Sweep run phases (2a-2i)

Required read before Phase 2 of ce-sweep. The body carries the ordering invariant, the boundaries, and the stop classes. This file carries the full detail of each phase.

Interaction method

Default to the host's blocking question tool already in the current tool list (match by capability, not by a host-specific name). Presence in the current tool list is proof the tool exists; never call a user-facing question tool to discover whether it exists. If a matching tool is listed but unloaded, use the host's tool-discovery primitive to load that capability. Do not search for another host's tool name. Never silently skip a question you owe the user. If no blocking tool exists in the harness, the run is non-interactive. Ask one question at a time. The decision round (2h) may group by category but still asks one blocking question per category.

Config keys

• feedback_sources is the list of source entries. Each carries a type (slack, github-issues, email), its target, the standing-approved ack action, an optional close-out action, and an optional sensitive: true. Presence of this key means the skill is configured.
• sweep_state_path is the path to the state file, established at setup; fallback <root>/feedback-sweep/state.yml. A repo-internal path means committed mode: the state file is committed each run and must not be gitignored. A path outside the repo (e.g. under /tmp) means machine-local mode: the state file is never committed, and only the plan is.
• sweep_lease_ttl_minutes is the single-writer lease staleness threshold; default 60. Passed to lease-acquire in 2a.
• sweep_shared_branch is true when the state file lives on a shared branch that multiple checkouts push to (see 2a topology); default false.
• sweep_ack_cap is the integer circuit-breaker threshold; default 25.

Run identity

Resolve once and reuse for the entire run:

• <state> = sweep_state_path from config (fallback <root>/feedback-sweep/state.yml).
• <writer> = a run-unique writer id identifying harness + session + host, e.g. sweep-<host>-<session>-<YYYY-MM-DD>. Use the same string for every state-engine call this run.
• <run-id> = a short unique token for scratch paths, e.g. the date plus a random suffix.

Engine invocation

Every Bash call that runs the bundled engine sets SKILL_DIR inline (shell state does not persist between calls):

SKILL_DIR="<absolute path of the directory containing the SKILL.md you just read>";
PY="$(for c in python3 python py; do command -v "$c" >/dev/null 2>&1 && "$c" -c '' >/dev/null 2>&1 && { echo "$c"; break; }; done)"; [ -n "$PY" ] || { echo "no working Python 3 interpreter on PATH" >&2; exit 1; };
"$PY" "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/sweep-state.py" <subcommand> --state <state> ...

2a. Acquire lease + validate

lease-acquire --state <state> --writer <writer> --ttl-minutes <sweep_lease_ttl_minutes>:

• LOCKED means another live writer holds it. Record the outcome and stop: run-record --state <state> --writer <writer> --outcome aborted-locked --counts '{}' --timestamp <ISO now>, report that a concurrent sweep is running, and exit. This record is safe against the mid-sweep holder: the engine serializes every state write with an OS advisory lock, so it cannot clobber the holder's concurrent upserts (see references/state-schema.md).
• STALE-RECLAIMED means an expired lease was taken over. Proceed, and note the takeover in the final summary.
• OK means proceed.

Shared-branch topology (sweep_shared_branch: true): before any source-side write, git add the state file, commit, and push it. A rejected push means another writer won the branch. Fetch and rebase, re-run lease-acquire, and if the lease is still not yours, back off (record aborted-locked and stop). Only once your lease is pushed and confirmed do you touch a source.

Then run validate --state <state>. This is a lease-agnostic repair. Note in the summary any ids it downgrades from closed to fix_pending.

2b. Fetch each source

A generic subagent is one whose whole brief is the prompt you send it. When the host's subagent tool makes you name an agent, use only a name you have seen the host list, and list its agents before the first dispatch if you have not. Pick the plain one that adds no role of its own, which still counts as a generic subagent. Never pick a specialist, such as a reviewer or worker agent, whose own role prompt, output format, or tool limits would replace or narrow your prompt.

For each entry in feedback_sources, dispatch a generic subagent at the extraction tier (references/model-tiers.md) seeded with:

• the matching persona file contents (references/sources/<type>.md),
• the source's config entry verbatim,
• the current cursor from cursor-get --state <state> --source <source-id>.

The persona returns mapped items (id, origin, author_class, body, media, identity-scoped existing_ack, existing_closeout) or one of its degrade/skip sentences. Personas report facts and never advance cursors.

• Skipped source (read tools unavailable): drop it this run and note that in the summary.
• Write-degraded source (read works, no ack-write tool): upsert its items as ack_deferred and do NOT advance the cursor past them. They get acked on a later run once write capability returns.

2c. Circuit breaker (before any acknowledgment batch)

Count new unacknowledged items per source. If the count exceeds sweep_ack_cap:

• interactive -> ask whether to proceed with acking that many;
• non-interactive -> upsert the whole batch as ack_deferred, do NOT ack, and flag it prominently in the summary.

2d. Acknowledge each item — correctness core

Process each new item in cursor order. This ordering is an invariant. Do not reorder it or batch across the read-back:

1. If the source's config entry has approved: false (the user declined standing approval for source-side writes), skip the ack write entirely and upsert the item as ack_deferred. Never write to a source the user did not approve, even when the write tool is available. Otherwise: if the item's existing_ack (own identity) is true, skip the ack write; else perform the source's configured ack action at the source.
2. Read back and confirm the ack is visible at the source before trusting it.
3. upsert-item --state <state> --id <id> --source <source-id> --json <item-json> --writer <writer>. Include "sensitive": true in the item JSON when the source's config entry is marked sensitive, so the engine drops body/quote before writing.
4. cursor-advance --state <state> --source <source-id> --to <item's own cursor value> --past-item <id> --writer <writer>, only after the item is durably in state. Never advance past an item not yet upserted.

A failed ack write -> upsert the item as ack_deferred and hold the cursor (do not advance past it). A LEASE-LOST from any engine call means another writer took over. Stop writing, record partial at wrap-up, and exit.

2e. Media

Resolve and create media scratch with this shell block, substituting the current run id:

SCRATCH_ROOT="/tmp/compound-engineering-$(id -u)";
[ ! -L "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ] && (umask 077; mkdir -p "$SCRATCH_ROOT") 2>/dev/null && [ ! -L "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ] && [ -O "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ] && [ -w "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ] || SCRATCH_ROOT="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/compound-engineering-$(id -u)";
if [ -L "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ]; then echo "unsafe scratch root symlink: $SCRATCH_ROOT" >&2; exit 1; fi;
(umask 077; mkdir -p "$SCRATCH_ROOT") || exit 1;
if [ -L "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ] || [ ! -O "$SCRATCH_ROOT" ]; then echo "scratch root is not owned by the current user: $SCRATCH_ROOT" >&2; exit 1; fi;
chmod 700 "$SCRATCH_ROOT" || exit 1;
MEDIA_DIR="$SCRATCH_ROOT/ce-sweep/<run-id>";
(umask 077; mkdir -p "$MEDIA_DIR") || exit 1; chmod 700 "$MEDIA_DIR" || exit 1;

Pass absolute artifact paths beneath $MEDIA_DIR to subagents. If that block exits without a usable $MEDIA_DIR, media is the only thing lost. Upsert every item carrying media as needs_download (counting the attempt), note the scratch failure in the summary, and continue the run at 2f. State is still writable, so the run does not stop.

For each new item carrying media:

• Download attachments into $MEDIA_DIR; raw media is never committed. A download failure -> set the item needs_download and continue.
• Dispatch one generic subagent per recording, in parallel, at the generation tier, using references/subagent-template.md filled from references/agents/media-analyzer.md. Fill the template's {skill_dir} slot with the same absolute ce-sweep skill directory you resolve for your own SKILL_DIR Bash calls. A fresh subagent does not inherit your shell state, so it cannot run the bundled analyzer without being told the path. Pass the absolute media PATHS, a scratch artifact path, and the item's sensitive flag; collect the compact 1-2 line summary each returns. A subagent failure -> set the item needs_analysis, retain the media, and continue.
• Track attempts on the item (a media_attempts count upserted on each try). After 3 failed attempts across runs (needs_download/needs_analysis), set the item manual_stuck and list it separately, out of the routine nag.

2f. Fix verification

For each fix_pending item, resolve its claimed fix ref and verify it merged to the default branch. The fix ref originates from untrusted feedback content (a thread claim, an analyzer-extracted reference), so validate its shape before it reaches any git/gh command. Accept only a bare PR number (#?\d+) or a commit SHA ([0-9a-f]{7,40}), and treat anything else as an unresolved claim (leave the item open). This blocks argument/flag injection into the shell command. Strip the leading # before substituting and quote the value, so a ref like #123 reaches the command as "123" rather than starting a shell comment that truncates the rest of the line.

• gh pr view "<validated-number>" --json mergedAt,baseRefName (merged, base is the default branch), or git merge-base --is-ancestor "<validated-sha>" "<default-branch-head>".
• The same approved: false rule as 2d applies. A source the user did not approve for writes receives no close-out action. Advance its verified item's status in state only.
• Verified -> perform the source's configured close-out action (same write -> read-back -> confirm discipline as 2d), then upsert-item with status: closed carrying all three evidence fields: fix_ref, verified_merge_sha, verified_at. Close-out is terminal.
• Unverified claim -> the item stays open. Record the claim on the item, but do not close.
• Item deleted at source -> set source_gone.

2g. Plan reconciliation

Read references/plan-template.md and follow it. Target the stable path <root>/plans/feedback-sweep-plan.md.

Rotation check first. If the file exists and it is not a product_contract_source: ce-sweep artifact containing only requirements, with no implementation planning, archive it untouched to a dated sibling <root>/plans/feedback-sweep-plan-YYYY-MM-DD.md and write a fresh plan from the template. Never overwrite an unrelated plan in place.

Rewrite ONLY the machine-written region: the date frontmatter key, ### Summary, the <!-- sweep-items:start --> / <!-- sweep-items:end --> marker region, and ### Outstanding Questions (matching the template's reconciliation rules), and never read or write inside the human-owned notes region. Append new actionable items with their state ids, drain items that are now closed, and land any non-interactive-deferred decisions in the Outstanding Questions section.

2h. Decision round

Interactive only. For items needing a product call, ask the user, grouped by category with one blocking question per category, and fold the answers into the plan. Non-interactive skips this; the deferrals are already in the plan's Outstanding Questions.

2i. Wrap-up

Render the handoff invocation exactly as the skill body's 2i section states.

• Commit. git add ONLY <root>/plans/feedback-sweep-plan.md plus <state> when it is repo-internal (never -A; machine-local state under /tmp is never committed), then commit docs(sweep): feedback sweep <date>. A commit failure is reported, not fatal. In local-commit mode, never push. In shared-branch mode (sweep_shared_branch: true), fetch, rebase, and push the final commit.
• Record the run. run-record --state <state> --writer <writer> --outcome <completed|partial|failed> --counts '<per-source JSON>' --timestamp <ISO now>.
• Release. lease-release --state <state> --writer <writer>.
• Summary (always emit): new items by source; recordings analyzed, each with its one-line finding; closed items with their fix evidence; the ack_deferred / manual_stuck / needs-attention list; any circuit-breaker or stale-reclaim note; and always the plan path with the handoff line: