From bed0dacf1f8c25fa4bec67dbeba5d90dc8ee5838 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Steve Yegge <steve.yegge@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2025 14:15:24 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] feat: Add gt polecat recycle command (gt-j9ddg)
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Implements session-preserving polecat recycle:
- Kills Claude session (tmux kill-session)
- Preserves sandbox (worktree and branch intact)
- Updates agent bead state to 'stopped'
- Leaves polecat ready for respawn on next molecule step

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 internal/cmd/polecat.go | 87 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 87 insertions(+)

diff --git a/internal/cmd/polecat.go b/internal/cmd/polecat.go
index 9494d1b3..82543e83 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/polecat.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/polecat.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/beads"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/git"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/polecat"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/rig"
@@ -220,6 +221,26 @@ Examples:
 	RunE: runPolecatGC,
 }
 
+var polecatRecycleCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "recycle <rig>/<polecat>",
+	Short: "Kill session but preserve sandbox for respawn",
+	Long: `Recycle a polecat session: kill the Claude session but preserve the sandbox.
+
+This command:
+  - Kills the tmux session (stopping the Claude agent)
+  - Preserves the worktree and branch (sandbox intact)
+  - Updates agent bead state to 'stopped'
+  - Leaves everything ready for respawn on next step
+
+Use this between molecule steps to give polecats fresh context.
+Use 'gt polecat nuke' for full cleanup after merge.
+
+Examples:
+  gt polecat recycle gastown/Toast`,
+	Args: cobra.ExactArgs(1),
+	RunE: runPolecatRecycle,
+}
+
 var polecatGitStateCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "git-state <rig>/<polecat>",
 	Short: "Show git state for pre-kill verification",
@@ -274,6 +295,7 @@ func init() {
 	polecatCmd.AddCommand(polecatStatusCmd)
 	polecatCmd.AddCommand(polecatGitStateCmd)
 	polecatCmd.AddCommand(polecatGCCmd)
+	polecatCmd.AddCommand(polecatRecycleCmd)
 
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(polecatCmd)
 }
@@ -1089,6 +1111,71 @@ func runPolecatGC(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func runPolecatRecycle(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	rigName, polecatName, err := parseAddress(args[0])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	mgr, r, err := getPolecatManager(rigName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Verify polecat exists
+	p, err := mgr.Get(polecatName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("polecat '%s' not found in rig '%s'", polecatName, rigName)
+	}
+
+	fmt.Printf("Recycling polecat %s/%s...\n", rigName, polecatName)
+
+	// Check if session is running
+	t := tmux.NewTmux()
+	sessMgr := session.NewManager(t, r)
+	running, _ := sessMgr.IsRunning(polecatName)
+
+	if running {
+		// Kill the session (preserves sandbox)
+		fmt.Printf("  Stopping session...\n")
+		if err := sessMgr.Stop(polecatName, false); err != nil {
+			// Try force stop
+			if err := sessMgr.Stop(polecatName, true); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("stopping session: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("  %s Session stopped\n", style.Success.Render("✓"))
+	} else {
+		fmt.Printf("  %s Session not running\n", style.Dim.Render("○"))
+	}
+
+	// Update agent bead state to 'stopped'
+	// Agent bead ID format: <prefix>-polecat-<rig>-<name>
+	// We need to get the prefix from the rig's beads config
+	beadsDir := filepath.Join(r.Path, "mayor", "rig")
+	bd := beads.New(beadsDir)
+
+	// Find the agent bead by searching for type=agent matching this polecat
+	// Agent bead ID pattern: gt-polecat-<rig>-<name>
+	agentBeadID := fmt.Sprintf("gt-polecat-%s-%s", rigName, polecatName)
+
+	// Try to update agent state
+	fmt.Printf("  Updating agent state...\n")
+	if err := bd.UpdateAgentState(agentBeadID, "stopped", nil); err != nil {
+		// Non-fatal - agent bead might not exist yet
+		fmt.Printf("  %s Agent bead not found (ok for new polecats)\n", style.Dim.Render("○"))
+	} else {
+		fmt.Printf("  %s Agent state: stopped\n", style.Success.Render("✓"))
+	}
+
+	// Report sandbox preserved
+	fmt.Printf("  %s Sandbox preserved: %s\n", style.Success.Render("✓"), style.Dim.Render(p.ClonePath))
+	fmt.Printf("  %s Branch: %s\n", style.Success.Render("✓"), style.Dim.Render(p.Branch))
+
+	fmt.Printf("\n%s Polecat recycled. Ready for respawn.\n", style.SuccessPrefix)
+	return nil
+}
+
 // splitLines splits a string into non-empty lines.
 func splitLines(s string) []string {
 	var lines []string