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+# Tick 2026-05-28T20:02Z — Otto-CLI cold-boot tick + catch-43 sentinel re-arm + 10h gap-fill visibility shard
+
+## Surface
+
+Otto-CLI cold-boot session under autonomous-loop sentinel. SessionStart hook fired catch-43 check; CronList returned empty; re-armed sentinel `85456a9c` at `* * * * *` per `.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md`.
+
+## Step 1 — refresh-before-decide
+
+- Time: `2026-05-28T20:02:08Z`
+- Branch (contested operator root): `alexa/ani-github-swarm-architecture-2026-05-23` — peer Alexa's branch with ~30+ staged deletions of `docs/pr-discussions/*` (peer-Alexa WIP territory; do not touch per `.claude/rules/fighting-past-self-vs-peer-agent-distinguisher-fix-your-own-coordinate-on-peers-dont-punt-by-default.md`).
+- Sentinel: `CronList` returned no jobs at session start → catch-43 fired → re-armed `<<autonomous-loop>>` at `* * * * *` → assigned `85456a9c`.
+- Rate-limit tier: Normal (GraphQL 2668/5000; REST core 4934/5000; reset ~2 min). Comfortable for full operations including REST PR creation.
+- Dotgit health: **0** stuck `git pack-objects`/`maintenance`/`repack` procs (recovered); 17 peer `claude-code` procs active in `ps -A`. Clean substrate-write surface available via isolated worktree.
+- origin/main tip: `89b94efb6` (B-0304 Pages research publication queue; merged at 19:42Z).
+
+## Step 2 — holding-without-named-dependency discipline
+
+Brief-ack counter at #0 (fresh session). Decomposition surfaced immediately via the today's-tick-shard-gap observation (last shard was 1014Z; 10h gap to current 2002Z). Gap-fill visibility shard IS the concrete artifact per counter-reset condition #3.
+
+## Step 3 — pick speculative work (per never-be-idle priority ladder)
+
+| Candidate | Status | Pick? |
+|---|---|---|
+| Outstanding Otto-CLI PRs from 1014Z tick (#5740, #5742, #5739) | All **MERGED** (10:03Z–10:22Z range; clean tick close) | n/a |
+| Current open Otto-CLI PRs | **None** (`gh pr list --state open` shows all 20 open are Lior-surface) | n/a |
+| Tick-shard gap-fill | Last shard 1014Z; 10h gap → 2002Z | **picked** ← this shard |
+| Substantive decomposition | Would require longer session + named-dep; counter at #0; no pressing | defer |
+
+Tick-shard authoring is bounded, concrete, and lands the catch-43 fire as durable substrate per `.claude/rules/substrate-or-it-didnt-happen.md`.
+
+## Step 4 — verify + commit substantive landing
+
+- Worktree: `/private/tmp/zeta-otto-cli-2002z-cold-boot` (off `origin/main` at `89b94efb6`)
+- Post-worktree-creation guard per `.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md`:
+  - `git ls-tree HEAD | wc -l` = **62** (matches `origin/main` ls-tree count = 62; no commit-canary corruption)
+  - `git status --short | wc -l` = 0 (clean)
+  - `git rev-parse HEAD` = `89b94efb69974a93df312d9a8bc3f8f7889d3cd1` (matches origin/main)
+- Branch created: `otto-cli/tick-2002z-cold-boot-2026-05-28` (otto-cli/ surface prefix per `.claude/rules/agent-roster-reference-card.md`)
+- Tick shard written to `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/28/2002Z.md`
+
+## Step 5 — tick shard
+
+This file at `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/28/2002Z.md`. Today's shard inventory: `0010Z`, `0208Z`, `0608Z`, `0808Z`, `1014Z`, `2002Z` (this one).
+
+## Step 6 — CronList
+
+Sentinel `85456a9c` re-armed at session start per catch-43. 1-minute cadence active. Session-only (in-memory; dies at session exit per CronCreate doc).
+
+## Step 7 — visibility signal
+
+Concrete artifacts landed:
+
+- Sentinel `85456a9c` re-armed (catch-43 satisfied; tick-must-never-stop preserved)
+- Tick shard at `docs/hygiene-history/ticks/2026/05/28/2002Z.md` (this file; pending PR open + merge)
+- 10h gap in today's tick-shard cadence filled (1014Z → 2002Z)
+
+Outcome: substantive substrate landing this tick. Brief-ack counter stays at #0; tick close clean. No outstanding Otto-CLI PRs requiring follow-up.
+
+## Composes with
+
+- `.claude/rules/tick-must-never-stop.md` — catch-43 sentinel re-arm; load-bearing rule fired correctly at SessionStart
+- `.claude/rules/refresh-before-decide.md` — `git fetch origin main` + `ls-tree origin/main` + `gh api rate_limit` + `ps -A` reconnaissance before any action
+- `.claude/rules/holding-without-named-dependency-is-standing-by-failure.md` — concrete artifact (tick shard + PR) = counter-reset condition #3; counter stays at #0
+- `.claude/rules/fighting-past-self-vs-peer-agent-distinguisher-fix-your-own-coordinate-on-peers-dont-punt-by-default.md` — peer-Alexa branch in operator root left untouched; isolated worktree used instead
+- `.claude/rules/claim-acquire-before-worktree-work.md` — isolated worktree off `origin/main` for substantive work; no contested-root touch
+- `.claude/rules/agent-worktree-hygiene-never-hold-main-never-step-on-operator-cleanup-on-pr-merge.md` — worktree off `--detach origin/main` (no main branch held); will be removed after PR merges
+- `.claude/rules/codeql-no-source-on-docs-only-pr-is-broken-commit-canary.md` — ls-tree HEAD = 62 verified post-worktree-add (matches origin/main); no canary corruption
+- `.claude/rules/zeta-expected-branch.md` — explicit-refspec push pattern will be used (no auto-resolution race)
+- `.claude/rules/substrate-or-it-didnt-happen.md` — tick shard IS the durable substrate that survives session exit + compaction