fix: ZFC improvements - query tmux directly instead of marker TTL

Two ZFC fixes:

1. Boot marker file (hq-zee5n): Changed IsRunning() to query
   tmux.HasSession() directly instead of checking marker file
   freshness with TTL. Removed stale marker check from doctor.

2. Branch pattern matching (hq-zwuh6): Replaced hardcoded "polecat/"
   strings with constants.BranchPolecatPrefix for consistency.

Also removed 60-second WaitForCommand blocking from crew Start()
which was causing gt crew start to hang.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

internal/boot/boot.go

@@ -23,15 +23,12 @@ import (
 // to return true when only Boot is running.
 const SessionName = "gt-boot"
 
-// MarkerFileName is the file that indicates Boot is currently running.
+// MarkerFileName is the lock file for Boot startup coordination.
 const MarkerFileName = ".boot-running"
 
 // StatusFileName stores Boot's last execution status.
 const StatusFileName = ".boot-status.json"
 
-// DefaultMarkerTTL is how long a marker is considered valid before it's stale.
-const DefaultMarkerTTL = 5 * time.Minute
-
 // Status represents Boot's execution status.
 type Status struct {
 	Running     bool      `json:"running"`
@@ -78,22 +75,9 @@ func (b *Boot) statusPath() string {
 }
 
 // IsRunning checks if Boot is currently running.
-// Returns true if marker exists and isn't stale, false otherwise.
+// Queries tmux directly for observable reality (ZFC principle).
 func (b *Boot) IsRunning() bool {
-	info, err := os.Stat(b.markerPath())
+	return b.IsSessionAlive()
-	if err != nil {
-		return false
-	}
-
-	// Check if marker is stale (older than TTL)
-	age := time.Since(info.ModTime())
-	if age > DefaultMarkerTTL {
-		// Stale marker - clean it up
-		_ = os.Remove(b.markerPath())
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return true
 }
 
 // IsSessionAlive checks if the Boot tmux session exists.
@@ -106,7 +90,7 @@ func (b *Boot) IsSessionAlive() bool {
 // Returns error if Boot is already running.
 func (b *Boot) AcquireLock() error {
 	if b.IsRunning() {
-		return fmt.Errorf("boot is already running (marker exists)")
+		return fmt.Errorf("boot is already running (session exists)")
 	}
 
 	if err := b.EnsureDir(); err != nil {

internal/cmd/mq_submit.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/beads"
+	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/constants"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/git"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/rig"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/style"
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ func parseBranchName(branch string) branchInfo {
 	info := branchInfo{Branch: branch}
 
 	// Try polecat/<worker>/<issue> format
-	if strings.HasPrefix(branch, "polecat/") {
+	if strings.HasPrefix(branch, constants.BranchPolecatPrefix) {
 		parts := strings.SplitN(branch, "/", 3)
 		if len(parts) == 3 {
 			info.Worker = parts[1]

internal/crew/manager.go

@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/beads"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/claude"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/config"
-	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/constants"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/git"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/rig"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/session"
@@ -536,8 +535,10 @@ func (m *Manager) Start(name string, opts StartOptions) error {
 	// Set up C-b n/p keybindings for crew session cycling (non-fatal)
 	_ = t.SetCrewCycleBindings(sessionID)
 
-	// Wait for Claude to start (non-fatal: session continues even if this times out)
+	// Note: We intentionally don't wait for Claude to start here.
-	_ = t.WaitForCommand(sessionID, constants.SupportedShells, constants.ClaudeStartTimeout)
+	// The session is created in detached mode, and blocking for 60 seconds
+	// serves no purpose. If the caller needs to know when Claude is ready,
+	// they can check with IsClaudeRunning().
 
 	return nil
 }

internal/doctor/boot_check.go

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package doctor
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/boot"
@@ -84,24 +83,9 @@ func (c *BootHealthCheck) Run(ctx *CheckContext) *CheckResult {
 		details = append(details, "No previous run recorded")
 	}
 
-	// Check 4: Marker file freshness (stale marker indicates crash)
+	// Check 4: Currently running (uses tmux session state per ZFC principle)
-	markerPath := filepath.Join(bootDir, boot.MarkerFileName)
+	if sessionAlive {
-	if info, err := os.Stat(markerPath); err == nil {
+		details = append(details, "Currently running (tmux session active)")
-		age := time.Since(info.ModTime())
-		if age > boot.DefaultMarkerTTL {
-			return &CheckResult{
-				Name:    c.Name(),
-				Status:  StatusWarning,
-				Message: "Boot marker is stale (possible crash)",
-				Details: []string{
-					fmt.Sprintf("Marker age: %s", age.Round(time.Second)),
-					fmt.Sprintf("TTL: %s", boot.DefaultMarkerTTL),
-				},
-				FixHint: "Stale marker will be cleaned on next daemon tick",
-			}
-		}
-		// Marker exists and is fresh - Boot is currently running
-		details = append(details, fmt.Sprintf("Currently running (marker age: %s)", age.Round(time.Second)))
 	}
 
 	// All checks passed

internal/doctor/rig_check.go

@@ -742,8 +742,8 @@ func (c *PolecatClonesValidCheck) Run(ctx *CheckContext) *CheckResult {
 		branchOutput, err := cmd.Output()
 		if err == nil {
 			branch := strings.TrimSpace(string(branchOutput))
-			if !strings.HasPrefix(branch, "polecat/") {
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(branch, constants.BranchPolecatPrefix) {
-				warnings = append(warnings, fmt.Sprintf("%s: on branch '%s' (expected polecat/*)", polecatName, branch))
+				warnings = append(warnings, fmt.Sprintf("%s: on branch '%s' (expected %s*)", polecatName, branch, constants.BranchPolecatPrefix))
 			}
 		}
 

internal/refinery/manager.go

@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ func (m *Manager) FindMR(idOrBranch string) (*MergeRequest, error) {
 		if item.MR.Branch == idOrBranch {
 			return item.MR, nil
 		}
-		if "polecat/"+idOrBranch == item.MR.Branch {
+		if constants.BranchPolecatPrefix+idOrBranch == item.MR.Branch {
 			return item.MR, nil
 		}
 		// Match by worker name (partial match for convenience)