fix(playbooks): require explicit pattern_dir; drop misleading '.' default

'.' is the ansible-playbook cwd, not the playbook dir; collection installs are
not the pattern repo. Accept PATTERN_DIR env or -e pattern_dir and fail with
guidance when neither is set.

Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>

Author: Martin Jackson

playbooks/determine_pattern_dir.yml

@@ -1,14 +1,33 @@
 ---
-# pattern_dir may be overridden with -e pattern_dir=/path/to/pattern (extra vars win over this default).
-# Default '.' is the usual case when ansible-playbook is run from the pattern repository root.
+# Root of the Validated Pattern checkout (directory that contains values-global.yaml, values-secret.yaml, etc.).
+#
+# Set explicitly; this is NOT inferred from the playbook file path when you run collection playbooks from
+# ~/.ansible/collections/... — and a literal '.' would mean the shell's current working directory, not the pattern repo.
+#
+# Configure either:
+#   ansible-playbook .../display_secrets_info.yml -e pattern_dir=/absolute/path/to/pattern
+# or:
+#   export PATTERN_DIR=/absolute/path/to/pattern
+#
+# Extra vars (-e pattern_dir) take precedence over PATTERN_DIR when both are set.
 - name: Determine pattern dir
   hosts: localhost
   connection: local
   gather_facts: false
   become: false
   vars:
-    pattern_dir: '.'
+    pattern_dir: "{{ lookup('env', 'PATTERN_DIR', default='') }}"
   tasks:
+    - name: Fail if pattern directory is not configured
+      ansible.builtin.fail:
+        msg: >-
+          pattern_dir is not set. Pass your pattern repository root (absolute path), e.g.
+          ansible-playbook .../display_secrets_info.yml -e pattern_dir=/path/to/pattern
+          or set environment variable PATTERN_DIR to that path before running.
+          A default of '.' would follow the shell's current working directory, not the playbook
+          directory, and is not used here to avoid loading the wrong values-global.yaml.
+      when: pattern_dir | length == 0
+
     - name: Set pattern_dir fact for future plays
       ansible.builtin.set_fact:
         pattern_dir: '{{ pattern_dir }}'