Missing terms added: - Stranded Convoy: convoy with ready work but no polecats (convoy.md) - Shiny Workflow: canonical polecat formula (molecules.md) - Health Check Commands: gt deacon health-check/health-state (reference.md) - MQ Commands: gt mq list/submit/retry/etc (reference.md) Patrol template fixes: - Unified wisp spawn commands to use bd mol wisp consistently - Fixed Refinery incorrect bd mol spawn --wisp (command does not exist) - Fixed Deacon status=pinned to status=hooked - Standardized startup protocol header naming - Added Working Directory section to Witness and Refinery templates Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Convoys
Convoys are the primary unit for tracking batched work across rigs.
Quick Start
# Create a convoy tracking some issues
gt convoy create "Feature X" gt-abc gt-def --notify overseer
# Check progress
gt convoy status hq-cv-abc
# List active convoys (the dashboard)
gt convoy list
# See all convoys including landed ones
gt convoy list --all
Concept
A convoy is a persistent tracking unit that monitors related issues across multiple rigs. When you kick off work - even a single issue - a convoy tracks it so you can see when it lands and what was included.
🚚 Convoy (hq-cv-abc)
│
┌────────────┼────────────┐
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ gt-xyz │ │ gt-def │ │ bd-abc │
│ gastown │ │ gastown │ │ beads │
└────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ nux │ │ furiosa │ │ amber │
│(polecat)│ │(polecat)│ │(polecat)│
└─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘
│
"the swarm"
(ephemeral)
Convoy vs Swarm
| Concept | Persistent? | ID | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convoy | Yes | hq-cv-* | Tracking unit. What you create, track, get notified about. |
| Swarm | No | None | Ephemeral. "The workers currently on this convoy's issues." |
| Stranded Convoy | Yes | hq-cv-* | A convoy with ready work but no polecats assigned. Needs attention. |
When you "kick off a swarm", you're really:
- Creating a convoy (the tracking unit)
- Assigning polecats to the tracked issues
- The "swarm" is just those polecats while they're working
When issues close, the convoy lands and notifies you. The swarm dissolves.
Convoy Lifecycle
OPEN ──(all issues close)──► LANDED/CLOSED
↑ │
└──(add more issues)───────────┘
(auto-reopens)
| State | Description |
|---|---|
open |
Active tracking, work in progress |
closed |
All tracked issues closed, notification sent |
Adding issues to a closed convoy reopens it automatically.
Commands
Create a Convoy
# Track multiple issues across rigs
gt convoy create "Deploy v2.0" gt-abc bd-xyz --notify gastown/joe
# Track a single issue (still creates convoy for dashboard visibility)
gt convoy create "Fix auth bug" gt-auth-fix
# With default notification (from config)
gt convoy create "Feature X" gt-a gt-b gt-c
Add Issues
Note
:
gt convoy addis not yet implemented. Usebd dep adddirectly:
# Add issue to existing convoy
bd dep add hq-cv-abc gt-new-issue --type=tracks
# Adding to closed convoy requires reopening first
bd update hq-cv-abc --status=open
bd dep add hq-cv-abc gt-followup-fix --type=tracks
Check Status
# Show issues and active workers (the swarm)
gt convoy status hq-abc
# All active convoys (the dashboard)
gt convoy status
Example output:
🚚 hq-cv-abc: Deploy v2.0
Status: ●
Progress: 2/4 completed
Created: 2025-12-30T10:15:00-08:00
Tracked Issues:
✓ gt-xyz: Update API endpoint [task]
✓ bd-abc: Fix validation [bug]
○ bd-ghi: Update docs [task]
○ gt-jkl: Deploy to prod [task]
List Convoys (Dashboard)
# Active convoys (default) - the primary attention view
gt convoy list
# All convoys including landed
gt convoy list --all
# Only landed convoys
gt convoy list --status=closed
# JSON output
gt convoy list --json
Example output:
Convoys
🚚 hq-cv-w3nm6: Feature X ●
🚚 hq-cv-abc12: Bug fixes ●
Use 'gt convoy status <id>' for detailed view.
Notifications
When a convoy lands (all tracked issues closed), subscribers are notified:
# Explicit subscriber
gt convoy create "Feature X" gt-abc --notify gastown/joe
# Multiple subscribers
gt convoy create "Feature X" gt-abc --notify mayor/ --notify --human
Notification content:
🚚 Convoy Landed: Deploy v2.0 (hq-cv-abc)
Issues (3):
✓ gt-xyz: Update API endpoint
✓ gt-def: Add validation
✓ bd-abc: Update docs
Duration: 2h 15m
Auto-Convoy on Sling
When you sling a single issue without an existing convoy:
gt sling bd-xyz beads/amber
This auto-creates a convoy so all work appears in the dashboard:
- Creates convoy: "Work: bd-xyz"
- Tracks the issue
- Assigns the polecat
Even "swarm of one" gets convoy visibility.
Cross-Rig Tracking
Convoys live in town-level beads (hq-cv-* prefix) and can track issues from any rig:
# Track issues from multiple rigs
gt convoy create "Full-stack feature" \
gt-frontend-abc \
gt-backend-def \
bd-docs-xyz
The tracks relation is:
- Non-blocking: doesn't affect issue workflow
- Additive: can add issues anytime
- Cross-rig: convoy in hq-, issues in gt-, bd-*, etc.
Convoy vs Rig Status
| View | Scope | Shows |
|---|---|---|
gt convoy status [id] |
Cross-rig | Issues tracked by convoy + workers |
gt rig status <rig> |
Single rig | All workers in rig + their convoy membership |
Use convoys for "what's the status of this batch of work?" Use rig status for "what's everyone in this rig working on?"
See Also
- Propulsion Principle - Worker execution model
- Mail Protocol - Notification delivery