## What would it take to get rid of all //nolint:ireturn directives?

Not a refactor at all — it's a config decision. The 7 directives can't (and shouldn't) be refactored away by changing return types; the right move is either **disable `ireturn`** (kills the fight permanently) or **convert the 7 inline directives into allow-list entries** (keeps the linter for new code). Both are small config edits.

## Why "refactor to concrete types" is the wrong path

I looked at all 7. None are accidental — they're either framework-forced or deliberate abstraction boundaries:

- `activity_tui.go` → `tea.Msg` — **forced** by bubbletea's `Cmd` signature.
- `uiform.go` → `huh.Theme` — **forced**, it's an interface in huh v2.
- `attach.go`, `open.go`, `manual_commit.go` (×2) → store capabilities (`CommittedStore`/`TemporaryStore`) — **intentional** abstraction boundaries.
- `manual_commit_condensation.go` → `summarize.Generator` — intentional provider abstraction.

Changing these to concrete returns is impossible for the first two and actively harms the design for the rest. So refactoring is off the table.

## The actual fight you're hitting

`buildSummaryGenerator` is the tell. `summarize.Generator` is **already in the allow-list** (`.golangci.yaml:118`), so `ireturn` shouldn't fire — yet the directive exists. Its own comment says it: ireturn fires in some linter versions, and when it doesn't, `nolintlint` (you have `require-explanation` + `require-specific` on) flags the directive as unused. Version-dependent whack-a-mole. That's the loop you hate.

## Two clean options

**Option A — disable `ireturn` (smallest, ends it for good)**

- Remove `- ireturn` (`.golangci.yaml:36`)
- Delete the `ireturn:` settings block (lines 110–135, ~26 lines)
- Delete the 2 path exclusions (lines 171–176)
- Delete all 7 inline directives
- Net: ~35 fewer lines of config, zero directives, nothing for gofmt/nolintlint to fight over. Cost: no nudge toward concrete returns on _new_ code.

**Option B — keep the linter, kill the inline directives**

- Add ~3 type entries to the existing `allow` list: `...checkpoint.CommittedStore`, `...checkpoint.TemporaryStore`, `charm.land/bubbletea/v2.Msg`, plus a path exclusion for `uiform.go` (huh.Theme).
- Delete all 7 inline directives (the summarize one is already covered).
- Net: a few config lines added, all inline directives gone, linter still guards new code. This matches the pattern the repo already uses (25 allow entries + 2 path exclusions).

My recommendation: **Option B** if you still want the discipline on new code, **Option A** if you (like most people) think `ireturn` is more noise than signal. Either is ~10 minutes and I can verify with `mise run lint` after.

## Done

**Option B implemented — all 7 `//nolint:ireturn` directives gone, linter still enabled.**

- Added 4 type entries to the `allow` list in `.golangci.yaml`: `bubbletea/v2.Msg`, `huh/v2.Theme`, `checkpoint.CommittedStore`, `checkpoint.TemporaryStore`. (`summarize.Generator` was already allowed — its directive was redundant, the root of the version-dependent fight.)
- Removed inline directives from: `activity_tui.go`, `attach.go`, `checkpoint/open.go`, `uiform/uiform.go`, `manual_commit.go` (×2), `manual_commit_condensation.go`.
- `mise run lint` → **0 issues**; `grep` confirms zero `nolint:ireturn` remain.