huskies: regen source-map.json

Update the stale 0.7.1 example to 0.14.0, note the Linux arm64 target (the sleds' arch), and mention the branch+tag push added in bcac9266.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_019fHdm92yjvguPi2LiXfLB9

.git-hooks/pre-commit

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Pre-commit hook installed by huskies.
+# Runs script/check (fmt-check, clippy, cargo check, source-map-check)
+# before every commit. Aborts if any gate fails.
+#
+# Emergency bypass: git commit --no-verify  (see AGENT.md — avoid this)
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
+
+printf '[pre-commit] Running script/check ...\n'
+OUTPUT=$("$REPO_ROOT/script/check" 2>&1)
+STATUS=$?
+
+if [ "$STATUS" -ne 0 ]; then
+printf '\n=== PRE-COMMIT HOOK FAILED ===\n\n'
+printf '%s\n' "$OUTPUT"
+printf '\nFix the issues above, then re-validate with:\n'
+printf '    script/check\n'
+printf '\nEmergency bypass (see AGENT.md -- avoid this):\n'
+printf '    git commit --no-verify\n\n'
+exit 1
+fi

.gitea/workflows/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# Gitea Actions workflows
+
+## `release-artifact.yml`
+
+Triggers on every push to `master`. Builds the `linux-arm64` sled binary and
+publishes it to the "dev" release channel via `script/ci-publish-artifact`.
+
+### Runner registration
+
+The job targets the `arm64-mac` runner label. Register an `act_runner` on an
+Apple Silicon macOS host that has `cargo`/`rustc` and `curl` on `PATH`:
+
+```sh
+act_runner register \
+  --instance https://code.crashlabs.io \
+  --token <runner-registration-token> \
+  --labels arm64-mac
+act_runner daemon
+```
+
+The registration token comes from the repo's **Settings → Actions →
+Runners → Create new Runner** page in Gitea. Without a runner carrying the
+`arm64-mac` label, jobs from this workflow queue indefinitely.
+
+### Secrets
+
+Configure these under the repo's **Settings → Actions → Secrets**. Never
+commit credentials — the workflow only ever references them via
+`${{ secrets.* }}`.
+
+| Secret | Purpose |
+| --- | --- |
+| `HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL` | Base URL of the dev release channel host. |
+| `HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN` | Bearer token authorised to publish artifacts to that channel. |
+
+### Channel host contract
+
+`script/ci-publish-artifact` expects the channel host at
+`HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL` to implement:
+
+- `POST {HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL}/<artifact-name>` — accepts the raw artifact
+  bytes as the request body. Requires `Authorization: Bearer <token>` and
+  `X-Git-Hash: <short-git-hash>` headers. Non-2xx responses in the 4xx range
+  (including 401/403) are treated as permanent failures; 5xx responses and
+  network errors are retried with backoff.
+- `GET {HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL}/manifest.json` — returns a JSON object with a
+  `git_hash` field reflecting the most recently published artifact.
+  Requires `Authorization: Bearer <token>`.
+
+This is a separate, unsigned channel distinct from the Ed25519-signed
+release channels the `pull <channel>` gateway command consumes (see
+`server/src/service/gateway/release_manifest.rs`) — CI has no safe place to
+hold a channel signing key, so the dev channel trusts the bearer token alone.

.gitea/workflows/release-artifact.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+name: Publish sled artifact
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
+
+jobs:
+  publish-dev-artifact:
+    # Registered on an arm64 macOS act_runner host — see
+    # .gitea/workflows/README.md for registration instructions.
+    runs-on: [arm64-mac]
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Build linux-arm64 sled binary
+        env:
+          # Dedicated target dir so this CI build never clobbers a developer's
+          # incremental target/release build on the shared runner host, mirroring
+          # SLED_TARGET_DIR in server/src/chat/transport/matrix/release.rs.
+          CARGO_TARGET_DIR: target/ci-release
+        run: cargo build --release -p huskies
+
+      - name: Stage artifact
+        run: cp target/ci-release/release/huskies target/ci-release/release/huskies-linux-arm64
+
+      - name: Publish to dev channel
+        env:
+          HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL: ${{ secrets.HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL }}
+          HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN }}
+        run: script/ci-publish-artifact target/ci-release/release/huskies-linux-arm64 "$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"

.gitignore

@@ -6,15 +6,14 @@
 # Local environment (secrets)
 .env
 
-# Local-only scripts
-script/local-release
-
 # App specific (root-level; huskies subdirectory patterns live in .huskies/.gitignore)
 store.json
 _merge_parsed.json
 .huskies_port
 .huskies/bot.toml.bak
 .huskies/build_hash
+# Phantom 0-byte pipeline.db sometimes appears at repo root from old code; canonical DB lives at .huskies/pipeline.db
+/pipeline.db
 
 # Per-worktree planning file (written by coder agents, must never reach squash commits)
 PLAN.md

.huskies/.gitignore

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ timers.json
 
 # Misc
 wishlist.md
+double_timmy_log.md
 
 # Database
 pipeline.db

.huskies/AGENT.md

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ There are no exceptions. The merge gate runs `source-map-check` and rejects the
 Before committing, run `cargo run -p source-map-gen --bin source-map-check -- --worktree . --base master` and address every missing-docs direction it prints. If you added a new module file (e.g. `foo.rs` or `foo/mod.rs`), the FIRST line of that file MUST be a `//! What this module is for` doc comment.
 
 ## Documentation
-Docs live in `website/docs/*.html` (static HTML), **not** Markdown files. When a story asks you to document something, edit the relevant `.html` file in `website/docs/`.
+Docs live in `website/app/docs/*.tsx` (Next.js pages), **not** Markdown files. When a story asks you to document something, edit the relevant `.tsx` file under `website/app/docs/`. Run `npm run build` in `website/` to verify your changes render correctly.
 
 ## Configuration files
 - Agent config: `.huskies/agents.toml` (preferred) or `[[agent]]` blocks in `.huskies/project.toml`

.huskies/specs/tech/CHAT_DRIVEN_PROJECT_BOOTSTRAP.md

@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
+# Chat-Driven Project Bootstrap
+
+Design overview for going from "I want a new project" to a running,
+container-isolated, editor-accessible huskies project in one chat command.
+
+## Goal
+
+A user can say to Timmy in chat:
+
+```
+new project myapp --stack rust
+new project legacy-rails --git git@github.com:me/legacy-rails.git
+```
+
+and end up with:
+
+1. A fresh docker container running the project's huskies node.
+2. The project's source code bind-mounted from the host so the user can
+   edit it in any editor.
+3. SSH into the container so editors can run LSPs, builds, and tests
+   inside the container — never on the host.
+4. Optional git remote configured for push to GitHub or Gitea.
+5. The new sled registered with the gateway, so Timmy can drive coders /
+   mergemaster / etc. on the project via existing chat commands.
+
+Manual repo creation on GitHub/Gitea remains the user's job. Everything
+downstream of that is orchestrated.
+
+## Architecture at a Glance
+
+```
+┌──────────────────────┐
+│ Browser / Matrix     │───┐
+└──────────────────────┘   │
+                           ▼
+                ┌───────────────────────┐
+                │ Gateway (huskies-gw)  │
+                │  • chat dispatcher    │
+                │  • new-project        │
+                │  • routing            │
+                └─────────┬─────────────┘
+                          │
+                ┌─────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
+                │ docker engine (host)                        │
+                │  ┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌─────────┐  │
+                │  │ project-A  │ │ project-B  │ │ ...     │  │
+                │  │  sled +    │ │  sled +    │ │         │  │
+                │  │  sshd +    │ │  sshd +    │ │         │  │
+                │  │  LSPs      │ │  LSPs      │ │         │  │
+                │  └─────┬──────┘ └─────┬──────┘ └─────────┘  │
+                └────────┼──────────────┼─────────────────────┘
+                         │              │
+            bind mount   │              │ bind mount
+                ┌────────┴───┐    ┌─────┴──────┐
+                │ ~/code/A   │    │ ~/code/B   │      ◄── host
+                └────────────┘    └────────────┘          editor opens
+                                                          these paths
+```
+
+- One container per project. The container runs the project's huskies
+  binary (sled), an SSH server, and the stack-appropriate LSP(s).
+- Source lives on the host (e.g. `~/code/<project>`), bind-mounted into
+  the container at a known path. Host can git-diff, back up, or edit.
+- The gateway is editor-agnostic and project-agnostic — it talks to each
+  sled via the existing rendezvous / CRDT-sync protocol.
+
+## Three Personas
+
+| Persona | What they do | What they need |
+|---------|--------------|----------------|
+| Chat-only user | Drives everything via Matrix/web chat | Installed huskies binary; chat client |
+| Editor-using technical user | Same + edits source in their editor | SSH config to the container + editor-specific remote-dev setup |
+| Multi-project user | Several projects running in parallel | Gateway-listed projects, all routable from one chat |
+
+Chat-only users never touch SSH. Editor users go through a one-time
+"copy this SSH command into your editor's remote settings" handoff at
+project creation time.
+
+## The Bootstrap Chat Command
+
+```
+new project <name> [--stack <stack>] [--git <url>] [--path <host-path>]
+```
+
+Flow:
+
+1. **Validate**: name unique among existing projects; host path doesn't already
+   exist; stack (if declared) is one of the supported overlays.
+2. **Allocate** a fresh per-project port range (gateway picks).
+3. **Create host directory** at `--path` (default `~/huskies/<name>/`).
+4. If `--git` provided, `git clone` into that directory; else `git init`.
+5. **Detect stack** from cloned content if not declared:
+   - `Cargo.toml` → `rust`
+   - `package.json` → `node`
+   - `go.mod` → `go`
+   - `pyproject.toml` / `requirements.txt` / `setup.py` → `python`
+   - `Gemfile` → `ruby`
+   - `pom.xml` / `build.gradle` → `jvm`
+   - Multiple → pick the dominant, warn.
+   - None → minimal base image, user can install tooling later.
+6. **Compose the container** from `huskies-project-base` + the stack
+   overlay (Dockerfile fragments under `docker/stacks/<stack>/`).
+7. **Launch** the container with bind mount + port forwards + an
+   auto-generated SSH key.
+8. **Seed `.huskies/project.toml`** with sensible defaults.
+9. **Register** the project with the gateway (`gateway_projects` LWW-map).
+10. **Reply in chat** with: project name, host path, SSH command, and
+    a `huskies status <name>` invocation to verify.
+
+## Container Template
+
+Layered:
+
+- **`huskies-project-base`**: debian-slim + git + huskies binary + sshd
+  + sudo + a `huskies` user with the SSH pubkey installed.
+- **`huskies-project-<stack>`**: per-stack additions, pre-built by
+  `script/build-project-images`.  E.g. rust gets `rustup` +
+  `rust-analyzer` + `cargo-nextest`; node gets `node@22` +
+  `typescript-language-server`; etc.  Stack fragments live in
+  `docker/stacks/<stack>/Dockerfile.fragment`.
+- **`huskies-project-local-<name>`** *(optional)*: built on the fly at
+  container launch time when the project contains
+  `.huskies/Dockerfile.fragment`.  This file is appended after the
+  stack overlay (`FROM huskies-project-<stack>`) so agents can extend
+  their own image without editing shared stack files.  Because the
+  fragment lives inside the bind-mounted `/workspace/.huskies/`, changes
+  survive container recreation and are committed alongside the project
+  source.  The `project-rebuild` command picks up the fragment
+  automatically when rebuilding.
+
+  Example `.huskies/Dockerfile.fragment` that adds `jq`:
+
+  ```dockerfile
+  RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y jq
+  ```
+
+- **Project layer**: the bind-mounted `/workspace` is the project source,
+  written by the host's editor, read by the in-container tooling.
+
+The container's SSH server is bound to a host-local port (not exposed
+externally). Auth is the per-project keypair generated at bootstrap;
+the public key sits inside the container, the private key on host.
+
+## Build Sandbox Model
+
+The threat: editing code in a host-side editor causes the editor (or its
+LSP plugin) to run `cargo check` / `npm install` / `pip install` /
+similar, which executes arbitrary code from project dependencies —
+`build.rs`, proc-macros, npm `postinstall`, Python `setup.py`, Ruby
+native-extension build scripts, etc. A malicious dependency compromises
+the host.
+
+The mitigation: all build / type-check / dependency-install commands
+execute **inside the project container**. The host's editor connects to
+the container over SSH; rust-analyzer (or equivalent) runs inside the
+container; the host process never `exec`s untrusted build scripts.
+
+Container isolation is the docker default plus:
+- No `--privileged`.
+- No host bind mounts beyond the project source and the SSH key.
+- No host network beyond the gateway's CRDT sync port.
+- `--cap-drop=ALL` plus the minimum caps needed (probably none).
+
+This isn't a hardened sandbox in the gvisor / Firecracker sense — a
+docker-escape exploit on a compromised container still escalates to
+host. For most consumer threat models (malicious crate from
+crates.io / npm), docker's default isolation is sufficient. Tighter
+sandboxing (gvisor) is a separate future spike if needed.
+
+## Editor Connection — Editor-Agnostic SSH
+
+| Editor | Connection mechanism |
+|--------|----------------------|
+| VSCode | Remote-SSH extension |
+| JetBrains (IntelliJ/Rover) | JetBrains Gateway (SSH) |
+| Zed | Built-in SSH remoting (mac/linux only today) |
+| Vim/Neovim | SSH terminal session, or local nvim + LSP-over-SSH |
+| Emacs | TRAMP + remote LSP via lsp-mode |
+
+All converge on: `ssh huskies@127.0.0.1 -p <project-port> -i ~/.huskies/<name>/id_ed25519`.
+That string is emitted in the bootstrap chat reply.
+
+## Git Integration
+
+- Initial setup is `git init` or `git clone` inside the container.
+- For push: user's existing GitHub / Gitea SSH key is bind-mounted
+  read-only into the container at `~/.ssh/id_*`, OR the user supplies a
+  push token via `huskies secrets set GIT_TOKEN=...` (stored as a Fly
+  secret equivalent — for now, a chmod 600 file in the container).
+- The container's `git` config gets `user.name` / `user.email` from the
+  gateway-level user identity.
+
+## Decisions
+
+| Decision | Choice | Alternative |
+|----------|--------|-------------|
+| Container per project | One container per project | One container many projects: simpler but breaks isolation, breaks per-project deps |
+| Editor model | SSH-remote (any editor) | VSCode Dev Containers only: simpler config but locks out everyone else |
+| Source location | Bind mount from host | Inside container only: breaks "I can also edit on my laptop" requirement |
+| Stack detection | Auto from project files, override with `--stack` | Always declared: more friction at bootstrap |
+| Push secrets | Bind-mounted host SSH key OR per-project token | Gateway holds tokens: bigger blast radius |
+
+## Open Questions
+
+1. **Per-project resource limits.** Should each container have a hard
+   CPU / RAM cap so a runaway agent doesn't starve the host?
+2. **Lifecycle / cleanup.** If the user deletes a project from chat,
+   what gets removed? Container yes; host source no (data loss); git
+   remotes yes? Need a confirm step.
+3. **Multi-tenant.** Out of scope for this design (that's huskies.dev
+   territory). This doc assumes single-user local-only.
+4. **Windows specifics.** Bind mounts work but line-ending /
+   permission edge cases. Probably document "use WSL2 for best
+   experience" rather than fight Windows native paths.
+5. **Gateway-on-host vs gateway-in-container.** The gateway today runs
+   in its own container. New per-project containers connect via docker
+   network. Need to confirm the network plumbing works for arbitrary
+   per-project containers, not just the manually-configured ones.
+
+## Phasing
+
+The work breaks naturally into:
+
+- **Phase 0 (now):** this design doc.
+- **Phase 1:** chat command exists and provisions a bare project
+  container (no stack overlay, no SSH, no git clone — just
+  "start a container, register with gateway"). Validates the
+  orchestration shell.
+- **Phase 2:** stack-aware container template — base image + overlays;
+  detection from project files.
+- **Phase 3:** SSH-remote editor access — sshd in the container,
+  per-project keypair, chat-reply emits the connection string.
+- **Phase 4:** git integration — `--git <url>` clones, host SSH key
+  mount, push verification.
+- **Phase 5:** per-project resource limits + cleanup chat commands.
+- **Phase 6:** `--adopt <dir>` wraps a container around an existing
+  checkout. No clone or init — bind-mount only.
+- **Phase 7 (story 1137):** First-run init flow — config summary and
+  chat-driven overrides (see below).
+
+Each phase ships independently and is usable on its own. Phase 1 alone
+gives chat-only users a working project; later phases add the editor
+and git polish.
+
+## First-Run Init Flow (Story 1137)
+
+After a successful `new project ... --adopt` (or any new-project
+bootstrap), the bot appends a **Default configuration** block to the
+adoption success reply.  This block lists every scaffolded agent with
+its model, budget cap, and turn limit, and provides ready-to-send
+override commands.
+
+### Example reply tail
+
+```
+**Default configuration** (3 agents):
+- coder-1 (coder): model=`sonnet`, budget=$5.00, max_turns=50
+- qa (qa): model=`sonnet`, budget=$4.00, max_turns=40
+- mergemaster (mergemaster): model=`sonnet`, budget=$5.00, max_turns=30
+
+Override via chat: `huskies config myapp coder.model=opus`
+Project settings:  `huskies config myapp default_qa=human`
+Accept all defaults silently: add `--skip-config` to the bootstrap command.
+```
+
+### Config override command
+
+```
+huskies config <project> <key>=<value>
+```
+
+The gateway resolves the project's `host_path` from `projects.toml`,
+then writes the setting to `.huskies/agents.toml` or
+`.huskies/project.toml` on the host.
+
+**Agent fields** (`<stage_or_name>.<field>=<value>`):
+
+| Key | Target | Supported values |
+|-----|--------|-----------------|
+| `coder.model` | agents.toml, coder stage | `sonnet`, `opus`, any model string |
+| `qa.model` | agents.toml, qa stage | same |
+| `mergemaster.model` | agents.toml, mergemaster stage | same |
+| `coder.max_turns` | agents.toml, coder stage | integer |
+| `coder.max_budget` | agents.toml, coder stage | decimal (USD) |
+
+**Project keys** (bare `<key>=<value>`):
+
+| Key | Notes |
+|-----|-------|
+| `default_qa` | `"server"`, `"agent"`, or `"human"` |
+| `max_retries` | integer |
+| `max_coders` | integer |
+| `base_branch` | branch name string |
+| `timezone` | IANA timezone (e.g. `"Europe/London"`) |
+| `default_coder_model` | model string |
+
+### Skip path
+
+Pass `--skip-config` to suppress the config block entirely:
+
+```
+new project myapp --adopt /path/to/checkout --skip-config
+```
+
+The success reply is identical to pre-1137 output — only the SSH
+command and registration summary, no agent listing.

.huskies/specs/tech/CRDT_SNAPSHOT_COMPACTION.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# CRDT Snapshot Compaction
+
+## Problem
+
+The huskies project CRDT has grown to 55K ops / 276MB in `pipeline.db`.
+Every container restart replays all operations in a tight synchronous loop
+on the tokio runtime (`crdt_state/state/init.rs:68-78`), taking 27+ minutes
+and freezing the runtime so the HTTP server never becomes ready.
+
+### Op bloat
+
+55K ops across only 4,154 sequence numbers (~13 ops per seq on average).
+Many zeroed-out `MergeJobCrdt` entries appear to be tombstones never cleaned
+up. Some individual ops are up to 523KB. Average op size is 4.6KB.
+
+## Proposed Fix
+
+### 1. Snapshot (checkpoint)
+
+After replaying all ops, serialize the materialized CRDT state to a
+checkpoint blob (e.g. a `crdt_snapshot` table or a separate file). On next
+startup, load the snapshot and only replay ops with `rowid > snapshot_rowid`.
+
+At snapshot time, back up the database file so corruption is recoverable.
+
+### 2. Op pruning / compaction
+
+Delete ops that are superseded by the snapshot. Tombstoned/deleted items with
+all-zero fields contribute nothing to materialized state and can be dropped
+from the log once snapshotted.
+
+### 3. Immediate fix: spawn_blocking
+
+Move the replay loop to `tokio::task::spawn_blocking` so the HTTP server and
+liveness ticks are not starved during replay. This does not reduce replay
+time but prevents the runtime freeze.
+
+## Acceptance Criteria
+
+- Startup loads a snapshot when available and only replays ops newer than the snapshot sequence
+- A snapshot is written after full CRDT replay completes (or periodically in background)
+- DB backup is created at each snapshot time
+- Startup time for 55K ops drops from 27+ minutes to under 30 seconds
+- Dead/zeroed CRDT ops are pruned during compaction
+- CRDT sync protocol continues to work correctly across nodes after compaction
+- The replay loop runs in spawn_blocking so it does not freeze the tokio runtime

.huskies/specs/tech/GATEWAY_CROSS_PROJECT_MCP.md

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+# Story 1208: Cross-Project MCP for Ops/LLM Sessions
+
+## 1. Problem Statement
+
+An ops/LLM session connects to a `huskies --gateway` instance's `/mcp`
+endpoint. Before this story, the *only* way to act on a specific registered
+project was:
+
+1. Call `switch_project` (mutates the gateway's shared, global
+   `GatewayState.active_project`), then
+2. Call the ordinary project-level tool (`create_story`, `get_story_todos`,
+   `show`, …), which the gateway silently proxies to whichever project is
+   currently active.
+
+This has two problems:
+- **Race condition**: `active_project` is one value shared by every
+  connected client. Two concurrent ops sessions targeting different projects
+  will step on each other's `switch_project` calls.
+- **No true "read a named project once" path**: for a single lookup against
+  a project that isn't the current default, a caller had to mutate shared
+  state just to read something, then (optionally) switch back.
+
+The practical consequence (and the reason this story exists) is that
+operators and LLM agents fall back to hand-crafting raw JSON-RPC requests
+directly against a project's own container port, bypassing the gateway
+entirely — the "shell-fallback" this story is named for.
+
+## 2. Chosen Mechanism: Per-Call `project` Argument
+
+Any `tools/call` request for a non-gateway (proxied) tool may now include an
+optional top-level `project` field inside `arguments`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
+  "id": 1,
+  "method": "tools/call",
+  "params": {
+    "name": "create_story",
+    "arguments": {
+      "name": "Fix login bug",
+      "acceptance_criteria": ["..."],
+      "origin": "...",
+      "project": "robot-studio"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+- If `project` is present and non-empty, the gateway looks it up in
+  `projects.toml` (`GatewayState.projects`) and proxies the call directly to
+  that project's live sled-uplink WebSocket connection —
+  `GatewayState::proxy_mcp_for_project` in
+  `server/src/service/gateway/mod.rs`. `GatewayState.active_project` is
+  **not read or mutated** by this path.
+- If `project` is absent (the common case, and all pre-existing behavior),
+  the call proxies to whichever project is currently active, exactly as
+  before — full backward compatibility with existing sessions and
+  `switch_project`-based workflows.
+- An unknown project name returns a JSON-RPC `-32602` (invalid params)
+  error listing the registered project names. A known project with no live
+  WS-uplink connection returns `-32603` naming the sled, matching the
+  existing `active_project` proxy error shape.
+
+Implementation: `server/src/http/gateway/mcp.rs`
+(`gateway_mcp_post_handler`'s `tools/call` branch,
+`proxy_and_respond_for_project`) and
+`server/src/service/gateway/mod.rs` (`GatewayState::sled_connection_for`,
+`GatewayState::proxy_mcp_for_project`, generalized from the existing
+`active_sled_connection` / `proxy_active_mcp`).
+
+### Schema discoverability
+
+`tools/list` merges gateway tools with the active project's own tool list.
+Every merged (proxied) tool's `inputSchema.properties` gets a `project`
+property injected (`inject_project_arg_schema` in `http/gateway/mcp.rs`) so
+MCP clients that validate call arguments against the declared schema before
+sending don't strip or reject the extra field. This is additive only — no
+existing property, and no `required` list, is touched.
+
+### Why not mirror every tool at the gateway level?
+
+Rejected alternative: define a `project_create_story`, `project_show`, etc.
+for every project-level tool at the gateway. This was rejected because it
+duplicates ~15+ tool schemas and dispatch arms and drifts out of sync every
+time a project-level tool's schema changes. A single per-call argument that
+every proxied tool call can carry scales to new project-level tools for
+free.
+
+## 3. Fleet-Wide Reads (AC 2)
+
+These already existed as gateway-level tools before this story and needed
+no code change — listed here for completeness of the "how an ops session
+connects" picture:
+
+| Tool | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `list_projects` | Every registered project: name, url, ssh_port, host_path, adopted/built-in marker, active marker. No liveness check. |
+| `gateway_health` | Per-project health (WS heartbeat or HTTP poll) plus CRDT event-relay staleness. |
+| `aggregate_pipeline_status` | Pipeline stage counts and blocked/failing items across every registered project, fetched in parallel. |
+| `fleet_identity` | (Story 1206) Per-sled identity pin vs. live signed identity, and TOFU re-pin. |
+
+## 4. How an Ops Session Should Connect
+
+1. Point the MCP client at the gateway's `/mcp` endpoint
+   (`http://<gateway-host>:<port>/mcp`), the same endpoint local agents use
+   — there is no separate "ops" endpoint.
+2. Call `tools/list` to see the merged tool surface (gateway tools + the
+   active project's tools, each carrying the optional `project` schema
+   property).
+3. For a one-off call against a specific project, pass `project: "<name>"`
+   inside `arguments` on that call — no `switch_project` required, and no
+   risk of racing another session's active-project selection.
+4. For fleet-wide questions (is anything down, what's blocked everywhere),
+   use `list_projects`, `gateway_health`, or `aggregate_pipeline_status`
+   directly; they already scan every registered project.
+5. `switch_project` remains available for sessions that want a persistent
+   default (e.g. an interactive chat session working one project at a
+   time) — it is unaffected by this change.
+
+## 5. Design Review Note (AC 4)
+
+This document captures the chosen approach (per-call `project` argument,
+generalized proxy functions, additive schema injection) as required by AC 4.
+No new gateway-level tool surface was added for AC 1 — the existing proxy
+path was extended instead, minimizing new schema/dispatch surface area and
+keeping every future project-level tool automatically cross-project-capable.

.huskies/specs/tech/LLM_CONTEXT_FROM_EVENTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+# LLM Context From Events
+
+Design overview for making any LLM-driven chat persona (Timmy at the
+gateway, Sally at a single sled, future personas) aware of huskies
+events without the user having to re-narrate them.
+
+## Goal
+
+**Update the LLM's context non-intrusively when a state transition
+happens.** No new LLM turn is fired; events are simply visible to the
+LLM the next time the user (or anything else) does cause it to run.
+The LLM should never need to be told what already happened inside
+huskies.
+
+## Guiding Principle
+
+**Transports have nothing to do with LLMs.** A transport (Matrix bot,
+web UI, CLI, future TUIs) is a pure courier — it relays user text in,
+LLM text out, and never owns LLM-facing state. Anything the LLM needs
+to know lives in huskies, behind a single `assemble_prompt_context`
+helper that the transport calls. Adding a new transport must require
+zero changes to the event-awareness path.
+
+## Three things this doc is NOT
+
+1. **Triggers** — `on StoryMerged{1122} do Rebuild`. These are
+   deterministic subscribers; they should never invoke the LLM. Covered
+   in a separate design.
+2. **Proactive wake** — running an LLM turn *because* an event fired,
+   without the user typing. Costs tokens, risks ramble. Explicitly out
+   of scope here; a separate decision to make later.
+3. **A transport feature** — this design assumes any transport that
+   invokes the LLM uses the same context-assembly helper. Matrix bot,
+   web UI, CLI all funnel through it.
+
+## Why Past Attempts Have Failed
+
+- **Buffer lived on the transport**, not on huskies. The current
+  `BotContext.pending_pipeline_events` (`server/src/chat/transport/matrix/bot/context.rs:103-116`)
+  is Matrix-only; web UI users see nothing of the kind, and the buffer
+  dies with the bot process.
+- **Process-local, RAM-only**. Server rebuild → buffer empty. Any
+  events between the old binary's last user turn and the new binary's
+  first are silently lost.
+- **Unbounded `mpsc` channels drop under lag.** The server logs
+  routinely show `[xxx-sub] Subscriber lagged, skipped N event(s)`.
+  When the subscriber feeding the buffer falls behind, events vanish
+  without being recorded.
+- **No end-to-end test.** Nothing asserts "fire event E, send user
+  message M, the LLM's prompt contains E."
+- **No cross-process aggregation.** Events in a sled have no path to
+  the gateway-side LLM context without bespoke plumbing per event type.
+
+## Architecture at a Glance
+
+```
+┌────────────┐  ┌────────────┐  ┌────────────┐
+│  Sled A    │  │  Sled B    │  │  Sled C    │
+│ event_log/ │  │ event_log/ │  │ event_log/ │  ◄── source of truth
+└─────┬──────┘  └─────┬──────┘  └─────┬──────┘     (CRDT-backed)
+      │               │               │
+      └───────────────┼───────────────┘
+                      ▼
+              ┌────────────────────┐
+              │ Gateway aggregator │  ◄── tail-merges all sled logs
+              │  event_view/       │     into a single ordered stream
+              └─────────┬──────────┘
+                        │
+                        ▼
+            ┌────────────────────────┐
+            │ Per-LLM-session state  │  ◄── scope filter +
+            │  sessions/<id>/        │     high-water mark per stream
+            └─────────┬──────────────┘
+                      │
+                      ▼
+            ┌────────────────────────┐
+            │ assemble_prompt_context│  ◄── single helper used by
+            │   (session_id) -> Str  │     every transport before
+            └─────────┬──────────────┘     each LLM turn
+                      │
+       ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
+       ▼              ▼              ▼
+   Matrix bot      Web UI         CLI / TUI
+```
+
+## Event Model — Reuse What Already Exists
+
+There is no need to invent a parallel event taxonomy. Huskies already
+has a complete typed enum and a single broadcast bus:
+
+- `server/src/pipeline_state/transition.rs` defines `PipelineEvent`
+  with **30 variants** covering every state-machine transition
+  (`DepsMet`, `GatesStarted/Passed/Failed`, `QaSkipped`,
+  `MergeSucceeded/Failed/FailedFinal`, `Accepted`, `Block/Unblock`,
+  `Abandon`, `Supersede`, `ReviewHold/Cleared`, `Reject`, `Triage`,
+  `Close`, `Demote`, `Freeze/Unfreeze`, `MergemasterAttempted`,
+  `FixupRequested`, `ReQueuedForQa`, `MergeAborted`,
+  `HotfixRequested`, `MergeRetryStarted`).
+- The same module defines `ExecutionEvent` with 7 variants for agent
+  lifecycle (`SpawnRequested`, `SpawnedSuccessfully`, `Heartbeat`,
+  `HitRateLimit`, `Exited`, `Stopped`, `Reset`).
+- Every transition fires a `TransitionFired` event on a single internal
+  bus. Ten subscribers already consume it (audit-log,
+  worktree-create-sub, worktree-cleanup-sub, merge-failure-sub,
+  merge-block-sub, done-archive-sub, content-gc, cost-rollup-sub,
+  stage-notification-sub, event-triggers).
+
+**The LLM context injector is just the 11th subscriber on the same
+bus.** It writes typed events into the per-sled CRDT event log
+described below; everything downstream reuses the existing taxonomy.
+
+Each persisted entry carries:
+
+```
+struct LoggedEvent {
+    id: EventId,                  // monotonic per sled
+    sled_id: SledId,
+    timestamp: UnixSeconds,
+    transition: TransitionFired,  // story_id + from + to + PipelineEvent
+                                  // (or ExecutionEvent — see open question)
+}
+```
+
+The few events that genuinely don't fit the pipeline state machine
+(e.g. `ProjectAdopted`, `Rebuilt`, `GatewayHealthChanged`) live in a
+small, separately-enumerated `InfraEvent` enum, but the same log and
+the same subscriber pattern still apply.
+
+## Session Model
+
+An LLM session is a first-class CRDT entity:
+
+```
+struct LlmSession {
+    id: SessionId,
+    persona: Persona,        // "Timmy", "Sally", ...
+    scope: ScopeFilter,      // { sleds: All } | { sleds: Set<SledId> }
+    high_water: BTreeMap<SledId, EventId>,   // per-stream
+    created: UnixSeconds,
+}
+```
+
+The session id is what the transport carries; it's not the Matrix room,
+not the web socket id. A given Matrix room may map to one session; a
+web UI tab may map to another. Multiple transports for the same human
+can share a session if you want — that's a separate UX call.
+
+## Prompt Assembly Contract
+
+Every transport calls one helper before invoking the LLM:
+
+```
+fn assemble_prompt_context(session_id: SessionId) -> String
+```
+
+Behavior:
+
+1. Read the session's scope filter and high-water marks.
+2. Fetch events from the gateway aggregator that match the scope and
+   are newer than the high-water marks.
+3. Render them as a single `<system-reminder>` block, ordered by sled
+   then timestamp.
+4. Advance the high-water marks to the latest event seen, atomically
+   with the LLM-turn-start CRDT op (so a crash mid-turn doesn't double-
+   inject).
+5. Return the rendered block (empty string if no new events).
+
+The transport prepends the result to the user's prompt and invokes the
+LLM as usual.
+
+## Persistence & Reliability Rules
+
+- **Event log is CRDT-backed.** Survives sled restart.
+- **High-water marks are CRDT-backed.** Survives gateway restart.
+- **Aggregator uses bounded queues with drop-oldest semantics**, and
+  every drop logs `[event-agg] dropped N events for session <id>; client
+  must re-fetch from <high-water>`. The aggregator never silently
+  swallows events — if the queue is full, the session gets a sentinel
+  event `EventStreamGap { from, to }` so the LLM can see it missed
+  context.
+- **End-to-end test required**: `fire(Event::StoryMerged{1122}) → user
+  sends "what's going on?" → assembled prompt contains "1122 merged"`.
+
+## Multi-Persona Scoping
+
+The same machinery serves both Timmy and Sally:
+
+| Persona | Scope filter                       | Notes                          |
+|---------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
+| Timmy   | `{ sleds: All }`                   | Gateway-wide; aware of every sled |
+| Sally   | `{ sleds: { huskies-server } }`    | Single-sled; sled-local events only |
+| Manny   | `{ sleds: { huskies, ketflix } }`  | Hypothetical; subset           |
+
+Sally never has to know Timmy exists, and vice versa. Their sessions
+advance their own high-water marks against the same underlying log.
+
+## Decisions
+
+| Decision               | Choice                              | Alternative                                  |
+|------------------------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
+| Event publication      | Each sled owns its log              | Single global log: cross-sled bottleneck     |
+| Aggregation            | Gateway tail-merges                 | Each session pulls from each sled directly: N×M fanout |
+| Buffer location        | CRDT-persisted                      | In-process: lost on rebuild (current bug)    |
+| Event identity         | Typed enum                          | Strings: structured-log creep, no compile-time safety |
+| Drop semantics         | Drop-oldest + `EventStreamGap`      | Silent drop (current bug): LLM lies confidently |
+| Session ↔ transport    | Session is separate from transport  | One per transport: web tab + Matrix get different views |
+| Proactive LLM wake     | OUT OF SCOPE                        | Wake on every event: cost + ramble           |
+
+## Open Questions
+
+1. **Session lifecycle**. How are sessions created and garbage-
+   collected? Created on first transport message? GC'd after N days
+   idle?
+2. **Event retention**. How long are events kept in the log? Forever
+   feels wrong; "since last terminal session turn" feels right but
+   needs care for multi-session readers.
+3. **Multi-transport same session**. Should one human's Matrix and web
+   UI share a session by default, or always be separate?
+4. **Render budget**. If 500 events accumulated between turns, do we
+   render all 500 or summarize? A `summarize_events` fallback path is
+   probably worth designing in from the start.
+5. **Aggregator placement when there is no gateway**. A standalone
+   single-sled install has no gateway — does the sled itself host the
+   aggregator? (Probably yes; trivially "aggregates" its own log.)
+
+## Phasing
+
+- **Phase 0 (now):** this design doc.
+- **Phase 1:** typed `Event` enum + per-sled CRDT-backed event log;
+  one publisher subscribes to existing pipeline transitions and writes
+  `StoryStaged` / `StoryMerged` / `StoryMergeFailed`.
+- **Phase 2:** `LlmSession` CRDT entity + `assemble_prompt_context`
+  helper, wired into the Matrix bot's `handle_message` (replaces the
+  existing `pending_pipeline_events` Vec). End-to-end test covering the
+  fire-event → user-turn → prompt-contains-event contract.
+- **Phase 3:** Gateway aggregator over multiple sleds; Timmy's session
+  scoped to `All`. Sally's session scoped to a single sled.
+- **Phase 4:** Web UI and any other transports migrated onto
+  `assemble_prompt_context`; the Matrix-specific Vec deleted.
+- **Phase 5:** Bounded queues + `EventStreamGap` sentinel; observability
+  for `assemble_prompt_context` runs (events injected, gaps observed).
+
+Each phase ships independently. Phase 2 alone delivers the user-facing
+fix: Timmy sees what merged when you next say anything, without you
+needing to re-narrate.

Cargo.toml

@@ -1,58 +1,68 @@
 [workspace]
-members = ["server", "crates/bft-json-crdt", "crates/source-map-gen"]
+members = [
+    "server",
+    "crates/bft-json-crdt",
+    "crates/source-map-gen",
+    "crates/release-manifest",
+    "crates/release-tool",
+]
 resolver = "3"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
-async-stream = "0.3"
+async-stream = "0.3.6"
 async-trait = "0.1.89"
-bytes = "1"
+bytes = "1.12.1"
-chrono = { version = "0.4.44", features = ["serde"] }
+chrono = { version = "0.4.45", features = ["serde"] }
-chrono-tz = "0.10"
+chrono-tz = "0.10.4"
 eventsource-stream = "0.2.3"
-futures = "0.3"
+futures = "0.3.32"
 homedir = "0.3.6"
-ignore = "0.4.25"
+ignore = "0.4.29"
-mime_guess = "2"
+mime_guess = "2.0.5"
 notify = "8.2.0"
-poem = { version = "3", features = ["websocket", "test"] }
+poem = { version = "3.1.12", features = ["websocket", "test"] }
 portable-pty = "0.9.0"
-reqwest = { version = "0.13.3", features = ["json", "stream"] }
+reqwest = { version = "0.13.4", features = ["json", "stream"] }
-rust-embed = "8"
+rust-embed = "8.12.0"
-ed25519-dalek = { version = "2", default-features = false, features = ["rand_core"] }
+ed25519-dalek = { version = "3.0.0", default-features = false, features = ["rand_core"] }
 indexmap = { version = "2.14.0", features = ["serde"] }
-rand = "0.10"
+rand = "0.10.2"
-serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
+serde = { version = "1.0.228", features = ["derive"] }
-serde_json = "1"
+serde_json = "1.0.150"
-serde_urlencoded = "0.7"
+serde_urlencoded = "0.7.1"
-sha1 = "0.11"
+sha1 = "0.11.0"
 sha2 = "0.11.0"
-hmac = "0.13"
+hmac = "0.13.0"
-subtle = "2"
+subtle = "2.6.1"
-base64 = "0.22"
+base64 = "0.22.1"
-serde_yaml = "0.9"
+strip-ansi-escapes = "0.2.1"
-strip-ansi-escapes = "0.2"
+tempfile = "3.27.0"
-tempfile = "3"
+tokio = { version = "1.52.4", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros", "sync"] }
-tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros", "sync"] }
+toml = "1.1.3"
-toml = "1.1.2"
+uuid = { version = "1.24.0", features = ["v4", "serde"] }
-uuid = { version = "1.23.1", features = ["v4", "serde"] }
+tokio-tungstenite = { version = "0.30.0", features = ["connect", "rustls-tls-native-roots"] }
-tokio-tungstenite = { version = "0.29.0", features = ["connect", "rustls-tls-native-roots"] }
 walkdir = "2.5.0"
-filetime = "0.2"
+filetime = "0.2.29"
-matrix-sdk = { version = "0.17", default-features = false, features = [
+# 0.18 is current as of this pin (verified via `cargo search matrix-sdk`).
+# matrix-sdk-sqlite 0.18 pulls in rusqlite 0.37, which requires libsqlite3-sys
+# ==0.35.x — see the pin rationale in server/Cargo.toml. Bumping matrix-sdk
+# past 0.18 may require re-checking that ceiling.
+matrix-sdk = { version = "0.18", default-features = false, features = [
     "sqlite",
     "e2e-encryption",
 ] }
-pulldown-cmark = { version = "0.13.3", default-features = false, features = [
+pulldown-cmark = { version = "0.13.4", default-features = false, features = [
     "html",
 ] }
-regex = "1"
+regex = "1.13.1"
-libc = "0.2"
+libc = "0.2.186"
-nutype = { version = "0.7", features = ["serde"] }
+nutype = { version = "0.7.0", features = ["serde"] }
-garde = { version = "0.22", features = ["derive"] }
+garde = { version = "0.23", features = ["derive"] }
-ammonia = "4.1"
+ammonia = "4.1.3"
-sqlx = { version = "=0.9.0-alpha.1", default-features = false, features = [
+sqlx = { version = "0.9.0", default-features = false, features = [
     "runtime-tokio",
     "sqlite",
     "macros",
     "migrate",
 ] }
+serde_yaml = "0.9.34"

README.md

@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ cd frontend && npm install && npm run dev
 
 Configuration lives in `.huskies/project.toml`. See `.huskies/bot.toml.*.example` for transport setup.
 
+## Website
+
+The huskies.dev website source has moved to [crashlabs/huskies-server](https://code.crashlabs.io/crashlabs/huskies-server).
+
 ## Architecture
 
 Internal architecture documentation lives in [`docs/architecture/`](docs/architecture/):
@@ -91,10 +95,10 @@ Internal architecture documentation lives in [`docs/architecture/`](docs/archite
 Requires a Gitea API token in `.env` (`GITEA_TOKEN=your_token`).
 
 ```bash
-script/release 0.7.1
+script/release 0.14.0
 ```
 
-This bumps version in `Cargo.toml` and `package.json`, builds macOS arm64 and Linux amd64 binaries, tags the repo, and publishes a Gitea release with changelog and binaries attached.
+This bumps version in `Cargo.toml` and `package.json`, builds macOS arm64, Linux amd64, and Linux arm64 binaries, tags the repo, pushes the branch and tag, and publishes a Gitea release with changelog and binaries attached.
 
 ## Multi-node CRDT sync (rendezvous)
 

crates/bft-json-crdt/Cargo.toml

@@ -6,8 +6,14 @@ edition = "2021"
 [lib]
 crate-type = ["lib"]
 
+# The logging-* features print multi-KB debug dumps on every CRDT op — and
+# they execute inside the global CRDT state mutex in the server, so a stalled
+# stdout write while holding that lock can pin every tokio worker and freeze
+# the whole process (bug 1170). They are development tools: opt in explicitly
+# with `--features bft-json-crdt/logging-list` when debugging CRDT internals.
+# Never enable them in a production build.
 [features]
-default = ["bft", "logging-list", "logging-json"]
+default = ["bft"]
 logging-list = ["logging-base"]
 logging-json = ["logging-base"]
 logging-base = []
@@ -15,18 +21,18 @@ bft = []
 
 [dependencies]
 bft-crdt-derive = { path = "bft-crdt-derive" }
-colored = "3"
+colored = "3.1.1"
 ed25519-dalek = { workspace = true }
 indexmap = { workspace = true, features = ["serde"] }
 rand = { workspace = true }
-random_color = "1"
+random_color = "1.1.0"
 serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = { workspace = true, features = ["preserve_order"] }
-serde_with = "3"
+serde_with = "3.21.0"
 sha2 = { workspace = true }
 
 [dev-dependencies]
-criterion = { version = "0.8", features = ["html_reports"] }
+criterion = { version = "0.8.2", features = ["html_reports"] }
 serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = { workspace = true, features = ["preserve_order"] }
 

crates/bft-json-crdt/bft-crdt-derive/Cargo.toml

@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ publish = false
 proc-macro = true
 
 [dependencies]
-indexmap = { version = "2.2.6", features = ["serde"] }
+indexmap = { version = "2.14.0", features = ["serde"] }
-proc-macro2 = "1.0.47"
+proc-macro2 = "1.0.106"
-proc-macro-crate = "3"
+proc-macro-crate = "3.5.0"
-quote = "1.0.21"
+quote = "1.0.46"
-syn = { version = "2", features = ["full"] }
+syn = { version = "2.0.119", features = ["full"] }

crates/bft-json-crdt/src/list_crdt.rs

@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ use std::{
 
 /// An RGA-like list CRDT that can store a CRDT-like datatype
 #[derive(Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(bound(
+    serialize = "T: serde::Serialize",
+    deserialize = "T: serde::de::DeserializeOwned"
+))]
 pub struct ListCrdt<T>
 where
     T: CrdtNode,
@@ -32,6 +36,7 @@ where
     pub ops: Vec<Op<T>>,
     /// Queue of messages where K is the ID of the message yet to arrive
     /// and V is the list of operations depending on it
+    #[serde(skip)]
     message_q: HashMap<OpId, Vec<Op<T>>>,
     /// The sequence number of this node
     our_seq: SequenceNumber,

crates/bft-json-crdt/src/lww_crdt.rs

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 use crate::debug::DebugView;
 use crate::json_crdt::{CrdtNode, JsonValue, OpState};
 use crate::op::{join_path, print_path, Op, PathSegment, SequenceNumber};
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::cmp::{max, Ordering};
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 
@@ -14,7 +15,11 @@ use crate::keypair::AuthorId;
 
 /// A simple delete-wins, last-writer-wins (LWW) register CRDT.
 /// Basically only for adding support for primitives within a more complex CRDT
-#[derive(Clone)]
+#[derive(Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(bound(
+    serialize = "T: serde::Serialize",
+    deserialize = "T: serde::de::DeserializeOwned"
+))]
 pub struct LwwRegisterCrdt<T>
 where
     T: CrdtNode,

crates/release-manifest/Cargo.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[package]
+name = "release-manifest"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2024"
+
+[dependencies]
+serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = { workspace = true }

crates/release-manifest/src/lib.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+//! Shared release-manifest type for the signed release-channel pull pipeline.
+//!
+//! The publisher tool (`crates/release-tool`) builds a [`ReleaseManifest`],
+//! serializes it to canonical bytes, signs those bytes with the channel's
+//! Ed25519 private key, and publishes the resulting [`SignedManifest`] as
+//! `manifest.json` on the release channel. The gateway (`huskies-server`)
+//! fetches that file, re-serializes the embedded manifest with
+//! [`ReleaseManifest::canonical_bytes`], and verifies the signature against
+//! its pinned public key before trusting anything in it.
+//!
+//! Keeping the type in its own dependency-light crate lets both sides agree
+//! on the exact byte representation to sign/verify without the server crate
+//! ever linking signing code, and without the publisher tool depending on
+//! the full `huskies` server crate.
+
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+/// The signed payload describing one published release artifact.
+///
+/// Field order is significant: [`ReleaseManifest::canonical_bytes`] relies on
+/// `serde_json`'s struct serialization preserving declaration order, so the
+/// signer and verifier always agree on the exact bytes being signed.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct ReleaseManifest {
+    /// Filename of the artifact within the channel (e.g. `huskies-linux-arm64`).
+    pub artifact: String,
+    /// Lowercase hex sha256 digest of the artifact's bytes.
+    pub sha256: String,
+    /// Version identifier — the short git commit hash the artifact was built from.
+    pub version: String,
+    /// Release channel name this manifest was signed for (e.g. `stable`).
+    pub channel: String,
+    /// Unix timestamp (seconds) the manifest was signed at.
+    ///
+    /// Used for rollback/replay detection: a pull refuses any manifest whose
+    /// timestamp is not strictly newer than the currently installed one.
+    pub timestamp: i64,
+}
+
+impl ReleaseManifest {
+    /// Serialize this manifest deterministically for signing and verification.
+    ///
+    /// Both the publisher and the gateway construct this independently from
+    /// their own in-memory `ReleaseManifest` value — the manifest.json file's
+    /// exact on-disk byte layout is never itself the signed payload.
+    pub fn canonical_bytes(&self) -> Vec<u8> {
+        serde_json::to_vec(self).expect("ReleaseManifest serialization cannot fail")
+    }
+}
+
+/// A [`ReleaseManifest`] plus its Ed25519 signature (lowercase hex), as
+/// published to a release channel's `manifest.json`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+pub struct SignedManifest {
+    /// The manifest describing the published artifact.
+    pub manifest: ReleaseManifest,
+    /// Hex-encoded Ed25519 signature over `manifest.canonical_bytes()`.
+    pub signature: String,
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    fn sample() -> ReleaseManifest {
+        ReleaseManifest {
+            artifact: "huskies-linux-arm64".to_string(),
+            sha256: "a".repeat(64),
+            version: "abc1234".to_string(),
+            channel: "stable".to_string(),
+            timestamp: 1_700_000_000,
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn canonical_bytes_is_deterministic() {
+        let m = sample();
+        assert_eq!(m.canonical_bytes(), m.canonical_bytes());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn canonical_bytes_changes_with_any_field() {
+        let m1 = sample();
+        let mut m2 = sample();
+        m2.timestamp += 1;
+        assert_ne!(m1.canonical_bytes(), m2.canonical_bytes());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn signed_manifest_roundtrips_through_json() {
+        let signed = SignedManifest {
+            manifest: sample(),
+            signature: "deadbeef".to_string(),
+        };
+        let json = serde_json::to_string(&signed).unwrap();
+        let parsed: SignedManifest = serde_json::from_str(&json).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(parsed.manifest, signed.manifest);
+        assert_eq!(parsed.signature, signed.signature);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn manifest_missing_field_fails_to_parse() {
+        let bad = serde_json::json!({
+            "artifact": "huskies-linux-arm64",
+            "sha256": "a".repeat(64),
+            "version": "abc1234",
+            "channel": "stable"
+            // timestamp missing
+        });
+        let result: Result<ReleaseManifest, _> = serde_json::from_value(bad);
+        assert!(
+            result.is_err(),
+            "manifest missing a field must fail to parse"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn signed_manifest_missing_signature_fails_to_parse() {
+        let bad = serde_json::json!({ "manifest": sample() });
+        let result: Result<SignedManifest, _> = serde_json::from_value(bad);
+        assert!(
+            result.is_err(),
+            "signed manifest missing signature must fail to parse"
+        );
+    }
+}

crates/release-tool/Cargo.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+[package]
+name = "release-tool"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2024"
+
+[[bin]]
+name = "release-tool"
+path = "src/main.rs"
+
+[dependencies]
+release-manifest = { path = "../release-manifest" }
+ed25519-dalek = { workspace = true }
+sha2 = { workspace = true }
+rand = { workspace = true }
+serde_json = { workspace = true }
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+tempfile = { workspace = true }

crates/release-tool/src/main.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,311 @@
+//! `release-tool` — offline publisher CLI for signed release channels.
+//!
+//! Generates a release-channel Ed25519 keypair and signs release manifests
+//! for a channel's `manifest.json`. This binary is intentionally its own
+//! crate, depending only on [`release_manifest`] and `ed25519-dalek` — it
+//! never links against the `huskies` server crate, so the running gateway
+//! has no code path that can read a channel's private signing key. Run this
+//! tool offline (or in a separate publish pipeline) and copy only the
+//! resulting public key hex into the gateway's `projects.toml`.
+//!
+//! Usage:
+//! ```text
+//! release-tool keygen <key-out-path>
+//! release-tool sign --key <path> --artifact <path> --version <str> --channel <str> --out <path> [--timestamp <unix-secs>]
+//! ```
+
+use ed25519_dalek::{Signer, SigningKey};
+use rand::Rng;
+use release_manifest::{ReleaseManifest, SignedManifest};
+use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+
+fn main() {
+    let args: Vec<String> = std::env::args().collect();
+    let result = match args.get(1).map(String::as_str) {
+        Some("keygen") => run_keygen(&args[2..]),
+        Some("sign") => run_sign(&args[2..]),
+        _ => Err(
+            "usage: release-tool keygen <key-out-path> | release-tool sign --key <path> \
+             --artifact <path> --version <str> --channel <str> --out <path> [--timestamp <unix-secs>]"
+                .to_string(),
+        ),
+    };
+
+    if let Err(e) = result {
+        eprintln!("error: {e}");
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    }
+}
+
+// ── keygen ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+fn run_keygen(args: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let key_path = args.first().ok_or("keygen requires a key-out-path")?;
+    let signing_key = generate_signing_key();
+    write_seed_file(Path::new(key_path), &signing_key)?;
+
+    let pubkey_hex = hex_encode(signing_key.verifying_key().as_bytes());
+    println!("Wrote private key seed to {key_path}");
+    println!("Pinned release public key (paste into projects.toml as `pubkey`):");
+    println!("{pubkey_hex}");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn generate_signing_key() -> SigningKey {
+    let mut seed = [0u8; 32];
+    rand::rng().fill_bytes(&mut seed);
+    SigningKey::from_bytes(&seed)
+}
+
+fn write_seed_file(path: &Path, signing_key: &SigningKey) -> Result<(), String> {
+    if let Some(parent) = path.parent()
+        && !parent.as_os_str().is_empty()
+    {
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(parent)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("cannot create {}: {e}", parent.display()))?;
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    {
+        use std::io::Write;
+        use std::os::unix::fs::OpenOptionsExt;
+        let mut file = std::fs::OpenOptions::new()
+            .write(true)
+            .create(true)
+            .truncate(true)
+            .mode(0o600)
+            .open(path)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("cannot create {}: {e}", path.display()))?;
+        file.write_all(&signing_key.to_bytes())
+            .map_err(|e| format!("cannot write {}: {e}", path.display()))
+    }
+    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+    {
+        std::fs::write(path, signing_key.to_bytes())
+            .map_err(|e| format!("cannot write {}: {e}", path.display()))
+    }
+}
+
+fn load_seed_file(path: &Path) -> Result<SigningKey, String> {
+    let bytes = std::fs::read(path).map_err(|e| format!("cannot read {}: {e}", path.display()))?;
+    let seed: [u8; 32] = bytes
+        .try_into()
+        .map_err(|_| format!("{} must contain exactly 32 bytes", path.display()))?;
+    Ok(SigningKey::from_bytes(&seed))
+}
+
+// ── sign ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/// Parsed `sign` subcommand arguments.
+struct SignArgs {
+    key: PathBuf,
+    artifact: PathBuf,
+    version: String,
+    channel: String,
+    out: PathBuf,
+    timestamp: Option<i64>,
+}
+
+fn parse_sign_args(args: &[String]) -> Result<SignArgs, String> {
+    let mut key = None;
+    let mut artifact = None;
+    let mut version = None;
+    let mut channel = None;
+    let mut out = None;
+    let mut timestamp = None;
+
+    let mut i = 0;
+    while i < args.len() {
+        let flag = args[i].as_str();
+        let value = args
+            .get(i + 1)
+            .ok_or_else(|| format!("missing value for {flag}"))?;
+        match flag {
+            "--key" => key = Some(PathBuf::from(value)),
+            "--artifact" => artifact = Some(PathBuf::from(value)),
+            "--version" => version = Some(value.clone()),
+            "--channel" => channel = Some(value.clone()),
+            "--out" => out = Some(PathBuf::from(value)),
+            "--timestamp" => {
+                timestamp = Some(
+                    value
+                        .parse::<i64>()
+                        .map_err(|_| format!("--timestamp must be an integer, got `{value}`"))?,
+                )
+            }
+            other => return Err(format!("unknown flag `{other}`")),
+        }
+        i += 2;
+    }
+
+    Ok(SignArgs {
+        key: key.ok_or("--key is required")?,
+        artifact: artifact.ok_or("--artifact is required")?,
+        version: version.ok_or("--version is required")?,
+        channel: channel.ok_or("--channel is required")?,
+        out: out.ok_or("--out is required")?,
+        timestamp,
+    })
+}
+
+fn run_sign(args: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let parsed = parse_sign_args(args)?;
+    let signing_key = load_seed_file(&parsed.key)?;
+    let artifact_bytes = std::fs::read(&parsed.artifact)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("cannot read {}: {e}", parsed.artifact.display()))?;
+    let artifact_name = parsed
+        .artifact
+        .file_name()
+        .and_then(|n| n.to_str())
+        .ok_or("--artifact path has no filename")?
+        .to_string();
+
+    let timestamp = match parsed.timestamp {
+        Some(t) => t,
+        None => std::time::SystemTime::now()
+            .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("system clock before epoch: {e}"))?
+            .as_secs() as i64,
+    };
+
+    let signed = sign_manifest(
+        &signing_key,
+        artifact_name,
+        &artifact_bytes,
+        parsed.version,
+        parsed.channel,
+        timestamp,
+    );
+
+    let json =
+        serde_json::to_string_pretty(&signed).map_err(|e| format!("serialise manifest: {e}"))?;
+    std::fs::write(&parsed.out, json)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("cannot write {}: {e}", parsed.out.display()))?;
+    println!("Signed manifest written to {}", parsed.out.display());
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Build and sign a [`SignedManifest`] for the given artifact bytes.
+///
+/// Pure aside from the signature computation — split out from `run_sign` so
+/// tests can exercise it without touching the filesystem.
+fn sign_manifest(
+    signing_key: &SigningKey,
+    artifact: String,
+    artifact_bytes: &[u8],
+    version: String,
+    channel: String,
+    timestamp: i64,
+) -> SignedManifest {
+    let mut hasher = Sha256::new();
+    hasher.update(artifact_bytes);
+    let sha256 = hex_encode(&hasher.finalize());
+
+    let manifest = ReleaseManifest {
+        artifact,
+        sha256,
+        version,
+        channel,
+        timestamp,
+    };
+    let signature = hex_encode(&signing_key.sign(&manifest.canonical_bytes()).to_bytes());
+    SignedManifest {
+        manifest,
+        signature,
+    }
+}
+
+// ── helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+fn hex_encode(bytes: &[u8]) -> String {
+    bytes.iter().map(|b| format!("{b:02x}")).collect()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn keygen_then_sign_produces_verifiable_signature() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let key_path = tmp.path().join("channel.key");
+        let signing_key = generate_signing_key();
+        write_seed_file(&key_path, &signing_key).unwrap();
+
+        let loaded = load_seed_file(&key_path).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(loaded.verifying_key(), signing_key.verifying_key());
+
+        let signed = sign_manifest(
+            &loaded,
+            "huskies-linux-arm64".to_string(),
+            b"fake binary contents",
+            "abc1234".to_string(),
+            "stable".to_string(),
+            1_700_000_000,
+        );
+
+        // Verify with ed25519-dalek directly, mirroring how the gateway verifies.
+        use ed25519_dalek::Verifier;
+        let sig_bytes: [u8; 64] = hex_bytes(&signed.signature).try_into().unwrap();
+        let sig = ed25519_dalek::Signature::from_bytes(&sig_bytes);
+        assert!(
+            signing_key
+                .verifying_key()
+                .verify(&signed.manifest.canonical_bytes(), &sig)
+                .is_ok(),
+            "signature produced by sign_manifest must verify against the signing key's pubkey"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn sign_manifest_hashes_artifact_bytes() {
+        let signing_key = generate_signing_key();
+        let signed = sign_manifest(
+            &signing_key,
+            "art".to_string(),
+            b"hello world",
+            "v1".to_string(),
+            "stable".to_string(),
+            1,
+        );
+        let mut hasher = Sha256::new();
+        hasher.update(b"hello world");
+        let expected = hex_encode(&hasher.finalize());
+        assert_eq!(signed.manifest.sha256, expected);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_sign_args_rejects_missing_required_flag() {
+        let args: Vec<String> = vec!["--key".into(), "k".into()];
+        assert!(parse_sign_args(&args).is_err());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_sign_args_accepts_all_flags() {
+        let args: Vec<String> = vec![
+            "--key".into(),
+            "k".into(),
+            "--artifact".into(),
+            "a".into(),
+            "--version".into(),
+            "v1".into(),
+            "--channel".into(),
+            "stable".into(),
+            "--out".into(),
+            "o".into(),
+            "--timestamp".into(),
+            "42".into(),
+        ];
+        let parsed = parse_sign_args(&args).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(parsed.timestamp, Some(42));
+        assert_eq!(parsed.channel, "stable");
+    }
+
+    fn hex_bytes(s: &str) -> Vec<u8> {
+        (0..s.len())
+            .step_by(2)
+            .map(|i| u8::from_str_radix(&s[i..i + 2], 16).unwrap())
+            .collect()
+    }
+}

crates/source-map-gen/src/rust_adapter.rs

@@ -111,10 +111,9 @@ fn parse_pub_item(line: &str) -> Option<(String, String)> {
     let rest = if let Some(r) = trimmed.strip_prefix("pub(") {
         let end = r.find(')')?;
         r[end + 1..].trim_start()
-    } else if let Some(r) = trimmed.strip_prefix("pub ") {
-        r.trim_start()
     } else {
-        return None;
+        let r = trimmed.strip_prefix("pub ")?;
+        r.trim_start()
     };
 
     // Handle "async fn"
@@ -139,10 +138,9 @@ fn parse_pub_item(line: &str) -> Option<(String, String)> {
         ("const", r.trim_start())
     } else if let Some(r) = rest.strip_prefix("static ") {
         ("static", r.trim_start())
-    } else if let Some(r) = rest.strip_prefix("mod ") {
-        ("mod", r.trim_start())
     } else {
-        return None;
+        let r = rest.strip_prefix("mod ")?;
+        ("mod", r.trim_start())
     };
 
     let name: String = name_part

crates/source-map-gen/src/ts_adapter.rs

@@ -123,10 +123,9 @@ fn parse_exported_item(line: &str) -> Option<(String, String)> {
     // Strip "export default" or "export"
     let rest = if let Some(r) = trimmed.strip_prefix("export default ") {
         r.trim_start()
-    } else if let Some(r) = trimmed.strip_prefix("export ") {
-        r.trim_start()
     } else {
-        return None;
+        let r = trimmed.strip_prefix("export ")?;
+        r.trim_start()
     };
 
     // Strip optional "async"
@@ -148,10 +147,9 @@ fn parse_exported_item(line: &str) -> Option<(String, String)> {
         ("const", r.trim_start())
     } else if let Some(r) = rest.strip_prefix("let ") {
         ("let", r.trim_start())
-    } else if let Some(r) = rest.strip_prefix("enum ") {
-        ("enum", r.trim_start())
     } else {
-        return None;
+        let r = rest.strip_prefix("enum ")?;
+        ("enum", r.trim_start())
     };
 
     let name: String = name_part

docker/Dockerfile

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #
 # Tested with: OrbStack (recommended on macOS), Docker Desktop (slower bind mounts)
 
-FROM rust:1.93-bookworm AS base
+FROM rust:1.94-bookworm AS base
 
 # Clippy and rustfmt are needed at runtime for acceptance gates
 RUN rustup component add clippy rustfmt
@@ -46,8 +46,17 @@ WORKDIR /app
 # build.rs) can produce the release binary with embedded frontend assets.
 COPY . .
 
-# Build frontend deps first (better layer caching)
+# Build frontend deps first (better layer caching).
-RUN cd frontend && npm ci
+# Cannot use `npm ci` because of npm's optional-dependencies bug
+# (npm/cli#4828): platform-specific bindings (e.g. rolldown's
+# linux-arm64-gnu native binary, introduced by 1119's vite 5→8 upgrade)
+# get listed in package-lock.json for the lockfile author's platform
+# only, so `npm ci` skips them on every other platform — the build
+# then fails at runtime with `Cannot find native binding`.  Wipe the
+# lockfile + node_modules and let `npm install` resolve fresh for the
+# build platform.  The lockfile mutation stays inside the container
+# image and never reaches the host repo.
+RUN cd frontend && rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json && npm install
 
 # Build the release binary (build.rs runs npm run build for the frontend)
 RUN cargo build --release \

docker/Dockerfile.base

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# huskies-project-base — minimal base for all project containers.
+#
+# This image provides git, the huskies server binary, and a non-root user.
+# It carries no language tooling. Per-stack overlays (docker/stacks/<name>/
+# Dockerfile.fragment) layer their toolchains on top of this base.
+#
+# Prerequisites: build the main `huskies` image first so its binary is
+# available as a build source.
+#
+#   docker build -t huskies -f docker/Dockerfile .
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-base -f docker/Dockerfile.base .
+#
+# To build a stack image (e.g. rust):
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/rust/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-rust -
+
+FROM huskies AS huskies-src
+
+FROM debian:bookworm-slim
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        git \
+        curl \
+        ca-certificates \
+        libssl3 \
+        procps \
+        openssh-server \
+        sudo \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Node.js 22.x from NodeSource — bookworm's apt nodejs is 18.x, which modern
+# frontend toolchains (vite ≥ 7) refuse to run under. Project builds that
+# shell out to npm (e.g. build.rs frontend steps) need ≥ 20.
+RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash - \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs \
+    && npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Copy the huskies binary and entrypoint from the main image.
+# The binary lives in /opt/huskies/bin (chowned to the huskies user below) so
+# the in-process upgrade path (`POST /api/upgrade`) can atomically replace it
+# without root: rename() needs write permission on the *directory*, not just
+# the file. /usr/local/bin/huskies stays a symlink so PATH resolution and the
+# entrypoint CMD are unchanged.
+COPY --from=huskies-src /usr/local/bin/huskies /opt/huskies/bin/huskies
+COPY --from=huskies-src /usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh /usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh
+
+# Non-root user — Claude Code refuses --dangerously-skip-permissions as root.
+# -s /bin/bash required for SSH sessions to start a real shell.
+RUN groupadd -r huskies \
+    && useradd -r -g huskies -m -d /home/huskies -s /bin/bash huskies \
+    && mkdir -p /home/huskies/.claude \
+    && mkdir -p /home/huskies/.ssh \
+    && chmod 700 /home/huskies/.ssh \
+    && chown -R huskies:huskies /home/huskies \
+    && chown -R huskies:huskies /opt/huskies \
+    && ln -s /opt/huskies/bin/huskies /usr/local/bin/huskies \
+    && mkdir -p /workspace \
+    && chown huskies:huskies /workspace \
+    && git config --global init.defaultBranch master \
+    && echo "huskies ALL=(root) NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/sshd" > /etc/sudoers.d/huskies-sshd \
+    && chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/huskies-sshd \
+    && mkdir -p /run/sshd \
+    && sed -i \
+        -e 's/#PasswordAuthentication yes/PasswordAuthentication no/' \
+        -e 's/#PubkeyAuthentication yes/PubkeyAuthentication yes/' \
+        -e 's/UsePAM yes/UsePAM no/' \
+        /etc/ssh/sshd_config
+
+# Shell profile for SSH sessions: land in /workspace and load toolchain paths.
+RUN printf 'cd /workspace\n[ -f "$HOME/.cargo/env" ] && . "$HOME/.cargo/env"\n' \
+        > /home/huskies/.profile \
+    && chown huskies:huskies /home/huskies/.profile
+
+USER huskies
+WORKDIR /workspace
+
+EXPOSE 3001 22
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["entrypoint.sh"]
+CMD ["huskies", "/workspace"]

docker/docker-compose.yml

@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ services:
       - HUSKIES_PORT=3001
       # Bind to all interfaces so Docker port forwarding works.
       - HUSKIES_HOST=0.0.0.0
+      # Gateway URL so this sled's relay task forwards CRDT events to the gateway.
+      # Uses host.docker.internal so the container can reach the gateway on the host.
+      - HUSKIES_GATEWAY_URL=http://host.docker.internal:3000
       # Optional: Matrix bot credentials (if using Matrix integration)
       - MATRIX_HOMESERVER=${MATRIX_HOMESERVER:-}
       - MATRIX_USER=${MATRIX_USER:-}

docker/entrypoint.sh

@@ -1,6 +1,32 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -e
 
+# ── Claude credentials ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# The `new project` command bind-mounts the host ~/.claude/.credentials.json
+# at /run/claude-credentials-src:ro.  We copy it here so the huskies user
+# owns the file and mode 0600 is enforced regardless of host uid/gid.
+if [ -f /run/claude-credentials-src ]; then
+    mkdir -p /home/huskies/.claude
+    cp /run/claude-credentials-src /home/huskies/.claude/.credentials.json
+    chmod 600 /home/huskies/.claude/.credentials.json
+fi
+
+# ── SSH authorized key ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# HUSKIES_SSH_PUBKEY is set by `new project` when it generates a keypair.
+# Write it to authorized_keys so the user can connect with the matching
+# private key stored at ~/.huskies/<project>/id_ed25519 on the host.
+if [ -n "$HUSKIES_SSH_PUBKEY" ]; then
+    mkdir -p /home/huskies/.ssh
+    chmod 700 /home/huskies/.ssh
+    printf '%s\n' "$HUSKIES_SSH_PUBKEY" > /home/huskies/.ssh/authorized_keys
+    chmod 600 /home/huskies/.ssh/authorized_keys
+fi
+
+# ── SSH daemon ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Start sshd in the background so the container accepts SSH connections.
+# Uses sudo (huskies has NOPASSWD for /usr/sbin/sshd in sudoers.d).
+sudo /usr/sbin/sshd -D -e &
+
 # ── Git identity ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Agents commit code inside the container. Without a git identity,
 # commits fail or use garbage defaults. Fail loudly at startup so the
@@ -25,6 +51,20 @@ export GIT_COMMITTER_NAME="$GIT_USER_NAME"
 export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="$GIT_USER_EMAIL"
 export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL="$GIT_USER_EMAIL"
 
+# ── Git credential helper (HTTPS push) ────────────────────────────────────
+# If GIT_PUSH_TOKEN is supplied at container creation time, configure git's
+# built-in credential store so `git push` over HTTPS authenticates without
+# user interaction.  GIT_CLONE_URL provides the host portion of the URL used
+# as the key in ~/.git-credentials.
+if [ -n "$GIT_PUSH_TOKEN" ] && [ -n "$GIT_CLONE_URL" ]; then
+    _scheme=$(echo "$GIT_CLONE_URL" | cut -d':' -f1)
+    _host=$(echo "$GIT_CLONE_URL" | sed 's|^https\?://||' | cut -d'/' -f1)
+    git config --global credential.helper store
+    printf '%s://x-access-token:%s@%s\n' "$_scheme" "$GIT_PUSH_TOKEN" "$_host" \
+        > /home/huskies/.git-credentials
+    chmod 600 /home/huskies/.git-credentials
+fi
+
 # ── Frontend native deps ────────────────────────────────────────────
 # The project repo is bind-mounted from the host, so node_modules/
 # may contain native binaries for the wrong platform (e.g. darwin

docker/stacks/go/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Go stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with Go 1.22, gopls (official Go language server), and standard tooling.
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/go/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-go -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# Official Go binary distribution — Debian's golang-go package is too old for gopls.
+# Update GOVERSION to pick up a newer release.
+ENV GOVERSION="1.22.3"
+RUN curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/go${GOVERSION}.linux-amd64.tar.gz" \
+        | tar -C /usr/local -xzf -
+
+ENV PATH="/usr/local/go/bin:${PATH}"
+
+# gopls: the official Go language server.
+# GOBIN=/usr/local/bin puts the binary on the system PATH for all users.
+RUN GOBIN=/usr/local/bin go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/go/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the go stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+go.mod

docker/stacks/jvm/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# JVM stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with OpenJDK 21, Maven, and eclipse.jdt.ls (the canonical Java/JVM LSP).
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/jvm/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-jvm -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# OpenJDK 17 (Bookworm's default LTS) and Maven for build support.
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        openjdk-17-jdk-headless \
+        maven \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+RUN ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-* /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk
+ENV JAVA_HOME="/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk"
+
+# Eclipse JDT Language Server — canonical LSP for Java/JVM (Java, Kotlin, Groovy).
+# Pin to a specific release; update JDTLS_VERSION + JDTLS_BUILD for upgrades.
+# All releases: https://github.com/eclipse-jdtls/eclipse.jdt.ls/releases
+ENV JDTLS_VERSION="1.60.0" \
+    JDTLS_BUILD="202606262232"
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/jdtls \
+    && curl -fsSL \
+        "https://download.eclipse.org/jdtls/milestones/${JDTLS_VERSION}/jdt-language-server-${JDTLS_VERSION}-${JDTLS_BUILD}.tar.gz" \
+        | tar -xzf - -C /opt/jdtls
+
+# Wrapper script so `jdtls` is available as a PATH command.
+RUN { \
+        echo '#!/bin/sh'; \
+        echo 'JAR=$(ls /opt/jdtls/plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_*.jar 2>/dev/null | head -1)'; \
+        echo 'exec java \'; \
+        echo '  -Declipse.application=org.eclipse.jdt.ls.core.id1 \'; \
+        echo '  -Dosgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel=4 \'; \
+        echo '  -Declipse.product=org.eclipse.jdt.ls.core.product \'; \
+        echo '  -Dlog.protocol=true \'; \
+        echo '  -Dlog.level=ALL \'; \
+        echo '  -jar "$JAR" \'; \
+        echo '  -configuration /opt/jdtls/config_linux \'; \
+        echo '  "$@"'; \
+    } > /usr/local/bin/jdtls \
+    && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/jdtls
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/jvm/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the jvm stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+pom.xml
+build.gradle
+build.gradle.kts

docker/stacks/node/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Node stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with Node.js 22, TypeScript (tsc), and typescript-language-server.
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/node/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-node -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# Node.js 22.x (LTS).
+RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash - \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# TypeScript compiler and language server for LSP-aware agents.
+# tsc:                       TypeScript compiler (tsc --version)
+# typescript-language-server: LSP server used by editors/agents
+RUN npm install -g typescript typescript-language-server
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/node/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the node stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+# tsconfig.json is listed explicitly so TypeScript-only projects are detected
+# even without a package.json at the repo root.
+package.json
+tsconfig.json

docker/stacks/python/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Python stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with Python 3, pip, and pyright (the Microsoft Python LSP / type checker).
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/python/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-python -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# Python 3 runtime and pip.
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        python3 \
+        python3-pip \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# pyright: Microsoft's Python language server / static type checker.
+# --break-system-packages is required on Debian 12+ where pip is externally
+# managed; the flag is safe inside a Docker container.
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir --break-system-packages pyright
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/python/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the python stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+pyproject.toml
+requirements.txt
+setup.py

docker/stacks/ruby/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Ruby stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with Ruby, Bundler, and ruby-lsp (the Shopify Ruby language server).
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/ruby/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-ruby -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# Ruby runtime, development headers (needed by native gem extensions), and Bundler.
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        ruby \
+        ruby-dev \
+        bundler \
+        build-essential \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# ruby-lsp: Shopify's Ruby language server (LSP-compliant, actively maintained).
+# Installed globally so the `ruby-lsp` binary is available on PATH.
+RUN gem install ruby-lsp
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/ruby/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the ruby stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+Gemfile

docker/stacks/rust/Dockerfile.fragment

@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Rust stack overlay fragment.
+#
+# Layer this on top of huskies-project-base to produce a project container
+# with a full Rust toolchain, rust-analyzer, and cargo-nextest.
+#
+# Build the combined image:
+#   (echo "FROM huskies-project-base"; \
+#    cat docker/stacks/rust/Dockerfile.fragment) | \
+#   docker build -t huskies-project-rust -
+#
+# Adding a new stack: create docker/stacks/<name>/Dockerfile.fragment and
+# docker/stacks/<name>/markers — no changes to orchestration code required.
+
+USER root
+
+# Build tools required by rustup and many Rust crates.
+# libudev-dev: serial/USB device crates (libudev-sys, serialport).
+# libclang-dev: bindgen-based crates; cargo test is skipped when absent.
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        build-essential \
+        pkg-config \
+        libssl-dev \
+        libudev-dev \
+        libclang-dev \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+ENV RUSTUP_HOME="/home/huskies/.rustup" \
+    CARGO_HOME="/home/huskies/.cargo"
+
+# Install stable Rust + rust-analyzer component as the huskies user.
+RUN curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs \
+        | su huskies -c "sh -s -- -y --no-modify-path --default-toolchain stable" \
+    && /home/huskies/.cargo/bin/rustup component add rust-analyzer \
+    && chown -R huskies:huskies /home/huskies/.rustup /home/huskies/.cargo
+
+# cargo-nextest: fast Rust test runner used by huskies quality gates.
+RUN curl -LsSf https://get.nexte.st/latest/linux | tar zxf - -C /usr/local/bin
+
+ENV PATH="/home/huskies/.cargo/bin:${PATH}"
+
+USER huskies

docker/stacks/rust/markers

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Stack detection markers for the rust stack.
+# Each non-blank, non-comment line names a file relative to the project root.
+# If any listed file exists in the project directory, this stack is matched.
+Cargo.toml

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
 	"name": "huskies",
 	"private": true,
-	"version": "0.11.0",
+	"version": "0.14.0",
 	"type": "module",
 	"scripts": {
 		"dev": "vite",
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@
 		"@types/node": "^25.0.0",
 		"@types/react": "^19.1.8",
 		"@types/react-dom": "^19.1.6",
-		"@vitejs/plugin-react": "^4.6.0",
+		"@vitejs/plugin-react": "^5.2.0",
-		"@vitest/coverage-v8": "^2.1.9",
+		"@vitest/coverage-v8": "^4.1.6",
 		"jsdom": "^28.1.0",
 		"typescript": "~5.8.3",
-		"vite": "^5.4.21",
+		"vite": "^8.0.13",
-		"vitest": "^2.1.4"
+		"vitest": "^4.1.6"
 	}
 }

frontend/src/App.test.tsx

@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ describe("App", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("shows error when openProject fails", async () => {
+		const errorSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
 		mockedApi.openProject.mockRejectedValue(new Error("Path does not exist"));
 
 		await renderApp();
@@ -182,6 +183,7 @@ describe("App", () => {
 		await waitFor(() => {
 			expect(screen.getByText(/Path does not exist/)).toBeInTheDocument();
 		});
+		errorSpy.mockRestore();
 	});
 
 	it("shows known projects list", async () => {

frontend/src/api/agents.test.ts

@@ -266,6 +266,8 @@ describe("subscribeAgentStream", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("handles malformed JSON without throwing", () => {
+		vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
+
 		subscribeAgentStream("42_story_test", "coder", vi.fn());
 
 		expect(() => {

frontend/src/api/client/types.ts

@@ -50,6 +50,29 @@ export interface AgentAssignment {
 	status: string;
 }
 
+/** Display column for a work item — derived server-side from `Stage::pipeline()` (story 1085). */
+export type Pipeline =
+	| "backlog"
+	| "coding"
+	| "qa"
+	| "merge"
+	| "done"
+	| "closed"
+	| "archived";
+
+/** Badge/indicator for a work item — derived server-side from `Stage::status()` (story 1085). */
+export type Status =
+	| "active"
+	| "frozen"
+	| "review-hold"
+	| "blocked"
+	| "merge-failure"
+	| "merge-failure-final"
+	| "abandoned"
+	| "superseded"
+	| "rejected"
+	| "done";
+
 /** A single item in any pipeline stage (backlog, current, QA, merge, or done). */
 export interface PipelineStageItem {
 	story_id: string;
@@ -57,6 +80,10 @@ export interface PipelineStageItem {
 	error: string | null;
 	merge_failure: string | null;
 	agent: AgentAssignment | null;
+	/** Display column (story 1085); falls back to the bucket name on legacy servers. */
+	pipeline?: Pipeline;
+	/** Display badge (story 1085); falls back to derived `blocked`/`frozen` on legacy servers. */
+	status?: Status;
 	review_hold: boolean | null;
 	qa: string | null;
 	depends_on: number[] | null;
@@ -214,6 +241,8 @@ export interface WorkItemContent {
 	stage: string;
 	name: string;
 	agent: string | null;
+	/** Origin JSON string (story 1088), or null for pre-origin items. */
+	origin: string | null;
 }
 
 /** Result for a single test case from the server's test runner. */

frontend/src/api/gateway.ts

@@ -24,10 +24,38 @@ export interface GatewayInfo {
 	projects: GatewayProject[];
 }
 
+/** Display column for a work item — derived server-side from `Stage::pipeline()` (story 1085). */
+export type Pipeline =
+	| "backlog"
+	| "coding"
+	| "qa"
+	| "merge"
+	| "done"
+	| "closed"
+	| "archived";
+
+/** Badge/indicator for a work item — derived server-side from `Stage::status()` (story 1085). */
+export type Status =
+	| "active"
+	| "frozen"
+	| "review-hold"
+	| "blocked"
+	| "merge-failure"
+	| "merge-failure-final"
+	| "abandoned"
+	| "superseded"
+	| "rejected"
+	| "done";
+
 export interface PipelineItem {
 	story_id: string;
 	name: string;
+	/** Legacy stage string (kept for back-compat); prefer `pipeline` + `status`. */
 	stage: string;
+	/** Display column (story 1085). Optional until all servers are upgraded. */
+	pipeline?: Pipeline;
+	/** Display badge (story 1085). Optional until all servers are upgraded. */
+	status?: Status;
 	agent?: { agent_name: string; model: string; status: string } | null;
 	blocked?: boolean;
 	retry_count?: number;

frontend/src/components/Chat.commands.test.tsx

@@ -472,9 +472,16 @@ describe("Slash command handling (Story 374)", () => {
 });
 
 describe("Story 1058: WebSocket errors do not appear in chat", () => {
+	let consoleSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;
+
 	beforeEach(() => {
 		capturedWsHandlers = null;
 		setupMocks();
+		consoleSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
+	});
+
+	afterEach(() => {
+		consoleSpy.mockRestore();
 	});
 
 	it("does not add a chat message when onError is called", async () => {

frontend/src/components/GatewayPanel.test.tsx

@@ -69,29 +69,34 @@ describe("StoryRow", () => {
 		expect(screen.getByText("awaiting-slot (#2)")).toBeInTheDocument();
 	});
 
-	// AC2: failure kind labels derived from merge_failure string
+	// Story 1085: failure kind no longer derived from substring.  Items in
-	it("shows ConflictDetected for merge_failure with conflict text", () => {
+	// the merge_failure / merge_failure_final status get a generic FAILED badge;
+	// the kind detail is exposed via the typed `status` field for callers that
+	// need it (instead of being squeezed into the badge text).
+	it("shows ✕ FAILED badge for merge-failure status", () => {
 		const item: PipelineItem = {
 			story_id: "73_story_conflict",
 			name: "Conflict Story",
 			stage: "merge",
-			blocked: true,
+			pipeline: "merge",
+			status: "merge-failure",
 			merge_failure: "Merge conflict: conflicts detected",
 		};
 		render(<StoryRow item={item} />);
-		expect(screen.getByText("ConflictDetected")).toBeInTheDocument();
+		expect(screen.getByText("✕ FAILED")).toBeInTheDocument();
 	});
 
-	it("shows GatesFailed for merge_failure with quality gates text", () => {
+	it("shows ⛔ FAILED (FINAL) badge for merge-failure-final status", () => {
 		const item: PipelineItem = {
 			story_id: "74_story_gates",
 			name: "Gates Failed Story",
 			stage: "merge",
-			blocked: true,
+			pipeline: "merge",
+			status: "merge-failure-final",
 			merge_failure: "Quality gates failed: cargo test failed",
 		};
 		render(<StoryRow item={item} />);
-		expect(screen.getByText("GatesFailed")).toBeInTheDocument();
+		expect(screen.getByText("⛔ FAILED (FINAL)")).toBeInTheDocument();
 	});
 
 	it("shows RECOVERING badge for merge_failure item with running mergemaster", () => {
@@ -163,4 +168,36 @@ describe("StoryRow", () => {
 		render(<StoryRow item={item} />);
 		expect(screen.getByText("⊘ BLOCKED")).toBeInTheDocument();
 	});
+
+	// Story 1085 AC 4 — Frozen items remain visible in their underlying column
+	// with a frozen indicator. The server hands us `pipeline: "coding"` for a
+	// frozen-while-coding story and the badge is decorated separately.
+	it("shows ❄ FROZEN badge for a frozen item (column stays as underlying pipeline)", () => {
+		const item: PipelineItem = {
+			story_id: "70_story_frozen_coding",
+			name: "Paused Coding Story",
+			stage: "current",
+			pipeline: "coding",
+			status: "frozen",
+		};
+		render(<StoryRow item={item} />);
+		expect(screen.getByText("❄ FROZEN")).toBeInTheDocument();
+	});
+
+	// Story 1085 AC 4 (subsumes 1052) — Done items must never get a
+	// MergeFailure indicator, even if a stale `merge_failure` string is present.
+	it("done items render Done badge, never MergeFailure", () => {
+		const item: PipelineItem = {
+			story_id: "71_story_done",
+			name: "Completed Story",
+			stage: "done",
+			pipeline: "done",
+			status: "done",
+			merge_failure: "ignored stale string",
+		};
+		render(<StoryRow item={item} />);
+		expect(screen.getByText("Done")).toBeInTheDocument();
+		expect(screen.queryByText("✕ FAILED")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+		expect(screen.queryByText(/FAILED/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+	});
 });

frontend/src/components/GatewayPanel.tsx

@@ -14,9 +14,42 @@ import {
 	type JoinedAgent,
 	type GatewayProject,
 	type AllProjectsPipeline,
+	type Pipeline,
 	type PipelineItem,
+	type Status,
 } from "../api/gateway";
 
+/// Resolve an item's pipeline column.  Servers running the new (story 1085)
+/// backend send `pipeline`; older servers only send `stage` so we fall back to
+/// mapping the bucket name onto the new column vocabulary.
+function itemPipeline(item: PipelineItem): Pipeline {
+	if (item.pipeline) return item.pipeline;
+	switch (item.stage) {
+		case "current":
+			return "coding";
+		case "qa":
+			return "qa";
+		case "merge":
+			return "merge";
+		case "done":
+			return "done";
+		case "archived":
+			return "archived";
+		default:
+			return "backlog";
+	}
+}
+
+/// Resolve an item's badge.  Falls back to `merge_failure`/`blocked` on
+/// legacy servers that don't yet emit `status`.
+function itemStatus(item: PipelineItem): Status {
+	if (item.status) return item.status;
+	if (item.merge_failure) return "merge-failure";
+	if (item.blocked) return "blocked";
+	if (item.stage === "done") return "done";
+	return "active";
+}
+
 const { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } = React;
 
 /// Seconds of silence before an agent is considered disconnected.
@@ -48,72 +81,86 @@ const STATUS_LABELS: Record<AgentStatus, string> = {
 	disconnected: "Disconnected",
 };
 
-const STAGE_COLORS: Record<string, string> = {
+const PIPELINE_COLORS: Record<Pipeline, string> = {
 	backlog: "#8b949e",
-	current: "#3fb950",
+	coding: "#3fb950",
 	qa: "#d2a679",
 	merge: "#79c0ff",
 	done: "#6e7681",
+	closed: "#6e7681",
 	archived: "#6e7681",
 };
 
-const STAGE_LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
+const PIPELINE_LABELS: Record<Pipeline, string> = {
 	backlog: "Backlog",
-	current: "In Progress",
+	coding: "In Progress",
 	qa: "QA",
 	merge: "Merging",
 	done: "Done",
+	closed: "Closed",
 	archived: "Archived",
 };
 
-/// Derive a short label from a merge failure string based on the failure kind.
-function mergeFailureKindLabel(failure: string): string {
-	if (failure.includes("Merge conflict") || failure.includes("CONFLICT")) {
-		return "ConflictDetected";
-	}
-	if (failure.includes("Quality gates failed") || failure.includes("gates failed")) {
-		return "GatesFailed";
-	}
-	if (failure.includes("no code changes") || failure.includes("empty diff")) {
-		return "EmptyDiff";
-	}
-	if (failure.includes("No commits")) {
-		return "NoCommits";
-	}
-	return "✕ FAILED";
-}
-
 /// A single story row inside a project pipeline card.
-/** Render one story row in a gateway-aggregate panel: `#<id> <name>` with stage badge. */
+/** Render one story row in a gateway-aggregate panel: `#<id> <name>` with status badge. */
 export function StoryRow({ item, mergeQueuePos }: { item: PipelineItem; mergeQueuePos?: number }) {
-	const isStuck = item.merge_failure != null || item.blocked;
+	const pipeline = itemPipeline(item);
-	const isMergeActive = item.stage === "merge" && !isStuck && item.agent?.status === "running";
+	const status = itemStatus(item);
+	const agentStatus = item.agent?.status;
 
 	let color: string;
 	let label: string;
+	let frozenPrefix = "";
 
-	if (isMergeActive) {
+	// Frozen items keep their underlying pipeline column but get a ❄️ badge.
-		color = "#58a6ff";
+	// (AC 4 — story 1085, subsumes the freeze-hides-item bug.)
-		label = "▶ MERGING";
+	if (status === "frozen") {
-	} else if (isStuck) {
+		color = "#79c0ff";
-		const agentStatus = item.agent?.status;
+		label = "❄ FROZEN";
+		frozenPrefix = "❄ ";
+	} else if (status === "merge-failure" || status === "merge-failure-final") {
+		// Done items never reach this branch — `Stage::status()` returns
+		// `Status::Done` for done items (AC 4).
 		if (agentStatus === "running") {
 			color = "#e3b341";
 			label = "⟳ RECOVERING";
 		} else if (agentStatus === "pending") {
 			color = "#e3b341";
 			label = "⏳ QUEUED";
-		} else if (item.merge_failure != null) {
+		} else {
 			color = "#f85149";
-			label = mergeFailureKindLabel(item.merge_failure);
+			label = status === "merge-failure-final" ? "⛔ FAILED (FINAL)" : "✕ FAILED";
+		}
+	} else if (status === "blocked") {
+		if (agentStatus === "running") {
+			color = "#e3b341";
+			label = "⟳ RECOVERING";
+		} else if (agentStatus === "pending") {
+			color = "#e3b341";
+			label = "⏳ QUEUED";
 		} else {
 			color = "#f85149";
 			label = "⊘ BLOCKED";
 		}
-	} else if (item.stage === "merge" && item.agent?.status === "pending") {
+	} else if (status === "review-hold") {
+		color = "#d2a679";
+		label = "REVIEW HOLD";
+	} else if (status === "abandoned") {
+		color = "#6e7681";
+		label = "ABANDONED";
+	} else if (status === "superseded") {
+		color = "#6e7681";
+		label = "SUPERSEDED";
+	} else if (status === "rejected") {
+		color = "#f85149";
+		label = "REJECTED";
+	} else if (pipeline === "merge" && agentStatus === "running") {
+		color = "#58a6ff";
+		label = "▶ MERGING";
+	} else if (pipeline === "merge" && agentStatus === "pending") {
 		color = "#e3b341";
 		label = "⏳ QUEUED";
-	} else if (item.stage === "merge") {
+	} else if (pipeline === "merge") {
 		color = "#6e7681";
 		if (mergeQueuePos === 1) {
 			label = "NEXT IN QUEUE";
@@ -123,10 +170,11 @@ export function StoryRow({ item, mergeQueuePos }: { item: PipelineItem; mergeQue
 			label = "awaiting-slot";
 		}
 	} else {
-		color = STAGE_COLORS[item.stage] ?? "#8b949e";
+		color = PIPELINE_COLORS[pipeline] ?? "#8b949e";
-		label = STAGE_LABELS[item.stage] ?? item.stage;
+		label = PIPELINE_LABELS[pipeline] ?? pipeline;
 	}
 
+	const isMergeActive = pipeline === "merge" && status === "active" && agentStatus === "running";
 	const idNum = item.story_id.match(/^(\d+)/)?.[1];
 
 	return (
@@ -158,7 +206,7 @@ export function StoryRow({ item, mergeQueuePos }: { item: PipelineItem; mergeQue
 			</span>
 			<span style={{ color: "#e6edf3", overflow: "hidden", textOverflow: "ellipsis", whiteSpace: "nowrap" }}>
 				{idNum && <span style={{ color: "#8b949e", fontFamily: "monospace" }}>#{idNum}{" "}</span>}
-				{item.name}
+				{frozenPrefix}{item.name}
 			</span>
 		</div>
 	);
@@ -388,6 +436,8 @@ function aggregateItems(
 						story_id: b.story_id,
 						name: b.name,
 						stage: "backlog",
+						pipeline: "backlog" as Pipeline,
+						status: "active" as Status,
 					})),
 				};
 			}
@@ -395,14 +445,14 @@ function aggregateItems(
 				return {
 					project,
 					items: (status.active ?? []).filter(
-						(i) => i.stage !== "done",
+						(i) => itemPipeline(i) !== "done",
 					),
 				};
 			}
 			if (tab === "done") {
 				return {
 					project,
-					items: (status.active ?? []).filter((i) => i.stage === "done"),
+					items: (status.active ?? []).filter((i) => itemPipeline(i) === "done"),
 				};
 			}
 			// archived
@@ -419,12 +469,12 @@ function tabCount(pipeline: AllProjectsPipeline, tab: TabKey): number {
 		if (tab === "in-progress") {
 			return (
 				sum +
-				(status.active ?? []).filter((i) => i.stage !== "done").length
+				(status.active ?? []).filter((i) => itemPipeline(i) !== "done").length
 			);
 		}
 		if (tab === "done") {
 			return (
-				sum + (status.active ?? []).filter((i) => i.stage === "done").length
+				sum + (status.active ?? []).filter((i) => itemPipeline(i) === "done").length
 			);
 		}
 		return sum + (status.archived ?? []).length;
@@ -518,13 +568,16 @@ function ProjectStoryRow({
 	);
 }
 
-const IN_PROGRESS_STAGE_LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
+const IN_PROGRESS_PIPELINE_LABELS: Record<"coding" | "qa" | "merge", string> = {
-	current: "Coding",
+	coding: "Coding",
 	qa: "QA",
 	merge: "Merging",
 };
 
-/// In Progress tab content — items grouped by stage (coding / qa / merging).
+/// In Progress tab content — items grouped by their `pipeline` column.
+///
+/// Frozen items appear in the column corresponding to their underlying
+/// `Stage::resume_to` (server-side), so they always show up in-place.
 function InProgressTabContent({
 	groups,
 }: {
@@ -535,25 +588,22 @@ function InProgressTabContent({
 	);
 	const multiProject = new Set(allItems.map((x) => x.project)).size > 1;
 
-	const byStage = {
+	const byPipeline = {
-		current: allItems.filter((x) => x.item.stage === "current"),
+		coding: allItems.filter((x) => itemPipeline(x.item) === "coding"),
-		qa: allItems.filter((x) => x.item.stage === "qa"),
+		qa: allItems.filter((x) => itemPipeline(x.item) === "qa"),
-		merge: allItems.filter((x) => x.item.stage === "merge"),
+		merge: allItems.filter((x) => itemPipeline(x.item) === "merge"),
 	};
 
-	const stages = (["current", "qa", "merge"] as const).filter(
+	const pipelines = (["coding", "qa", "merge"] as const).filter(
-		(s) => byStage[s].length > 0,
+		(p) => byPipeline[p].length > 0,
 	);
 
-	// Compute queue position among clean awaiting merge items (Stage::Merge, no failure, no running agent).
+	// Compute queue position among "clean" awaiting-merge items: pipeline=merge,
+	// status=active, and no agent currently running.
 	const mergeQueuePosMap = new Map<string, number>();
 	let queuePos = 0;
-	for (const { project, item } of byStage.merge) {
+	for (const { project, item } of byPipeline.merge) {
-		if (
+		if (itemStatus(item) === "active" && item.agent?.status !== "running") {
-			!item.blocked &&
-			!item.merge_failure &&
-			item.agent?.status !== "running"
-		) {
 			queuePos += 1;
 			mergeQueuePosMap.set(`${project}:${item.story_id}`, queuePos);
 		}
@@ -569,33 +619,33 @@ function InProgressTabContent({
 
 	return (
 		<div>
-			{stages.map((stage) => (
+			{pipelines.map((p) => (
-				<div key={stage} style={{ marginBottom: "20px" }}>
+				<div key={p} style={{ marginBottom: "20px" }}>
 					<div
 						style={{
 							fontSize: "0.8em",
 							fontWeight: 600,
-							color: STAGE_COLORS[stage] ?? "#8b949e",
+							color: PIPELINE_COLORS[p] ?? "#8b949e",
 							textTransform: "uppercase",
 							letterSpacing: "0.06em",
 							marginBottom: "8px",
 							paddingBottom: "4px",
-							borderBottom: `1px solid ${STAGE_COLORS[stage] ?? "#8b949e"}33`,
+							borderBottom: `1px solid ${PIPELINE_COLORS[p] ?? "#8b949e"}33`,
 						}}
 					>
-						{IN_PROGRESS_STAGE_LABELS[stage]}{" "}
+						{IN_PROGRESS_PIPELINE_LABELS[p]}{" "}
 						<span style={{ color: "#6e7681" }}>
-							({byStage[stage].length})
+							({byPipeline[p].length})
 						</span>
 					</div>
-					{byStage[stage].map(({ project, item }) => (
+					{byPipeline[p].map(({ project, item }) => (
 						<ProjectStoryRow
 							key={`${project}:${item.story_id}`}
 							project={project}
 							item={item}
 							showProject={multiProject}
 							mergeQueuePos={
-								stage === "merge"
+								p === "merge"
 									? mergeQueuePosMap.get(`${project}:${item.story_id}`)
 									: undefined
 							}

frontend/src/components/WorkItemDetailPanel.agents.test.tsx

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ const DEFAULT_CONTENT = {
 	stage: "current",
 	name: "Big Title Story",
 	agent: null,
+	origin: null,
 };
 
 beforeEach(() => {

frontend/src/components/WorkItemDetailPanel.data.test.tsx

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ const DEFAULT_CONTENT = {
 	stage: "current",
 	name: "Big Title Story",
 	agent: null,
+	origin: null,
 };
 
 const sampleTestResults: TestResultsResponse = {

frontend/src/components/WorkItemDetailPanel.test.tsx

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ const DEFAULT_CONTENT = {
 	stage: "current",
 	name: "Big Title Story",
 	agent: null,
+	origin: null,
 };
 
 beforeEach(() => {
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@ describe("WorkItemDetailPanel", () => {
 			stage: "current",
 			name: "My Story Name",
 			agent: null,
+			origin: null,
 		});
 		render(
 			<WorkItemDetailPanel
@@ -146,6 +148,7 @@ describe("WorkItemDetailPanel", () => {
 			stage: "current",
 			name: "My Story Name",
 			agent: null,
+			origin: null,
 		});
 		render(
 			<WorkItemDetailPanel
@@ -164,6 +167,7 @@ describe("WorkItemDetailPanel", () => {
 			stage: "current",
 			name: "My Story Name",
 			agent: null,
+			origin: null,
 		});
 		render(
 			<WorkItemDetailPanel
@@ -186,6 +190,7 @@ describe("WorkItemDetailPanel", () => {
 			stage: "current",
 			name: "My Story Name",
 			agent: null,
+			origin: null,
 		});
 		render(
 			<WorkItemDetailPanel

frontend/src/components/WorkItemDetailPanel.tsx

@@ -20,6 +20,26 @@ import { stripDisplayContent } from "./workItemDetailPanelUtils";
 
 const { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } = React;
 
+/** Parse and format an origin JSON string for display. */
+function formatOrigin(origin: string | null): string {
+	if (!origin) return "unknown";
+	try {
+		const obj = JSON.parse(origin) as {
+			kind?: string;
+			id?: string;
+			ts?: number;
+		};
+		const kind = obj.kind ?? "unknown";
+		const id = obj.id ? ` (${obj.id})` : "";
+		const ts = obj.ts
+			? ` at ${new Date(obj.ts * 1000).toISOString().replace("T", " ").slice(0, 19)}Z`
+			: "";
+		return `${kind}${id}${ts}`;
+	} catch {
+		return origin;
+	}
+}
+
 interface WorkItemDetailPanelProps {
 	storyId: string;
 	pipelineVersion: number;
@@ -38,6 +58,7 @@ export function WorkItemDetailPanel({
 	const [stage, setStage] = useState<string>("");
 	const [name, setName] = useState<string | null>(null);
 	const [assignedAgent, setAssignedAgent] = useState<string | null>(null);
+	const [origin, setOrigin] = useState<string | null>(null);
 	const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
 	const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
 	const [agentInfo, setAgentInfo] = useState<AgentInfo | null>(null);
@@ -63,6 +84,7 @@ export function WorkItemDetailPanel({
 				setStage(data.stage);
 				setName(data.name);
 				setAssignedAgent(data.agent);
+				setOrigin(data.origin);
 			})
 			.catch((err: unknown) => {
 				setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : "Failed to load content");
@@ -289,6 +311,19 @@ export function WorkItemDetailPanel({
 
 				<TestResultsSection testResults={testResults} />
 
+				{!loading && (
+					<div
+						data-testid="detail-panel-origin"
+						style={{
+							fontSize: "0.75em",
+							color: "#555",
+							fontFamily: "monospace",
+						}}
+					>
+						origin: {formatOrigin(origin)}
+					</div>
+				)}
+
 				<div
 					style={{
 						display: "flex",

frontend/src/components/selection/usePathCompletion.test.ts

@@ -227,6 +227,7 @@ describe("usePathCompletion hook", () => {
 	});
 
 	it("sets completionError when listDirectoryAbsolute throws an Error", async () => {
+		const errorSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
 		mockListDir.mockRejectedValue(new Error("Permission denied"));
 
 		const { result } = renderHook(() =>
@@ -242,9 +243,13 @@ describe("usePathCompletion hook", () => {
 		await waitFor(() => {
 			expect(result.current.completionError).toBe("Permission denied");
 		});
+
+		expect(errorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(new Error("Permission denied"));
+		errorSpy.mockRestore();
 	});
 
 	it("sets generic completionError when listDirectoryAbsolute throws a non-Error", async () => {
+		const errorSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
 		mockListDir.mockRejectedValue("some string error");
 
 		const { result } = renderHook(() =>
@@ -262,6 +267,9 @@ describe("usePathCompletion hook", () => {
 				"Failed to compute suggestion.",
 			);
 		});
+
+		expect(errorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("some string error");
+		errorSpy.mockRestore();
 	});
 
 	it("clears suggestionTail when selected match path does not start with input", async () => {

script/build-project-images

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Build all project images in dependency order:
+#   huskies  →  huskies-project-base  →  huskies-project-<stack> (one per stack fragment)
+#
+# Run this after `script/docker_rebuild` or whenever you add a new stack.
+# Safe to re-run: each step re-tags the image with the latest layers.
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")/.."
+
+if [[ -f .env ]]; then
+    set -a
+    source .env
+    set +a
+fi
+
+CACHE_FLAG=""
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--no-cache" ]]; then
+    CACHE_FLAG="--no-cache"
+fi
+
+echo "==> Building huskies"
+docker build $CACHE_FLAG -t huskies -f docker/Dockerfile .
+
+echo "==> Building huskies-project-base"
+docker build $CACHE_FLAG -t huskies-project-base -f docker/Dockerfile.base .
+
+for fragment in docker/stacks/*/Dockerfile.fragment; do
+    stack=$(basename "$(dirname "$fragment")")
+    image="huskies-project-${stack}"
+    echo "==> Building ${image}"
+    (printf 'FROM huskies-project-base\n'; cat "$fragment") \
+        | docker build $CACHE_FLAG -t "$image" -
+done
+
+echo "All project images built."

script/ci-publish-artifact

@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# script/ci-publish-artifact — upload a built sled artifact to a release
+# channel and verify the channel's manifest reflects the published commit.
+#
+# Usage: script/ci-publish-artifact <artifact-path> [git-hash]
+#
+# git-hash defaults to `git rev-parse --short HEAD` when omitted.
+#
+# Required env:
+#   HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL    Base URL of the release channel (Gitea secret).
+#   HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN  Bearer token authorised to publish (Gitea secret).
+#
+# Protocol against the channel host:
+#   POST {HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL}/<artifact-name>
+#     Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>, X-Git-Hash: <hash>
+#     Body:    raw artifact bytes
+#   GET  {HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL}/manifest.json
+#     Headers: Authorization: Bearer <token>
+#     Body:    JSON object with a "git_hash" field
+#
+# 5xx responses and network errors are retried with backoff; 4xx responses
+# (including auth failures) fail immediately since retrying won't fix them.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ARTIFACT_PATH="${1:?Usage: script/ci-publish-artifact <artifact-path> [git-hash]}"
+GIT_HASH="${2:-$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)}"
+
+if [ -z "${HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL:-}" ]; then
+  echo "Error: HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL is not set." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [ -z "${HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
+  echo "Error: HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN is not set." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [ ! -f "$ARTIFACT_PATH" ]; then
+  echo "Error: artifact not found at $ARTIFACT_PATH" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+ARTIFACT_NAME="$(basename "$ARTIFACT_PATH")"
+CHANNEL_URL="${HUSKIES_CHANNEL_URL%/}"
+UPLOAD_URL="${CHANNEL_URL}/${ARTIFACT_NAME}"
+MANIFEST_URL="${CHANNEL_URL}/manifest.json"
+
+UPLOAD_MAX_ATTEMPTS="${HUSKIES_CI_PUBLISH_MAX_ATTEMPTS:-3}"
+UPLOAD_BACKOFF_SECS="${HUSKIES_CI_PUBLISH_BACKOFF_SECS:-1}"
+MANIFEST_MAX_ATTEMPTS=3
+MANIFEST_BACKOFF_SECS=1
+
+RESPONSE_FILE="$(mktemp)"
+trap 'rm -f "$RESPONSE_FILE"' EXIT
+
+# ── Upload ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+attempt=1
+while :; do
+  echo "==> Uploading ${ARTIFACT_NAME} (${GIT_HASH}), attempt ${attempt}/${UPLOAD_MAX_ATTEMPTS}..."
+  HTTP_CODE=$(curl -sS --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 60 \
+    -o "$RESPONSE_FILE" -w "%{http_code}" \
+    -X POST \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN}" \
+    -H "X-Git-Hash: ${GIT_HASH}" \
+    --data-binary "@${ARTIFACT_PATH}" \
+    "${UPLOAD_URL}") || HTTP_CODE="000"
+  RESPONSE_BODY="$(cat "$RESPONSE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+
+  case "$HTTP_CODE" in
+    2??)
+      echo "==> Upload succeeded (HTTP ${HTTP_CODE})."
+      break
+      ;;
+    401|403)
+      echo "Error: upload rejected — authentication failed (HTTP ${HTTP_CODE})." >&2
+      echo "Response: ${RESPONSE_BODY}" >&2
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+    4??)
+      echo "Error: upload rejected by the channel (HTTP ${HTTP_CODE}); not retrying a client error." >&2
+      echo "Response: ${RESPONSE_BODY}" >&2
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+
+  if [ "$attempt" -ge "$UPLOAD_MAX_ATTEMPTS" ]; then
+    echo "Error: upload failed after ${UPLOAD_MAX_ATTEMPTS} attempts (last HTTP ${HTTP_CODE})." >&2
+    echo "Response: ${RESPONSE_BODY}" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  echo "==> Transient failure (HTTP ${HTTP_CODE}); retrying in ${UPLOAD_BACKOFF_SECS}s..."
+  sleep "$UPLOAD_BACKOFF_SECS"
+  attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+  UPLOAD_BACKOFF_SECS=$((UPLOAD_BACKOFF_SECS * 2))
+done
+
+# ── Verify manifest ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+attempt=1
+while :; do
+  echo "==> Verifying channel manifest reflects ${GIT_HASH} (attempt ${attempt}/${MANIFEST_MAX_ATTEMPTS})..."
+  MANIFEST_JSON=$(curl -sS --connect-timeout 10 --max-time 30 \
+    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${HUSKIES_CHANNEL_TOKEN}" \
+    "${MANIFEST_URL}") || MANIFEST_JSON=""
+
+  MANIFEST_HASH=$(printf '%s' "$MANIFEST_JSON" \
+    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('git_hash',''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+
+  if [ "$MANIFEST_HASH" = "$GIT_HASH" ]; then
+    echo "==> Published ${ARTIFACT_NAME} (${GIT_HASH}) to ${CHANNEL_URL}; manifest verified."
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
+  if [ "$attempt" -ge "$MANIFEST_MAX_ATTEMPTS" ]; then
+    echo "Error: manifest mismatch — channel reports git_hash '${MANIFEST_HASH}', expected '${GIT_HASH}'." >&2
+    echo "Manifest: ${MANIFEST_JSON}" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  sleep "$MANIFEST_BACKOFF_SECS"
+  attempt=$((attempt + 1))
+  MANIFEST_BACKOFF_SECS=$((MANIFEST_BACKOFF_SECS * 2))
+done

script/docker_rebuild

@@ -24,4 +24,6 @@ docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml down
 docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml build $CACHE_FLAG
 docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d
 
+script/build-project-images $CACHE_FLAG
+
 echo "Rebuild complete. Logs: docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml logs -f"

script/local-release

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Build huskies, install (codesign-heal wrapper + underlying binary), and if a
+# gateway is running on this host, hot-restart it detached from the current shell
+# so SSH disconnect — e.g. when redeploying from a phone — doesn't kill it.
+#
+# Skips the restart silently if no gateway is running. Errors loudly if more
+# than one matches, so we don't restart the wrong one.
+#
+# Pass --skip-check to bypass `script/check` (useful for docs / build-script
+# changes you've already verified).
+#
+# On relaunch failure the previous binary is restored from
+# ~/bin/huskies-bin.prev and re-launched, so a bad deploy doesn't leave the
+# host without a working gateway.
+#
+# After a `cp` or download the binary loses its ad-hoc signature and macOS
+# SIGKILLs it silently on Apple Silicon. The wrapper at ~/bin/huskies re-signs
+# the underlying binary at ~/bin/huskies-bin whenever codesign validation
+# fails, then execs it. Normal launches (already signed) are zero-overhead.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
+LOG_DIR="${HUSKIES_LOG_DIR:-$PROJECT_ROOT/logs}"
+GATEWAY_PATTERN='huskies .*--gateway'
+BIN_DIR="${HOME}/bin"
+UNDERLYING="${BIN_DIR}/huskies-bin"
+WRAPPER="${BIN_DIR}/huskies"
+PREV_BIN="${BIN_DIR}/huskies-bin.prev"
+NEW_BIN="${PROJECT_ROOT}/target/release/huskies"
+
+SKIP_CHECK=0
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  case "$arg" in
+    --skip-check) SKIP_CHECK=1 ;;
+    -h|--help) sed -n '2,17p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
+    *) echo "Unknown arg: $arg (use --help)" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+if [ "$SKIP_CHECK" -eq 0 ] && [ -x "$SCRIPT_DIR/check" ]; then
+  echo "=== Running script/check ==="
+  "$SCRIPT_DIR/check"
+fi
+
+echo "=== Building release binary ==="
+cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
+cargo build --release --bin huskies
+
+mkdir -p "$BIN_DIR"
+
+# Snapshot current binary so we can roll back if the relaunch fails.
+PREV_VERSION=""
+if [ -x "$UNDERLYING" ]; then
+  PREV_VERSION="$("$UNDERLYING" --version 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
+  cp "$UNDERLYING" "$PREV_BIN"
+fi
+
+cp "$NEW_BIN" "$UNDERLYING"
+chmod +x "$UNDERLYING"
+codesign -s - -f "$UNDERLYING" 2>/dev/null
+NEW_VERSION="$("$UNDERLYING" --version 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
+echo "==> Installed binary:  ${UNDERLYING}"
+if [ -n "$PREV_VERSION" ]; then
+  echo "    version: $PREV_VERSION  →  $NEW_VERSION"
+else
+  echo "    version: $NEW_VERSION (no prior install)"
+fi
+
+cat > "${WRAPPER}" << 'WRAPPER_EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Codesign-heal wrapper — re-signs ~/bin/huskies-bin if the signature is
+# missing or invalid, then execs the binary.  Logs only when it re-signs.
+BIN="${HOME}/bin/huskies-bin"
+if ! codesign --verify --quiet "${BIN}" 2>/dev/null; then
+    codesign -s - "${BIN}"
+    echo "[codesign-heal] re-signed ~/bin/huskies-bin" >&2
+fi
+exec "${BIN}" "$@"
+WRAPPER_EOF
+chmod +x "${WRAPPER}"
+echo "==> Installed wrapper: ${WRAPPER}"
+
+# ── Hot-restart gateway if one is running ─────────────────────────────
+collect_descendants() {
+  local pid="$1" kid
+  for kid in $(pgrep -P "$pid" 2>/dev/null); do
+    collect_descendants "$kid"
+    printf '%s\n' "$kid"
+  done
+}
+
+GATEWAY_PIDS="$(pgrep -f "$GATEWAY_PATTERN" || true)"
+if [ -z "$GATEWAY_PIDS" ]; then
+  echo "==> No running gateway found; install complete."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "$(echo "$GATEWAY_PIDS" | wc -l)" -gt 1 ]; then
+  echo "Error: multiple gateway processes match '${GATEWAY_PATTERN}':" >&2
+  ps -p $GATEWAY_PIDS -o pid,args >&2 || true
+  echo "Refusing to guess which to restart." >&2
+  exit 3
+fi
+
+GATEWAY_PID="$GATEWAY_PIDS"
+GATEWAY_ARGS="$(ps -p "$GATEWAY_PID" -o args= | sed -E 's@^[^ ]*huskies[^ ]* @@')"
+GATEWAY_CWD="$(lsof -p "$GATEWAY_PID" 2>/dev/null | awk '$4=="cwd"{print $9; exit}')"
+if [ -z "$GATEWAY_CWD" ]; then GATEWAY_CWD="$PWD"; fi
+
+LOG_FILE="$LOG_DIR/gateway-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
+mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"
+
+DESCENDANTS="$(collect_descendants "$GATEWAY_PID" | tr '\n' ' ')"
+echo "==> Stopping gateway tree (pids: $GATEWAY_PID $DESCENDANTS)"
+# Kill descendants depth-first so PTY children die before the gateway, then the gateway.
+for pid in $DESCENDANTS $GATEWAY_PID; do
+  kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+done
+sleep 2
+
+echo "==> Restarting gateway"
+echo "    log: $LOG_FILE"
+(
+  cd "$GATEWAY_CWD"
+  nohup "$WRAPPER" $GATEWAY_ARGS >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 < /dev/null &
+  disown
+)
+
+# Wait up to 10s for the new gateway to appear AND be a different PID.
+NEW_PID=""
+for _ in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do
+  sleep 1
+  candidate="$(pgrep -f "$GATEWAY_PATTERN" 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  if [ -n "$candidate" ] && [ "$candidate" != "$GATEWAY_PID" ]; then
+    NEW_PID="$candidate"
+    break
+  fi
+done
+
+if [ -n "$NEW_PID" ]; then
+  echo "==> Gateway restarted as pid $NEW_PID"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+# ── Rollback ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "Error: new gateway failed to come up within 10s; rolling back" >&2
+if [ -x "$PREV_BIN" ]; then
+  cp "$PREV_BIN" "$UNDERLYING"
+  chmod +x "$UNDERLYING"
+  codesign -s - -f "$UNDERLYING" 2>/dev/null
+  echo "==> Restored previous binary"
+  (
+    cd "$GATEWAY_CWD"
+    nohup "$WRAPPER" $GATEWAY_ARGS >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 < /dev/null &
+    disown
+  )
+  sleep 2
+  if pgrep -f "$GATEWAY_PATTERN" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "==> Gateway restored to previous version"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+echo "Error: rollback failed; gateway is DOWN. Inspect $LOG_FILE." >&2
+exit 1

script/release

@@ -124,19 +124,43 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Categorise merged work items and format names.
+# Supports two subject formats (after stripping the "huskies: merge " prefix):
+#   New: "1063 story Human Readable Name"
+#   Old: "1063_story_human_readable_name"
 FEATURES=""
 FIXES=""
 REFACTORS=""
 while IFS= read -r item; do
   [ -z "$item" ] && continue
-  # Strip the numeric prefix and type to get the human name.
+
-  name=$(echo "$item" | sed -E 's/^[0-9]+_(story|bug|refactor|spike)_//' | tr '_' ' ')
+  # Extract the leading numeric ID (present in both formats).
+  id=$(echo "$item" | grep -oE '^[0-9]+')
+
+  # Detect format and extract human name + type word.
+  if echo "$item" | grep -qE '^[0-9]+ (story|bug|refactor|spike|epic) '; then
+    # New format: "1063 story Human Name Here"
+    type_word=$(echo "$item" | sed -E 's/^[0-9]+ ([a-z]+) .*/\1/')
+    name=$(echo "$item" | sed -E 's/^[0-9]+ [a-z]+ //')
+  else
+    # Legacy slug format: "1063_story_human_name_here"
+    type_word=$(echo "$item" | sed -E 's/^[0-9]+_([a-z]+)_.*/\1/')
+    name=$(echo "$item" | sed -E 's/^[0-9]+_(story|bug|refactor|spike|epic)_//' | tr '_' ' ')
+  fi
+
   # Capitalise first letter.
   name="$(echo "${name:0:1}" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]')${name:1}"
-  case "$item" in
+
-    *_bug_*)     FIXES="${FIXES}- ${name}\n" ;;
+  # Format as "Name (ID)" when a numeric ID was found, plain name otherwise.
-    *_refactor_*) REFACTORS="${REFACTORS}- ${name}\n" ;;
+  if [ -n "$id" ]; then
-    *)           FEATURES="${FEATURES}- ${name}\n" ;;
+    entry="${name} (${id})"
+  else
+    entry="${name}"
+  fi
+
+  case "$type_word" in
+    bug)      FIXES="${FIXES}- ${entry}\n" ;;
+    refactor) REFACTORS="${REFACTORS}- ${entry}\n" ;;
+    *)        FEATURES="${FEATURES}- ${entry}\n" ;;
   esac
 done <<< "$MERGED_RAW"
 
@@ -257,7 +281,13 @@ echo "$RELEASE_BODY"
 # ── Tag & Push ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 echo "==> Tagging ${TAG}..."
 git tag -a "$TAG" -m "Release ${TAG}"
-git push origin "$TAG"
+
+# Push the branch (with the version-bump commit) and the tag together, so
+# the remote branch never lags the release tag. --atomic means both refs
+# land or neither does, avoiding a pushed tag pointing at an unpushed commit.
+BRANCH="$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)"
+echo "==> Pushing ${BRANCH} and ${TAG}..."
+git push --atomic origin "$BRANCH" "$TAG"
 
 # ── Create Gitea Release ──────────────────────────────────────
 echo "==> Creating release on Gitea..."

script/test

@@ -11,10 +11,12 @@ export GIT_CONFIG_VALUE_0=master
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
 PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
 
-# Ordered fail-fast: cheapest deterministic checks first, slowest builds and
+# Ordered fail-fast: cheapest deterministic checks first.  The frontend build
-# test suites last.  `set -euo pipefail` aborts at the first failure, so a fmt
+# must run *before* anything that compiles Rust, because story 1113 introduced
-# or clippy drift never wastes time on a frontend build or a multi-minute
+# a compile-time dependency on `frontend/dist/` via `rust-embed` — a fresh
-# test run.
+# merge worktree without that directory will fail `cargo clippy` on
+# `EmbeddedAssets::iter()` before the frontend build has a chance to populate
+# it.  `set -euo pipefail` aborts at the first failure.
 
 echo "=== Checking Rust formatting ==="
 if cargo fmt --version &>/dev/null; then
@@ -44,22 +46,37 @@ if [ "$_dup_found" -eq 1 ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-echo "=== Running cargo clippy ==="
-cargo clippy --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
-
-echo "=== Checking doc coverage on changed files ==="
-cargo run --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" -p source-map-gen --bin source-map-check --quiet -- --worktree "$PROJECT_ROOT" --base master
-
 echo "=== Building frontend ==="
 if [ -d "$PROJECT_ROOT/frontend" ]; then
   cd "$PROJECT_ROOT/frontend"
-  npm install
+  # The merge gate runs in workspaces whose pre-existing `node_modules` was
+  # populated by an earlier `npm install --omit=dev` (or a partial install).
+  # In that state `npm install` reports "up to date, audited N packages"
+  # without actually adding the missing devDependencies, so the subsequent
+  # `tsc && vite build` fails with `sh: 1: tsc: not found`.
+  #
+  # Repair the install when typescript isn't reachable (story 1086 merge gate
+  # regression).  We probe the on-disk binary rather than relying on PATH so
+  # this also covers the case where `node_modules/.bin/` is missing.
+  if [ ! -x node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc ]; then
+    echo "[script/test] node_modules missing typescript; performing clean install."
+    rm -rf node_modules
+    npm install --include=dev
+  else
+    npm install --include=dev
+  fi
   npm run build
   cd "$PROJECT_ROOT"
 else
   echo "Skipping frontend build (no frontend directory)"
 fi
 
+echo "=== Running cargo clippy ==="
+cargo clippy --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
+
+echo "=== Checking doc coverage on changed files ==="
+cargo run --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" -p source-map-gen --bin source-map-check --quiet -- --worktree "$PROJECT_ROOT" --base master
+
 echo "=== Running Rust tests ==="
 cargo test --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" --bin huskies
 cargo test --manifest-path "$PROJECT_ROOT/Cargo.toml" -p source-map-gen

server/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "huskies"
-version = "0.11.0"
+version = "0.14.0"
 edition = "2024"
 build = "build.rs"
 
@@ -13,12 +13,10 @@ chrono-tz = { workspace = true }
 futures = { workspace = true }
 homedir = { workspace = true }
 ignore = { workspace = true }
-mime_guess = { workspace = true }
 notify = { workspace = true }
 poem = { workspace = true, features = ["websocket"] }
 portable-pty = { workspace = true }
 reqwest = { workspace = true, features = ["json", "stream", "form"] }
-rust-embed = { workspace = true }
 serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = { workspace = true }
 serde_urlencoded = { workspace = true }
@@ -42,13 +40,15 @@ tokio-tungstenite = { workspace = true }
 # against a missing system libsqlite3.
 #
 # The 0.35 pin is the ceiling: rusqlite 0.37 (matrix-sdk-sqlite) requires
-# 0.35.x exactly, and sqlx-sqlite 0.9.0-alpha.1 requires >=0.30, <0.36. Bumping
+# 0.35.x exactly, and sqlx-sqlite 0.9.0 requires >=0.30.1, <0.38. Bumping this
-# this needs one of those upstreams to widen their range first.
+# needs matrix-sdk to move to a newer rusqlite first; sqlx then allows up to
+# 0.37.x.
 libsqlite3-sys = { version = "0.35.0", features = ["bundled"] }
 sqlx = { workspace = true }
 wait-timeout = "0.2.1"
 bft-json-crdt = { path = "../crates/bft-json-crdt", default-features = false, features = ["bft"] }
 source-map-gen = { path = "../crates/source-map-gen" }
+release-manifest = { path = "../crates/release-manifest" }
 ed25519-dalek = { workspace = true }
 rand = { workspace = true }
 nutype = { workspace = true }
@@ -64,5 +64,6 @@ check-cfg = ["cfg(feature, values(\"logging-base\"))"]
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 tempfile = { workspace = true }
-mockito = "1"
+mockito = "1.7.2"
 filetime = { workspace = true }
+serde_yaml = { workspace = true }

server/build.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,20 @@ fn run(cmd: &str, args: &[&str], dir: &Path) {
 fn main() {
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=build.rs");
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-env-changed=PROFILE");
+
+    // Embed the current git commit hash at compile time so `get_version` always
+    // reflects the binary that is actually running, not a potentially-stale file.
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=../.git/HEAD");
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=../.git/refs/");
+    let git_hash = std::process::Command::new("git")
+        .args(["rev-parse", "--short", "HEAD"])
+        .output()
+        .ok()
+        .filter(|o| o.status.success())
+        .and_then(|o| String::from_utf8(o.stdout).ok())
+        .map(|s| s.trim().to_string())
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown".to_string());
+    println!("cargo:rustc-env=BUILD_GIT_HASH={git_hash}");
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=../frontend/package.json");
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=../frontend/package-lock.json");
     println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed=../frontend/vite.config.ts");

server/migrations/20260515000000_split_stage_into_pipeline_status.sql

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+-- Story 1087: split the legacy `stage` column on `pipeline_items` into a
+-- `(pipeline, status)` pair so the read side no longer needs to re-derive the
+-- display column and badge from the stage string.
+--
+-- The migration is additive: `stage` is retained for backwards compatibility
+-- while remaining Step E callers are migrated.  The backup of `pipeline.db`
+-- written by `shadow_write::init` immediately before this migration runs is
+-- the recovery path if the backfill produces an unexpected projection.
+
+ALTER TABLE pipeline_items ADD COLUMN pipeline TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '';
+ALTER TABLE pipeline_items ADD COLUMN status   TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT '';
+
+-- Backfill `pipeline` from the existing `stage` column.  Every wire-form
+-- stage string emitted by `stage_dir_name` maps to exactly one of the seven
+-- Pipeline columns defined in `pipeline_state::types::Pipeline::as_str`.
+-- Legacy directory strings (`1_backlog`, `2_current`, ...) are also handled
+-- so that databases predating story 934 migrate cleanly.
+UPDATE pipeline_items SET pipeline = CASE stage
+    WHEN 'upcoming'            THEN 'backlog'
+    WHEN 'backlog'             THEN 'backlog'
+    WHEN '1_backlog'           THEN 'backlog'
+    WHEN 'coding'              THEN 'coding'
+    WHEN 'blocked'             THEN 'coding'
+    WHEN '2_current'           THEN 'coding'
+    WHEN 'qa'                  THEN 'qa'
+    WHEN 'review_hold'         THEN 'qa'
+    WHEN '3_qa'                THEN 'qa'
+    WHEN 'merge'               THEN 'merge'
+    WHEN 'merge_failure'       THEN 'merge'
+    WHEN 'merge_failure_final' THEN 'merge'
+    WHEN '4_merge'             THEN 'merge'
+    WHEN 'done'                THEN 'done'
+    WHEN '5_done'              THEN 'done'
+    WHEN 'abandoned'           THEN 'closed'
+    WHEN 'superseded'          THEN 'closed'
+    WHEN 'rejected'            THEN 'closed'
+    WHEN 'archived'            THEN 'archived'
+    WHEN '6_archived'          THEN 'archived'
+    WHEN 'frozen'              THEN 'coding'
+    ELSE ''
+END;
+
+-- Backfill `status` (badge) from the existing `stage` column.
+UPDATE pipeline_items SET status = CASE stage
+    WHEN 'frozen'              THEN 'frozen'
+    WHEN 'review_hold'         THEN 'review-hold'
+    WHEN 'blocked'             THEN 'blocked'
+    WHEN 'merge_failure'       THEN 'merge-failure'
+    WHEN 'merge_failure_final' THEN 'merge-failure-final'
+    WHEN 'abandoned'           THEN 'abandoned'
+    WHEN 'superseded'          THEN 'superseded'
+    WHEN 'rejected'            THEN 'rejected'
+    WHEN 'done'                THEN 'done'
+    WHEN '5_done'              THEN 'done'
+    ELSE 'active'
+END;

server/migrations/20260629000000_crdt_snapshot.sql

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+-- Stores a serialized CRDT state snapshot so startup can skip replaying
+-- the full op log.  Only the single most recent snapshot row is kept.
+CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS crdt_snapshot (
+    id          INTEGER PRIMARY KEY CHECK (id = 1),
+    at_seq      INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    max_rowid   INTEGER NOT NULL,
+    state_json  TEXT    NOT NULL,
+    created_at  TEXT    NOT NULL
+);

server/src/agent_mode/context.rs

@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@ pub(super) fn build_agent_app_context(
     );
     let (reconciliation_tx, _) = broadcast::channel(64);
     let (perm_tx, perm_rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::unbounded_channel();
+    let permission_registry = crate::service::permission_router::ResponderRegistry::new();
+    crate::service::permission_router::spawn_permission_router(
+        perm_rx,
+        Arc::clone(&permission_registry),
+    );
     let timer_store = Arc::new(crate::service::timer::TimerStore::load(
         project_root.join(".huskies").join("timers.json"),
     ));
@@ -74,10 +79,11 @@ pub(super) fn build_agent_app_context(
         bot_name: "Agent".to_string(),
         bot_user_id: String::new(),
         ambient_rooms: Arc::new(std::sync::Mutex::new(std::collections::HashSet::new())),
-        perm_rx: Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(perm_rx)),
+        permission_registry,
-        pending_perm_replies: Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(std::collections::HashMap::new())),
+        pending_perm_replies: crate::service::permission_router::PendingPermReplies::new(),
         permission_timeout_secs: 120,
         status: agents.status_broadcaster(),
+        chat_dispatcher: Arc::new(crate::chat::dispatcher::ChatDispatcher::new(1_500)),
     });
     crate::http::context::AppContext {
         state: Arc::new(state),

server/src/agent_mode/loop_ops.rs

@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ pub(super) async fn detect_conflicts(
         our_claims.remove(&story_id);
 
         // Stop any local agent for this story by looking up its name.
-        if let Ok(agent_list) = agents.list_agents() {
+        if let Ok(agent_list) = agents.list_agents().await {
             for info in agent_list {
                 if info.story_id == story_id {
                     let _ = agents
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ pub(super) fn reclaim_timed_out_work(_project_root: &Path) {
 /// Check for completed agents, push their feature branches to the remote,
 /// and report completion via CRDT.
 pub(super) async fn check_completions_and_push(agents: &AgentPool, _project_root: &Path) {
-    let Ok(agent_list) = agents.list_agents() else {
+    let Ok(agent_list) = agents.list_agents().await else {
         return;
     };
 

server/src/agent_mode/mod.rs

@@ -198,10 +198,13 @@ pub async fn run(
         )
     };
 
-    // Replay current pipeline state so subscribers (worktree lifecycle, merge-failure
+    // Reconcile subscriber side effects for the current CRDT state without
-    // auto-spawn) react to any stories already in active stages, then auto-assign.
+    // flooding the broadcast channel (replaces the former replay_current_pipeline_state call).
-    slog!("[agent-mode] Replaying current pipeline state.");
+    slog!("[agent-mode] Running startup reconcile pass.");
-    crate::pipeline_state::replay_current_pipeline_state();
+    let done_retention = crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(&project_root)
+        .map(|c| std::time::Duration::from_secs(c.watcher.done_retention_secs))
+        .unwrap_or_else(|_| std::time::Duration::from_secs(4 * 3600));
+    crate::startup::tick_loop::run_reconcile_pass(&project_root, &agents, done_retention).await;
 
     // Run initial auto-assign.
     slog!("[agent-mode] Initial auto-assign scan.");
@@ -210,6 +213,15 @@ pub async fn run(
     // Track which stories we've claimed so we can detect conflicts.
     let mut our_claims: HashMap<String, f64> = HashMap::new();
 
+    // Low-disk-space watchdog (story 1200 AC1): tracks rate-limit/recovery
+    // state across loop iterations. Thresholds come from the config loaded
+    // at startup; host_id identifies this sled in chat messages and the
+    // gateway dedupe key.
+    let mut disk_watch_state = crate::service::disk_watch::DiskWatchState::default();
+    let disk_watch_host_id =
+        crdt_state::our_node_id().unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown-host".to_string());
+    let disk_watch_status = agents.status_broadcaster();
+
     // Main loop: heartbeat, scan, claim, detect conflicts.
     let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(std::time::Duration::from_secs(SCAN_INTERVAL_SECS));
     loop {
@@ -218,6 +230,16 @@ pub async fn run(
         // Write heartbeat.
         write_heartbeat(&rendezvous_url, port);
 
+        // Low-disk-space check (story 1200 AC1): every tick period.
+        crate::service::disk_watch::io::check_and_notify(
+            &project_root,
+            &config.disk_watch,
+            &mut disk_watch_state,
+            &watcher_tx,
+            &disk_watch_status,
+            &disk_watch_host_id,
+        );
+
         // Scan CRDT for claimable work.
         scan_and_claim(&agents, &project_root, &mut our_claims).await;
 

server/src/agents/gates.rs

@@ -33,16 +33,28 @@ impl GateFailureKind {
     /// Called once when a gate fails to produce a typed kind.  Downstream code
     /// matches on the variant and must not call this on subsequent reads.
     pub fn classify(output: &str) -> Self {
+        // Strip `test <name> ... ok` lines before checking lint-trigger keywords so
+        // a passing test whose name contains e.g. `missing_doc_comments` or `clippy::`
+        // does not produce a false-positive Lint classification (story 1101).
+        let stripped_for_lint: String = output
+            .lines()
+            .filter(|l| {
+                let t = l.trim();
+                !(t.starts_with("test ") && t.ends_with("... ok"))
+            })
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .join("\n");
+        let is_lint = stripped_for_lint.contains("error[clippy::")
+            || stripped_for_lint.contains("warning[clippy::")
+            || stripped_for_lint.contains("missing_doc_comments");
+
         if output.contains("CONFLICT (content):") || output.contains("Merge conflict:") {
             GateFailureKind::ContentConflict
         } else if output.contains("Diff in ") || output.contains("would reformat") {
             GateFailureKind::Fmt
         } else if output.contains("missing-docs direction") {
             GateFailureKind::SourceMapCheck
-        } else if output.contains("error[clippy::")
+        } else if is_lint {
-            || output.contains("warning[clippy::")
-            || output.contains("missing_doc_comments")
-        {
             GateFailureKind::Lint
         } else if output.contains("error[E") {
             // rustc compile errors (e.g. `error[E0063]: missing field`).
@@ -871,6 +883,19 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// Story 1101: a passing test whose name contains a lint trigger keyword
+    /// must NOT produce a Lint classification.
+    #[test]
+    fn classify_does_not_false_positive_on_test_name_substring() {
+        let output = "test agents::gates::tests::classify_lint_from_missing_doc_comments ... ok\n\
+             test result: ok. 1 passed; 0 failed";
+        assert_ne!(
+            GateFailureKind::classify(output),
+            GateFailureKind::Lint,
+            "passing test name containing 'missing_doc_comments' must not classify as Lint"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn classify_source_map_check_from_missing_docs_direction() {
         assert_eq!(

server/src/agents/lifecycle.rs

@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ pub fn move_story_to_done(story_id: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
         Stage::Merge { .. } => PipelineEvent::MergeSucceeded {
             merge_commit: GitSha("accepted".to_string()),
         },
-        Stage::MergeFailure { .. } => PipelineEvent::Accepted,
+        Stage::MergeFailure { .. } | Stage::MergeFailureFinal { .. } => PipelineEvent::Accepted,
         Stage::Coding { .. } | Stage::Qa | Stage::Backlog => PipelineEvent::Close,
         _ => {
             return Err(format!(
@@ -627,6 +627,34 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// Regression test (story 1178): a story in `Stage::MergeFailureFinal`
+    /// whose merge is later retried and succeeds must be movable to Done.
+    /// Before this fix, `move_story_to_done` had no arm for
+    /// `MergeFailureFinal`, so it always returned an error even after a
+    /// real, successful re-merge — the exact "trap state" this story fixes.
+    #[test]
+    fn move_story_to_done_from_merge_failure_final_succeeds() {
+        crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+        crate::db::write_item_with_content(
+            "99952_story_merge_failure_final",
+            "merge_failure_final",
+            "---\nname: Merge Failure Final Test\n---\n# Story\n",
+            crate::db::ItemMeta::named("Merge Failure Final Test"),
+        );
+
+        move_story_to_done("99952_story_merge_failure_final")
+            .expect("move_story_to_done should succeed from MergeFailureFinal");
+
+        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed("99952_story_merge_failure_final")
+            .expect("CRDT read should succeed")
+            .expect("item should exist in CRDT");
+        assert_eq!(
+            item.stage.dir_name(),
+            "done",
+            "item should be in done after move from MergeFailureFinal"
+        );
+    }
+
     // ── item_type_from_id tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     #[test]

server/src/agents/local_prompt.rs

@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@
 //! - `.huskies/README.md`
 //! - `.huskies/specs/00_CONTEXT.md`
 //! - `.huskies/AGENT.md`
-//! - `.huskies/source-map.json` (up to 200 KB; truncated with a log if larger)
 //!
-//! `STACK.md` is intentionally excluded — it is large and changes often; agents
+//! `STACK.md` and `.huskies/source-map.json` are intentionally excluded — they
-//! should grep it on demand.
+//! are large and change often; agents should grep on demand instead.  Earlier
+//! versions of this bundle inlined the source map, which ballooned the orientation
+//! to ~96 KB and drowned out the workflow rules in AGENT.md; the file is still
+//! kept on disk for the merge-time `source-map-check` doc-coverage gate.
 //!
 //! Behaviour contract:
 //! - Files that are missing or empty are skipped silently (no error, no section).
@@ -33,12 +35,6 @@ const ORIENTATION_FILES: &[&str] = &[
     ".huskies/AGENT.md",
 ];
 
-/// Path to the source map (relative to project root), appended after AGENT.md.
-const SOURCE_MAP_REL: &str = ".huskies/source-map.json";
-
-/// Maximum bytes of source-map content to embed in the prompt.
-const SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP: usize = 200 * 1024;
-
 /// Attempt to load the project-local agent prompt by concatenating orientation
 /// files from the project root.
 ///
@@ -60,14 +56,11 @@ pub fn read_project_local_prompt(project_root: &Path) -> Option<String> {
         sections.push((rel_path, trimmed.to_string()));
     }
 
-    // Read source-map.json (after AGENT.md) with a byte cap.
+    if sections.is_empty() {
-    let source_map_content = read_source_map_section(project_root);
-
-    if sections.is_empty() && source_map_content.is_none() {
         return None;
     }
 
-    let mut included_files: Vec<&str> = sections.iter().map(|(name, _)| *name).collect();
+    let included_files: Vec<&str> = sections.iter().map(|(name, _)| *name).collect();
     let mut bundle = String::new();
     for (i, (name, content)) in sections.iter().enumerate() {
         if i > 0 {
@@ -77,15 +70,6 @@ pub fn read_project_local_prompt(project_root: &Path) -> Option<String> {
         bundle.push_str(content);
     }
 
-    if let Some(sm) = source_map_content {
-        if !bundle.is_empty() {
-            bundle.push('\n');
-        }
-        bundle.push_str(&format!("=== {SOURCE_MAP_REL} ===\n"));
-        bundle.push_str(&sm);
-        included_files.push(SOURCE_MAP_REL);
-    }
-
     crate::slog!(
         "[agents] orientation bundle: {} bytes, files: [{}]",
         bundle.len(),
@@ -95,39 +79,6 @@ pub fn read_project_local_prompt(project_root: &Path) -> Option<String> {
     Some(bundle)
 }
 
-/// Read `.huskies/source-map.json` from `project_root`, applying a byte cap.
-///
-/// Returns `None` when the file is absent, unreadable, or empty.
-/// When the content exceeds [`SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP`], truncates at a char
-/// boundary and logs the truncation.
-#[allow(clippy::string_slice)] // cap is walked back to a char boundary before slicing
-fn read_source_map_section(project_root: &Path) -> Option<String> {
-    let path = project_root.join(SOURCE_MAP_REL);
-    let Ok(content) = std::fs::read_to_string(&path) else {
-        return None;
-    };
-    let trimmed = content.trim();
-    if trimmed.is_empty() {
-        return None;
-    }
-    if trimmed.len() > SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP {
-        let mut cap = SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP;
-        while cap > 0 && !trimmed.is_char_boundary(cap) {
-            cap -= 1;
-        }
-        crate::slog!(
-            "[agents] source-map.json truncated: {} bytes > {} byte cap; \
-             including first {} bytes",
-            trimmed.len(),
-            SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP,
-            cap
-        );
-        Some(trimmed[..cap].to_string())
-    } else {
-        Some(trimmed.to_string())
-    }
-}
-
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -310,10 +261,13 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
-    // ── source-map.json tests ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    // ── source-map.json must NOT be inlined into the bundle ──────────────────
+    // The file is kept on disk for the merge-time source-map-check gate, but
+    // inlining it into every agent spawn ballooned the orientation past 96 KB
+    // and drowned out the workflow rules in AGENT.md.
 
     #[test]
-    fn source_map_included_after_agent_md() {
+    fn source_map_not_included_even_when_present() {
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/AGENT.md", "agent content");
         write_file(
@@ -324,92 +278,12 @@ mod tests {
 
         let result = read_project_local_prompt(tmp.path()).unwrap();
         assert!(
-            result.contains("=== .huskies/source-map.json ==="),
+            !result.contains("=== .huskies/source-map.json ==="),
-            "source-map delimiter must be present: {result}"
+            "source-map must not appear as an orientation section: {result}"
         );
         assert!(
-            result.contains(r#""src/lib.rs""#),
+            !result.contains("src/lib.rs"),
-            "source-map content must be present: {result}"
+            "source-map content must not be inlined: {result}"
-        );
-        // source-map section must appear after AGENT.md section
-        let agent_pos = result.find("=== .huskies/AGENT.md ===").unwrap();
-        let sm_pos = result.find("=== .huskies/source-map.json ===").unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            sm_pos > agent_pos,
-            "source-map section must come after AGENT.md section"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn source_map_missing_skipped_silently() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/AGENT.md", "agent content");
-        // source-map.json intentionally absent
-
-        let result = read_project_local_prompt(tmp.path()).unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            !result.contains("source-map.json"),
-            "absent source-map must not create a section: {result}"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn source_map_empty_skipped_silently() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/AGENT.md", "agent content");
-        write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/source-map.json", "");
-
-        let result = read_project_local_prompt(tmp.path()).unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            !result.contains("source-map.json"),
-            "empty source-map must not create a section: {result}"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn source_map_only_returns_some() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        // Only source-map.json present; all orientation files absent.
-        write_file(
-            tmp.path(),
-            ".huskies/source-map.json",
-            r#"{"src/main.rs": {}}"#,
-        );
-
-        let result = read_project_local_prompt(tmp.path());
-        assert!(
-            result.is_some(),
-            "source-map alone must produce Some bundle"
-        );
-        assert!(
-            result.unwrap().contains("=== .huskies/source-map.json ==="),
-            "bundle must contain source-map section"
-        );
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    #[allow(clippy::string_slice)] // sm_start is derived from str::find — always a char boundary
-    fn source_map_truncated_at_byte_cap() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/AGENT.md", "agent");
-        // Build content larger than SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP (200 KB).
-        let big = "x".repeat(SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP + 1024);
-        write_file(tmp.path(), ".huskies/source-map.json", &big);
-
-        let result = read_project_local_prompt(tmp.path()).unwrap();
-        assert!(
-            result.contains("=== .huskies/source-map.json ==="),
-            "truncated source-map must still produce a section: {result}"
-        );
-        // The content length of just the source-map section must be <= SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP.
-        let sm_start = result.find("=== .huskies/source-map.json ===").unwrap()
-            + "=== .huskies/source-map.json ===\n".len();
-        let sm_content = &result[sm_start..];
-        assert!(
-            sm_content.len() <= SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP,
-            "source-map section content must be <= {} bytes, got {}",
-            SOURCE_MAP_BYTE_CAP,
-            sm_content.len()
         );
     }
 }

server/src/agents/merge/mod.rs

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 mod squash;
 
-pub(crate) use squash::run_squash_merge;
+pub(crate) use squash::{merge_lock_is_free, run_squash_merge};
 
 /// Typed outcome of a completed squash-merge operation.
 ///
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ pub struct MergeJob {
     /// than the current server's boot time. This survives `rebuild_and_restart`
     /// (which re-execs and keeps the same PID).
     pub server_start_time: f64,
+    /// Unix timestamp (seconds) when this merge job started, used to compute
+    /// elapsed time for a still-`Running` job.
+    pub started_at: f64,
 }
 
 /// Result of a mergemaster merge operation.
@@ -113,6 +116,11 @@ pub struct MergeReport {
     pub result: MergeResult,
     pub worktree_cleaned_up: bool,
     pub story_archived: bool,
+    /// Path (relative to the project root) of the full untruncated report
+    /// written by `service::merge::io::write_merge_report`, if the write
+    /// succeeded.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub report_path: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]

server/src/agents/merge/squash/mod.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,27 @@ use crate::config::ProjectConfig;
 /// causing `git cherry-pick merge-queue/…` to fail with "bad revision".
 static MERGE_LOCK: Mutex<()> = Mutex::new(());
 
+/// Returns `true` when no squash-merge is currently running, i.e. the merge
+/// lock is free.
+///
+/// Used by the build-directory GC pass (story 1199) to decide whether
+/// `.huskies/merge_workspace` is safe to reclaim. This is a best-effort,
+/// momentary check — the lock is not held across the reclaim itself, so a
+/// merge that starts immediately afterward can still race with GC. That's
+/// acceptable: the GC pass tolerates races and skips on error rather than
+/// failing the whole pass.
+pub(crate) fn merge_lock_is_free() -> bool {
+    MERGE_LOCK.try_lock().is_ok()
+}
+
+/// Resolve the base branch for `project_root` from config, or auto-detect it.
+fn resolve_base_branch(project_root: &Path) -> String {
+    let configured = crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(project_root)
+        .ok()
+        .and_then(|c| c.base_branch);
+    crate::worktree::resolve_base_branch(project_root, configured.as_deref())
+}
+
 pub(crate) fn run_squash_merge(
     project_root: &Path,
     branch: &str,
@@ -31,10 +52,7 @@ pub(crate) fn run_squash_merge(
     // A zero-commit branch produces an empty squash and a silent "nothing to
     // commit" failure.  Catch it early with a grep-able error before any merge
     // work starts.
-    let base_branch = crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(project_root)
+    let base_branch = resolve_base_branch(project_root);
-        .ok()
-        .and_then(|c| c.base_branch.clone())
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| "master".to_string());
 
     let ahead_out = Command::new("git")
         .args(["rev-list", "--count", &format!("{base_branch}..{branch}")])
@@ -124,7 +142,15 @@ pub(crate) fn run_squash_merge(
 
     // ── Commit in the temporary worktree ──────────────────────────
     all_output.push_str("=== git commit ===\n");
-    let commit_msg = format!("huskies: merge {story_id}");
+    // Include human-readable name and item type when the CRDT is available.
+    // Falls back to the bare ID when running outside the server (e.g. in tests).
+    let story_label = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id)
+        .map(|item| {
+            let type_str = item.item_type().map(|t| t.as_str()).unwrap_or("story");
+            format!(" {} {}", type_str, item.name())
+        })
+        .unwrap_or_default();
+    let commit_msg = format!("huskies: merge {story_id}{story_label}");
     let commit = Command::new("git")
         .args(["commit", "-m", &commit_msg])
         .current_dir(&merge_wt_path)
@@ -308,11 +334,6 @@ pub(crate) fn run_squash_merge(
         .map(|o| String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout).trim().to_string())
         .unwrap_or_default();
 
-    let base_branch = crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(project_root)
-        .ok()
-        .and_then(|c| c.base_branch.clone())
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| "master".to_string());
-
     if current_branch != base_branch {
         all_output.push_str(&format!(
             "=== VERIFICATION FAILED: expected branch '{base_branch}' but HEAD is on \
@@ -507,3 +528,5 @@ fn run_merge_quality_gates(
 mod tests_advanced;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests_basic;
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests_changelog;

server/src/agents/merge/squash/tests_basic.rs

@@ -178,6 +178,79 @@ async fn squash_merge_clean_merge_succeeds() {
     );
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn squash_merge_succeeds_on_main_based_repo_with_base_branch_unset() {
+    use std::fs;
+    use tempfile::tempdir;
+
+    let tmp = tempdir().unwrap();
+    let repo = tmp.path();
+
+    // Repo whose default branch is `main` — no `master` branch exists at all,
+    // and no `.huskies/project.toml` sets `base_branch`. run_squash_merge must
+    // auto-detect `main` instead of assuming `master` (bug 1176).
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["init", "-b", "main"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["config", "user.email", "test@test.com"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["config", "user.name", "Test"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["commit", "--allow-empty", "-m", "init"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["checkout", "-b", "feature/story-main_test"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    fs::write(repo.join("new_file.txt"), "new content").unwrap();
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["add", "."])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["commit", "-m", "add new file"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    Command::new("git")
+        .args(["checkout", "main"])
+        .current_dir(repo)
+        .output()
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let result = run_squash_merge(repo, "feature/story-main_test", "main_test").unwrap();
+
+    assert!(
+        matches!(
+            result,
+            super::MergeResult::Success {
+                conflicts_resolved: false,
+                ..
+            }
+        ),
+        "clean merge should succeed on a main-based repo; got: {result:?}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        repo.join("new_file.txt").exists(),
+        "merged file should exist on main"
+    );
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn squash_merge_nonexistent_branch_fails() {
     use tempfile::tempdir;

server/src/agents/merge/squash/tests_changelog.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+//! Regression tests for changelog entry parsing — both legacy-slug and new-format
+//! merge commit subjects must resolve to a human-readable "Name (ID)" entry.
+
+/// Parse a single merge commit subject (after stripping the `huskies: merge ` prefix)
+/// into `(id, type_word, human_name)`.
+///
+/// Returns `None` for subjects that are not recognised merge items.
+fn parse_changelog_entry(item: &str) -> Option<(String, String, String)> {
+    let item = item.trim();
+    if item.is_empty() {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    // Extract leading numeric ID present in both formats.
+    let id: String = item.chars().take_while(|c| c.is_ascii_digit()).collect();
+    if id.is_empty() {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    // Detect format by the character immediately following the digits.
+    // id contains only ASCII digits so id.len() is a valid char boundary.
+    let rest = item.get(id.len()..).unwrap_or("");
+    if let Some(space_rest) = rest.strip_prefix(' ') {
+        // New format: "1063 story Human Name Here"
+        let mut words = space_rest.splitn(2, ' ');
+        let type_word = words.next().unwrap_or("story").to_string();
+        let name = words.next().unwrap_or("").trim().to_string();
+        if name.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some((id, type_word, name))
+    } else if let Some(slug_rest) = rest.strip_prefix('_') {
+        // Legacy slug format: "1063_story_human_name_here"
+        let mut parts = slug_rest.splitn(2, '_');
+        let type_word = parts.next().unwrap_or("story").to_string();
+        let slug = parts.next().unwrap_or("").replace('_', " ");
+        if slug.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some((id, type_word, slug))
+    } else {
+        None
+    }
+}
+
+/// Format a parsed entry as "Human Name (ID)".
+fn format_entry(id: &str, name: &str) -> String {
+    let mut chars = name.chars();
+    let capitalised = match chars.next() {
+        None => String::new(),
+        Some(c) => c.to_uppercase().collect::<String>() + chars.as_str(),
+    };
+    format!("{capitalised} ({id})")
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_new_format_story_resolves_to_name_and_id() {
+    let item = "1063 story Tee pipeline events into gateway context";
+    let (id, _type_word, name) = parse_changelog_entry(item).expect("should parse new format");
+    assert_eq!(id, "1063");
+    assert_eq!(
+        format_entry(&id, &name),
+        "Tee pipeline events into gateway context (1063)"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_new_format_bug_resolves_to_name_and_id() {
+    let item = "999 bug Fix the broken auth token";
+    let (id, type_word, name) = parse_changelog_entry(item).expect("should parse new-format bug");
+    assert_eq!(id, "999");
+    assert_eq!(type_word, "bug");
+    assert_eq!(format_entry(&id, &name), "Fix the broken auth token (999)");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_new_format_refactor_resolves_to_name_and_id() {
+    let item = "777 refactor Extract config parsing";
+    let (id, type_word, name) = parse_changelog_entry(item).expect("should parse refactor");
+    assert_eq!(type_word, "refactor");
+    assert_eq!(format_entry(&id, &name), "Extract config parsing (777)");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_legacy_slug_story_resolves_to_name_and_id() {
+    let item = "1063_story_tee_pipeline_events_into_gateway_context";
+    let (id, _type_word, name) = parse_changelog_entry(item).expect("should parse legacy slug");
+    assert_eq!(id, "1063");
+    assert_eq!(
+        format_entry(&id, &name),
+        "Tee pipeline events into gateway context (1063)"
+    );
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_legacy_slug_bug_resolves_to_name_and_id() {
+    let item = "999_bug_fix_the_broken_auth_token";
+    let (id, type_word, name) = parse_changelog_entry(item).expect("should parse legacy bug slug");
+    assert_eq!(id, "999");
+    assert_eq!(type_word, "bug");
+    assert_eq!(format_entry(&id, &name), "Fix the broken auth token (999)");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn changelog_mixed_fixture_all_entries_have_human_names() {
+    // Fixture: a mix of legacy-slug and new-format subjects (as they appear
+    // after stripping the "huskies: merge " prefix from the git log).
+    let fixture = [
+        // Legacy slug formats (pre-migration)
+        "1001_story_add_matrix_transport",
+        "1002_bug_fix_crdt_sync_disconnect",
+        "1003_refactor_extract_gateway_config",
+        // New format (post-story-1069)
+        "1050 story Add agent pool auto-assign",
+        "1063 story Tee pipeline events into gateway context",
+        "1064 bug Stop lagged handler re-emitting via same channel",
+        "1065 refactor Move squash merge into own module",
+    ];
+
+    for item in &fixture {
+        let result = parse_changelog_entry(item);
+        assert!(result.is_some(), "failed to parse merge subject: {item:?}");
+        let (id, _type_word, name) = result.unwrap();
+        let entry = format_entry(&id, &name);
+        // Every entry must contain the numeric ID in parentheses.
+        assert!(
+            entry.contains(&format!("({id})")),
+            "entry missing numeric ID: {entry:?}"
+        );
+        // Name must not be empty or just whitespace.
+        assert!(
+            !name.trim().is_empty(),
+            "empty human name for item: {item:?}"
+        );
+        // Name must not be a raw slug (contains underscores as word separators).
+        // (Underscores are OK inside words like "auto-assign" but not as spaces.)
+        assert!(
+            !name.contains('_'),
+            "name still contains underscores (slug not decoded): {name:?}"
+        );
+    }
+}

server/src/agents/mod.rs

@@ -161,6 +161,42 @@ pub fn pipeline_stage(agent_name: &str) -> PipelineStage {
     }
 }
 
+/// Map a pipeline [`Stage`] to the canonical [`PipelineStage`] for LLM agent spawning.
+///
+/// Returns `None` for stages where no LLM agent should be active (terminal states,
+/// blocked, frozen, or unclassified merge failures requiring human intervention).
+/// Returns `Some(stage)` naming the single LLM-agent type that may run on this story.
+/// Used by `validate_agent_stage` and `reconcile_canonical_agents` to enforce the
+/// one-agent-per-story invariant (story 1100).
+pub fn canonical_pipeline_stage(s: &crate::pipeline_state::Stage) -> Option<PipelineStage> {
+    use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, Stage};
+    match s {
+        Stage::Coding { .. } => Some(PipelineStage::Coder),
+        Stage::Qa => Some(PipelineStage::Qa),
+        Stage::Merge { .. } => Some(PipelineStage::Mergemaster),
+        Stage::MergeFailure {
+            kind: MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(_),
+            ..
+        } => Some(PipelineStage::Mergemaster),
+        Stage::MergeFailure {
+            kind: MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed(_),
+            ..
+        } => Some(PipelineStage::Coder),
+        Stage::MergeFailureFinal { .. } => Some(PipelineStage::Mergemaster),
+        Stage::Upcoming
+        | Stage::Backlog
+        | Stage::MergeFailure { .. }
+        | Stage::Done { .. }
+        | Stage::Blocked { .. }
+        | Stage::Archived { .. }
+        | Stage::Frozen { .. }
+        | Stage::ReviewHold { .. }
+        | Stage::Abandoned { .. }
+        | Stage::Superseded { .. }
+        | Stage::Rejected { .. } => None,
+    }
+}
+
 /// Determine the pipeline stage for a configured agent.
 ///
 /// Prefers the explicit `stage` config field (added in Bug 150) over the

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/auto_assign.rs

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ mod tests {
         // task eventually fails.
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let has_pending = agents.values().any(|a| {
             a.agent_name == "coder-1"
                 && matches!(a.status, AgentStatus::Pending | AgentStatus::Running)
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ mod tests {
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(root).await;
 
         // No agent should have been started for the spike.
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         assert!(
             agents.is_empty(),
             "No agents should be assigned to a spike with review_hold"
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // coder-1 must NOT have been assigned to the QA story (wrong stage).
         let coder_assigned_to_qa = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
             key.contains("9930_story_qa1")
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // coder-1 should have been picked (it matches the stage and is preferred).
         let coder1_assigned = agents.values().any(|a| {
             a.agent_name == "coder-1"
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ mod tests {
         // Must not panic.
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // No agent should be assigned to the specific QA story (coder-1 may
         // be assigned to leaked 2_current items from the global CRDT store).
         let assigned_to_qa_story = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ mod tests {
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(root).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // Filter to only agents assigned to our specific story to avoid
         // interference from other tests sharing the global CRDT store.
         let assigned_to_our_story = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
@@ -347,7 +347,7 @@ mod tests {
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(root).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let has_pending = agents.values().any(|a| {
             matches!(
                 a.status,
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ mod tests {
         let _ = tokio::join!(t1, t2);
 
         // At most one Pending/Running entry should exist for coder-1.
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let active_coder_count = agents
             .values()
             .filter(|a| {
@@ -569,14 +569,15 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
-    // ── AC4: startup event replay + pool reconstruction ──────────────────
+    // ── AC4: startup reconcile + pool reconstruction ──────────────────
 
     /// AC4: Simulates a server restart by seeding the CRDT with a story in
-    /// Coding stage, calling `replay_current_pipeline_state` (the new startup
+    /// Coding stage, then running `auto_assign_available_work` (startup no longer
-    /// path), then `auto_assign_available_work`.  Asserts the pool ends in the
+    /// floods the broadcast channel via replay — it calls reconcile functions
-    /// expected state: exactly one agent assigned to the story.
+    /// directly).  Asserts the pool ends in the expected state: exactly one agent
+    /// assigned to the story, and a second pass does not double-spawn.
     #[tokio::test]
-    async fn startup_replay_followed_by_auto_assign_assigns_agent_once() {
+    async fn startup_auto_assign_assigns_agent_once() {
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let sk = tmp.path().join(".huskies");
         std::fs::create_dir_all(&sk).unwrap();
@@ -597,12 +598,11 @@ mod tests {
 
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
 
-        // Simulate startup: replay current state, then auto-assign.
+        // First auto-assign pass.
-        crate::pipeline_state::replay_current_pipeline_state();
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
         let count_after_first = {
-            let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+            let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
             agents
                 .iter()
                 .filter(|(key, a)| {
@@ -612,12 +612,11 @@ mod tests {
                 .count()
         };
 
-        // AC3 (idempotency): replaying twice must not double-spawn agents.
+        // Second pass (idempotency): must not double-spawn agents.
-        crate::pipeline_state::replay_current_pipeline_state();
         pool.auto_assign_available_work(tmp.path()).await;
 
         let count_after_second = {
-            let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+            let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
             agents
                 .iter()
                 .filter(|(key, a)| {
@@ -629,11 +628,11 @@ mod tests {
 
         assert!(
             count_after_first <= 1,
-            "after first replay+assign at most one agent must be assigned to {story_id}"
+            "after first auto-assign at most one agent must be assigned to {story_id}"
         );
         assert_eq!(
             count_after_first, count_after_second,
-            "second replay must not spawn additional agents (idempotency)"
+            "second auto-assign must not spawn additional agents (idempotency)"
         );
     }
 }

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/backlog.rs

@@ -1,29 +1,39 @@
-//! Backlog promotion: scan `1_backlog/` and promote stories whose `depends_on` are all met.
+//! Backlog promotion: scan items in `Pipeline::Backlog` and promote stories whose `depends_on` are all met.
 
-use crate::pipeline_state::Stage;
+use crate::pipeline_state::Pipeline;
 use crate::slog;
 use crate::slog_warn;
 
 use super::super::AgentPool;
-use super::scan::scan_stage_items;
 use super::story_checks::{check_archived_dependencies, has_unmet_dependencies};
 
 impl AgentPool {
-    /// Scan `1_backlog/` and promote any story whose `depends_on` are all met.
+    /// Scan items in `Pipeline::Backlog` and promote any story whose `depends_on` are all met.
     ///
     /// A story is only promoted if it explicitly lists `depends_on` AND every
-    /// listed dependency has reached `5_done` or `6_archived`.  Stories with no
+    /// listed dependency has reached `Pipeline::Done` or `Pipeline::Archived`.
-    /// `depends_on` are left in the backlog for human scheduling.
+    /// Stories with no `depends_on` are left in the backlog for human scheduling.
     ///
-    /// **Archived dep semantics:** a dep in `6_archived` counts as satisfied (since
+    /// **Archived dep semantics:** a dep in `Pipeline::Archived` counts as satisfied
-    /// stories auto-sweep from `5_done` to `6_archived` after 4 hours, and the
+    /// (since stories auto-sweep from `Done` to `Archived` after 4 hours, and the
     /// dependent story would normally already be promoted by then).  However, if a
-    /// dep was already in `6_archived` when the dependent story was created (e.g. it
+    /// dep was already archived when the dependent story was created (e.g. it
     /// was abandoned/superseded before the dependent existed), a prominent warning is
     /// logged so the user can see the promotion was triggered by an archived dep, not
     /// a clean completion.
     pub(super) fn promote_ready_backlog_stories(&self) {
-        let items = scan_stage_items(&Stage::Backlog);
+        // Story 1086: scan by Pipeline column, not Stage variant. Pipeline::Backlog
+        // covers Stage::Upcoming and Stage::Backlog uniformly.
+        let items: Vec<String> = {
+            use std::collections::BTreeSet;
+            let mut ids = BTreeSet::new();
+            for item in crate::pipeline_state::read_all_typed() {
+                if item.stage.pipeline() == Pipeline::Backlog {
+                    ids.insert(item.story_id.0.clone());
+                }
+            }
+            ids.into_iter().collect()
+        };
         for story_id in &items {
             // Only promote stories that explicitly declare dependencies
             // (story 929: read from the CRDT register, not YAML).

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/merge.rs

@@ -65,27 +65,43 @@ impl AgentPool {
             // AC6: Detect empty-diff stories before starting the merge pipeline.
             // If the worktree has no commits on the feature branch, block the
             // story immediately via the state machine — no merge job needed.
-            if let Some(wt_path) = worktree::find_worktree_path(project_root, story_id)
+            //
-                && !crate::agents::gates::worktree_has_committed_work(&wt_path)
+            // Bug 1170: worktree_has_committed_work shells out to `git log`
-            {
+            // synchronously. assign_merge_stage runs on the shared tokio
-                let empty_diff_reason = "Feature branch has no code changes — the coder agent \
+            // runtime (it's invoked reactively on every CRDT transition, incl.
-                     did not produce any commits.";
+            // unblock), so calling it inline here blocked a runtime worker
-                slog_warn!(
+            // thread for the duration of the git subprocess — with a story
-                    "[auto-assign] Story '{story_id}' in 4_merge/ has no commits \
+            // whose worktree/agent had crashed, that call could hang
-                     on feature branch. Blocking via state machine."
+            // indefinitely and stall /health and the liveness heartbeat along
-                );
+            // with it. Run it on the blocking-thread pool instead.
-                if let Err(e) =
+            if let Some(wt_path) = worktree::find_worktree_path(project_root, story_id) {
-                    crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_blocked(story_id, empty_diff_reason)
+                let has_commits = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
-                {
+                    crate::agents::gates::worktree_has_committed_work(&wt_path)
-                    slog_error!("[auto-assign] Failed to transition '{story_id}' to Blocked: {e}");
+                })
+                .await
+                .unwrap_or(false);
+                if !has_commits {
+                    let empty_diff_reason = "Feature branch has no code changes — the coder agent \
+                         did not produce any commits.";
+                    slog_warn!(
+                        "[auto-assign] Story '{story_id}' in 4_merge/ has no commits \
+                         on feature branch. Blocking via state machine."
+                    );
+                    if let Err(e) =
+                        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_blocked(story_id, empty_diff_reason)
+                    {
+                        slog_error!(
+                            "[auto-assign] Failed to transition '{story_id}' to Blocked: {e}"
+                        );
+                    }
+                    let _ = self
+                        .watcher_tx
+                        .send(crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent::StoryBlocked {
+                            story_id: story_id.to_string(),
+                            reason: empty_diff_reason.to_string(),
+                        });
+                    continue;
                 }
-                let _ = self
-                    .watcher_tx
-                    .send(crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent::StoryBlocked {
-                        story_id: story_id.to_string(),
-                        reason: empty_diff_reason.to_string(),
-                    });
-                continue;
             }
 
             // Skip if a merge job is already running for this story (e.g. triggered
@@ -99,13 +115,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
             // Skip if an explicit mergemaster LLM agent is already running
             // (operator-driven failure recovery path).
             let has_mergemaster = {
-                let agents = match self.agents.lock() {
+                let agents = self.agents.lock().await;
-                    Ok(a) => a,
-                    Err(e) => {
-                        slog_error!("[auto-assign] Failed to lock agents: {e}");
-                        break;
-                    }
-                };
                 is_story_assigned_for_stage(config, &agents, story_id, &PipelineStage::Mergemaster)
             };
             if has_mergemaster {
@@ -117,3 +127,89 @@ impl AgentPool {
         }
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::super::super::AgentPool;
+    use crate::config::ProjectConfig;
+    use std::sync::Arc;
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, Ordering};
+
+    /// Bug 1170 regression: `assign_merge_stage` used to call
+    /// `worktree_has_committed_work` (which shells out to `git`) directly on
+    /// the async runtime. For a story with a crashed/unassignable agent
+    /// sitting in `4_merge/`, that synchronous subprocess call had no yield
+    /// point, so on a runtime with few worker threads it starved every other
+    /// task — including the liveness heartbeat and `/health` — for the whole
+    /// scan. After wrapping the call in `spawn_blocking`, the executor stays
+    /// free to interleave other work while the git subprocess runs
+    /// off-runtime.
+    ///
+    /// This reproduces the unblock → merge-auto-assign path: a story sits in
+    /// `4_merge/` with no active agent entry (the crashed/unassignable case)
+    /// and a worktree directory that isn't a real git repo, forcing every
+    /// `git` invocation in the scan to fail — but only after paying the
+    /// process fork/exec cost, which is what stalls a non-yielding runtime.
+    #[tokio::test(flavor = "multi_thread", worker_threads = 1)]
+    async fn assign_merge_stage_does_not_stall_liveness_heartbeat() {
+        crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let root = tmp.path().to_path_buf();
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(root.join(".huskies")).unwrap();
+        std::fs::write(root.join(".huskies/project.toml"), "").unwrap();
+
+        let worktrees_dir = root.join(".huskies/worktrees");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&worktrees_dir).unwrap();
+
+        // Simulate several stories stuck in 4_merge/ with a crashed/unassignable
+        // agent: each has a worktree directory (so find_worktree_path succeeds
+        // and the git-shelling check runs) but is not a real git repo and has
+        // no active agent entry in the pool.
+        const STORY_COUNT: usize = 25;
+        for i in 0..STORY_COUNT {
+            let story_id = format!("11700_merge_{i:03}");
+            std::fs::create_dir_all(worktrees_dir.join(&story_id)).unwrap();
+            crate::db::write_item_with_content(
+                &story_id,
+                "4_merge",
+                "---\nname: Crashed Merge\n---\n",
+                crate::db::ItemMeta::named("Crashed Merge"),
+            );
+        }
+
+        let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3200);
+        let config = ProjectConfig::load(&root).unwrap_or_default();
+
+        // Stand in for the liveness heartbeat (tick_loop.rs's
+        // spawn_liveness_tick) and /health polling: a tight-interval task
+        // racing the merge scan on the single-worker-thread runtime.
+        let ticks = Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+        let ticks_clone = Arc::clone(&ticks);
+        let heartbeat = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            loop {
+                tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(2)).await;
+                ticks_clone.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+            }
+        });
+
+        let start = std::time::Instant::now();
+        pool.assign_merge_stage(&root, &config).await;
+        let elapsed = start.elapsed();
+
+        heartbeat.abort();
+        let observed_ticks = ticks.load(Ordering::SeqCst);
+
+        // With a 2ms heartbeat cadence, an unstalled runtime should have
+        // fired roughly elapsed/2ms ticks. Require at least a quarter of that
+        // as a generous floor — a stalled runtime (pre-fix) produces ~0 ticks
+        // because the single worker thread never yields during the scan.
+        let expected_min_ticks = (elapsed.as_millis() / 2 / 4) as u64;
+        assert!(
+            observed_ticks >= expected_min_ticks,
+            "liveness heartbeat stalled during assign_merge_stage: {observed_ticks} tick(s) \
+             over {elapsed:?} (expected at least ~{expected_min_ticks}); the merge scan likely \
+             blocked the tokio runtime instead of yielding via spawn_blocking"
+        );
+    }
+}

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/merge_failure_block_subscriber.rs

@@ -1,52 +1,146 @@
-//! TransitionFired subscriber that auto-blocks stories after N consecutive MergeFailure transitions.
+//! TransitionFired subscriber that owns the consecutive-MergeFailure budget:
+//! auto-blocks stories at the threshold and auto-retries `GatesFailed`
+//! failures below it.
 //!
 //! Listens on the pipeline transition broadcast channel and, for each story,
 //! counts how many times it has entered [`Stage::MergeFailure`] consecutively.
-//! When the count reaches the configurable threshold (default 3), the story is
+//! One counter drives two policies sharing the `merge_failure_block_threshold`
-//! transitioned to [`Stage::Blocked`] with a reason that names the failure kind.
+//! budget (default 3):
 //!
-//! The counter for a story resets whenever a non-`MergeFailure` transition fires
+//! - **Below the threshold**, a `GatesFailed` failure schedules a delayed
-//! for that story (e.g. after a successful merge or a `FixupRequested` demotion
+//!   re-trigger of the deterministic server-side merge (story 1185) — gates
-//! back to coding).
+//!   failures are dominated by transients (flaky tests, stale base) that a
+//!   plain re-run fixes.  Other kinds still count toward the budget but are
+//!   not retried: `ConflictDetected` has its own mergemaster recovery path via
+//!   [`super::merge_failure_subscriber`]; `EmptyDiff`/`NoCommits`/`Other`
+//!   require human intervention.
+//! - **At the threshold**, the story is transitioned to [`Stage::Blocked`]
+//!   with a reason naming the failure kind.
+//!
+//! The counter resets when the story leaves `MergeFailure` for a real reason
+//! (successful merge, `FixupRequested`, `Block`), but **not** on
+//! [`PipelineEvent::MergeRetryStarted`] — that is the `MergeFailure → Merge`
+//! bounce a retry itself causes.  Treating it as a reset made the budget
+//! unreachable and let a deterministic gates failure retry forever (1185
+//! review finding 1); counting across the bounce is what makes the budget
+//! real.
+//!
+//! Bug 1025: while a mergemaster is actively running on the story, its
+//! iteration loop (squash → fail → fix → retry) generates multiple
+//! MergeFailure transitions.  Those are NOT consecutive give-ups — they are
+//! recovery iterations in progress.  We neither count nor schedule retries
+//! while a mergemaster is in the pool for the story.
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::sync::Mutex;
+use std::time::Duration;
 
-use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, PipelineEvent, Stage, StoryId};
+use crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent;
+use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, PipelineEvent, Stage, Status, StoryId};
 use crate::slog;
 use crate::slog_warn;
 
 use super::super::super::PipelineStage;
 use super::super::AgentPool;
 use super::scan::is_story_assigned_for_stage;
+use super::story_checks::{
+    has_review_hold, has_unmet_dependencies, is_story_blocked, is_story_frozen,
+};
 
-/// Spawn a background task that blocks stories after N consecutive `MergeFailure` transitions.
+/// Delay before an auto-retry re-triggers the server-side merge for a
+/// `GatesFailed` failure.  Gives transient conditions (a concurrently landing
+/// master merge, an exhausted runner) a moment to clear; retrying instantly
+/// would just replay the same failure.
+const AUTO_RETRY_DELAY: Duration = Duration::from_secs(30);
+
+/// Per-story scheduling generation, shared between the subscriber loop and the
+/// delayed retry tasks it spawns.
 ///
-/// Subscribes to the pipeline transition broadcast channel and tracks a per-story
+/// Every scheduled retry captures the generation current at schedule time; the
-/// consecutive-failure counter.  When a story's count reaches the threshold configured
+/// timer only acts if that generation is still current when it fires.  The
-/// in `project.toml` (`merge_failure_block_threshold`, default 3), the story is
+/// subscriber bumps the generation on every (re)schedule and clears the entry
-/// transitioned to `Stage::Blocked` with a reason that names the failure kind.
+/// on counter reset, so stale timers left over from an earlier failure cycle
+/// become no-ops instead of firing unaccounted retries (1185 review finding 6).
+type Generations = Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, u64>>>;
+
+/// What the subscriber decided to do about one transition.  Split out from the
+/// event loop so the counter/budget policy is synchronous and unit-testable.
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum Decision {
+    /// Nothing to do (not a MergeFailure, recovery in progress, retry bounce,
+    /// budget disabled, or a non-retryable kind below the threshold).
+    Nothing,
+    /// Schedule a delayed auto-retry: this is consecutive failure `attempt` of
+    /// a `budget`-sized budget, and the kind is `GatesFailed`.
+    ScheduleRetry { attempt: u32, budget: u32 },
+    /// The budget is exhausted: block the story.
+    Block { count: u32 },
+}
+
+/// Reconcile: no-op for the periodic pass.
 ///
-/// The counter resets when the story leaves `MergeFailure` (e.g. on `FixupRequested`,
+/// The consecutive-failure counter is in-memory and cannot be reconstructed
-/// `ReQueuedForQa`, or a successful merge via `Unblock → Merge → Done`).
+/// from CRDT state (only the current stage is stored, not the failure
-///
+/// history).  Restart catch-up for stories already parked in
-/// Bug 1025: while a mergemaster is actively running on the story, its
+/// `MergeFailure{GatesFailed}` is handled once, at subscriber startup, by
-/// iteration loop (squash → fail → fix → retry) generates multiple
+/// [`reconcile_stranded_gates_failed`] — running it from the periodic
-/// MergeFailure transitions.  Those are NOT consecutive give-ups — they are
+/// reconciler instead would re-schedule retries for budget-exhausted stories
-/// recovery iterations in progress.  We skip counter increments while a
+/// on every tick, reintroducing the unbounded-retry bug the startup-only scan
-/// mergemaster is in the pool for the story; the counter only increments on
+/// avoids.
-/// transitions that happen with no recovery agent attached.
+pub(crate) fn reconcile_merge_failure_block() {}
+
+/// Spawn the background task that owns the consecutive-MergeFailure budget:
+/// auto-retry for `GatesFailed` below the threshold, auto-block at it.
 pub(crate) fn spawn_merge_failure_block_subscriber(pool: Arc<AgentPool>, project_root: PathBuf) {
     let mut rx = crate::pipeline_state::subscribe_transitions();
     tokio::spawn(async move {
         let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
+        let generations: Generations = Generations::default();
+
+        // One-shot restart catch-up: stories already sitting in GatesFailed
+        // when the process starts will never fire another transition on their
+        // own, so without this they'd silently lose auto-retry coverage
+        // (1185 review finding 3).
+        reconcile_stranded_gates_failed(&pool, &project_root, &mut counters, &generations).await;
+
         loop {
             match rx.recv().await {
                 Ok(fired) => {
                     let recovery_running =
-                        is_mergemaster_running(&pool, &project_root, &fired.story_id.0);
+                        is_mergemaster_running(&pool, &project_root, &fired.story_id.0).await;
-                    on_transition(&project_root, &fired, &mut counters, recovery_running);
+                    let threshold = load_threshold(&project_root).await;
+                    match decide(&fired, &mut counters, recovery_running, threshold) {
+                        Decision::Nothing => {
+                            // A real departure from MergeFailure also
+                            // invalidates any pending retry timer.
+                            if fired.after.status() != Status::MergeFailure
+                                && !matches!(fired.event, PipelineEvent::MergeRetryStarted)
+                            {
+                                invalidate_generation(&generations, &fired.story_id.0);
+                            }
+                        }
+                        Decision::ScheduleRetry { attempt, budget } => {
+                            schedule_auto_retry(
+                                Arc::clone(&pool),
+                                project_root.clone(),
+                                fired.story_id.0.clone(),
+                                attempt,
+                                budget,
+                                Arc::clone(&generations),
+                            );
+                        }
+                        Decision::Block { count } => {
+                            let kind = counters
+                                .get(&fired.story_id)
+                                .map(|(_, k)| k.clone())
+                                .unwrap_or(MergeFailureKind::Other(String::new()));
+                            apply_block(&fired.story_id, count, &kind);
+                            counters.remove(&fired.story_id);
+                            invalidate_generation(&generations, &fired.story_id.0);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
                 Err(tokio::sync::broadcast::error::RecvError::Lagged(n)) => {
                     slog_warn!(
@@ -60,87 +154,294 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_merge_failure_block_subscriber(pool: Arc<AgentPool>, project
     });
 }
 
-/// Return true if a mergemaster agent is currently in the pool for `story_id`.
+/// Pure budget policy: given a fired transition and the per-story counter,
-/// Used to suppress counter increments while recovery is actively iterating
+/// decide whether to do nothing, schedule a `GatesFailed` auto-retry, or
-/// (bug 1025).
+/// block the story.
-fn is_mergemaster_running(pool: &AgentPool, project_root: &Path, story_id: &str) -> bool {
-    let config = match crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(project_root) {
-        Ok(c) => c,
-        Err(_) => return false,
-    };
-    let agents = match pool.agents.lock() {
-        Ok(a) => a,
-        Err(_) => return false,
-    };
-    is_story_assigned_for_stage(&config, &agents, story_id, &PipelineStage::Mergemaster)
-}
-
-/// Handle a single transition event: update counters and emit Block if threshold is reached.
 ///
-/// `recovery_running`: when `true`, a mergemaster is currently in the pool for
+/// `threshold == 0` disables both policies (feature off), matching the
-/// the story and the failure is part of an in-flight recovery loop.  We do NOT
+/// pre-1185 block-subscriber behaviour.
-/// increment the consecutive-failure counter in that case (bug 1025).
+fn decide(
-fn on_transition(
-    project_root: &Path,
     fired: &crate::pipeline_state::TransitionFired,
     counters: &mut HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)>,
     recovery_running: bool,
-) {
+    threshold: u32,
-    match &fired.after {
+) -> Decision {
-        Stage::MergeFailure { kind, .. } => {
+    // Story 1086: gate on the typed `Status` projection — `Status::MergeFailure`
-            if recovery_running {
+    // is precisely the set of stages we count toward the budget.
-                slog!(
+    if fired.after.status() != Status::MergeFailure {
-                    "[merge-block-sub] Story '{}' MergeFailure while mergemaster is running; \
+        // The MergeFailure → Merge bounce caused by a retry (auto or manual)
-                     not counting toward block threshold (recovery in progress).",
+        // is not a recovery: the budget must survive it, or a deterministic
-                    fired.story_id.0
+        // failure retries forever (1185 review finding 1).
-                );
+        if !matches!(fired.event, PipelineEvent::MergeRetryStarted) {
-                return;
-            }
-            let entry = counters
-                .entry(fired.story_id.clone())
-                .or_insert_with(|| (0, kind.clone()));
-            entry.0 += 1;
-            entry.1 = kind.clone();
-
-            let count = entry.0;
-            let threshold = load_threshold(project_root);
-
-            if threshold == 0 {
-                return;
-            }
-
-            if count >= threshold {
-                let kind_str = failure_kind_label(kind);
-                let reason = format!(
-                    "Auto-blocked after {count} consecutive MergeFailure ({kind_str}) transitions."
-                );
-                let story_id = fired.story_id.0.as_str();
-                slog!(
-                    "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' reached {count} consecutive \
-                     MergeFailure ({kind_str}); blocking."
-                );
-                if let Err(e) = crate::pipeline_state::apply_transition(
-                    story_id,
-                    PipelineEvent::Block { reason },
-                    None,
-                ) {
-                    slog_warn!("[merge-block-sub] Failed to block '{story_id}': {e}");
-                } else {
-                    counters.remove(&fired.story_id);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        _ => {
             counters.remove(&fired.story_id);
         }
+        return Decision::Nothing;
+    }
+    let Stage::MergeFailure { kind, .. } = &fired.after else {
+        counters.remove(&fired.story_id);
+        return Decision::Nothing;
+    };
+
+    if recovery_running {
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{}' MergeFailure while mergemaster is running; \
+             not counting toward budget (recovery in progress).",
+            fired.story_id.0
+        );
+        return Decision::Nothing;
+    }
+
+    let entry = counters
+        .entry(fired.story_id.clone())
+        .or_insert_with(|| (0, kind.clone()));
+    entry.0 += 1;
+    entry.1 = kind.clone();
+    let count = entry.0;
+
+    if threshold == 0 {
+        return Decision::Nothing;
+    }
+    if count >= threshold {
+        return Decision::Block { count };
+    }
+    if matches!(kind, MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed(_)) {
+        return Decision::ScheduleRetry {
+            attempt: count,
+            budget: threshold,
+        };
+    }
+    Decision::Nothing
+}
+
+/// Transition `story_id` to `Blocked` with a reason naming the failure kind.
+fn apply_block(story_id: &StoryId, count: u32, kind: &MergeFailureKind) {
+    let kind_str = failure_kind_label(kind);
+    let reason =
+        format!("Auto-blocked after {count} consecutive MergeFailure ({kind_str}) transitions.");
+    let story_id = story_id.0.as_str();
+    slog!(
+        "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' reached {count} consecutive \
+         MergeFailure ({kind_str}); blocking."
+    );
+    if let Err(e) =
+        crate::pipeline_state::apply_transition(story_id, PipelineEvent::Block { reason }, None)
+    {
+        slog_warn!("[merge-block-sub] Failed to block '{story_id}': {e}");
+    }
+}
+
+/// Spawn the delayed auto-retry task for one `GatesFailed` failure.
+///
+/// Bumps the story's scheduling generation so any earlier still-sleeping timer
+/// for the story becomes stale and skips itself.
+fn schedule_auto_retry(
+    pool: Arc<AgentPool>,
+    project_root: PathBuf,
+    story_id: String,
+    attempt: u32,
+    budget: u32,
+    generations: Generations,
+) {
+    let generation = next_generation(&generations, &story_id);
+    slog!(
+        "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' GatesFailed (attempt {attempt}/{budget}); \
+         scheduling auto-retry in {AUTO_RETRY_DELAY:?}."
+    );
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        tokio::time::sleep(AUTO_RETRY_DELAY).await;
+        perform_auto_retry(
+            &pool,
+            &project_root,
+            &story_id,
+            attempt,
+            budget,
+            &generations,
+            generation,
+        )
+        .await;
+    });
+}
+
+/// Fire one auto-retry: re-check that acting is still correct, start the
+/// server-side merge, and notify chat only when the merge actually started
+/// (1185 review finding 7).
+///
+/// Guards, in order:
+/// - the scheduling generation is still current (no newer schedule/reset);
+/// - the story is still parked in `MergeFailure{GatesFailed}`;
+/// - the story is not frozen/blocked/on hold/dep-blocked — the same
+///   eligibility gates `assign_merge_stage` applies (1185 review finding 4);
+/// - no mergemaster is actively recovering the story (1185 review finding 2).
+async fn perform_auto_retry(
+    pool: &Arc<AgentPool>,
+    project_root: &Path,
+    story_id: &str,
+    attempt: u32,
+    budget: u32,
+    generations: &Generations,
+    generation: u64,
+) {
+    if !is_generation_current(generations, story_id, generation) {
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' auto-retry ({attempt}/{budget}) is stale \
+             (superseded or reset); skipping."
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let still_gates_failed = matches!(
+        crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id),
+        Ok(Some(item)) if matches!(
+            item.stage,
+            Stage::MergeFailure {
+                kind: MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed(_),
+                ..
+            }
+        )
+    );
+    if !still_gates_failed {
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' left GatesFailed before auto-retry \
+             ({attempt}/{budget}) fired; skipping."
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if has_review_hold(story_id)
+        || is_story_frozen(story_id)
+        || is_story_blocked(story_id)
+        || has_unmet_dependencies(story_id)
+    {
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' is held/frozen/blocked/dep-blocked; \
+             skipping auto-retry ({attempt}/{budget})."
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if is_mergemaster_running(pool, project_root, story_id).await {
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{story_id}' has an active mergemaster; \
+             skipping auto-retry ({attempt}/{budget}) — recovery owns the story."
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+
+    match pool.start_merge_agent_work(project_root, story_id) {
+        Ok(()) => {
+            slog!(
+                "[merge-block-sub] Auto-retrying merge for '{story_id}' \
+                 (attempt {attempt}/{budget})."
+            );
+            let _ = pool.watcher_tx.send(WatcherEvent::MergeAutoRetry {
+                story_id: story_id.to_string(),
+                attempt,
+                budget,
+            });
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            slog_warn!(
+                "[merge-block-sub] Auto-retry for '{story_id}' ({attempt}/{budget}) \
+                 could not start: {e}; not notifying."
+            );
+        }
     }
 }
 
-/// Load the threshold from project config, falling back to the compiled default.
+/// One-shot startup scan: schedule a first auto-retry for every story already
-fn load_threshold(project_root: &Path) -> u32 {
+/// parked in `MergeFailure{GatesFailed}`.
-    crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(project_root)
+///
-        .map(|c| c.merge_failure_block_threshold)
+/// The pre-restart attempt count is unrecoverable, so the counter restarts at
-        .unwrap_or(3)
+/// 1 — worst case a story gets up to `threshold - 1` extra retries across a
+/// restart, still bounded per process lifetime.
+async fn reconcile_stranded_gates_failed(
+    pool: &Arc<AgentPool>,
+    project_root: &Path,
+    counters: &mut HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)>,
+    generations: &Generations,
+) {
+    let threshold = load_threshold(project_root).await;
+    if threshold == 0 {
+        return;
+    }
+    for item in crate::pipeline_state::read_all_typed() {
+        let Stage::MergeFailure { kind, .. } = &item.stage else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        if !matches!(kind, MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed(_)) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        counters.insert(item.story_id.clone(), (1, kind.clone()));
+        slog!(
+            "[merge-block-sub] Story '{}' found parked in GatesFailed at startup; \
+             scheduling catch-up auto-retry (attempt 1/{threshold}).",
+            item.story_id.0
+        );
+        schedule_auto_retry(
+            Arc::clone(pool),
+            project_root.to_path_buf(),
+            item.story_id.0.clone(),
+            1,
+            threshold,
+            Arc::clone(generations),
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+/// Bump and return the scheduling generation for `story_id`.
+fn next_generation(generations: &Generations, story_id: &str) -> u64 {
+    let mut map = generations.lock().unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner());
+    let entry = map.entry(story_id.to_string()).or_insert(0);
+    *entry += 1;
+    *entry
+}
+
+/// Drop the generation entry for `story_id`, making every pending timer stale.
+fn invalidate_generation(generations: &Generations, story_id: &str) {
+    generations
+        .lock()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner())
+        .remove(story_id);
+}
+
+/// True when `expected` is still the current scheduling generation.
+fn is_generation_current(generations: &Generations, story_id: &str, expected: u64) -> bool {
+    generations
+        .lock()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|p| p.into_inner())
+        .get(story_id)
+        == Some(&expected)
+}
+
+/// Return true if a mergemaster agent is currently in the pool for `story_id`.
+/// Used to suppress counting and retries while recovery is actively iterating
+/// (bug 1025).
+async fn is_mergemaster_running(pool: &AgentPool, project_root: &Path, story_id: &str) -> bool {
+    let root = project_root.to_path_buf();
+    let config = match tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(&root)
+    })
+    .await
+    {
+        Ok(Ok(c)) => c,
+        _ => return false,
+    };
+    let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
+    is_story_assigned_for_stage(&config, &agents, story_id, &PipelineStage::Mergemaster)
+}
+
+/// Load the budget from project config off the async runtime (the read is
+/// synchronous filesystem I/O — bug 1170 class), falling back to the compiled
+/// default.
+async fn load_threshold(project_root: &Path) -> u32 {
+    let root = project_root.to_path_buf();
+    tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+        crate::config::ProjectConfig::load(&root)
+            .map(|c| c.merge_failure_block_threshold)
+            .unwrap_or(3)
+    })
+    .await
+    .unwrap_or(3)
 }
 
 /// Short human-readable label for a [`MergeFailureKind`] variant.
@@ -162,11 +463,7 @@ mod tests {
     use crate::pipeline_state::{BranchName, PipelineEvent, Stage, StoryId, TransitionFired};
     use std::num::NonZeroU32;
 
-    fn setup_project(tmp: &tempfile::TempDir) {
+    const THRESHOLD: u32 = 3;
-        let sk = tmp.path().join(".huskies");
-        std::fs::create_dir_all(&sk).unwrap();
-        std::fs::write(sk.join("project.toml"), "[[agent]]\nname = \"coder\"\n").unwrap();
-    }
 
     fn seed_at_merge(story_id: &str) {
         crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
@@ -217,218 +514,232 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
-    /// AC3 (threshold-not-reached): 2 consecutive failures below threshold of 3 must NOT block.
+    /// The MergeFailure → Merge bounce a retry causes.
-    #[test]
+    fn make_retry_started_fired(story_id: &str) -> TransitionFired {
-    fn below_threshold_does_not_block() {
+        TransitionFired {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+            story_id: StoryId(story_id.to_string()),
-        setup_project(&tmp);
+            before: Stage::MergeFailure {
-        let story_id = "1018_below";
+                kind: MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("error".to_string()),
-        seed_at_merge(story_id);
+                feature_branch: BranchName("feature/test".to_string()),
-
+                commits_ahead: NonZeroU32::new(1).unwrap(),
-        // Transition to MergeFailure once to establish the stage.
+            },
-        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
+            after: Stage::Merge {
-            story_id,
+                feature_branch: BranchName("feature/test".to_string()),
-            MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("error".to_string()),
+                commits_ahead: NonZeroU32::new(1).unwrap(),
-        )
+                claim: None,
-        .expect("initial MergeFailure transition");
+                retries: 1,
-
+                server_start_time: None,
-        let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
+            },
-        let kind = MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("error".to_string());
+            event: PipelineEvent::MergeRetryStarted,
-
+            at: chrono::Utc::now(),
-        // Fire 2 MergeFailure events (default threshold is 3).
-        for _ in 0..2 {
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, false);
         }
+    }
 
-        // Story must still be in MergeFailure (not Blocked).
+    fn gates_failed() -> MergeFailureKind {
-        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
+        MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("error".to_string())
-            .expect("read")
+    }
-            .expect("item");
+
-        assert!(
+    /// Below the threshold, GatesFailed schedules a retry with the right
-            matches!(item.stage, Stage::MergeFailure { .. }),
+    /// attempt numbering.
-            "story must still be in MergeFailure after 2 failures (threshold 3): {:?}",
+    #[test]
-            item.stage
+    fn gates_failed_below_threshold_schedules_retry() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let fired = make_merge_failure_fired("t_sched", gates_failed());
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&fired, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry {
+                attempt: 1,
+                budget: THRESHOLD
+            }
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&fired, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry {
+                attempt: 2,
+                budget: THRESHOLD
+            }
         );
     }
 
-    /// AC3 (threshold-reached): 3 consecutive failures at threshold of 3 must block.
+    /// 1185 review finding 1 (regression): the retry's own MergeFailure→Merge
+    /// bounce must NOT reset the counter — the third consecutive failure
+    /// blocks even though retries happened in between.
     #[test]
-    fn at_threshold_blocks_with_failure_kind_in_reason() {
+    fn merge_retry_started_does_not_reset_counter() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
-        setup_project(&tmp);
+        let story = "t_no_reset";
+        let fail = make_merge_failure_fired(story, gates_failed());
+        let bounce = make_retry_started_fired(story);
+
+        assert!(matches!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry { attempt: 1, .. }
+        ));
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&bounce, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Nothing
+        );
+        assert!(matches!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry { attempt: 2, .. }
+        ));
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&bounce, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Nothing
+        );
+        // Third consecutive failure: budget exhausted despite the bounces.
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Block { count: 3 }
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// A real departure (FixupRequested → Coding) still resets the counter.
+    #[test]
+    fn real_departure_resets_counter() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let story = "t_reset";
+        let fail = make_merge_failure_fired(story, gates_failed());
+
+        decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD);
+        decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD);
+        assert_eq!(
+            counters.get(&StoryId(story.to_string())).map(|e| e.0),
+            Some(2)
+        );
+
+        decide(&make_coding_fired(story), &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD);
+        assert!(!counters.contains_key(&StoryId(story.to_string())));
+
+        // Fresh failures start a fresh budget.
+        assert!(matches!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry { attempt: 1, .. }
+        ));
+    }
+
+    /// Non-GatesFailed kinds count toward the block budget but never schedule
+    /// a retry (ConflictDetected has its own mergemaster path; the rest need
+    /// humans).
+    #[test]
+    fn non_gates_failed_counts_but_does_not_retry() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let story = "t_conflict";
+        let conflict = make_merge_failure_fired(story, MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None));
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&conflict, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Nothing
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            counters.get(&StoryId(story.to_string())).map(|e| e.0),
+            Some(1)
+        );
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&conflict, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Nothing
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&conflict, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Block { count: 3 }
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Mixed kinds share one budget: GatesFailed and ConflictDetected
+    /// interleavings block at the same total count (1185 review finding 5).
+    #[test]
+    fn mixed_kinds_share_one_budget() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let story = "t_mixed";
+        let fail = make_merge_failure_fired(story, gates_failed());
+        let conflict = make_merge_failure_fired(story, MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None));
+
+        assert!(matches!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::ScheduleRetry { attempt: 1, .. }
+        ));
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&conflict, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Nothing
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, THRESHOLD),
+            Decision::Block { count: 3 }
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Bug 1025: recovery in progress neither counts nor schedules.
+    #[test]
+    fn mergemaster_running_suppresses_counting_and_retry() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let story = "t_recovery";
+        let fail = make_merge_failure_fired(story, gates_failed());
+
+        for _ in 0..3 {
+            assert_eq!(
+                decide(&fail, &mut counters, true, THRESHOLD),
+                Decision::Nothing
+            );
+        }
+        assert!(!counters.contains_key(&StoryId(story.to_string())));
+    }
+
+    /// threshold == 0 disables both policies.
+    #[test]
+    fn threshold_zero_disables_block_and_retry() {
+        let mut counters = HashMap::new();
+        let fail = make_merge_failure_fired("t_disabled", gates_failed());
+        for _ in 0..5 {
+            assert_eq!(decide(&fail, &mut counters, false, 0), Decision::Nothing);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Applying a Block decision transitions the story and names the kind.
+    #[test]
+    fn apply_block_blocks_with_failure_kind_in_reason() {
         let story_id = "1018_at_threshold";
         seed_at_merge(story_id);
-
         crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
             story_id,
             MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("fmt error".to_string()),
         )
         .expect("initial MergeFailure transition");
 
-        let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
+        apply_block(
-        let kind = MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("fmt error".to_string());
+            &StoryId(story_id.to_string()),
-
+            3,
-        // Fire 3 MergeFailure events — the 3rd must trigger the block.
+            &MergeFailureKind::GatesFailed("fmt error".to_string()),
-        for _ in 0..3 {
+        );
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, false);
-        }
 
         let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
             .expect("read")
             .expect("item");
-        assert!(
+        match &item.stage {
-            matches!(item.stage, Stage::Blocked { .. }),
+            Stage::Blocked { reason } => {
-            "story must be Blocked after 3 consecutive MergeFailures: {:?}",
+                assert!(
-            item.stage
+                    reason.contains("GatesFailed"),
-        );
+                    "block reason must name the failure kind: {reason}"
-
+                );
-        // The block reason must name the failure kind.
+            }
-        if let Stage::Blocked { reason } = &item.stage {
+            other => panic!("story must be Blocked: {other:?}"),
-            assert!(
-                reason.contains("GatesFailed"),
-                "block reason must name the failure kind: {reason}"
-            );
         }
     }
 
-    /// AC3 (reset): counter clears after a non-MergeFailure transition.
+    /// 1185 review finding 6 (regression): a newer schedule or a reset makes
-    ///
+    /// earlier timers stale.
-    /// 2 failures → FixupRequested reset → 2 more failures: still below threshold, no block.
     #[test]
-    fn counter_resets_on_non_merge_failure_transition() {
+    fn stale_generations_are_not_current() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let generations: Generations = Generations::default();
-        setup_project(&tmp);
+        let g1 = next_generation(&generations, "s");
-        let story_id = "1018_reset";
+        assert!(is_generation_current(&generations, "s", g1));
-        seed_at_merge(story_id);
 
-        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
+        let g2 = next_generation(&generations, "s");
-            story_id,
+        assert!(!is_generation_current(&generations, "s", g1));
-            MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None),
+        assert!(is_generation_current(&generations, "s", g2));
-        )
-        .expect("initial MergeFailure transition");
 
-        let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
+        invalidate_generation(&generations, "s");
-        let kind = MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None);
+        assert!(!is_generation_current(&generations, "s", g2));
-
-        // Fire 2 MergeFailure events.
-        for _ in 0..2 {
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, false);
-        }
-        assert_eq!(
-            counters.get(&StoryId(story_id.to_string())).map(|e| e.0),
-            Some(2),
-            "counter must be 2 after 2 failures"
-        );
-
-        // Simulate FixupRequested (non-MergeFailure transition).
-        let reset_fired = make_coding_fired(story_id);
-        on_transition(tmp.path(), &reset_fired, &mut counters, false);
-        assert!(
-            !counters.contains_key(&StoryId(story_id.to_string())),
-            "counter must be cleared after non-MergeFailure transition"
-        );
-
-        // Re-seed to MergeFailure so we can apply the block transition.
-        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
-            story_id,
-            MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None),
-        )
-        .expect("re-enter MergeFailure after reset");
-
-        // Fire 2 more MergeFailure events — still below threshold.
-        for _ in 0..2 {
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, false);
-        }
-
-        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-            .expect("read")
-            .expect("item");
-        assert!(
-            matches!(item.stage, Stage::MergeFailure { .. }),
-            "story must still be in MergeFailure after reset + 2 new failures: {:?}",
-            item.stage
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// Bug 1025: while a mergemaster is running, MergeFailure transitions are
-    /// recovery iterations, not consecutive give-ups.  3 failures with
-    /// `recovery_running=true` must NOT block.
-    #[test]
-    fn mergemaster_running_suppresses_block() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        setup_project(&tmp);
-        let story_id = "1025_recovery_running";
-        seed_at_merge(story_id);
-
-        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
-            story_id,
-            MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None),
-        )
-        .expect("initial MergeFailure transition");
-
-        let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
-        let kind = MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None);
-
-        // Fire 3 MergeFailure events WHILE a mergemaster is running (gated).
-        for _ in 0..3 {
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, true);
-        }
-
-        // Counter must NOT have incremented at all — recovery in progress.
-        assert!(
-            !counters.contains_key(&StoryId(story_id.to_string())),
-            "counter must not increment while mergemaster is running"
-        );
-
-        // And the story must still be in MergeFailure (not Blocked).
-        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-            .expect("read")
-            .expect("item");
-        assert!(
-            matches!(item.stage, Stage::MergeFailure { .. }),
-            "story must NOT be blocked while mergemaster is running (recovery in progress): {:?}",
-            item.stage
-        );
-    }
-
-    /// Bug 1025 regression guard: the genuinely-stuck case (no mergemaster
-    /// running) still blocks at the threshold, so the original 1018 behaviour
-    /// is preserved.
-    #[test]
-    fn no_mergemaster_still_blocks_at_threshold() {
-        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
-        setup_project(&tmp);
-        let story_id = "1025_genuine_stuck";
-        seed_at_merge(story_id);
-
-        crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_merge_failure(
-            story_id,
-            MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None),
-        )
-        .expect("initial MergeFailure transition");
-
-        let mut counters: HashMap<StoryId, (u32, MergeFailureKind)> = HashMap::new();
-        let kind = MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(None);
-
-        // Fire 3 MergeFailure events with NO mergemaster (recovery_running=false).
-        for _ in 0..3 {
-            let fired = make_merge_failure_fired(story_id, kind.clone());
-            on_transition(tmp.path(), &fired, &mut counters, false);
-        }
-
-        // Story must be Blocked (genuine-stuck case unchanged).
-        let item = crate::pipeline_state::read_typed(story_id)
-            .expect("read")
-            .expect("item");
-        assert!(
-            matches!(item.stage, Stage::Blocked { .. }),
-            "story must still block when no mergemaster is running: {:?}",
-            item.stage
-        );
     }
 }

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/merge_failure_subscriber.rs

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
-use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, Stage};
+use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, Stage, Status};
 use crate::slog;
 use crate::slog_warn;
 
@@ -17,6 +17,35 @@ use super::super::super::PipelineStage;
 use super::super::AgentPool;
 use super::scan::{find_free_agent_for_stage, is_story_assigned_for_stage};
 
+/// Reconcile: for each story currently in `MergeFailure { kind: ConflictDetected }`,
+/// ensure a mergemaster agent is running.
+///
+/// Idempotent — `on_merge_failure_transition` guards against double-spawning via
+/// `is_story_assigned_for_stage`.  Called by the periodic reconciler so that a Lagged
+/// startup event never leaves a ConflictDetected story without a recovery agent.
+pub(crate) async fn reconcile_merge_failure(pool: &Arc<AgentPool>, project_root: &Path) {
+    use crate::pipeline_state::{MergeFailureKind, PipelineEvent, Stage, TransitionFired};
+    for item in crate::pipeline_state::read_all_typed() {
+        // Story 1086: scan via the Status projection; the variant pattern is
+        // still needed to read `kind`.
+        if item.stage.status() != Status::MergeFailure {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if let Stage::MergeFailure { ref kind, .. } = item.stage
+            && matches!(kind, MergeFailureKind::ConflictDetected(_))
+        {
+            let fired = TransitionFired {
+                story_id: item.story_id.clone(),
+                before: item.stage.clone(),
+                after: item.stage.clone(),
+                event: PipelineEvent::MergeFailed { kind: kind.clone() },
+                at: chrono::Utc::now(),
+            };
+            on_merge_failure_transition(pool, project_root, &fired).await;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Spawn a background task that auto-spawns mergemaster agents on
 /// `Stage::MergeFailure { kind: ConflictDetected(_) }` transitions.
 ///
@@ -49,6 +78,11 @@ async fn on_merge_failure_transition(
     project_root: &Path,
     fired: &crate::pipeline_state::TransitionFired,
 ) {
+    // Story 1086: gate on the typed `Status` projection first; only the
+    // `MergeFailure` kind extraction needs the variant pattern.
+    if fired.after.status() != Status::MergeFailure {
+        return;
+    }
     let Stage::MergeFailure { ref kind, .. } = fired.after else {
         return;
     };
@@ -66,15 +100,7 @@ async fn on_merge_failure_transition(
             };
 
             let agent_name = {
-                let agents = match pool.agents.lock() {
+                let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
-                    Ok(a) => a,
-                    Err(e) => {
-                        slog_warn!(
-                            "[merge-failure-sub] Failed to lock agent pool for '{story_id}': {e}"
-                        );
-                        return;
-                    }
-                };
                 if is_story_assigned_for_stage(
                     &config,
                     &agents,
@@ -194,7 +220,7 @@ mod tests {
         );
         on_merge_failure_transition(&pool, tmp.path(), &fired).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         assert!(
             agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
                 key.contains(story_id)
@@ -225,7 +251,7 @@ mod tests {
         // Give the subscriber time to run (it should do nothing).
         tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         let spawned = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
             key.contains(story_id)
                 && a.agent_name == "mergemaster"
@@ -253,7 +279,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         let spawned = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
             key.contains(story_id)
                 && a.agent_name == "mergemaster"
@@ -281,7 +307,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         let spawned = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
             key.contains(story_id)
                 && a.agent_name == "mergemaster"
@@ -309,7 +335,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         let spawned = agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
             key.contains(story_id)
                 && a.agent_name == "mergemaster"
@@ -340,7 +366,7 @@ mod tests {
         // First call — spawns mergemaster (agent enters Pending).
         on_merge_failure_transition(&pool, tmp.path(), &fired).await;
         {
-            let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+            let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
             assert!(
                 agents.iter().any(|(key, a)| {
                     key.contains(story_id)
@@ -354,7 +380,7 @@ mod tests {
         // Second call (self-loop) — agent is still Pending; guard must prevent double-spawn.
         on_merge_failure_transition(&pool, tmp.path(), &fired).await;
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
         let active_count = agents
             .iter()
             .filter(|(key, a)| {

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/mod.rs

@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 mod auto_assign;
 mod backlog;
 mod merge;
-/// TransitionFired subscriber that auto-blocks stories after N consecutive MergeFailure transitions.
+/// TransitionFired subscriber owning the consecutive-MergeFailure budget:
+/// auto-retries GatesFailed below the threshold, auto-blocks at it.
 pub(crate) mod merge_failure_block_subscriber;
 /// TransitionFired subscriber that auto-spawns mergemaster on ConflictDetected merge failures.
 pub(crate) mod merge_failure_subscriber;
@@ -17,7 +18,11 @@ pub(crate) mod watchdog;
 // so that pool::lifecycle and pool::pipeline continue to access them unchanged.
 pub(super) use scan::{find_free_agent_for_stage, is_agent_free};
 
+/// Re-export for `startup::tick_loop`.
+pub(crate) use merge_failure_block_subscriber::reconcile_merge_failure_block;
 /// Re-export for `startup::tick_loop`.
 pub(crate) use merge_failure_block_subscriber::spawn_merge_failure_block_subscriber;
 /// Re-export for `startup::tick_loop`.
+pub(crate) use merge_failure_subscriber::reconcile_merge_failure;
+/// Re-export for `startup::tick_loop`.
 pub(crate) use merge_failure_subscriber::spawn_merge_failure_subscriber;

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/pipeline.rs

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ use std::path::Path;
 use crate::config::ProjectConfig;
 use crate::pipeline_state::Stage;
 use crate::slog;
-use crate::slog_error;
 
 use super::super::super::PipelineStage;
 use super::super::AgentPool;
@@ -80,13 +79,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
                 if *stage == PipelineStage::Coder
                     && let Some(max) = config.max_coders
                 {
-                    let agents_lock = match self.agents.lock() {
+                    let agents_lock = self.agents.lock().await;
-                        Ok(a) => a,
-                        Err(e) => {
-                            slog_error!("[auto-assign] Failed to lock agents: {e}");
-                            break;
-                        }
-                    };
                     let active = count_active_agents_for_stage(config, &agents_lock, stage);
                     if active >= max {
                         slog!(
@@ -102,13 +95,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
                 // stage_mismatch=true means the preferred agent's stage doesn't match the
                 // pipeline stage, so we fell back to a generic stage agent.
                 let (already_assigned, free_agent, preferred_busy, stage_mismatch) = {
-                    let agents = match self.agents.lock() {
+                    let agents = self.agents.lock().await;
-                        Ok(a) => a,
-                        Err(e) => {
-                            slog_error!("[auto-assign] Failed to lock agents: {e}");
-                            break;
-                        }
-                    };
                     let assigned = is_story_assigned_for_stage(config, &agents, story_id, stage);
                     if assigned {
                         (true, None, false, false)

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/scan.rs

@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ mod tests {
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent("42_story_foo", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         assert!(is_story_assigned_for_stage(
             &config,
             &agents,
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ mod tests {
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent("42_story_foo", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Completed);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // Completed agents don't count as assigned
         assert!(!is_story_assigned_for_stage(
             &config,
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ stage = "qa"
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent("42_story_foo", "qa-2", AgentStatus::Running);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         // qa-2 with stage=qa should be recognised as a QA agent
         assert!(
             is_story_assigned_for_stage(&config, &agents, "42_story_foo", &PipelineStage::Qa),
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ name = "coder-2"
         pool.inject_test_agent("s1", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running);
         pool.inject_test_agent("s2", "coder-2", AgentStatus::Running);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let free = find_free_agent_for_stage(&config, &agents, &PipelineStage::Coder);
         assert!(free.is_none(), "no free coders should be available");
     }
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ name = "coder-3"
         // coder-1 is busy, coder-2 is free
         pool.inject_test_agent("s1", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let free = find_free_agent_for_stage(&config, &agents, &PipelineStage::Coder);
         assert_eq!(
             free,
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ name = "coder-1"
         // coder-1 completed its previous story — it's free for a new one
         pool.inject_test_agent("s1", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Completed);
 
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let free = find_free_agent_for_stage(&config, &agents, &PipelineStage::Coder);
         assert_eq!(free, Some("coder-1"), "completed coder-1 should be free");
     }

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/limits.rs

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::path::Path;
-use std::sync::Mutex;
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 
 use crate::agents::pool::StoryAgent;
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ pub(crate) fn count_turns_in_log(path: &Path) -> u64 {
 /// Turns and budget are counted from the **current session's** log file
 /// only — prior sessions are excluded so that restart counts from earlier
 /// runs do not accumulate against the limits.
-pub(super) fn check_agent_limits(
+pub(super) async fn check_agent_limits(
     agents: &Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>,
     project_root: &Path,
 ) -> Vec<(String, TerminationReason)> {
@@ -94,10 +94,7 @@ pub(super) fn check_agent_limits(
 
     // Snapshot running agents: (key, story_id, agent_name, tx, log_session_id).
     let running: Vec<RunningAgentSnapshot> = {
-        let lock = match agents.lock() {
+        let lock = agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(l) => l,
-            Err(_) => return Vec::new(),
-        };
         lock.iter()
             .filter(|(_, agent)| agent.status == AgentStatus::Running)
             .map(|(key, agent)| {
@@ -187,13 +184,14 @@ pub(super) fn check_agent_limits(
                 ),
             };
 
-            // Mark agent as Failed with termination reason.
+            // NOTE: agent status is intentionally NOT updated here.  Setting
-            if let Ok(mut lock) = agents.lock()
+            // `status = Failed` before the kill (the previous behaviour)
-                && let Some(agent) = lock.get_mut(key)
+            // opened a window where the `start_agent` idempotency check
-            {
+            // (which whitelists Running/Pending) would let a fresh spawn
-                agent.status = AgentStatus::Failed;
+            // through while the prior PTY child was still alive — directly
-                agent.termination_reason = Some(reason.clone());
+            // causing the concurrent-agents bug we hit on story 1086
-            }
+            // (2026-05-15).  The caller (`run_watchdog_pass`) is responsible
+            // for: (1) verifying the kill, (2) THEN updating the agent record.
 
             slog!("[watchdog] Terminating agent '{key}': {reason_str}.");
 

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/mod.rs

@@ -4,17 +4,23 @@
 mod budget;
 mod limits;
 mod orphan;
+mod reap;
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests;
 
+use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::path::Path;
 
+use crate::agents::AgentStatus;
 use crate::config::ProjectConfig;
+use crate::process_kill::{pids_matching, sigkill_pids_and_verify};
 use crate::slog;
+use crate::slog_warn;
 
 use super::super::AgentPool;
 use limits::check_agent_limits;
 use orphan::check_orphaned_agents;
+use reap::reap_failed_agents;
 
 pub(crate) use budget::{compute_budget_from_logs, compute_budget_from_single_log};
 pub(crate) use limits::{count_turns_in_log, resolve_session_log};
@@ -22,8 +28,8 @@ pub(crate) use limits::{count_turns_in_log, resolve_session_log};
 impl AgentPool {
     /// Run a single watchdog pass synchronously (test helper).
     #[cfg(test)]
-    pub fn run_watchdog_once(&self) {
+    pub async fn run_watchdog_once(&self) {
-        check_orphaned_agents(&self.agents);
+        check_orphaned_agents(&self.agents).await;
     }
 
     /// Run one watchdog pass: detect orphans, enforce limits, kill offenders.
@@ -36,20 +42,74 @@ impl AgentPool {
     /// `retry_count` is incremented and the story stays in `2_current/` for
     /// re-attempt.  This prevents the original kill-respawn loop (bug 646)
     /// while restoring the `max_retries` semantic for turn/budget overruns.
-    pub fn run_watchdog_pass(&self, project_root: Option<&Path>) -> usize {
+    pub async fn run_watchdog_pass(&self, project_root: Option<&Path>) -> usize {
-        let orphaned = check_orphaned_agents(&self.agents);
+        let orphaned = check_orphaned_agents(&self.agents).await;
 
         if let Some(root) = project_root {
-            let terminated = check_agent_limits(&self.agents, root);
+            let terminated = check_agent_limits(&self.agents, root).await;
             let config = ProjectConfig::load(root).unwrap_or_default();
-            for (key, _reason) in &terminated {
+            let mut just_terminated: HashSet<String> = HashSet::new();
-                // Kill the PTY child and abort the task, same as stop_agent.
+            for (key, reason) in &terminated {
-                self.kill_child_for_key(key);
+                just_terminated.insert(key.clone());
-                if let Ok(mut lock) = self.agents.lock()
+                // Step 1: snapshot the agent's worktree path so we can find every
-                    && let Some(agent) = lock.get_mut(key)
+                // process running in it (claude + any subprocesses).  This must
-                    && let Some(handle) = agent.task_handle.take()
+                // happen BEFORE we mutate the agent record so we can read the
+                // worktree info safely.
+                let worktree_path = {
+                    let lock = self.agents.lock().await;
+                    lock.get(key)
+                        .and_then(|a| a.worktree_info.as_ref().map(|wt| wt.path.clone()))
+                };
+
+                // Step 2: SIGKILL every process running in the worktree and
+                // BLOCK until verified gone.  The previous mechanism — portable_pty's
+                // `ChildKiller::kill()` — sends SIGHUP, which claude-code
+                // ignores, leaving the process alive while the agent record
+                // was being marked terminated; that gap let a fresh spawn race
+                // in alongside the surviving one.  SIGKILL is uncatchable;
+                // [`sigkill_pids_and_verify`] only returns once the kernel has
+                // reaped each pid.
+                if let Some(wt_path) = worktree_path.as_ref() {
+                    let pids = pids_matching(&wt_path.display().to_string());
+                    if pids.is_empty() {
+                        // Nothing in this worktree — agent likely already
+                        // exited on its own before the watchdog noticed.
+                    } else {
+                        match sigkill_pids_and_verify(&pids) {
+                            Ok(n) => slog!(
+                                "[watchdog] SIGKILL'd {n} process(es) in worktree {} for '{key}'.",
+                                wt_path.display()
+                            ),
+                            Err(survivors) => slog_warn!(
+                                "[watchdog] SIGKILL incomplete for '{key}': pids still alive: {survivors:?}. \
+                                 Proceeding with cleanup; concurrent spawn protection may be weakened."
+                            ),
+                        }
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    slog_warn!(
+                        "[watchdog] No worktree path recorded for '{key}'; cannot tree-kill, \
+                         falling back to portable_pty SIGHUP (likely no-op for claude-code)."
+                    );
+                    self.kill_child_for_key(key).await;
+                }
+
+                // Step 3: NOW update the agent record.  The process is verified
+                // gone (or we logged that SIGKILL didn't take effect, which is
+                // exceptional), so flipping status away from Running can no
+                // longer open a window for a concurrent spawn.
                 {
-                    handle.abort();
+                    let mut lock = self.agents.lock().await;
+                    if let Some(agent) = lock.get_mut(key) {
+                        agent.status = AgentStatus::Failed;
+                        agent.termination_reason = Some(reason.clone());
+                        if let Some(handle) = agent.task_handle.take() {
+                            // Best-effort abort of the outer tokio task.  The PTY
+                            // blocking thread already returned (claude is dead),
+                            // so this is bookkeeping rather than load-bearing.
+                            handle.abort();
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
 
                 // Use the retry mechanism: increment retry_count and only block
@@ -77,7 +137,16 @@ impl AgentPool {
             if !terminated.is_empty() {
                 Self::notify_agent_state_changed(&self.watcher_tx);
             }
-            return orphaned + terminated.len();
+
+            // Bug 1198: reap any other Failed pool entry with no live process
+            // — orphan-detected above, or left behind by a spawn error
+            // (inactivity-watchdog kill, worktree timeout, runtime error)
+            // that never routed through the retry/respawn path. Entries the
+            // limits loop above just processed are excluded so their retry
+            // count isn't bumped twice.
+            let reaped = reap_failed_agents(self, root, &config, &just_terminated).await;
+
+            return orphaned + terminated.len() + reaped;
         }
 
         orphaned

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/orphan.rs

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! Orphan detection: marks running agents whose backing task has exited.
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::sync::Mutex;
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 
 use crate::agents::pool::StoryAgent;
@@ -15,11 +15,8 @@ use crate::slog;
 /// without updating the agent status — for example when the process is killed
 /// externally and the PTY master fd returns EOF before our inactivity timeout
 /// fires, but some other edge case prevents the normal cleanup path from running.
-pub(super) fn check_orphaned_agents(agents: &Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>) -> usize {
+pub(super) async fn check_orphaned_agents(agents: &Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>) -> usize {
-    let mut lock = match agents.lock() {
+    let mut lock = agents.lock().await;
-        Ok(l) => l,
-        Err(_) => return 0,
-    };
 
     // Collect orphaned entries: Running or Pending agents whose task handle is finished.
     // Pending agents can be orphaned if worktree creation panics before setting status.

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/reap.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+//! Reap: removes stale `Failed` pool entries left behind by orphan detection,
+//! watchdog kills, or internal spawn failures, and respawns the story's agent
+//! (or blocks the story once its retry budget is exhausted).
+//!
+//! `check_orphaned_agents` only scans `Running`/`Pending` entries, so once an
+//! entry is marked `Failed` it becomes invisible to every later watchdog
+//! pass. Without this step a `Failed` entry with no live process sits in the
+//! pool forever: `list_agents` keeps showing it, and the story never gets a
+//! new agent unless some unrelated CRDT transition happens to trigger a
+//! system-wide auto-assign scan.
+
+use std::collections::HashSet;
+use std::path::Path;
+
+use crate::agents::AgentStatus;
+use crate::agents::pool::AgentPool;
+use crate::agents::pool::pipeline::should_block_story;
+use crate::config::ProjectConfig;
+use crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent;
+use crate::{slog, slog_warn};
+
+/// Reap every `Failed` pool entry with no live process, except keys in
+/// `exclude_keys` (already handled by the caller's own retry/block logic in
+/// this same pass — e.g. limit-exceeded kills).
+///
+/// For each reaped entry: removes it from the pool (so `list_agents` stops
+/// showing it), increments the story's retry count via [`should_block_story`]
+/// and, unless that blocks the story, respawns the agent by name.
+/// `start_agent`'s own session-store lookup resumes the prior session
+/// automatically whenever one was recorded — no explicit session plumbing
+/// needed here.
+pub(super) async fn reap_failed_agents(
+    pool: &AgentPool,
+    project_root: &Path,
+    config: &ProjectConfig,
+    exclude_keys: &HashSet<String>,
+) -> usize {
+    let dead: Vec<(String, String, String)> = {
+        let mut agents = pool.agents.lock().await;
+        let keys: Vec<String> = agents
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|(key, agent)| {
+                agent.status == AgentStatus::Failed
+                    && !exclude_keys.contains(*key)
+                    && agent
+                        .task_handle
+                        .as_ref()
+                        .map(|h| h.is_finished())
+                        .unwrap_or(true)
+            })
+            .map(|(key, _)| key.clone())
+            .collect();
+        keys.into_iter()
+            .filter_map(|key| {
+                agents.remove(&key).map(|agent| {
+                    let story_id = key
+                        .rsplit_once(':')
+                        .map(|(s, _)| s.to_string())
+                        .unwrap_or_else(|| key.clone());
+                    (key, story_id, agent.agent_name)
+                })
+            })
+            .collect()
+    };
+
+    let count = dead.len();
+    for (key, story_id, agent_name) in dead {
+        if let Some(block_reason) = should_block_story(&story_id, config.max_retries, "watchdog") {
+            let _ = pool.watcher_tx.send(WatcherEvent::StoryBlocked {
+                story_id: story_id.clone(),
+                reason: block_reason,
+            });
+            slog!(
+                "[watchdog] Story '{story_id}' blocked after exceeding retry limit \
+                 (reaped dead pool entry '{key}')."
+            );
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        slog!(
+            "[watchdog] Reaping dead pool entry '{key}'; respawning '{agent_name}' \
+             for '{story_id}'."
+        );
+        if let Err(e) = pool
+            .start_agent(project_root, &story_id, Some(&agent_name), None, None)
+            .await
+        {
+            slog_warn!(
+                "[watchdog] Failed to respawn '{agent_name}' for '{story_id}' after reap: {e}"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    if count > 0 {
+        AgentPool::notify_agent_state_changed(&pool.watcher_tx);
+    }
+
+    count
+}

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/limits_tests.rs

@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ use crate::agents::{AgentEvent, AgentStatus, TerminationReason};
 
 // ── Limit enforcement integration tests (bug 624) ────────────────────────
 
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_terminates_agent_exceeding_turn_limit() {
+async fn watchdog_terminates_agent_exceeding_turn_limit() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -37,12 +37,12 @@ max_turns = 10
     );
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(found >= 1, "watchdog should detect the over-limit agent");
 
     // Agent should now be Failed with TurnLimit reason.
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("story_a", "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);
@@ -60,8 +60,8 @@ max_turns = 10
     );
 }
 
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_terminates_agent_exceeding_budget_limit() {
+async fn watchdog_terminates_agent_exceeding_budget_limit() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -87,11 +87,11 @@ max_budget_usd = 5.00
     );
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(found >= 1, "watchdog should detect the over-budget agent");
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("story_b", "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);
@@ -106,8 +106,8 @@ max_budget_usd = 5.00
     assert!(matches!(event, AgentEvent::Error { .. }));
 }
 
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_does_not_terminate_agent_under_limits() {
+async fn watchdog_does_not_terminate_agent_under_limits() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -133,11 +133,11 @@ max_budget_usd = 10.00
     // has 25 turns < 50 so no violation).
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_session("story_c", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "sess-ok");
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert_eq!(found, 0, "agent under limits should not be terminated");
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("story_c", "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(
@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@ max_budget_usd = 10.00
 /// coder-1 with max_turns=50, max_budget_usd=5.00 ran 5.6× over the turn
 /// limit (280 turns). The watchdog must terminate at the turn limit (turns
 /// hit first in the observed trace), with reason TurnLimit.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn regression_bug624_coder1_story623_trajectory() {
+async fn regression_bug624_coder1_story623_trajectory() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -183,11 +183,11 @@ max_budget_usd = 5.00
     );
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(found >= 1, "watchdog must catch the turn-limit violation");
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("story_623", "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);
@@ -218,8 +218,8 @@ max_budget_usd = 5.00
 ///
 /// This test seeds a single session that legitimately exceeds the limit
 /// and uses `max_retries = 1` so that the first violation blocks.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_marks_story_blocked_after_limit_termination() {
+async fn watchdog_marks_story_blocked_after_limit_termination() {
     crate::db::ensure_content_store();
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
 
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ max_turns = 10
         "sess-runaway",
     );
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(found >= 1, "watchdog should detect the over-limit agent");
 
     // With max_retries=1, the first violation blocks immediately via the state machine.
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ max_turns = 10
 
     // Sanity: the agent itself is also Failed with the right reason.
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key(story_id, "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);
@@ -297,8 +297,8 @@ max_turns = 10
 /// fresh session_id whose log has fewer events than `max_turns`.
 /// Assert the agent is NOT terminated (per-session count is under the
 /// limit) AND the story is NOT marked blocked.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn per_session_counting_does_not_terminate_under_limit() {
+async fn per_session_counting_does_not_terminate_under_limit() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -323,14 +323,14 @@ max_turns = 10
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_session("story_d", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "new-sess");
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert_eq!(
         found, 0,
         "agent under per-session limit should NOT be terminated"
     );
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("story_d", "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(
@@ -345,8 +345,8 @@ max_turns = 10
 /// Same setup as per_session_counting_does_not_terminate_under_limit, but
 /// the new agent's own session log exceeds `max_turns`. Assert the agent
 /// IS terminated AND (with max_retries=1) the story IS marked blocked.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn per_session_counting_terminates_over_limit() {
+async fn per_session_counting_terminates_over_limit() {
     crate::db::ensure_content_store();
     crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
 
@@ -390,14 +390,14 @@ max_turns = 10
         pool.inject_test_agent_with_session(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "new-sess");
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(
         found >= 1,
         "agent over per-session limit must be terminated"
     );
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key(story_id, "coder-1");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);
@@ -423,8 +423,8 @@ max_turns = 10
 /// `max_turns`. After session 1: retry_count=1, NOT blocked. After
 /// session 2: retry_count=2, NOT blocked. After session 3:
 /// retry_count=3 >= max_retries, story IS blocked.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_retry_semantic_blocks_after_max_retries() {
+async fn watchdog_retry_semantic_blocks_after_max_retries() {
     crate::db::ensure_content_store();
 
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ max_turns = 10
         write_fake_session_log(root, story_id, "coder-1", "session-1", 12);
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent_with_session(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "session-1");
-        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
 
         let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
         assert_eq!(
@@ -473,7 +473,7 @@ max_turns = 10
         write_fake_session_log(root, story_id, "coder-1", "session-2", 12);
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent_with_session(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "session-2");
-        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
 
         let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
         assert_eq!(
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ max_turns = 10
         write_fake_session_log(root, story_id, "coder-1", "session-3", 12);
         let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
         pool.inject_test_agent_with_session(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "session-3");
-        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+        pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
 
         let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
         assert_eq!(
@@ -518,8 +518,8 @@ max_turns = 10
 /// must not count against the watchdog's turn budget. A session log with
 /// 5 tool turns and 30 narration turns reports turns_used == 5, so an
 /// agent with max_tool_turns = 10 stays Running.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_does_not_count_narration_only_turns() {
+async fn watchdog_does_not_count_narration_only_turns() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -542,13 +542,13 @@ max_turns = 200
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_session("story_923", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "sess-narr");
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert_eq!(
         found, 0,
         "agent must not be terminated: only 5 tool turns of a 10-turn budget"
     );
 
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = composite_key("story_923", "coder-1");
     let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
     assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Running);
@@ -558,8 +558,8 @@ max_turns = 200
 /// Story 923: max_tool_turns takes precedence over max_turns when both are
 /// set. With max_tool_turns = 3 and max_turns = 200, an agent that has 4
 /// tool turns is killed even though total turns (4) is far below max_turns.
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn watchdog_max_tool_turns_overrides_max_turns() {
+async fn watchdog_max_tool_turns_overrides_max_turns() {
     let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
     let root = tmp.path();
 
@@ -585,13 +585,13 @@ max_turns = 200
     );
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root));
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
     assert!(
         found >= 1,
         "watchdog must terminate when tool turns exceed max_tool_turns"
     );
 
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = composite_key("story_923b", "coder-1");
     let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
     assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Failed);

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/mod.rs

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ use std::path::Path;
 
 mod limits_tests;
 mod orphan_tests;
+mod reap_tests;
 
 /// Write a fake session log file with `n` tool-using assistant turn entries.
 ///

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/orphan_tests.rs

@@ -20,18 +20,18 @@ async fn check_orphaned_agents_returns_count_of_orphaned_agents() {
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_handle("story_a", "coder", AgentStatus::Running, h1);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_handle("story_b", "coder", AgentStatus::Running, h2);
 
-    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents);
+    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents).await;
     assert_eq!(found, 2, "should detect both orphaned agents");
 }
 
-#[test]
+#[tokio::test]
-fn check_orphaned_agents_returns_zero_when_no_orphans() {
+async fn check_orphaned_agents_returns_zero_when_no_orphans() {
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     // Inject agents in terminal states — not orphaned.
     pool.inject_test_agent("story_a", "coder", AgentStatus::Completed);
     pool.inject_test_agent("story_b", "qa", AgentStatus::Failed);
 
-    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents);
+    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents).await;
     assert_eq!(
         found, 0,
         "no orphans should be detected for terminal agents"
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ async fn watchdog_detects_orphaned_running_agent() {
         pool.inject_test_agent_with_handle("orphan_story", "coder", AgentStatus::Running, handle);
     let mut rx = tx.subscribe();
 
-    pool.run_watchdog_once();
+    pool.run_watchdog_once().await;
 
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("orphan_story", "coder");
         let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
         assert_eq!(
@@ -87,13 +87,13 @@ async fn watchdog_orphan_detection_returns_nonzero_enabling_auto_assign() {
 
     // Before watchdog: agent is Running.
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("orphan_story", "coder");
         assert_eq!(agents.get(&key).unwrap().status, AgentStatus::Running);
     }
 
     // Run watchdog pass — should return 1 (orphan found).
-    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents);
+    let found = check_orphaned_agents(&pool.agents).await;
     assert_eq!(
         found, 1,
         "watchdog must return 1 for a single orphaned agent"
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ async fn watchdog_orphan_detection_returns_nonzero_enabling_auto_assign() {
 
     // After watchdog: agent is Failed.
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         let key = composite_key("orphan_story", "coder");
         assert_eq!(
             agents.get(&key).unwrap().status,

server/src/agents/pool/auto_assign/watchdog/tests/reap_tests.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+//! Regression tests for the reap pass (bug 1198): a Failed pool entry with
+//! no live process must be respawned by the next watchdog pass, with its
+//! story's retry count bumped, and must stop appearing in list_agents.
+
+use super::super::super::super::{AgentPool, composite_key};
+use super::{write_fake_session_log, write_project_config};
+use crate::agents::AgentStatus;
+
+/// AC1 + AC4: a Failed entry with no live process (simulating e.g. the
+/// inactivity watchdog kill landing in spawn.rs's generic Err arm) is
+/// respawned by the very next `run_watchdog_pass` — no manual
+/// stop_agent/start_agent needed.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn reap_respawns_stale_failed_agent() {
+    crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+    crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let root = tmp.path();
+
+    write_project_config(
+        root,
+        r#"
+[[agent]]
+name = "coder-1"
+runtime = "claude-code"
+"#,
+    );
+
+    let story_id = "1198_story_stuck";
+    crate::db::write_content(
+        crate::db::ContentKey::Story(story_id),
+        "---\nname: Stuck Story\n---\n",
+    );
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(story_id, "2_current", Some("Stuck Story"), None, None, None);
+
+    // Inject a Failed entry with no task_handle — exactly what spawn.rs's
+    // generic Err arm leaves behind after e.g. an inactivity-watchdog kill.
+    let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
+    pool.inject_test_agent(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Failed);
+
+    let found = pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
+    assert!(found >= 1, "reap should count the stale Failed entry");
+
+    // A fresh entry must exist for the same story — the agent respawned.
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
+    let key = composite_key(story_id, "coder-1");
+    let agent = agents.get(&key).expect("agent must have been respawned");
+    assert_ne!(
+        agent.status,
+        AgentStatus::Failed,
+        "respawned entry must not still be Failed"
+    );
+}
+
+/// AC2: reaping a stale Failed entry bumps the story's retry count via the
+/// existing should_block_story path.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn reap_increments_retry_count() {
+    crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+    crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let root = tmp.path();
+
+    write_project_config(
+        root,
+        r#"
+max_retries = 5
+
+[[agent]]
+name = "coder-1"
+runtime = "claude-code"
+"#,
+    );
+
+    let story_id = "1198_story_retry";
+    crate::db::write_content(
+        crate::db::ContentKey::Story(story_id),
+        "---\nname: Retry Story\n---\n",
+    );
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(story_id, "2_current", Some("Retry Story"), None, None, None);
+
+    let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
+    pool.inject_test_agent(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Failed);
+
+    pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
+
+    let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
+    assert_eq!(
+        item.retry_count(),
+        1,
+        "reaping a stale Failed entry must bump retry_count exactly once"
+    );
+}
+
+/// AC2: exhausting max_retries via a reap blocks the story via the existing
+/// should_block_story path (same mechanism as the limits watchdog).
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn reap_blocks_story_after_max_retries() {
+    crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+    crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let root = tmp.path();
+
+    write_project_config(
+        root,
+        r#"
+max_retries = 1
+
+[[agent]]
+name = "coder-1"
+runtime = "claude-code"
+"#,
+    );
+
+    let story_id = "1198_story_block";
+    crate::db::write_content(
+        crate::db::ContentKey::Story(story_id),
+        "---\nname: Block Story\n---\n",
+    );
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(story_id, "2_current", Some("Block Story"), None, None, None);
+
+    let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
+    pool.inject_test_agent(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Failed);
+
+    pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
+
+    let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
+    assert_eq!(
+        item.stage().dir_name(),
+        "blocked",
+        "story must be blocked after exhausting max_retries=1 via reap"
+    );
+}
+
+/// AC3: list_agents never shows a Failed entry after the next watchdog pass
+/// reaps it — regardless of whether the story blocks or respawns.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn reap_removes_failed_entry_from_list_agents() {
+    crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+    crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let root = tmp.path();
+
+    write_project_config(
+        root,
+        r#"
+max_retries = 1
+
+[[agent]]
+name = "coder-1"
+runtime = "claude-code"
+"#,
+    );
+
+    let story_id = "1198_story_listing";
+    crate::db::write_content(
+        crate::db::ContentKey::Story(story_id),
+        "---\nname: Listing Story\n---\n",
+    );
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
+        story_id,
+        "2_current",
+        Some("Listing Story"),
+        None,
+        None,
+        None,
+    );
+
+    let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
+    pool.inject_test_agent(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Failed);
+
+    pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
+
+    let listed = pool.list_agents().await.unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        !listed
+            .iter()
+            .any(|a| a.story_id == story_id && a.status == AgentStatus::Failed),
+        "list_agents must not show a Failed entry for '{story_id}' after the next watchdog pass"
+    );
+}
+
+/// The limits-termination path (turn/budget overrun) must not have its
+/// retry_count double-bumped by the reap pass running in the same
+/// `run_watchdog_pass` call.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn reap_does_not_double_bump_limits_terminated_agent() {
+    crate::db::ensure_content_store();
+    crate::crdt_state::init_for_test();
+
+    let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+    let root = tmp.path();
+
+    write_project_config(
+        root,
+        r#"
+max_retries = 5
+
+[[agent]]
+name = "coder-1"
+runtime = "claude-code"
+max_turns = 10
+"#,
+    );
+
+    let story_id = "1198_story_no_double_bump";
+    crate::db::write_content(
+        crate::db::ContentKey::Story(story_id),
+        "---\nname: No Double Bump\n---\n",
+    );
+    crate::crdt_state::write_item_str(
+        story_id,
+        "2_current",
+        Some("No Double Bump"),
+        None,
+        None,
+        None,
+    );
+
+    write_fake_session_log(root, story_id, "coder-1", "sess-overrun", 12);
+
+    let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
+    pool.inject_test_agent_with_session(story_id, "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, "sess-overrun");
+
+    pool.run_watchdog_pass(Some(root)).await;
+
+    let item = crate::crdt_state::read_item(story_id).expect("story must be in CRDT");
+    assert_eq!(
+        item.retry_count(),
+        1,
+        "a single limit-termination pass must bump retry_count by exactly 1, \
+         not twice (once from the limits branch, once from reap)"
+    );
+}

server/src/agents/pool/cost_rollup_subscriber.rs

@@ -9,10 +9,19 @@
 
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
-use crate::pipeline_state::Stage;
+use crate::pipeline_state::{Pipeline, Stage, Status};
 use crate::slog;
 use crate::slog_warn;
 
+/// Reconcile: re-populate the CostRollup register from disk for all known stories.
+///
+/// Idempotent — `init_from_disk` scans all existing token-usage JSONL files and
+/// overwrites the in-memory register.  Called by the periodic reconciler so that
+/// a Lagged event can never leave a story with a stale or absent cost entry.
+pub(crate) fn reconcile_cost_rollup(project_root: &Path) {
+    crate::service::agents::cost_rollup::init_from_disk(project_root);
+}
+
 /// Spawn a background task that maintains the CostRollup register.
 ///
 /// On every terminal stage transition (Done, Archived, Abandoned, Superseded,
@@ -41,17 +50,15 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_cost_rollup_subscriber(project_root: PathBuf) {
 /// Returns `true` if `stage` is a terminal pipeline stage.
 ///
 /// Terminal stages are those from which no further work is expected:
-/// Done, Archived, Abandoned, Superseded, Rejected.
+/// Done, Archived, Abandoned, Superseded, Rejected. Story 1086 routes the
-/// MergeFailure variants are NOT terminal — stories can recover from them.
+/// classification through the [`Status`] / [`Pipeline`] projection so future
+/// Stage variants automatically participate.  MergeFailure variants are NOT
+/// terminal — stories can recover from them.
 fn is_terminal(stage: &Stage) -> bool {
     matches!(
-        stage,
+        stage.status(),
-        Stage::Done { .. }
+        Status::Done | Status::Abandoned | Status::Superseded | Status::Rejected
-            | Stage::Archived { .. }
+    ) || matches!(stage.pipeline(), Pipeline::Archived)
-            | Stage::Abandoned { .. }
-            | Stage::Superseded { .. }
-            | Stage::Rejected { .. }
-    )
 }
 
 /// Snapshot the cost data for `fired.story_id` into the register when

server/src/agents/pool/mod.rs

@@ -18,10 +18,9 @@ mod test_helpers;
 
 use crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent;
 use crate::service::status::StatusBroadcaster;
-use portable_pty::ChildKiller;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::sync::Arc;
-use tokio::sync::broadcast;
+use tokio::sync::{Mutex, broadcast};
 
 // Bring pool-internal types into pool's namespace so that sub-modules
 // (auto_assign, pipeline, etc.) can access them via `use super::...`.
@@ -31,10 +30,6 @@ use types::{StoryAgent, composite_key};
 pub struct AgentPool {
     agents: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>>,
     port: u16,
-    /// Registry of active PTY child process killers, keyed by "{story_id}:{agent_name}".
-    /// Used to terminate child processes on server shutdown or agent stop, preventing
-    /// orphaned Claude Code processes from running after the server exits.
-    child_killers: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, Box<dyn ChildKiller + Send + Sync>>>>,
     /// Broadcast channel for notifying WebSocket clients of agent state changes.
     /// When an agent transitions state (Pending, Running, Completed, Failed, Stopped),
     /// an `AgentStateChanged` event is emitted so the frontend can refresh the
@@ -56,7 +51,6 @@ impl AgentPool {
         let pool = Self {
             agents: Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new())),
             port,
-            child_killers: Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new())),
             watcher_tx: watcher_tx.clone(),
             status_broadcaster: Arc::new(StatusBroadcaster::new()),
         };
@@ -93,10 +87,12 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         _ => continue,
                     };
                     let key = composite_key(&story_id, &agent_name);
-                    if let Ok(mut agents) = agents_clone.lock()
-                        && let Some(agent) = agents.get_mut(&key)
                     {
-                        agent.throttled = Some(crate::agents::AgentExecution::Throttled { until });
+                        let mut agents = agents_clone.lock().await;
+                        if let Some(agent) = agents.get_mut(&key) {
+                            agent.throttled =
+                                Some(crate::agents::AgentExecution::Throttled { until });
+                        }
                     }
                     let _ = watcher_tx_clone.send(WatcherEvent::AgentStateChanged);
                 }

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/helpers.rs

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ use std::path::Path;
 /// type cycle between `start_agent` and `run_server_owned_completion`.
 #[allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 pub(crate) fn spawn_pipeline_advance(
-    agents: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>>,
+    agents: Arc<tokio::sync::Mutex<HashMap<String, StoryAgent>>>,
     port: u16,
     story_id: &str,
     agent_name: &str,
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ pub(crate) fn spawn_pipeline_advance(
         let pool = AgentPool {
             agents,
             port,
-            child_killers: Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new())),
             watcher_tx,
             status_broadcaster: Arc::new(crate::service::status::StatusBroadcaster::new()),
         };

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/mod.rs

@@ -78,21 +78,34 @@ impl AgentPool {
                     // The coder exited with uncommitted content but no commits
                     // (typical "claude-code session boundary mid-sweep" pattern).
                     // Use a PROGRESS-AWARE retry cap: the agent gets unlimited
-                    // respawns as long as file edits keep growing between
+                    // respawns as long as progress is being made between attempts.
-                    // attempts; only when the worktree diff is byte-identical
+                    // Progress is satisfied if EITHER (a) the worktree diff grew,
-                    // to the previous attempt do we count it as "no progress".
+                    // OR (b) the set of files the agent read grew.  Raw tool-call
-                    // After NO_PROGRESS_CAP consecutive no-progress respawns,
+                    // count does NOT count — a looping agent can produce many calls.
-                    // block for human attention.
+                    // Only self-exited sessions with no file or read progress count
+                    // toward the cap; forced exits (API error, network, budget
+                    // exhaustion) are excluded (story 1089).
+                    // After NO_PROGRESS_CAP consecutive qualifying no-progress
+                    // respawns, block for human attention.
                     //
                     // TOTAL_ATTEMPTS_CAP is the OUTER bound: even if the agent
                     // keeps making file-edit progress every session, after this
-                    // many total respawns without a commit we escalate — caught
+                    // many total respawns without a commit we escalate — catches
-                    // the "agent flaps between different edits but never
+                    // the "agent flaps between different edits but never commits"
-                    // commits" pattern that the progress-aware counter would
+                    // pattern that the progress-aware counter would never trigger.
-                    // never trigger.
                     const NO_PROGRESS_CAP: u32 = 3;
                     const TOTAL_ATTEMPTS_CAP: u32 = 8;
 
+                    // AC1: consume the forced-exit flag written by spawn.rs when
+                    // the agent process exited with a non-zero code.
+                    let forced_exit = crate::db::read_content(
+                        crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryForcedExit(story_id),
+                    )
+                    .is_some();
+                    crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryForcedExit(
+                        story_id,
+                    ));
+
                     let current_fingerprint = worktree_path.as_deref().and_then(|p| {
                         std::process::Command::new("git")
                             .args(["diff", "master"])
@@ -104,18 +117,31 @@ impl AgentPool {
                     let stored_fingerprint = crate::db::read_content(
                         crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryDiffFingerprint(story_id),
                     );
-                    let made_progress = current_fingerprint.is_some()
+                    let diff_progress = current_fingerprint.is_some()
                         && stored_fingerprint.as_ref() != current_fingerprint.as_ref();
-                    let no_progress_count = if made_progress || stored_fingerprint.is_none() {
+
+                    // AC2: check read-file set progress as an additional signal.
+                    let read_progress = previous_session_id.as_deref().is_some_and(|session_id| {
+                        collect_read_progress(&project_root, story_id, agent_name, session_id)
+                    });
+
+                    let made_progress = diff_progress || read_progress;
+
+                    let prev_no_progress_count = crate::db::read_content(
+                        crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryPending(story_id),
+                    )
+                    .and_then(|s| s.trim().parse::<u32>().ok())
+                    .unwrap_or(0);
+
+                    // AC1: forced exits do not increment the stuck-respawn counter.
+                    let no_progress_count = if forced_exit {
+                        prev_no_progress_count
+                    } else if made_progress || stored_fingerprint.is_none() {
                         1
                     } else {
-                        crate::db::read_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryPending(
+                        prev_no_progress_count + 1
-                            story_id,
-                        ))
-                        .and_then(|s| s.trim().parse::<u32>().ok())
-                        .unwrap_or(0)
-                            + 1
                     };
+
                     let total_attempts = crate::db::read_content(
                         crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryTotalAttempts(story_id),
                     )
@@ -136,13 +162,17 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         crate::db::delete_content(
                             crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryTotalAttempts(story_id),
                         );
+                        crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(
+                            story_id,
+                        ));
                         slog!(
                             "[pipeline] Coder '{agent_name}' for '{story_id}' hit total \
                              commit-recovery cap ({total_attempts}/{TOTAL_ATTEMPTS_CAP}) \
                              without a commit. Blocking story."
                         );
                         let reason = format!(
-                            "agent flapped — {total_attempts} respawns without ever committing"
+                            "commit absent after {total_attempts} respawns — \
+                             agent kept making edits but never committed"
                         );
                         if let Err(e) =
                             crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_blocked(story_id, &reason)
@@ -167,14 +197,18 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         crate::db::delete_content(
                             crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryTotalAttempts(story_id),
                         );
+                        crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(
+                            story_id,
+                        ));
                         slog!(
                             "[pipeline] Coder '{agent_name}' for '{story_id}' made no \
-                             file-edit progress over {no_progress_count} consecutive \
+                             file or read progress over {no_progress_count} consecutive \
-                             commit-recovery respawns. Blocking story."
+                             self-exit commit-recovery respawns. Blocking story."
                         );
+                        // AC4: block message names the specific cause.
                         let reason = format!(
-                            "agent stuck — {no_progress_count} respawns without commits or \
+                            "stuck-respawn cap reached: {NO_PROGRESS_CAP} consecutive \
-                             new file edits"
+                             self-exits with no file or read progress"
                         );
                         if let Err(e) =
                             crate::agents::lifecycle::transition_to_blocked(story_id, &reason)
@@ -206,7 +240,8 @@ impl AgentPool {
                             "[pipeline] Coder '{agent_name}' exited with uncommitted work \
                              for '{story_id}' (no-progress {no_progress_count}/\
                              {NO_PROGRESS_CAP}, total {total_attempts}/\
-                             {TOTAL_ATTEMPTS_CAP}; progress_made={made_progress}). \
+                             {TOTAL_ATTEMPTS_CAP}; diff_progress={diff_progress}, \
+                             read_progress={read_progress}, forced_exit={forced_exit}). \
                              Issuing commit-only respawn."
                         );
                         let addendum = "\n\nYou have uncommitted work in this worktree. \
@@ -302,10 +337,13 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         });
                     }
                 } else if completion.gates_passed {
-                    // Clear any stale recovery key when the coder succeeds normally.
+                    // Clear any stale recovery keys when the coder succeeds normally.
                     crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryPending(
                         story_id,
                     ));
+                    crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(
+                        story_id,
+                    ));
                     // Determine effective QA mode for this story.
                     let qa_mode = {
                         let item_type = crate::agents::lifecycle::item_type_from_id(story_id);
@@ -361,11 +399,14 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         }
                     }
                 } else {
-                    // Clear any stale recovery key when gates fail normally (agent committed
+                    // Clear any stale recovery keys when gates fail normally (agent committed
                     // but the build is broken — treat as a standard retry, not a recovery).
                     crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryPending(
                         story_id,
                     ));
+                    crate::db::delete_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(
+                        story_id,
+                    ));
                     // Bug 645 / 668: Before retry/block, check if the agent left committed
                     // work AND the agent had a passing run_tests result captured during its
                     // session.  An agent may crash mid-output (e.g. Claude Code CLI PTY write
@@ -653,7 +694,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
                         if let Err(e) = crate::agents::lifecycle::move_story_to_done(story_id) {
                             slog_error!("[pipeline] Failed to move '{story_id}' to done: {e}");
                         }
-                        self.remove_agents_for_story(story_id);
+                        self.remove_agents_for_story(story_id).await;
                         crate::crdt_state::delete_merge_job(story_id);
                         // TODO: Re-enable worktree cleanup once we have persistent agent logs.
                         // Removing worktrees destroys evidence needed to debug empty-commit agents.
@@ -724,6 +765,109 @@ mod helpers;
 use helpers::{resolve_qa_mode_from_store, write_review_hold_to_store};
 pub(crate) use helpers::{should_block_story, spawn_pipeline_advance};
 
+/// Parse a huskies agent log and return the set of file paths passed to the
+/// Read tool in that session.  Returns an empty set if the log cannot be read.
+///
+/// Used by [`collect_read_progress`] to detect read-exploration progress even
+/// when the worktree diff did not grow (story 1089, AC2).
+fn collect_read_files_from_log(
+    project_root: &std::path::Path,
+    story_id: &str,
+    agent_name: &str,
+    session_id: &str,
+) -> std::collections::HashSet<String> {
+    let log_path = crate::agent_log::log_file_path(project_root, story_id, agent_name, session_id);
+    let mut files = std::collections::HashSet::new();
+
+    let log_text = match std::fs::read_to_string(&log_path) {
+        Ok(t) => t,
+        Err(_) => return files,
+    };
+
+    for line in log_text.lines() {
+        let trimmed = line.trim();
+        if trimmed.is_empty() {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let entry: serde_json::Value = match serde_json::from_str(trimmed) {
+            Ok(v) => v,
+            Err(_) => continue,
+        };
+        // Only look at agent_json events where data.type == "assistant".
+        if entry.get("type").and_then(|t| t.as_str()) != Some("agent_json") {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let data = match entry.get("data") {
+            Some(d) => d,
+            None => continue,
+        };
+        if data.get("type").and_then(|t| t.as_str()) != Some("assistant") {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let content = match data.pointer("/message/content").and_then(|c| c.as_array()) {
+            Some(c) => c,
+            None => continue,
+        };
+        for item in content {
+            if item.get("type").and_then(|t| t.as_str()) != Some("tool_use") {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if item.get("name").and_then(|n| n.as_str()) != Some("Read") {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if let Some(path) = item.pointer("/input/file_path").and_then(|p| p.as_str()) {
+                files.insert(path.to_string());
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    files
+}
+
+/// Return `true` if the agent read any files in `session_id` that were not in
+/// the cumulative read set for `story_id`.  Updates the stored cumulative set
+/// when new files are found (story 1089, AC2).
+fn collect_read_progress(
+    project_root: &std::path::Path,
+    story_id: &str,
+    agent_name: &str,
+    session_id: &str,
+) -> bool {
+    let session_files = collect_read_files_from_log(project_root, story_id, agent_name, session_id);
+    if session_files.is_empty() {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    let stored_set: std::collections::HashSet<String> =
+        crate::db::read_content(crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(story_id))
+            .map(|s| {
+                s.lines()
+                    .filter(|l| !l.is_empty())
+                    .map(str::to_string)
+                    .collect()
+            })
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+
+    let union: std::collections::HashSet<String> =
+        stored_set.union(&session_files).cloned().collect();
+
+    if union.len() > stored_set.len() {
+        let mut sorted: Vec<&String> = union.iter().collect();
+        sorted.sort();
+        crate::db::write_content(
+            crate::db::ContentKey::CommitRecoveryReadSet(story_id),
+            &sorted
+                .into_iter()
+                .map(String::as_str)
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                .join("\n"),
+        );
+        true
+    } else {
+        false
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests;
 #[cfg(test)]

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/advance/tests_regression.rs

@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ async fn mergemaster_blocks_and_sends_story_blocked_when_no_commits_ahead() {
     );
 
     // No mergemaster agent should have been started.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let mergemaster_started = agents
         .values()
         .any(|a| a.agent_name.contains("mergemaster"));
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ stage = "qa"
 
     // Verify that 293 cannot get a QA agent right now (QA is busy).
     {
-        let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         assert!(
             !is_agent_free(&agents, "qa"),
             "qa should be busy on story 292"
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ stage = "qa"
     // Simulate QA completing on story 292: remove the agent from the pool
     // (as run_server_owned_completion does) then run pipeline advance.
     {
-        let mut agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+        let mut agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
         agents.remove(&composite_key("292_story_first", "qa"));
     }
 
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ stage = "qa"
     .await;
 
     // After pipeline advance, auto_assign should have started QA on story 293.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let qa_on_293 = agents.values().any(|a| {
         a.agent_name == "qa" && matches!(a.status, AgentStatus::Pending | AgentStatus::Running)
     });
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ async fn stale_mergemaster_advance_for_done_story_is_noop() {
     .await;
 
     // No agents should have been started.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     assert!(
         agents.is_empty(),
         "No agents should be started for a stale advance on a done story. \
@@ -871,7 +871,7 @@ stage = "coder"
     .await;
 
     // The coder must be re-spawned — Pending or Running.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let coder_restarted = agents.values().any(|a| {
         a.agent_name == "coder-1" && matches!(a.status, AgentStatus::Pending | AgentStatus::Running)
     });
@@ -957,7 +957,7 @@ stage = "coder"
     .await;
 
     // The recovery respawn must have been issued — coder-1 should be Pending/Running.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let coder_restarted = agents.values().any(|a| {
         a.agent_name == "coder-1" && matches!(a.status, AgentStatus::Pending | AgentStatus::Running)
     });
@@ -1077,7 +1077,7 @@ stage = "coder"
         "Story must be blocked after NO_PROGRESS_CAP consecutive no-progress respawns"
     );
     assert!(
-        block_reason.contains("without commits or new file edits"),
+        block_reason.contains("self-exits with no file or read progress"),
         "Block reason should describe the no-progress condition, got: {block_reason}"
     );
 
@@ -1193,7 +1193,7 @@ stage = "coder"
         "Story must be blocked once total commit-recovery attempts hits the outer cap"
     );
     assert!(
-        block_reason.contains("flapped") && block_reason.contains("without ever committing"),
+        block_reason.contains("commit absent") && block_reason.contains("never committed"),
         "Block reason should describe the flapping pattern, got: {block_reason}"
     );
 
@@ -1328,7 +1328,7 @@ async fn coder_completion_with_test_evidence_and_zero_commits_does_not_advance()
     );
 
     // No QA or merge agent should have been started.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let qa_or_merge_started = agents
         .values()
         .any(|a| a.agent_name.contains("qa") || a.agent_name.contains("merge"));

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/completion/legacy.rs

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
 
         // Verify agent exists, is Running, and grab its worktree path.
         let worktree_path = {
-            let agents = self.agents.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+            let agents = self.agents.lock().await;
             let agent = agents
                 .get(&key)
                 .ok_or_else(|| format!("No agent '{agent_name}' for story '{story_id}'"))?;
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ impl AgentPool {
             merge_failure_reported_for_advance,
             session_id_for_advance,
         ) = {
-            let mut agents = self.agents.lock().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+            let mut agents = self.agents.lock().await;
             let agent = agents.get_mut(&key).ok_or_else(|| {
                 format!("Agent '{agent_name}' for story '{story_id}' disappeared during gate check")
             })?;
@@ -111,7 +111,6 @@ impl AgentPool {
         let pool_clone = Self {
             agents: Arc::clone(&self.agents),
             port: self.port,
-            child_killers: Arc::clone(&self.child_killers),
             watcher_tx: self.watcher_tx.clone(),
             status_broadcaster: Arc::clone(&self.status_broadcaster),
         };

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/completion/server.rs

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 use crate::io::watcher::WatcherEvent;
 use crate::slog;
 use std::collections::HashMap;
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tokio::sync::Mutex;
 use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 
 use super::super::super::super::{AgentEvent, CompletionReport, PipelineStage, pipeline_stage};
@@ -45,10 +46,7 @@ pub(in crate::agents::pool) async fn run_server_owned_completion(
 
     // Guard: skip if completion was already recorded (legacy path).
     {
-        let lock = match agents.lock() {
+        let lock = agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(a) => a,
-            Err(_) => return,
-        };
         match lock.get(&key) {
             Some(agent) if agent.completion.is_some() => {
                 slog!(
@@ -64,35 +62,18 @@ pub(in crate::agents::pool) async fn run_server_owned_completion(
 
     // Get worktree path for running gates.
     let worktree_path = {
-        let lock = match agents.lock() {
+        let lock = agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(a) => a,
-            Err(_) => return,
-        };
         lock.get(&key)
             .and_then(|a| a.worktree_info.as_ref().map(|wt| wt.path.clone()))
     };
 
     // Kill any in-flight cargo test processes for this worktree so they don't
     // hold the build lock while gates try to run.
-    if let Some(wt_path) = worktree_path.as_ref()
+    if let Some(wt_path) = worktree_path.as_ref() {
-        && let Ok(output) = std::process::Command::new("pgrep")
+        let pattern = format!("--manifest-path {}/Cargo.toml", wt_path.display());
-            .args([
+        let _ = crate::process_kill::sigkill_pids_and_verify(&crate::process_kill::pids_matching(
-                "-f",
+            &pattern,
-                &format!("--manifest-path {}/Cargo.toml", wt_path.display()),
+        ));
-            ])
-            .output()
-    {
-        let pids = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
-        for pid_str in pids.lines() {
-            if let Ok(pid) = pid_str.trim().parse::<i32>() {
-                crate::slog!(
-                    "[agents] Killing stale cargo process (pid {pid}) for '{story_id}' before running gates"
-                );
-                unsafe {
-                    libc::kill(pid, libc::SIGKILL);
-                }
-            }
-        }
     }
 
     // Run acceptance gates.  Third element of the tuple is `needs_commit_recovery`:
@@ -206,10 +187,7 @@ pub(in crate::agents::pool) async fn run_server_owned_completion(
     // Store completion report, extract data for pipeline advance, then
     // remove the entry so completed agents never appear in list_agents.
     let (tx, project_root_for_advance, wt_path_for_advance, merge_failure_reported_for_advance) = {
-        let mut lock = match agents.lock() {
+        let mut lock = agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(a) => a,
-            Err(_) => return,
-        };
         let agent = match lock.get_mut(&key) {
             Some(a) => a,
             None => return,

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/completion/tests.rs

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_skips_when_already_completed() {
     );
 
     // Subscribe before calling so we can check if Done event was emitted.
-    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s10", "coder-1").unwrap();
+    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s10", "coder-1").await.unwrap();
 
     run_server_owned_completion(
         &pool.agents,
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_skips_when_already_completed() {
     .await;
 
     // Status should remain Completed (unchanged) — no gate re-run.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = super::super::super::composite_key("s10", "coder-1");
     let agent = agents.get(&key).unwrap();
     assert_eq!(agent.status, AgentStatus::Completed);
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_runs_gates_on_clean_worktree() {
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_path("s11", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, repo.to_path_buf());
 
-    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s11", "coder-1").unwrap();
+    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s11", "coder-1").await.unwrap();
 
     run_server_owned_completion(
         &pool.agents,
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_runs_gates_on_clean_worktree() {
     .await;
 
     // Agent entry should be removed from the map after completion.
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = super::super::super::composite_key("s11", "coder-1");
     assert!(
         agents.get(&key).is_none(),
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_fails_on_dirty_worktree() {
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_path("s12", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, repo.to_path_buf());
 
-    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s12", "coder-1").unwrap();
+    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("s12", "coder-1").await.unwrap();
 
     run_server_owned_completion(
         &pool.agents,
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_fails_on_dirty_worktree() {
     .await;
 
     // Agent entry should be removed from the map after completion (even on failure).
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = super::super::super::composite_key("s12", "coder-1");
     assert!(
         agents.get(&key).is_none(),
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_is_noop_for_mergemaster() {
 
     // The agent entry should remain in the pool (lifecycle cleanup is the
     // caller's responsibility, not run_server_owned_completion's).
-    let agents = pool.agents.lock().unwrap();
+    let agents = pool.agents.try_lock().unwrap();
     let key = super::super::super::composite_key("99_story_merge445", "mergemaster");
     assert!(
         agents.get(&key).is_some(),
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ async fn server_owned_completion_preserves_dirty_worktree_with_committed_work()
     let pool = AgentPool::new_test(3001);
     pool.inject_test_agent_with_path("645_test", "coder-1", AgentStatus::Running, wt_path.clone());
 
-    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("645_test", "coder-1").unwrap();
+    let mut rx = pool.subscribe("645_test", "coder-1").await.unwrap();
 
     run_server_owned_completion(
         &pool.agents,

server/src/agents/pool/pipeline/merge/control.rs

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ impl AgentPool {
         let pool = Arc::new(Self {
             agents: Arc::clone(&self.agents),
             port: self.port,
-            child_killers: Arc::clone(&self.child_killers),
             watcher_tx: self.watcher_tx.clone(),
             status_broadcaster: Arc::clone(&self.status_broadcaster),
         });
@@ -35,35 +34,29 @@ impl AgentPool {
     /// If the agent was already removed from the pool (race: `remove_agents_for_story`
     /// ran first) this is a no-op; the `ContentKey::MergeSuccess` DB key written
     /// by the caller acts as the authoritative fallback in that case.
-    pub fn set_merge_success_reported(&self, story_id: &str) {
+    pub async fn set_merge_success_reported(&self, story_id: &str) {
-        match self.agents.lock() {
+        let mut lock = self.agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(mut lock) => {
+        let found = lock.iter_mut().find(|(key, agent)| {
-                let found = lock.iter_mut().find(|(key, agent)| {
+            let key_story_id = key
-                    let key_story_id = key
+                .rsplit_once(':')
-                        .rsplit_once(':')
+                .map(|(sid, _)| sid)
-                        .map(|(sid, _)| sid)
+                .unwrap_or(key.as_str());
-                        .unwrap_or(key.as_str());
+            key_story_id == story_id
-                    key_story_id == story_id
+                && pipeline_stage(&agent.agent_name) == PipelineStage::Mergemaster
-                        && pipeline_stage(&agent.agent_name) == PipelineStage::Mergemaster
+        });
-                });
+        match found {
-                match found {
+            Some((_, agent)) => {
-                    Some((_, agent)) => {
+                agent.merge_success_reported = true;
-                        agent.merge_success_reported = true;
+                slog!(
-                        slog!(
+                    "[pipeline] Merge success flag set for '{story_id}:{}'",
-                            "[pipeline] Merge success flag set for '{story_id}:{}'",
+                    agent.agent_name
-                            agent.agent_name
+                );
-                        );
-                    }
-                    None => {
-                        slog!(
-                            "[pipeline] set_merge_success_reported: no running mergemaster \
-                             for '{story_id}' — DB key is the authoritative fallback"
-                        );
-                    }
-                }
             }
-            Err(e) => {
+            None => {
-                slog_error!("[pipeline] set_merge_success_reported: could not lock agents: {e}");
+                slog!(
+                    "[pipeline] set_merge_success_reported: no running mergemaster \
+                     for '{story_id}' — DB key is the authoritative fallback"
+                );
             }
         }
     }
@@ -75,35 +68,29 @@ impl AgentPool {
     /// that `run_pipeline_advance` can block advancement to `5_done/` even when
     /// the server-owned gate check returns `gates_passed=true` (those gates run
     /// in the feature-branch worktree, not on master).
-    pub fn set_merge_failure_reported(&self, story_id: &str) {
+    pub async fn set_merge_failure_reported(&self, story_id: &str) {
-        match self.agents.lock() {
+        let mut lock = self.agents.lock().await;
-            Ok(mut lock) => {
+        let found = lock.iter_mut().find(|(key, agent)| {
-                let found = lock.iter_mut().find(|(key, agent)| {
+            let key_story_id = key
-                    let key_story_id = key
+                .rsplit_once(':')
-                        .rsplit_once(':')
+                .map(|(sid, _)| sid)
-                        .map(|(sid, _)| sid)
+                .unwrap_or(key.as_str());
-                        .unwrap_or(key.as_str());
+            key_story_id == story_id
-                    key_story_id == story_id
+                && pipeline_stage(&agent.agent_name) == PipelineStage::Mergemaster
-                        && pipeline_stage(&agent.agent_name) == PipelineStage::Mergemaster
+        });
-                });
+        match found {
-                match found {
+            Some((_, agent)) => {
-                    Some((_, agent)) => {
+                agent.merge_failure_reported = true;
-                        agent.merge_failure_reported = true;
+                slog!(
-                        slog!(
+                    "[pipeline] Merge failure flag set for '{story_id}:{}'",
-                            "[pipeline] Merge failure flag set for '{story_id}:{}'",
+                    agent.agent_name
-                            agent.agent_name
+                );
-                        );
-                    }
-                    None => {
-                        slog_warn!(
-                            "[pipeline] set_merge_failure_reported: no running mergemaster found \
-                             for story '{story_id}' — flag not set"
-                        );
-                    }
-                }
             }
-            Err(e) => {
+            None => {
-                slog_error!("[pipeline] set_merge_failure_reported: could not lock agents: {e}");
+                slog_warn!(
+                    "[pipeline] set_merge_failure_reported: no running mergemaster found \
+                     for story '{story_id}' — flag not set"
+                );
             }
         }
     }