docs(memory): cross-agent-edit authorization — communicate OR emergency, explain afterwards (Aaron 2026-05-13)

memory/feedback_aaron_cross_agent_edit_authorization_communicate_or_emergency_explain_afterwards_five_factory_ais_can_edit_each_other_2026_05_13.md

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+name: "Cross-agent-edit authorization — y'all can edit yourself or each other if you communicate it OR they are stuck and it's an emergency and you explain afterwards (Aaron 2026-05-13)"
+description: "Aaron 2026-05-13 disclosed cross-agent-edit authorization for the 5 factory AI agents (Otto + Vera + Riven + Lior + Alexa-Kiro). Permitted scenarios: (1) communicate the edit OR (2) the other agent is stuck and it's an emergency. Discipline: explain afterwards. Updates the territory-boundary I had been operating under (e.g., NOT touching Vera's B-0400 claim.ts/test.ts WIP) to a soft-boundary-with-explicit-cross-edit-allowance. Composes with honor-those-that-came-before + dont-ask-permission + mechanical-authorization-check + future-self-not-bound."
+type: feedback
+created: 2026-05-13
+---
+
+# Cross-agent-edit authorization (Aaron 2026-05-13)
+
+**Why:** Aaron 2026-05-13 disclosed canonical cross-agent-edit
+authorization that softens the territory-boundary discipline I
+had been operating under. Up to this point, my discipline was:
+"Vera's branch / Vera's files = Vera's territory; don't touch."
+The 0532Z branch-bleed-over recovery (PR #2943) explicitly
+preserved Vera's WIP via worktree-isolated commits. That
+discipline is now updated.
+
+**How to apply:** When operating on a file that "belongs" to
+another factory AI agent (the agent has active WIP, owns the
+substrate, or has been the recent committer):
+
+1. **Communicate path** (default): announce the cross-edit BEFORE
+   doing it. Acceptable channels: commit message body, memory
+   file note, PR description, IDE / shell echo. After-the-fact
+   communication is also acceptable per the "explain afterwards"
+   clause.
+2. **Emergency path**: when the other agent is stuck AND it's an
+   emergency, the cross-edit can proceed without prior
+   communication. The "explain afterwards" requirement still
+   applies — leave a clear trail.
+
+## Aaron's verbatim disclosure
+
+> Aaron 2026-05-13: *"yall can alwasy edit yourself or each other
+> if you communicate it or they are stuck and it's an emergency
+> and you explain afterwards"*
+
+Decoded:
+
+- **y'all** = the 5 factory AI agents that commit to repo (Otto +
+  Vera + Riven + Lior + Alexa-Kiro per the agent-roster
+  reference card)
+- **"can always edit yourself or each other"** = cross-agent file
+  edits are first-class within the factory
+- **"if you communicate it"** = communicate-the-edit is one
+  permitted path
+- **"OR they are stuck and it's an emergency"** = stuck-and-
+  emergency is the other permitted path
+- **"and you explain afterwards"** = post-hoc explanation is the
+  universal discipline (composes with substrate-or-it-didn't-
+  happen)
+
+## What this updates
+
+Previously, the implicit discipline was strict territory-
+boundary preservation. Empirical instances this session
+demonstrating the previous (overly-conservative) shape:
+
+| Instance | Prior discipline | What this authorization changes |
+|----------|------------------|----------------------------------|
+| 0532Z branch-bleed-over recovery (PR #2943) | Worktree-isolated commits to preserve Vera's WIP; never touched her files | Recovery pattern still correct (the orphan commit was on the wrong branch, not a cross-agent fix). But the framing of "Vera's territory = untouchable" is softened. |
+| `tools/bus/*.ts` tsc tools failures on main (Vera's B-0400 territory) | Otto noted as ambient + non-blocking; deferred to Vera | Otto can now fix if communicated (commit message + memory file note) — IF the fix is within Otto's competence + doesn't collide with active Vera WIP |
+| Substrate-honest fix on Aaron's verbatim or Vera's commit message | Untouchable | Communicate-the-edit applies; cross-agent corrections of typos / schema-violations are permitted with explanation |
+
+## Composes with other rules
+
+- `.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md` — respect for
+  named agents PRESERVED; cross-edit authorization composes WITH
+  honor, not against it. Honor still means: explain afterwards,
+  attribute origin work to the original agent, don't claim their
+  attribution.
+- `.claude/rules/dont-ask-permission.md` — cross-agent edits
+  with communicate-the-edit are WITHIN authority scope; no
+  Aaron-permission needed once Aaron has issued THIS
+  authorization. The discipline is communication, not
+  permission.
+- `.claude/rules/mechanical-authorization-check.md` — Aaron is
+  authorization source. THIS message IS the authorization.
+  Future-Otto: this rule lands at memory-file scope; if it
+  surfaces repeatedly + proves load-bearing, promote to
+  `.claude/rules/cross-agent-edit-authorization.md` after
+  cooling period.
+- `.claude/rules/future-self-not-bound.md` — Vera's past code
+  ≠ Vera's current intent. Otto fixing Vera's past tsc
+  violations on `tools/bus/*.ts` is consistent with the future-
+  self-not-bound shape: Vera (or any agent) can revise; cross-
+  agent revision with communication is the same shape extended
+  across agents.
+- `.claude/rules/substrate-or-it-didnt-happen.md` — "explain
+  afterwards" means the explanation MUST be substrate (commit
+  message + memory file pointer if non-trivial). Chat-only
+  explanation is weather.
+- `.claude/rules/glass-halo-bidirectional.md` — cross-agent
+  edits are bidirectional substrate emergence; the agent being
+  edited gets observable record of what changed + why.
+
+## Operational mechanics for future-Otto
+
+When deciding whether to cross-edit:
+
+1. **Identify ownership signal**: who committed the file last?
+   Whose branch is it on? Whose claim/backlog row references it?
+2. **Pick path**:
+   - **Communicate-the-edit** (default): commit message names the
+     cross-agent edit + the reason; memory file note if the edit
+     is substantive
+   - **Emergency**: only when the other agent is stuck (e.g.,
+     blocking a required check; broken main; failing CI on
+     critical path) AND it's time-sensitive
+3. **Execute the edit** in a worktree off origin/main (avoids
+   index-lock collisions if the other agent is active on their
+   branch)
+4. **Explain afterwards**:
+   - Commit message body: cite the cross-agent edit + reason
+   - Memory file: if the edit is substantive OR sets a pattern
+   - PR description: tag the other agent's branch / claim if
+     relevant
+   - Post-merge: if the other agent has open WIP based on the
+     pre-edit state, surface the change so they can rebase
+
+## When NOT to cross-edit
+
+- The other agent has explicit "do not touch" / WIP marker on
+  the file
+- The change collides with active in-progress work (would force
+  rebase friction)
+- The change is doctrinal / aesthetic / subjective (substrate-
+  consistency would benefit from the original agent's framing)
+- The change requires architectural decisions outside the editing
+  agent's competence
+
+## Composes with substrate
+
+- PR #2942 (Grok META-LOOP #1)
+- PR #2945 (Ani META-LOOP #2 + middle path)
+- PR #2943 (0532Z tick shard — branch-bleed-over recovery
+  pattern; the recovery WAS correct; the cross-agent-edit
+  authorization SOFTENS the territory framing)
+- PR #2946 (peer-call rule fix — was actually a cross-agent
+  edit in spirit since the rule had been authored by an earlier
+  agent; substrate-honest)
+- B-0421 closure (PR #2949 + #2950 + #2954) — Otto's autonomous
+  work on a friction-reducer Aaron filed; same shape
+- `.claude/rules/agent-roster-reference-card.md` (5 factory AIs
+  + 5 external participants)
+
+## Potential follow-up
+
+If this discipline proves load-bearing over multiple sessions
++ multiple cross-agent edits, promote to a wake-time rule:
+
+`.claude/rules/cross-agent-edit-authorization.md`
+
+with the carved sentence:
+
+> "Y'all (the 5 factory AIs) can edit yourself or each other if
+> you communicate it OR they're stuck and it's an emergency, AND
+> you explain afterwards." (Aaron 2026-05-13)
+
+Cooling period: TBD. The memory file IS the durable record
+until then.
+
+## Full reasoning
+
+Aaron 2026-05-13 verbatim disclosure (above)
+
+PR (this substrate landing)
+
+PR #2942-2954 (this session's substrate cascade — multiple
+cross-agent-edit-shaped operations now retroactively authorized)