arcane-cli 1.11.3 → 1.11.4

package/dist/assets/.arcane/agents/agent-policies-template.md

@@ -281,9 +281,8 @@ If an agent encounters a situation outside its defined parameters, it should:
 
 6. **Delete the branch** (local and remote) after merge.
 
-**Branch naming format:** `{agent-slug}/type/short-description`
+**Branch naming format:** the autonomous roster-agent form of the branch-naming rule in `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming, stated once there and not restated here. The agent-slug prefix makes ownership obvious and prevents naming collisions.
 
-- The agent-slug prefix makes ownership obvious and prevents naming collisions.
 - Use standard commit types: `feat`, `fix`, `docs`, `refactor`, `chore`, etc.
 
 **What happens if ff-only fails:** Another actor merged to main first. This should not happen if you followed step 3. If it does, rebase and retry:

package/dist/assets/.arcane/governance/agent-policies.md

@@ -332,10 +332,9 @@ If an agent encounters a situation outside its defined parameters, it should:
 
 6. **Delete the branch** (local and remote) after merge. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-commit-work` Step 10 and `spell-close-session`'s branch-deletion step both require running the Same-Vantage-Point Check before a worktree-adjacent deletion; the vantage-point determination itself remains a manual judgment call, which `git-conventions.md` discloses as "not a code-level gate."**
 
-**Branch naming format:** `{agent-slug}/type/short-description`
+**Branch naming format:** the autonomous roster-agent form of the branch-naming rule in `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming, stated once there and not restated here. The agent-slug prefix makes ownership obvious and prevents naming collisions.
 
-- The agent-slug prefix makes ownership obvious and prevents naming collisions.
-- Use standard commit types: `feat`, `fix`, `docs`, `refactor`, `chore`, etc. **Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — no check in this repo validates an agent branch name against this format (unlike session-branch naming, which `spell-open-session` does check).**
+- Use standard commit types: `feat`, `fix`, `docs`, `refactor`, `chore`, etc. **Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — no check in this repo validates an autonomous agent's branch name against that rule; the rename gate in `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming runs only in interactive sessions.**
 
 **What happens if ff-only fails:** Another actor merged to main first. This should not happen if you followed step 3. If it does, rebase and retry — **from the primary checkout**, since this block checks out `main`:
 

package/dist/assets/.arcane/governance/git-conventions.md

@@ -198,34 +198,34 @@ Every unit of work runs in exactly one **session workspace**: one instance of on
 
 ### Branch Naming
 
-**Humans:**
+The rule below is the one source for every branch format Arcane names. The spells and the generated client instruction files carry copies that `npm run fix:self-host-parity` keeps identical to it (ARC-039 fragment `branch-naming`); nothing restates a format by hand.
 
-```
-type/short-description
-```
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:start -->
+**Branch naming (every actor).** `main` is integration-only. All work happens on a topic branch, named by who creates it:
 
-**Session branches (interactive tools — Copilot, Claude Code, etc.):**
+| Who creates the branch | Format | Example |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| A human | `type/short-description` | `fix/auth-token-regression` |
+| An interactive session (Claude Code, Copilot, Codex chat), including every worktree it opens and every parallel subagent it spawns | `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`; a parallel subagent appends `-<agent>` | `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming`, `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming-merlin` |
+| An autonomous roster agent on a dispatched job (`spell-full-cycle`, from `stories.json`) | `{agent-slug}/type/short-description` | `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` |
 
-```
-sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-topic-slug
-```
+The slug comes from the work — the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action, the story, the pull request title — never from a generator. A tool-generated name (`claude/<adjective>-<surname>-<hash>`, any random adjective-noun name) is noncompliant wherever it appears and is renamed on sight. When a client offers to create a worktree or a parallel agent, supply the branch name yourself: Claude Code's `EnterWorktree` takes a `name`, and `git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` pre-creates the branch for any client; never accept a generated name. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard and `spell-create-pull-request`'s Step 0 run the branch rename gate on the branch they find; `spell agents sync` renders this rule into every client instruction file; no CI check reads a pull request's head-branch name.**
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:end -->
 
 Create the session branch as the **first action** of any session, before any file edits or commits. All session commits land on this branch. At close, push and open a PR. After merge, return to `main` — **in the primary checkout only** (ARC-028 R8). A session running in a linked worktree ends with push → PR → worktree removal instead; it must not check out `main`, because the primary checkout already holds it and Git will refuse the second checkout.
 
-**Examples:**
+**Session branch policy (required):**
 
-- `sessions/2025-11-04-widget-app-implementation` (interactive session)
-- `sessions/2025-11-12-payment-webhook-fix` (interactive session)
+<!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:start -->
+**Branch rename gate.** Applied to the current branch before a session's first mutation (`spell-open-session`) and before a pull request's first push (`spell-create-pull-request`):
 
-**Session branch policy (required):**
+1. Read `git branch --show-current` and `git worktree list` (a read only: across a bridged or mounted filesystem it can misreport a live worktree, EF-33 — never act on that output alone). Act only on the branch checked out in this worktree; never rename, switch or delete a branch attached to another worktree.
+2. Judge the name against the branch-naming rule above. A compliant name stays. A noncompliant one is renamed only when no open pull request depends on it — check with the provider (`gh pr list --head <branch> --state open` or `az repos pr list --source-branch <branch> --status active`); if one exists, keep the name, report it, and rename after that pull request merges.
+3. Derive the deterministic name from the work, in the session form of the rule: today's date, a kebab-case topic from the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action or the pull request title, and the `-<agent>` suffix only for a parallel subagent.
+4. `git branch -m <old> <new>`. If `<old>` was already pushed: `git push -u origin <new>`, then `git push origin --delete <old>`, both under the push-policy check (ARC-049). Give each command a per-call timeout: on some Windows filesystems a rename or delete blocks on a file lock (the EF-20 hazard in git-conventions.md).
+5. Report `Renamed <old> → <new>` in the run's output. If the worktree, the pull-request state or the remote cannot be determined, stop without renaming and ask the operator.
+<!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:end -->
 
-- Session branches must be deterministic, human-readable, and derived from the active task title. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard renames a noncompliant, unpushed branch to the deterministic `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>` format before the first mutation, and its "Session branch naming compliance" check records the required rename when a PR doesn't already depend on the old name.**
-- Default format for new interactive sessions: `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`.
-- Random adjective-noun branches (for example, `ideal-disco`) are non-compliant and must be renamed.
-- If a non-compliant branch was already pushed, migrate it safely:
-  1. `git branch -m <old> <new>`
-  2. `git push -u origin <new>`
-  3. `git push origin --delete <old>` (skip this if an active PR still depends on `<old>`).
 - **EF-20 hazard:** on some Windows/Git-for-Windows filesystems, a rename or delete can trigger
   an interactive retry prompt (e.g. a file lock from an editor or antivirus scan) that blocks
   indefinitely on a terminal with no non-interactive fallback. When running these commands
@@ -234,22 +234,7 @@ Create the session branch as the **first action** of any session, before any fil
   (`src/modules/git.ts`) applies this as a standing contract — closed stdin plus a
   command-class timeout — for every `git` invocation the CLI itself makes. **Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — the recommendation to set a timeout applies to an agent's own separate shell tool invocations of raw `git`, which nothing here checks. The cited precedent is independently verified: `runGit` (`src/modules/git.ts`) closes stdin immediately and applies a `DEFAULT_TIMEOUTS_MS`-scoped timeout for every git invocation Arcane's own CLI makes internally — a real executable check, but scoped to Arcane's own code path, not to a human's or agent's independent terminal command.**
 
-**Agents:**
-
-```
-{agent-slug}/type/short-description
-```
-
-The agent slug prefix makes branch ownership obvious in `git branch -r` output and prevents naming collisions between agents. **Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — no check in this repo validates an agent branch name against this format, unlike session-branch naming above (which `spell-open-session` does check and, when noncompliant, rename).**
-
-**Examples:**
-
-- `docs/readme-update` (human)
-- `feat/spell-commit-work` (human)
-- `fix/auth-token-regression` (human)
-- `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` (agent — Lafayette)
-- `merlin/docs/architecture-update` (agent — Merlin)
-- `lince/fix/test-regression` (agent — Lince)
+**Autonomous agents:** the agent-slug prefix in the rule above makes branch ownership obvious in `git branch -r` output and prevents naming collisions between agents working in parallel. **Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — no check in this repo validates an autonomous agent's branch name against the rule; the rename gate above runs only in interactive sessions (`spell-open-session`, `spell-create-pull-request`).**
 
 ### Human Workflow
 

package/dist/assets/.arcane/governance/spell-authoring-standards.md

@@ -234,7 +234,10 @@ source under `.arcane/spells/_fragments/` and never shipped on its own. A spell
 `<!-- fragment:needs-you:start -->` / `<!-- fragment:needs-you:end -->` marker pair placed where the
 spell describes its final output or report, and `npm run fix:self-host-parity` expands the fragment
 between the markers. Edit the fragment, never an expanded copy, and never restate its rules by hand
-in a spell body. Required actions also survive the end of a session: `spell-close-session` writes
+in a spell body. Any shipped Markdown file can host a fragment the same way, not only a spell: the
+`branch-naming` fragment is expanded into `git-conventions.md` and the Copilot instruction file as
+well as into spells, and `spell agents sync` renders it into every client instruction file, so the
+branch formats are written in exactly one place. Required actions also survive the end of a session: `spell-close-session` writes
 the open items into the handoff's `Needs you` field, and `spell-open-session` surfaces that field
 first, above the rest of the handoff, and does not mark the handoff consumed until it has.
 

package/dist/assets/.arcane/governance/universal-agent-rules.md

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ See also: [[README]], [[DECISIONS]], [[governance/git-conventions|Git Convention
 
 13. **For runtime config changes. Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023), hedged — `spell-commit-work`'s Step 8 operator-approval gate covers this commit like any other before it can be made, though it verifies diff/message approval rather than a dedicated confirmation that testing occurred.** (anything touching the agent runtime's config files or service restarts): do NOT commit supporting docs until the user has confirmed the change is working. Stage and present — but wait for explicit approval after testing.
 
-14. **Never commit directly to main. Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — `spell doctor`'s `checkPlatformBranchPolicy` verifies only the platform's merge-method policy (squash disallowed), not that direct pushes/commits to main are blocked.** All work — human or agent — happens on topic branches. Humans use `type/short-description`; agents use `{agent-slug}/type/short-description`. Main receives changes only through PR completion, not local direct merges. See [[governance/git-conventions#branch-discipline|Branch Discipline]].
+14. **Never commit directly to main. Enforcement: explicitly advisory prose (ARC-023) — `spell doctor`'s `checkPlatformBranchPolicy` verifies only the platform's merge-method policy (squash disallowed), not that direct pushes/commits to main are blocked.** All work — human or agent — happens on topic branches, each named in the form the Branch Naming rule in git-conventions.md gives its actor (stated once there). Main receives changes only through PR completion, not local direct merges. See [[governance/git-conventions#branch-discipline|Branch Discipline]].
 
 ---
 

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/_fragments/branch-naming.md

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+**Branch naming (every actor).** `main` is integration-only. All work happens on a topic branch, named by who creates it:
+
+| Who creates the branch | Format | Example |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| A human | `type/short-description` | `fix/auth-token-regression` |
+| An interactive session (Claude Code, Copilot, Codex chat), including every worktree it opens and every parallel subagent it spawns | `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`; a parallel subagent appends `-<agent>` | `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming`, `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming-merlin` |
+| An autonomous roster agent on a dispatched job (`spell-full-cycle`, from `stories.json`) | `{agent-slug}/type/short-description` | `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` |
+
+The slug comes from the work — the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action, the story, the pull request title — never from a generator. A tool-generated name (`claude/<adjective>-<surname>-<hash>`, any random adjective-noun name) is noncompliant wherever it appears and is renamed on sight. When a client offers to create a worktree or a parallel agent, supply the branch name yourself: Claude Code's `EnterWorktree` takes a `name`, and `git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` pre-creates the branch for any client; never accept a generated name. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard and `spell-create-pull-request`'s Step 0 run the branch rename gate on the branch they find; `spell agents sync` renders this rule into every client instruction file; no CI check reads a pull request's head-branch name.**

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/_fragments/branch-rename-gate.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+**Branch rename gate.** Applied to the current branch before a session's first mutation (`spell-open-session`) and before a pull request's first push (`spell-create-pull-request`):
+
+1. Read `git branch --show-current` and `git worktree list` (a read only: across a bridged or mounted filesystem it can misreport a live worktree, EF-33 — never act on that output alone). Act only on the branch checked out in this worktree; never rename, switch or delete a branch attached to another worktree.
+2. Judge the name against the branch-naming rule above. A compliant name stays. A noncompliant one is renamed only when no open pull request depends on it — check with the provider (`gh pr list --head <branch> --state open` or `az repos pr list --source-branch <branch> --status active`); if one exists, keep the name, report it, and rename after that pull request merges.
+3. Derive the deterministic name from the work, in the session form of the rule: today's date, a kebab-case topic from the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action or the pull request title, and the `-<agent>` suffix only for a parallel subagent.
+4. `git branch -m <old> <new>`. If `<old>` was already pushed: `git push -u origin <new>`, then `git push origin --delete <old>`, both under the push-policy check (ARC-049). Give each command a per-call timeout: on some Windows filesystems a rename or delete blocks on a file lock (the EF-20 hazard in git-conventions.md).
+5. Report `Renamed <old> → <new>` in the run's output. If the worktree, the pull-request state or the remote cannot be determined, stop without renaming and ask the operator.

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/spell-architect.md

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ Workflow:
 
 5a. **Validate stories.json schema** — before outputting, self-check every field. Missing fields break `spell-implement`. Required top-level fields:
    - `feature` (string)
-   - `branchName` (string, format: `agent/type/description`)
+   - `branchName` (string, in the autonomous roster-agent form of the branch-naming rule — `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming)
    - `assignedAgent` (string, agent slug)
    - `trackingMode` (`internal` or `external`)
    - `externalProvider` (required when `trackingMode=external`)

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/spell-commit-work.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Workflow:
 1. **Check git status and guard the branch** — run `git status` to see what changed, and confirm the current branch.
    - Classify the Git/remote state before enforcing the protected-branch guard. A usable merge path requires a configured remote on a supported provider (`github.com`, `dev.azure.com`, or `visualstudio.com`) and authenticated provider tooling. A remote URL alone is insufficient.
    - Apply exactly one path:
-     - **Supported, authenticated GitHub/ADO remote + `main` or `master` checked out:** **STOP — do not stage or commit directly.** Create and switch the current worktree to a compliant topic branch (for example, `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>`), then continue.
+     - **Supported, authenticated GitHub/ADO remote + `main` or `master` checked out:** **STOP — do not stage or commit directly.** Create and switch the current worktree to a compliant topic branch (a session branch, named per `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming), then continue.
      - **Supported, authenticated GitHub/ADO remote + valid topic/PR branch checked out:** stay on that branch and continue.
      - **No remote, unsupported remote, or provider authentication unavailable:** remain on the current trunk. Print `Local-only checkpoint: no usable remote merge path; commit remains on <trunk> and no remote push/PR will run.` Continue through the local commit gate, then skip Steps 9 and 10 entirely.
    - If the current worktree, branch, provider, or authentication state cannot be determined, fail closed before staging and ask the operator. Never strand a local-only commit on a topic branch with no usable merge path.

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/spell-create-pull-request.md

@@ -58,6 +58,27 @@ Before enabling auto-complete/auto-merge or completing an existing PR, resolve `
 > This rule is on the **agent**, not on the spell. Calling `az repos pr create` / `gh pr create` directly is **not** an escape hatch — it is a governance violation. See `.arcane/governance/git-conventions.md` → **🛑 Agent-mandatory pre-PR guard**.
 
 1. Run `git branch --show-current`. **STOP** if on `main`/`master` — you cannot PR the integration branch into itself. Also **STOP** if detached HEAD (empty output) — check out a named branch first.
+   - **Branch rename gate (before any push in this Step 0):** judge the branch you found against the branch-naming rule and rename it when the gate says so — a tool-generated name must not reach a pull request. A branch a worktree or a parallel subagent created is judged the same way.
+     <!-- fragment:branch-naming:start -->
+     **Branch naming (every actor).** `main` is integration-only. All work happens on a topic branch, named by who creates it:
+
+     | Who creates the branch | Format | Example |
+     | --- | --- | --- |
+     | A human | `type/short-description` | `fix/auth-token-regression` |
+     | An interactive session (Claude Code, Copilot, Codex chat), including every worktree it opens and every parallel subagent it spawns | `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`; a parallel subagent appends `-<agent>` | `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming`, `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming-merlin` |
+     | An autonomous roster agent on a dispatched job (`spell-full-cycle`, from `stories.json`) | `{agent-slug}/type/short-description` | `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` |
+
+     The slug comes from the work — the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action, the story, the pull request title — never from a generator. A tool-generated name (`claude/<adjective>-<surname>-<hash>`, any random adjective-noun name) is noncompliant wherever it appears and is renamed on sight. When a client offers to create a worktree or a parallel agent, supply the branch name yourself: Claude Code's `EnterWorktree` takes a `name`, and `git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` pre-creates the branch for any client; never accept a generated name. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard and `spell-create-pull-request`'s Step 0 run the branch rename gate on the branch they find; `spell agents sync` renders this rule into every client instruction file; no CI check reads a pull request's head-branch name.**
+     <!-- fragment:branch-naming:end -->
+     <!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:start -->
+     **Branch rename gate.** Applied to the current branch before a session's first mutation (`spell-open-session`) and before a pull request's first push (`spell-create-pull-request`):
+
+     1. Read `git branch --show-current` and `git worktree list` (a read only: across a bridged or mounted filesystem it can misreport a live worktree, EF-33 — never act on that output alone). Act only on the branch checked out in this worktree; never rename, switch or delete a branch attached to another worktree.
+     2. Judge the name against the branch-naming rule above. A compliant name stays. A noncompliant one is renamed only when no open pull request depends on it — check with the provider (`gh pr list --head <branch> --state open` or `az repos pr list --source-branch <branch> --status active`); if one exists, keep the name, report it, and rename after that pull request merges.
+     3. Derive the deterministic name from the work, in the session form of the rule: today's date, a kebab-case topic from the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action or the pull request title, and the `-<agent>` suffix only for a parallel subagent.
+     4. `git branch -m <old> <new>`. If `<old>` was already pushed: `git push -u origin <new>`, then `git push origin --delete <old>`, both under the push-policy check (ARC-049). Give each command a per-call timeout: on some Windows filesystems a rename or delete blocks on a file lock (the EF-20 hazard in git-conventions.md).
+     5. Report `Renamed <old> → <new>` in the run's output. If the worktree, the pull-request state or the remote cannot be determined, stop without renaming and ask the operator.
+     <!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:end -->
 2. **Verify the target exists:** `git rev-parse --verify origin/<target>`. If it fails, `git fetch origin <target>`; if still missing, **STOP** and ask the user for the correct `--target`.
 3. **Ensure the branch is on origin (upstream):** run the push-policy check below before any push in this Step 0 — this item's `git push -u` and item 6's `--force-with-lease` push. If it stops a push, stop the spell: a PR cannot be opened for a branch the remote does not have.
 

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/spell-full-cycle.md

@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ Execute the `spell-implement` workflow:
    git fetch --prune origin        # origin/main is now current
    ```
    and branch from `origin/main` in step 1. Check which primitive you are in with `git rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-common-dir` vs `--git-dir` — equal means primary checkout. `--path-format=absolute` is required, or every primary checkout looks like a worktree from any subdirectory.
-1. Create the topic branch from `stories.json.branchName` (format: `{agent}/type/description`).
+1. Create the topic branch from `stories.json.branchName` (the autonomous roster-agent form of the branch-naming rule in `git-conventions.md` → Branch Naming).
 2. Loop:
    a. Pick the next story where `passes: false`, ordered by priority.
    b. Implement the story — minimum code to satisfy acceptance criteria.

package/dist/assets/.arcane/spells/spell-open-session.md

@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ Do not create a branch during a read-only session. Immediately before the first
 
 | Observed state                                                        | Required action before mutation                                                                                                                                           |
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| Supported, authenticated GitHub/ADO remote + trunk checked out        | Create and switch the **current worktree only** to `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`, derived deterministically from the focus, handoff active task, or top next action. |
-| Already on a compliant `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>` branch      | Stay on it; do not create or switch branches.                                                                                                                             |
+| Supported, authenticated GitHub/ADO remote + trunk checked out        | Create and switch the **current worktree only** to a session branch named per the branch-naming rule below, derived deterministically from the focus, handoff active task, or top next action. |
+| Already on a compliant session branch                                 | Stay on it; do not create or switch branches.                                                                                                                             |
 | Noncompliant unpushed branch with no active PR                        | Rename it to the deterministic session name before mutation.                                                                                                              |
 | Branch has an active PR                                               | Stay on the PR branch and report it; never rename a branch backing an active PR.                                                                                          |
 | Current path is a linked worktree                                     | Mutate/switch only the current worktree. Never switch or delete a branch attached to another worktree.                                                                    |
@@ -59,6 +59,30 @@ A usable merge path requires a configured remote on a supported provider (`githu
 
 If branch creation/rename is required, complete it before writing the handoff consumed marker or any other file. If the guard cannot determine the current worktree, active-PR state, or merge capability, fail closed without mutation and ask for operator direction.
 
+The branch-naming rule the table applies, and the rename gate it runs on a noncompliant branch:
+
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:start -->
+**Branch naming (every actor).** `main` is integration-only. All work happens on a topic branch, named by who creates it:
+
+| Who creates the branch | Format | Example |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| A human | `type/short-description` | `fix/auth-token-regression` |
+| An interactive session (Claude Code, Copilot, Codex chat), including every worktree it opens and every parallel subagent it spawns | `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`; a parallel subagent appends `-<agent>` | `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming`, `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming-merlin` |
+| An autonomous roster agent on a dispatched job (`spell-full-cycle`, from `stories.json`) | `{agent-slug}/type/short-description` | `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` |
+
+The slug comes from the work — the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action, the story, the pull request title — never from a generator. A tool-generated name (`claude/<adjective>-<surname>-<hash>`, any random adjective-noun name) is noncompliant wherever it appears and is renamed on sight. When a client offers to create a worktree or a parallel agent, supply the branch name yourself: Claude Code's `EnterWorktree` takes a `name`, and `git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` pre-creates the branch for any client; never accept a generated name. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard and `spell-create-pull-request`'s Step 0 run the branch rename gate on the branch they find; `spell agents sync` renders this rule into every client instruction file; no CI check reads a pull request's head-branch name.**
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:end -->
+
+<!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:start -->
+**Branch rename gate.** Applied to the current branch before a session's first mutation (`spell-open-session`) and before a pull request's first push (`spell-create-pull-request`):
+
+1. Read `git branch --show-current` and `git worktree list` (a read only: across a bridged or mounted filesystem it can misreport a live worktree, EF-33 — never act on that output alone). Act only on the branch checked out in this worktree; never rename, switch or delete a branch attached to another worktree.
+2. Judge the name against the branch-naming rule above. A compliant name stays. A noncompliant one is renamed only when no open pull request depends on it — check with the provider (`gh pr list --head <branch> --state open` or `az repos pr list --source-branch <branch> --status active`); if one exists, keep the name, report it, and rename after that pull request merges.
+3. Derive the deterministic name from the work, in the session form of the rule: today's date, a kebab-case topic from the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action or the pull request title, and the `-<agent>` suffix only for a parallel subagent.
+4. `git branch -m <old> <new>`. If `<old>` was already pushed: `git push -u origin <new>`, then `git push origin --delete <old>`, both under the push-policy check (ARC-049). Give each command a per-call timeout: on some Windows filesystems a rename or delete blocks on a file lock (the EF-20 hazard in git-conventions.md).
+5. Report `Renamed <old> → <new>` in the run's output. If the worktree, the pull-request state or the remote cannot be determined, stop without renaming and ask the operator.
+<!-- fragment:branch-rename-gate:end -->
+
 **Drift Check (run before deep context gathering):**
 
 Run the `spell-check-drift` spell first, before building the state snapshot or gathering deep context. Drift compounds the longer a session runs, so catch it early.
@@ -98,10 +122,8 @@ Before anything else, check:
   - **Otherwise** → **primary checkout on a session branch** (R2). This is the default and it is deliberately the do-nothing path: one actor, one checkout, no new tooling.
   - **Footprint overlap overrides the choice (R4).** If this session's work touches the same files or the same shared sequence (migration numbers, generated indexes, lockfiles) as work already running in another primitive, do **not** isolate it — serialize instead: wait, or re-scope to a disjoint footprint first. Isolation does not prevent those collisions, it hides them until merge review.
   - Working in a linked worktree changes two things later in the session and nothing else: `spell-close-session` must not check out `main` (see git-conventions.md's Post-Merge Cleanup section), and the worktree contains no untracked tooling state — budget for `npm install` or equivalent in a code repo. Branch naming, attribution, and the PR gate are identical from every primitive (R8).
-- **Session branch naming compliance:** Branch names must be human-readable and policy-compliant:
-  - Interactive session default: `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>` (kebab-case topic from current task/session objective).
-  - Disallow random adjective-noun generator names (example: `ideal-disco`) as session defaults.
-  - If current branch is non-compliant and no active PR depends on it, record the required rename for the Mutation Guard. Do not rename during a read-only session.
+- **Session branch naming compliance:** judge the current branch against the branch-naming rule (Mutation Guard section above), including a branch a worktree or a parallel subagent created:
+  - If it is noncompliant and no active PR depends on it, record the required rename for the Mutation Guard. Do not rename during a read-only session.
   - If an active PR uses the old branch name, do not force-delete the old remote branch; flag it and continue with a follow-up rename plan.
 - **Stale local branches:** Run `git branch --merged main` to list branches already merged that should be deleted — this session's own read-only candidate list (`--merged` also misses every branch landed via this repo's sanctioned rebase-and-fast-forward, so treat a *clean* result as "no ancestry-visible candidates," not "nothing to check"). Open-session only lists; it does not delete. Apply the [Content-Verified Branch Deletion](../../.arcane/governance/git-conventions.md#content-verified-branch-deletion-todomd-merged-branch-cleanup-finding) procedure (git-conventions.md) to any candidate before flagging it as safe, and leave the actual idempotent prune to `spell-close-session`'s sweep.
 - **Tracker configuration check (early):** resolve active tracking settings before planning, in this order: root `.arcane.json` (if present) -> the committed self-hosted source manifest (`src/assets/.arcane.json`, read only when it declares `selfHosted: true` -- this is EF-14's recorded self-hosting resolution tier, distinct from treating the mere presence of a self-host marker as license to infer other, unrelated config) -> the current feature PRD frontmatter -> ask. Persisted once at `spell init`/`spell update` (EF-14); do not re-ask when any of the first three sources already sets it.
@@ -159,7 +181,7 @@ Before anything else, check:
 - Provide a 1–4 word, sentence-case, human-meaningful session name.
 - If a focus/task argument is provided, generate the name deterministically from that focus (never use the generic name `Open session`).
 - If no focus argument is provided, generate the name from the top recommended action in `## Next Session Plan`.
-- Optional helper line: `Branch helper: sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<kebab-case-slug>`.
+- Optional helper line: `Branch helper: <session branch name>`, in the session form of the branch-naming rule.
 
 ## Risks And Gaps
 

package/dist/assets/.github/instructions/agent-output.instructions.md

@@ -133,19 +133,16 @@ expected) marks that server down for the rest of the session — fall back to th
 repos pr` / `gh` / REST), no blind retries, and report the downgrade in output. Full rule and origin
 incident: `.arcane/governance/git-conventions.md` → Known issues.
 
-## Branch Naming (Interactive Sessions)
+## Branch Naming
 
-Interactive tool session branches use:
-```
-sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-topic-slug
-```
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:start -->
+**Branch naming (every actor).** `main` is integration-only. All work happens on a topic branch, named by who creates it:
 
-Agent-autonomous branches use:
-```
-{agent-slug}/type/short-description
-```
+| Who creates the branch | Format | Example |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| A human | `type/short-description` | `fix/auth-token-regression` |
+| An interactive session (Claude Code, Copilot, Codex chat), including every worktree it opens and every parallel subagent it spawns | `sessions/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic-slug>`; a parallel subagent appends `-<agent>` | `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming`, `sessions/2026-10-05-branch-naming-merlin` |
+| An autonomous roster agent on a dispatched job (`spell-full-cycle`, from `stories.json`) | `{agent-slug}/type/short-description` | `lafayette/feat/api-endpoint` |
 
-Human topic branches use:
-```
-type/short-description
-```
+The slug comes from the work — the focus, the handoff's active task, the top next action, the story, the pull request title — never from a generator. A tool-generated name (`claude/<adjective>-<surname>-<hash>`, any random adjective-noun name) is noncompliant wherever it appears and is renamed on sight. When a client offers to create a worktree or a parallel agent, supply the branch name yourself: Claude Code's `EnterWorktree` takes a `name`, and `git worktree add <path> -b <branch>` pre-creates the branch for any client; never accept a generated name. **Enforcement: structured spell gate (ARC-023) — `spell-open-session`'s Mutation Guard and `spell-create-pull-request`'s Step 0 run the branch rename gate on the branch they find; `spell agents sync` renders this rule into every client instruction file; no CI check reads a pull request's head-branch name.**
+<!-- fragment:branch-naming:end -->