diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ef691e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+## 2025-12-23 - Broken sed pipeline caused data loss
+**Learning:** The command `sed 's// /g'` with an empty pattern is invalid and exits with code 1. When used in a pipe `cat | sed | tr` where stderr is redirected to `/dev/null`, it silently fails and breaks the pipe, resulting in empty output.
+**Action:** Always verify regex patterns in `sed`. Use `tr` for simple character replacements. Avoid suppressing stderr blindly when debugging critical data pipelines.
diff --git a/codepack.sh b/codepack.sh
index 0d8ae2c..8c5ee28 100755
--- a/codepack.sh
+++ b/codepack.sh
@@ -851,7 +851,9 @@ extract_files_content() {
         # Read file content and clean invalid characters
         local content=""
         if [[ -r "$file" && -s "$file" ]]; then
-            content=$(cat "$file" 2>/dev/null | sed 's// /g' 2>/dev/null | tr -cd '\11\12\15\40-\176' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+            # Optimized file reading: avoid cat and broken sed 's// /g'
+            # Use tr directly on input file to filter non-printable characters
+            content=$(tr -cd '\11\12\15\40-\176' < "$file" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
         fi
 
         debug_log "Content length: ${#content}" >&2