@event4u/agent-config 6.0.0 → 7.0.0

package/src/scripts/ai_council/clients.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,2214 @@
+// External-AI clients for the council — byte-identical TypeScript twin of
+// `src/scripts/ai_council/clients.py` (py2ts migration, ADR-200).
+//
+// Mirrors the contract from `scripts/skill_trigger_eval.py`:
+// - Tokens come exclusively from `~/.event4u/agent-config/<provider>.key`
+//   (legacy `~/.config/agent-config/<provider>.key` is read as a fallback so
+//   pre-2.4 installs keep working until the user moves the files into the new
+//   namespace).
+// - File mode must be exactly 0o600. Drift is a hard abort.
+// - No environment-variable fallback. No keychain fallback.
+// - Real SDKs (`anthropic`, `openai`) are *soft* dependencies — the module
+//   imports cleanly without them; only `ask()` requires them.
+//
+// Tests inject mock clients via the `client=` constructor argument and never
+// hit the real API.
+//
+// Mode contract:
+// - `billable=true` clients (AnthropicClient, OpenAIClient, GeminiClient,
+//   XAIClient, PerplexityClient) participate in the cost gate — projected USD
+//   spend is checked before each call.
+// - `billable=false` clients (ManualClient, vendor-official CliClient
+//   subclasses — AnthropicCliClient, OpenAICliClient, GeminiCliClient) skip the
+//   USD cost gate entirely. Spend = $0 to us; provider-side limits are the
+//   user's concern.
+// - `billable=true` CLI subclasses (XAICliClient, PerplexityCliClient) wrap
+//   community-maintained CLIs that consume the same API key as their `api`
+//   counterparts — they participate in the USD cost gate. `mode: cli` here is
+//   an ergonomic shortcut, not a billing change.
+//
+// CLI subclasses additionally consult the optional
+// `cli_call_budget.max_calls_per_day.<provider>` quota with state persisted at
+// `~/.event4u/agent-config/cli-calls.json` (daily UTC reset).
+//
+// TRANSPORT SEAM (TS-only, for tests): the Python original calls
+// `subprocess.run` directly inside `CliClient.ask`. The twin routes that one
+// call through the protected `_runSubprocess(cmd, stdinPayload)` instance
+// method so a test subclass can stub the transport without live processes —
+// it returns `{ returncode, stdout, stderr }` or throws a `SubprocessError`
+// shaped like the Python exceptions (`timeout` / `file_not_found` / `os`).
+// The default implementation shells out via `spawnSync`, matching
+// `subprocess.run(..., capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=..., check=False)`.
+
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import * as fs from 'node:fs';
+import * as path from 'node:path';
+
+import * as user_global_paths from '../_lib/user_global_paths.js';
+import { appendEvent } from './events_log.js';
+
+export const ANTHROPIC_KEY_FILENAME = 'anthropic.key';
+export const OPENAI_KEY_FILENAME = 'openai.key';
+
+// Canonical write target under the new namespace. Reads route via
+// `_resolveKeyPath` so a key still sitting in the legacy
+// `~/.config/agent-config/` tree keeps working.
+export const ANTHROPIC_KEY_PATH = user_global_paths.write_target(ANTHROPIC_KEY_FILENAME);
+export const OPENAI_KEY_PATH = user_global_paths.write_target(OPENAI_KEY_FILENAME);
+
+/** Return the active key path, preferring the new namespace. */
+function _resolveKeyPath(filename: string): string {
+    const found = user_global_paths.resolve_with_fallback(filename);
+    if (found !== null) {
+        return found;
+    }
+    return user_global_paths.write_target(filename);
+}
+
+export const DEFAULT_ANTHROPIC_MODEL = 'claude-sonnet-4-5';
+export const DEFAULT_OPENAI_MODEL = 'gpt-4o';
+export const DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL = 'gemini-2.5-pro';
+export const DEFAULT_XAI_MODEL = 'grok-4';
+export const DEFAULT_PERPLEXITY_MODEL = 'sonar-pro';
+
+// OpenAI-API-compatible endpoints. xAI and Perplexity both expose the
+// `/v1/chat/completions` shape, so their clients reuse the `openai` SDK with a
+// custom `base_url`. Gemini has its own SDK (`google-genai`).
+export const XAI_BASE_URL = 'https://api.x.ai/v1';
+export const PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL = 'https://api.perplexity.ai';
+
+// Per-call output budget when no caller-supplied value reaches `ask()`. The CLI
+// resolves the live default from `ai_council.max_output_tokens` in
+// `.agent-settings.yml`; this constant is only the abstract-base / direct-API
+// fallback when nothing else is wired up.
+export const DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS = 2048;
+
+// Expansion target when the user sets `max_output_tokens: 0` ("unlimited") in
+// settings. Anthropic requires `max_tokens` to be a positive integer, so 0 is
+// widened to this safe ceiling before the SDK call. Big enough for current
+// frontier models (Sonnet/GPT-4o headroom ≥ 16k); raise explicitly in settings
+// if a larger budget is genuinely needed.
+export const UNLIMITED_TOKENS_FALLBACK = 16384;
+
+// OpenAI reasoning models (o1, o3, o4 families) reject `max_tokens` and the
+// `system` role; they require `max_completion_tokens` and accept only `user`
+// (and `developer`) messages.
+const _REASONING_PREFIXES: readonly string[] = ['o1', 'o3', 'o4'];
+
+export function _is_reasoning_model(model: string): boolean {
+    const name = model.toLowerCase();
+    return _REASONING_PREFIXES.some((p) => name === p || name.startsWith(`${p}-`));
+}
+
+/** Raised when a provider key file violates the 0600 contract. */
+export class KeyGateError extends Error {
+    constructor(message: string) {
+        super(message);
+        this.name = 'KeyGateError';
+    }
+}
+
+/** Raised when a CLI member cannot be constructed (binary missing, etc.). */
+export class CliClientError extends Error {
+    constructor(message: string) {
+        super(message);
+        this.name = 'CliClientError';
+    }
+}
+
+/** Normalised output from a single council member (dataclass `CouncilResponse`). */
+export class CouncilResponse {
+    provider: string;
+    model: string;
+    text: string;
+    input_tokens: number;
+    output_tokens: number;
+    latency_ms: number;
+    error: string | null;
+    metadata: Record<string, unknown>;
+
+    constructor(opts: {
+        provider: string;
+        model: string;
+        text: string;
+        input_tokens?: number;
+        output_tokens?: number;
+        latency_ms?: number;
+        error?: string | null;
+        metadata?: Record<string, unknown>;
+    }) {
+        this.provider = opts.provider;
+        this.model = opts.model;
+        this.text = opts.text;
+        this.input_tokens = opts.input_tokens ?? 0;
+        this.output_tokens = opts.output_tokens ?? 0;
+        this.latency_ms = opts.latency_ms ?? 0;
+        this.error = opts.error ?? null;
+        // Python dataclass uses `field(default_factory=dict)` — each instance
+        // gets its own fresh dict.
+        this.metadata = opts.metadata ?? {};
+    }
+}
+
+// ── monotonic clock seam ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Python uses `time.monotonic()`. latency_ms is non-deterministic; tests
+// normalise it. Exposed so tests can pin it if they choose.
+let _monotonicSource: () => number = () => {
+    // performance.now() is monotonic milliseconds; the Python original is
+    // seconds, but we only ever compute `int((now - t0) * 1000)`, so feeding
+    // milliseconds here and dropping the *1000 keeps the same arithmetic.
+    return performance.now();
+};
+
+function _nowMs(): number {
+    return _monotonicSource();
+}
+
+function _elapsedMs(t0: number): number {
+    // Mirrors Python `int((time.monotonic() - t0) * 1000)` — here both sides are
+    // already in ms, so just truncate toward zero.
+    return Math.trunc(_nowMs() - t0);
+}
+
+/** Test seam: override the monotonic clock (ms). Returns the previous source. */
+export function _setMonotonicSource(fn: () => number): () => number {
+    const prev = _monotonicSource;
+    _monotonicSource = fn;
+    return prev;
+}
+
+/** Shared 0600-gated key loader. Refuses anything outside the contract. */
+function _loadKey(p: string, prefix: string, installScript: string): string {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(p)) {
+        throw new KeyGateError(
+            `Key not found at ${p}.\n` + `    Install it with: bash ${installScript}`,
+        );
+    }
+    const st = fs.statSync(p);
+    const mode = st.mode & 0o777;
+    if (mode !== 0o600) {
+        throw new KeyGateError(
+            `Unsafe permissions on ${p}: got ${_octRepr(mode)}, expected 0o600.\n` +
+                `    Fix:  chmod 600 ${p}`,
+        );
+    }
+    const key = fs.readFileSync(p, { encoding: 'utf-8' }).trim();
+    if (!key) {
+        throw new KeyGateError(`${p} is empty.`);
+    }
+    if (!key.startsWith(prefix)) {
+        throw new KeyGateError(`${p} does not look like a ${_pyRepr(prefix)}-prefixed key.`);
+    }
+    return key;
+}
+
+export function load_anthropic_key(p: string | null = null): string {
+    const resolved = p !== null ? p : _resolveKeyPath(ANTHROPIC_KEY_FILENAME);
+    return _loadKey(resolved, 'sk-ant-', 'src/scripts/install_anthropic_key.sh');
+}
+
+export function load_openai_key(p: string | null = null): string {
+    const resolved = p !== null ? p : _resolveKeyPath(OPENAI_KEY_FILENAME);
+    return _loadKey(resolved, 'sk-', 'src/scripts/install_openai_key.sh');
+}
+
+// ── attribute-access helpers (mirror Python getattr) ──────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Mirror Python `getattr(obj, name, default)` over the duck-typed mock /
+ * SDK-response objects the clients consume. Returns the attribute value, or
+ * `fallback` when the attribute is absent / object is null. Methods are
+ * returned bound so they can be invoked by the caller.
+ */
+function _getattr(obj: unknown, name: string, fallback: unknown): unknown {
+    if (obj === null || obj === undefined) {
+        return fallback;
+    }
+    if (typeof obj === 'object' || typeof obj === 'function') {
+        const rec = obj as Record<string, unknown>;
+        if (name in rec) {
+            return rec[name];
+        }
+        // Walk the prototype chain for class-instance shaped mocks.
+        const val = (obj as Record<string, unknown>)[name];
+        if (val !== undefined) {
+            return val;
+        }
+    }
+    return fallback;
+}
+
+/** Abstract base for council members. */
+export abstract class ExternalAIClient {
+    name = '';
+    model = '';
+    billable = true; // API-mode subclasses spend money; manual doesn't.
+    transport = 'api'; // "api" | "cli" | "manual" — surfaced in session manifest.
+    subscription_label = ''; // vendor-CLI label (e.g. "claude") for non-billable transports.
+
+    /**
+     * Send one independent query. Must never raise on network/API failure —
+     * return a `CouncilResponse` with `error` set instead. Other members should
+     * not be blocked by one failure.
+     */
+    abstract ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens?: number,
+    ): CouncilResponse;
+}
+
+/** Shared ctor-options shape for the API clients. */
+interface ApiClientOptions {
+    model?: string | undefined;
+    client?: unknown;
+    api_key?: string | null | undefined;
+}
+
+/** Shared ctor-options shape for the CLI clients. */
+interface CliClientOptions {
+    model?: string | undefined;
+    binary?: string | null | undefined;
+    timeout_seconds?: number | undefined;
+    max_calls_per_day?: number | null | undefined;
+    warn_at?: number | undefined;
+    cli_calls_path?: string | null | undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Synchronous JSON POST via `curl` (no Node SDK, no Python). Matches the
+ * council's `spawnSync` transport model so the live-call clients stay
+ * synchronous. Returns the parsed response JSON (the provider HTTP APIs return
+ * exactly the SDK response shape `ask()` reads). Throws on transport failure or
+ * a non-2xx status so `ask()`'s catch surfaces it as a member error.
+ */
+function _curlJsonPost(url: string, extraHeaders: string[], body: unknown): unknown {
+    const args = ['-sS', '-X', 'POST', url, '-H', 'content-type: application/json'];
+    for (const h of extraHeaders) {
+        args.push('-H', h);
+    }
+    args.push('-w', '\n%{http_code}', '--data-binary', '@-');
+    const r = spawnSync('curl', args, {
+        input: JSON.stringify(body),
+        encoding: 'utf8',
+        maxBuffer: 64 * 1024 * 1024,
+        timeout: 120_000,
+    });
+    if (r.error) {
+        throw new Error(`curl spawn failed: ${(r.error as Error).message}`);
+    }
+    if (r.status !== 0) {
+        throw new Error(`curl exited ${r.status ?? 'null'}: ${(r.stderr ?? '').toString().slice(0, 500)}`);
+    }
+    const out = (r.stdout ?? '').toString();
+    const nl = out.lastIndexOf('\n');
+    const httpCode = (nl >= 0 ? out.slice(nl + 1) : out).trim();
+    const bodyText = nl >= 0 ? out.slice(0, nl) : out;
+    if (!/^2\d\d$/.test(httpCode)) {
+        throw new Error(`HTTP ${httpCode}: ${bodyText.slice(0, 500)}`);
+    }
+    return JSON.parse(bodyText);
+}
+
+export class AnthropicClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override name = 'anthropic';
+    override billable = true;
+    private _client: unknown;
+
+    constructor(opts: ApiClientOptions = {}) {
+        super();
+        this.model = opts.model ?? DEFAULT_ANTHROPIC_MODEL;
+        if (opts.client !== undefined && opts.client !== null) {
+            this._client = opts.client;
+            return;
+        }
+        const api_key = opts.api_key ?? null;
+        if (api_key === null) {
+            throw new Error(
+                'AnthropicClient requires explicit api_key or injected client. ' +
+                    'Use load_anthropic_key() — no env-var fallback.',
+            );
+        }
+        // Live transport: curl → Anthropic Messages API (synchronous, no Node
+        // SDK, no Python). The HTTP response is the same shape `ask()` reads
+        // (`content[0].text`, `usage.{input_tokens,output_tokens}`). Tests still
+        // inject a mock `client` above and never reach this path.
+        this._client = {
+            messages: {
+                create: (kwargs: Record<string, unknown>): unknown =>
+                    _curlJsonPost(
+                        'https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages',
+                        [`x-api-key: ${api_key}`, 'anthropic-version: 2023-06-01'],
+                        kwargs,
+                    ),
+            },
+        };
+    }
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+        let response: unknown;
+        try {
+            const messages = _getattr(this._client, 'messages', null);
+            const create = _getattr(messages, 'create', null) as
+                | ((kwargs: Record<string, unknown>) => unknown)
+                | null;
+            if (typeof create !== 'function') {
+                throw new TypeError("'messages.create' is not callable");
+            }
+            response = create.call(messages, {
+                model: this.model,
+                max_tokens,
+                system: system_prompt,
+                messages: [{ role: 'user', content: user_prompt }],
+            });
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: '',
+                latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                error: _excString(exc),
+            });
+        }
+        const latency_ms = _elapsedMs(t0);
+        let text = '';
+        const content = _getattr(response, 'content', null);
+        if (_pyTruthy(content)) {
+            const first = (content as unknown[])[0];
+            text = (_getattr(first, 'text', '') as string) || '';
+        }
+        const usage = _getattr(response, 'usage', null);
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'input_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            output_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'output_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            latency_ms,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+export class OpenAIClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override name = 'openai';
+    override billable = true;
+    private _client: unknown;
+
+    constructor(opts: ApiClientOptions = {}) {
+        super();
+        this.model = opts.model ?? DEFAULT_OPENAI_MODEL;
+        if (opts.client !== undefined && opts.client !== null) {
+            this._client = opts.client;
+            return;
+        }
+        const api_key = opts.api_key ?? null;
+        if (api_key === null) {
+            throw new Error(
+                'OpenAIClient requires explicit api_key or injected client. ' +
+                    'Use load_openai_key() — no env-var fallback.',
+            );
+        }
+        // Live transport: curl → OpenAI Chat Completions API (synchronous, no
+        // Node SDK, no Python). The HTTP response is the same shape `ask()`
+        // reads (`choices[0].message.content`, `usage.{prompt_tokens,
+        // completion_tokens}`). Tests still inject a mock `client` above.
+        this._client = {
+            chat: {
+                completions: {
+                    create: (kwargs: Record<string, unknown>): unknown =>
+                        _curlJsonPost(
+                            'https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completions',
+                            [`authorization: Bearer ${api_key}`],
+                            kwargs,
+                        ),
+                },
+            },
+        };
+    }
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+        const kwargs: Record<string, unknown> = { model: this.model };
+        if (_is_reasoning_model(this.model)) {
+            // o1/o3/o4 reasoning models reject `max_tokens` and `system` role.
+            kwargs['max_completion_tokens'] = max_tokens;
+            kwargs['messages'] = [
+                { role: 'user', content: `${system_prompt}\n\n---\n\n${user_prompt}` },
+            ];
+        } else {
+            kwargs['max_tokens'] = max_tokens;
+            kwargs['messages'] = [
+                { role: 'system', content: system_prompt },
+                { role: 'user', content: user_prompt },
+            ];
+        }
+        let response: unknown;
+        try {
+            const chat = _getattr(this._client, 'chat', null);
+            const completions = _getattr(chat, 'completions', null);
+            const create = _getattr(completions, 'create', null) as
+                | ((kwargs: Record<string, unknown>) => unknown)
+                | null;
+            if (typeof create !== 'function') {
+                throw new TypeError("'chat.completions.create' is not callable");
+            }
+            response = create.call(completions, kwargs);
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: '',
+                latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                error: _excString(exc),
+            });
+        }
+        const latency_ms = _elapsedMs(t0);
+        let text: unknown = '';
+        const choices = _getattr(response, 'choices', null);
+        if (_pyTruthy(choices)) {
+            const first = (choices as unknown[])[0];
+            const msg = _getattr(first, 'message', null);
+            text = msg ? _getattr(msg, 'content', '') : '';
+        }
+        const usage = _getattr(response, 'usage', null);
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text: (text as string) || '',
+            input_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'prompt_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            output_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'completion_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            latency_ms,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+// ── Gemini / xAI / Perplexity (Phase 0 — Step 6) ─────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Google Gemini via the `google-genai` SDK.
+ *
+ * Lazy-imports `google.genai` on first `ask()` so disabled members do not
+ * require the SDK to be installed. Tests inject a mock client shaped like
+ * `genai.Client(api_key=...)` — `self._client.models.generate_content(...)`
+ * returns an object with `.text` and
+ * `.usage_metadata.{prompt_token_count, candidates_token_count}`.
+ */
+export class GeminiClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override name = 'gemini';
+    override billable = true;
+    private _client: unknown;
+
+    constructor(opts: ApiClientOptions = {}) {
+        super();
+        this.model = opts.model ?? DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL;
+        if (opts.client !== undefined && opts.client !== null) {
+            this._client = opts.client;
+            return;
+        }
+        const api_key = opts.api_key ?? null;
+        if (api_key === null) {
+            throw new Error(
+                'GeminiClient requires explicit api_key or injected client. ' +
+                    'Use `api_key_ref: env:GEMINI_API_KEY` in ~/.event4u/agent-config/settings/.ai-council.yml.',
+            );
+        }
+        throw new Error('google-genai package not installed. `pip install google-genai`.');
+    }
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+        const contents = `${system_prompt}\n\n---\n\n${user_prompt}`;
+        let response: unknown;
+        try {
+            const models = _getattr(this._client, 'models', null);
+            const generate = _getattr(models, 'generate_content', null) as
+                | ((kwargs: Record<string, unknown>) => unknown)
+                | null;
+            if (typeof generate !== 'function') {
+                throw new TypeError("'models.generate_content' is not callable");
+            }
+            response = generate.call(models, {
+                model: this.model,
+                contents,
+                config: { max_output_tokens: max_tokens },
+            });
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: '',
+                latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                error: _excString(exc),
+            });
+        }
+        const latency_ms = _elapsedMs(t0);
+        const text = (_getattr(response, 'text', '') as string) || '';
+        const usage = _getattr(response, 'usage_metadata', null);
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'prompt_token_count', 0) as number) : 0,
+            output_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'candidates_token_count', 0) as number) : 0,
+            latency_ms,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Shared shape for OpenAI-API-compatible providers (xAI, Perplexity).
+ *
+ * Both vendors implement `/v1/chat/completions` and accept the `openai` Python
+ * SDK with a custom `base_url`. The reasoning-model branch from `OpenAIClient`
+ * is intentionally omitted — neither xAI nor Perplexity ships a reasoning model
+ * that requires `max_completion_tokens` as of 2026-05-14.
+ */
+export class _OpenAICompatibleClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override billable = true;
+    base_url = '';
+    protected _client: unknown;
+
+    constructor(opts: { model: string; client?: unknown; api_key?: string | null | undefined }) {
+        super();
+        this.model = opts.model;
+        if (opts.client !== undefined && opts.client !== null) {
+            this._client = opts.client;
+            return;
+        }
+        const api_key = opts.api_key ?? null;
+        if (api_key === null) {
+            throw new Error(
+                `${this.constructor.name} requires explicit api_key or injected client.`,
+            );
+        }
+        throw new Error('openai package not installed. `pip install openai`.');
+    }
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+        let response: unknown;
+        try {
+            const chat = _getattr(this._client, 'chat', null);
+            const completions = _getattr(chat, 'completions', null);
+            const create = _getattr(completions, 'create', null) as
+                | ((kwargs: Record<string, unknown>) => unknown)
+                | null;
+            if (typeof create !== 'function') {
+                throw new TypeError("'chat.completions.create' is not callable");
+            }
+            response = create.call(completions, {
+                model: this.model,
+                max_tokens,
+                messages: [
+                    { role: 'system', content: system_prompt },
+                    { role: 'user', content: user_prompt },
+                ],
+            });
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: '',
+                latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                error: _excString(exc),
+            });
+        }
+        const latency_ms = _elapsedMs(t0);
+        let text: unknown = '';
+        const choices = _getattr(response, 'choices', null);
+        if (_pyTruthy(choices)) {
+            const first = (choices as unknown[])[0];
+            const msg = _getattr(first, 'message', null);
+            text = msg ? _getattr(msg, 'content', '') : '';
+        }
+        const usage = _getattr(response, 'usage', null);
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text: (text as string) || '',
+            input_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'prompt_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            output_tokens: usage ? (_getattr(usage, 'completion_tokens', 0) as number) : 0,
+            latency_ms,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/** xAI Grok via the OpenAI-compatible endpoint at api.x.ai/v1. */
+export class XAIClient extends _OpenAICompatibleClient {
+    override name = 'xai';
+    override base_url = XAI_BASE_URL;
+
+    constructor(opts: ApiClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({ model: opts.model ?? DEFAULT_XAI_MODEL, client: opts.client, api_key: opts.api_key });
+    }
+}
+
+/** Perplexity via the OpenAI-compatible endpoint at api.perplexity.ai. */
+export class PerplexityClient extends _OpenAICompatibleClient {
+    override name = 'perplexity';
+    override base_url = PERPLEXITY_BASE_URL;
+
+    constructor(opts: ApiClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? DEFAULT_PERPLEXITY_MODEL,
+            client: opts.client,
+            api_key: opts.api_key,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+// ── CLI transport (step-1 Phase 1+) ──────────────────────────────────
+
+export const CLI_CALLS_FILENAME = 'cli-calls.json';
+
+// Default subprocess timeout (seconds) for a single CLI call. Long enough for
+// the largest frontier models to think; short enough to surface a hung
+// subprocess without freezing the council run.
+export const DEFAULT_CLI_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 120.0;
+
+/** Return the canonical write target for the daily-quota counter. */
+function _cliCallsStatePath(): string {
+    return user_global_paths.write_target(CLI_CALLS_FILENAME);
+}
+
+export function _today_utc_iso(): string {
+    // Python: datetime.now(timezone.utc).date().isoformat() → "YYYY-MM-DD".
+    const d = new Date();
+    const y = d.getUTCFullYear().toString().padStart(4, '0');
+    const m = (d.getUTCMonth() + 1).toString().padStart(2, '0');
+    const day = d.getUTCDate().toString().padStart(2, '0');
+    return `${y}-${m}-${day}`;
+}
+
+/** Return today's per-provider call counts. Empty dict on UTC rollover. */
+export function load_cli_call_counts(p: string | null = null): Record<string, number> {
+    const target = p !== null ? p : _cliCallsStatePath();
+    if (!fs.existsSync(target)) {
+        return {};
+    }
+    let data: unknown;
+    try {
+        data = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(target, { encoding: 'utf-8' }));
+    } catch {
+        // json.JSONDecodeError / OSError
+        return {};
+    }
+    if (!_isPlainObject(data) || (data as Record<string, unknown>)['date'] !== _today_utc_iso()) {
+        return {};
+    }
+    const counts = (data as Record<string, unknown>)['counts'];
+    if (!_isPlainObject(counts)) {
+        return {};
+    }
+    const out: Record<string, number> = {};
+    for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(counts as Record<string, unknown>)) {
+        // Python: int(v) for k, v in counts.items() if isinstance(v, (int, str)).
+        // bool is an int subclass in Python and would pass; mirror by accepting
+        // booleans too. Floats are rejected (not int|str).
+        if (typeof v === 'number' && Number.isInteger(v)) {
+            out[String(k)] = _pyInt(v);
+        } else if (typeof v === 'boolean') {
+            out[String(k)] = v ? 1 : 0;
+        } else if (typeof v === 'string') {
+            out[String(k)] = _pyIntFromStr(v);
+        }
+    }
+    return out;
+}
+
+/** Increment today's call count for `provider`. Returns new total. */
+export function record_cli_call(provider: string, p: string | null = null): number {
+    const target = p !== null ? p : _cliCallsStatePath();
+    const counts = load_cli_call_counts(target);
+    counts[provider] = (counts[provider] ?? 0) + 1;
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+        target,
+        _jsonDumpsIndent2({ date: _today_utc_iso(), counts }),
+        { encoding: 'utf-8' },
+    );
+    return counts[provider];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Reset the per-provider call counter (step-8 P1, `council quota --reset`).
+ *
+ * `provider=null` clears all providers (today's record). Otherwise only the
+ * named provider's count is removed; other providers and the UTC date marker
+ * are preserved. Returns the post-reset counts.
+ */
+export function reset_cli_call_counts(
+    provider: string | null = null,
+    p: string | null = null,
+): Record<string, number> {
+    const target = p !== null ? p : _cliCallsStatePath();
+    let counts = load_cli_call_counts(target);
+    if (provider === null) {
+        counts = {};
+    } else {
+        delete counts[provider];
+    }
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+        target,
+        _jsonDumpsIndent2({ date: _today_utc_iso(), counts }),
+        { encoding: 'utf-8' },
+    );
+    return counts;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the pre-run quota summary line (step-8 P1, D1 + D4).
+ *
+ * Returns `[summary, warn_providers]` where `summary` is the formatted
+ * one-liner (empty string when no CLI member has a configured cap) and
+ * `warn_providers` is the subset whose `used / max_calls_per_day` ratio crossed
+ * `warn_at`. Uncapped providers (`max_calls_per_day is None`) are omitted from
+ * the summary entirely — they cannot exceed a threshold that does not exist.
+ */
+export function quota_summary_line(
+    clients: CliClient[],
+    opts: { cli_calls_path?: string | null } = {},
+): [string, string[]] {
+    const cliCallsPath = opts.cli_calls_path ?? null;
+    // Python: [c for c in clients if getattr(c, "max_calls_per_day", None)]
+    // → truthy check (None or 0 both falsy).
+    const capped = clients.filter((c) => _pyTruthy(_getattr(c, 'max_calls_per_day', null)));
+    if (capped.length === 0) {
+        return ['', []];
+    }
+    const counts = load_cli_call_counts(cliCallsPath);
+    const parts: string[] = [];
+    const warn: string[] = [];
+    for (const c of capped) {
+        const name = _getattr(c, 'name', '?') as string;
+        const used = _pyInt(counts[name] ?? 0);
+        const limit = _pyInt((c.max_calls_per_day as number));
+        parts.push(`${name} ${used}/${limit}`);
+        const ratio = limit > 0 ? used / limit : 0.0;
+        const warnAt = Number(_getattr(c, 'warn_at', 0.8));
+        if (ratio >= warnAt) {
+            warn.push(name);
+        }
+    }
+    const prefix = warn.length > 0 ? '⚠️  ' : '';
+    return [`${prefix}council:quota · ${parts.join(' · ')}`, warn];
+}
+
+/** Transport-seam result, shaped like a finished `subprocess.run`. */
+export interface SubprocessResult {
+    returncode: number;
+    stdout: string;
+    stderr: string;
+}
+
+/** Transport-seam error kinds, mirroring the Python exception branches. */
+export type SubprocessErrorKind = 'timeout' | 'file_not_found' | 'os';
+
+/** Typed transport error so a stub can model each Python exception branch. */
+export class SubprocessError extends Error {
+    kind: SubprocessErrorKind;
+    osName: string;
+    constructor(kind: SubprocessErrorKind, osName = 'OSError') {
+        super(kind);
+        this.name = 'SubprocessError';
+        this.kind = kind;
+        this.osName = osName;
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Shell-out council member — subscription-authed transport.
+ *
+ * Spawns a locally-installed provider CLI. Auth is delegated to the binary
+ * itself (Claude CLI, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, etc. use the user's logged-in
+ * subscription session). Spend is $0 from this loader's perspective —
+ * `billable=false` keeps the USD cost gate from firing.
+ *
+ * Provider subscription quotas are guarded by the optional
+ * `cli_call_budget.max_calls_per_day.<provider>` config. Counter state lives at
+ * `~/.event4u/agent-config/cli-calls.json` and resets on UTC date rollover.
+ *
+ * Subclass contract:
+ * - `name`: provider key (`anthropic`, `openai`, `gemini`, …).
+ * - `default_binary`: executable name resolved via PATH when the member-level
+ *   `binary:` field is not set.
+ * - `_build_command(system_prompt, user_prompt, max_tokens)`: return the argv.
+ * - `_parse_output(stdout, stderr)`: return a partial `CouncilResponse`.
+ *
+ * Construction validates the binary up front — a missing CLI fails fast with
+ * `CliClientError`.
+ *
+ * Stderr heuristics map known failure shapes to short error codes:
+ * - `auth_expired`, `timeout`, `cli_quota_exhausted`, `parse_failed`,
+ *   `exit_<N>`.
+ */
+export abstract class CliClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override billable = false;
+    override transport = 'cli';
+    default_binary = '';
+
+    timeout_seconds: number;
+    max_calls_per_day: number | null;
+    warn_at: number;
+    binary!: string;
+    protected _cli_calls_path: string | null;
+
+    static _AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        'authentication',
+        'unauthorized',
+        'auth failed',
+        'auth_error',
+        'login',
+        'not logged in',
+        'session expired',
+        'invalid credentials',
+    ];
+    static _TIMEOUT_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = ['timeout', 'timed out', 'deadline exceeded'];
+    static _QUOTA_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        'rate limit',
+        'rate_limit',
+        'rate-limit',
+        'quota exceeded',
+        'too many requests',
+        '429',
+        'usage limit',
+    ];
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions & { model: string }) {
+        super();
+        this.model = opts.model;
+        this.timeout_seconds = opts.timeout_seconds ?? DEFAULT_CLI_TIMEOUT_SECONDS;
+        this.max_calls_per_day = opts.max_calls_per_day ?? null;
+        this.warn_at = opts.warn_at ?? 0.8;
+        this._cli_calls_path = opts.cli_calls_path ?? null;
+        const binary = opts.binary ?? null;
+        if (binary !== null) {
+            this.binary = binary;
+        } else {
+            if (!this.default_binary) {
+                throw new CliClientError(
+                    `${this.constructor.name}: no \`default_binary\` set on subclass; ` +
+                        'either fix the class or pass `binary=` explicitly.',
+                );
+            }
+            const resolved = _which(this.default_binary);
+            if (resolved === null) {
+                throw new CliClientError(
+                    `${this.constructor.name}: binary ${_pyRepr(this.default_binary)} ` +
+                        'not found on PATH. Install the provider CLI or set ' +
+                        `\`members.${this.name}.binary:\` in ~/.event4u/agent-config/settings/.ai-council.yml.`,
+                );
+            }
+            this.binary = resolved;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // ── subclass hooks ────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    /** Return the argv list the subprocess should execute. */
+    protected abstract _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[];
+
+    /** Parse provider-specific stdout into a CouncilResponse. */
+    protected abstract _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse;
+
+    /** Return text to send on stdin, or `null` to inherit caller's stdin. */
+    protected _stdin_payload(system_prompt: string, user_prompt: string): string | null {
+        void system_prompt;
+        void user_prompt;
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Transport seam (default impl). Mirror
+     * `subprocess.run(cmd, input=..., capture_output=True, text=True,
+     * timeout=..., check=False)`. Throws `SubprocessError` for the timeout /
+     * ENOENT / OSError branches so `ask()` can classify them exactly as the
+     * Python original does. Tests override this to inject canned output without
+     * spawning a process.
+     */
+    protected _runSubprocess(cmd: string[], stdinPayload: string | null): SubprocessResult {
+        const argv0 = cmd[0] ?? '';
+        const spawnOpts: Parameters<typeof spawnSync>[2] = {
+            encoding: 'utf-8',
+            timeout: Math.round(this.timeout_seconds * 1000),
+        };
+        if (stdinPayload !== null) {
+            spawnOpts.input = stdinPayload;
+        }
+        const r = spawnSync(argv0, cmd.slice(1), spawnOpts);
+        if (r.error) {
+            const err = r.error as NodeJS.ErrnoException;
+            if ((r as { signal?: string | null }).signal === 'SIGTERM' || err.code === 'ETIMEDOUT') {
+                throw new SubprocessError('timeout');
+            }
+            if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
+                throw new SubprocessError('file_not_found');
+            }
+            throw new SubprocessError('os', err.code ?? 'OSError');
+        }
+        // spawnSync sets status=null + signal on timeout-kill on some platforms.
+        if ((r as { signal?: string | null }).signal === 'SIGTERM' && r.status === null) {
+            throw new SubprocessError('timeout');
+        }
+        return {
+            returncode: r.status ?? 0,
+            stdout: r.stdout != null ? String(r.stdout) : '',
+            stderr: r.stderr != null ? String(r.stderr) : '',
+        };
+    }
+
+    // ── ask() ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+
+        // 1. quota gate — local counter check before spawning anything.
+        if (this.max_calls_per_day !== null) {
+            const counts = load_cli_call_counts(this._cli_calls_path);
+            const used = counts[this.name] ?? 0;
+            if (used >= this.max_calls_per_day) {
+                // step-8 D3 — record the block on the persistent events log.
+                try {
+                    appendEvent({
+                        lens: '',
+                        invocation: '',
+                        action: 'block_quota',
+                        verdict: '',
+                        provider_caps: {
+                            [this.name]: { mode: 'cli', model: this.model },
+                        },
+                        original_ask: user_prompt,
+                        cli_calls_used: used,
+                        cli_calls_max: this.max_calls_per_day,
+                    });
+                } catch {
+                    // never crash ask()
+                }
+                return new CouncilResponse({
+                    provider: this.name,
+                    model: this.model,
+                    text: '',
+                    latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                    error: 'cli_quota_exhausted',
+                    metadata: {
+                        cli: true,
+                        cli_calls_used: used,
+                        cli_calls_max: this.max_calls_per_day,
+                    },
+                });
+            }
+        }
+
+        // 2. build command + spawn.
+        const cmd = this._build_command(system_prompt, user_prompt, max_tokens);
+        const stdinPayload = this._stdin_payload(system_prompt, user_prompt);
+        let proc: SubprocessResult;
+        try {
+            proc = this._runSubprocess(cmd, stdinPayload);
+        } catch (exc) {
+            if (exc instanceof SubprocessError) {
+                if (exc.kind === 'timeout') {
+                    return new CouncilResponse({
+                        provider: this.name,
+                        model: this.model,
+                        text: '',
+                        latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                        error: 'timeout',
+                        metadata: { cli: true, timeout_seconds: this.timeout_seconds },
+                    });
+                }
+                if (exc.kind === 'file_not_found') {
+                    return new CouncilResponse({
+                        provider: this.name,
+                        model: this.model,
+                        text: '',
+                        latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                        error: 'binary_missing',
+                        metadata: { cli: true, binary: this.binary },
+                    });
+                }
+                // OSError
+                return new CouncilResponse({
+                    provider: this.name,
+                    model: this.model,
+                    text: '',
+                    latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                    error: `os_error: ${exc.osName}`,
+                    metadata: { cli: true },
+                });
+            }
+            throw exc;
+        }
+
+        // 3. record the call — even failures count against the quota so a broken
+        //    CLI cannot burn the whole budget in a tight loop.
+        try {
+            record_cli_call(this.name, this._cli_calls_path);
+        } catch {
+            // state-file write failure is non-fatal here.
+        }
+
+        const latency_ms = _elapsedMs(t0);
+
+        // 4. non-zero exit → classify and bail.
+        if (proc.returncode !== 0) {
+            const code = (this.constructor as typeof CliClient)._classify_stderr(
+                proc.stderr || '',
+                proc.returncode,
+            );
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: '',
+                latency_ms,
+                error: code,
+                metadata: {
+                    cli: true,
+                    returncode: proc.returncode,
+                    stderr_tail: (proc.stderr || '').slice(-500),
+                },
+            });
+        }
+
+        // 5. parse stdout via the subclass hook.
+        let response: CouncilResponse;
+        try {
+            response = this._parse_output(proc.stdout || '', proc.stderr || '');
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: proc.stdout || '',
+                latency_ms,
+                error: `parse_failed: ${_excTypeName(exc)}`,
+                metadata: { cli: true, stderr_tail: (proc.stderr || '').slice(-500) },
+            });
+        }
+        response.latency_ms = latency_ms;
+        const meta: Record<string, unknown> = { ...response.metadata };
+        if (!('cli' in meta)) {
+            meta['cli'] = true;
+        }
+        response.metadata = meta;
+        return response;
+    }
+
+    static _classify_stderr(stderr: string, returncode: number): string {
+        const haystack = stderr.toLowerCase();
+        if (this._AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS.some((p) => haystack.includes(p))) {
+            return 'auth_expired';
+        }
+        if (this._TIMEOUT_PATTERNS.some((p) => haystack.includes(p))) {
+            return 'timeout';
+        }
+        if (this._QUOTA_PATTERNS.some((p) => haystack.includes(p))) {
+            return 'cli_quota_exhausted';
+        }
+        return `exit_${returncode}`;
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Claude via the official `claude` CLI (subscription-authed).
+ *
+ * Invokes `claude --print --output-format json` and consumes the structured
+ * envelope: `{"result": str, "usage": {"input_tokens": int, "output_tokens":
+ * int}, "session_id": str, ...}`. The prompt is piped on stdin so it never
+ * collides with argv length limits.
+ */
+export class AnthropicCliClient extends CliClient {
+    override name = 'anthropic';
+    override default_binary = 'claude';
+    override subscription_label = 'claude-pro';
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? 'claude-sonnet-4-5',
+            binary: opts.binary,
+            timeout_seconds: opts.timeout_seconds,
+            max_calls_per_day: opts.max_calls_per_day,
+            warn_at: opts.warn_at,
+            cli_calls_path: opts.cli_calls_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected override _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[] {
+        void user_prompt;
+        void max_tokens;
+        return [
+            this.binary,
+            '--print',
+            '--output-format',
+            'json',
+            '--model',
+            this.model,
+            '--append-system-prompt',
+            system_prompt,
+        ];
+    }
+
+    protected override _stdin_payload(system_prompt: string, user_prompt: string): string | null {
+        void system_prompt;
+        return user_prompt;
+    }
+
+    protected override _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse {
+        void stderr;
+        const envelope = _jsonLoads(stdout);
+        if (!_isPlainObject(envelope)) {
+            throw new ValueError('expected JSON object at the top level of claude CLI output');
+        }
+        const env = envelope as Record<string, unknown>;
+        const text = _pyStr(_dictGet(env, 'result', '')).trim();
+        let usage = _dictGet(env, 'usage', null);
+        if (!_pyTruthy(usage)) {
+            usage = {};
+        }
+        if (!_isPlainObject(usage)) {
+            usage = {};
+        }
+        const usageObj = usage as Record<string, unknown>;
+        const meta: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+        const session_id = _dictGet(env, 'session_id', undefined);
+        if (_pyTruthy(session_id)) {
+            meta['session_id'] = _pyStr(session_id);
+        }
+        const total_cost = _dictGet(env, 'total_cost_usd', null);
+        if (total_cost !== null && total_cost !== undefined) {
+            meta['reported_cost_usd'] = total_cost;
+        }
+        const duration_ms = _dictGet(env, 'duration_ms', null);
+        if (duration_ms !== null && duration_ms !== undefined) {
+            meta['reported_duration_ms'] = duration_ms;
+        }
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens: _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(usageObj, 'input_tokens', 0)),
+            output_tokens: _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(usageObj, 'output_tokens', 0)),
+            metadata: meta,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * OpenAI via the official `codex` CLI (subscription-authed).
+ *
+ * Invokes `codex exec --json <prompt>` and consumes the newline-delimited JSON
+ * event stream. The user prompt rides on argv (Codex does not read prompts from
+ * stdin in `exec` mode); the system prompt is passed via `--system` when
+ * non-empty.
+ *
+ * Output shape: one JSON object per line. The terminal event has
+ * `type == "item.completed"` with the final assistant message in
+ * `item.content[0].text`; a separate `type == "turn.completed"` event carries
+ * token usage in `usage.input_tokens` / `usage.output_tokens`.
+ */
+export class OpenAICliClient extends CliClient {
+    override name = 'openai';
+    override default_binary = 'codex';
+    override subscription_label = 'chatgpt-plus';
+
+    static override _AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        ...CliClient._AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS,
+        'codex login',
+        'auth_required',
+        '401',
+    ];
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? 'gpt-5',
+            binary: opts.binary,
+            timeout_seconds: opts.timeout_seconds,
+            max_calls_per_day: opts.max_calls_per_day,
+            warn_at: opts.warn_at,
+            cli_calls_path: opts.cli_calls_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected override _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[] {
+        void max_tokens;
+        const cmd = [this.binary, 'exec', '--json', '--model', this.model];
+        if (system_prompt) {
+            cmd.push('--system', system_prompt);
+        }
+        cmd.push(user_prompt);
+        return cmd;
+    }
+
+    protected override _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse {
+        void stderr;
+        let text = '';
+        let input_tokens = 0;
+        let output_tokens = 0;
+        const meta: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+        for (let line of _splitlines(stdout)) {
+            line = line.trim();
+            if (!line) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            let event: unknown;
+            try {
+                event = _jsonLoads(line);
+            } catch (exc) {
+                if (exc instanceof JSONDecodeError) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                throw exc;
+            }
+            if (!_isPlainObject(event)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            const ev = event as Record<string, unknown>;
+            const event_type = _dictGet(ev, 'type', undefined);
+            if (event_type === 'item.completed') {
+                let item = _dictGet(ev, 'item', null);
+                if (!_pyTruthy(item)) {
+                    item = {};
+                }
+                if (_isPlainObject(item)) {
+                    const itemObj = item as Record<string, unknown>;
+                    let content = _dictGet(itemObj, 'content', null);
+                    if (!_pyTruthy(content)) {
+                        content = [];
+                    }
+                    if (Array.isArray(content)) {
+                        const chunks: string[] = [];
+                        for (const entry of content) {
+                            if (_isPlainObject(entry) && _pyTruthy(_dictGet(entry as Record<string, unknown>, 'text', undefined))) {
+                                chunks.push(_pyStr((entry as Record<string, unknown>)['text']));
+                            }
+                        }
+                        if (chunks.length > 0) {
+                            text = chunks.join('\n').trim();
+                        }
+                    }
+                    if (_pyTruthy(_dictGet(itemObj, 'id', undefined))) {
+                        meta['item_id'] = _pyStr(itemObj['id']);
+                    }
+                }
+            } else if (event_type === 'turn.completed') {
+                let usage = _dictGet(ev, 'usage', null);
+                if (!_pyTruthy(usage)) {
+                    usage = {};
+                }
+                if (_isPlainObject(usage)) {
+                    const usageObj = usage as Record<string, unknown>;
+                    input_tokens = _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(usageObj, 'input_tokens', 0));
+                    output_tokens = _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(usageObj, 'output_tokens', 0));
+                }
+            } else if (event_type === 'session.created') {
+                if (_pyTruthy(_dictGet(ev, 'session_id', undefined))) {
+                    meta['session_id'] = _pyStr(ev['session_id']);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens,
+            output_tokens,
+            metadata: meta,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Google Gemini via the official `gemini` CLI (free-tier subscription).
+ *
+ * Invokes `gemini --prompt <prompt> --output-format json` and consumes the
+ * structured envelope: `{"response": str, "stats": {"models": {"<model>":
+ * {"tokens": {"prompt": int, "candidates": int}}}}, ...}`. Prompt is piped on
+ * stdin to dodge argv limits.
+ */
+export class GeminiCliClient extends CliClient {
+    override name = 'gemini';
+    override default_binary = 'gemini';
+    override subscription_label = 'gemini-pro';
+
+    static override _AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        ...CliClient._AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS,
+        'interactive consent could not be obtained',
+        'please run `gemini`',
+        'oauth',
+    ];
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? 'gemini-2.5-pro',
+            binary: opts.binary,
+            timeout_seconds: opts.timeout_seconds,
+            max_calls_per_day: opts.max_calls_per_day,
+            warn_at: opts.warn_at,
+            cli_calls_path: opts.cli_calls_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected override _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[] {
+        void user_prompt;
+        void max_tokens;
+        const cmd = [this.binary, '--output-format', 'json', '--model', this.model];
+        if (system_prompt) {
+            cmd.push('--system', system_prompt);
+        }
+        return cmd;
+    }
+
+    protected override _stdin_payload(system_prompt: string, user_prompt: string): string | null {
+        void system_prompt;
+        return user_prompt;
+    }
+
+    protected override _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse {
+        void stderr;
+        const envelope = _jsonLoads(stdout);
+        if (!_isPlainObject(envelope)) {
+            throw new ValueError('expected JSON object at the top level of gemini CLI output');
+        }
+        const env = envelope as Record<string, unknown>;
+        const text = _pyStr(_dictGet(env, 'response', '')).trim();
+        let input_tokens = 0;
+        let output_tokens = 0;
+        let stats = _dictGet(env, 'stats', null);
+        if (!_pyTruthy(stats)) {
+            stats = {};
+        }
+        if (_isPlainObject(stats)) {
+            let models = _dictGet(stats as Record<string, unknown>, 'models', null);
+            if (!_pyTruthy(models)) {
+                models = {};
+            }
+            if (_isPlainObject(models)) {
+                const modelsObj = models as Record<string, unknown>;
+                // gemini emits per-model token counts; pick the configured model
+                // if present, else the first model in the envelope.
+                let model_stats: unknown = modelsObj[this.model];
+                if (!_isPlainObject(model_stats)) {
+                    model_stats = _firstDictValue(modelsObj) ?? {};
+                }
+                let tokens: unknown;
+                if (_isPlainObject(model_stats)) {
+                    tokens = _dictGet(model_stats as Record<string, unknown>, 'tokens', null);
+                    if (!_pyTruthy(tokens)) {
+                        tokens = {};
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    tokens = {};
+                }
+                if (_isPlainObject(tokens)) {
+                    const tokensObj = tokens as Record<string, unknown>;
+                    input_tokens = _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(tokensObj, 'prompt', 0));
+                    output_tokens = _pyIntCoerce(_dictGet(tokensObj, 'candidates', 0));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        const meta: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+        let session_id = _dictGet(env, 'sessionId', undefined);
+        if (!_pyTruthy(session_id)) {
+            session_id = _dictGet(env, 'session_id', undefined);
+        }
+        if (_pyTruthy(session_id)) {
+            meta['session_id'] = _pyStr(session_id);
+        }
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens,
+            output_tokens,
+            metadata: meta,
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * xAI Grok via the community `grok` CLI (Superagent project).
+ *
+ * Community-maintained wrapper around the xAI API — **not** an official
+ * subscription transport. The CLI consumes `XAI_API_KEY` from its own
+ * environment, so every call is paid per-token exactly as `XAIClient` (api
+ * transport) would be. `mode: cli` here is an ergonomic shortcut; it does NOT
+ * bypass the USD cost gate.
+ *
+ * Invokes `grok -p <prompt>`. Output is plain text — no JSON envelope.
+ * `_parse_output` returns the trimmed stdout and estimates token counts
+ * heuristically (chars / 4) for the audit-trail.
+ */
+export class XAICliClient extends CliClient {
+    override name = 'xai';
+    override default_binary = 'grok';
+    override billable = true; // community CLI consumes an API key — billable applies
+
+    static override _AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        ...CliClient._AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS,
+        'xai_api_key',
+        '401',
+        'unauthorized',
+    ];
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? DEFAULT_XAI_MODEL,
+            binary: opts.binary,
+            timeout_seconds: opts.timeout_seconds,
+            max_calls_per_day: opts.max_calls_per_day,
+            warn_at: opts.warn_at,
+            cli_calls_path: opts.cli_calls_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected override _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[] {
+        void system_prompt;
+        void max_tokens;
+        const cmd = [this.binary, '-p', user_prompt];
+        if (this.model) {
+            cmd.push('--model', this.model);
+        }
+        return cmd;
+    }
+
+    protected override _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse {
+        void stderr;
+        const text = stdout.trim();
+        // Plain-text CLIs surface no token usage — estimate from text length so
+        // the audit trail and post-call tracker stay populated. chars / 4
+        // mirrors `pricing.estimate_input_tokens`.
+        const output_tokens = text ? Math.max(1, Math.trunc(_pyLen(text) / 4)) : 0;
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens: 0,
+            output_tokens,
+            metadata: { cli_output_format: 'plain_text', tokens_estimated: true },
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Perplexity via the community `perplexity` CLI (npm package).
+ *
+ * Community-maintained wrapper around the Perplexity API — **not** an official
+ * subscription transport. The CLI consumes `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` from its own
+ * environment, so every call is paid per-token exactly as `PerplexityClient`
+ * (api transport) would be. `mode: cli` here is an ergonomic shortcut; it does
+ * NOT bypass the USD cost gate.
+ *
+ * Invokes `perplexity -p <prompt>`. Output is plain text — no JSON envelope.
+ */
+export class PerplexityCliClient extends CliClient {
+    override name = 'perplexity';
+    override default_binary = 'perplexity';
+    override billable = true; // community CLI consumes an API key — billable applies
+
+    static override _AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS: readonly string[] = [
+        ...CliClient._AUTH_FAILURE_PATTERNS,
+        'perplexity_api_key',
+        '401',
+        'unauthorized',
+    ];
+
+    constructor(opts: CliClientOptions = {}) {
+        super({
+            model: opts.model ?? DEFAULT_PERPLEXITY_MODEL,
+            binary: opts.binary,
+            timeout_seconds: opts.timeout_seconds,
+            max_calls_per_day: opts.max_calls_per_day,
+            warn_at: opts.warn_at,
+            cli_calls_path: opts.cli_calls_path,
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected override _build_command(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number,
+    ): string[] {
+        void system_prompt;
+        void max_tokens;
+        const cmd = [this.binary, '-p', user_prompt];
+        if (this.model) {
+            cmd.push('--model', this.model);
+        }
+        return cmd;
+    }
+
+    protected override _parse_output(stdout: string, stderr: string): CouncilResponse {
+        void stderr;
+        const text = stdout.trim();
+        const output_tokens = text ? Math.max(1, Math.trunc(_pyLen(text) / 4)) : 0;
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            input_tokens: 0,
+            output_tokens,
+            metadata: { cli_output_format: 'plain_text', tokens_estimated: true },
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+// ── Manual mode (Phase 2b) ───────────────────────────────────────────
+
+export const MANUAL_END_MARKER = 'END'; // line containing only this terminates a paste block.
+
+/** Minimal line-reading stream interface (mirrors Python `TextIO`). */
+export interface TextInputStream {
+    /** Yield successive lines (each may keep its trailing "\n"), like iterating a Python file. */
+    [Symbol.iterator](): Iterator<string>;
+    /** Read a single line (with trailing newline), or '' at EOF — Python `readline()`. */
+    readline(): string;
+}
+
+/** Minimal write stream interface (mirrors Python `TextIO`). */
+export interface TextOutputStream {
+    write(s: string): void;
+    flush(): void;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Read lines from `stream` until a line equal to `marker` (after strip).
+ *
+ * Returns the joined body without the marker line. EOF before the marker is
+ * treated as end-of-input — the body collected so far is returned.
+ */
+export function _read_until_marker(stream: TextInputStream, marker: string): string {
+    const body: string[] = [];
+    for (const raw of stream) {
+        const line = _rstripNewline(raw);
+        if (line.trim() === marker) {
+            break;
+        }
+        body.push(line);
+    }
+    return body.join('\n').trim();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Copy-paste council member — user is the transport.
+ *
+ * `ask()` renders the system prompt + artefact as one Markdown block, prints it
+ * to stdout, and reads pasted replies from stdin. After each pasted reply,
+ * surfaces a 1/2/3 menu (more · next · abort). Loops until the user picks 2 or
+ * 3.
+ *
+ * Spend is $0 — `billable=false` makes the orchestrator skip the cost gate.
+ *
+ * Tests inject `stdin` / `stdout` streams. Production usage falls back to
+ * process stdin / stdout.
+ */
+export class ManualClient extends ExternalAIClient {
+    override billable = false;
+    override transport = 'manual';
+    provider_label: string;
+    private _stdin: TextInputStream;
+    private _stdout: TextOutputStream;
+    private _end_marker: string;
+
+    constructor(
+        opts: {
+            name?: string;
+            model?: string;
+            provider_label?: string;
+            stdin?: TextInputStream | null;
+            stdout?: TextOutputStream | null;
+            end_marker?: string;
+        } = {},
+    ) {
+        super();
+        this.name = opts.name ?? 'manual';
+        this.model = opts.model ?? 'manual';
+        this.provider_label = opts.provider_label ?? 'your LLM web UI';
+        this._stdin = opts.stdin ?? _defaultStdin();
+        this._stdout = opts.stdout ?? _defaultStdout();
+        this._end_marker = opts.end_marker ?? MANUAL_END_MARKER;
+    }
+
+    override ask(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        max_tokens: number = DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS,
+    ): CouncilResponse {
+        void max_tokens; // accepted for ABC parity
+        const t0 = _nowMs();
+        const rounds: string[] = [];
+        let block = this._render_block(system_prompt, user_prompt, null);
+        this._emit(block);
+
+        try {
+            for (;;) {
+                const reply = _read_until_marker(this._stdin, this._end_marker);
+                rounds.push(reply);
+                const choice = this._ask_menu(_pyLen(reply));
+
+                if (choice === '2') {
+                    // done with this member
+                    break;
+                }
+                if (choice === '3') {
+                    // abort the council run
+                    return new CouncilResponse({
+                        provider: this.name,
+                        model: this.model,
+                        text: '',
+                        latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                        error: 'manual_aborted',
+                        metadata: { rounds: rounds.length, manual: true },
+                    });
+                }
+                // choice == "1": collect follow-up, re-emit context block.
+                const follow_up = this._read_follow_up();
+                if (!follow_up) {
+                    break; // empty follow-up → treat as "done with this member"
+                }
+                rounds.push(`[follow-up sent]\n${follow_up}`);
+                block = this._render_block(system_prompt, user_prompt, follow_up);
+                this._emit(block);
+            }
+        } catch (exc) {
+            return new CouncilResponse({
+                provider: this.name,
+                model: this.model,
+                text: rounds.join('\n\n'),
+                latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+                error: _excString(exc),
+                metadata: { rounds: rounds.length, manual: true },
+            });
+        }
+
+        const text = rounds.join('\n\n---\n\n').trim();
+        return new CouncilResponse({
+            provider: this.name,
+            model: this.model,
+            text,
+            latency_ms: _elapsedMs(t0),
+            metadata: { rounds: rounds.length, manual: true },
+        });
+    }
+
+    // ── helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    private _emit(text: string): void {
+        this._stdout.write(text);
+        this._stdout.write('\n');
+        this._stdout.flush();
+    }
+
+    private _render_block(
+        system_prompt: string,
+        user_prompt: string,
+        follow_up: string | null,
+    ): string {
+        const bar = '═'.repeat(67);
+        const head =
+            `${bar}\n` +
+            `Manual council member: ${this.provider_label}\n` +
+            'Paste this block into the web UI · then paste the reply below.\n' +
+            `${bar}`;
+        let body: string;
+        if (follow_up !== null) {
+            body = `[Follow-up — paste this into the SAME chat thread]\n\n${follow_up}`;
+        } else {
+            body = `${system_prompt}\n\n---\n\n${user_prompt}`;
+        }
+        const tail =
+            `${bar}\n` +
+            `End your pasted reply with a line containing only: ${this._end_marker}\n` +
+            `${bar}`;
+        return `${head}\n\n${body}\n\n${tail}`;
+    }
+
+    private _ask_menu(reply_chars: number): string {
+        const prompt =
+            `\nReply received (${reply_chars} chars). Now what?\n` +
+            '  1. More feedback for this member (continue this thread)\n' +
+            '  2. Done with this member, move to the next\n' +
+            '  3. Abort the council run\n\n' +
+            'Choose 1/2/3: ';
+        this._stdout.write(prompt);
+        this._stdout.flush();
+        const line = this._stdin.readline().trim();
+        if (line === '1' || line === '2' || line === '3') {
+            return line;
+        }
+        // unknown input → treat as "next" so we never block forever in tests / piped runs.
+        return '2';
+    }
+
+    private _read_follow_up(): string {
+        this._emit(
+            `\nType your follow-up question, end with a line containing only: ${this._end_marker}`,
+        );
+        return _read_until_marker(this._stdin, this._end_marker);
+    }
+}
+
+// ── primitives ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/** Python `ValueError`. */
+export class ValueError extends Error {
+    constructor(message: string) {
+        super(message);
+        this.name = 'ValueError';
+    }
+}
+
+/** Python `json.JSONDecodeError`. */
+export class JSONDecodeError extends Error {
+    constructor(message: string) {
+        super(message);
+        this.name = 'JSONDecodeError';
+    }
+}
+
+/** `json.loads` that raises `JSONDecodeError` (not the native SyntaxError). */
+function _jsonLoads(s: string): unknown {
+    try {
+        return JSON.parse(s);
+    } catch (exc) {
+        throw new JSONDecodeError(exc instanceof Error ? exc.message : String(exc));
+    }
+}
+
+/** True for a plain object (Python `isinstance(x, dict)`), not array / null. */
+function _isPlainObject(x: unknown): x is Record<string, unknown> {
+    return typeof x === 'object' && x !== null && !Array.isArray(x);
+}
+
+/** Mirror Python truthiness: '', 0, 0.0, false, null/undefined, [], {} are falsy. */
+function _pyTruthy(x: unknown): boolean {
+    if (x === null || x === undefined) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'boolean') {
+        return x;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'number') {
+        return x !== 0;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'string') {
+        return x.length > 0;
+    }
+    if (Array.isArray(x)) {
+        return x.length > 0;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'object') {
+        return Object.keys(x as Record<string, unknown>).length > 0;
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+/** `dict.get(key, default)` over a duck-typed object. */
+function _dictGet(obj: Record<string, unknown>, key: string, fallback: unknown): unknown {
+    return key in obj ? obj[key] : fallback;
+}
+
+/** First dict-typed value in insertion order (mirrors `next(v for v ... if isinstance(v, dict))`). */
+function _firstDictValue(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Record<string, unknown> | undefined {
+    for (const v of Object.values(obj)) {
+        if (_isPlainObject(v)) {
+            return v;
+        }
+    }
+    return undefined;
+}
+
+/** Python `str(x)`. */
+function _pyStr(x: unknown): string {
+    if (x === null) {
+        return 'None';
+    }
+    if (x === undefined) {
+        // Defensive: undefined never reaches str() in the Python flow; treat as
+        // empty per the `.get(..., "")` defaults that precede every call.
+        return '';
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'boolean') {
+        return x ? 'True' : 'False';
+    }
+    return String(x);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Python `int(x or 0)` applied to JSON-loaded values where the source code does
+ * `int(usage.get("k", 0) or 0)` — None/0/"" coerce to 0, ints pass, numeric
+ * strings parse. Floats truncate toward zero.
+ */
+function _pyIntCoerce(x: unknown): number {
+    // `x or 0` first: falsy → 0.
+    if (!_pyTruthy(x)) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'number') {
+        return Math.trunc(x);
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'boolean') {
+        return x ? 1 : 0;
+    }
+    if (typeof x === 'string') {
+        return _pyIntFromStr(x);
+    }
+    // int() on a dict/list raises TypeError in Python — surface it.
+    throw new TypeError(`int() argument must be a number or string, not ${typeof x}`);
+}
+
+/** Python `int(value)` for an already-int-typed number (used in quota_summary_line). */
+function _pyInt(n: number): number {
+    return Math.trunc(n);
+}
+
+/** Python `int(str)` — strict base-10 with surrounding whitespace allowed. */
+function _pyIntFromStr(s: string): number {
+    const t = s.trim();
+    if (!/^[+-]?\d+$/.test(t)) {
+        throw new ValueError(`invalid literal for int() with base 10: ${_pyRepr(s)}`);
+    }
+    return parseInt(t, 10);
+}
+
+/** Python `len(str)` — Unicode code-point count, not UTF-16 units. */
+function _pyLen(s: string): number {
+    let n = 0;
+    for (const _ of s) {
+        void _;
+        n += 1;
+    }
+    return n;
+}
+
+/** Python `str.rstrip("\n")` — strip only trailing newline chars. */
+function _rstripNewline(s: string): string {
+    let end = s.length;
+    while (end > 0 && s[end - 1] === '\n') {
+        end -= 1;
+    }
+    return s.slice(0, end);
+}
+
+/** Python `str.splitlines()` for the line shapes a CLI stream emits. */
+function _splitlines(s: string): string[] {
+    if (s === '') {
+        return [];
+    }
+    // Python splitlines() splits on \n, \r, \r\n (and more); CLI JSONL only
+    // ever uses \n / \r\n. Match the universal-newline subset that matters here.
+    const out: string[] = [];
+    let cur = '';
+    for (let i = 0; i < s.length; i += 1) {
+        const ch = s[i];
+        if (ch === '\n') {
+            out.push(cur);
+            cur = '';
+        } else if (ch === '\r') {
+            out.push(cur);
+            cur = '';
+            if (s[i + 1] === '\n') {
+                i += 1;
+            }
+        } else {
+            cur += ch;
+        }
+    }
+    if (cur !== '') {
+        out.push(cur);
+    }
+    return out;
+}
+
+/** Render a value with Python `repr()` for the strings this module reprs. */
+function _pyRepr(x: unknown): string {
+    if (typeof x === 'string') {
+        // Python prefers single quotes unless the string has a single quote and
+        // no double quote.
+        const hasSingle = x.includes("'");
+        const hasDouble = x.includes('"');
+        const quote = hasSingle && !hasDouble ? '"' : "'";
+        let out = quote;
+        for (const ch of x) {
+            if (ch === '\\') {
+                out += '\\\\';
+            } else if (ch === quote) {
+                out += `\\${quote}`;
+            } else if (ch === '\n') {
+                out += '\\n';
+            } else if (ch === '\r') {
+                out += '\\r';
+            } else if (ch === '\t') {
+                out += '\\t';
+            } else {
+                out += ch;
+            }
+        }
+        return out + quote;
+    }
+    return String(x);
+}
+
+/** Python `oct(mode)` → "0o600" style string. */
+function _octRepr(mode: number): string {
+    return `0o${mode.toString(8)}`;
+}
+
+/** Build `f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}"` for caught errors. */
+function _excString(exc: unknown): string {
+    return `${_excTypeName(exc)}: ${_excMessage(exc)}`;
+}
+
+function _excTypeName(exc: unknown): string {
+    if (exc instanceof KeyGateError) return 'KeyGateError';
+    if (exc instanceof CliClientError) return 'CliClientError';
+    if (exc instanceof ValueError) return 'ValueError';
+    if (exc instanceof JSONDecodeError) return 'JSONDecodeError';
+    if (exc instanceof TypeError) return 'TypeError';
+    if (exc instanceof RangeError) return 'RangeError';
+    if (exc instanceof Error) {
+        return exc.name || 'Error';
+    }
+    return typeof exc;
+}
+
+function _excMessage(exc: unknown): string {
+    if (exc instanceof Error) {
+        return exc.message;
+    }
+    return String(exc);
+}
+
+/** `json.dumps(obj, indent=2)` — default ensure_ascii=True, insertion-order keys. */
+function _jsonDumpsIndent2(value: unknown): string {
+    return _jsonDumpsIndented(value, 2, 0);
+}
+
+function _jsonDumpsIndented(value: unknown, indent: number, level: number): string {
+    if (value === null || value === undefined) {
+        return 'null';
+    }
+    switch (typeof value) {
+        case 'boolean':
+            return value ? 'true' : 'false';
+        case 'number':
+            return _pyJsonNumber(value);
+        case 'string':
+            return _pyJsonStringAscii(value);
+        case 'object':
+            break;
+        default:
+            throw new TypeError(`Object of type ${typeof value} is not JSON serializable`);
+    }
+    const pad = ' '.repeat(indent * (level + 1));
+    const closePad = ' '.repeat(indent * level);
+    if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+        if (value.length === 0) {
+            return '[]';
+        }
+        const items = value.map((v) => pad + _jsonDumpsIndented(v, indent, level + 1));
+        return `[\n${items.join(',\n')}\n${closePad}]`;
+    }
+    const obj = value as Record<string, unknown>;
+    const keys = Object.keys(obj);
+    if (keys.length === 0) {
+        return '{}';
+    }
+    const items = keys.map(
+        (k) => `${pad}${_pyJsonStringAscii(k)}: ${_jsonDumpsIndented(obj[k], indent, level + 1)}`,
+    );
+    return `{\n${items.join(',\n')}\n${closePad}}`;
+}
+
+/** Render a number like Python `json.dumps` (int vs float; JS has one type). */
+function _pyJsonNumber(n: number): string {
+    if (!Number.isFinite(n)) {
+        if (Number.isNaN(n)) {
+            return 'NaN';
+        }
+        return n > 0 ? 'Infinity' : '-Infinity';
+    }
+    return String(n);
+}
+
+/** Escape a string like Python `json.dumps(..., ensure_ascii=True)` (default). */
+function _pyJsonStringAscii(s: string): string {
+    let out = '"';
+    for (const ch of s) {
+        const code = ch.codePointAt(0) ?? 0;
+        if (ch === '"') {
+            out += '\\"';
+        } else if (ch === '\\') {
+            out += '\\\\';
+        } else if (ch === '\b') {
+            out += '\\b';
+        } else if (ch === '\f') {
+            out += '\\f';
+        } else if (ch === '\n') {
+            out += '\\n';
+        } else if (ch === '\r') {
+            out += '\\r';
+        } else if (ch === '\t') {
+            out += '\\t';
+        } else if (code < 0x20) {
+            out += `\\u${code.toString(16).padStart(4, '0')}`;
+        } else if (code < 0x7f) {
+            out += ch;
+        } else if (code <= 0xffff) {
+            out += `\\u${code.toString(16).padStart(4, '0')}`;
+        } else {
+            // Astral plane → surrogate pair, matching Python json.dumps default.
+            const c = code - 0x10000;
+            const hi = 0xd800 + (c >> 10);
+            const lo = 0xdc00 + (c & 0x3ff);
+            out += `\\u${hi.toString(16).padStart(4, '0')}\\u${lo.toString(16).padStart(4, '0')}`;
+        }
+    }
+    return out + '"';
+}
+
+/** Python `shutil.which(name)` — resolve an executable on PATH. */
+function _which(name: string): string | null {
+    // Absolute / relative path with a separator: check directly (Python's which
+    // checks the given path when it contains a dir component).
+    if (name.includes(path.sep) || (path.sep !== '/' && name.includes('/'))) {
+        return _isExecutable(name) ? name : null;
+    }
+    const pathEnv = process.env.PATH ?? '';
+    if (!pathEnv) {
+        return null;
+    }
+    const exts =
+        process.platform === 'win32'
+            ? (process.env.PATHEXT ?? '.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD').split(';').filter(Boolean)
+            : [''];
+    for (const dir of pathEnv.split(path.delimiter)) {
+        if (!dir) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        for (const ext of exts) {
+            const candidate = path.join(dir, name + ext);
+            if (_isExecutable(candidate)) {
+                return candidate;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return null;
+}
+
+function _isExecutable(p: string): boolean {
+    try {
+        const st = fs.statSync(p);
+        if (!st.isFile()) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+            return true;
+        }
+        // Any execute bit set (mirrors os.access(p, X_OK) closely enough).
+        return (st.mode & 0o111) !== 0;
+    } catch {
+        return false;
+    }
+}
+
+// ── default manual-mode streams (process stdin/stdout) ─────────────────
+
+function _defaultStdout(): TextOutputStream {
+    return {
+        write(s: string): void {
+            process.stdout.write(s);
+        },
+        flush(): void {
+            // process.stdout is auto-flushing; no-op.
+        },
+    };
+}
+
+function _defaultStdin(): TextInputStream {
+    // Production manual mode reads from process.stdin synchronously line by
+    // line via fd 0. Tests always inject a stream, so this is the fallback.
+    let buffer: string | null = null;
+    let pos = 0;
+    function ensure(): string {
+        if (buffer === null) {
+            try {
+                buffer = fs.readFileSync(0, { encoding: 'utf-8' });
+            } catch {
+                buffer = '';
+            }
+        }
+        return buffer;
+    }
+    function nextLine(): string {
+        const buf = ensure();
+        if (pos >= buf.length) {
+            return '';
+        }
+        const nl = buf.indexOf('\n', pos);
+        if (nl === -1) {
+            const line = buf.slice(pos);
+            pos = buf.length;
+            return line;
+        }
+        const line = buf.slice(pos, nl + 1);
+        pos = nl + 1;
+        return line;
+    }
+    return {
+        readline(): string {
+            return nextLine();
+        },
+        [Symbol.iterator](): Iterator<string> {
+            return {
+                next(): IteratorResult<string> {
+                    const line = nextLine();
+                    if (line === '') {
+                        return { done: true, value: undefined };
+                    }
+                    return { done: false, value: line };
+                },
+            };
+        },
+    };
+}