gastown/docs/hq.md

# Gas Town HQ Design

The **HQ** (headquarters) is the top-level directory where Gas Town is installed - the workspace that contains all your rigs, agents, and coordination infrastructure.

## What Is an HQ?

Think of HQ as the "mount point" for Gas Town. It's the root directory where:
- The Mayor operates from
- Rigs are registered and managed
- Town-level beads coordinate mail and handoffs
- The entire workspace is versioned as a git repository

An HQ is NOT:
- A git clone of any project (rigs contain the clones)
- A hidden directory (it's visible and user-controlled)
- Tied to any specific project (it can manage multiple rigs)

## HQ Structure

```
~/gt/                              # HQ ROOT
├── .git/                          # HQ is a git repo
├── .gitignore                     # Generated by gt git-init
├── .beads/                        # Town-level beads (hq-* prefix)
│   ├── beads.db                   # Mayor mail, coordination, handoffs
│   └── config.yaml                # Beads config with prefix: hq
│
├── CLAUDE.md                      # Mayor role context (runs from here)
│
├── mayor/                         # Mayor config and state
│   ├── town.json                  # {"type": "town", "name": "..."}
│   ├── rigs.json                  # Registry of managed rigs
│   └── state.json                 # Mayor state
│
├── rigs/                          # Managed rig containers
│   ├── gastown/                   # A rig (project container)
│   └── wyvern/                    # Another rig
│
└── <rig-name>/                    # OR rigs at HQ root (legacy)
```

## Creating an HQ

Use `gt install` to create a new HQ:

```bash
# Create a new HQ
gt install ~/gt

# Create with git initialization
gt install ~/gt --git

# Create and push to GitHub
gt install ~/gt --github=username/my-gastown --private

# Initialize current directory as HQ
gt install . --name my-workspace
```

The install command:
1. Creates the directory structure (`mayor/`, `rigs/`)
2. Writes configuration files (`town.json`, `rigs.json`, `state.json`)
3. Generates `CLAUDE.md` with Mayor role context
4. Initializes town-level beads with `hq-` prefix
5. Optionally initializes git with `.gitignore`

## HQ vs Town vs Rig

| Concept | Description | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| **HQ** | Installation directory | `~/gt/` |
| **Town** | Logical workspace (same as HQ) | The Gas Town instance |
| **Rig** | Project container within HQ | `~/gt/gastown/` |

The terms "HQ" and "town" are often used interchangeably. An HQ IS a town. The distinction is physical (HQ = directory) vs logical (town = workspace concept).

## Beads in an HQ

An HQ has **two levels** of beads:

### Town-Level Beads

Located at `<hq>/.beads/` with `hq-` prefix:
- Mayor mail and inbox
- Cross-rig coordination messages
- Session handoff notes

### Rig-Level Beads

Each rig has its own `.beads/` with a project-specific prefix:
- Work issues (bugs, features, tasks)
- Merge requests
- Agent-local mail within the rig

The Mayor sees both: town beads for mail, rig beads for work coordination.

## Beads Redirect Pattern

In complex setups, you may want the HQ root's `.beads/` to redirect to a rig's beads. This is useful when:
- Multiple systems share an HQ
- You want a single source of truth for beads
- Migration scenarios

Create a redirect file:

```bash
# Instead of .beads/ directory, create .beads/redirect file
mkdir .beads
echo "path/to/actual/.beads" > .beads/redirect
```

Example from a real setup:
```
# ~/ai/.beads/redirect
# Redirect to gastown beads (Mayor workspace)
# The Mayor runs in ~/ai but manages gastown issues in mayor/rigs/gastown
mayor/rigs/gastown/.beads
```

**When to use redirects:**
- When rig beads should be the canonical town beads
- Hybrid setups where agents work in different locations

## HQ Configuration Files

### mayor/town.json

Identifies this as a Gas Town installation:

```json
{
  "type": "town",
  "version": 1,
  "name": "stevey-gastown",
  "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}
```

### mayor/rigs.json

Registry of managed rigs:

```json
{
  "version": 1,
  "rigs": {
    "gastown": {
      "git_url": "https://github.com/steveyegge/gastown",
      "added_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
    },
    "wyvern": {
      "git_url": "https://github.com/steveyegge/wyvern",
      "added_at": "2024-01-16T09:00:00Z"
    }
  }
}
```

### mayor/state.json

Mayor agent state:

```json
{
  "role": "mayor",
  "last_active": "2024-01-17T14:30:00Z"
}
```

## Git for HQs

An HQ should be a git repository. This enables:
- Versioning of configuration
- Beads sync across machines
- Session handoff via beads commits
- Recovery after failures

### Initialize git

```bash
gt git-init                      # Basic git setup
gt git-init --github=user/repo   # Create GitHub repo
gt git-init --github=user/repo --private  # Private repo
```

### Standard .gitignore

The `gt git-init` command creates:

```gitignore
# Gas Town HQ gitignore

# Agent sessions and logs
*.log
*.pid
/sessions/

# Rig working directories (managed separately)
/rigs/*/polecats/*/
/rigs/*/refinery/rig/
/rigs/*/crew/*/

# Sensitive files
.env
*.key
*.pem
credentials.json

# Editor and OS
.DS_Store
*.swp
*~
.idea/
.vscode/

# Beads daemon
.beads/beads.sock
.beads/*.pid
```

## HQ Health Checks

Run `gt doctor` to check HQ health:

```bash
gt doctor              # Check all
gt doctor --fix        # Auto-fix issues
```

Checks include:
- Configuration file validity
- Mayor state consistency
- Rig registry accuracy
- Beads database health
- Git state cleanliness

## HQ Templates

For organizations wanting consistent Gas Town setups, create a template repository:

```bash
# Create template HQ
gt install ~/gt-template --git --no-beads
# Customize CLAUDE.md, add standard rigs
# Push to GitHub as template repo

# Users clone template
gh repo create my-gastown --template org/gt-template
cd my-gastown
gt install . --force  # Reinitialize with fresh beads
```

## Migration Between HQs

To move Gas Town to a new location:

1. **Export beads state:**
   ```bash
   bd export > beads-backup.jsonl
   ```

2. **Create new HQ:**
   ```bash
   gt install ~/new-hq --git
   ```

3. **Add rigs:**
   ```bash
   cd ~/new-hq
   gt rig add gastown https://github.com/user/gastown
   ```

4. **Import beads:**
   ```bash
   cd ~/new-hq
   bd import < beads-backup.jsonl
   ```

## Summary

| Action | Command |
|--------|---------|
| Create HQ | `gt install <path>` |
| Initialize git | `gt git-init` |
| Add rig | `gt rig add <name> <git-url>` |
| Check health | `gt doctor` |
| View status | `gt status` |