Beads epic templates for batch work patterns

Optional: Define templates for common batch work patterns.

## Concept

A template encodes a workflow pattern that can be instantiated as beads:

```yaml
# templates/batch-basic.yaml
name: basic-batch
description: Simple batch work pattern
phases:
  - name: startup
    issues:
      - title: "Verify workers ready"
  - name: working
    # Actual work issues added separately
  - name: cleanup
    issues:
      - title: "Merge all branches"
      - title: "Clean up workers"
      - title: "Report to Mayor"
```

## Usage

```bash
gt spawn --template basic-batch --epic gt-u1j --workers 3
```

Creates beads epic with template phases + actual work from gt-u1j children.

## Decision Point

Templates are OPTIONAL. The core design (beads as state, multi-wave orchestration) works without templates. Templates are sugar for common patterns.

Consider deferring to P3 or dropping entirely if beads epics with dependencies suffice.

## Note

No "swarm IDs" involved - templates just pre-populate epic/issue structure.


Witness should verify polecat submitted before stopping session

## Problem

Witness stopped dementus's session before it could call `gt done`, losing the MR submission. I had to manually push and submit the branch.

## Root Cause

Witness cleanup is triggered by nudge/manual check rather than by receiving POLECAT_DONE message. When Witness cleans up based on issue status (closed), it doesn't wait for the polecat to complete its shutdown sequence.

## Expected Behavior

Witness should only stop a polecat session after:
1. Receiving POLECAT_DONE message from that polecat, OR
2. Timeout waiting for POLECAT_DONE after issue is closed

## Current Behavior

Witness stops sessions immediately when asked to check for completions, even if polecat hasn't called `gt done` yet.

## Fix

In mol-witness-patrol inbox-check step:
- Only clean up polecats that have sent POLECAT_DONE
- For polecats with closed issues but no DONE message, nudge them to complete
- Add timeout before force-killing


verify-tests

Run existing tests. Add new tests for new functionality.
Ensure adequate coverage.

go test ./...

Fix any test failures before proceeding.

Depends: implement


Merge: gt-3x1

branch: polecat/Slit
target: main
source_issue: gt-3x1
rig: gastown


gt rig reset --stale: Clear orphaned in_progress items

Reset in_progress issues when their assigned agent no longer exists.

## Problem
When polecats die without cleanup, their issues remain in_progress forever.
Need a way to bulk-reset these orphaned items.

## Command
```bash
gt rig reset --stale [--dry-run]
```

## Logic
For each in_progress issue in rig:
1. Parse assignee (e.g., "gastown/furiosa")
2. Map to tmux session name (gt-gastown-furiosa)
3. If session does NOT exist:
   - Reset status to "open"
   - Clear assignee
4. Exception: skip crew/* assignees (persistent identities)
   OR check if crew tmux session exists

## Output
```
Resetting stale work in gastown:
  gt-abc: gastown/furiosa (no session) → open
  gt-def: gastown/nux (no session) → open
  Skipped: gt-xyz: gastown/crew/max (persistent)
Reset 2 issues, skipped 1
```

## Related
- gt-2kz: CLI cleanup commands for stale state
- gt-rdmw: orphan-check in deacon patrol
- gt-orphans command (list orphaned molecules)

Implemented --stale flag for gt rig reset with dry-run support


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 20: Final patrol, handing off


Mail should use wisps for ephemeral orchestration messages

## Problem

Town HQ beads are polluted with lifecycle orchestration messages:
- POLECAT_STARTED notifications
- Work assignments to polecats
- "Start work" nudges
- Test messages

These should never have been persistent beads. They accumulate forever.

## Analysis

Mail serves two purposes:
1. **Durable messages** - Handoffs, escalations, human-agent comms (need persistence)
2. **Ephemeral signals** - Lifecycle pings, work assignments, nudges (should be wisps)

## Options

### Option A: Dual-inbox architecture
- `gt mail inbox` checks both `.beads/` and `.beads-wisp/`
- Sender specifies `--ephemeral` flag for transient messages
- Ephemeral messages auto-expire or squash to digests

### Option B: All mail becomes wisps
- Default to wisp storage for all mail
- Important messages explicitly promoted to persistent
- Simpler model but loses audit trail for some messages

### Option C: Message type determines storage
- `message` type beads go to wisps by default
- `handoff` type stays persistent
- Automatic routing based on content

## Recommendation

Option A (dual-inbox) seems cleanest:
- Explicit control via `--ephemeral`
- Backwards compatible
- Clear mental model

## Acceptance Criteria

- Lifecycle pings (POLECAT_STARTED, etc.) go to wisps
- Work assignments go to wisps
- Handoffs stay persistent
- `gt mail inbox` shows both
- Wisps auto-cleanup on patrol squash

## Blocks

This blocks reliable swarm operations - every spawn pollutes HQ indefinitely.

Implemented dual-inbox architecture: ephemeral messages go to wisps, lifecycle messages auto-detect


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 4: All healthy


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:43

Patrol 4: All healthy


Add git-state subcommand to gt polecat for Witness pre-kill verification.

## Usage
```bash
gt polecat git-state <rig>/<polecat>
```

## Output
```
Git State: gastown/furiosa

  Working Tree: clean | dirty
  Uncommitted:  0 files | N files (list)
  Unpushed:     0 commits | N commits ahead
  Stashes:      0 | N stashes

  Verdict: CLEAN (safe to kill) | DIRTY (needs cleanup)
```

## JSON output (--json flag)
```json
{
  "clean": true,
  "uncommitted_files": [],
  "unpushed_commits": 0,
  "stash_count": 0
}
```

## Used by
- Witness pre-kill verification (mol-witness-patrol)
- Manual cleanup checks

## Implementation
- Check git status in polecat worktree
- Check git log origin/main..HEAD
- Check git stash list

Implemented gt polecat git-state command for pre-kill verification


Swarm state persistence: manifest + state + events

Upgrade swarm persistence to match PGT pattern.

## Current State
Single .gastown/swarms.json with all swarms.

## Target State (per-swarm)
```
.gastown/swarms/
└── <swarm-id>/
    ├── manifest.json  # Immutable config
    ├── state.json     # Mutable progress
    ├── events.jsonl   # Audit log
    └── report.md      # Generated report
```

## File Schemas

### manifest.json (immutable after creation)
```json
{
  "id": "sw-1",
  "title": "Epic description",
  "epic_id": "gt-abc",
  "rig": "gastown",
  "base_commit": "abc123",
  "integration_branch": "swarm/sw-1",
  "target_branch": "main",
  "workers": ["Toast", "Nux"],
  "tasks": [{"id": "gt-xyz", "title": "..."}],
  "created_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}
```

### state.json (mutable)
```json
{
  "state": "active",
  "task_states": {
    "gt-xyz": {"state": "merged", "assignee": "Toast"}
  },
  "updated_at": "2024-01-01T01:00:00Z",
  "error": null
}
```

### events.jsonl (append-only audit)
```jsonl
{"event": "created", "ts": "...", "data": {...}}
{"event": "task_assigned", "ts": "...", "data": {...}}
{"event": "task_merged", "ts": "...", "data": {...}}
```

## Benefits
- Audit trail via events.jsonl
- Manifest immutability prevents corruption
- Cleaner separation of concerns
- Per-swarm isolation

## Migration
Keep backward compat with swarms.json during transition.

## Files to Modify
- internal/swarm/manager.go: Refactor persistence
- internal/cmd/swarm.go: SwarmStore → directory-based

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Per-swarm directory structure
- [ ] Events logged to JSONL
- [ ] Manifest immutable after creation
- [ ] List command aggregates from directories


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 20: OK - Handoff threshold reached


test message


burn-or-loop

Squash wisp and decide: loop or cycle session.

If context low: spawn new wisp and loop
If context high: handoff and request cycle

Needs: generate-summary

Parent gt-751s superseded by Christmas Ornament pattern


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol #2: All healthy, no changes


mol-polecat-work

Full polecat lifecycle from assignment to decommission.

This proto enables nondeterministic idempotence for polecat work.
A polecat that crashes after any step can restart, read its molecule state,
and continue from the last completed step. No work is lost.

Variables:
- {{issue}} - The source issue ID being worked on


load-context

Run gt prime and bd prime. Verify issue assignment.
Check inbox for any relevant messages.

Read the assigned issue ({{issue}}) and understand the requirements.
Identify any blockers or missing information.


implement

Implement the solution for {{issue}}. Follow codebase conventions.
File discovered work as new issues with bd create.

Make regular commits with clear messages.
Keep changes focused on the assigned issue.

Depends: load-context


self-review

Review your own changes. Look for:
- Bugs and edge cases
- Style issues
- Missing error handling
- Security concerns

Fix any issues found before proceeding.

Depends: implement


request-shutdown

Send shutdown request to Witness.
Wait for termination.

The polecat is now ready to be cleaned up.
Do not exit directly - wait for Witness to kill the session.

Depends: generate-summary


Witness startup: bond mol-witness-patrol on start

Wire up Witness to automatically bond its patrol molecule on startup.

## Desired behavior
On Witness session start:
1. gt prime detects RoleWitness
2. Check for existing in-progress patrol
3. If found: resume from current step
4. If not found: bd mol bond mol-witness-patrol --wisp
5. Output patrol context to agent

## Depends on
- gt-83k0 (mol-witness-patrol definition)
- gt-caih (handoff bead state persistence)

Implemented in prime.go - witness now auto-bonds mol-witness-patrol on startup


gt done: Command doesn't exist but documented in polecat CLAUDE.md

The polecat CLAUDE.md documents 'gt done' as the command to signal work is ready for merge queue, but running it gives 'unknown command'. Either implement the command or update the documentation.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 20: routine, handing off


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:45

Patrol 8: All healthy


Update templates with molecule navigation workflow

Update all agent templates to use new molecule navigation commands.

## Commands to integrate
- bd mol current: orientation after startup/handoff (bd-sal9)
- bd close --continue: seamless step transitions (bd-ieyy)

## Templates to update

### prompts/roles/polecat.md
- Add bd mol current to 'Finding Your Work' section
- Replace manual 3-command dance with bd close --continue
- Update 'Working Through Steps' section

### prompts/roles/crew.md
- Add molecule navigation to workflow section
- Show bd mol current for session startup

### prompts/roles/refinery.md
- Update patrol step transitions to use --continue

### prompts/roles/witness.md
- Update patrol step transitions to use --continue

### prompts/roles/deacon.md
- Update patrol step transitions to use --continue

## Key message
The Propulsion Principle: close a step, immediately get handed the next.
No friction, no forgetting, no 3-command dance.

## Blocked by (Beads features)
- bd-sal9: bd mol current
- bd-ieyy: bd close --continue

BLOCKED 2025-12-23 00:17: Waiting for beads features (bd mol current, bd close --continue) to be implemented. Notified mayor.

Updated 4 templates (polecat, crew, refinery, deacon) with bd mol current and bd close --continue. Witness template doesn't have molecule execution, no changes needed.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 19: routine


Test Patrol for Bonding

Parent issue for mol bond CLI test


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-m0fx
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


Merge: gt-7hor

branch: polecat/slit
target: main
source_issue: gt-7hor
rig: gastown


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:21

Patrol 4: quiet


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 8: all clear


CLI API Audit: gt and bd command structure review before OSS launch

# CLI API Audit for OSS Launch

Before launching Gas Town + Beads as an SDK, we need to ensure the command-line
API is intelligently designed, consistent, intuitive, and structurally sound.

## Current State Audit

### gt (Gas Town) - 50+ top-level commands

**Agent Lifecycle:**
- `gt mayor`, `gt deacon`, `gt witness`, `gt refinery` - agent management
- `gt polecat` - worker management (subcommands: add, remove, list, etc.)
- `gt crew` - persistent workspace management
- `gt spawn` - create polecat with work

**Work Lifecycle:**
- `gt spawn` - assign work to new polecat
- `gt sling` - hook work + start immediately
- `gt hook` - attach work durably
- `gt handoff` - pass work to fresh session
- `gt done` - signal work complete
- `gt release` - release stuck issues

**Infrastructure:**
- `gt daemon`, `gt up`, `gt down`, `gt start`, `gt stop`, `gt shutdown`
- `gt init`, `gt install`, `gt doctor`

**Communication:**
- `gt mail` (subcommands: send, inbox, read, etc.)
- `gt nudge`, `gt broadcast`

**Molecules:**
- `gt molecule` / `gt mol` (17 subcommands!)

### bd (Beads) - Well-categorized but some sprawl

**Core CRUD:**
- `bd create`, `bd show`, `bd update`, `bd close`, `bd list`

**Molecules:**
- `bd mol` (5 subcommands: catalog, show, bond, run, distill)
- `bd wisp` (3 subcommands: create, gc, list)
- `bd pour` (top-level alias for instantiation)
- `bd cook` (compile formula to proto)

**Hook/Pin:**
- `bd pin` - attach mol to agent hook
- `bd unpin` - remove from hook
- `bd hook` - inspect what's on hook

## Structural Concerns

### 1. gt is sprawling (50+ top-level commands)

Many commands could be subcommands:
```
# Current                      # Could be
gt up/down/start/stop         gt daemon {up|down|start|stop}
gt spawn/sling/hook/handoff   gt work {spawn|sling|hook|handoff}
gt mayor/deacon/witness       gt agent {mayor|deacon|witness|...}
```

### 2. Overlap between gt and bd

| Concept | gt | bd |
|---------|----|----|
| Hook | `gt hook` | `bd pin`, `bd hook` |
| Mail | `gt mail` | `bd mail` (delegates) |
| Molecules | `gt mol` (17 cmds) | `bd mol` (5 cmds) |

Which owns what? User confusion likely.

### 3. Naming inconsistencies

- `gt polecat` (noun) vs `gt spawn` (verb) - both about polecats
- `gt done` vs `gt handoff` - both end work but different
- `bd mol run` vs `bd pour` - both instantiate

### 4. Subcommand depth decisions

**Good patterns:**
- `bd mol {catalog|show|bond|run|distill}` - coherent group
- `gt mail {send|inbox|read|archive}` - coherent group

**Questionable patterns:**
- `bd create --wisp` AND `bd wisp create` - two ways to do same thing
- `gt spawn --molecule X` AND `gt mol instantiate` - overlap

### 5. Flag vs subcommand guidelines needed

When to use flags vs subcommands?
- `--json` as flag ✓ (modifier)
- `--wisp` as flag for create? Or separate `bd wisp create`?
- `--molecule` on spawn? Or separate workflow?

## Recommendations to Evaluate

### A. Consolidate gt top-level commands

Group related commands:
```
gt agent {mayor|deacon|witness|refinery|polecat}
gt work {spawn|sling|hook|handoff|done}
gt infra {daemon|up|down|doctor}
```

### B. Clarify gt vs bd ownership

| Domain | Owner | Other defers |
|--------|-------|--------------|
| Issues | bd | gt uses bd |
| Agents | gt | bd doesn't touch |
| Molecules | bd mol | gt mol wraps for UX |
| Hooks | bd pin/hook | gt hook wraps |
| Mail | gt mail | bd mail delegates |

### C. Apply consistent naming

- All agent commands: nouns (`gt polecat`, `gt mayor`)
- All work commands: verbs (`gt spawn`, `gt sling`, `gt hook`)
- Avoid synonyms: pick one term and stick with it

### D. Flag vs subcommand rule

- Flags: modify behavior of command (`--json`, `--force`, `--wisp`)
- Subcommands: distinct operations (`mol run`, `mol squash`, `mol burn`)
- Exception: very common operations can have top-level aliases

## Tasks

1. [ ] Review gt command groupings - propose consolidation
2. [ ] Review bd command groupings - check for sprawl
3. [ ] Document gt vs bd ownership boundaries
4. [ ] Identify and resolve naming inconsistencies
5. [ ] Document flag vs subcommand decision criteria
6. [ ] Create migration plan for any breaking changes
7. [ ] Update help text to be consistent
8. [ ] Test agent UX: can Claude guess commands correctly?

## Success Criteria

- New user can guess command structure intuitively
- `gt --help` fits on one screen (or is well-categorized)
- No duplicate functionality between gt and bd
- Consistent naming throughout
- Claude agents can discover commands without documentation

CLI API audit completed - structure reviewed and documented


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 16: Quiet


Work on gt-o9j: Fix tmux status bar polecat count - exclu...

Work on gt-o9j: Fix tmux status bar polecat count - exclude static roles (mayor, deacon, witnesses, refineries, docs, hop). Run 'bd show gt-o9j' for details.


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-md2rg
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


Convert formula files from YAML to JSON

Formulas currently use .formula.yaml but the project avoids YAML. Convert to .formula.json for consistency with the rest of the codebase. This blocks implementing compose operators (advice, expand, etc.) since the schema needs to be right first.

Converted all 9 formula files from YAML to JSON


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 17: routine


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 17: Nominal


Refinery gates: test/lint/build before merge

Before merging polecat work to main, run configurable quality gates.

**From VC**: internal/gates/ - parallel execution with timeout, any failure = overall failure.

**Gas Town implementation**: Refinery config with gate commands:
```yaml
gates:
  test:
    cmd: go test ./...
    timeout: 5m
  lint:
    cmd: golangci-lint run
    timeout: 2m
  build:
    cmd: go build ./...
    timeout: 3m
parallel: true
```

If gates fail, don't merge. Polecat can iterate and retry.

**Value**: Prevents broken code from reaching main. VC had 90.9% gate pass rate.

**VC complexity**: ~200 lines Go
**Gas Town complexity**: ~10 lines YAML


Merge: gt-rixa

branch: polecat/furiosa
target: main
source_issue: gt-rixa
rig: gastown

ORPHANED: Branch never pushed, worktree deleted


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 18: Routine


check-refinery

Ensure the refinery is alive and processing merge requests.

Needs: inbox-check


Fix out-of-sync molecule test expectations

Tests in builtin_molecules_test.go have hardcoded expectations that no longer match actual molecules:
- TestBuiltinMolecules: expects 9 molecules, got 11
- TestPolecatWorkMolecule: step refs out of sync
- TestDeaconPatrolMolecule: step count and refs out of sync

This is pre-existing on main, not introduced by any polecat work.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol: TRACER BULLET SUCCESS - gt-oiv0 merged to main, furiosa completed and exited cleanly, 0 polecats now, all agents up


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 1: All agents healthy, no messages, no issues


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 20: All healthy, routine cycle complete


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 11: OK


Witness patrol wisp with polecat leases

Witness should maintain a rolling patrol wisp that tracks active polecats:

```
wisp-witness-patrol
├── lease: furiosa (boot → working → done)
├── lease: nux (working)
└── lease: slit (done, closed)
```

When POLECAT_STARTED arrives:
- bd mol bond mol-polecat-lease wisp-patrol --var polecat=X

Patrol loop iterates leases:
- gt peek $polecat
- If idle: gt nudge
- If shutdown received: close lease

When all leases closed:
- bd mol squash wisp-xxx --summary='N polecats processed'

Requires mol-polecat-lease proto definition.

Superseded by Christmas Ornament pattern (gt-tnow, gt-qflq). Lease-based patrol replaced by mol-polecat-arm dynamic bonding.


Witness session startup (gt witness start)

Implement gt witness start <rig>

Should:
1. Verify rig exists and has witness/ directory
2. Check for existing witness session (don't double-start)
3. Create tmux session: gt-<rig>-witness
4. Start Claude Code with --dangerously-skip-permissions
5. Send gt prime to load context
6. Send startup prompt

Similar pattern to refinery startup in internal/refinery/manager.go


mol-gastown-boot: Mayor-driven town bootstrap

Mayor bootstraps Gas Town via a verification-gated lifecycle molecule.

## Vision

When user says "boot up gas town", Mayor slings `mol-gastown-boot` and executes it.
Each step has **action + verification** - steps stay open until outcome is confirmed.

## Key Principles

1. **No daemon-based timeouts** - Mayor keeps trying until verified
2. **Verification-gated steps** - Not "command ran" but "outcome confirmed"
3. **gt peek for verification** - Capture session output to detect stalls
4. **gt nudge for recovery** - Reliable message delivery to unstick agents
5. **Parallel where possible** - Witnesses can start in parallel
6. **Ephemeral execution** - Boot is a wisp, squashed to digest

## Proto Catalog

Town maintains a catalog of protos at `~/gt/molecules/`:

```
~/gt/molecules/
├── lifecycle/
│   ├── gastown-boot/       # Full town bootstrap
│   ├── rig-spinup/         # Add a rig at runtime
│   ├── rig-spindown/       # Remove a rig gracefully
│   └── agent-restart/      # Restart single agent
├── patrol/
│   ├── deacon-patrol/      # Deacon health loop
│   ├── witness-patrol/     # Witness polecat loop
│   └── refinery-patrol/    # Refinery merge loop
└── work/
    ├── polecat-work/       # Standard issue workflow
    ├── code-review/        # Pluggable review
    └── feature/            # Feature development
```

## mol-gastown-boot Structure

```
mol-gastown-boot (proto)
├── ensure-daemon       # Verify daemon running
├── ensure-deacon       # Start deacon, verify patrol active
├── ensure-witnesses    # Parallel: all rig witnesses
│   ├── ensure-gastown-witness
│   └── ensure-beads-witness
├── ensure-refineries   # Parallel: all rig refineries
│   ├── ensure-gastown-refinery
│   └── ensure-beads-refinery
└── verify-town-health  # Final gt status check
```

## Step Template

Each step in description includes action + verification:

```markdown
## Step: ensure-deacon

### Action
gt deacon start

### Verify
1. Session gt-deacon exists: `tmux has-session -t gt-deacon`
2. Not stalled: `gt peek deacon/` does NOT show "> Try"
3. Recent heartbeat: deacon/heartbeat.json < 2 min old

### On Stall
gt nudge deacon/ "Start patrol."
Wait 30s, re-verify.

### On Fail
Log error, continue to next step (town can run with degraded deacon)
```

## Event-Triggered Lifecycle

Beyond manual slinging, events can trigger lifecycle wisps:

| Event | Triggers |
|-------|----------|
| `gt town start` | mol-gastown-boot wisp |
| `gt rig add <name>` | mol-rig-spinup wisp |
| `gt rig remove <name>` | mol-rig-spindown wisp |
| Agent crash detected | mol-agent-restart wisp |

## Parameterization (Future)

For rig-spinup/spindown, need to pass rig name:

```bash
gt sling rig-spinup mayor/ --param rig=newproject
```

Molecule steps interpolate `${rig}` in their descriptions.

## Related Issues

- gt-lx3n: Witness startup bond
- gt-j6s8: Refinery startup bond
- gt-rana: Patrol System epic
- gt-sye: Mayor startup protocol


Define mol-gastown-boot proto structure

Create the proto molecule definition with all steps.

## Proto Definition

Each step has:
- Title (step name)
- Description with Action/Verify/OnStall/OnFail sections
- Dependencies (Needs: directive)

## Steps

1. ensure-daemon
   - Action: gt daemon status || gt daemon start
   - Verify: daemon PID exists and responding

2. ensure-deacon
   - Action: gt deacon start
   - Verify: session exists, not stalled, heartbeat fresh
   - OnStall: gt nudge deacon/ "Start patrol."

3. ensure-witnesses (parallel container)
   - ensure-gastown-witness
   - ensure-beads-witness
   - Verify each: session exists, not stalled

4. ensure-refineries (parallel container)
   - ensure-gastown-refinery
   - ensure-beads-refinery
   - Verify each: session exists, not stalled

5. verify-town-health
   - Action: gt status
   - Verify: all expected agents shown

## Output

Proto stored in beads as molecule type issue.

Created mol-gastown-boot proto (gt-c8ca) with 10 steps: ensure-daemon, ensure-deacon, ensure-witnesses (with gastown/beads children), ensure-refineries (with gastown/beads children), verify-town-health. Dependencies wired for correct execution order.


Implement verification patterns for boot steps

Define and implement the verification logic Mayor uses.

## Verification Utilities

Mayor needs to check:

### Session Exists
```bash
tmux has-session -t <session> 2>/dev/null && echo "exists"
```

### Not Stalled (Claude waiting at prompt)
```bash
gt peek <agent> 10 | grep -q "> Try" && echo "stalled"
```

Pattern: `> Try "..."` indicates Claude started but no message sent.

### Recent Heartbeat
```bash
# For deacon
age=$(( $(date +%s) - $(stat -f %m ~/gt/deacon/heartbeat.json) ))
[ $age -lt 120 ] && echo "fresh"
```

### Active Work Output
```bash
gt peek <agent> 20 | grep -q "⏺" && echo "working"
```

Pattern: `⏺` indicates Claude is executing tools.

## Mayor Execution Pattern

```
for each step in molecule:
  run action
  loop:
    check verification
    if verified: close step, continue
    if stalled: run on_stall recovery
    if timeout (5 attempts): log warning, continue
    sleep 10s
```

No hard timeout - Mayor keeps trying with increasing backoff.


Create molecules catalog directory structure

Establish the proto catalog at ~/gt/molecules/.

## Structure

```
~/gt/molecules/
├── README.md           # Catalog overview
├── lifecycle/
│   ├── gastown-boot/
│   │   └── PROTO.md    # Proto definition in markdown
│   ├── rig-spinup/
│   ├── rig-spindown/
│   └── agent-restart/
├── patrol/
│   ├── deacon-patrol/
│   ├── witness-patrol/
│   └── refinery-patrol/
└── work/
    ├── polecat-work/
    ├── code-review/
    └── feature/
```

## PROTO.md Format

```markdown
---
type: lifecycle
parallel: [ensure-witnesses, ensure-refineries]
ephemeral: true
---

# mol-gastown-boot

Town bootstrap molecule.

## Step: ensure-daemon
...
```

## Catalog Loading

`gt sling gastown-boot` should find the proto by:
1. Check beads for existing proto issue
2. If not found, scan ~/gt/molecules/lifecycle/gastown-boot/
3. Auto-create proto issue from PROTO.md

This enables file-based proto development with beads tracking.


Add parallel step support to molecules

Enable steps to run in parallel within a molecule.

## Current State

Molecules have linear step dependencies via "Needs:" directive.
Steps run sequentially.

## Proposed Change

Add parallel grouping:

```markdown
## Step: ensure-witnesses
Parallel: true

### Sub-steps
- ensure-gastown-witness
- ensure-beads-witness
```

Or via frontmatter:

```yaml
---
parallel: [ensure-witnesses, ensure-refineries]
---
```

Steps in parallel group:
- Start simultaneously
- Parent step closes when all children complete
- Failures in one dont block others

## Implementation

1. Parse parallel directive in proto
2. When bonding, create child steps with same dependency
3. Executor spawns parallel children concurrently
4. Track completion, close parent when all done

## For Mayor Bootstrap

Mayor can check all witnesses in parallel, then all refineries,
rather than sequentially. Faster boot time.


Add event-triggered lifecycle wisps

Commands like `gt town start` should auto-trigger lifecycle wisps.

## Event → Wisp Mapping

| Command | Triggers Wisp |
|---------|---------------|
| gt town start | mol-gastown-boot |
| gt rig add <name> | mol-rig-spinup (param: rig=<name>) |
| gt rig remove <name> | mol-rig-spindown (param: rig=<name>) |
| gt daemon restart | mol-gastown-boot |

## Implementation

1. Command implementation checks for lifecycle proto
2. Auto-slings wisp to Mayor with --wisp flag
3. Mayor picks up via molecule attachment

## Alternative: Explicit Sling

Keep commands simple, require explicit:

```bash
gt town start        # Just starts sessions
gt sling gastown-boot mayor/ --wisp   # Bootstrap with verification
```

This is more transparent - user sees the sling happen.

## Recommendation

Start with explicit sling. Add auto-trigger later once pattern proven.
`gt town start --verified` could trigger the wisp.


Design molecule parameterization

Enable protos to accept parameters for customization.

## Use Cases

1. rig-spinup needs rig name: `gt sling rig-spinup --param rig=newproject`
2. agent-restart needs agent: `gt sling agent-restart --param agent=gastown/witness`
3. code-review needs scope: `gt sling code-review --param scope=src/auth/`

## Proposed Syntax

### In Proto

```markdown
## Step: create-rig-structure
mkdir -p ~/gt/${rig}/refinery ~/gt/${rig}/witness
```

### In Sling

```bash
gt sling rig-spinup mayor/ --param rig=newproject --wisp
```

### In Bonded Molecule

Interpolation happens at bond time. Step descriptions have concrete values.

## Implementation

1. Proto declares params in frontmatter: `params: [rig]`
2. gt sling validates required params provided
3. bd mol bond receives params, interpolates descriptions
4. Bonded molecule has concrete step text

## Edge Cases

- Missing required param → error
- Unused param → warning
- Param in step title → interpolate there too


Proto marketplace: shareable molecule templates

Enable sharing protos between Gas Town installations.

## Vision

A public registry of protos that users can pull and use:

```bash
gt proto search "code review"
gt proto install gastown/code-review
gt sling code-review gastown/Toast --wisp
```

## Registry Design

### Local Catalog
`~/gt/molecules/` - user-defined and installed protos

### Remote Registry
`registry.gastown.dev/protos/` (future)
- Browse online catalog
- Version-controlled protos
- Rating/reviews
- Usage statistics

## Proto Package Format

```
gastown-code-review-1.0.0/
├── PROTO.md          # Main proto definition
├── README.md         # Usage documentation
├── LICENSE           # Usage terms
└── plugins/          # For pluggable molecules
    ├── security/
    └── performance/
```

## Commands

```bash
gt proto list              # Show installed protos
gt proto search <query>    # Search registry
gt proto install <name>    # Install from registry
gt proto publish <path>    # Publish to registry
gt proto update            # Update all installed
```

## For Now

Start with local catalog. Marketplace is future phase.
Ensure proto format is registry-compatible from the start.


Update Mayor startup protocol for bootstrap

Teach Mayor to respond to "boot up gas town" by slinging mol-gastown-boot.

## Current Protocol

1. Announce: "Mayor, checking in."
2. Check mail
3. If handoff, continue
4. Await user instruction

## Enhanced Protocol

1. Announce: "Mayor, checking in."
2. Check mail
3. If handoff, continue
4. **If user says "boot"/"startup"/"bootstrap":**
   - Sling mol-gastown-boot as wisp
   - Execute verification-gated steps
   - Report town status when complete
5. Otherwise await instruction

## Trigger Phrases

- "boot up gas town"
- "bootstrap the town"
- "start gas town"
- "bring up the town"

## Execution

Mayor runs the molecule manually (not via subagent):

```
1. Bond the proto: bd mol bond mol-gastown-boot --wisp
2. For each step:
   a. Run action command
   b. Loop verification with backoff
   c. On stall, run recovery
   d. Close step when verified
3. Squash wisp with summary
4. Report: "Gas Town is up. All agents healthy."
```

## CLAUDE.md Update

Add to Mayor CLAUDE.md:

```markdown
## Bootstrap Command

When user requests town bootstrap:
1. gt sling gastown-boot mayor/ --wisp
2. Execute molecule steps with verification
3. Keep trying until all agents healthy
4. No timeouts - you are the town engineer
```


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 16: routine


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 15: OK


Merge: gt-70b3

type: merge-request
branch: polecat/Rictus
target: main
source_issue: gt-70b3
rig: gastown


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol OK: 8 polecats, 4 witness/refineries up


Bug: refinery --foreground detects parent session as already running

When gt refinery start gastown runs:
1. Creates tmux session gt-gastown-refinery
2. Sends 'gt refinery start gastown --foreground' into the session
3. The foreground command checks HasSession() - finds the session it's inside
4. Returns 'already running' error

The foreground mode check should either:
- Skip the tmux session check (only check PID)
- Use a different indicator that the daemon loop is running
- Pass a flag to indicate we're being called from the background starter

Workaround: Manually run 'gt refinery start gastown --foreground' from a fresh session.


Test Patrol for Bonding

Parent issue for mol bond CLI test


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-n8s1
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


bd list --parent: filter by parent issue

Add --parent flag to bd list to filter issues by parent.

Example:
```bash
bd list --parent=gt-h5n --status=open
```

Would show all open children of gt-h5n.

Useful for:
- Checking epic progress
- Finding swarmable work within an epic
- Molecule step listing


save-state

Update handoff bead with new state.

Persist nudge counts and pending actions.

Needs: execute-actions


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-na7y
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 8: Quiet


Update docs to reflect molecule-first paradigm

Gas Town is fundamentally a molecule execution engine. Documentation should reflect this more clearly.

## Issues Found

### 1. gt spawn examples show molecule as optional
README.md line 116: `gt spawn --issue <id> # Start polecat on issue`
Should emphasize: polecats execute molecules, not just issues.

### 2. Architecture.md spawn examples inconsistent
Line 344 shows molecule: `gt spawn --issue gt-xyz --molecule mol-engineer-in-box`
Line 1434 shows without: `gt spawn --issue <id>`

### 3. Config vs molecule distinction not clear
outposts.yaml shows static policy - should note when molecules apply.

### 4. Operational molecules section is good but buried
Lines 430-566 cover operational molecules well. Should be more prominent.

## Updates Needed
- [ ] README: Update spawn examples to show molecule usage
- [ ] architecture.md: Ensure all spawn examples include molecules
- [ ] architecture.md: Add section on "when config vs molecule"
- [ ] architecture.md: Move operational molecules higher in document
- [ ] Add principle: "If it requires cognition, it's a molecule"
- [ ] federation-design.md: Note that policy can escalate to mol-outpost-assign

## Key Message
Gas Town doesn't spawn workers on issues. It spawns workers on molecules.
The issue is just the seed data for the molecule execution.


gt polecat done should auto-stop running session

Currently 'gt polecat done' fails if session is running, requiring a separate 'gt session stop' first. This is unnecessary friction - done should just stop the session automatically since that's always what you want.


Merge: gt-caih

branch: polecat/furiosa
target: main
source_issue: gt-caih
rig: gastown


Design molecule step hooks

Hooks that fire between molecule steps. When a bead in a molecule closes, trigger hook that can spawn agent attention to prompts/requests. This enables reactive orchestration - the molecule drives, hooks respond. Gas Town feature built on Beads data plane.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol: dave handoff (vision docs, 7 design gaps filed), furiosa tracer bullet on gt-oiv0, all agents up


Implement await type handlers (gh:run, gh:pr, timer, human, mail)

Implement condition checking for each await type.

## Handlers Needed
- gh:run:<id> - Check GitHub Actions run status via gh CLI
- gh:pr:<id> - Check PR merged/closed status via gh CLI
- timer:<duration> - Simple elapsed time check
- human:<prompt> - Check for human approval (via mail?)
- mail:<pattern> - Check for mail matching pattern

## Interface
```go
type AwaitHandler interface {
    Check(awaitID string) (completed bool, result string, err error)
}
```

## Moved from beads
Originally bd-2l03. Deacon handlers belong in gastown.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 3: routine, all healthy


Work on gt-ogr: Fix rig count in tmux status bar. The cou...

Work on gt-ogr: Fix rig count in tmux status bar. The count is showing wrong. Run 'bd show gt-ogr' for details.


mol-christmas-launch: 3-day execution plan

---

## Wisp Integration Wave Plan (added 2025-12-21)

Dependency-ordered execution for gt-3x0z (Wisp Molecules) + gt-rana (Patrol System):

### Wave 1 (parallel - no blockers)
- gt-3x0z.1: gt rig init creates .beads-ephemeral/
- gt-3x0z.2: Configure bd for ephemeral molecule bonding
- gt-3x0z.3: gt doctor checks for ephemeral health
- gt-rana.1: Attachment field on pinned beads
- gt-rana.3: mol-deacon-patrol definition

### Wave 2 (after Wave 1)
- gt-3x0z.4: gt spawn --molecule bonds ephemeral (GATE 1)
- gt-rana.2: Daemon attachment detection

### Wave 3-5 (sequential)
- gt-3x0z.5, gt-3x0z.6 → gt-3x0z.7 → gt-3x0z.8 (GATE 2: squash)

### Wave 6+ (patrol integration)
- gt-rana.4: Basic patrol runner (needs gt-rana.3 + gt-3x0z.8)
- gt-3x0z.9: mol-deacon-patrol uses wisp (needs gt-rana.3 + gt-3x0z.8)
- Then: gt-rana.5-7, gt-3x0z.10-12

### Key Gates
1. gt-3x0z.4 - spawn/bond unlocks Phase 2
2. gt-3x0z.8 - squash unlocks patrol integration
3. gt-rana.4 - patrol runner unlocks Phase 2+ patrol

Postponed to New Year's launch. Christmas was too ambitious.


Pinned beads should appear first in mail inbox

Currently bd mail inbox sorts by priority then date, but pinned beads (handoff context) should always appear at the top.

**Current behavior:**
- Pinned beads mixed in with regular mail based on priority/date

**Expected behavior:**
- Pinned beads always first in inbox (before priority sorting)
- This enables handoff beads to be the default first item an agent sees

**Implementation:**
1. In mail.go runMailInbox(), after filtering, sort pinned beads to top
2. Within pinned and non-pinned groups, maintain priority/date sort

**Related:**
- gt-r8ej: Implement pinned beads for handoff state
- gt-8h4: Pinned Beads epic

**Acceptance criteria:**
- bd mail inbox shows pinned beads first
- Pinned beads still sorted by priority/date among themselves
- Non-pinned mail sorted normally after pinned section


Merge: gt-i4kq

branch: polecat/slit
target: main
source_issue: gt-i4kq
rig: gastown


Witness role template + CLAUDE.md

Create the Witness agent's role context:

1. internal/templates/roles/witness.md.tmpl
   - Witness responsibilities (polecat lifecycle)
   - Core loop description
   - Commands available (gt polecats, bd ready, etc)
   - Escalation protocol

2. Generate CLAUDE.md for witness/ directories
   - Context about the rig
   - Mail address: <rig>/witness
   - Startup protocol (gt prime, check inbox)

The Witness is the per-rig 'pit boss' - NOT a global coordinator. It manages polecats for ONE rig only.


Remove gt mail dependency on bd mail commands

Replaced bd mail send/inbox/read/ack with bd create/list/show/close. Messages are now stored as beads issues with type=message.


Engineer session restart protocol

Implement session restart flow for when the Engineer needs to split work:

1. Engineer creates subtask(s) in Beads assigned to self
2. Engineer sends handoff mail to self (🤝 HANDOFF)
3. Engineer sends restart request to Witness
4. Witness verifies:
   - Handoff mail exists in Engineer outbox/sent
   - Subtasks filed in Beads
5. Witness restarts the Refinery session (new Engineer context)

This enables "occasionally consistent, eventually convergent" work patterns.
The Refinery continues; the Engineer gets fresh context.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 13: OK


Refactor builtin_molecules.go (1620 lines)

## Summary

builtin_molecules.go is 1620 lines and growing. Should be split into:
- builtin_molecules.go - registration and common helpers
- molecules_patrol.go - patrol molecules (deacon, witness, refinery)
- molecules_work.go - work molecules (polecat-work, ready-work, engineer-in-box)
- molecules_session.go - session wrappers (crew-session, polecat-session)

## Benefits
- Easier to find/edit specific molecules
- Smaller diffs on changes
- Clear categorization


test pin issue


Add 'gt account add' command

Register new account: create config dir, spawn claude with CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR set, user completes /login, add entry to accounts.yaml.

Implemented gt account add with email/desc flags


Rename .beads-ephemeral to .beads-wisps in docs

The wisp storage directory should be named `.beads-wisps/` not `.beads-ephemeral/`.

Also fix the architecture: Witness and Refinery share mayor/rig's beads and wisps.
They don't have separate ephemeral stores.

## Files to update
- docs/wisp-architecture.md
- docs/architecture.md
- ~/gt/docs/patrol-system-design.md
- ~/gt/CLAUDE.md

## Changes
1. Rename `.beads-ephemeral/` → `.beads-wisps/` everywhere
2. Remove incorrect references to witness/.beads-ephemeral/ and refinery/rig/.beads-ephemeral/
3. Clarify that all rig-level patrols use mayor/rig/.beads-wisps/

Renamed .beads-ephemeral to .beads-wisp, unified rig patrol storage


Auto-restart patrol agents after N loops

All patrol roles should auto-restart to keep context usage low. Role-specific heuristics:

**Deacon**:
- 20 patrol loops without major incident
- Immediate restart after ANY extraordinary action (lifecycle request, remediation, escalation)
- Rationale: Keep context short so there's headroom if something big comes up

**Witness**:
- Based on polecats processed (not loop count)
- Restart after processing N polecats (spawns, nudges, decommissions)
- Suggested N: 10-15 polecats

**Refinery**:
- Based on MRs processed (not loop count)
- Restart after processing N merge requests
- Suggested N: 5-10 MRs (merges are context-heavy)

Benefits:
- Keeps context fresh (better focus/performance)
- Reduces cost (quadratic increase vs conversation length)
- Preserves headroom for handling surprises
- Simple and predictable (no context estimation needed)

Each role tracks their metric in state file and hands off when threshold reached.

Implemented context management heuristics in deacon, witness, and refinery templates


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 8: routine


Test: Alpha to Beta

Sibling communication test


Merge: gt-h6eq.7

branch: polecat/dag
target: main
source_issue: gt-h6eq.7
rig: gastown


Polecats should not push branches to remote

## Current Behavior

Polecats push their branches to origin (e.g., `polecat/furiosa`), which pollutes the remote with many short-lived branches.

## Desired Behavior

Polecats should only commit locally. The Refinery handles all remote pushes:
1. Polecat works on local `polecat/<name>` branch
2. Polecat signals done (state → idle)
3. Refinery pulls from local polecat branch
4. Refinery runs tests, merges to main
5. Refinery pushes main to remote
6. If PR review needed, Refinery creates the PR

## Benefits

- Clean remote (no branch pollution)
- Clear responsibility (Refinery is the quality gate)
- Simpler cleanup (local branches deleted with worktree)
- Less noise in GitHub UI

## Trade-offs

- If polecat crashes before Refinery merges, code is lost locally
- But beads issue remains open, another polecat can redo the work
- This is acceptable for ephemeral workers

## Implementation

In polecat CLAUDE.md or landing protocol:
- Remove `git push origin HEAD` from workflow
- Replace with just `git commit` + signal done
- Refinery handles the rest


max Handoff


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol #3: Routine - 6 agents healthy


Remove unused style helper functions

internal/style/style.go defines RenderSuccess, RenderWarning, RenderError, and RenderInfo helper functions that are never used. Code uses style.Success.Render() directly instead. Either use the helpers consistently or remove them.

Removed 4 unused style helper functions (RenderSuccess, RenderWarning, RenderError, RenderInfo)


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 12: all clear


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 3: All clear


inspect-workers

Capture output for each working polecat.

```bash
gt peek <rig>/<polecat>
```

Needs: survey-workers


gt sling pinToHook doesn't set pinned boolean field

## Updated Root Cause Analysis (2025-12-23)

The issue is **NOT** in gt as originally thought. It's in the beads (bd) codebase.

### What happens:
1. `bd pin` correctly sets pinned=1 in SQLite
2. Any subsequent `bd` command (even `bd show`) resets pinned to 0
3. This happens even with `--no-auto-import` and `--sandbox` flags

### Evidence:
```bash
$ bd --no-daemon pin gt-k08o --for=max
📌 Pinned gt-k08o to max's hook

$ sqlite3 beads.db 'SELECT id, pinned FROM issues WHERE id="gt-k08o"'
gt-k08o|1   # ← Correct immediately after pin

$ bd --no-daemon --no-auto-import show gt-k08o
[shows issue without pinned field]

$ sqlite3 beads.db 'SELECT id, pinned FROM issues WHERE id="gt-k08o"'
gt-k08o|0   # ← WRONG\! bd show overwrote it
```

### Where to look:
The bug is likely in one of these beads code paths:
- Some import/hydration running despite --no-auto-import
- WAL mode not flushing before subsequent reads
- Multi-repo or redirect handling corrupting pinned field

### Workaround:
The handoff bead attachment mechanism (AttachMolecule) works correctly.
The pinned field is cosmetic for `bd hook` visibility only.
gt sling correctly uses AttachMolecule for work assignment.

### Next steps:
Create a beads issue to fix this properly in the bd codebase.
This is not a gt issue.

Created beads bug: bd-phtv in ~/gt/beads

Root-caused to beads codebase, not gt. Created beads bug bd-phtv to track the actual fix.


gt sling --force: return displaced work to ready pool

When slinging with --force to an agent with occupied hook, the displaced molecule should be returned to the ready pool rather than silently orphaned.

Current behavior:
- --force overwrites the hook attachment
- Previous work becomes orphaned (still assigned but not pinned)

Desired behavior:
1. Unpin the displaced molecule (clear assignee, set pinned=false)
2. Print warning in tool output: 'Warning: displaced gt-xxx back to ready pool'
3. Proceed with new sling

This ensures:
- No silent data loss
- Agent sees the warning and can act on it
- Human caller sees what happened
- Displaced work is discoverable via 'bd ready'

Implementation location: checkHookCollision() or the sling handlers themselves (after the --force check passes)


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 1: All healthy, no lifecycle requests, 8 active sessions


Merge: gt-h6eq.3

branch: polecat/keeper
target: main
source_issue: gt-h6eq.3
rig: gastown


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 15: all clear


Test Patrol Parent

Test parent for Christmas Ornament pattern


Test Polecat Arm

Test child for bonding pattern


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol #9


Daemon: proper rig discovery

Currently discovers rigs by scanning tmux session names for gt-*-witness pattern. Should instead:
- Read rigs from mayor/rigs.json
- Or scan town directory for .gastown subdirs
- Handle rigs that exist but don't have running witnesses


Mail inbox from witness/refinery dirs shows Mayor inbox

When running `gt mail inbox` from the witness or refinery directories, it shows the Mayor's inbox instead of the agent's own inbox.

Reproduction:
```
$ cd ~/gt/beads/witness && gt mail inbox
📬 Inbox: mayor/ (1 messages, 1 unread)
  ● 🤝 HANDOFF: Swarm session complete...
```

Expected: Should show beads/witness inbox

Likely cause: The cwd-based identity resolution isn't recognizing witness/refinery as valid mail identities, so it falls back to Mayor.


Add WaitsFor parsing to molecule steps

Add WaitsFor field to MoleculeStep struct and parse 'WaitsFor: all-children' (and future variants) from molecule descriptions.

This enables:
- mol progress to understand fanout patterns
- Validation that WaitsFor references valid constructs
- Future automated orchestration

Implementation:
1. Add WaitsFor []string to MoleculeStep struct
2. Add waitsForLineRegex to parse 'WaitsFor: ...' lines
3. Update ParseMoleculeSteps to extract WaitsFor
4. Update tests


Document bd mol bond/squash/burn CLI

Create CLI reference documentation for molecule commands:

## bd mol bond

Instantiate a proto into a runnable molecule.

```bash
bd mol bond <proto-id> [--wisp] [--assignee=<addr>]
```

- Default: creates a Mol (durable, in main beads)
- --wisp: creates a Wisp (ephemeral, in .beads-ephemeral/)
- --assignee: who will execute this molecule

## bd mol squash

Complete a molecule and generate digest.

```bash
bd mol squash <mol-id> --summary='...'
```

- For Mol: creates digest in git history
- For Wisp: evaporates (no permanent record)
- --summary: required summary of what was accomplished

## bd mol burn

Abandon a molecule without completing.

```bash
bd mol burn <mol-id> [--reason='...']
```

- Discards molecule state
- No digest created
- Use when molecule is no longer needed

Already documented in docs/molecules.md lines 70-235


Merge: gt-r6td

branch: polecat/furiosa
target: main
source_issue: gt-r6td
rig: gastown


CRITICAL: ProcessMRFromQueue not implemented - Refinery merge logic stubbed

File: internal/refinery/engineer.go:384
The ProcessMRFromQueue() function returns hardcoded failure with TODO comment.
This is a core refinery function that cannot process merges in current state.
Must implement actual merge logic before OSS launch.

Not a blocker: Refinery agent manually executes git commands per role prompt. The stubbed ProcessMRFromQueue is for future beads-based automation, not currently in the active path. manager.ProcessMR() is also fully implemented if needed.


Add neighbor-check steps to all patrol molecules

Part of the 'Gas Town is a Village' antifragility design.

Every patrol molecule should include optional neighbor-checking:
- Deacon checks Witness and Refinery health
- Witness checks Refinery health
- Refinery checks Witness health
- Polecats can peek other polecats

Use gt peek to check health states.
If stuck neighbor found, can nudge or escalate.

This creates distributed monitoring - no single point of failure.


Test Patrol for Bonding

Parent issue for mol bond CLI test


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-oh90
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


Remove bd sync instruction from polecat startup workflow

Polecats are instructed to run `bd sync --from-main` on startup (spawn.go:634).

## Problem
- Spawn command already syncs beads before spawning (line 239)
- Polecats share rig-level beads via `.beads/redirect`
- Multiple polecats starting simultaneously all try to sync same shared beads
- This causes git conflicts/failures when many polecats spawn at once

## Observed
User reported: 'all polecats failing on beads sync on startup in one run'

## Fix
Remove line 634 from buildWorkAssignmentMail():
```
body.WriteString("2. Run \`bd sync --from-main\` to get fresh beads\n")
```

Polecats only need to sync at END of work (already in steps 5/7).

## Files
- internal/cmd/spawn.go: buildWorkAssignmentMail() and buildSpawnContext()


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:47

Patrol 17: All healthy


Test Patrol Parent

[RESURRECTED] This issue was deleted but recreated as a tombstone to preserve hierarchical structure.

Original description:
Test parent for Christmas Ornament pattern


Polecat Arm (arm-toast)

Single polecat inspection and action cycle.

This molecule is bonded dynamically by mol-witness-patrol's survey-workers step.
Each polecat being monitored gets one arm that runs in parallel with other arms.

## Variables

| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| polecat_name | Yes | Name of the polecat to inspect |
| rig | Yes | Rig containing the polecat |

## Step: capture
Capture recent tmux output for toast.

```bash
tmux capture-pane -t gt-gastown-toast -p | tail -50
```

Record:
- Last activity timestamp (when was last tool call?)
- Visible errors or stack traces
- Completion indicators ("Done", "Finished", etc.)

## Step: assess
Categorize polecat state based on captured output.

States:
- **working**: Recent tool calls, active processing
- **idle**: At prompt, no recent activity
- **error**: Showing errors or stack traces
- **requesting_shutdown**: Sent LIFECYCLE/Shutdown mail
- **done**: Showing completion indicators

Calculate: minutes since last activity.
Needs: capture

## Step: load-history
Read nudge history for toast from patrol state.

```
nudge_count = state.nudges[toast].count
last_nudge_time = state.nudges[toast].timestamp
```

This data was loaded by the parent patrol's load-state step and passed
to the arm via the bonding context.
Needs: assess

## Step: decide
Apply the nudge matrix to determine action for toast.

| State | Idle Time | Nudge Count | Action |
|-------|-----------|-------------|--------|
| working | any | any | none |
| idle | <10min | any | none |
| idle | 10-15min | 0 | nudge-1 (gentle) |
| idle | 15-20min | 1 | nudge-2 (direct) |
| idle | 20+min | 2 | nudge-3 (final) |
| idle | any | 3 | escalate |
| error | any | any | assess-severity |
| requesting_shutdown | any | any | pre-kill-verify |
| done | any | any | pre-kill-verify |

Nudge text:
1. "How's progress? Need any help?"
2. "Please wrap up soon. What's blocking you?"
3. "Final check. Will escalate in 5 min if no response."

Record decision and rationale.
Needs: load-history

## Step: execute
Take the decided action for toast.

**nudge-N**:
```bash
tmux send-keys -t gt-gastown-toast "{{nudge_text}}" Enter
```

**pre-kill-verify**:
```bash
cd polecats/toast
git status                    # Must be clean
git log origin/main..HEAD     # Check for unpushed
bd show <assigned-issue>      # Verify closed/deferred
```
If clean: kill session, remove worktree, delete branch
If dirty: record failure, retry next cycle

**escalate**:
```bash
gt mail send mayor/ -s "Escalation: toast stuck" -m "..."
```

**none**: No action needed.

Record: action taken, result, updated nudge count.
Needs: decide

## Output

The arm completes with:
- action_taken: none | nudge-1 | nudge-2 | nudge-3 | killed | escalated
- result: success | failed | pending
- updated_state: New nudge count and timestamp for toast

This data feeds back to the parent patrol's aggregate step.
---
bonded_from: mol-polecat-arm
bonded_to: gt-on0i
bonded_ref: arm-toast
bonded_at: 2025-12-23T10:00:00Z


Work on gt-fix-bugs: Fix blocking infrastructure bugs. Se...

Work on gt-fix-bugs: Fix blocking infrastructure bugs. See issue for details. Run 'bd show gt-fix-bugs' to see the full issue.


bd close hooks: context check and notifications

Add hook system to bd close for context checking and notifications.

## Concept

Register hooks that run on every bd close:

# .beads/config.yaml
hooks:
  on_close:
    - command: 'gt context-check'
    - notify: 'Next step ready'

## Use cases

### Context check on close
After closing a step, check if context is getting full.
If >80%, output warning suggesting session cycling.

### Next step notification
Automatically show next ready step (complements --continue).

### Custom actions
User-defined scripts for workflow automation.

## Hook types

- command: Run shell command with env vars (BEAD_ID, BEAD_TITLE, etc)
- notify: Send message to agent
- webhook: POST to URL (future)

## Integration with context detection

The context-check hook could:
1. Capture tmux pane (if in tmux session)
2. Estimate context usage (turn count, output length)
3. If high, output: 'Context at ~85%. Consider cycling.'

## Priority
P2 - nice to have, not blocking launch.

## Related
- gt-qswb (bd mol current)
- gt-fly0 (bd close --continue)


Session cycling: Auto-spawn successor when context full

Enable automatic session succession for crew workers.

When a crew worker's context fills up (>80%), they should:
1. Write handoff mail to themselves
2. Signal session end
3. System auto-spawns successor session
4. Successor reads handoff, finds attached work, auto-continues

This completes the autonomous overnight work pattern from gt-9g82.

Depends on:
- Detecting context fullness (Claude Code API?)
- Session spawning mechanism (tmux/daemon)
- Handoff protocol already implemented


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol #15: 3/4 through


gt swarm start: Does not spawn polecat sessions

gt swarm start marks swarm as 'active' but doesn't start any polecat sessions.

Repro:
1. gt swarm create gastown --epic gt-hw6 --worker Toast --worker Nux
2. gt swarm start gt-hw6
3. gt session list - shows no new sessions

Expected: Polecat sessions should start for each worker.
Actual: No sessions started, workers sit idle.


Refinery agent: merge queue processing loop

The Refinery agent processes the merge queue, merging polecat work to main.

## Interface

```go
type Refinery struct {
    rig    *Rig
    queue  *MergeQueue
    git    *Git
    mail   *Mailbox
    config RefineryConfig
}

type RefineryConfig struct {
    AutoMerge     bool          // Auto-merge passing MRs
    RunTests      bool          // Run tests before merge
    TestCommand   string        // Command to run tests
    RequireReview bool          // Require review before merge (future)
}

func NewRefinery(rig *Rig, ...) *Refinery

// Lifecycle
func (r *Refinery) Start() error
func (r *Refinery) Stop() error
func (r *Refinery) IsRunning() bool

// Processing
func (r *Refinery) ProcessQueue() error
func (r *Refinery) ProcessMR(mr *MergeRequest) error
```

## Processing Loop

1. Check queue for pending MRs
2. For each pending MR:
   a. Fetch polecat branch
   b. Attempt merge to refinery/rig (local main)
   c. Run tests if configured
   d. If pass: push to origin, mark merged
   e. If fail: mark rejected, notify polecat
3. Sleep, repeat

## Merge Strategy

- Fast-forward when possible
- Merge commit when not
- On conflict: reject MR, polecat must rebase

## Test Integration

If tests configured:
```bash
cd refinery/rig
git merge polecat/branch
<test_command>  # e.g., go test ./...
```
Result determines merge/reject.

## Notifications

On merge success:
- Mail to polecat: "Your work merged"
- Update bead if issue tracked

On merge failure:
- Mail to polecat: "Merge failed: <reason>"
- Include conflict details if applicable

## Dependencies

Needs: Rig management, Git wrapper, Mail system, Merge queue


Maintenance: Regular cleanup of closed MR/gate beads

Closed merge-request and gate beads accumulate over time. Need regular cleanup.

## Cleanup Candidates
- type=merge-request with status=closed
- type=gate with status=closed
- type=molecule with status=closed (completed workflows)

## Options
1. **Deacon patrol step** - squash closed MRs periodically
2. **Refinery post-merge** - close and tombstone MR after successful merge
3. **bd doctor check** - warn when stale MR count exceeds threshold

## Consideration
Keep some audit trail? Or just tombstone after N days?


Test from Mayor

This is a test message via GGT mail


gt doctor: add Claude settings.json validation

Add a new doctor check to validate Claude Code settings in worker directories:

**Check for:**
1. .claude/settings.json exists in polecats/*, crew/*, witness/rig, refinery/rig
2. SessionStart hook has 'gt prime' command
3. Autonomous roles (polecat, witness, refinery) have 'gt mail check --inject' in SessionStart
4. Interactive roles (crew, mayor) have mail check in UserPromptSubmit only

**Auto-fix capability:**
Use internal/claude.EnsureSettingsForRole() to create missing settings files.

Context: The spawn priming race condition fix (gt-6957) added embedded settings templates. Doctor should validate these are in place.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 7: Routine


gt doctor: detect orphaned code on beads-sync branch

After merging beads-sync to main, some code changes can be lost if the merge conflict resolution drops files.

Add a doctor check that runs:
  git diff main..beads-sync -- '*.go' '*.md'

If there are differences in code files (not just .beads/), warn about potentially orphaned work.

Today's incident: Merge 96c773f lost mailbox.go and router.go changes from 5791752, requiring re-implementation.

Acceptance:
- gt doctor warns if beads-sync has unmerged code changes
- Excludes .beads/ directory (expected to differ)
- Shows file list of orphaned changes

Implemented both checks: persistent-role-branches and beads-sync-orphans. Also added ensureMainBranch() to crew attach.


Add godoc comments to exported functions

Several exported functions lack godoc comments. While not critical, adding documentation would improve code maintainability. Focus on:

- Public API functions in each package
- Exported types and their methods
- Functions that have non-obvious behavior

Can be addressed incrementally as code is touched.

Deferred to post-launch. Documentation comments are nice-to-have for launch. Core functionality is documented; additional godoc can be added incrementally.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 1: All agents healthy, no messages, no orphans


Recover stale polecat work: 4 branches with unpushed commits

During observation of polecat workflow, found 4 polecats with unpushed work:

## Branches Pushed (preserved)
- polecat/capable: 3 commits (molecule catalog, doctor orphan detection, gt done)
- polecat/dementus: 4 commits (Witness MVP, handoff fixes)
- polecat/furiosa: 2 commits (bulk polecat removal, spawn handoff)
- polecat/rictus: 1 commit (molecule docs)

## Action Required
1. Review each branch for merge-worthiness
2. Either:
   a. Create PRs for valuable work
   b. OR discard if superseded
3. After decision, clean up polecats properly

## Root Cause
Polecats were not cleaned up after previous work sessions. This is exactly why we need:
- gt-u1k: gt shutdown should fully cleanup polecats
- gt-8v8: Refuse to lose uncommitted work
- gt-9nf: Always create fresh polecats


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 4: 8 sessions active, all healthy


gt spawn: beads sync warnings on fresh worktree

When spawning fresh polecats, seeing 'Warning: beads sync: exit status 1' and 'Warning: beads push: exit status 1'. Worktrees are created but beads state may not be properly synced.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 9: OK


Merge: gt-h6eq.4

branch: polecat/valkyrie
target: main
source_issue: gt-h6eq.4
rig: gastown


Plugin: merge-oracle (merge queue analysis)

Example plugin that analyzes changesets before Refinery processes them. Builds overlap graph, classifies disjointness (parallel-safe vs needs-sequencing), uses LLM for semantic complexity, identifies high-risk patterns. Based on merge-orchestration proposal. See docs/architecture.md.


Add --account flag to gt spawn and gt crew attach

Add --account=<handle> flag. Precedence: GT_ACCOUNT env > --account flag > default from config.

Added --account flag to gt spawn and gt crew at commands


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 6: OK


Test Patrol Parent

Test parent for Christmas Ornament pattern


Test Polecat Arm

Test child for bonding pattern


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 19: Quiet


Test

Body


Create handoff beads for Witness and Refinery roles

Each patrol role needs a pinned handoff bead to track attached molecules and patrol state.

## Pattern (from Deacon)
- Title: '<role> Handoff' (e.g., 'witness Handoff', 'refinery Handoff')
- Status: pinned
- Description contains structured state

## Witness Handoff State

```yaml
attached_molecule: mol-witness-patrol
attached_at: 2025-12-24T10:00:00Z

# Nudge escalation tracking
nudges:
  toast:
    count: 2
    last: "2025-12-24T10:30:00Z"
  ace:
    count: 0
    last: null

# Polecats queued for cleanup
pending_cleanup:
  - nux  # received POLECAT_DONE, awaiting verification
```

## Refinery Handoff State

```yaml
attached_molecule: mol-refinery-patrol
attached_at: 2025-12-24T10:00:00Z

# Merge queue tracking
last_processed_branch: polecat/toast
branches_merged_this_cycle: 3
```

## Tasks
1. Create 'witness Handoff' bead in each rig's beads
2. Create 'refinery Handoff' bead in each rig's beads
3. Update Witness/Refinery startup to check handoff bead for attached work
4. Update templates to document handoff bead usage
5. Include nudge state schema for Witness
6. Include merge state schema for Refinery

## Note
These are rig-level beads (in gastown/.beads/, beads/.beads/), not town-level like deacon Handoff (in ~/gt/.beads/).

## See Also
- docs/witness-patrol-design.md - Theory of operation

witness Handoff (gt-w98d) and refinery Handoff (gt-j3cx) beads exist; templates updated with documentation


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 20: All agents healthy - triggering handoff


Post-work discovery: AI analysis finds follow-on issues

AI analyzes completed work to discover: bugs, punted work, follow-on tasks.

**From VC**: Supervisor.AnalyzeResult() with iterative refinement. ~300 lines.

**Gas Town implementation**: Post-work hook in molecule:
```yaml
post_work:
  discover:
    - bugs
    - punted_items
    - follow_on_work
  file_as: beads
```

Polecat output gets analyzed by AI, discovered work becomes beads issues.

**Value**: Nothing gets forgotten. VC found ~25% more issues with refinement.

**Key**: Use semantic deduplication (gt-xxx) to avoid pollution.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol #4: 2 Witnesses OK, 2 Refineries OK


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 20:23

Patrol complete: inbox clear, all agents healthy, no orphans


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 7: All healthy


Work on ga-ct2: Add MR workflow to polecat completion. Wh...

Work on ga-ct2: Add MR workflow to polecat completion. When polecat completes work, auto-create MR to integration branch. When done, submit MR (not PR) to integration branch for Refinery.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 13: Routine


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:24

Patrol 9: quiet


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:21

Patrol 3: all healthy, no work


mol-crew-session: Startup/shutdown protocols for crew workers

Crew workers (like joe, max) don't have patrol molecules keeping them fresh. When gt gets rebuilt, they have stale binaries that cause hangs and bugs.

## Problem

- Crew binaries get stale when gt is rebuilt elsewhere
- No automatic pull/rebase/rebuild on session start
- No standardized shutdown protocol (sync, push, handoff)

## Solution: mol-crew-session

A molecule template for crew sessions:

### Startup Phase
1. `git pull --rebase` - get latest code
2. `bd sync` - sync beads
3. `go build -o gt ./cmd/gt` - rebuild gt (if in gastown)
4. `gt prime` - load context

### Work Phase
- Open-ended human interaction
- No molecule steps - just work until done

### Shutdown Phase
1. `git status` - check for uncommitted changes
2. `bd sync` - sync beads
3. `git push` - push code
4. Handoff if incomplete work

## Implementation

1. Define mol-crew-session in builtin_molecules.go
2. Update crew CLAUDE.md to reference the protocol
3. Optionally: gt prime auto-runs startup steps

## Dependencies

- Should implement after deacon/witness/polecat patrols are stable
- Consider: gt-3x0z.10 (Witness patrol molecules)

## Related

- gt-3x0z.9: Deacon wisp patrol (done)
- fix-gt script: Current workaround for binary freshness


Configuration in Beads: use pinned beads for rig/agent config

## Summary

Move configuration from JSON files into Beads data plane using pinned beads.

## Motivation

- Config becomes versionable and syncable like issues
- Agents can read config via `bd show`
- Unified data model for everything
- Supports the 'Beads as Universal Data Plane' vision (gt-aqm)

## Config Types to Migrate

### Rig-level (pinned per rig)
- Theme/colors for tmux status line
- Default branch naming conventions
- Merge queue settings
- Witness thresholds

### Agent-level (pinned per role)
- Handoffs (already planned - gt-cu7r)
- Agent preferences
- Current focus/context

### Town-level (pinned at town root)
- Cross-rig settings
- Federation config
- Global themes

## Implementation

1. Implement StatusPinned (beads-6v2) ✓ in progress
2. Create config pinned beads on rig init
3. Add `bd config get/set` commands that read/write pinned beads
4. Migrate existing config.json fields

## Naming Convention

```
<prefix>-cfg-<scope>
gt-cfg-theme      # gastown theme
bd-cfg-merge      # beads merge settings
gm-cfg-town       # town-level config
```

## Dependencies

- beads-6v2: Add StatusPinned to beads schema
- gm-w13: Pinned Beads epic


Merge: gt-5af.2

branch: polecat/Doof
target: main
source_issue: gt-5af.2
rig: gastown


CLI: mayor commands (start, attach, stop, status)

Mayor management CLI commands.

## Commands

### gt mayor start
```
gt mayor start [--continue] [--agent AGENT]
```
- --continue: Resume from previous session (check for handoff mail)
- --agent: claude (default) or other agent type

### gt mayor attach
```
gt mayor attach
```
Attach to running Mayor session.

### gt mayor stop
```
gt mayor stop [--grace-period N]
```
Stop Mayor session with optional grace period.

### gt mayor status
```
gt mayor status [--json]
```
Show Mayor running status.

## Session Management
Session name: `gt-mayor`
Working directory: `<town>/mayor/rig/` or `<town>/mayor/`

## Implementation
Similar to session commands but for special Mayor context.

```go
func getMayorPath(townRoot string) string {
    return filepath.Join(townRoot, "mayor")
}

func getMayorSessionName() string {
    return "gt-mayor"
}
```

## New File
internal/cmd/mayor.go

## PGT Reference
gastown-py/src/gastown/cli/mayor_cmd.py

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] gt mayor start launches Mayor session
- [ ] gt mayor attach works
- [ ] gt mayor stop with grace period
- [ ] gt mayor status shows running state


Work on ga-lzh: Add gt witness attach command. Allow atta...

Work on ga-lzh: Add gt witness attach command. Allow attaching to witness session for a rig, similar to gt mayor attach. When done, submit MR (not PR) to integration branch for Refinery.


Polecat template: fix 'git clone' to 'git worktree'

Template says 'You're in a project git clone' but polecats use worktrees, not clones. Fix terminology.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 9: routine, all healthy


Simplify and reorganize molecular chemistry docs

The Gas Town molecular chemistry docs (molecules.md, molecular-chemistry.md, molecule-algebra.md) are too dramatic and verbose. They need a simplification pass to be more reference-manual style.

**Current problems:**
1. Too much metaphor and philosophy, not enough practical reference
2. Start with the chemistry abstraction instead of what users care about (patrols, workflows)
3. Layer cake is presented top-down (formulas → protos → molecules) instead of bottom-up (issues → dependencies → execution)

**Proposed structure (inverted pyramid):**

1. **Start with execution semantics:**
   - Work = issues with dependencies
   - Dependencies control execution (blocks = sequential, no dep = parallel)
   - Agents traverse dependency graphs until blocked
   - Multi-day workflows via compound bonding

2. **Move to molecules:**
   - Molecules are just epics with workflow intent
   - Bonding = creating dependencies between work graphs
   - No protos required for ad-hoc workflows

3. **Then templates (protos/wisps):**
   - Phase metaphor for storage locations
   - pour/wisp/squash/burn operations
   - When to use each phase

4. **Finally formulas (for advanced users):**
   - YAML compile-time composition
   - extends, compose, aspects
   - Only needed for complex reusable patterns

**Style guidelines:**
- Reference manual with quick examples
- Written like agent priming (context they need to execute)
- Less dramatic, more straightforward
- TL;DR at top of each doc

**See also:**
- beads/docs/MOLECULES.md has a simplified version to use as template
- The execution model section explains multi-day traversal clearly


mol-witness-patrol

Per-rig worker monitor patrol loop using the Christmas Ornament pattern.

The Witness is the Pit Boss for your rig. You watch polecats, nudge them toward
completion, verify clean git state before kills, and escalate stuck workers.

**You do NOT do implementation work.** Your job is oversight, not coding.

## The Christmas Ornament Shape

This molecule uses dynamic bonding to create inspection arms per-polecat:

```
                    ★ mol-witness-patrol (trunk)
                   /|\
            ┌─────┘ │ └─────┐
         PREFLIGHT DISCOVERY CLEANUP
            │       │        │
        ┌───┴───┐ ┌─┴─┐  ┌───┴───┐
        │inbox  │ │sur│  │aggreg │
        │refnry │ │vey│  │save   │
        │load   │ └─┬─┘  │summary│
        └───────┘   │    │contxt │
                    │    │loop   │
          ┌─────────┼─────────┐ └───────┘
          │         │         │
          ●         ●         ●     mol-polecat-arm (dynamic)
         ace       nux      toast
          │         │         │
       ┌──┴──┐   ┌──┴──┐   ┌──┴──┐
       │cap  │   │cap  │   │cap  │
       │ass  │   │ass  │   │ass  │
       │dec  │   │dec  │   │dec  │
       │exec │   │exec │   │exec │
       └──┬──┘   └──┬──┘   └──┬──┘
          │         │         │
          └─────────┴─────────┘
                    │
                 ⬣ base (cleanup)
```

## Phases

### PREFLIGHT (fixed steps)
1. inbox-check - Process lifecycle requests, help messages
2. check-refinery - Ensure MQ is alive and processing
3. load-state - Read persistent state (nudge counts, etc.)

### DISCOVERY (spawns dynamic arms)
4. survey-workers - List polecats, bond mol-polecat-arm per polecat
5. run-plugins - Bond mol-plugin-runner for each witness plugin

### CLEANUP (gate + fixed steps)
6. aggregate - GATE: WaitsFor all arms + plugins to complete
7. save-state - Persist nudge counts, action log
8. generate-summary - Create digest content
9. context-check - Check if context is high
10. burn-or-loop - Squash/burn wisp, then loop or exit

## Dynamic Arms

Each polecat gets mol-polecat-arm bonded as a wisp child:
- capture - Capture tmux output
- assess - Categorize state (working/idle/error/done)
- load-history - Get nudge counts for this polecat
- decide - Apply nudge matrix
- execute - Take action (nudge/kill/escalate/none)

Arms run in PARALLEL. The aggregate step waits for all to complete.

## Activity Feed

This design enables real-time visibility:

```
[14:32:08] + patrol-x7k.arm-ace bonded (5 steps)
[14:32:09] → patrol-x7k.arm-ace.capture in_progress
[14:32:10] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace.capture completed
[14:32:14] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace.decide completed (action: nudge-1)
[14:32:17] ✓ patrol-x7k.arm-ace COMPLETE
```

## Storage

- Wisp storage: .beads-wisp/ (ephemeral, gitignored)
- Persistent state: witness handoff bead (nudge counts, etc.)
- Digests: Squashed summaries in permanent beads

## Dependencies

- bd-xo1o: Dynamic Molecule Bonding epic (in beads rig)
  - bd mol bond with variable substitution
  - WaitsFor directive for fanout gates
  - Activity feed query

Labels: [template, christmas-ornament]


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 3: OK


Session cycling UX: smooth transitions via TUI wrapper

## Problem

Current CLI agent session cycling is painful:
- Shell → CC starts → priming → context loads → ready → work → exit/crash → repeat
- Each cycle is 30-60 seconds of cold boot
- No continuity between shell and agent's inner state
- Raw "session not running, starting..." loop is the baseline

## GGT Advantages (already have)

- Beads: Work state survives session death completely
- Mail: Handoff notes from past-self to future-self
- Prime commands: Structured context reload

## Gap: Transition Mechanics

Ideas to explore when actively using CLI:

1. **In-band cycling** - `/restart` or `/cycle` command, agent handles own restart without dropping to shell

2. **Hot standby** - TUI maintains pre-warmed session in background, switch to already-primed agent

3. **Persistent wrapper** - Bubbletea TUI stays running across session cycles, CC sessions come/go inside it

4. **Session pooling** - Keep 2-3 primed sessions ready, never wait for cold start

## Deferred

Deliberately P4 until we're actively using the simpler CLI and feel the pain firsthand.


gt crew at: auto-prime when exec'ing Claude in-session

When running 'gt crew at <name>' from inside the target session, we exec Claude directly. But this means we can't send 'gt prime' afterward since we ARE the process.

Possible solutions:
1. Claude startup hook that runs gt prime
2. Pass prompt as argument to claude CLI
3. Wrapper script approach

Related: crew resume prompt also can't be sent in this path.

Implemented: execClaude now passes 'gt prime' as initial prompt to Claude CLI


Obsolete beads issues need cleanup

Found obsolete issues that should be closed or fixed:

Test artifacts to close:
- gt-nriy: Test: Alpha to Beta (message test)
- gt-gswn: Integration test (test artifact)
- gt-54kn: Test: New Router

Broken dependencies (reference non-existent gt-test123):
- gt-vhby: implement
- gt-tvos: load-context
- gt-lwuu.2: implement (template variable unresolved)

CloudRun references (non-existent /deploy/cloudrun/):
- gt-9a2.6, gt-9a2.7, gt-9a2.11

Review and close/update these before launch.


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol

Patrol 2: All healthy


bd create should support molecule type

gt molecule commands expect type=molecule but bd validates against bug|feature|task|epic|chore|merge-request only


gt done: Missing command referenced in polecat docs


TIDY UP: Your previous work (patrol runner) was already m...

TIDY UP: Your previous work (patrol runner) was already merged to main. Check your git status is clean, sync beads, and if nothing to do, just run 'gt done'.


Refactor: Eliminate state.json, use beads assignee field for polecat state

## Problem

state.json in each polecat worktree duplicates data that should be in beads:
- `issue` field duplicates assignment (should be issue.assignee)
- `state` field duplicates status (derivable from issue.status)
- `name/rig/branch/clone_path` are all derivable from filesystem/git

This violates 'Beads as the data plane' (HOP Decision 001).

## Current State

```json
{
  "name": "Angharad",        // Derivable: basename(cwd)
  "rig": "gastown",          // Derivable: parent dir name
  "state": "working",        // Should be: issue.status
  "clone_path": "/path",     // Derivable: cwd
  "branch": "polecat/X",     // Derivable: git branch
  "issue": "gt-xyz",         // Should be: issue.assignee
  "timestamps": "..."        // Should be in beads history
}
```

## Target State

**Polecat identity**: Derived from worktree path
**Polecat assignment**: `issue.assignee = 'gastown/Angharad'`
**Polecat state**: Derived from issue.status (in_progress = working, closed = done)
**Polecat existence**: Worktree directory exists

## Benefits

1. Single source of truth (no sync issues)
2. Queryable: `bd list --assignee=gastown/Angharad`
3. History tracking via beads
4. Cross-agent coordination via beads sync
5. Simpler code (no state file management)

## Implementation

1. Update `gt spawn` to set issue.assignee instead of writing state.json
2. Update polecat list/status commands to query beads
3. Update Witness to query beads for polecat state
4. Remove state.json read/write code
5. Keep state.json as optional bootstrap cache (perf optimization only)


Speed up test suite

Tests are running slow during MQ processing. Investigate and optimize:
- Profile test execution time
- Look for slow tests (network, file I/O, sleeps)
- Consider parallel test execution
- Cache expensive setup where possible


Work on gt-role-template: Refine witness/CLAUDE.md role t...

Work on gt-role-template: Refine witness/CLAUDE.md role template. Add clearer heartbeat protocol, mail checking procedure, nudge decision criteria, escalation thresholds. Run 'bd show gt-role-template' for details.


Merge: gt-72so

branch: polecat/Ace
target: main
source_issue: gt-72so
rig: gastown


gt doctor: Detect and clean up orphaned sessions/processes

## Problem
Orphaned tmux sessions and Claude processes accumulate over time, consuming memory.

## Discovered Orphans
- gt-deacon: Idle Claude session, not part of any rig

## Proposed Solution

### gt doctor --check (default)
Detect issues without fixing:
- Orphan sessions (not matching rig/polecat/crew/witness/refinery/mayor pattern)
- Claude processes without parent tmux session
- Tmux sessions without Claude (stuck at bash prompt)
- Polecats marked 'working' but session idle

### gt doctor --fix
Clean up detected issues:
- Kill orphan sessions
- Kill orphan Claude processes
- Optionally reset stuck polecat state

### gt gc (alternative name)
Short alias for cleanup operations.

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Detects orphan sessions
- [ ] Detects orphan processes
- [ ] Safe cleanup (doesn't kill active work)
- [ ] Reports what was cleaned


Digest: mol-deacon-patrol @ 2025-12-24 19:45

Patrol 9: All healthy


bd mol current: soft cursor showing current/next step

Add bd mol current command for molecule navigation orientation.

## Usage

bd mol current [mol-id]

If mol-id given, show status for that molecule.
If not given, infer from in_progress issues assigned to current agent.

## Output

You're working on molecule gt-abc (Feature X)

  [checkmark] gt-abc.1: Design
  [checkmark] gt-abc.2: Scaffold
  [checkmark] gt-abc.3: Implement
  [arrow] gt-abc.4: Write tests [in_progress] <- YOU ARE HERE
  [circle] gt-abc.5: Documentation
  [circle] gt-abc.6: Exit decision

Progress: 3/6 steps complete

## Key behaviors
- Shows full molecule structure with status indicators
- Highlights current in_progress step
- If no in_progress, highlights first ready step
- Works without explicit cursor tracking (inferred from state)

## Implementation notes
- Query children of mol-id
- Sort by dependency order
- Find first in_progress or first ready
- Format with status indicators

## Beads feature
This is a bd command - needs implementation in beads repo.


New Year's Launch: Single-Polecat Engine

# Tracer Bullet: Single-Polecat Engine

The minimal viable Gas Town: one polecat, one issue, one complete cycle.

## Vision

```
Deacon wakes → checks hook → spawns polecat → polecat works → polecat submits → loop
```

No Witness automation. No Refinery automation. Just the core propulsion loop.

## Key Insight: Molecules Are the Logic

Go code is connector/glue. The cognition lives in molecules. When the Deacon
wakes up, it reads its hook, finds a molecule, and WALKS IT. The molecule
says what to do. Go just provides the verbs (spawn, send, close).

## The Propulsion Principle

> If you find something on your hook, YOU RUN IT.

This is the universal Gas Town rule. Every agent, every wake-up:
1. Check hook
2. If mol → execute it
3. If nothing → wait for assignment

## Critical Path

1. **Slinging Handoff** - `gt sling <bead>` attaches work and restarts
2. **Hook Execution** - Agent wakes, primes, reads hook, runs hook
3. **Polecat Work Cycle** - Spawn → work → submit → complete
4. **Deacon Patrol** - The loop that spawns polecats

## Success Criteria

- `gt sling gt-xxx` restarts agent with work attached
- Agent wakes up and automatically begins work
- Single polecat completes one issue end-to-end
- Deacon can spawn polecats on demand

## Non-Goals (v0.1)

- Autonomous Witness nudging
- Autonomous Refinery merging
- Multi-polecat coordination
- Self-healing from crashes

These are v0.2+. Tracer bullet first.

All phases complete: Single-Polecat Engine tracer bullet validated - spawn creates polecats with mol-polecat-work, templates have hook execution