refactor: remove howtolens subtree from autolens_workspace

[Jammy2211]

Overview

Sub-task 2 of 3 following up on #78. The howtolens tutorial series now lives in its own repo at PyAutoLabs/HowToLens (bootstrap shipped 2026-04-21 via PyAutoLabs/HowToLens#1). This task removes the now-duplicate content from autolens_workspace and rewires the surviving cross-references to point at the new repo.

Plan

• Delete scripts/howtolens/ and notebooks/howtolens/ wholesale from autolens_workspace.
• Fix the three scripts/guides/ scripts that auto-simulate their dataset by invoking scripts/howtolens/simulator/lens_sersic.py as a subprocess — they'd break when howtolens goes. Either relocate the simulator into autolens_workspace's own simulator layout or switch the guides to a shipped dataset.
• Slim the "HowToLens" sections of README.rst and start_here.py down to a short pointer paragraph + link to the new repo.
• Rewrite remaining howtolens URL references inside other autolens_workspace scripts/notebooks (e.g. scripts/imaging/modeling.py, interferometer/modeling.py, group/modeling.py) to point at github.com/PyAutoLabs/HowToLens.
• Drop howtolens-keyed entries from config/build/env_vars.yaml and config/build/no_run.yaml.
• PyAutoLens-side docs (docs/howtolens/, docs/overview/, docs/general/workspace.rst, paper.md, etc.) are explicitly deferred to sub-task 3 (docs-update).

Detailed implementation plan

Affected Repositories

• autolens_workspace (primary, PyAutoLabs/autolens_workspace)

Work Classification

Workspace

Branch Survey

Repository	Current Branch	Dirty?
./autolens_workspace	main	clean (one stray untracked path/ dir, unrelated)

Suggested branch: feature/howtolens-workspace-cleanup
Worktree root: ~/Code/PyAutoLabs-wt/howtolens-workspace-cleanup/ (created later by /start_workspace)

Implementation Steps

1. Delete howtolens content — git rm -r scripts/howtolens notebooks/howtolens.

2. Fix scripts/guides/ simulator subprocess dependency — three callers reference scripts/howtolens/simulator/lens_sersic.py:

   • scripts/guides/data_structures.py:247
   • scripts/guides/plot/examples/plotters.py:70
   • scripts/guides/plot/advanced/plotters_pixelization.py:59

   Decision to make at /start_workspace time:

   • Option A: move scripts/howtolens/simulator/lens_sersic.py into autolens_workspace (probably scripts/imaging/simulators/lens_sersic.py or a new scripts/simulator/ area) and rewrite the subprocess paths. Preserves feature parity with existing guide outputs.
   • Option B: retarget the three guides onto an already-shipped dataset (e.g. simple__no_lens_light, which already exists under dataset/imaging/). Simpler but may change the visuals those tutorials produce.

   Recommendation: Option A — the lens_sersic dataset is specifically a lens with Sersic light profile, and the guides illustrate plotting of that scenario. Preserving it keeps those guides' outputs stable.

3. README.rst slim-down (autolens_workspace root, ~L12, L41-57, L79) — replace the HowToLens description block with ~2 sentences pointing at the standalone repo. Link: https://github.com/PyAutoLabs/HowToLens.

4. start_here.py slim-down (~L376-391) — replace the HowToLens lecture pitch with a one-paragraph pointer. Regenerate start_here.ipynb via the standard notebook generation step (or let /pre_build handle it later).

5. Cross-reference rewrites — the survey flagged notebook-body mentions in:

   • notebooks/imaging/modeling.ipynb:853
   • notebooks/interferometer/modeling.ipynb:710
   • notebooks/group/modeling.ipynb:992

   These are auto-generated; edit the corresponding .py scripts instead. Rewrite prose like "checkout autolens_workspace/*/howtolens" to point at github.com/PyAutoLabs/HowToLens.

6. Build config cleanup:

   • config/build/env_vars.yaml:38-39 — remove the pattern: "howtolens/" override.
   • config/build/no_run.yaml:20,25,52-54 — remove howtolens-keyed skip entries.

7. Smoke test — autolens_workspace's existing smoke_tests.txt does not list howtolens scripts, so no list changes expected. Run /smoke-test autolens_workspace after the edits to confirm nothing regressed. Then manually exercise the three fixed scripts/guides/ scripts with PYAUTO_TEST_MODE=2.

Key Files

• scripts/howtolens/ — delete
• notebooks/howtolens/ — delete
• scripts/guides/data_structures.py — fix subprocess call
• scripts/guides/plot/examples/plotters.py — fix subprocess call
• scripts/guides/plot/advanced/plotters_pixelization.py — fix subprocess call
• scripts/imaging/simulators/lens_sersic.py (new) — relocated simulator, if Option A
• README.rst — slim HowToLens section
• start_here.py — slim HowToLens pitch
• scripts/imaging/modeling.py, scripts/interferometer/modeling.py, scripts/group/modeling.py — URL cross-refs
• config/build/env_vars.yaml, config/build/no_run.yaml — remove howtolens entries

Out of Scope

PyAutoLens library-side docs updates (sub-task 3: howtolens-docs-update) — index.rst, docs/howtolens/*.rst, docs/overview/*.rst, docs/general/workspace.rst, paper.md, README.rst in the PyAutoLens repo.

Original Prompt

Click to expand starting prompt

Sub-task 2 of 3 following up on #78.

The howtolens tutorial series has been extracted into its own repo at PyAutoLabs/HowToLens (bootstrap PR: PyAutoLabs/HowToLens#1, shipped 2026-04-21).

This sub-task removes the howtolens content from PyAutoLabs/autolens_workspace and updates all internal cross-references that still point at scripts/howtolens/ or notebooks/howtolens/.

In scope

• Delete scripts/howtolens/ and notebooks/howtolens/ (wholesale).
• Fix the three scripts/guides/ callers that subprocess.run into scripts/howtolens/simulator/lens_sersic.py — they'll break when howtolens goes: scripts/guides/data_structures.py:247, scripts/guides/plot/examples/plotters.py:70, scripts/guides/plot/advanced/plotters_pixelization.py:59. Pick one of: (a) copy the simulator out of howtolens into scripts/imaging/simulators/ and update subprocess paths; (b) switch the guides to an already-shipped dataset like simple or simple__no_lens_light.
• Slim the HowToLens sections in autolens_workspace/README.rst (~L12, L41-57, L79) and autolens_workspace/start_here.py (~L376-391) — regenerate matching .ipynb. Replace the embedded content with a short pointer paragraph + a link to https://github.com/PyAutoLabs/HowToLens.
• Update the howtolens-referencing prose in other workspace scripts/notebooks (cross-refs in scripts/imaging/modeling.py, scripts/interferometer/modeling.py, scripts/group/modeling.py, etc.) to point at the new repo URL rather than autolens_workspace/*/howtolens.
• Remove the howtolens-keyed entries from config/build/env_vars.yaml and config/build/no_run.yaml (they have no targets to apply to anymore).

Out of scope — sub-task 3

Changes to PyAutoLens/docs/ (index.rst toctree, howtolens/*.rst, overview/*.rst, general/workspace.rst, README.rst, paper.md). These live in the PyAutoLens library repo, not the workspace — deferred to sub-task 3 (howtolens-docs-update).

Validation

• Smoke list: after the edits, run /smoke-test on autolens_workspace (its existing smoke_tests.txt — no howtolens scripts are currently listed there, so no list edits expected, but confirm).
• Manually run the three scripts/guides/ callers to confirm the subprocess fix works.

Follow-up

Sub-task 3 (docs-update) will replace the PyAutoLens-side docs that still describe howtolens as an autolens_workspace/howtolens/ subtree. HowToGalaxy + HowToFit get the same three-step treatment once HowToLens is fully bedded in.