@agentshouse/kit 0.1.0-alpha.24 → 0.1.0-alpha.26

package/README.md

@@ -4,15 +4,38 @@ House Kit is a public package repository. Product development is planned and
 coordinated in the [Agents House repository](https://github.com/trof3039/agents.house);
 this repository contains only the package source and its operator documentation.
 
+The Skill set Kit installs is Matt Pocock's
+[`mattpocock/skills`](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills); thank you, Matt.
+
 ## Connect a Linux computer
 
-On Linux `amd64` or `arm64` with a working Docker Engine, run the published,
-versioned bootstrap once:
+On Linux `amd64` or `arm64`, run the published, versioned bootstrap once:
 
 ```sh
-bash <(curl -fsSL https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.24/connect-linux.sh)
+bash <(curl -fsSL https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.26/connect-linux.sh)
 ```
 
+The bootstrap first establishes Docker Engine from what it observes on the
+computer. A Docker Engine that already answers is used as it is, on any
+distribution. On Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 or 26.04 LTS it follows Docker's
+[apt repository recipe](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/) for
+whatever is missing: it installs `docker-ce`, `docker-ce-cli`,
+`containerd.io`, `docker-buildx-plugin` and `docker-compose-plugin` from
+`download.docker.com`, starts the `docker` service when it is stopped and adds
+the account to the `docker` group. Every such step runs through `sudo`, which
+asks for the password as it ordinarily does. A new group membership applies
+from the account's next sign-in, so the invocation that grants it reaches
+Docker Engine through `sudo` for the rest of its own run; a later invocation
+from a session older than the membership is refused until the account signs
+out and back in. The bootstrap refuses an Ubuntu computer whose installed
+`docker.io`, `docker-compose`, `docker-compose-v2`, `docker-doc`,
+`docker-buildx`, `podman-docker`, `containerd` or `runc` package conflicts with
+that recipe rather than removing it. Any other distribution needs a working
+Docker Engine supplied by its owner, and without one the bootstrap stops with
+that missing prerequisite. A step that fails names its cause and changes
+nothing further; running the same bootstrap again continues from the state it
+left, including after a restart.
+
 The release asset pins one immutable multi-architecture image digest. It creates
 owner-protected `~/.house-kit` and `~/AgentsHouse`, mounts those as the complete
 Kit home and `/agents/house`, enrolls through House Login in the host browser,
@@ -20,7 +43,10 @@ and starts the container with Docker's `unless-stopped` lifecycle. Pass
 `--workspace /absolute/path` for one other workspace root or `--manual` for
 the existing URL and one-time-code login route. `--house <origin>` selects
 another House and is retained in Kit home. A repeated invocation reuses the
-same container, credential and Environment.
+same container, credential and Environment. Every invocation that is not a
+forwarded command also sets `skills` in Kit's configuration: `--no-skills`
+declines [the Skill set](#the-skill-set) and an invocation without it accepts
+the set again.
 
 Running a newer release's bootstrap the same way is the only update. When the
 installed container runs another image, the bootstrap pulls this release's
@@ -207,7 +233,8 @@ never printed by Kit.
       "settings": "/home/ada/.claude/settings.json"
     }
   ],
-  "host": null
+  "host": null,
+  "skills": true
 }
 ```
 
@@ -234,6 +261,11 @@ service owns the command that produces it.
 no capacity; the section is required like the others, so a host is measured only
 where the Environment owner says so.
 
+`skills` is this Environment's choice of [the Skill set](#the-skill-set):
+`true` accepts it and `false` declines it. A configuration that omits it
+accepts the set. The bootstrap writes it on every invocation that is not a
+forwarded command.
+
 `clients` is the local Agent client catalogue and never leaves the installation.
 Each entry names one client whose lifecycle hook configuration this Kit
 reconciles: `kind` is `claude-code`, the one client this Kit installs a hook
@@ -375,7 +407,8 @@ them all, and no instance can read another's provider credential.
     }
   ],
   "clients": [],
-  "host": null
+  "host": null,
+  "skills": false
 }
 ```
 
@@ -633,27 +666,12 @@ inside `/agents/house` is somebody else's default or an owner's own workspace,
 never this Agent's. Every path that is not this exact equality, one deeper
 inside `/agents/house` included, must
 already exist in this Environment as a directory the installation can enter;
-Kit never creates or seeds it.
-
-When the Agent's own default directory is absent, Kit builds the starter set in
-a temporary directory beneath the base and renames it into place as one atomic
-step, so a partly seeded directory is never visible at the default path. Two
-concurrent first launches race that rename; the loser discards its temporary
-directory and uses the directory the winner put there, so the pair still leaves
-one complete directory and nothing partial. A present default directory -
-including one whose starter files the owner edited or removed - launches
-exactly as it is, and a deleted default directory is recreated with a fresh
-starter set on its next launch.
-
-The starter set is `AGENTS.md` with the single line ``The agents.house `house`
-CLI is available: run `house --help`.``, `CLAUDE.md` as a relative symbolic link to it, `.agents/skills/grilling/`
-vendored from [`mattpocock/skills`](https://github.com/mattpocock/skills)
-`skills/productivity/grilling` at a pinned commit with its MIT license and a
-provenance header naming that commit, and `.claude/skills` as a relative
-symbolic link to `.agents/skills`. Once seeded the files belong to the owner:
-Kit never syncs, refreshes, or restores them, and refreshing the vendored skill
-for new Agents is an ordinary Kit release that never touches an already seeded
-directory.
+Kit never creates it.
+
+When the Agent's own default directory is absent, Kit creates it empty; two
+concurrent first launches create the same directory. A present default
+directory launches exactly as it is, and a deleted one is created empty again
+on its next launch. Kit writes no file into any working directory.
 
 A relative, missing, inaccessible, or non-directory working directory refuses
 with `kit_launch_directory_unavailable` before any provider process starts. Kit falls back to no other location - not the
@@ -661,6 +679,52 @@ base, not `$HOUSE_KIT_HOME`, and not its own current directory - and neither
 connecting an installation nor launching a session moves, copies, overwrites,
 or removes anything a working directory holds.
 
+## The Skill set
+
+The Skill set is every skill the `mattpocock/skills` plugin manifest names at
+one pinned commit but `setup-matt-pocock-skills`, `triage` and `wizard`. Each
+is vendored under `src/skill-set/<name>/` with every file it ships, the
+upstream MIT `LICENSE` and a provenance header in `SKILL.md` naming the commit
+and upstream path. Nothing else is edited but two lines: a
+`disable-model-invocation: true` frontmatter line in `SKILL.md` and an
+`allow_implicit_invocation: false` line in `agents/openai.yaml` are removed, so
+an agent reaches every skill without being told its name.
+
+Kit installs the Skill set once for the Environment, for every Agent whatever
+its working directory, under the home it launches agent CLIs with: each skill
+as the directory `$HOME/.agents/skills/<name>`, which Codex and Grok Build
+read, and a relative symbolic link `$HOME/.claude/skills/<name>` to it, which
+Claude Code reads; when `$HOME/.claude/skills` already resolves to
+`$HOME/.agents/skills`, Claude Code reads the directory there and Kit makes no
+link. In a container that home is Kit home, so the set survives
+container recreation; on a native host it is the host user's home.
+
+`$HOUSE_KIT_HOME/state/skill-set.json` records the names Kit installed and the
+Kit version that installed them, and Kit owns exactly those names: the
+directory and the link of each. At start and on every resident pass, when
+the set is accepted and the record names another version or none, Kit deletes
+every recorded name, installs the current Skill set and rewrites the record. A
+name whose directory or link exists without being recorded is the owner's: Kit
+leaves it untouched and installs nothing under it. Kit never compares, merges
+or restores a file, so an edit to an installed skill is lost at the next
+release and a copy under another name is kept. When `skills` is `false`, Kit
+deletes every recorded name and the record and installs nothing.
+
+After Kit first installs the Skill set, the first Session it launches whose
+Profile ceiling lets it write the owner's How-we-work document
+`/private/library/how-we-work.md` creates it, when it is absent, with the text
+Kit ships in `src/how-we-work.md`, over the Session's own bridge before its
+first prompt is built. Kit then notes in `$HOUSE_KIT_HOME/state/how-we-work`,
+apart from the record, that the document exists, and a present document is
+noted the same way without being touched. Nothing ever creates it again: a
+release, a declined Skill set and a later acceptance leave the note, so an
+owner's edit stands and a deleted document stays deleted. A Session whose
+ceiling cannot write the document launches without it and leaves it for the
+next one; any other refused creation refuses the attempt as
+`kit_how_we_work_unwritable` with House's answer before a prompt is sent. A
+Skill set Kit cannot install or remove refuses the pass as
+`kit_skill_set_unavailable` and names the path.
+
 ## The declared agent CLIs
 
 The Environment owner installs no adapter binary by hand. `kit agents update`
@@ -1688,6 +1752,8 @@ $HOUSE_KIT_HOME/
   state/conversation-originals/<attachment identity>.json
   state/sessions/<tmux session>.json
   state/update-drain
+  state/skill-set.json
+  state/how-we-work
   state/continuations/<run identity>.json
   state/<instance>/credentials/google.json
   state/<instance>/checkpoints/<service>.json

package/bin/connect-linux.sh

@@ -6,11 +6,16 @@ NAME='house-kit'
 HOUSE='https://agents.house'
 WORKSPACE="$HOME/AgentsHouse"
 MANUAL=0
+SKILLS=true
 WORKSPACE_SELECTED=0
 HOUSE_SELECTED=0
 FORWARDING=0
 FORWARDED=kit
 FORWARD=()
+UBUNTU_RELEASES=(jammy noble resolute)
+DOCKER_PACKAGES=(docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin)
+CONFLICTING_PACKAGES=(docker.io docker-compose docker-compose-v2 docker-doc docker-buildx podman-docker containerd runc)
+DOCKER_GROUP=0
 
 refuse() {
   printf 'kit_bootstrap_refused: %s\n' "$1" >&2
@@ -42,6 +47,94 @@ start_resident() {
   docker run -d --name "$NAME" --restart unless-stopped --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" --mount "$KIT_HOME_MOUNT" --mount "$WORKSPACE_MOUNT" --label "agentshouse.house=$HOUSE" --env HOME=/kit-home --env HOUSE_KIT_HOME=/kit-home --env HOUSE_KIT_CONTAINER=1 "$IMAGE" resident >/dev/null
 }
 
+docker() {
+  if ((DOCKER_GROUP)); then
+    sudo -u "$(id -un)" docker "$@"
+  else
+    command docker "$@"
+  fi
+}
+
+elevated() {
+  if ((EUID == 0)); then
+    "$@"
+  else
+    sudo "$@"
+  fi
+}
+
+docker_member() {
+  [[ " $(id -nG "$@") " == *' docker '* ]]
+}
+
+docker_answers() {
+  DOCKER_PLATFORM=$(docker info --format '{{.OSType}}/{{.Architecture}}' 2>/dev/null)
+}
+
+docker_cause() {
+  docker info 2>&1 >/dev/null | tail -n 1
+}
+
+unanswered() {
+  type -P docker >/dev/null || return 0
+  printf '; Docker Engine does not answer: %s' "$(docker_cause)"
+}
+
+installed_packages() {
+  { dpkg-query -W -f='${db:Status-Status} ${Package}\n' "$@" 2>/dev/null || true; } | awk '$1 == "installed" { print $2 }'
+}
+
+install_docker_engine() {
+  printf 'Installing Docker Engine from Docker'\''s apt repository for %s; sudo may ask for your password.\n' "$1"
+  elevated apt-get update -qq >/dev/null || refuse 'apt could not refresh its package lists'
+  elevated apt-get install -y -qq ca-certificates curl >/dev/null || refuse 'apt could not install ca-certificates and curl'
+  elevated install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings || refuse '/etc/apt/keyrings could not be created'
+  elevated curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc || refuse 'the Docker apt repository key could not be downloaded'
+  elevated chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc || refuse 'the Docker apt repository key could not be made readable'
+  printf 'Types: deb\nURIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu\nSuites: %s\nComponents: stable\nArchitectures: %s\nSigned-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc\n' "$2" "$(dpkg --print-architecture)" \
+    | elevated tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources >/dev/null || refuse 'the Docker apt repository could not be configured'
+  elevated apt-get update -qq >/dev/null || refuse 'apt could not read the Docker apt repository'
+  elevated apt-get install -y -qq "${DOCKER_PACKAGES[@]}" >/dev/null || refuse 'apt could not install Docker Engine'
+}
+
+establish_docker_engine() {
+  docker_answers && return
+  if ((EUID != 0)) && ! docker_member && docker_member "$(id -un)"; then
+    refuse "$(id -un) joined the docker group after this session began; sign out and back in, then rerun this bootstrap"
+  fi
+  local distribution='' release='' described='this Linux distribution' conflicting present
+  if [[ -r /etc/os-release ]]; then
+    distribution=$(. /etc/os-release && printf '%s' "${ID:-}")
+    release=$(. /etc/os-release && printf '%s' "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-${VERSION_CODENAME:-}}")
+    described=$(. /etc/os-release && printf '%s' "${PRETTY_NAME:-$described}")
+  fi
+  if ((FORWARDING)); then
+    type -P docker >/dev/null || refuse 'House Kit is not installed; run this bootstrap without arguments first'
+    refuse "Docker Engine does not answer: $(docker_cause)"
+  fi
+  if [[ "$distribution" != ubuntu ]]; then
+    type -P docker >/dev/null || refuse "Docker Engine is not installed on $described; install a working Docker Engine, then rerun this bootstrap"
+    refuse "Docker Engine does not answer on $described: $(docker_cause)"
+  fi
+  [[ " ${UBUNTU_RELEASES[*]} " == *" $release "* ]] || refuse "this bootstrap installs Docker Engine only on Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04 LTS, not $described; install a working Docker Engine, then rerun this bootstrap$(unanswered)"
+  conflicting=$(installed_packages "${CONFLICTING_PACKAGES[@]}" | paste -sd ' ' -)
+  [[ -z "$conflicting" ]] || refuse "the installed packages $conflicting conflict with Docker Engine; remove them or make their Docker Engine work, then rerun this bootstrap$(unanswered)"
+  present=$(installed_packages "${DOCKER_PACKAGES[@]}" | wc -l)
+  ((present == ${#DOCKER_PACKAGES[@]})) || install_docker_engine "$described" "$release"
+  if ! systemctl is-active --quiet docker.service; then
+    printf 'Starting Docker Engine; sudo may ask for your password.\n'
+    elevated systemctl start docker.service || refuse 'Docker Engine could not be started'
+  fi
+  if ((EUID != 0)); then
+    if ! docker_member "$(id -un)"; then
+      printf 'Adding %s to the docker group; it applies from your next sign-in, so this run reaches Docker Engine through sudo.\n' "$(id -un)"
+      elevated usermod -aG docker "$(id -un)" || refuse "$(id -un) could not be added to the docker group"
+    fi
+    docker_member || DOCKER_GROUP=1
+  fi
+  docker_answers || refuse "Docker Engine does not answer: $(docker_cause)"
+}
+
 if [[ "${1:-}" == kit || "${1:-}" == house ]]; then
   FORWARDING=1
   FORWARDED="$1"
@@ -68,6 +161,10 @@ while (($#)); do
       MANUAL=1
       shift
       ;;
+    --no-skills)
+      SKILLS=false
+      shift
+      ;;
     *) refuse "unknown argument $1" ;;
   esac
 done
@@ -80,8 +177,7 @@ case "$(uname -m)" in
   *) refuse "unsupported Linux architecture $(uname -m)" ;;
 esac
 [[ "$WORKSPACE" == /* ]] || refuse 'workspace root must be an absolute path'
-command -v docker >/dev/null || refuse 'Docker Engine client is unavailable'
-DOCKER_PLATFORM=$(docker info --format '{{.OSType}}/{{.Architecture}}' 2>/dev/null) || refuse 'Docker Engine is unavailable'
+establish_docker_engine
 case "$DOCKER_PLATFORM" in
   linux/x86_64|linux/amd64) DOCKER_ARCH=amd64 ;;
   linux/aarch64|linux/arm64) DOCKER_ARCH=arm64 ;;
@@ -117,6 +213,16 @@ if [[ -f "$KIT_HOME/house" ]]; then
   HOUSE="$BOUND_HOUSE"
 fi
 [[ "$HOUSE" == https://* || "$HOUSE" == http://127.0.0.1:* || "$HOUSE" == http://localhost:* ]] || refuse 'House origin must use HTTPS or local loopback HTTP'
+if ((FORWARDING == 0)); then
+  if [[ ! -f "$KIT_HOME/kit.json" ]]; then
+    printf '{"availability":"intermittent","execution_authority":"allow","migrators":[],"instances":[],"clients":[],"host":null,"skills":%s}\n' "$SKILLS" > "$KIT_HOME/kit.json"
+  elif grep -Eq '"skills"[[:space:]]*:' "$KIT_HOME/kit.json"; then
+    sed -E -i "s/(\"skills\"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*)(true|false)/\\1$SKILLS/" "$KIT_HOME/kit.json" || refuse 'kit.json could not be updated'
+  else
+    sed -E -i "1s/^([[:space:]]*)\\{/\\1{\"skills\":$SKILLS,/" "$KIT_HOME/kit.json" || refuse 'kit.json could not be updated'
+  fi
+  grep -Eq "\"skills\"[[:space:]]*:[[:space:]]*$SKILLS" "$KIT_HOME/kit.json" || refuse 'kit.json could not be updated'
+fi
 DOCKER_RUN=(docker run --rm --network host --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" --mount "$KIT_HOME_MOUNT" --mount "$WORKSPACE_MOUNT" --env HOME=/kit-home --env HOUSE_KIT_HOME=/kit-home --env HOUSE_KIT_CONTAINER=1 --env "HOUSE_KIT_HOSTNAME=$(hostname)" "$IMAGE")
 
 if docker container inspect "$NAME" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -180,10 +286,6 @@ fi
 
 docker pull --quiet --platform "linux/$ARCH" "$IMAGE" >/dev/null
 
-if [[ ! -f "$KIT_HOME/kit.json" ]]; then
-  printf '{"availability":"intermittent","execution_authority":"allow","migrators":[],"instances":[],"clients":[],"host":null}\n' > "$KIT_HOME/kit.json"
-fi
-
 if [[ -f "$KIT_HOME/credential" ]]; then
   "${DOCKER_RUN[@]}" credential check
 else

package/bootstrap.json

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "schemaVersion": 1,
-  "version": "0.1.0-alpha.24",
+  "version": "0.1.0-alpha.26",
   "hosts": {
     "linux": {
-      "command": "bash <(curl -fsSL https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.24/connect-linux.sh)",
+      "command": "bash <(curl -fsSL https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.26/connect-linux.sh)",
       "asset": {
         "name": "connect-linux.sh",
-        "url": "https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.24/connect-linux.sh"
+        "url": "https://github.com/agentshouse/kit/releases/download/v0.1.0-alpha.26/connect-linux.sh"
       },
       "workspace": {
         "argument": "--workspace",

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@agentshouse/kit",
-  "version": "0.1.0-alpha.24",
+  "version": "0.1.0-alpha.26",
   "license": "MIT",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",

package/src/adapter-mcp.js

@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import {
   COMMAND_ADAPTER_INITIALIZE_TIMEOUT_MS,
   HOW_WE_WORK_PATH,
   MCP_PROTOCOL_VERSION,
   SHELL_RENDER,
 } from "./contract.js";
-import { answerText, bridgeCall } from "./mcp.js";
+import { answerText, bridgeCall, editRefusal } from "./mcp.js";
 import { KitRefusal } from "./refusal.js";
 
+const HOW_WE_WORK_TEXT = readFileSync(new URL("how-we-work.md", import.meta.url), "utf8");
+
 function readableDiscovery(discovery) {
   const identity = discovery?._meta?.["io.modelcontextprotocol/serverInfo"];
   return Array.isArray(discovery?.supportedVersions) &&
@@ -84,3 +87,22 @@ export async function commandHouseHowWeWork(bridge) {
   } while (cursor !== null);
   return pages.join("\n");
 }
+
+export async function commandHouseCreateHowWeWork(bridge) {
+  const frame = await bridgeCall(bridge, {
+    method: "tools/call",
+    params: {
+      name: "edit",
+      arguments: { changes: [{ op: "create", path: HOW_WE_WORK_PATH, content: HOW_WE_WORK_TEXT }] },
+    },
+  });
+  if (frame.error !== undefined) {
+    throw new KitRefusal("kit_how_we_work_unwritable", frame.error.message ?? null);
+  }
+  if (frame.result?.isError !== true) return true;
+  const text = answerText(frame.result);
+  const { code, conflicts } = editRefusal(text);
+  if (code === "room_not_found" || code === "operation_denied") return false;
+  if (code === "edit_conflict" && conflicts?.some((conflict) => conflict.code === "path_exists")) return true;
+  throw new KitRefusal("kit_how_we_work_unwritable", text);
+}

package/src/bridge.js

@@ -228,6 +228,10 @@ export async function openBridge(options) {
       else void Promise.resolve(reported).finally(() => state.interrupts.delete(frame.interrupt));
       return;
     }
+    if (frame.type === "how_we_work") {
+      void options.howWeWork?.();
+      return;
+    }
     if (frame.type === "turn_ended") {
       state.stop = {
         providerContinuation: frame.provider_continuation === true,

package/src/configuration.js

@@ -388,6 +388,7 @@ export function parseConfiguration(document) {
       "migrators",
       "clients",
       "host",
+      "skills",
     ],
     "configuration",
   );
@@ -397,6 +398,8 @@ export function parseConfiguration(document) {
   if (!EXECUTION_AUTHORITIES.includes(declared.execution_authority)) {
     refuse("execution_authority");
   }
+  const skills = declared.skills === undefined ? true : declared.skills;
+  if (typeof skills !== "boolean") refuse("skills");
   if (!Array.isArray(declared.instances)) refuse("instances");
   if (!Array.isArray(declared.migrators)) refuse("migrators");
   const instances = declared.instances.map((instance, position) =>
@@ -428,6 +431,7 @@ export function parseConfiguration(document) {
     migrators,
     clients,
     host: hostOf(declared.host, "host"),
+    skills,
   };
 }
 

package/src/directory.js

@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 import { constants } from "node:fs";
-import { access, mkdir, realpath, rename, rm, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
-import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
-import { dirname, isAbsolute, join, relative, resolve, sep } from "node:path";
+import { access, mkdir, realpath, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { dirname, isAbsolute, relative, resolve, sep } from "node:path";
 import { LAUNCH_DIRECTORY_BASE } from "./contract.js";
 import { KitRefusal } from "./refusal.js";
-import { seedStarterSet } from "./starter-set.js";
 
 export function launchBase(dependencies = {}) {
   return dependencies.launchBase ?? LAUNCH_DIRECTORY_BASE;
@@ -39,25 +37,9 @@ function unavailable(path, cause) {
   return new KitRefusal("kit_launch_directory_unavailable", `${path} ${cause}`);
 }
 
-async function isDirectory(path) {
-  try {
-    return (await stat(path)).isDirectory();
-  } catch {
-    return false;
-  }
-}
-
-async function seedDefaultDirectory(selected, base, path) {
-  const staging = join(base, `.${randomUUID()}.staging`);
-  try {
-    await seedStarterSet(staging);
-    await rename(staging, path);
-  } catch (error) {
-    await rm(staging, { recursive: true, force: true }).catch(() => undefined);
-    if (!(await isDirectory(path))) {
-      throw unavailable(selected, `could not be prepared (${error.code ?? "unknown"})`);
-    }
-  }
+async function createDefaultDirectory(selected, path) {
+  const refused = await made(path);
+  if (refused !== null) throw unavailable(selected, `could not be created (${refused})`);
 }
 
 function within(base, selected) {
@@ -73,9 +55,7 @@ export async function readyLaunchDirectory(selected, base, agentId = null, optio
   if (options.container && !within(resolve(base), path)) {
     throw unavailable(selected, `resolves outside ${base}`);
   }
-  if (path === defaultDirectory(base, agentId) && !(await isDirectory(path))) {
-    await seedDefaultDirectory(selected, base, path);
-  }
+  if (path === defaultDirectory(base, agentId)) await createDefaultDirectory(selected, path);
   let described;
   try {
     described = await stat(path);

package/src/how-we-work.md

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# How we work
+
+A Room is where information people share is kept; it is not the place for
+private information. Work goes into the Room it belongs to, or the First Room
+when none is named. Read and write Rooms with the `house` CLI.
+
+The skills are already set up; never run `setup-matt-pocock-skills`.
+
+## Where skill output goes
+
+- Glossary (`CONTEXT.md`): `library/glossary.md`
+- Decisions (ADRs): `library/decisions/NNNN-<slug>.md`
+- Plan (spec): `library/projects/<name>/plan.md`
+- Tasks (tickets): `library/projects/<name>/tasks/NN-<slug>.md`, with a
+  `Status:` line (`needs-triage`, `needs-info`, `ready-for-agent`,
+  `ready-for-human`, `wontfix`), a `Blocked by:` line and comments under
+  `## Comments`
+- Map (Wayfinding): `library/projects/<name>/map.md`, its tasks under
+  `tasks/` with `Type:`, `Status: claimed|resolved` and `Blocked by:` lines
+- Research: `library/research/<slug>.md`
+- Questionnaires: `library/questionnaires/<slug>.md`
+- Learning: `library/learning/<topic>/`
+- Files a person should open, such as HTML pages, are uploaded to the Room and
+  linked from the document they belong to; a prototype is one HTML file with
+  every variant on one page.

package/src/launcher.js

@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import { randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
-import { commandHouseHowWeWork, commandHouseInstructions } from "./adapter-mcp.js";
+import {
+  commandHouseCreateHowWeWork,
+  commandHouseHowWeWork,
+  commandHouseInstructions,
+} from "./adapter-mcp.js";
 import {
   compiledContract,
   initializeCommandAdapter,
@@ -129,8 +133,11 @@ async function configureSession(acp, contract, sessionId, adapter) {
   }
 }
 
-async function sessionOpening(bridge, baseInstructions) {
-  const parts = [HOUSE_CLI_LINE, baseInstructions, await commandHouseHowWeWork(bridge)];
+async function sessionOpening(channel, bridge, start) {
+  if (start.create_how_we_work === true && (await commandHouseCreateHowWeWork(bridge))) {
+    channel.send({ type: "how_we_work" });
+  }
+  const parts = [HOUSE_CLI_LINE, start.base_instructions, await commandHouseHowWeWork(bridge)];
   return [{ type: "text", text: parts.filter((part) => part.trim() !== "").join("\n\n") }];
 }
 
@@ -185,7 +192,7 @@ async function runTurn(channel, start, bridge, turn) {
     const instructions = await commandHouseInstructions(bridge);
     let providerSessionId = start.provider_session ?? null;
     const opening =
-      providerSessionId === null ? await sessionOpening(bridge, start.base_instructions) : [];
+      providerSessionId === null ? await sessionOpening(channel, bridge, start) : [];
     const setup = { cwd: start.working_directory, mcpServers: [] };
     if (providerSessionId === null) {
       providerSessionId = openedSession(await acp.request("session/new", setup));

package/src/mcp.js

@@ -82,3 +82,8 @@ export function answerYaml(text) {
     return null;
   }
 }
+
+export function editRefusal(text) {
+  const conflicts = answerYaml(text.slice(text.indexOf("\n") + 1))?.conflicts;
+  return { code: text.split(":")[0].trim(), conflicts: Array.isArray(conflicts) ? conflicts : null };
+}

package/src/skill-set/ask-matt/PHASE-BOUNDARIES.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Phase boundaries
+
+A **phase** is a chunk of work inside a session: the grilling, the implementation, the QA. The definition is fuzzy on purpose: a phase ends when you think *"ok, we're done with that"*.
+
+The **phase boundary** is the gap between two phases, and it is the only place this decision belongs. Mid-phase there is no decision to make: continue, or split the work that's left into subagents. Compacting mid-phase makes the agent lose the thread.
+
+## The five options
+
+| Option       | What it does                                                    |
+| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| **Continue** | Stay in the session. No context switch at all.                    |
+| **`/clear`** | Empty the context window and start from nothing.                  |
+| **`/handoff`** | Write a portable markdown file and seed a session anywhere with it. |
+| **Subagent** | Send the task to its own context window and get a report back.     |
+| **`/compact`** | Compress this context and seed a fresh session with the summary.  |
+
+## The tree
+
+Work top to bottom at the boundary. The first **yes** wins.
+
+**1. Can you continue in this session?** Two things make the answer yes: the next phase needs this phase as a **primary source**, or you have enough [smart zone](https://www.aihero.dev/ai-coding-dictionary/smart-zone) left (~150k tokens) for the next phase to fit. Grilling → implementation is the standard yes: the implementation wants the reasoning verbatim, not a summary of it. Continue costs nothing and loses nothing, so rule it out before anything else.
+
+**2. Is the context irrelevant to what comes next?** Is everything in this session (the exploration, the decisions, the dead ends) disposable? If so, **`/clear`**. It is the cheapest move on the board: it takes no time and hands back the whole window. `/clear` also isn't terminal: the old session stays resumable.
+
+The cost of getting this wrong is one-way. Clear a *relevant* context and you lose the **why** behind what you built, and no amount of reading the diff back gets it returned.
+
+**3. Do you need to hand off?** `/handoff` is narrow. You need it only when you are:
+
+- swapping to a **new harness** (Claude → Codex),
+- moving to a **new directory** or repo,
+- sending the work to a **colleague**,
+- or forking a side task you found **mid-phase** without derailing what you're doing.
+
+That list is the whole clause. What `/handoff` buys is **portability**: a file that travels. If nothing is travelling, you don't need it.
+
+**4. Can the task be done AFK?** Is it scoped tightly enough to run with you away from the keyboard, no steering? Then send it to a **subagent** and leave this session untouched. Automated review is the standard case: the agent reads the diff and reports, and you aren't needed while it does.
+
+**5. Otherwise, `/compact`.** Relevant context, same harness, same directory, and you need to stay in the loop: this is where the tree lands, and it lands here often. Pass it an instruction (`/compact we're going to QA this area`) so the summary keeps what the next phase needs.
+
+`/compact` is the **default, not the first reach**. It sits at the bottom because the four questions above it are all cheaper or more precise. The failure mode when people start here is a fresh session that is confidently wrong about a decision the summary flattened.
+
+## Primary and secondary sources
+
+Every move except **Continue** turns a **primary source** into a **secondary source**: the session as it happened, replaced by a summary of it. The trade is always the same shape:
+
+| Source                            | Information | Noise | Room to move |
+| --------------------------------- | ----------- | ----- | ------------ |
+| Primary (Continue)                | Full        | Lots  | Little       |
+| Secondary (`/compact`, `/handoff`) | Lossy       | Less  | Lots         |
+
+This is why question 1 comes first. You only pay the lossiness when staying costs more than it saves.
+
+## These are judgement calls
+
+The questions are not objective: each has taste in it, and the same boundary can go two ways on two days. The value is in asking them **in order**, at the boundary rather than in the middle of the work.