feat: add three-tier agent lifecycle (draft, private, shared)

.agents/AGENTS.md

@@ -213,6 +213,16 @@ See `subagent-index.toon` for complete listing of agents, subagents, workflows,
 
 **Strategy**: Read subagents on-demand when tasks require domain expertise. This keeps context focused.
 
+**Agent tiers** (user-created agents survive `aidevops update`):
+
+| Tier | Location | Purpose |
+|------|----------|---------|
+| **Draft** | `~/.aidevops/agents/draft/` | R&D, experimental, auto-created by orchestration tasks |
+| **Custom** | `~/.aidevops/agents/custom/` | User's permanent private agents |
+| **Shared** | `.agents/` in repo | Open-source, distributed to all users |
+
+Orchestration agents can create drafts in `draft/` for reusable parallel processing context. See `tools/build-agent/build-agent.md` for the full lifecycle and promotion workflow.
+
 **Progressive disclosure by domain**:
 
 | Domain | Read |
@@ -293,11 +303,16 @@ Import community skills: `aidevops skill add <source>` (→ `*-skill.md` suffix)
 ## Working Directories
 
 ```text
-~/.aidevops/.agent-workspace/
-├── work/[project]/    # Persistent project files
-├── tmp/session-*/     # Temporary session files
-├── mail/              # Inter-agent mailbox (SQLite: mailbox.db)
-└── memory/            # Cross-session patterns (SQLite FTS5)
+~/.aidevops/
+├── agents/                    # Deployed agent files
+│   ├── custom/                # User's private agents (survives updates)
+│   ├── draft/                 # Experimental/R&D agents (survives updates)
+│   └── ...                    # Shared agents (deployed from repo)
+└── .agent-workspace/
+    ├── work/[project]/        # Persistent project files
+    ├── tmp/session-*/         # Temporary session files
+    ├── mail/                  # Inter-agent mailbox (SQLite: mailbox.db)
+    └── memory/                # Cross-session patterns (SQLite FTS5)
 ```
 
 ## Browser Automation

.agents/tools/ai-assistants/headless-dispatch.md

@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ tools:
 - Tasks requiring human-in-the-loop decisions mid-execution
 - Single quick questions (just use `opencode run` without server overhead)
 
+**Draft agents for reusable context**: When parallel workers share domain-specific instructions, create a draft agent in `~/.aidevops/agents/draft/` instead of duplicating prompts. Subsequent dispatches can reference the draft. See `tools/build-agent/build-agent.md` "Agent Lifecycle Tiers" for details.
+
 <!-- AI-CONTEXT-END -->
 
 ## Architecture

.agents/tools/ai-orchestration/overview.md

@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ git clone https://github.com/openprose/prose.git ~/.config/opencode/skill/open-p
 
 **Port Conflict Resolution**: All helper scripts integrate with `localhost-helper.sh` for automatic port management. If a port is in use, an alternative is automatically selected.
 
+**Draft agents**: Orchestration tasks that discover reusable patterns should create draft agents in `~/.aidevops/agents/draft/`. These can be promoted to private (`custom/`) or shared (`.agents/`) after review. See `tools/build-agent/build-agent.md` "Agent Lifecycle Tiers".
+
 <!-- AI-CONTEXT-END -->
 
 ## Decision Matrix

.agents/tools/build-agent/build-agent.md

@@ -823,6 +823,140 @@ Main agents provide overview and point to subagents for details (progressive dis
 | `server-patterns.md` | Registering tools, resources |
 ```text
 
+### Agent Lifecycle Tiers
+
+When creating an agent, determine which tier it belongs to. This affects where it lives, whether it survives updates, and whether it gets shared.
+
+| Tier | Location | Survives `setup.sh` | Git Tracked | Purpose |
+|------|----------|---------------------|-------------|---------|
+| **Draft** | `~/.aidevops/agents/draft/` | Yes | No | R&D, experimental, auto-created by orchestration |
+| **Custom** | `~/.aidevops/agents/custom/` | Yes | No | User's permanent private agents |
+| **Shared** | `.agents/` in repo | Yes (deployed) | Yes | Open-source, submitted via PR |
+
+**When creating an agent, ask the user:**
+
+```text
+Where should this agent live?
+1. Draft  - Experimental, for review later (draft/)
+2. Custom - Private, stays on your machine (custom/)
+3. Shared - Add to aidevops for everyone (PR to .agents/)
+```
+
+#### Draft Agents
+
+Draft agents are created during R&D, orchestration tasks, or exploratory work. They are intentionally rough and expected to evolve.
+
+**When to create a draft:**
+- An orchestration task needs a reusable subagent for parallel processing
+- Exploring a new domain and capturing patterns as you go
+- A Task tool subagent would benefit from persistent instructions across sessions
+
+**Draft conventions:**
+- Place in `~/.aidevops/agents/draft/`
+- Include `status: draft` and `created` date in frontmatter
+- Use descriptive filenames: `draft/{domain}-{purpose}.md`
+
+```yaml
+---
+description: Experimental agent for X
+mode: subagent
+status: draft
+created: 2026-02-07
+tools:
+  read: true
+  write: false
+  edit: false
+  bash: false
+  glob: true
+  grep: true
+---
+```
+
+**Promotion workflow:**
+
+After a draft proves useful, log a TODO item for review:
+
+```text
+- [ ] tXXX Review draft agent: {name} - promote to custom/ or .agents/ #agent-review
+```
+
+Then decide:
+
+1. **Promote to Custom** -- Move to `~/.aidevops/agents/custom/`, remove `status: draft`
+2. **Promote to Shared** -- Move to `.agents/` in the repo, refine to framework standards, submit PR
+3. **Discard** -- Delete from `draft/` if no longer useful
+
+#### Custom (Private) Agents
+
+Custom agents are the user's permanent private agents. They are never shared and never overwritten by `setup.sh`.
+
+**When to use custom:**
+- Business-specific workflows (your company's deploy process)
+- Personal preferences (your coding style agent)
+- Client-specific agents (per-project orchestration)
+- Agents containing proprietary knowledge
+
+**Custom conventions:**
+- Place in `~/.aidevops/agents/custom/`
+- Follow the same structure as shared agents (frontmatter, AI-CONTEXT blocks)
+- Organize with subdirectories if needed: `custom/mycompany/`, `custom/clients/`
+
+#### Shared Agents
+
+Shared agents live in `.agents/` in the aidevops repository and are distributed to all users via `setup.sh`.
+
+**When to share:**
+- The agent solves a general problem others would face
+- It follows framework conventions (frontmatter, quality standards)
+- It doesn't contain proprietary or personal information
+
+**Submission process:**
+1. Create a feature branch: `wt switch -c feature/agent-{name}`
+2. Place the agent in the appropriate `.agents/` location
+3. Follow the Agent Design Checklist (see above)
+4. Submit a PR to the aidevops repository
+
+#### Orchestration and Task Agents Creating Drafts
+
+Agents running orchestration tasks (via the Task tool, Ralph loop, or parallel dispatch) **can and should** create draft agents when they identify reusable patterns. This is a key mechanism for the framework to evolve.
+
+**When an orchestration agent should create a draft:**
+- A subtask requires domain-specific instructions that would be reused
+- Parallel workers need shared context that doesn't fit in a single prompt
+- A complex workflow has emerged that should be captured as a repeatable agent
+- The same Task tool prompt is being duplicated across multiple invocations
+
+**How orchestration agents create drafts:**
+
+```bash
+# Write the draft agent
+cat > ~/.aidevops/agents/draft/data-migration-validator.md << 'AGENT'
+---
+description: Validates data migration between PostgreSQL schemas
+mode: subagent
+status: draft
+created: 2026-02-07
+source: auto-created by orchestration task
+tools:
+  read: true
+  bash: true
+  glob: true
+  grep: true
+---
+
+# Data Migration Validator
+
+[Agent instructions captured from the orchestration context...]
+AGENT
+```
+
+**After creating a draft, the orchestration agent should:**
+1. Log a TODO item: `- [ ] tXXX Review draft agent: data-migration-validator #agent-review`
+2. Reference the draft in subsequent Task tool calls instead of repeating instructions
+3. Note the draft's existence in its completion summary
+
+This creates a natural feedback loop: orchestration discovers patterns, drafts capture them, humans review and promote the useful ones.
+
 ### Deployment Sync
 
 Agent changes in `.agents/` require `setup.sh` to deploy to `~/.aidevops/agents/`:

setup.sh

@@ -2093,21 +2093,49 @@ deploy_aidevops_agents() {
     # Create target directory and copy agents
     mkdir -p "$target_dir"
 
-    # If clean mode, remove stale files first
+    # If clean mode, remove stale files first (preserving user directories)
     if [[ "$CLEAN_MODE" == "true" ]]; then
-        print_info "Clean mode: removing stale files from $target_dir"
+        print_info "Clean mode: removing stale files from $target_dir (preserving custom/, draft/)"
+        # Preserve user-managed directories before clean
+        local -a preserved_dirs=("custom" "draft")
+        local tmp_preserve="$(mktemp -d)"
+        if [[ -z "$tmp_preserve" || ! -d "$tmp_preserve" ]]; then
+            print_error "Failed to create temp dir for preserving custom/draft agents"
+            return 1
+        fi
+        local preserve_failed=false
+        for pdir in "${preserved_dirs[@]}"; do
+            if [[ -d "$target_dir/$pdir" ]]; then
+                if ! cp -R "$target_dir/$pdir" "$tmp_preserve/$pdir"; then
+                    preserve_failed=true
+                fi
+            fi
+        done
+        if [[ "$preserve_failed" == "true" ]]; then
+            print_error "Failed to preserve custom/draft agents; aborting clean"
+            rm -rf "$tmp_preserve"
+            return 1
+        fi
         rm -rf "${target_dir:?}"/*
+        # Restore preserved directories
+        for pdir in "${preserved_dirs[@]}"; do
+            if [[ -d "$tmp_preserve/$pdir" ]]; then
+                cp -R "$tmp_preserve/$pdir" "$target_dir/$pdir"
+            fi
+        done
+        rm -rf "$tmp_preserve"
     fi
 
     # Copy all agent files and folders, excluding:
     # - loop-state/ (local runtime state, not agents)
+    # - custom/ (user's private agents, never overwritten)
+    # - draft/ (user's experimental agents, never overwritten)
     # Use rsync for selective exclusion
     if command -v rsync &>/dev/null; then
-        rsync -a --exclude='loop-state/' "$source_dir/" "$target_dir/"
+        rsync -a --exclude='loop-state/' --exclude='custom/' --exclude='draft/' "$source_dir/" "$target_dir/"
     else
-        # Fallback: copy then remove loop-state
-        cp -R "$source_dir"/* "$target_dir/"
-        rm -rf "$target_dir/loop-state" 2>/dev/null || true
+        # Fallback: use tar with exclusions to match rsync behavior
+        (cd "$source_dir" && tar cf - --exclude='loop-state' --exclude='custom' --exclude='draft' .) | (cd "$target_dir" && tar xf -)
     fi
 
     if [[ $? -eq 0 ]]; then