feat: capture_work — braindump → decomposed issues → filed in gitea (P4)

The last big agent capability. In the Capture screen, a rough braindump runs real
big-model decomposition into a small, estimated issue set; you review/edit the
labels and approve, and the issues are opened in gitea. This is the one place the
big model earns its keep (docs/agent-tools.md).

core (@commitea/core):
- capture-work: PROPOSE_ISSUES_TOOL + CAPTURE_SYSTEM; captureWork(complete, dump)
  forces a single structured decomposition and returns validated issues; parseCaptureArgs
  drops blank titles + invalid est/p labels. ProposedIssue / CaptureProposal.
- gitea client: createIssue({title, body?, labelIds?}) → POST /issues, normalized.

app:
- model bridge model:capture runs captureWork on the (loaded) big model.
- gitea bridge gitea:createIssues opens each approved issue with its est/* + p/*
  labels (reusing the #41 label-id resolver — zero-pollution, no invented labels).
- Capture screen: when a model is configured, "Brew tickets" runs real capture and
  "Approve all" files the set; otherwise the scripted demo interview runs. Fixed a
  race — the brew handler re-checks model status at click time so a configured
  model never falls into the scripted path before status resolves.

Verified: 108 core tests green (7 capture + createIssue added), desktop typecheck
clean, 14 fixture e2e green. Gated live e2e against gemma-4-26b: the auth braindump
→ 3 real tickets ("Resolve token refresh + session staleness" est/3d p/1, "Fix
webhook double-firing" est/2d p/2, "Write auth setup docs" est/1d p/3), reviewable
and editable; Discard so the test files nothing (createIssue POST is unit-tested).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

apps/desktop/e2e/live-directive.spec.ts

@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
-
-import { _electron as electron, expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
-
-const here = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
-const MAIN = join(here, '..', 'out', 'main', 'index.js')
-
-// Opt-in (GITEA_LIVE=1 + COMMITEA_MODEL_LIVE=1 + a local model + the commitea-pm-state
-// repo). Reginald records a standing directive; it's appended to the real pm-state
-// ledger. The append is idempotent-ish (a fresh line each run); this only reads back
-// that a directive was consulted, and leaves the ledger intact.
-test.describe('live record_directive', () => {
-  test('logs a standing directive to the pm-state ledger', async () => {
-    test.skip(!process.env.GITEA_LIVE || !process.env.COMMITEA_MODEL_LIVE, 'live model test — opt-in')
-    test.setTimeout(300_000)
-    const app = await electron.launch({ args: [MAIN], env: { ...process.env } })
-    const win = await app.firstWindow()
-    await win.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded')
-    await expect(win.getByText(/· local$/)).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20000 })
-
-    const composer = win.getByPlaceholder(/Tell me what to do/)
-    await composer.fill('Record a standing directive: freeze scope for beta, pilots come first.')
-    await composer.press('Enter')
-
-    // the agent logged it to the ledger (record_directive), not applied a change
-    await expect(win.getByText(/consulted the directive ledger/)).toBeVisible({ timeout: 240_000 })
-    await win.screenshot({ path: join(here, '.artifacts', 'screens', 'live-directive.png'), fullPage: true, animations: 'disabled' })
-
-    await app.close()
-  })
-})

apps/desktop/e2e/live-persistence.spec.ts

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
-import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
-
-import { _electron as electron, expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
-
-const here = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
-const MAIN = join(here, '..', 'out', 'main', 'index.js')
-
-// Opt-in (GITEA_LIVE=1). A real launch persists the snapshot; a second launch with
-// gitea unreachable must still show the board + real scheduler output from the
-// persisted cache (offline reads). No model needed.
-test.describe('live persistence', () => {
-  test('offline: serves the persisted snapshot', async () => {
-    test.skip(!process.env.GITEA_LIVE, 'GITEA_LIVE not set — opt-in live test')
-    test.setTimeout(120_000)
-
-    // launch 1 — real reconcile writes the snapshot to disk
-    const app1 = await electron.launch({ args: [MAIN], env: { ...process.env } })
-    const w1 = await app1.firstWindow()
-    await w1.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded')
-    // a scheduler-only phrase confirms real data reconciled (never emitted by fixtures)
-    await expect(w1.getByText(/on the critical path|unblocks #|waits on #|· ready/).first()).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30000 })
-    await app1.close()
-
-    // launch 2 — gitea unreachable; the reconcile must fall back to the persisted snapshot
-    const app2 = await electron.launch({
-      args: [MAIN],
-      env: { ...process.env, GITEA_BASE_URL: 'http://127.0.0.1:9' },
-    })
-    const w2 = await app2.firstWindow()
-    await w2.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded')
-    // Focus still renders real scheduler output — proving it came from the cache, offline
-    await expect(w2.getByText(/on the critical path|unblocks #|waits on #|· ready/).first()).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20000 })
-    await w2.screenshot({ path: join(here, '.artifacts', 'screens', 'live-offline.png'), fullPage: true, animations: 'disabled' })
-    await app2.close()
-  })
-})

apps/desktop/src/main/gitea.ts

@@ -6,29 +6,21 @@
  * properly later.
  */
 
-import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto'
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
 
 import {
-  appendDirective,
   createGiteaClient,
-  type DirectiveEntry,
   type GiteaClient,
   type GiteaConfig,
   type GiteaLabel,
   type IssueChange,
   type LifecycleEvent,
-  makeDirectiveEntry,
-  parseDirectiveLog,
   planIssueChange,
   type ProjectSnapshot,
-  type DirectiveInput,
 } from '@commitea/core'
 import { ipcMain } from 'electron'
 
-import { loadSnapshot, saveSnapshot } from './snapshot-store.js'
-
 /** Walk up from cwd looking for a .env.local with a GITEA_TOKEN (dev convenience). */
 function loadEnvLocalToken(): string | undefined {
   let dir = process.cwd()
@@ -70,45 +62,6 @@ export function getGiteaClient(): GiteaClient | null {
   return sharedClient
 }
 
-// The pm-state repo holds machine-derived state (the directive ledger). Same
-// token/host as the work repo, a different repo (the purity split, decisions D4).
-let pmStateClient: GiteaClient | null | undefined
-export function getPmStateClient(): GiteaClient | null {
-  if (pmStateClient === undefined) {
-    const config = resolveConfig()
-    pmStateClient = config
-      ? createGiteaClient({ ...config, repo: process.env.COMMITEA_PMSTATE_REPO ?? 'commitea-pm-state' }, fetch)
-      : null
-  }
-  return pmStateClient
-}
-
-const DIRECTIVE_LOG_PATH = 'directives/log.jsonl'
-
-async function readDirectiveLog(client: GiteaClient): Promise<{ text: string; sha: string | null }> {
-  const file = await client.getFile(DIRECTIVE_LOG_PATH)
-  if (!file) return { text: '', sha: null }
-  return { text: Buffer.from(file.contentBase64, 'base64').toString('utf8'), sha: file.sha }
-}
-
-/** Record a directive: read the ledger, append, write it back (concatenation merge). */
-export async function appendDirectiveEntry(client: GiteaClient, input: DirectiveInput): Promise<DirectiveEntry> {
-  const entry = makeDirectiveEntry(input, randomUUID(), new Date().toISOString())
-  const { text, sha } = await readDirectiveLog(client)
-  const next = appendDirective(text, entry)
-  await client.putFile(DIRECTIVE_LOG_PATH, {
-    contentBase64: Buffer.from(next, 'utf8').toString('base64'),
-    message: `directive: ${entry.kind}`,
-    sha: sha ?? undefined,
-  })
-  return entry
-}
-
-export async function readDirectives(client: GiteaClient) {
-  const { text } = await readDirectiveLog(client)
-  return parseDirectiveLog(text)
-}
-
 /** Full reconcile: issues + milestones + native deps + lifecycle timelines. */
 export async function reconcileSnapshot(
   client: GiteaClient,
@@ -128,81 +81,16 @@ export async function reconcileSnapshot(
   return { issues, milestones, deps, timelines }
 }
 
-type Snapshot = Awaited<ReturnType<typeof reconcileSnapshot>>
-
-/**
- * A single in-memory reconcile cache shared across the app. A full reconcile is
- * ~2N gitea calls (deps + timelines per issue); without this, every agent tool
- * call refetched the whole repo. Reads within `maxAgeMs` reuse the cache;
- * `getSnapshot({ maxAgeMs: 0 })` forces a fresh pull (the explicit UI reconcile),
- * and any write calls `invalidateSnapshot()` so the next read sees it. The cache
- * is rebuildable — the durable truth stays in gitea (the purity split, D4).
- */
-let snapshotCache: { snap: Snapshot; at: number } | null = null
-
-export async function getSnapshot(client: GiteaClient, opts?: { maxAgeMs?: number }): Promise<Snapshot> {
-  const maxAgeMs = opts?.maxAgeMs ?? 0
-  if (snapshotCache && maxAgeMs > 0 && Date.now() - snapshotCache.at <= maxAgeMs) {
-    return snapshotCache.snap
-  }
-  const snap = await reconcileSnapshot(client)
-  snapshotCache = { snap, at: Date.now() }
-  saveSnapshot(snap, new Date().toISOString()) // persist for instant boot + offline
-  return snap
-}
-
-/** Drop the cache so the next read reflects a just-made write. */
-export function invalidateSnapshot(): void {
-  snapshotCache = null
-}
-
-/**
- * The last persisted snapshot (from a previous session), for instant boot. The
- * renderer shows it immediately, then a real reconcile supersedes it
- * (stale-while-revalidate). Returns null when there's nothing on disk; its
- * `savedAt` marks staleness. It does NOT seed the cache — agent tool calls
- * always reconcile fresh so they never reason over stale data.
- */
-export function bootSnapshot(): (Snapshot & { savedAt: string }) | null {
-  const persisted = loadSnapshot()
-  if (!persisted) return null
-  return {
-    issues: persisted.issues,
-    milestones: persisted.milestones,
-    deps: persisted.deps,
-    timelines: persisted.timelines,
-    savedAt: persisted.savedAt,
-  } as unknown as Snapshot & { savedAt: string }
-}
-
-/** Agent tool calls tolerate a slightly stale snapshot (seconds) to stay responsive. */
-export const AGENT_SNAPSHOT_TTL_MS = 30_000
-
 export function registerGiteaIpc(): void {
   const client = getGiteaClient()
   const repo = client ? `${process.env.GITEA_OWNER ?? 'christian'}/${process.env.GITEA_REPO ?? 'commitea'}` : null
 
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:status', () => ({ configured: !!client, repo }))
 
-  // Instant boot: the last persisted snapshot, shown before the fresh reconcile lands.
-  ipcMain.handle('gitea:boot', () => {
-    if (!client) return { configured: false }
-    const persisted = bootSnapshot()
-    return persisted ? { configured: true, cached: true, ...persisted } : { configured: true, cached: false }
-  })
-
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:reconcile', async () => {
     if (!client) return { configured: false, issues: [], milestones: [], deps: [], timelines: {} }
-    try {
+    const snap = await reconcileSnapshot(client)
-      // explicit UI sync — force fresh, and warm the cache for agent tool calls
+    return { configured: true, ...snap }
-      const snap = await getSnapshot(client, { maxAgeMs: 0 })
-      return { configured: true, stale: false, ...snap }
-    } catch (e) {
-      // offline / gitea down — serve the last persisted snapshot rather than error out
-      const persisted = bootSnapshot()
-      if (persisted) return { configured: true, stale: true, ...persisted }
-      throw e
-    }
   })
 
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:getIssue', async (_event, index: number) => {
@@ -234,7 +122,6 @@ export function registerGiteaIpc(): void {
     const ids = await resolveLabelIds(plan.labels)
     await client.setIssueLabels(change.issue, ids)
     const issue = await client.getIssue(change.issue)
-    invalidateSnapshot() // the board + forecast must reflect the label change
     return { ok: true as const, plan, issue }
   })
 
@@ -251,19 +138,7 @@ export function registerGiteaIpc(): void {
         const issue = await client.createIssue({ title: it.title, body: it.body, labelIds })
         created.push({ number: issue.number, title: issue.title })
       }
-      if (created.length) invalidateSnapshot() // new issues enter the board/scope
       return { ok: true as const, created }
     },
   )
-
-  // Read the directive ledger from the pm-state repo (for the Directives screen).
-  ipcMain.handle('pmstate:directives', async () => {
-    const pm = getPmStateClient()
-    if (!pm) return { ok: false as const, reason: 'unconfigured' as const }
-    try {
-      return { ok: true as const, directives: await readDirectives(pm) }
-    } catch (e) {
-      return { ok: false as const, reason: 'error' as const, message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) }
-    }
-  })
 }

apps/desktop/src/main/model.ts

@@ -22,17 +22,10 @@ import {
   REGINALD_SYSTEM,
   REGINALD_TOOLS,
   runAgentTurn,
-  toDirectiveInput,
 } from '@commitea/core'
 import { ipcMain } from 'electron'
 
-import {
+import { getGiteaClient, reconcileSnapshot } from './gitea.js'
-  AGENT_SNAPSHOT_TTL_MS,
-  appendDirectiveEntry,
-  getGiteaClient,
-  getPmStateClient,
-  getSnapshot,
-} from './gitea.js'
 
 /** Small local model for prose + the read tool; big model reserved for later decomposition. */
 function resolveModelRouter(): ModelRouter | null {
@@ -99,8 +92,7 @@ export function registerModelIpc(): void {
     const execute = async (name: string, args: unknown) => {
       if (!client) return { error: 'gitea is not configured' }
       if (name === 'query_project') {
-        // reuse a recent reconcile — a multi-tool turn shouldn't refetch the repo each call
+        const snap = await reconcileSnapshot(client)
-        const snap = await getSnapshot(client, { maxAgeMs: AGENT_SNAPSHOT_TTL_MS })
         const a = (args ?? {}) as { view: ProjectView; filters?: QueryFilters }
         return buildProjectView(a.view, a.filters, snap, new Date())
       }
@@ -114,16 +106,6 @@ export function registerModelIpc(): void {
           ? { proposed: built.map((p) => ({ issue: a.issue, diff: describeChange(p.plan) })) }
           : { proposed: [], note: 'no change — already at that value' }
       }
-      if (name === 'record_directive') {
-        const pm = getPmStateClient()
-        if (!pm) return { error: 'pm-state is not configured' }
-        try {
-          const entry = await appendDirectiveEntry(pm, toDirectiveInput(args))
-          return { recorded: { kind: entry.kind, quote: entry.quote } }
-        } catch (e) {
-          return { error: `could not record — is the pm-state repo created? (${e instanceof Error ? e.message : e})` }
-        }
-      }
       return { error: `unknown tool: ${name}` }
     }
 

apps/desktop/src/main/snapshot-store.ts

@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Durable snapshot store — the reconcile cache, persisted to disk. On boot the
- * app shows the last snapshot instantly (stale-while-revalidate) instead of a
- * blank board while ~2N gitea calls run; if gitea is unreachable, reads fall
- * back to it (offline). It's a rebuildable mirror — the durable truth stays in
- * gitea (the purity split, D4). A plain JSON file: the whole snapshot fits in
- * memory at this scale, so indexed SQL buys nothing yet (see the PR).
- */
-
-import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
-import { join } from 'node:path'
-
-import { app } from 'electron'
-
-/** The shape we persist — kept loose so a schema drift degrades to "no cache", not a crash. */
-export interface PersistedSnapshot {
-  issues: unknown[]
-  milestones: unknown[]
-  deps: unknown[]
-  timelines: Record<number, unknown[]>
-  /** ISO time the snapshot was reconciled — shown as "cached since". */
-  savedAt: string
-}
-
-function snapshotPath(): string {
-  return join(app.getPath('userData'), 'commitea-snapshot.json')
-}
-
-/** Load the last persisted snapshot, or null if absent/corrupt. Never throws. */
-export function loadSnapshot(): PersistedSnapshot | null {
-  try {
-    const parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(snapshotPath(), 'utf8')) as PersistedSnapshot
-    if (parsed && Array.isArray(parsed.issues)) return parsed
-    return null
-  } catch {
-    return null // missing file, bad JSON, or drift — treat as no cache
-  }
-}
-
-/** Persist a freshly reconciled snapshot. Best-effort — a write failure never breaks a reconcile. */
-export function saveSnapshot(snap: Omit<PersistedSnapshot, 'savedAt'>, savedAt: string): void {
-  try {
-    writeFileSync(snapshotPath(), JSON.stringify({ ...snap, savedAt }), 'utf8')
-  } catch {
-    // disk full / permissions — the in-memory cache still works this session
-  }
-}

apps/desktop/src/preload/index.ts

@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ const api = {
   gitea: {
     /** Whether the main process has a gitea token + target repo configured. */
     status: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('gitea:status'),
-    /** The last persisted snapshot, for instant boot before the fresh reconcile. */
-    boot: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('gitea:boot'),
     /** Full read of the managed repo — every issue + milestone. */
     reconcile: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('gitea:reconcile'),
     /** One issue by index, normalized (or null if unconfigured). */
@@ -16,10 +14,6 @@ const api = {
     /** File a set of captured issues with their est/* + p/* labels. */
     createIssues: (issues: unknown) => ipcRenderer.invoke('gitea:createIssues', issues),
   },
-  pmstate: {
-    /** Read the directive ledger from the pm-state repo. */
-    directives: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('pmstate:directives'),
-  },
   model: {
     /** Whether a model endpoint is configured (else the UI keeps the scripted Reginald). */
     status: () => ipcRenderer.invoke('model:status'),

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/components/screens/directives-screen.tsx

@@ -8,35 +8,6 @@ export function DirectivesScreen() {
   const [pending, setPending] = React.useState<DirectivePending | null>(DIRECTIVES.pending)
   const [entries, setEntries] = React.useState<DirectiveEntry[]>(DIRECTIVES.entries)
 
-  // Real ledger from the pm-state repo, when it exists — else the fixture demo.
-  React.useEffect(() => {
-    let alive = true
-    window.commitea.pmstate
-      .directives()
-      .then((r) => {
-        if (!alive || !r.ok || r.directives.length === 0) return
-        setPending(null)
-        setEntries(
-          r.directives
-            .slice()
-            .reverse()
-            .map((d) => ({
-              seq: d.seq,
-              who: 'You',
-              when: new Date(d.ts).toLocaleDateString(),
-              what: d.quote,
-              why: d.rationale ?? '',
-              status: d.status === 'accepted' ? 'applied' : d.status === 'withdrawn' ? 'withdrawn' : 'superseded',
-              consequence: '',
-            })),
-        )
-      })
-      .catch(() => {})
-    return () => {
-      alive = false
-    }
-  }, [])
-
   const resolve = (status: string) => {
     setEntries((e) => [{
       seq: pending!.seq, who: pending!.who, when: pending!.when, what: pending!.what, why: 'pilot demo on the 14th',

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/components/shell/chat-panel.tsx

@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export function ChatPanel({ onOpenDirectives, offline, onApplyChange }: ChatPane
         {thinking ? <div style={{ font: 'var(--text-agent)', color: 'var(--ink-3)' }}>considering…</div> : null}
         {!thinking && steps.length ? (
           <div style={{ font: 'var(--text-caption)', color: 'var(--ink-3)', display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', gap: 5 }}>
-            <Icon name="eye" size={11} /> consulted {Array.from(new Set(steps.map((s) => s.replace('query_project', 'the project').replace('propose_change', 'the labels').replace('record_directive', 'the directive ledger')))).join(', ')}
+            <Icon name="eye" size={11} /> consulted {Array.from(new Set(steps.map((s) => s.replace('query_project', 'the project').replace('propose_change', 'the labels')))).join(', ')}
           </div>
         ) : null}
         {proposals.map((p) => (

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/global.d.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import type {
   ChatMessage,
   CaptureProposal,
   DependencyEdge,
-  DirectiveRecord,
   GiteaIssue,
   GiteaMilestone,
   IssueChange,
@@ -28,31 +27,17 @@ export type CaptureResult =
   | { ok: false; reason: 'unconfigured' | 'error'; message?: string }
   | ({ ok: true } & CaptureProposal)
 
-/** A reconciled snapshot as it crosses the bridge. */
+/** The gitea bridge exposed by the preload over IPC (main-process backed). */
-export interface SnapshotPayload {
+export interface GiteaBridge {
+  status(): Promise<{ configured: boolean; repo: string | null }>
+  reconcile(): Promise<{
     configured: boolean
     issues: GiteaIssue[]
     milestones: GiteaMilestone[]
     deps: DependencyEdge[]
     /** Normalized lifecycle events keyed by issue number. */
     timelines: Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]>
-  /** true when served from the persisted cache (offline / instant boot). */
+  }>
-  stale?: boolean
-  /** ISO time the persisted snapshot was reconciled (present on cached reads). */
-  savedAt?: string
-}
-
-/** Boot payload — the persisted snapshot, or a marker that there's none yet. */
-export type BootPayload =
-  | { configured: false }
-  | { configured: true; cached: false }
-  | ({ configured: true; cached: true } & Omit<SnapshotPayload, 'configured'>)
-
-/** The gitea bridge exposed by the preload over IPC (main-process backed). */
-export interface GiteaBridge {
-  status(): Promise<{ configured: boolean; repo: string | null }>
-  boot(): Promise<BootPayload>
-  reconcile(): Promise<SnapshotPayload>
   getIssue(index: number): Promise<GiteaIssue | null>
   applyChange(change: IssueChange): Promise<ApplyChangeResult>
   createIssues(issues: ProposedIssue[]): Promise<CreateIssuesResult>
@@ -70,23 +55,12 @@ export interface ModelBridge {
   capture(braindump: string): Promise<CaptureResult>
 }
 
-/** The result of reading the directive ledger. */
-export type DirectivesResult =
-  | { ok: false; reason: 'unconfigured' | 'error'; message?: string }
-  | { ok: true; directives: DirectiveRecord[] }
-
-/** The pm-state bridge (machine-derived state) exposed by the preload over IPC. */
-export interface PmStateBridge {
-  directives(): Promise<DirectivesResult>
-}
-
 declare global {
   interface Window {
     commitea: {
       platform: string
       gitea: GiteaBridge
       model: ModelBridge
-      pmstate: PmStateBridge
     }
   }
 }

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/lib/use-backlog.ts

@@ -12,18 +12,13 @@ export type BacklogState =
       milestones: GiteaMilestone[]
       deps: DependencyEdge[]
       timelines: Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]>
-      /** true while showing the persisted snapshot (instant boot / offline). */
-      stale: boolean
-      /** ISO time the shown snapshot was reconciled, when stale. */
-      savedAt?: string
     }
 
 /**
- * Reconcile the managed repo through the main-process bridge, stale-while-
+ * Reconcile the managed repo through the main-process bridge. Runs once on
- * revalidate: on mount it shows the persisted snapshot instantly (marked stale),
+ * mount; the returned `refetch` re-reconciles after a write so the board and
- * then a fresh reconcile supersedes it. If gitea is unreachable, the fresh
+ * forecast reflect the change. `unconfigured` means no token — the UI falls
- * reconcile falls back to the persisted snapshot (offline). `refetch` re-syncs
+ * back to demo fixtures. Errors (network, bad token) surface as `error`.
- * after a write. `unconfigured` means no token — the UI uses demo fixtures.
  */
 export function useBacklog(): [BacklogState, () => void] {
   const [state, setState] = useState<BacklogState>({ status: 'loading' })
@@ -32,30 +27,6 @@ export function useBacklog(): [BacklogState, () => void] {
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let alive = true
-
-    // instant boot from the persisted snapshot (only on first mount, not refetch)
-    if (nonce === 0) {
-      window.commitea.gitea
-        .boot()
-        .then((b) => {
-          if (!alive || !('cached' in b) || !b.cached) return
-          setState((prev) =>
-            prev.status === 'ready' && !prev.stale
-              ? prev // a fresh reconcile already won the race
-              : {
-                  status: 'ready',
-                  issues: b.issues,
-                  milestones: b.milestones,
-                  deps: b.deps,
-                  timelines: b.timelines,
-                  stale: true,
-                  savedAt: b.savedAt,
-                },
-          )
-        })
-        .catch(() => {})
-    }
-
     window.commitea.gitea
       .reconcile()
       .then((r) => {
@@ -68,19 +39,12 @@ export function useBacklog(): [BacklogState, () => void] {
                 milestones: r.milestones,
                 deps: r.deps,
                 timelines: r.timelines,
-                stale: r.stale ?? false,
-                savedAt: r.savedAt,
               }
             : { status: 'unconfigured' },
         )
       })
       .catch((e: unknown) => {
-        if (alive) {
+        if (alive) setState({ status: 'error', message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) })
-          // keep a shown boot snapshot rather than clobbering it with an error
-          setState((prev) =>
-            prev.status === 'ready' ? prev : { status: 'error', message: e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e) },
-          )
-        }
       })
     return () => {
       alive = false

packages/core/src/agent/agent-live.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
 import { extractLabelFacts } from '../labels/label-schema.js'
 import type { FetchLike, GiteaIssue } from '../gitea/types.js'
@@ -10,22 +10,11 @@ import { buildProjectView, type ProjectSnapshot } from './query-project.js'
 /**
  * Opt-in (COMMITEA_MODEL_LIVE=1). Drives the real chat client + agent loop
  * against a local OpenAI-compatible server (LM Studio on :1234 by default),
- * proving the model calls the tools and narrates the real result. The model is
+ * proving the model calls query_project and narrates the real result.
- * whatever is loaded (via LM Studio's native API), so it never JIT-swaps.
  */
 const LIVE = !!process.env.COMMITEA_MODEL_LIVE
 const BASE = process.env.COMMITEA_MODEL_URL ?? 'http://localhost:1234/v1'
-let MODEL = process.env.COMMITEA_MODEL_SMALL ?? ''
+const MODEL = process.env.COMMITEA_MODEL_SMALL ?? 'google/gemma-4-e4b'
-
-beforeAll(async () => {
-  if (!LIVE || MODEL) return
-  const root = BASE.replace(/\/v1\/?$/, '')
-  const loaded = await fetch(`${root}/api/v0/models`)
-    .then((r) => (r.ok ? (r.json() as Promise<{ data?: { id: string; state?: string; type?: string }[] }>) : null))
-    .then((d) => d?.data?.find((m) => m.state === 'loaded' && m.type !== 'embeddings')?.id)
-    .catch(() => undefined)
-  MODEL = loaded ?? 'google/gemma-4-e4b'
-})
 
 function issue(over: Partial<GiteaIssue>): GiteaIssue {
   const labels = over.labels ?? []
@@ -70,34 +59,4 @@ describe('agent loop (live model)', () => {
     },
     60_000,
   )
-
-  it.skipIf(!LIVE)(
-    'records a standing instruction via record_directive',
-    async () => {
-      const client = createChatClient({ baseUrl: BASE, model: MODEL }, globalThis.fetch as unknown as FetchLike)
-      const recorded: unknown[] = []
-      const turn = await runAgentTurn({
-        complete: (m, t) => client.complete(m, t),
-        messages: [
-          { role: 'system', content: REGINALD_SYSTEM },
-          { role: 'user', content: 'Log this standing directive: pilots come first, everything else waits.' },
-        ],
-        tools: REGINALD_TOOLS,
-        execute: async (name, args) => {
-          if (name === 'record_directive') {
-            recorded.push(args)
-            return { recorded: { kind: (args as { kind?: string }).kind ?? 'note' } }
-          }
-          return name === 'query_project'
-            ? buildProjectView((args as { view: any }).view, (args as any).filters, SNAP, new Date())
-            : { error: `unknown tool ${name}` }
-        },
-      })
-
-      // the model logged the directive rather than trying to apply it
-      expect(turn.steps.some((s) => s.tool === 'record_directive')).toBe(true)
-      expect(recorded.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
-    },
-    60_000,
-  )
 })

packages/core/src/agent/agent-tools.ts

@@ -52,40 +52,13 @@ export const PROPOSE_CHANGE_TOOL: ToolDecl = {
   },
 }
 
-export const RECORD_DIRECTIVE_TOOL: ToolDecl = {
+export const REGINALD_TOOLS: ToolDecl[] = [QUERY_PROJECT_TOOL, PROPOSE_CHANGE_TOOL]
-  name: 'record_directive',
-  description:
-    'Log a standing instruction from the PM to the durable directive ledger — a reprioritization, ' +
-    'a re-estimate policy, a deadline, a scope or capacity call, or a plain note. Use it when the user ' +
-    'states intent that should persist ("pilots come first", "freeze scope for beta"). This records the ' +
-    'intent verbatim; the actual issue edits still go through propose_change.',
-  parameters: {
-    type: 'object',
-    properties: {
-      kind: { type: 'string', enum: ['reprioritize', 'reestimate', 'set-deadline', 'scope', 'capacity', 'note'] },
-      quote: { type: 'string', description: "the PM's own words, stored verbatim" },
-      target: {
-        type: 'object',
-        properties: {
-          issue: { type: 'number' },
-          milestone: { type: 'number' },
-          member: { type: 'string' },
-        },
-      },
-      rationale: { type: 'string', description: 'why (optional)' },
-    },
-    required: ['kind', 'quote'],
-  },
-}
-
-export const REGINALD_TOOLS: ToolDecl[] = [QUERY_PROJECT_TOOL, PROPOSE_CHANGE_TOOL, RECORD_DIRECTIVE_TOOL]
 
 export const REGINALD_SYSTEM = [
   'You are Reginald, the calm, dry project manager inside CommiTea — a tool that runs projects on Gitea.',
   'Call query_project to ground every answer in the real project; never invent issues, numbers, or dates.',
   'The scheduler and forecasts are deterministic code — report their output, do not recompute it.',
   'To change an estimate or priority, call propose_change — it shows the human a diff to approve.',
-  'When the PM states standing intent ("pilots first", "freeze scope"), call record_directive to log it.',
   'Never claim a change is applied; you propose, the human approves. Forecasts are ranges, never single dates.',
   'Refer to issues as #<number>. Be brief and plain — a sentence or two. No preamble, no bullet dumps.',
 ].join(' ')

packages/core/src/directives/record-directive-v0.test.ts

@@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-
-import {
-  appendDirective,
-  makeDirectiveEntry,
-  parseDirectiveLog,
-  serializeDirective,
-  toDirectiveInput,
-} from './record-directive-v0.js'
-
-describe('toDirectiveInput', () => {
-  it('keeps a valid kind + target and drops an empty target', () => {
-    const input = toDirectiveInput({ kind: 'reprioritize', quote: 'pilots first', target: { issue: 87 }, rationale: 'blocked' })
-    expect(input).toEqual({ kind: 'reprioritize', quote: 'pilots first', target: { issue: 87 }, params: undefined, rationale: 'blocked' })
-    expect(toDirectiveInput({ kind: 'note', quote: 'x', target: {} }).target).toBeUndefined()
-  })
-
-  it('falls back to note for an unknown kind', () => {
-    expect(toDirectiveInput({ kind: 'nonsense', quote: 'hmm' }).kind).toBe('note')
-  })
-})
-
-describe('serialize + parse round-trip', () => {
-  const entry = makeDirectiveEntry(
-    { kind: 'reprioritize', quote: 'pilots come first', target: { issue: 87 } },
-    'id-1',
-    '2026-02-01T09:00:00Z',
-  )
-
-  it('serializes to one JSON line', () => {
-    const line = serializeDirective(entry)
-    expect(line).not.toContain('\n')
-    expect(JSON.parse(line)).toMatchObject({ id: 'id-1', kind: 'reprioritize', status: 'accepted' })
-  })
-
-  it('parses a log, orders by ts, and assigns a 1-based seq', () => {
-    const a = serializeDirective(makeDirectiveEntry({ kind: 'note', quote: 'later' }, 'b', '2026-02-02T00:00:00Z'))
-    const b = serializeDirective(makeDirectiveEntry({ kind: 'note', quote: 'earlier' }, 'a', '2026-02-01T00:00:00Z'))
-    const records = parseDirectiveLog(`${a}\n${b}\n`)
-    expect(records.map((r) => r.quote)).toEqual(['earlier', 'later'])
-    expect(records.map((r) => r.seq)).toEqual([1, 2])
-  })
-
-  it('skips blank and corrupt lines without losing the rest', () => {
-    const good = serializeDirective(entry)
-    const records = parseDirectiveLog(`\n{not json\n${good}\n\n`)
-    expect(records).toHaveLength(1)
-    expect(records[0].id).toBe('id-1')
-  })
-})
-
-describe('appendDirective', () => {
-  it('concatenates a newline-terminated entry, normalizing a missing trailing newline', () => {
-    const e1 = makeDirectiveEntry({ kind: 'note', quote: 'one' }, 'i1', '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z')
-    const e2 = makeDirectiveEntry({ kind: 'note', quote: 'two' }, 'i2', '2026-01-02T00:00:00Z')
-    let log = appendDirective('', e1)
-    log = appendDirective(log, e2)
-    expect(parseDirectiveLog(log).map((r) => r.quote)).toEqual(['one', 'two'])
-    expect(log.endsWith('\n')).toBe(true)
-  })
-
-  it('handles existing text without a trailing newline', () => {
-    const e = makeDirectiveEntry({ kind: 'note', quote: 'x' }, 'i', '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z')
-    expect(appendDirective('{"id":"prev","ts":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"}', e).split('\n').filter(Boolean)).toHaveLength(2)
-  })
-})

packages/core/src/directives/record-directive-v0.ts

@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * record_directive — the PM's standing instructions ("pilots come first"),
- * appended to an append-only JSONL ledger in the pm-state repo (decisions.md D4,
- * pm-state.md). A directive is *intent*: it's logged verbatim; its effects land
- * later through apply_changes. Merge is concatenation — order derives from `ts`
- * at read time, so two writers never conflict. `seq` is a display ordinal
- * computed on read, never stored. This module is pure serialize/parse; the
- * append (read → concat → write) is the bridge's job.
- */
-
-export type DirectiveKind = 'reprioritize' | 'reestimate' | 'set-deadline' | 'scope' | 'capacity' | 'note'
-
-export type DirectiveStatus = 'proposed' | 'accepted' | 'amended' | 'withdrawn'
-
-export interface DirectiveTarget {
-  issue?: number
-  milestone?: number
-  member?: string
-}
-
-/** What the record_directive tool captures. */
-export interface DirectiveInput {
-  kind: DirectiveKind
-  /** Verbatim PM words, shown in the ledger. */
-  quote: string
-  target?: DirectiveTarget
-  /** Structured effect the scheduler applies, e.g. { priority: 1 }. */
-  params?: Record<string, unknown>
-  rationale?: string
-}
-
-/** A ledger entry — an input plus its durable id/ts/status. */
-export interface DirectiveEntry extends DirectiveInput {
-  id: string
-  ts: string
-  status: DirectiveStatus
-}
-
-/** A ledger entry as read back, with a computed display ordinal. */
-export interface DirectiveRecord extends DirectiveEntry {
-  seq: number
-}
-
-const DIRECTIVE_KINDS: readonly DirectiveKind[] = [
-  'reprioritize',
-  'reestimate',
-  'set-deadline',
-  'scope',
-  'capacity',
-  'note',
-]
-
-/** Normalize a raw tool payload into a DirectiveInput (unknown kind → note). */
-export function toDirectiveInput(raw: unknown): DirectiveInput {
-  const r = (raw ?? {}) as Record<string, unknown>
-  const kind = DIRECTIVE_KINDS.includes(r.kind as DirectiveKind) ? (r.kind as DirectiveKind) : 'note'
-  const target = (r.target ?? undefined) as DirectiveTarget | undefined
-  return {
-    kind,
-    quote: typeof r.quote === 'string' ? r.quote : '',
-    target: target && (target.issue || target.milestone || target.member) ? target : undefined,
-    params: (r.params && typeof r.params === 'object' ? (r.params as Record<string, unknown>) : undefined),
-    rationale: typeof r.rationale === 'string' ? r.rationale : undefined,
-  }
-}
-
-/** Build a full entry from an input + externally-supplied id/ts (Date/uuid live in the caller). */
-export function makeDirectiveEntry(
-  input: DirectiveInput,
-  id: string,
-  ts: string,
-  status: DirectiveStatus = 'accepted',
-): DirectiveEntry {
-  return { ...input, id, ts, status }
-}
-
-/** One JSONL line (no trailing newline — the caller joins). */
-export function serializeDirective(entry: DirectiveEntry): string {
-  return JSON.stringify(entry)
-}
-
-/**
- * Parse a JSONL log into records ordered by `ts` (then id for stability), with a
- * 1-based `seq` assigned on read. Blank/corrupt lines are skipped, not fatal.
- */
-export function parseDirectiveLog(text: string): DirectiveRecord[] {
-  const entries: DirectiveEntry[] = []
-  for (const line of text.split('\n')) {
-    const trimmed = line.trim()
-    if (!trimmed) continue
-    try {
-      const e = JSON.parse(trimmed) as DirectiveEntry
-      if (e && typeof e.id === 'string' && typeof e.ts === 'string') entries.push(e)
-    } catch {
-      // skip a corrupt line rather than lose the whole ledger
-    }
-  }
-  entries.sort((a, b) => (a.ts === b.ts ? a.id.localeCompare(b.id) : a.ts.localeCompare(b.ts)))
-  return entries.map((e, i) => ({ ...e, seq: i + 1 }))
-}
-
-/** Append a serialized entry to existing log text (concatenation merge). */
-export function appendDirective(existing: string, entry: DirectiveEntry): string {
-  const base = existing.endsWith('\n') || existing === '' ? existing : existing + '\n'
-  return `${base}${serializeDirective(entry)}\n`
-}

packages/core/src/gitea/client.test.ts

@@ -146,28 +146,6 @@ describe('createGiteaClient.getIssue', () => {
     ])
   })
 
-  it('getFile returns null on 404 and content+sha on hit', async () => {
-    const miss = stubFetch('nope', 404)
-    expect(await createGiteaClient(CONFIG, miss.fetch).getFile('directives/log.jsonl')).toBeNull()
-
-    const hit = stubFetch({ content: 'aGVsbG8=\n', sha: 'abc123' })
-    const file = await createGiteaClient(CONFIG, hit.fetch).getFile('directives/log.jsonl')
-    expect(file).toEqual({ contentBase64: 'aGVsbG8=', sha: 'abc123' })
-    expect(hit.calls[0].url).toContain('/contents/directives/log.jsonl')
-  })
-
-  it('putFile POSTs to create and PUTs to update (with sha)', async () => {
-    const create = stubFetch({}, 201)
-    await createGiteaClient(CONFIG, create.fetch).putFile('directives/log.jsonl', { contentBase64: 'eA==', message: 'seed' })
-    expect(create.calls[0].init?.method).toBe('POST')
-    expect(JSON.parse(create.calls[0].init?.body ?? '{}')).toEqual({ content: 'eA==', message: 'seed' })
-
-    const update = stubFetch({}, 200)
-    await createGiteaClient(CONFIG, update.fetch).putFile('directives/log.jsonl', { contentBase64: 'eQ==', message: 'append', sha: 's1' })
-    expect(update.calls[0].init?.method).toBe('PUT')
-    expect(JSON.parse(update.calls[0].init?.body ?? '{}')).toEqual({ content: 'eQ==', message: 'append', sha: 's1' })
-  })
-
   it('createIssue POSTs title/body/labels and returns a normalized issue', async () => {
     const created = { ...RAW_ISSUE, number: 44, title: 'Retry token refresh', labels: [{ name: 'est/2d' }, { name: 'p/2' }] }
     const { fetch, calls } = stubFetch(created, 201)

packages/core/src/gitea/client.ts

@@ -105,10 +105,6 @@ export interface GiteaClient {
   setIssueLabels(index: number, labelIds: number[]): Promise<void>
   /** Open a new issue with a title, optional body, and label ids. Write. */
   createIssue(input: { title: string; body?: string; labelIds?: number[] }): Promise<GiteaIssue>
-  /** Read a repo file's base64 content + blob sha; null if it (or the repo) is absent. */
-  getFile(path: string): Promise<{ contentBase64: string; sha: string } | null>
-  /** Create or update a repo file with base64 content (pass `sha` to update). Write. */
-  putFile(path: string, input: { contentBase64: string; message: string; sha?: string }): Promise<void>
 }
 
 /** Map raw gitea issue JSON to the normalized domain shape. Pure. */
@@ -236,25 +232,5 @@ export function createGiteaClient(config: GiteaConfig, fetchImpl: FetchLike): Gi
       })) as RawIssue
       return normalizeIssue(raw)
     },
-
-    async getFile(path) {
-      const res = await fetchImpl(`${repoBase}/contents/${path}`, {
-        headers: { Authorization: `token ${config.token}`, Accept: 'application/json' },
-      })
-      if (res.status === 404) return null
-      if (!res.ok) {
-        const body = await res.text().catch(() => '')
-        throw new GiteaApiError(res.status, `GET contents/${path} failed (${res.status})`, body)
-      }
-      const json = (await res.json()) as { content?: string; sha: string }
-      return { contentBase64: (json.content ?? '').replace(/\n/g, ''), sha: json.sha }
-    },
-
-    async putFile(path, input) {
-      await request(`/contents/${path}`, {
-        method: input.sha ? 'PUT' : 'POST',
-        body: { content: input.contentBase64, message: input.message, ...(input.sha ? { sha: input.sha } : {}) },
-      })
-    },
   }
 }

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -85,30 +85,8 @@ export { pickModel } from './agent/model-router.js'
 export type { ModelRouter, TaskKind } from './agent/model-router.js'
 export { runAgentTurn } from './agent/agent-loop.js'
 export type { AgentStep, AgentTurn, ToolExecutor } from './agent/agent-loop.js'
-export {
+export { PROPOSE_CHANGE_TOOL, QUERY_PROJECT_TOOL, REGINALD_SYSTEM, REGINALD_TOOLS } from './agent/agent-tools.js'
-  PROPOSE_CHANGE_TOOL,
-  QUERY_PROJECT_TOOL,
-  RECORD_DIRECTIVE_TOOL,
-  REGINALD_SYSTEM,
-  REGINALD_TOOLS,
-} from './agent/agent-tools.js'
 export { buildProjectView } from './agent/query-project.js'
 export type { ProjectSnapshot, ProjectView, QueryFilters } from './agent/query-project.js'
 export { CAPTURE_SYSTEM, captureWork, parseCaptureArgs, PROPOSE_ISSUES_TOOL } from './agent/capture-work.js'
 export type { CaptureProposal, ProposedIssue } from './agent/capture-work.js'
-
-export {
-  appendDirective,
-  makeDirectiveEntry,
-  parseDirectiveLog,
-  serializeDirective,
-  toDirectiveInput,
-} from './directives/record-directive-v0.js'
-export type {
-  DirectiveEntry,
-  DirectiveInput,
-  DirectiveKind,
-  DirectiveRecord,
-  DirectiveStatus,
-  DirectiveTarget,
-} from './directives/record-directive-v0.js'