feat: Add crew session cycling fix and daemon exponential backoff (gt-ws8ol)

- Fix crew next/prev: Pass session name via key binding to avoid run-shell context issue
- Add TouchTownActivity() for town-level activity signaling
- Implement daemon exponential backoff based on activity.json:
  - 0-5 min idle → 5 min heartbeat
  - 5-15 min idle → 10 min heartbeat
  - 15-45 min idle → 30 min heartbeat
  - 45+ min idle → 60 min heartbeat (max)

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

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

internal/cmd/crew.go

@@ -273,6 +273,11 @@ func init() {
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewRenameCmd)
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewPristineCmd)
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewRestartCmd)
+
+	// Add --session flag to next/prev commands for tmux key binding support
+	// When run via run-shell, tmux session context may be wrong, so we pass it explicitly
+	crewNextCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&crewCycleSession, "session", "s", "", "tmux session name (for key bindings)")
+	crewPrevCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&crewCycleSession, "session", "s", "", "tmux session name (for key bindings)")
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewNextCmd)
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewPrevCmd)
 	crewCmd.AddCommand(crewStartCmd)

internal/cmd/crew_cycle.go

@@ -8,16 +8,30 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+// crewCycleSession is the --session flag for crew next/prev commands.
+// When run via tmux key binding (run-shell), the session context may not be
+// correct, so we pass the session name explicitly via #{session_name} expansion.
+var crewCycleSession string
+
 // cycleCrewSession switches to the next or previous crew session in the same rig.
 // direction: 1 for next, -1 for previous
-func cycleCrewSession(direction int) error {
+// sessionOverride: if non-empty, use this instead of detecting current session
-	// Get current session (uses existing function from handoff.go)
+func cycleCrewSession(direction int, sessionOverride string) error {
-	currentSession, err := getCurrentTmuxSession()
+	var currentSession string
-	if err != nil {
+	var err error
-		return fmt.Errorf("not in a tmux session: %w", err)
+
-	}
+	if sessionOverride != "" {
-	if currentSession == "" {
+		// Use the provided session name (from tmux key binding)
-		return fmt.Errorf("not in a tmux session")
+		currentSession = sessionOverride
+	} else {
+		// Get current session (uses existing function from handoff.go)
+		currentSession, err = getCurrentTmuxSession()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("not in a tmux session: %w", err)
+		}
+		if currentSession == "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("not in a tmux session")
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Parse rig name from current session
@@ -73,9 +87,9 @@ func cycleCrewSession(direction int) error {
 }
 
 func runCrewNext(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	return cycleCrewSession(1)
+	return cycleCrewSession(1, crewCycleSession)
 }
 
 func runCrewPrev(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	return cycleCrewSession(-1)
+	return cycleCrewSession(-1, crewCycleSession)
 }

internal/cmd/root.go

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ across distributed teams of AI agents working on shared codebases.`,
 		// Build command path: gt status, gt mail send, etc.
 		cmdPath := buildCommandPath(cmd)
 		keepalive.TouchWithArgs(cmdPath, args)
+
+		// Also signal town-level activity for daemon exponential backoff
+		// This resets the backoff when any gt command runs
+		keepalive.TouchTownActivity(cmdPath)
 	},
 }
 

internal/daemon/daemon.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/keepalive"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/polecat"
 	"github.com/steveyegge/gastown/internal/tmux"
 )
@@ -77,11 +78,13 @@ func (d *Daemon) Run() error {
 	sigChan := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
 	signal.Notify(sigChan, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM, syscall.SIGUSR1)
 
-	// Heartbeat ticker
+	// Dynamic heartbeat timer with exponential backoff based on activity
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(d.config.HeartbeatInterval)
+	// Start with base interval
-	defer ticker.Stop()
+	nextInterval := d.config.HeartbeatInterval
+	timer := time.NewTimer(nextInterval)
+	defer timer.Stop()
 
-	d.logger.Printf("Daemon running, heartbeat every %v", d.config.HeartbeatInterval)
+	d.logger.Printf("Daemon running, initial heartbeat interval %v", nextInterval)
 
 	// Initial heartbeat
 	d.heartbeat(state)
@@ -102,12 +105,66 @@ func (d *Daemon) Run() error {
 				return d.shutdown(state)
 			}
 
-		case <-ticker.C:
+		case <-timer.C:
 			d.heartbeat(state)
+
+			// Calculate next interval based on activity
+			nextInterval = d.calculateHeartbeatInterval()
+			timer.Reset(nextInterval)
+			d.logger.Printf("Next heartbeat in %v", nextInterval)
 		}
 	}
 }
 
+// Backoff thresholds for exponential slowdown when idle
+const (
+	// Base interval when there's recent activity
+	baseInterval = 5 * time.Minute
+
+	// Tier thresholds for backoff
+	tier1Threshold = 5 * time.Minute  // 0-5 min idle → 5 min interval
+	tier2Threshold = 15 * time.Minute // 5-15 min idle → 10 min interval
+	tier3Threshold = 45 * time.Minute // 15-45 min idle → 30 min interval
+	// 45+ min idle → 60 min interval (max)
+
+	// Corresponding intervals
+	tier1Interval = 5 * time.Minute
+	tier2Interval = 10 * time.Minute
+	tier3Interval = 30 * time.Minute
+	tier4Interval = 60 * time.Minute // max
+)
+
+// calculateHeartbeatInterval determines the next heartbeat interval based on activity.
+// Reads ~/gt/daemon/activity.json to determine how long since the last gt/bd command.
+// Returns exponentially increasing intervals as idle time grows.
+//
+// | Idle Duration | Next Heartbeat |
+// |---------------|----------------|
+// | 0-5 min       | 5 min (base)   |
+// | 5-15 min      | 10 min         |
+// | 15-45 min     | 30 min         |
+// | 45+ min       | 60 min (max)   |
+func (d *Daemon) calculateHeartbeatInterval() time.Duration {
+	activity := keepalive.ReadTownActivity()
+	if activity == nil {
+		// No activity file - assume recent activity (might be first run)
+		return baseInterval
+	}
+
+	idleDuration := activity.Age()
+
+	switch {
+	case idleDuration < tier1Threshold:
+		return tier1Interval
+	case idleDuration < tier2Threshold:
+		return tier2Interval
+	case idleDuration < tier3Threshold:
+		return tier3Interval
+	default:
+		return tier4Interval
+	}
+}
+
 // heartbeat performs one heartbeat cycle.
 // The daemon's job is minimal: ensure Deacon is running and send heartbeats.
 // All health checking and decision-making belongs in the Deacon molecule.

internal/keepalive/keepalive.go

@@ -64,6 +64,69 @@ func TouchInWorkspace(workspaceRoot, command string) {
 	_ = os.WriteFile(keepalivePath, data, 0644) // non-fatal: status file for debugging
 }
 
+// TouchTownActivity writes a town-level activity signal to ~/gt/daemon/activity.json.
+// This is used by the daemon to implement exponential backoff when the town is idle.
+// Any gt command activity resets the backoff to the base heartbeat interval.
+// It silently ignores errors (best-effort signaling).
+func TouchTownActivity(command string) {
+	// Get town root from GT_TOWN_ROOT or default to ~/gt
+	townRoot := os.Getenv("GT_TOWN_ROOT")
+	if townRoot == "" {
+		home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+		if err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		townRoot = filepath.Join(home, "gt")
+	}
+
+	daemonDir := filepath.Join(townRoot, "daemon")
+
+	// Ensure daemon directory exists
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(daemonDir, 0755); err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	state := State{
+		LastCommand: command,
+		Timestamp:   time.Now().UTC(),
+	}
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(state)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	activityPath := filepath.Join(daemonDir, "activity.json")
+	_ = os.WriteFile(activityPath, data, 0644) // non-fatal: activity signal for daemon
+}
+
+// ReadTownActivity returns the current town-level activity state.
+// Returns nil if the file doesn't exist or can't be read.
+func ReadTownActivity() *State {
+	townRoot := os.Getenv("GT_TOWN_ROOT")
+	if townRoot == "" {
+		home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil
+		}
+		townRoot = filepath.Join(home, "gt")
+	}
+
+	activityPath := filepath.Join(townRoot, "daemon", "activity.json")
+
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(activityPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	var state State
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(data, &state); err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return &state
+}
+
 // Read returns the current keepalive state for the workspace.
 // Returns nil if the file doesn't exist or can't be read.
 func Read(workspaceRoot string) *State {