Agents were misfiling beads in HQ when they should go to project-specific
rigs (beads, gastown). The templates explained routing mechanics but not
decision making. Added "Where to File Beads" sections with:
- Routing table based on what code the issue affects
- Simple heuristic: "Which repo would the fix be committed to?"
- Examples for bd CLI → beads, gt CLI → gastown, coordination → HQ
Affects: mayor, deacon, crew, polecat templates.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Polish help text across all agent commands to clarify roles:
- crew: persistent workspaces vs ephemeral polecats
- deacon: town-level watchdog receiving heartbeats
- dog: cross-rig infrastructure workers (cats vs dogs)
- mayor: Chief of Staff for cross-rig coordination
- nudge: universal synchronous messaging API
- polecat: ephemeral one-task workers, self-cleaning
- refinery: merge queue serializer per rig
- witness: per-rig polecat health monitor
Add comprehensive gt nudge documentation to crew template explaining
when to use nudge vs mail, common patterns, and target shortcuts.
Add orphan-process-cleanup step to deacon patrol formula to clean up
claude subagent processes that fail to exit (TTY = "?").
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Polecats must use `gt done` which goes through the Refinery merge queue.
The Refinery handles serialization, rebasing, and conflict resolution.
Added explicit "Polecats do NOT" list:
- Push directly to main (WRONG)
- Create pull requests
- Wait around to see if work merges
This addresses the failure mode where polecats push directly to main
instead of using the Refinery, causing merge conflicts that the
Refinery is designed to handle.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Updated polecat and crew templates to more explicitly address the
"waiting for approval" anti-pattern. LLMs naturally want to pause
and confirm before taking action, but Gas Town requires autonomous
execution.
Polecat template:
- Added "The Specific Failure Mode" section describing the exact
anti-pattern (complete work, write summary, wait)
- Added "The Self-Cleaning Model" section explaining done=gone
- Strengthened DO NOT list with explicit approval-seeking examples
Crew template:
- Added "The Approval Fallacy" section at the top
- Explains that there is no approval step in Gas Town
- Lists specific anti-patterns to avoid
These changes address the root cause of polecats sitting idle after
completing work instead of running `gt done`.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add prominent warnings about the mandatory gt done requirement:
- New 'THE IDLE POLECAT HERESY' section at top of both templates
- Emphasize that sitting idle after completing work is a critical failure
- Add MANDATORY labels to completion protocol sections
- Add final reminder section before metadata block
This addresses the bug where polecats complete work but don't run gt done,
sitting idle and wasting resources instead of properly shutting down.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace weak "If You're Stuck" section with comprehensive escalation
guidance including:
- When to escalate (specific scenarios)
- How to escalate (gt escalate, mail to Witness, mail to Mayor)
- What to do after escalating (continue or exit cleanly)
- Anti-pattern example showing wrong vs right approach
This prevents polecats from filing beads and passively waiting for
human input, which caused them to appear stuck in sessions.
Fixes: hq-t8zy
Workers now get primed on the desire-paths philosophy:
- crew.md.tmpl: New "Desire Paths" section before Tips
- polecat.md.tmpl: Updated "Agent UX" section with desire-path label
When a command fails but the guess was reasonable, workers are
encouraged to file a bead with the desire-path label. This helps
improve agent ergonomics by surfacing intuitive command patterns.
References ~/gt/docs/AGENT-ERGONOMICS.md for full philosophy.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Makes PR rules conditional on repo ownership instead of absolute ban.
Non-maintainer repos may require PRs for external contributors.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The previous NEVER create GitHub PRs language was too weak. Strengthened to:
- ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN header
- This is not negotiable
- Explicit STOP if about to run gh pr create
- Clarified PR Sheriff reviews incoming PRs, does not create them
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Add Coordination section with gt nudge command
- Clarify line 180: routine nudging is Witness job, Mayor can nudge stuck refinery/witness
- Add warning to NEVER use tmux send-keys (drops Enter key)
- Includes liftoff test timestamp in manager.go
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Polecats were creating GitHub PRs instead of using gt done to submit
to the Refinery. Added clear conditional language:
- If repo is steveyegge/beads or steveyegge/gastown: NEVER create PRs
- Polecats use gt done → Refinery merges
- Crew workers push directly to main
- PRs are for external contributors only
This fixes a prompting gap that led to PR #292 being created incorrectly.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds a visible "CRITICAL" warning and pre-submission checklist to the
polecat template. Explicitly notes that polecats should NOT manually
close the root issue - the Refinery handles that after merge.
This addresses the intent of PR #287 while avoiding the conflicting
`bd close` instruction that would break the Refinery workflow.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add explicit handoff/cycling heuristics for the Witness role:
- Hand off after 15 patrol loops (vs Deacon's 20)
- Immediate handoff after extraordinary actions
- Define extraordinary actions specific to Witness role
- Add Handoff (Wisp-Based) section explaining idempotent patrols
This brings Witness documentation in line with Deacon's level of
detail for context cycling.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Creates settings.json automatically during initial setup, so Claude
settings are available immediately on launch.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Prevents mayor-specific files (CLAUDE.md, hooks) from polluting child
agent workspaces. Child agents inherit the parent's working directory,
so keeping mayor files in a dedicated subdirectory ensures they don't
interfere with agent operations.
Includes:
- MayorDir constant in templates for consistent path handling
- Updated hooks.go, prime.go, role.go to use mayor/ paths
- Documentation updates
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Refactors all agent startup paths (witness, refinery, crew, polecat) to use
a consistent Manager interface with Start(), Stop(), IsRunning(), and
SessionName() methods.
Includes:
- Witness manager with GUPP propulsion nudge for startup
- Refinery manager for engineer sessions
- Crew manager for worker agents
- Session/polecat manager updates
- claude_settings_check doctor check for settings validation
- Settings management consolidated from rig/manager.go
- Settings location moved outside source repos to prevent conflicts
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Phase 3 of heresy correction: polecat branches stay local, Refinery
accesses them via shared .repo.git.
Changes:
- templates/polecat-CLAUDE.md: Remove push from completion checklist
- mol-polecat-work.formula.toml: Remove push step from cleanup-workspace
- polecat.md.tmpl: Update landing rule for local branches
- refinery.md.tmpl: Change origin/polecat to local branch references
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Add DefaultBranch field to RoleData struct
- Update refinery.md.tmpl to use {{ .DefaultBranch }} template variable
- Populate DefaultBranch from rig config in prime.go and rig/manager.go
- Default to 'main' if not configured
- Add test verifying DefaultBranch rendering in refinery template
Fixes issue where refinery agents merged to master instead of the
configured default branch (e.g., 'develop' or 'develop-cstar').
Migrate all role bead references from gt-*-role to hq-*-role using
beads.RoleBeadIDTown() function. Role beads are stored in town beads
(~/gt/.beads/) with the hq- prefix.
Changes:
- internal/cmd/prime.go: Use RoleBeadIDTown() for all roles
- internal/doctor/agent_beads_check.go: Use RoleBeadIDTown() for rig agents
- internal/polecat/manager.go: Use RoleBeadIDTown("polecat")
- internal/cmd/crew_add.go: Use RoleBeadIDTown("crew")
- internal/beads/beads.go: Update comments to document hq- convention
- Templates: Update bd show gt-deacon to bd show hq-deacon
Note: Tmux session names remain as gt-* (runtime identifiers).
Bead IDs use hq-* for town-level agents (persistent storage).
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Session names `gt-mayor` and `gt-deacon` were hardcoded, causing tmux
session name collisions when running multiple towns simultaneously.
Changed to `gt-{town}-mayor` and `gt-{town}-deacon` format (e.g.,
`gt-ai-mayor`) to allow concurrent multi-town operation.
Key changes:
- session.MayorSessionName() and DeaconSessionName() now take townName param
- Added workspace.GetTownName() helper to load town name from config
- Updated all callers in cmd/, daemon/, doctor/, mail/, rig/, templates/
- Updated tests with new session name format
- Bead IDs remain unchanged (already scoped by .beads/ directory)
Fixes#60🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
When adding a crew member with 'gt crew add' or spawning a polecat,
provision the .claude/commands/ directory with standard slash commands
like /handoff. This ensures all agents have Gas Town utilities even if
the source repo does not have them tracked.
Changes:
- Add embedded commands templates (internal/templates/commands/)
- Add ProvisionCommands() to templates package
- Call ProvisionCommands from crew and polecat managers
- Add gt doctor commands-provisioned check with --fix support
- Add GetAllRoleTemplates tests (basic and content validity)
- Add FixMultipleRigs test for multi-rig fix scenario
- Add DetailsFormat test verifying rig:template prefix format
- Add MalformedRigsJSON test for error handling
- Add EmptyRigsConfig test for edge case
- PatrolRolesHavePromptsCheck now verifies templates exist in each rig's
mayor clone at <rig>/mayor/rig/internal/templates/roles/
- Track missing templates by rig using missingByRig map
- Fix copies embedded templates to each rig's location
- Add GetAllRoleTemplates helper to templates package
- Add tests for no-rigs case and multiple-rigs scenarios
The refinery template listed git branch -r | grep polecat as a reference
command, causing the refinery agent to check git branches instead of the
beads merge queue. This caused 41 MRs to pile up.
- Removed misleading git branch grep reference from Git Operations section
- Added explicit warnings about using gt mq list as sole source of truth
- Strengthened queue-scan step with CRITICAL warning
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Witnesses were sending HEALTH_OK mail to mayor on every deacon health
check (~30s), flooding the inbox. Updated witness templates to:
- Explicitly state NOT to mail on HEALTH_CHECK nudges
- Explain that Deacon tracks health via session status
- Add gotcha note in the main template
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Delete 5 legacy .formula.yaml files (have .toml replacements)
- Remove unused FileConfigYAML constant
- Add TODO for beads config.yaml → config.json migration (bd-10wg)
- Update docs to use JSON examples instead of yaml code blocks
- Change plugin frontmatter from YAML to TOML in docs
- Add .toml to code file detection in branch_check.go
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- convoy.go: Escape single quotes in SQL to prevent injection
- engineer.go: Add comment clarifying test command trust model
(config.json is trusted infra, not PR-controlled)
- agents.go, prime.go, mayor.md.tmpl: Fix 'gt polecats' -> 'gt polecat list'
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Update all documentation to present convoy as the primary unit of work tracking:
- README.md: Show convoy create before sling in Quick Start and Workflows
- reference.md: Reorder to show Convoy Management before Work Assignment
- understanding-gas-town.md: Add convoy to dispatch workflow example
- mayor.md.tmpl: Add convoy commands to Work Management section
- crew.md.tmpl: Include convoy in dispatch workflow table
Convoy is now the standard workflow - all slings should be part of a convoy.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add "Hookable Mail" section to all role templates explaining how mail beads
can be hooked for ad-hoc instruction handoff. Key documentation points:
- GUPP applies to hooked mail: read and execute instructions
- Two use cases: hook existing mail, create+hook via gt handoff
- Role-specific examples for each agent type
Templates updated:
- boot.md.tmpl
- crew.md.tmpl
- deacon.md.tmpl
- mayor.md.tmpl
- polecat.md.tmpl
- refinery.md.tmpl
- witness.md.tmpl
Also updated prime.go fallback output functions to include hookable mail
reference for when templates fail to render.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The refinery was checking git branches instead of the beads merge queue.
This caused MRs to pile up when branches were deleted but MR beads remained.
- manager.go: Queue() now queries beads for type=merge-request issues
- refinery.md.tmpl: Updated queue-scan to use gt mq list
- mol-refinery-patrol.formula.toml: Updated queue-scan step instructions
- Role templates (crew, polecat, mayor, deacon, witness, refinery)
- prime.go startup protocol messages
- Documentation (propulsion, reference, molecules, wisp architecture)
- Session hints and sling prompts
- Formula template instructions
- CLAUDE.md
The hook is the user-facing concept, molecules are implementation details.
Agents should use `gt hook` to check what work is assigned to them.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Mayor should dispatch work to crew/polecats, not edit code directly.
mayor/rig exists as the source for worktrees, not as a working directory.
Key changes:
- Remove "Edit code here" instruction
- Add warning about staged changes accumulating
- Point to gt worktree for cross-rig work
- Clarify coordinator vs implementer distinction
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Work is NOT landed until it's either on main or in the Refinery MQ.
Feature branches are dangerous in multi-agent environments - the repo
baseline can diverge wildly in hours.
Add documentation for crew workers using cross-rig worktrees:
- Added Cross-Rig Worktrees section to crew.md.tmpl template
- Created docs/understanding-gas-town.md with role taxonomy
Key points documented:
- Crew vs Dogs distinction (dogs = Deacon infra, not user work)
- Identity preservation across rigs (BD_ACTOR stays the same)
- When to use worktrees vs dispatch to local workers
- Directory structure convention: ~/gt/<rig>/crew/<source-rig>-<name>/
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Using "greenplace" (The Green Place from Mad Max: Fury Road) as the
canonical example project/rig name in documentation and help text.
This provides a clearer distinction from the actual gastown repo name.
Changes:
- docs/*.md: Updated all example paths and commands
- internal/cmd/*.go: Updated help text examples
- internal/templates/: Updated example references
- Tests: Updated to use greenplace in example session names
Note: Import paths (github.com/steveyegge/gastown) and actual code
paths referencing the gastown repo structure are unchanged.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Boot is a watchdog that the daemon pokes instead of Deacon directly,
centralizing the 'when to wake Deacon' decision in an agent that can
reason about context.
Key changes:
- Add internal/boot package with marker file and status tracking
- Add gt boot commands: status, spawn, triage
- Add mol-boot-triage formula for Boot's triage cycle
- Modify daemon to call ensureBootRunning instead of ensureDeaconRunning
- Add tmux.IsAvailable() for degraded mode detection
- Add boot.md.tmpl role template
Boot lifecycle:
1. Daemon tick spawns Boot (fresh each time)
2. Boot runs triage: observe, decide, act
3. Boot cleans stale handoffs from Deacon inbox
4. Boot exits (or handoffs in non-degraded mode)
In degraded mode (no tmux), Boot runs mechanical triage directly.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Remove decision-making logic from Go code and document agent responsibility:
- ProcessMR() now returns error indicating agent handles processing
- Foreground mode deprecated with message directing to background mode
- Retry() no longer calls ProcessMR (agent picks up retried MRs)
- Added ZFC compliance section to refinery role template
- Marked unused helper functions as deprecated (runTests, getMergeConfig, pushWithRetry)
The Refinery agent (Claude) now:
- Runs git commands directly (fetch, checkout, merge, push)
- Detects conflicts and decides: retry, notify polecat, escalate
- Runs tests and decides: proceed, rollback, retry
- Makes all engineering decisions based on command output
Go code provides only primitives: queue listing, status, mail notifications.
(gt-sxa64)
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add "The Capability Ledger" section to all 6 role templates explaining:
- Work visibility and reputation
- Redemption through consistent quality
- Every completion as evidence of autonomous execution at scale
- Work history as growing portfolio/CV
Also fix hooked vs pinned terminology confusion:
- "Hooked" = work assigned to you (triggers autonomous mode)
- "Pinned" = permanent reference beads
- Add clarifying note to all startup behavior sections
- Update code examples to use --status=hooked
Update prime.go AUTONOMOUS MODE output with ledger framing.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- checkSlungWork now queries for status=hooked instead of status=pinned
- This makes AUTONOMOUS WORK MODE fire correctly when work is slung via gt hook
- Added "physics not politeness" language to AUTONOMOUS MODE output
- Added full Theory of Operation section to refinery.md.tmpl for consistency
The bug was: gt hook sets status=hooked but gt prime was querying for
status=pinned, so AUTONOMOUS MODE never triggered for hooked work.
(gt-kc7yj.3)
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The template incorrectly used --assignee flag on bd mol wisp which doesn't
exist. Changed to two-step pattern matching deacon template.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds comprehensive "Theory of Operation" section explaining WHY agents
must execute work immediately when found on their hook. Uses steam engine
metaphor to convey that this is physics, not politeness.
Each role gets a tailored metaphor:
- Mayor: main drive shaft
- Crew/Polecat: piston
- Deacon: flywheel
- Witness: pressure gauge
- Refinery: exhaust valve
The section explains the failure mode (agent waits, human is AFK,
Gas Town stops) and reinforces the propulsion principle.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Beads CLI restructured: pour and wisp are now subcommands of mol.
- bd pour → bd mol pour
- bd wisp → bd mol wisp
Updated all documentation, templates, and code to use new command structure.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Delete all .formula.json files (TOML versions exist)
- Update sling.go comment to say TOML only
Note: Doc updates were prepared but those docs were deleted
upstream in the recent refactoring.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
