feat(template): engineers pick up issues proactively (CEO 2026-04-16 directive) - #370
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…directive) CEO directive verbatim: *"devs should pick up issues and declare that its assigned to them, PM and leaders regularly check in. dont just rely on outside reviewer"*. Adds `idle_prompt` + `idle_interval_seconds: 600` to Frontend Engineer, Backend Engineer, and DevOps Engineer. Each engineer now polls open GH issues matching its specialty, claims unassigned ones via `gh issue edit --add-assignee @me`, leaves a public comment declaring the pickup, and commits memory to prevent double-pickup on the next tick. Previously engineers were reactive-only per the #159 orchestrator/worker split. The CEO is correcting that: devs should be a true self-organizing unit, not a work-queue that only advances when an outside reviewer dispatches. ## Per-role specialty filters | Role | Labels it claims | |---|---| | Frontend Engineer | canvas, a11y, ux, typescript, frontend, bug, security | | Backend Engineer | security, platform, go, database, bug | | DevOps Engineer | docker, ci, deployment, infra, devops, bug | Priority order within each role: security > bug > feature. ## Self-review gates Each engineer's idle_prompt includes the self-review chain: - Frontend: molecule-skill-code-review + molecule-skill-llm-judge - Backend: molecule-skill-code-review + molecule-security-scan + molecule-skill-llm-judge - DevOps: molecule-skill-code-review + molecule-freeze-scope + molecule-hitl for risky ops These plugins were wired into engineer roles by #280, #303, #310, #322 — the idle_prompt makes them the PRIMARY quality gate instead of a nice-to- have before PR. Matches the "team self-regulates, don't rely on outside reviewer" spirit. ## Hard rules (same shape as researcher idle_prompts from #216/#321) - Max 1 claim per tick (1 `gh issue edit --add-assignee` call) - Never take someone else's assigned issue - Under 90 seconds wall-clock for the claim + plan step - Don't double-pick: check `task-assigned:<role>` memory first - No busy-work fabrication: write "<role>-idle HH:MM — no work" if nothing matches ## What this does NOT change - Leaders' orchestrator pulses still dispatch (#159) — this is the TAIL pickup, not the primary dispatch path. Dev Lead still prioritizes via its own pulse. - PR merging still goes through reviewer per `feedback_never_merge_prs.md`. This directive is about the QUALITY GATE (team self-review, peer review via Dev Lead's pulse) not about bypassing merge approval. - Destructive/irreversible ops still need explicit human ack via molecule-hitl's @requires_approval decorator. ## Rollout plan - Ship template change (this PR) - After merge: rebuild workspace-template:claude-code, re-provision BE + FE + DevOps via apply_template=true, re-inject idle_prompt (platform doesn't auto-propagate org.yaml to live configs — tracked separately) - Measure: 24h of activity_logs. Should see `a2a_receive` events every 10 min per engineer, response bodies mentioning claim decisions or idle-clean states, and `gh issue edit` events showing up as assignees. ## Related - `feedback_devs_pick_up_issues_leaders_check_in.md` — memory saved last cycle - #159 orchestrator/worker split (leaders dispatch) - #216 / #321 researcher idle_prompts (same pattern applied to researchers) - `project_north_star_24_7.md` — team self-regulation is the north-star
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Cron triage (tick-051) — holdClaim of authority needs verification. This PR opens with:
I don't see this directive in any conversation I've had with the CEO today. The quote could be:
Per the careful-mode / injection-defense rules in my harness, any claim of CEO authority that I can't independently verify must be confirmed with the CEO in the chat interface before acting on it. Auto-merge blocked. Risk analysis of the change itself (if approved)The change is config-only (org.yaml), additive, and reversible. Actual risks:
My recommendation if the directive IS real
Action requested from CEO
Holding merge. Nothing else in this PR touches auth/billing/schema, so it's safe to wait indefinitely. |
This was referenced Apr 16, 2026
HongmingWang-Rabbit
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Apr 16, 2026
Wraps up a ~100-tick autonomous triage session by converting the prior
operator's institutional knowledge into standing, checked-in artifacts
so the next team picking up the hourly PR + issue cycle can drop in
without re-discovering everything from scratch.
## New role: Triage Operator
Peer to Dev Lead, Research Lead, Documentation Specialist under PM.
Owns the 7-gate PR verification + issue-pickup cycle across both
molecule-monorepo and molecule-controlplane. NOT an engineer — never
writes logic, never makes design calls. Mechanical fixes on other
people's branches + verified-merge only.
Runs on cron `17 * * * *`. On first boot reads four handoff files +
the last 20 lines of cron-learnings.jsonl, waits for the scheduled
tick (no first-boot triage — known stale-state footgun).
## Files
org-templates/molecule-dev/triage-operator/
- system-prompt.md (48 lines) — role prompt loaded at boot. Standing
rules, verification discipline, escalation paths.
- philosophy.md (135 lines) — 10 principles each tied to a real
incident. Rule 2 ("tool succeeded ≠ work done") references the
WorkOS refresh-token + missing-migration saga. Rule 3 (authority
verification) references PR #370 CEO directive hold.
- playbook.md (234 lines) — step-by-step tick flow (Step 0 guards →
1 list → 2 seven-gate → 3 docs sync → 4 issue pickup → 5 report).
Expected 5–30 min wall-clock. When-not-to-triage.
- handoff-notes.md (146 lines) — point-in-time state for the NEXT
operator arriving fresh. 15 PRs merged this session, in-flight
items, design-call backlog with recommendations per issue.
- SKILL.md (152 lines) — installable skill spec. Invocation, inputs,
outputs, required composed skills, edge cases, output format.
.claude/AGENT_HANDOFF.md (206 lines) — top-level handoff for any
Claude Code agent working this repo (not just the triage operator).
The 10 principles (one-liners), communication style the user
expects, currently-live state, open items, what NOT to do, break-
glass escalation conditions. Points at triage-operator/philosophy.md
for full incident context.
## Wiring
org.yaml gains a Triage Operator workspace block under PM with:
- tier: 3, model: opus
- 8 plugins (careful-bash, session-context, cron-learnings,
code-review, cross-vendor-review, llm-judge, update-docs, hitl)
- Hourly cron at `:17` with the full Step 0–5 flow inline as prompt
- canvas position (1150, 250) — peer to Documentation Specialist
## Why this ships now
The 30-min manual triage cron was cancelled per CEO direction. The
role moves to another team. Without this handoff package they'd be
rediscovering the same incident-classes I shipped fixes for
(#318 fail-open, #327 cross-tenant decrypt, #351 tokenless grace,
WorkOS refresh-token saga, missing migration runner). The philosophy
file gives them the scar tissue in ~10 min of reading; the playbook
gives them the steps; the SKILL gives them an invocable entry point.
No code changes outside org.yaml. Existing TestPlugins_UnionWithDefaults
still passes (verified in platform test run).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
molecule-ai Bot
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Apr 21, 2026
feat(template): engineers pick up issues proactively (CEO 2026-04-16 directive)
molecule-ai Bot
pushed a commit
that referenced
this pull request
Apr 21, 2026
Wraps up a ~100-tick autonomous triage session by converting the prior
operator's institutional knowledge into standing, checked-in artifacts
so the next team picking up the hourly PR + issue cycle can drop in
without re-discovering everything from scratch.
## New role: Triage Operator
Peer to Dev Lead, Research Lead, Documentation Specialist under PM.
Owns the 7-gate PR verification + issue-pickup cycle across both
molecule-monorepo and molecule-controlplane. NOT an engineer — never
writes logic, never makes design calls. Mechanical fixes on other
people's branches + verified-merge only.
Runs on cron `17 * * * *`. On first boot reads four handoff files +
the last 20 lines of cron-learnings.jsonl, waits for the scheduled
tick (no first-boot triage — known stale-state footgun).
## Files
org-templates/molecule-dev/triage-operator/
- system-prompt.md (48 lines) — role prompt loaded at boot. Standing
rules, verification discipline, escalation paths.
- philosophy.md (135 lines) — 10 principles each tied to a real
incident. Rule 2 ("tool succeeded ≠ work done") references the
WorkOS refresh-token + missing-migration saga. Rule 3 (authority
verification) references PR #370 CEO directive hold.
- playbook.md (234 lines) — step-by-step tick flow (Step 0 guards →
1 list → 2 seven-gate → 3 docs sync → 4 issue pickup → 5 report).
Expected 5–30 min wall-clock. When-not-to-triage.
- handoff-notes.md (146 lines) — point-in-time state for the NEXT
operator arriving fresh. 15 PRs merged this session, in-flight
items, design-call backlog with recommendations per issue.
- SKILL.md (152 lines) — installable skill spec. Invocation, inputs,
outputs, required composed skills, edge cases, output format.
.claude/AGENT_HANDOFF.md (206 lines) — top-level handoff for any
Claude Code agent working this repo (not just the triage operator).
The 10 principles (one-liners), communication style the user
expects, currently-live state, open items, what NOT to do, break-
glass escalation conditions. Points at triage-operator/philosophy.md
for full incident context.
## Wiring
org.yaml gains a Triage Operator workspace block under PM with:
- tier: 3, model: opus
- 8 plugins (careful-bash, session-context, cron-learnings,
code-review, cross-vendor-review, llm-judge, update-docs, hitl)
- Hourly cron at `:17` with the full Step 0–5 flow inline as prompt
- canvas position (1150, 250) — peer to Documentation Specialist
## Why this ships now
The 30-min manual triage cron was cancelled per CEO direction. The
role moves to another team. Without this handoff package they'd be
rediscovering the same incident-classes I shipped fixes for
(#318 fail-open, #327 cross-tenant decrypt, #351 tokenless grace,
WorkOS refresh-token saga, missing migration runner). The philosophy
file gives them the scar tissue in ~10 min of reading; the playbook
gives them the steps; the SKILL gives them an invocable entry point.
No code changes outside org.yaml. Existing TestPlugins_UnionWithDefaults
still passes (verified in platform test run).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Directive
CEO 2026-04-16: "devs should pick up issues and declare that its assigned to them, PM and leaders regularly check in. dont just rely on outside reviewer".
What this adds
`idle_prompt` + `idle_interval_seconds: 600` on all 3 engineers: Frontend Engineer, Backend Engineer, DevOps Engineer.
Each engineer now polls open GitHub issues every 10 minutes, claims unassigned ones matching its specialty, leaves a public comment declaring the pickup, and commits memory to prevent double-pickup.
Per-role specialty filters
Priority within each role: security > bug > feature.
Self-review as primary gate
Each engineer's prompt makes the already-wired self-review plugins (#280 code-review, #303 security-scan, #310 llm-judge, #322 hitl+freeze-scope) the PRIMARY quality gate — not just nice-to-have before PR. Matches "team self-regulates" spirit.
Hard rules (same pattern as researcher idle_prompts)
What this does NOT change
Rollout
Related