amicus 4.8.1 → 4.9.1

package/skills/second-opinion/SEAT-BRIEFS.md

@@ -18,6 +18,15 @@ non-Claude chair, per the council's core rule)._
 (`src/council/briefings.js` + `briefings-stage2.js` + `briefings-debate.js`). This file stays
 authoritative for the manual path and for element *semantics*.
 
+**v4.9 — everything below is REVIEW wording.** Task mode (`--intent task`, SKILL.md §5.5) has an
+engine-composed twin of every block here (`briefings-task.js`, `briefings-stage2-task.js`,
+`briefings-chair-task.js`, and the task frames in `briefings-debate.js`), so a fast-path task run
+needs nothing from this file. Only the **manual path** has to swap the wording by hand: the seat
+role becomes *do the work, do not review the briefing*; "findings" become the **load-bearing claims**
+the deliverable rests on (same JSON shape, same severity enum, `location` = source, computation, or
+the word `assumption`); the judge's ranking axis becomes *how well the work was done* rather than
+how accurate a critique was; and the chair closes on the ANSWER scale below.
+
 ---
 
 ## Standard anti-sycophancy clause (ALL Stage-1 briefings — not an optional element)
@@ -173,9 +182,11 @@ verbatim:
 
 ---
 
-## Chair verdict-scale addendum
+## Chair closing-scale addendum
 
-Append to the chair packet (`_tmp-chair-packet.md`) when the element is toggled ON:
+Append to the chair packet (`_tmp-chair-packet.md`). ⚠️ **No longer an opt-in element** — the engine
+makes every chair close on a scale, so the manual path must too; SKILL.md's Stage-0 menu says the
+same. Review runs use the VERDICT scale below; task runs use the ANSWER twin after it.
 
 > After your synthesis, add two closing sections:
 >
@@ -192,5 +203,26 @@ Append to the chair packet (`_tmp-chair-packet.md`) when the element is toggled
 >    Name the gaps or the structural problems in the synthesis ABOVE, not on the VERDICT
 >    line itself — that line carries the phrase and nothing else.
 
-**Orchestration note:** surface the chair's `VERDICT:` line verbatim at the top of
-`report.md` and in the inline chat presentation of the results.
+### Task-mode twin — the ANSWER scale
+
+Same two closing sections, same "final line, alone" rule, same HARD QUESTIONS item (all three are
+scale-independent). Only the phrase list and its gloss change:
+
+>    `ANSWER: Converged` | `ANSWER: Split` | `ANSWER: Insufficient`
+>
+>    Pick one. "Converged" = the bench substantially agrees and the synthesis above is
+>    well-supported. "Split" = material disagreement remains; the synthesis states both positions
+>    and what would settle them. "Insufficient" = the bench's work cannot support an answer —
+>    missing information, an unsound premise, or too little usable output. Name which, in the
+>    synthesis ABOVE, not on the ANSWER line.
+
+The task chair's synthesis instruction also differs: adopt the strongest response, merge
+complementary ones, or refuse the premise if the bench showed it unsound — then close the synthesis
+with a **RESIDUAL RISK** section naming the disputed claims the answer still depends on, or the
+single line `RESIDUAL RISK: none — no load-bearing claim was disputed.` when that is the truth.
+(Drop the RESIDUAL RISK close when the bench declared no claims at all: it is defined as "the claims
+peers disputed", and asking for it over an empty set is an unfollowable instruction.)
+
+**Orchestration note:** surface the chair's closing line — `VERDICT:` or `ANSWER:`, whichever the
+chair actually wrote — verbatim at the top of `report.md` and in the inline chat presentation of
+the results. Never translate one scale into the other.

package/skills/second-opinion/SKILL.md

@@ -1,31 +1,48 @@
 ---
 name: second-opinion
 description: >
-  Run a structured, multi-model "council" review of material the user provides plus
-  an analysis request and criteria, turning it into decisions. Models review the
-  material independently, then anonymously rank and adjudicate each other's reviews
-  in a peer cross-review stage, and a designated non-Claude "chair" model synthesizes
-  the verdict — Claude orchestrates but does not synthesize. Trigger on "second
-  opinion", "multi-model review", "council review", "have other models
+  A structured, multi-model "council" that either REVIEWS material against criteria or
+  DOES the open-ended work asked for, turning either into decisions. Models work
+  independently, then anonymously rank and adjudicate each other's output; a non-Claude
+  "chair" synthesizes the verdict or answer — Claude orchestrates, never synthesizes.
+  Trigger on "second opinion", "multi-model review", "council review", "have other models
   review/critique/evaluate this", "cross-check this against the research",
-  "red-team/stress-test this doc", "what would other models conclude about this", or
-  any request to review provided material with external model(s) and turn it into
-  accept/deny decisions — even if the user never says "sidecar". This is NOT for
-  quick or exploratory single-model chats — "ask Gemini…", "what does DeepSeek
-  think", brainstorming with a model, or spawning/forking a conversation with
-  another model — use the sidecar skill instead.
+  "red-team/stress-test this doc", "what would other models conclude about this", or any
+  request to have external models review material and turn it into accept/deny decisions —
+  even without the word "sidecar". Also TASK mode: "have the council work this out", or
+  any request for several models to independently produce an analysis, answer, or artifact
+  and reconcile them. NOT for quick or exploratory single-model chats — "ask
+  Gemini…", brainstorming, or forking a chat with another model — use the sidecar
+  skill instead.
 ---
 
 # Second Opinion (LLM Council)
 
-Independent, multi-model review of material the user provides, turned into decisions. Any single model — including the one running this conversation — has consistent blind spots. Routing the same material through models from *different* families surfaces disagreements, missed issues, and overstated claims that one model alone won't catch.
+Independent, multi-model work — either a review of material the user provides or the work itself — turned into decisions. Any single model — including the one running this conversation — has consistent blind spots. Routing the same brief through models from *different* families surfaces disagreements, missed issues, and overstated claims that one model alone won't catch.
 
 Four principles govern this skill:
 
 1. **Secondary tool.** By the time this skill runs, Claude has already given its opinion in the main conversation. The skill exists to bring in *independent outside* views — it does not replace or re-run Claude's upstream analysis.
 2. **The council is the non-Claude bench by default.** Council members are models from families other than the orchestrator (Gemini, DeepSeek, GPT, etc.). Claude is not a first-opinion council member unless the optional "Claude in the council" toggle is on — and even then it is judged but does not vote or chair.
 3. **Claude orchestrates; Claude does not synthesize the verdict.** Claude preps material, recommends the council, drives the run, presents accept/deny decisions, and applies them. A designated non-Claude chair model synthesizes the final verdict. Claude's role ends at presenting it.
-4. **The subject of cross-review is the other reviews, not the artifact again.** In the peer cross-review stage, models critique and rank *each other's reviews* — not re-review the original artifact. This is the mechanism that surfaces reviewer blind spots and inflated confidence.
+4. **The subject of cross-review is the other reviews, not the artifact again.** In the peer cross-review stage, models critique and rank *each other's reviews* — not re-review the original artifact (in task mode: each other's *responses*; the subject is never the briefing again). This is the mechanism that surfaces reviewer blind spots and inflated confidence.
+
+**Two intents, one machine (v4.9).** The council runs in one of two intents, and choosing between
+them is a Stage-0 decision, not a wording preference:
+
+- **Review (default).** The user supplies material and the bench reviews it against criteria. Seats
+  raise findings; judges rank how accurate each review was; the chair closes
+  `VERDICT: Ship it | Fix these first | Fundamental rethink`.
+- **Task** (`--intent task`). The user asks for work to be DONE, and the bench does it — each seat
+  independently produces the analysis, answer, or artifact the briefing requests, plus the
+  load-bearing claims it rests on. Judges rank the responses by *how well each did the work* and
+  adjudicate those claims; the chair synthesizes an ANSWER across them and closes
+  `ANSWER: Converged | Split | Insufficient`.
+
+Everything else is shared: same seats, same anonymized bundle, same tier machinery (though a tier
+means peer *concurrence* on a task run, not peer verification of a defect), same commands, same
+artifacts under the same filenames (a seat's deliverable still lands in `review-<seat>.md`). Task
+mode is not a lesser mode or a fallback — see *Key mechanics → §5.5*.
 
 **The engine runs the mechanics (v4.1).** Stages 1–3 and the deterministic Stage-5 artifacts are
 ONE `amicus council run` call: the engine composes every model-facing briefing, runs the review
@@ -47,7 +64,8 @@ Operating lessons from each run fold back into `MODEL-NOTES.md` (with approval),
 - The user provides documents, artifacts, or links **and** an analysis request **and** criteria, and wants other models to weigh in independently.
 - They want a fact-check, critique, research-backed evaluation, red-team, or "what would another model conclude about this?"
 - They need actionable decisions (accept / defer / deny) on the material, not just a summary of findings.
-- A thorough **single-model** pass is wanted — scales down gracefully; the boundary vs the `sidecar` skill is **intent** (reviewing provided material against criteria), not model count.
+- **Task mode:** the ask is open-ended work — produce the analysis, the answer, the artifact — and they want several independent models to do it and the disagreements reconciled rather than one model's draft. Run it with `--intent task`; §5.5 has the mechanics.
+- A thorough **single-model** pass is wanted — scales down gracefully; the boundary vs the `sidecar` skill is **intent** (structured, criteria-bound work reconciled into decisions), not model count.
 
 ## When NOT to use
 
@@ -68,7 +86,15 @@ human-in-the-loop; the engine call itself is one background command you do not p
 
 ### Stage 0 — Intake & prep
 
-Confirm the three inputs before doing anything else: **source material**, **the analysis** (the thing to be reviewed), and **the criteria** (what quality/correctness means for this material). Ask only for what is missing; don't re-ask for what is already provided.
+**Settle the intent first — it changes what the inputs are.** Ask which the user wants only when
+the ask is genuinely ambiguous; usually it is plain. Review when there is a *thing* and the ask is a
+judgment on it ("is this right", "what did I miss", "red-team this"). Task when the deliverable does
+not exist yet and the ask is to produce it ("work out X", "draft the plan", "analyze this market").
+An ask that supplies material but wants new work built *from* it ("take these notes and write the
+strategy") is a TASK — the material is input, not the subject. State the intent in the run-shape
+disclosure below so the user can correct you before any spend.
+
+Then confirm the three inputs before doing anything else — **review:** **source material**, **the analysis** (the thing to be reviewed), and **the criteria** (what quality/correctness means for this material); **task:** **the brief** (the work to be done, stated precisely enough that two models can do it without asking), any **material** it should draw on, and **the criteria** (what a good answer must do — scope, depth, form, what counts as evidence). Ask only for what is missing; don't re-ask for what is already provided.
 
 **Establish the run folder first:** `output/<stem>-council/` (or `./second-opinion/<stem>-council/`
 if no `output/` directory exists). Create it now — it is both your working directory and the
@@ -82,14 +108,19 @@ its absolute path in all path arguments.
 - Small, clean text → feed inline in the briefing.
 
 **Author ONE briefing file: `<run-folder>/briefing.md`.** This is the only briefing Claude
-writes, and it carries only the *review request*:
+writes, and it carries only the *request* — the review request, or in task mode the work request:
 
 - the material — inline when small and clean, otherwise the **absolute path** of the extracted
   clean-text file (Stage-1 seats run agentically in the invoking cwd and can read referenced files);
-- the analysis request;
+- the analysis request (task mode: the brief — what to produce, and in what form);
 - the criteria;
 - any material-specific cautions ("the appendix is out of scope", "treat the numbers as given").
 
+**Task mode: write the brief, not the answer.** The seats execute this file. Do not sketch the
+conclusion, pre-select an approach, or attach your own draft — every one of those collapses the
+independence the bench exists for, and unlike a leaked review contract the engine cannot detect it.
+State the goal, the constraints, the audience and the form; leave the work to the bench.
+
 **Do not restate output contracts in `briefing.md`.** The anti-sycophancy clause, the findings-JSON
 schema, the judge tasks, the no-tools preambles, the chair packet and the verdict-scale addendum
 are all the engine's (`briefings.js` templates) — duplicated contracts drift and the engine's copy
@@ -147,15 +178,19 @@ seats**; a 1-model run is the scale-down path below, not an engine run.
 bench and chair are picked and before asking for launch confirmation, present this menu once
 (adjust the run-shape numbers to the actual bench):
 
-> Optional council elements — all OFF unless you name them. Reply with any you want (e.g. "1 and 3", "critic + debate mode", or "none"). Note the chair's **verdict scale is now standard** — the engine always makes the chair close with `VERDICT: Ship it | Fix these first | Fundamental rethink` plus its hard questions, so it is no longer something to opt into:
+> Optional council elements — all OFF unless you name them. Reply with any you want (e.g. "1 and 3", "critic + debate mode", or "none"). Note the chair's **verdict scale is now standard** — the engine always makes the chair close with `VERDICT: Ship it | Fix these first | Fundamental rethink` plus its hard questions, so it is no longer something to opt into (a task run closes on the ANSWER twin instead — `Converged | Split | Insufficient`):
 >
 > 1. **Critic seat** (`--critic <model>`) — one reviewer, which must be one of the bench seats, swaps to an adversarial brief (adversarial pass, edge-case hunt, consistency check, executability test). Same review count. Trade-off: that reviewer can recognize its own review during cross-review (disclosed in the report).
 > 2. **Expert lenses** (`--lenses s1,s2,s3`) — each reviewer gets a distinct expert perspective; you pick the panel domain (business, technical, customer, financial, custom), one lens per seat. Trade-offs: weakens cross-review anonymity (disclosed) and the run is **not** recorded to the reliability ledger.
 > 3. **Debate mode** (`--debate`) — after cross-review, Contested and Disputed findings go back to their raisers to defend, amend, or withdraw, and the disputing judges re-vote before the final tally. Adds 1–2 short waves (up to ~2N extra calls, ~+5 min).
-> 4. **Claude in the council** (`--claude-review`) — I add my own fresh review to the bundle so the bench can rank and adjudicate it; I'm judged but do not vote or chair, so the verdict stays independent. +1 review in the bundle, no extra council calls.
+> 4. **Claude in the council** (`--claude-review`) — **review runs only.** I add my own fresh review to the bundle so the bench can rank and adjudicate it; I'm judged but do not vote or chair, so the verdict stays independent. +1 review in the bundle, no extra council calls.
 
 Rules for this menu:
 
+- **On a task run, offer 1–3 only.** `--claude-review` enters a *review* as review N+1 and has no
+  task-mode meaning; the engine rejects the pair pre-flight, exit 1 before any spend. Don't offer
+  it and then have the launch fail.
+
 - **Never enable an element the user did not explicitly name.** Silence, "no", or "none" = all off. Do not infer opt-in from the nature of the material ("this doc could use a critic…") — offer, don't decide.
 - If elements were **pre-requested in the invoking command** (e.g. `/council … with a critic seat and debate mode`), confirm them back by name ("Critic seat and debate mode are ON per your request; the others are off") instead of re-asking.
 - **The launch confirmation must enumerate the enabled elements by name** — an element not named in the confirmation is off. Restate its cost/shape impact there.
@@ -169,10 +204,16 @@ Rules for this menu:
 this file and fails the run *before any spend* if it is malformed, so a bad file costs nothing but a
 relaunch. See §5.4.
 
-**Disclose the run shape up front**, naming any enabled elements and their cost impact — e.g.:
+**Disclose the run shape up front**, naming the intent and any enabled elements and their cost
+impact — e.g.:
 
 > This run uses 3 council models across 2 engine waves + 1 chair call (~7 model runs), ~10 min.
 
+or, in task mode:
+
+> **Task run** — the 3 models each produce the analysis independently, then rank and adjudicate each
+> other's; the chair synthesizes one answer. 2 engine waves + 1 chair call (~7 model runs), ~10 min.
+
 or, with elements enabled:
 
 > This run uses 3 council models across 2 engine waves + 1 chair call, with **critic seat + debate mode ON** (~7 base runs + up to 6 rebuttal calls), ~15 min.
@@ -190,17 +231,19 @@ The scale-down levels count **non-Claude judges**; `--claude-review` adds a judg
 
 ### The engine run — Stages 1–3 plus the Stage-5 artifacts
 
-ONE call. The engine executes the Stage-1 review wave, the per-leg findings validation and bounded
+ONE call. The engine executes the Stage-1 wave (reviews, or in task mode the seats' deliverables),
+the per-leg findings validation and bounded
 repair loop, anonymization and run-global finding-id rewriting, the identical judge bundle and
 cross-review wave, the optional rebuttal round, the tally (which appends the reliability ledger
-**once**), the chair synthesis with the verdict scale, and the deterministic
-`verdict.json` + `report.html` — checkpointing `run.json` as it goes.
+**once** — never on a task run, see §5.5), the chair synthesis with the standard closing scale, and
+the deterministic `verdict.json` + `report.html` — checkpointing `run.json` as it goes.
 
 **Canonical launch (shell contexts):**
 
 ```
 amicus council run --prompt-file <run-folder>/briefing.md \
   --models "<m1,m2,m3>" --chair <chair> --out-dir <run-folder> --json \
+  [--intent task] \
   [--critic <m>] [--lenses s1,s2,s3] [--debate] \
   [--claude-review <run-folder>/review-claude.md] \
   [--max-cost <$> | --no-cost-gate] [--timeout <min>] [--gateway auto|direct|openrouter]
@@ -224,8 +267,10 @@ Stage-1 wave, the repair re-prompts, the Stage-2 judge wave, the debate legs, an
 so a single invocation replaces the old per-call pass-through footgun entirely.
 
 **Cowork / no-Bash environments:** use the MCP tools instead. `amicus_council_run`
-`{briefingFile, models|council, chair, critic?, lenses?, debate?, claudeReviewFile?, outDir,
+`{briefingFile, models|council, chair, intent?, critic?, lenses?, debate?, claudeReviewFile?, outDir,
 maxCost?|noCostGate?, timeoutMinutes?, gateway?}` returns `{runId, runDir}` immediately.
+`intent: 'task'` is the MCP twin of `--intent task`; omit it for a review run — absence IS review,
+and passing `'review'` explicitly is accepted but never stored.
 Preferred: call `amicus_wait` with the runId — one blocking call; re-call it while it returns
 `timedOut: true`. Fallback: poll `amicus_status`, which shows stage progression. Then read the
 run-folder artifacts with the host's file tools. Council JSON returned by the MCP tools arrives
@@ -282,7 +327,16 @@ withdrew it in the rebuttal round (`findings[].debate.action === 'withdrawn'` in
 **auto-recorded `denied` in `decisions.json` and never presented for a user decision** — just note
 it as withdrawn when walking the tiers.
 
-**Consensus tier — Confirmed findings** (≥ 2 peer agreements, agrees dominate)
+**Task mode:** the findings are the **load-bearing claims** each response rests on, not defects — so
+a tier says how many peers CONCURRED with a claim, never that anyone verified it, and models
+correlate on priors. Say so when presenting, exactly as the rendered report does. Decide them as
+claims: `accepted` = the answer may rest on this, `denied` = it may not, and anything downstream of
+it goes with it, `modified` = it holds only in a narrower form, and the narrowing is recorded. A
+clean bench is a valid result here too — an answer whose reasoning is fully inline can declare no
+adjudicable claims at all, in which case there is nothing to tier and Stage 4 is one decision:
+does the chair's answer stand as written.
+
+**Consensus tier — Confirmed findings** (≥ 2 peer agreements with agrees dominating — or a lone corroborating peer with zero disputes)
 
 - Present the full list in one block: id, claim, severity, and which models raised / endorsed it.
 - Offer one **bulk accept/deny decision** over the whole tier:
@@ -322,6 +376,16 @@ Do not advance to Stage 5 until every finding has a recorded decision.
 - Do not attempt to produce a modified copy.
 - Write a **standalone reviewed report** instead: the full decision log, the chair's verdict, and clear callouts of what should be changed and where — formatted so the user can apply the changes manually.
 
+**Task mode** (there is no source to revise — the deliverable is the output):
+- The deliverable is the **chair's synthesized answer**, constrained by the Stage-4 decisions:
+  strike anything that rested on a `denied` claim, narrow anything a `modified` claim narrowed.
+- Write it as `<run-folder>/answer.md` — or, when the brief asked for a specific artifact
+  (a spec, a plan, a letter), as that artifact under the name the brief asked for, next to the
+  material it drew on.
+- **Never re-do the work yourself.** If the answer needs material the bench did not produce, say so
+  and offer a re-run with a sharper brief; silently writing your own version is the failure this
+  skill exists to prevent, and it is invisible to the user once the chair's prose is edited.
+
 **Run-folder artifacts.** The engine already wrote the deterministic set (see *Output & naming*).
 Two artifacts are yours:
 
@@ -354,7 +418,11 @@ Two artifacts are yours:
   `render: true` and `outDir: <run-folder>` — this refreshes `<outDir>/report.html` on disk and
   returns the Markdown rendering for `report.md` below; it still does **not** write `verdict.json`.
 - `report.md` — Claude-authored: the chair's synthesis (read verbatim from
-  `<run-folder>/chair-output.md`, including its closing `VERDICT:` line at the top of the report) +
+  `<run-folder>/chair-output.md`, including its closing scale line at the top of the report —
+  `VERDICT: Ship it | Fix these first | Fundamental rethink` on a review run,
+  `ANSWER: Converged | Split | Insufficient` on a task run. Reproduce the line the chair actually
+  wrote; never translate one scale into the other, and a run whose chair produced none says
+  `VERDICT: none` / `ANSWER: none` rather than inventing a phrase) +
   the full Stage-4 decision log (one row per finding: `id` + claim + decision — the claim text
   comes from `tally-input.json`, joined on `id` exactly as in Stage 4, since `decisions.json`
   and `tally.json` both carry only the id) + a summary of what was applied (+ the "How Claude's
@@ -385,7 +453,7 @@ The fast path retires the manual path's two hand-written artifacts: there is no
 `report.html`/`report.md`) and no `verdict.md` (the chair's prose is `chair-output.md`, written by
 the engine). Do not recreate them — `MANUAL-ORCHESTRATION.md` is where they still live.
 
-Tell the user exactly which files were written and where, leading with `report.html`, **and present the verdict inline in chat** — the chair's overall assessment (verbatim or lightly trimmed) plus the tier counts (Confirmed/Disputed/Contested/Singleton) and what was applied. Never hand over only file paths.
+Tell the user exactly which files were written and where, leading with `report.html`, **and present the verdict inline in chat** — the chair's overall assessment (verbatim or lightly trimmed), its closing `VERDICT:`/`ANSWER:` line, plus the tier counts (Confirmed/Disputed/Contested/Singleton) and what was applied. On a task run lead with the answer itself, not the process. Never hand over only file paths.
 
 ---
 
@@ -405,8 +473,8 @@ Draft new or updated entries for the per-model sections of `MODEL-NOTES.md` that
 **Ledger — already appended; do not touch it.** The engine's finalize tally appended one row per
 (run × model × resolved executable) to the append-only `council-ledger.jsonl` under `getConfigDir()`
 as part of the run — one row per model on an ordinary bench, and since v4.8 one row per executable
-when an alias's seats resolved differently (expert-lens runs are deliberately excluded). **In the
-fast path, never run `council tally` yourself.** The ledger is append-only, so a second tally over
+when an alias's seats resolved differently (expert-lens runs **and task runs** are deliberately
+excluded — see §5.5). **In the fast path, never run `council tally` yourself.** The ledger is append-only, so a second tally over
 the same run double-appends: that permanently doubles every affected model's `conformance` histogram
 in `amicus council stats` and cannot be undone. (It does *not* skew the lifetime averages — a
 duplicated set of rows has the same mean — and since v4.8 it no longer inflates `runs`/`low-N`
@@ -516,6 +584,51 @@ in `--critic`, which must be a bench seat) with `council_claude_review_invalid`.
 
 ---
 
+### §5.5 Task mode (`--intent task`, default off)
+
+The bench does the work instead of judging someone else's. Every stage still runs; what each stage
+is *about* changes.
+
+**What the seats are told.** Execute the briefing — "produce the analysis, answer, or artifact it
+requests — you are not reviewing the briefing" — and close with the same trailing JSON block review
+mode uses, carrying the **load-bearing claims** the deliverable rests on instead of defects found in
+someone's work. The fenced JSON shape, the `blocker|major|minor|nit` enum and the required non-empty
+`location` are unchanged; here `location` is the grounding discipline — the source, the computation,
+or the literal word `assumption`. An empty claims list under a real answer is a valid result. Critic and lens seats
+have task twins (argue against the easy answer *while doing the work*; do the work through one
+expert perspective), so menu items 1–3 are all available.
+
+**What the judges rank.** Review mode ranks how ACCURATE a critique was; there is no critique here,
+so the axis is how well the asked-for work was DONE. Adjudication is unchanged — agree / dispute /
+neutral, per claim.
+
+**What the chair produces.** An ANSWER, not a verdict: adopt the strongest response, merge
+complementary ones, or refuse the premise if the bench showed it unsound; state the consensus and
+which way each disagreement went; close with a RESIDUAL RISK section naming the disputed claims the
+answer still depends on. Then the final line, alone — `ANSWER: Converged` (the bench substantially
+agrees and the synthesis is well-supported), `ANSWER: Split` (material disagreement remains; the
+synthesis states both positions and what would settle them), or `ANSWER: Insufficient` (the bench's
+work cannot support an answer — missing information, an unsound premise, or too little usable
+output; *which* is named in the synthesis, never on the ANSWER line).
+
+**What the mode refuses.** `--claude-review` is rejected pre-flight, exit 1 before any spend — it
+enters a REVIEW as review N+1 and has no task-mode meaning. There is no task twin, and that is the
+point: Claude contributing its own deliverable would be doing the work the bench was convened for.
+
+**What is not recorded.** A task run is kept out of the reliability ledger, for the reason
+expert-lens runs are: cred earned doing work is not comparable with cred earned reviewing. So
+`amicus council stats` never moves on a task run, its numbers stay a review-mode signal — still the
+right basis for bench selection — and a task run's rankings must not be read as if they fed it.
+
+**How it surfaces.** `intent: 'task'` is emit-when-task and rides `run.json`, the tally `meta` and
+`verdict.json`; absence means review, and `'review'` is never materialized. That one key is what
+makes `report.html`/`report.md` head their summary **Answer summary** rather than *Verdict summary*,
+print the peer-concurrence caveat, and makes the Workspace fold read `ANSWER:`. If a task run's fold
+or panels say *verdict*, the intent did not reach that artifact — report it, do not relabel it by
+hand.
+
+---
+
 ## Model-recommendation heuristics
 
 Use these together with `amicus council stats` (the ledger — authoritative quantitative reliability data: runs, avg peers-only street-cred, confirm-rate, fact-error rate) and the qualitative quirks in `MODEL-NOTES.md`:
@@ -536,13 +649,14 @@ Always **rank recommendations by fit**, state the trade-off for each option, and
 ## Output & naming
 
 - Run folder: `output/<stem>-council/` (or `./second-opinion/<stem>-council/` if no `output/` exists), passed to the engine as `--out-dir`. After a fast-path run it holds:
-  - `briefing.md` — the Stage-0 review request Claude authored (run provenance, not a temp file)
+  - `briefing.md` — the Stage-0 request Claude authored — the review request, or in task mode the work brief (run provenance, not a temp file)
   - `review-claude.md` — Claude's own fresh review, only when "Claude in the council" is on
   - `run.json` — the engine's run manifest: stage log, wave ids, degradation, `runStats`, cost
   - `review-<seat>.md` ×N and `judge-<seat>.md` ×N — the raw engine legs. `<seat>` is the bench
     seat's id, which **is** the model alias for any bench that names each alias once; seat one and
     seat two of a repeated alias write `…-<alias>-1.md` and `…-<alias>-2.md` instead of sharing
-    one file
+    one file. The names are intent-independent: on a task run `review-<seat>.md` holds that seat's
+    **deliverable**, not a review
   - `briefing-stage1.md`, `bundle-stage2.md`, `chair-packet.md` — the model-facing briefings the engine composed
   - `tally-input.json` and `tally.json` — the assembled input and the tiered record (plus `tally-provisional.json` and `debate.json` when `--debate` was on)
   - `rebuttal-<seat>.md` ×(raising seats) and `revote-bundle.md` + `revote-<seat>.md` ×(disputing seats) — the debate round's raw defense and re-vote leg outputs plus the shared re-vote prompt, only when `--debate` was on. Both waves are sized in seats, so a bench that repeats an alias buys up to two extra billed legs per duplicated pair per round (one defense solo, one re-vote leg), each of which may draw its own bounded repair solo
@@ -550,8 +664,9 @@ Always **rank recommendations by fit**, state the trade-off for each option, and
   - `decisions.json` — the Stage-4 decision array Claude writes
   - `verdict.json` — schema-stamped machine-readable record: tally output + Stage-4 decisions, written via `amicus council verdict` at Stage 5 (replacing the engine's undecided version)
   - `report.md` — Claude-authored; full contract defined once in *Stage 5 → Run-folder artifacts* above (chair's synthesis + Stage-4 decision log + run-stats table).
-  - `report.html` — a **separate, deterministic** artifact rendered from `verdict.json` (no chair prose, no decision-log narrative — see Stage 5's *Renderer* note); the default artifact to share.
-- Reviewed copy: `<stem>-reviewed.<ext>`, next to the source.
+  - `report.html` — a **separate, deterministic** artifact rendered from `verdict.json` (no chair prose, no decision-log narrative — see Stage 5's *Renderer* note); the default artifact to share. On a task run it heads **Answer summary** and carries the peer-concurrence caveat, off `verdict.json`'s `intent: 'task'`.
+  - `answer.md` — task runs only: the chair's answer as constrained by the Stage-4 decisions (or the named artifact the brief asked for, wherever the brief asked for it). See *Stage 5 → Task mode*.
+- Reviewed copy: `<stem>-reviewed.<ext>`, next to the source (review runs only — a task run revises nothing).
 - The only working file Claude writes in the fast path is the Stage-6 proposed MODEL-NOTES diff (`_tmp-proposed-model-notes-update.md`), cleaned up once the approval decision is resolved. The manual fallback's `_tmp-*.md` files are documented in `MANUAL-ORCHESTRATION.md`.
 
 ---
@@ -560,5 +675,5 @@ Always **rank recommendations by fit**, state the trade-off for each option, and
 
 - `MANUAL-ORCHESTRATION.md` — the **fallback path**: the hand-driven Stage 1/2/2.5/3 mechanics and the Stage-5 artifacts the engine replaced. **Read it when the engine is unavailable, too old, or misbehaving; when a seat needs a fully custom brief beyond `--critic`/`--lenses`; or when you need to inspect or intervene mid-stage.**
 - `MODEL-NOTES.md` — operating rules, per-model qualitative quirks, cost guardrail, and structural-conformance notes. **Read it before Stage 0 (council selection and launch); update qualitative notes (with approval) in Stage 6.** Quantitative reliability data (runs, avg street-cred, confirm-rate, fact-error rate) comes from `amicus council stats`, not this file. This copy is machine-local (never overwritten on update); the shipped seed lives in the amicus repo and absorbs durable lessons at release time.
-- `SEAT-BRIEFS.md` — the semantics of the optional council elements (critic seat, expert lenses, rebuttal round, chair verdict scale) plus the standard anti-sycophancy clause. The engine composes its own stricter-JSON variants of these headlessly; this file stays authoritative for the manual path and for what each element *means*. **Read it whenever any element is toggled on at Stage 0.**
-- `COUNCIL-DESIGN.md` — the design spec this skill implements (§12 covers the optional council elements). Consult it if a mechanics question arises that the skill prose does not resolve.
+- `SEAT-BRIEFS.md` — the semantics of the optional council elements (critic seat, expert lenses, rebuttal round, chair closing scale) plus the standard anti-sycophancy clause. Its blocks are REVIEW wording; the task twins are engine-composed, and the file names the swaps the manual path has to make (including the ANSWER-scale addendum). The engine composes its own stricter-JSON variants of all of them headlessly; this file stays authoritative for the manual path and for what each element *means*. **Read it whenever any element is toggled on at Stage 0.**
+- `COUNCIL-DESIGN.md` — the design spec this skill implements (§12 covers the optional council elements). Consult it if a mechanics question arises that the skill prose does not resolve. It predates task mode and does not describe it — §5.5 above is the authority there.

package/src/cli-council-run-bench.js

@@ -1,20 +1,51 @@
 /**
  * Bench and input resolution for the council run command.
  *
- * Exports parseList, sanitizeCouncilName, resolveBench, extracted verbatim
- * from cli-handlers-council-run.js (v4.7 PR0). ⚠️ The top-level cli*.js
- * name is LOAD-BEARING: the known-flags source scan covers only src/cli*.js,
- * and resolveBench reads args['dropped-members'].
+ * Exports parseList, sanitizeCouncilName, resolveBench — extracted verbatim
+ * from cli-handlers-council-run.js (v4.7 PR0). ⚠️ v4.9 W13 split `resolveBench`
+ * into a private `resolveBenchCore` (the extracted body, still verbatim) plus a
+ * thin exported wrapper that owns the CLI's alias-shadow notice site (the MCP
+ * surface has its own, in mcp-council-bench.js — PR #207 round 2, A1); the
+ * export name, its arguments and its return shapes are unchanged.
+ * ⚠️ The top-level cli*.js name is LOAD-BEARING: the known-flags source scan
+ * covers only src/cli*.js, and resolveBenchCore reads args['dropped-members'].
  */
 
 'use strict';
 
 const { failJson, ERROR_CODES } = require('./utils/error-doc');
 
+/**
+ * The chair a council gets when nobody names one.
+ *
+ * ⚠️ Lives HERE, in the bench/seat-resolution leaf, and is imported by
+ * `cli-handlers-council-run.js` (which re-exports it, so existing importers are
+ * unchanged) and by `mcp-council-run.js`. PR #203 round 1 (A6) needed the
+ * default at this seam to audit the chair; two spellings already existed and a
+ * third would have been the "wrong lever" mistake — one owner, three readers.
+ */
+const CHAIR_DEFAULT = 'deepseek';
+
 function parseList(value) {
   return String(value).split(',').map(s => s.trim()).filter(Boolean);
 }
 
+/**
+ * The chair this run will use: a trimmed `--chair`, else CHAIR_DEFAULT.
+ * Extracted so the alias audit below and the handler that enforces the
+ * chair-not-in-bench rule read ONE definition. @param {object} args
+ * @returns {string}
+ */
+function resolveChair(args) {
+  return (typeof args.chair === 'string' && args.chair.trim()) ? args.chair.trim() : CHAIR_DEFAULT;
+}
+
+/** The critic seat, or null when this run has none. Same one-definition
+ * rationale as resolveChair. @param {object} args @returns {string|null} */
+function resolveCritic(args) {
+  return (typeof args.critic === 'string' && args.critic.trim()) ? args.critic.trim() : null;
+}
+
 /**
  * Sanitize the internal `--council-name` passthrough before it can reach the
  * spend ledger's `councilName` column (v4.3 Task 4 review fix, spec §7.3:
@@ -43,8 +74,12 @@ function sanitizeCouncilName(name) {
  * They have already diverged (this side has a third guard for a valueless
  * --council, and the min-seat rule lives in both callers, not here) — change
  * a validation rule on one side, change the other.
+ *
+ * ⚠️ Not exported directly — `resolveBench` below wraps it so this transport's
+ * alias-shadow notice has exactly ONE site. Keep new return shapes going through
+ * that wrapper.
  */
-function resolveBench(args, useJson) {
+function resolveBenchCore(args, useJson) {
   const hasModels = typeof args.models === 'string' && args.models.trim();
   const hasCouncil = args.council !== undefined && args.council !== false;
   if (hasModels && hasCouncil) {
@@ -83,4 +118,61 @@ function resolveBench(args, useJson) {
   return { bench: parseList(args.models), presetName: null, droppedMembers: dm };
 }
 
-module.exports = { parseList, sanitizeCouncilName, resolveBench };
+/**
+ * `resolveBenchCore` plus the CLI's alias-shadow notice site (v4.9 W13 Task B,
+ * BACKLOG C5). This is the shared bench-resolution helper BOTH council
+ * transports execute: `mcp-council-run.js` always spawns the CLI child with an
+ * already-expanded `--models` list (never `--council`), so the MCP path
+ * re-enters here exactly like a hand-typed `amicus council run`. Measured, not
+ * assumed — see tests/alias-shadow.test.js's header.
+ *
+ * ⚠️ EXECUTES on both transports, SURFACES on one. The child's stderr is a
+ * `debug.log` fd, so the line this site writes never reaches an MCP client;
+ * `mcp-council-bench.js :: auditBenchAliases` is the parallel site that puts it
+ * on the tool result (PR #207 round 2, A1). See alias-shadow.js's own docblock.
+ *
+ * Wrapped rather than called from each `return`, so the rule cannot grow a twin
+ * as branches are added. A rejected bench carries no `bench` key and is
+ * therefore silent by construction: nothing was resolved, so nothing is
+ * diagnosed. Diagnosis only — the returned value is byte-identical to what
+ * `resolveBenchCore` produced.
+ *
+ * v4.9 W13, PR #203 council round 1:
+ *   A5 — `auditAliasShadows` (not `noteAliasShadows`) opens a fresh notice scope
+ *        first, so a host process that resolves two councils in a row audits
+ *        BOTH instead of silently auditing only the first. This call is reached
+ *        exactly once per council run, which is what makes "one scope" mean
+ *        "one run".
+ *   A6 — the audited names are the bench PLUS the chair (explicit or default)
+ *        and the critic. All three resolve through the same alias table, so a
+ *        shadow on any of them is equally invisible downstream. Order matters
+ *        only cosmetically (rows come back in the order given), and the audit
+ *        de-dups, so a critic — which a valid run always draws from the bench —
+ *        adds a row only when it is outside it.
+ */
+function resolveBench(args, useJson) {
+  const res = resolveBenchCore(args, useJson);
+  if (Array.isArray(res.bench)) {
+    const critic = resolveCritic(args);
+    require('./utils/alias-shadow').auditAliasShadows(
+      [...res.bench, resolveChair(args), ...(critic ? [critic] : [])]);
+  }
+  return res;
+}
+
+// ⚠️ THIS ORDER IS LOAD-BEARING, and only for the docs (PR #207 round 4, B3).
+// `scripts/generate-docs-helpers.js:107` keeps the FIRST FIVE names in source
+// order for CLAUDE.md's Key Exports column, and this module exports six — so
+// whichever name sits last is the one the generated table never shows.
+// `CHAIR_DEFAULT` is DEFINED here and merely re-exported by
+// cli-handlers-council-run.js, whose row (3 exports, all inside the cap) always
+// listed it; the round-4 council read the definer's silence beside the
+// re-exporter's mention as the docs disagreeing about where the constant lives.
+// Moving it inside the cap makes the definer the visible source. The resolve
+// trio stays intact and `sanitizeCouncilName` — the one name here that is a
+// generic string helper rather than part of this module's headline — is the one
+// that falls off the end. Nothing else depends on this order: consumers
+// destructure by name.
+module.exports = {
+  resolveBench, resolveChair, resolveCritic, CHAIR_DEFAULT, parseList, sanitizeCouncilName,
+};

package/src/cli-handlers-council-run.js

@@ -17,11 +17,15 @@ const { GATEWAY_MODES } = require('./utils/model-descriptor');
 // file re-exports it below so every existing require() of this path still
 // resolves it unchanged.
 const { renderRunHuman } = require('./cli-council-run-render');
-const { parseList, sanitizeCouncilName, resolveBench } = require('./cli-council-run-bench');
+// v4.9 W13 (PR #203 round 1, A6): CHAIR_DEFAULT and the two seat resolvers moved
+// to cli-council-run-bench.js so the alias audit at the resolveBench seam and the
+// validation below read ONE definition of each. Re-exported at the bottom of this
+// file, so `require('./cli-handlers-council-run').CHAIR_DEFAULT` still resolves.
+const {
+  parseList, sanitizeCouncilName, resolveBench, resolveChair, resolveCritic, CHAIR_DEFAULT,
+} = require('./cli-council-run-bench');
 const { applyTemplateForArgs } = require('./cli-template-args');
 
-const CHAIR_DEFAULT = 'deepseek';
-
 /**
  * Default real helpers; tests override via depsOverride (mirrors
  * cli-handlers-spend.js's realDeps()/depsOverride convention).
@@ -132,14 +136,13 @@ async function handleCouncilRun(args, depsOverride = {}) {
       message: 'Error: a council needs at least 2 seats (fanout semantics)' });
   }
 
-  const chair = (typeof args.chair === 'string' && args.chair.trim())
-    ? args.chair.trim() : CHAIR_DEFAULT;
+  const chair = resolveChair(args);
   if (bench.includes(chair)) {
     return failJson(useJson, { code: ERROR_CODES.BAD_ARGS,
       message: `Error: chair '${chair}' is a bench seat — the chair must not review${packSuffix('chair')}`,
       hint: `pick a chair outside --models (default: ${CHAIR_DEFAULT}), or remove '${chair}' from the bench` });
   }
-  const critic = (typeof args.critic === 'string' && args.critic.trim()) ? args.critic.trim() : null;
+  const critic = resolveCritic(args);
   if (critic && !bench.includes(critic)) {
     return failJson(useJson, { code: ERROR_CODES.BAD_ARGS,
       message: `Error: critic '${critic}' must be one of the bench seats${packSuffix('critic')}`,
@@ -189,6 +192,13 @@ async function handleCouncilRun(args, depsOverride = {}) {
       return failJson(useJson, { code: ERROR_CODES.BAD_ARGS, message: tagCheck.error });
     }
   }
+  // v4.9 W5.2 (spec §5.3): emit-when-'task' everywhere — 'review' is the
+  // default spelled out and is never materialized on the options object.
+  if (args.intent !== undefined && args.intent !== 'review' && args.intent !== 'task') {
+    return failJson(useJson, { code: ERROR_CODES.BAD_ARGS,
+      message: 'Error: --intent must be review or task',
+      hint: "review (the default) may be omitted; only '--intent task' changes the run" });
+  }
   let runId;
   if (args['run-id']) {
     const check = validateTaskId(String(args['run-id']));
@@ -238,6 +248,8 @@ async function handleCouncilRun(args, depsOverride = {}) {
     template: templateMeta, // F9 (v4.5): null when no --template; additive on the run.json seed (run-state.js).
     pack: packRecord, // v4.5 Task 12 (B7/F5): null when no --pack; additive on the run.json seed (run-state.js).
     tag: args.tag, // v4.7 F8: undefined when no --tag; Task 3 stores it on the run.json seed.
+    // v4.9 W5.2: o.intent is 'task' or ABSENT, never 'review' (validated above).
+    ...(args.intent === 'task' ? { intent: 'task' } : {}),
     droppedMembers: benchRes.droppedMembers, // v4.5 Wave 2: [] when nothing dropped; additive on the run.json seed (run-state.js).
     // v4.1 §4.5b/§4.5d. `--claude-review` is resolved here but VALIDATED by the
     // engine's preflightClaudeReview (run-assemble.js): the reserved-seat and