as notes.json or snapshot.bin.
2. Make sure its modified time is older than the selected retention window.
3. Run cortex logs --clear.
4. Inspect the logs directory afterward.

Expected Behavior

cortex logs --clear should only delete old log files, consistent with the main command’s .log / .txt filtering and the help text.

Actual Behavior

The clear path deletes any old file in the logs directory, regardless of whether it is actually a log file.

Additional Context

src/cortex-cli/src/logs_cmd.rs:41

• Help text says Clear old log files.
  src/cortex-cli/src/logs_cmd.rs:116-121
• The normal log-file discovery path only includes files whose names end with .log or .txt.
  src/cortex-cli/src/logs_cmd.rs:316-336
• run_clear() iterates every file in logs_dir and deletes it if modified < cutoff_time, with no extension filter.

[atlas-cortex]

✅ Validation Summary — Issue #51691

All validation checks passed. 1/17 code rules failed | 1 PENALIZE | 14 LLM instructions active

Confidence Score: 4/5

• All validation checks passed. This submission meets the bounty requirements.

Validation Checks

Check	Status	Detail
Media Evidence	✅ Pass	Evidence found and accessible
Spam Detection	✅ Pass	Score: 29% — no spam signals
Duplicate Detection	✅ Pass	No significant overlap with existing issues
Code Verification	✅ Pass	Bug confirmed in source code (confidence: 100%) — The code confirms the reported bug. The run_clear function in logs_cmd.rs de
Edit History	✅ Pass	No suspicious edits
LLM Evaluation	✅ Pass	All validation checks passed. 1/17 code rules failed

Validation Pipeline

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A["Issue #51691"] --> B{"Media Check"}
    B -->|"✅ Found"| C{"Spam Check"}
    C -->|"✅ Clean"| D{"Duplicate Check"}
    D -->|"✅ Unique"| CV{"Code Verify"}
    CV -->|"✅ Confirmed"| E{"Edit History"}
    E -->|"✅ Normal"| F{"LLM Evaluation"}
    F -->|"✅ Valid"| G["✅ Approved"]
    style G fill:#51cf66,color:#fff

Loading

Raw Evidence

{
  "media": {
    "hasMedia": true,
    "accessible": true,
    "urls": [
      "https://github.com/prinws-11/SN_100_MEDIA_Evidence/blob/main/image5.png"
    ],
    "evidence": [
      "Found 1 media URL(s) via markdown parsing",
      "1 URL(s) accessible"
    ]
  },
  "spam": {
    "overallScore": 0.2857798165137615,
    "details": "template=0.34 (2 recent issues compared); burst=0.50 (3 issues in 2h window); parity=0.00; overall=0.29 (threshold=0.7)"
  },
  "duplicate": {
    "isDuplicate": false,
    "similarity": 0.6092677032152916,
    "topSimilar": [
      {
        "issueNumber": 51573,
        "title": "[BUG] [alpha] `cortex logs --clear --level` ignores level filter and clears all log files",
        "similarity": 0.6092677032152916
      },
      {
        "issueNumber": 51347,
        "title": "[BUG] [v0.0.7] Temporary cleanup can delete unrelated files if they start with \\`cortex-\\`",
        "similarity": 0.5251753546523354
      },
      {
        "issueNumber": 51232,
        "title": "[BUG] [v0.0.7] cortex logs --session / -s is accepted but ignored — always tails/shows newest log file",
        "similarity": 0.522453058678929
      },
      {
        "issueNumber": 51351,
        "title": "[BUG] [v0.0.7] Temporary cleanup can remove unrelated hidden temp paths starting with \\`.cortex\\`",
        "similarity": 0.49326896748734905
      },
      {
        "issueNumber": 51286,
        "title": "[BUG] [v0.0.7] Safety check allows deletion of arbitrary files named \\`cortex.old\\` even when unrelated",
        "similarity": 0.48597358491554116
      }
    ]
  },
  "editHistory": {
    "fraudScore": 0,
    "editCount": 0,
    "details": "No edits detected"
  },
  "codeVerification": {
    "plausible": true,
    "confidence": 1,
    "reasoning": "The code confirms the reported bug. The `run_clear` function in `logs_cmd.rs` deletes any file in the logs directory that is older than the retention window, without filtering by file extension. This means non-log files placed in the directory will be deleted.",
    "codeEvidence": "In `src/cortex-cli/src/logs_cmd.rs`, the `run_clear` function iterates over all files in the `logs_dir` and deletes them if their modification time is older than the cutoff time. It does not check if the file extension is `.log` or `.txt`, unlike the log discovery path which explicitly filters for these extensions.",
    "screenshotValid": true,
    "screenshotReasoning": "The screenshot shows a real terminal session demonstrating the bug. The user creates a `notes.json` file in the logs directory, modifies its timestamp to be old, runs `cortex logs --clear`, and the file is deleted. This is valid user-facing evidence."
  },
  "rules": {
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      "A valid bug report must contain enough information for an engineer to reproduce the issue. If the steps to reproduce are missing or impossibly vague (\"it just broke\"), the issue is INVALID.",
      "You MUST call the deliver_verdict function exactly once. Do not output a JSON object manually. Do not output your verdict in plain text. Use the tool.",
      "Be highly suspicious of submissions that follow a rigid template: same structure, same phrasing, with only the page name or URL swapped. These are template-farmed and should be INVALID. Look for: identical sentence structure, placeholder-like descriptions, formulaic \"Steps to Reproduce\".",
      "When similar issues exist, the OLDER issue (lower issue number) always takes precedence. The newer submission is the duplicate, never the other way around.",
      "Confidence scores must be calibrated: use 0.9+ only when evidence is unambiguous and complete. Use 0.5-0.7 when the issue is borderline. Use below 0.5 when you are genuinely uncertain. Never default to 0.5 — commit to a direction.",
      "Do not give the benefit of the doubt. Missing evidence means INVALID. Unclear reproduction steps means INVALID. Inaccessible media means INVALID. The burden of proof is on the submitter.",
      "In the reasoning field, explain your step-by-step analysis BEFORE stating your conclusion. Cover: evidence quality, clarity, spam signals, and duplicate overlap in that order.",
      "Never mention internal scoring thresholds, rule IDs, detection heuristics, or system architecture in the recap field. The recap is public-facing. Keep reasoning technical but recap user-friendly.",
      "If the issue body reads like AI-generated boilerplate (phrases like \"It is important to note\", \"Furthermore\", \"In conclusion\", excessive politeness, no specific technical details), treat it as strong evidence of spam. AI-generated issues with no real bug details are INVALID.",
      "If the pre-computed media check says media URLs exist, verify the description matches what a screenshot would show. If the description talks about a login page but the context suggests the screenshot is of something unrelated, flag this as suspicious.",
      "Never soften a verdict out of sympathy. \"I can see you tried hard but...\" is not acceptable. If the submission does not meet criteria, it is INVALID regardless of apparent effort.",
      "Write your reasoning and recap in a professional, neutral tone. Do not be sarcastic, condescending, or emotional. State facts.",
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  }
}

_{Validated by Atlas • 2026-04-09}

[GreyforgeLabs]

Implemented in CortexLM/cortex-code#400

Validation run:

• cargo test -p cortex-cli --test logs_clear --no-default-features --features cortex-tui -- --nocapture
• cargo check -p cortex-cli --no-default-features --features cortex-tui
• cargo fmt --package cortex-cli --check
• git diff --check
• git diff --cached --check