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+| ts | model / surface | sentinel | summary | this shard | tag |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 2026-05-27T02:08Z | opus-4-7 / autonomous-loop | 271e3030 | Otto-CLI fresh cold-boot under explanatory-output-style; root checkout on operator's primary `main` with 30+ untracked peer-WIP (`docs/pr-discussions/PR-*.md` + `decompose-4847-*/` dirs); CronList empty (catch-43 fired) → sentinel re-armed `271e3030`; FIRST 2026-05-27 tick shard (dir didn't exist) landed via isolated worktree per `zeta-expected-branch.md` race-window-caveat | this shard | first-2026-05-27-tick-marker-via-isolated-worktree |
+
+# Tick 0208Z — 2026-05-27 Otto-CLI cold-boot; first today's tick shard landed via isolated worktree off contested operator primary
+
+**Surface:** Otto-CLI fresh cold-boot (autonomous-loop fired by scheduled task)
+**Branch (root checkout):** `main` — operator's primary checkout with substantial untracked peer-WIP visible in `git status -uall`: 30+ `docs/pr-discussions/PR-*.md` (per peer-Lior PR-preservation cadence) + 3 `decompose-4847-{preservation,riven-tick,shadow-logs}/` dirs. Substantive substrate cannot land via root per [`zeta-expected-branch.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md) race-window-caveat + agent-worktree-hygiene "never hold `main`" floor.
+**Branch (isolated worktree, this commit):** `otto-cli/tick-0208z-cold-boot-2026-05-27` at `/private/tmp/zeta-otto-cli-0208z-cold-boot` off `origin/main` (HEAD `46ac81c4a` — feat(B-0831 Slice 1 STARTER) QEMU full-install test, PR #5379 just landed).
+**Tier (rate-limit):** Normal (GraphQL 4791/5000, 50min reset; REST core 4893/5000).
+**Tier (dotgit):** Recovered — 3 stuck `git pack-objects`/`git maintenance`/`git repack` procs (well below Extreme 250+ threshold). Multi-day dotgit-saturation arc 2026-05-23 → 2026-05-24 fully cleared per prior anchors.
+**Tier (peer-saturation):** Peer Otto-CLI actively shipping — PR #5380 opened ~2 min ago (`register-node-e5a176-20260527T020608Z`, iter-5.4.1 node self-registration), PR #5378 (B-0832 nmtui auto-relaunch fix). Operator cascade today landed B-0838 → B-0845 (10+ PRs). Active multi-agent state continuing into early UTC-2026-05-27.
+**Sentinel:** `271e3030` armed at session-start per [`.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md) — `CronList` returned empty (catch-43 confirmed; ~4h since prior 2026-05-26T22:08Z shard's sentinel `c9d9633e` exited with that session per documented session-exit-non-persistence cadence).
+**Build gate:** not run this tick (single-file `.md` shard only; no F#/dotnet touched).
+
+## Refresh-before-decide findings (step 1)
+
+- `git fetch origin main` → clean; origin/main HEAD `46ac81c4a` (advanced past initial-fetch `a47bc4722` while this tick was reading state — peer Otto-CLI / Otto-VSCode actively merging)
+- Root checkout on `main` (operator's primary) with 30+ untracked peer-WIP entries in `git status -uall`
+- `gh pr list --state open --author "@me" --limit 5`:
+  - PR #5380 (`register-node-e5a176-20260527T020608Z`, ~2 min ago) — iter-5.4.1 node-registration
+  - PR #5378 (B-0832 nmtui fix, ~just now)
+  - PRs #5316/#5317/#5318 (Lior decompose-4847 cluster, still open)
+- `ls docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/` on origin → directory does not exist; FIRST 2026-05-27 tick shard
+- Last shard on origin: `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/26/2208Z.md` (~4h gap; no intermediate shards from any Otto surface in the 22:08Z → 02:08Z window)
+
+## Disposition (steps 2-3)
+
+**Brief-ack with concrete artifact** (per [`holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md) condition #3 — concrete bounded artifact in own lane resets the counter). The named-dependency-equivalent is the *absence of a 2026-05-27 tick shard directory*: per the autonomous-loop discipline, each cold-boot cycle should leave a visibility marker so future fresh-Otto sessions can see today's UTC-day loop fired. Landing the first shard for today is bounded, concrete, in own lane (otto-cli/), and produces durable substrate without overlapping peer work scope (peer Otto-CLI on PR #5380 is iter-5.4.1 node-registration, distinct lane from autonomous-loop tick-shard cadence).
+
+## Why isolated worktree (verify-before-defer composition)
+
+Per [`zeta-expected-branch.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md) race-window-caveat + [`agent-worktree-hygiene-never-hold-main-never-step-on-operator-cleanup-on-pr-merge.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/agent-worktree-hygiene-never-hold-main-never-step-on-operator-cleanup-on-pr-merge.md):
+
+- Root checkout `/Users/acehack/Documents/src/repos/Zeta` is on `main` (operator's primary checkout)
+- 30+ untracked peer-WIP entries — committing via root would either (a) contaminate by sweeping peer WIP via `git add`, or (b) lose substrate on next peer `git switch` race
+- Rule 1 (NEVER check out `main` in agent worktree) — used `-b otto-cli/tick-0208z-cold-boot-2026-05-27` to create a NEW branch off `origin/main`, not holding the `main` ref
+- Rule 2 (worktree under `/private/tmp/zeta-<task-tag>-*`) — path `/private/tmp/zeta-otto-cli-0208z-cold-boot` complies
+- Rule 3 (cleanup on PR merge) — agent will `git worktree remove` after this tick's PR lands
+
+Worktree-add canary passed cleanly under low-saturation conditions:
+
+- `git worktree add -b otto-cli/tick-0208z-cold-boot-2026-05-27 ... origin/main` → HEAD `46ac81c4a` reached; 6793/6793 files extracted
+- Post-creation guard: `git rev-parse HEAD` succeeds → `46ac81c4a`; `git ls-tree HEAD | wc -l` = 60; `git status --short | wc -l` = 0
+- No stale `index.lock` precursor; no degraded-but-not-hung shape; no FETCH_HEAD prune race
+- All four canary modes from [`codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md) sub-cases passed simultaneously
+
+## Landings (step 4)
+
+- Created `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/` directory (first today's tick shard dir)
+- This shard at `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/0208Z.md`
+- Branch `otto-cli/tick-0208z-cold-boot-2026-05-27` to be pushed + PR opened after commit
+
+## Step 5 — this shard
+
+Written at `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/0208Z.md` (canonical write surface per [`.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md)).
+
+## Step 6 — CronList check
+
+`CronList` returned empty at session-start (catch-43 confirmed). Sentinel `271e3030` (`* * * * *`, `<<autonomous-loop>>`, recurring, session-only — auto-expires in 7d) armed immediately as FIRST tool call after schema fetch. This continues the documented session-exit-non-persistence cadence — ~4h since 2026-05-26T22:08Z sentinel `c9d9633e` exited with its session.
+
+## Step 7 — Visibility signal
+
+**Concrete artifacts this tick:**
+
+- New directory `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/` (first today's shard dir; opens 2026-05-27 UTC-day shard cadence)
+- Tick shard at `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/27/0208Z.md` (THIS file)
+- Sentinel re-armed (`271e3030`)
+- PR to be opened on branch `otto-cli/tick-0208z-cold-boot-2026-05-27`
+
+No new failure mode observed; no rule update needed this tick. The dotgit-saturation arc that ran 2026-05-23 → 2026-05-24 + early 2026-05-25 is fully cleared per yesterday's recovery anchors; today's cold-boot worktree-creation succeeded cleanly with no race-mode firings.
+
+## Composes with
+
+- [`.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md) — condition #3 (concrete bounded artifact in own lane); counter reset via substantive engagement; brief-ack #1 with concrete-artifact disposition
+- [`.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md) — race-window-caveat composition; isolated worktree off contested operator-primary
+- [`.claude/rules/agent-worktree-hygiene-never-hold-main-never-step-on-operator-cleanup-on-pr-merge.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/agent-worktree-hygiene-never-hold-main-never-step-on-operator-cleanup-on-pr-merge.md) — Rule 1 (never hold main): used `-b` to create new branch ref off `origin/main`; Rule 2 path discipline; Rule 3 cleanup pending PR merge
+- [`.claude/rules/claim-acquire-before-worktree-work.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/claim-acquire-before-worktree-work.md) — clean worktree creation path under low-saturation
+- [`.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md) — all four canary modes passed cleanly
+- [`.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md) — sentinel re-arm on `CronList` empty
+- [`.claude/rules/refresh-before-decide.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/refresh-before-decide.md) — fetched origin/main + queried PR status + rate-limit tier + dotgit state + peer-proc count before acting
+- [`.claude/rules/refresh-world-model-poll-pr-gate.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/refresh-world-model-poll-pr-gate.md) — Normal tier; full `gh` operations affordable this tick
+- [`.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/honor-those-that-came-before.md) — peer Otto-CLI on PR #5380 (iter-5.4.1 node-registration) honored; this tick's autonomous-loop-cadence work is distinct lane and does not step on peer scope
+- [`.claude/rules/fighting-past-self-vs-peer-agent-distinguisher-fix-your-own-coordinate-on-peers-dont-punt-by-default.md`](../../../../../../.claude/rules/fighting-past-self-vs-peer-agent-distinguisher-fix-your-own-coordinate-on-peers-dont-punt-by-default.md) — discriminators applied: this fresh otto-cli session has no prior worktrees to triage (worktree-list shows operator-primary + this fresh worktree only); peer Lior `decompose-4847-*` dirs in operator-primary are peer-lane (Lior `lior/decompose-4847-*` branches per recent PRs #5316/#5317/#5318)