Offer an opt-in CLI layout without input parent folders #621

Why

#593 identified input parent folders appearing beneath CLI output directories. Removing those folders changes paths used by existing scripts. #587 explicitly asks to retain the existing <input>/<step>/… layout. The 2026-10-23 compatibility decision for #611 preserves working output layouts and time-based directory rerun skipping while shipping filename and HLS repairs in a minor release.

Follow-up

Design an opt-in layout that strips input parent directories without changing the default. For example, -i ../inputs/x.jpg -o out/ currently keeps inputs/ under out/; an explicit option could omit it. Preserve directory-input subfolders, result filenames/extensions, HLS playlist references, collision handling, watch ownership, and the documented freshness behavior.

Add CLI behavior tests for default compatibility and the opt-in layout before changing paths. Do not infer filesystem naming rules beyond the output root here; nested filesystem handling is tracked in #615.

Deferred from #611; no implementation is included in that PR.

_{🤖 Released by kvz on studio1/node-sdk since 2026-10-23 · resume: codex resume 01a16a73-d73f-7e11-83fe-db48d62fa526}