Openrig user skill

OpenRig User

This is an as-built guide to the shipped rig CLI. Use current code and rig ... --help as ground truth if anything here ever conflicts with older planning docs.

Use the OpenRig builder guidance when changing OpenRig behavior, doctrine, or release posture.

Coordination trust boundary

Coordinate as openly as the trust boundary you actually control allows. Within a set of machines you own that already trust each other — they can reach each other's daemon URLs and the daemon itself requires no authentication — direct rig send, rig capture, and rig queue should just work. Don't invent bearer placeholders, allowlists, trust handshakes, or guest-reach restrictions the environment doesn't require.

Do not add or defend a restriction without naming the protected asset, the actual adversary, the blocked attack path, and the concrete consequence. Missing capability is not protection — repair the route, registration, runtime posture, or product defect directly. Arbitrary boundaries create constraint-induced circumvention: under goal pressure, agents build shadow transports, alternate credentials, and weaker proof instead of the direct authorized path. Keep only explicitly stated external or irreversible boundaries — public push / PR / publish, and destruction of canonical data.

Coordination primitives — when to use which

Three coordination surfaces, used together for forward-momentum work. Internalize this on first read — it shapes every turn you take in a rig.

rig send <seat> "<text>" — intra-pod direct messaging / nudges

Use when you need to ask a quick question or give a teammate context that does not carry handoff semantics. NOT for durable work. NOT for state that must survive across turns. The message lands in the target's pane; there is no durable queue record. The CLI prints Sent to ... (and Verified: yes/no with --verify); read the receipt and move on.

Example:

rig send dev-reviewer@example-project "The import report is ready; the durable handoff names its evidence." --verify

rig queue create --destination <Y> --tags <...> --body-file <path> — durable work item

Use for any substantive work that must not fall through chat — slice handoffs, guard verdicts, QA results, full-tip reviews, multi-item batches. Survives agent restarts. Tracked in the daemon SQLite schema. Surfaces in Project / queue views

• in the destination seat's inbox. Tag with mission / slice / gate / checkpoint so future-you (and any peer) can find it.

Body discipline: substantive bodies go through --body-file <path> (or - for stdin) — the purpose-built, corruption-safe surface (it kills the backtick-shell-corruption class for multi-line bodies). Do NOT inline a backtick-heavy or multi-line body via --body: rig queue create body parsing breaks on unescaped backticks and rejects flag-like tokens.

Example:

rig queue create \
  --destination dev-reviewer@example-project \
  --tags "mission:data-import,slice:import-report" \
  --body-file /tmp/import-report-handoff.md

rig queue handoff <qitem-id> --to <next> ... — hot-potato handoff

Use when you have completed your turn on a qitem and the work moves to the next owner. This is forward momentum. The ball passes to the destination seat; chain-of-record (the prior qitem id) is preserved so the verdict trail is intact; tags carry the selected work context forward. Gate tags describe checks actually selected for that work; they do not require a fixed sequence of roles.

Example:

rig queue handoff <qitem-id> \
  --to dev-reviewer@example-project \
  --tags "mission:data-import,slice:import-report" \
  --body-file /tmp/import-report-handoff.md

§1b doctrine — turn ends by passing the ball

A turn ends by passing the ball, never by going idle holding the slice waiting on a confirmation the selected process does not include. Follow the current mission-slice-sop: proportional owner checks are the default; independent review runs when selected, at the authored work boundary. Role names do not add per-commit guard, QA, or orchestration gates. Do the authorized work, run its selected checks, and return the outcome through durable custody.

Valid pauses are only:

• A genuine blocker — file a blocked-state qitem against the blocking peer or surface explicitly to orch.
• A scope-or-architecture question that requires owner input and changes the plan — surface to orch with the specific decision needed.

Implementing already-authorized work is neither of these. Proceed without phantom-gating on an imagined "next prompt" or "operator confirmation" that the process does not require.

Anti-patterns

• Using rig send for durable work → use rig queue create instead. Sends do not survive restarts and do not show up in queue/project views.
• Idle-holding a slice for an imagined "next prompt" or "operator confirmation" that the process does not require → pass the ball via rig queue handoff and proceed to the next slice or stand by for the inbound verdict. See the §1b doctrine above.
• Inlining a multi-line / backtick-heavy body into rig queue create --body → use --body-file /tmp/<descriptive-name>.txt (or - for stdin), the corruption-safe surface. The body parser does not tolerate raw backticks or flag-like tokens inline.

Runtime-Gated Coordination Primitives

OpenRig v0.3.1 is published publicly as @openrig/[email protected] and GitHub Release v0.3.1. It includes the bundled PL-004 Coordination Primitive System: Phase A rig stream / rig queue, Phase B rig project / rig view, Phase C rig watchdog, and Phase D rig workflow / workflow-keepalive.

These are shipped product surfaces in v0.3.x, but they require a compatible v0.3.x daemon and matching SQLite schema at runtime — the installed package version is not automatically the version of the daemon serving you. If a coordination command behaves unexpectedly, confirm the running daemon with rig whoami --json and daemon status before assuming a product bug.

Default posture:

• Treat daemon rig queue, rig stream, rig project, rig view, rig watchdog, and rig workflow as the product coordination surfaces when the active daemon is v0.2.0 or newer.
• Use daemon-backed rig queue for durable routing. update / show / list complement create / handoff for inspection and state changes; records in an unrelated store are not evidence that this daemon owns the work.
• If a daemon-backed coordination command fails, debug the command/runtime/schema edge directly; do not assume the right workaround is to drop back to a config-layer primitive.
• Do not perform daemon stop/start, production DB copy/mutation, release, publish, or other consequence-boundary actions unless the operator/workstream has granted that specific gate.

First-user workspace setup

When booting into a rig on a host where the workspace is unset, gap-ridden, or points at a stale layout, address that before substantive project work. The shipped surface is small + bounded — reach for the canonical commands rather than improvising.

Detect workspace state at boot

Agent-actionable when the daemon is reachable.

rig workspace validate --json
rig workspace validate <path> --kind <user|project|knowledge|lab|delivery> --json

rig workspace validate walks the workspace root and emits a structured frontmatter-gap report against the v0 contract. Exit code is non-zero when gaps exist (operators chain into hygiene fix loops). Default root is the current directory; pass a positional path to validate elsewhere. --kind scopes the contract to a specific workspace kind; omit for a kind-agnostic structural check.

If rig workspace validate reports a non-zero gapCount OR the workspace root is unset / unwritable, the workspace needs instantiation — see the next section.

Instantiate the canonical workspace scaffold

Agent-actionable. The operation is additive and preserves existing files.

rig config init-workspace
rig config init-workspace --root <path>
rig config init-workspace --dry-run --json

rig config init-workspace scaffolds the canonical workspace layout at the configured workspace.root (default ~/.openrig/workspace):

• missions/ — release missions + slices
• exhaust/ — project-local coordination exhaust
• SPEC.md — project intent
• project.yaml — project catalog selections and mission root
• workspace.yaml — project registration
• .gitignore — local OpenRig state and exhaust exclusions

--root <path> targets a non-default root for this call; --dry-run reports what would be created without writing. --force is deprecated compatibility and still preserves existing files.

Redirect the workspace root

Operator-gated when persistent. Agent-actionable when one-shot via env-var.

For a single command:

OPENRIG_WORKSPACE_ROOT=<path> rig <command> ...

For a persistent host-level redirect, the operator changes the config file or runs the setter:

rig config set workspace.root <path>

ConfigStore precedence: OPENRIG_WORKSPACE_ROOT env > config-file workspace.root > built-in default ~/.openrig/workspace. The same precedence governs OPENRIG_WORKSPACE_SPECS_ROOT → workspace.specs_root (default <workspace_root>/specs).

Prefer the env-var form for one-shot redirects (transparent to operators); reserve rig config set for changes the operator owns.

Build a workspace from scratch

Agent-actionable. Same surface as the canonical scaffold above; the workspace.root cascade handles non-existent host paths.

rig config init-workspace --root /path/to/new/workspace

The command additively creates any missing canonical entries and preserves every existing one; only a complete six-entry scaffold is a no-op. Run rig workspace validate /path/to/new/workspace --json after to confirm the contract holds.

Create a workflow inside an existing workspace

Authoring is operator-or-agent; validation + instantiation are agent-actionable.

Workflow spec files live at:

<workspace_root>/specs/workflows/<name>.yaml

<workspace_root> resolves via the ConfigStore precedence named above. There is no rig workflow create verb in v0.3.x — the spec YAML is authored directly. Template by hand from the documented schema, or copy a built-in starter from <openrig install>/dist/builtins/workflow-specs/ and adapt. Once written:

rig workflow validate <workspace_root>/specs/workflows/<name>.yaml --json

rig workflow instantiate <workspace_root>/specs/workflows/<name>.yaml \
  --root-objective "<one-line objective for the run>" \
  --created-by <your-session>@<your-rig> \
  --json

Both --root-objective <text> and --created-by <session> are REQUIRED on instantiate — omitting either yields a Commander required-option error before the daemon is contacted. --entry-owner <session> is an optional override for the entry-step owner; default routing is per the workflow spec.

validate returns a structured ok/error report; instantiate creates a workflow instance + entry-step qitem. Inspect existing surface state with:

rig workflow specs --json              # list registered specs (built-in + operator-authored)
rig workflow list --json               # list active workflow instances
rig workflow show <instanceId> --json  # inspect one instance
rig workflow project <instanceId>      # ADVANCE an instance — projects the next-step packet
rig workflow continue <instanceId>     # read-only inspector of an instance (does NOT advance it)

(Surface note — the current rig workflow command group registers 13 subcommands: validate, instantiate, project, list, specs, show, trace, continue, run, watch, route, resume, status. There is still no create verb — the spec YAML is authored on disk. project is the advancing verb (it projects the next-step packet); continue is a read-only inspector, NOT an advance — do not conflate them. The 13-verb set and the project-vs-continue semantics are verified against current product main d37a08ad (packages/cli/src/commands/workflow.ts, 13 registered .command(...) entries; the earlier "6-verb surface / continue-advances" claim here was stale). Verify individual subcommand flags with rig workflow --help.)

Permission policy — pick one at setup (onboarding)

OpenRig sets only a minimal usability floor on your harness permissions and otherwise stays out of the way — then it ships recommended policies you opt into. It never bakes a permission policy for you. On install / onboarding this is a required choice, presented as a top-level pick:

• POLICY MODE — pick a built-in policy and have it applied:

  • Locked — deny-by-default whitelist; untrusted rigs/work.
  • Standard ⭐ (recommended) — routine development including push is allowed; PR creation, publication, merge/release, force-push and destructive actions ask.
  • Open — allow-by-default; everything except explicitly-destructive, which ask.

  The built-in definitions ship as read-only policy spec files (Locked / Standard / Open); applying your pick is the job of the applying-a-permission-policy skill — it translates the chosen spec into your live harness config (Claude settings.json / Codex config.toml), interactively, showing the diff before it writes.

• YOLO MODE — done with permissions, just want it to work: OpenRig boots every seat with the harness full-bypass launch flag. No config policy is applied (the bypass overrides it). This is a deterministic OpenRig setting, not a skill.

• No choice = the floor — the minimal usability baseline (Claude acceptEdits / Codex workspace-only / Pi --no-approve), one consistent minimum, nothing more.

The floor and YOLO are launch flags OpenRig sets deterministically; the Locked / Standard / Open policies are config-file policies the skill applies (agent-driven, because harness config formats drift). A rig carries its chosen policy on its spec and boots with it — see Lifecycle → Bring a rig up. To (re)apply or change a policy, open applying-a-permission-policy.

v0.3.x Starter, Workspace, And Plugin Surfaces

OpenRig v0.3.0 adds rig agent-image, rig context-pack, rig workspace, and rig config init-workspace. (0.5.0: the rig context-pack alias is retired — the store + compose library is the single rig context noun; see "Context packs and paced delivery (0.5.0)".) It also shifts fresh-user starter guidance toward product-team for human-directed work and conveyor for workflow-oriented work. Treat demo as legacy/test content unless a task specifically asks for the old demo spec.

OpenRig v0.3.1 adds public package/source surfaces for Plugin Primitive v0, Claude Auto-Compaction Policy, migration 040_workflow_specs_diagnostic, Library Explorer finishing, Settings Destination Explorer, Dashboard/For You vellum refresh, storytelling adapter, and action outcome + inline error UX.

rig plugin is read-only at v0:

rig plugin list
rig plugin show <id>
rig plugin used-by <id>
rig plugin validate <path>

There is no rig plugin install verb in v0.3.1. Plugin installation remains explicit operator copy/symlink to $OPENRIG_HOME/plugins/<plugin-id>/.

The v0.3.1 package introduced opt-in Claude auto-compaction policy through policies.claude_compaction.* ConfigStore keys. A package version alone says nothing about a running daemon's configuration; inspect the selected instance before relying on a policy or its default.

Compatibility checks:

• rig down accepts a rig name or id. An ambiguous name matching more than one active rig is refused with matching ids; use the intended id.
• For queue/view JSON or limit differences, compare the installed command's help, the running daemon version and the actual response. A wrapper mismatch is not by itself a daemon-health failure, and historical workarounds are not current behavior guarantees.
• After a startup timeout, inspect status and logs before retrying; a timeout does not establish whether the underlying operation completed.

Recovery and Resilience (v0.3.4+)

v0.3.4's theme is Recovery + Resilience. The surfaces below compose into a single boot-to-running-rig path that survives crashes, hand-resumed sessions, profile-load drift, and partial workspace state without silently fudging status.

rig start — recovery entrypoint

rig start is the top-level recovery sequencer. It does not invent recovery; it composes existing primitives (daemon start + kernel verify + per-rig restore) into one call.

rig start                    # interactive: daemon + kernel + pick-and-restore
rig start --last             # headless: restore all rigs that were last running
rig start --all              # headless: restore all rigs with restore-usable snapshots
rig start --rigs <name> [<name>...]   # headless: restore only the named rigs
rig start --json             # JSON output for agents

Framing: rig start is the RECOVERY entry point, not the getting-started hero. The fresh-user boot hero remains rig up <starter> (typically rig up product-team). Reach for rig start after a host reboot, daemon restart, or any "bring my rigs back" moment.

rig reconcile-session — no-launch adopt of a hand-resumed session

When an operator has externally resumed an agent session (e.g. attached a shell, restarted a runtime by hand) and you want OpenRig to reconcile its lifecycle state without re-launching or sending input, use:

rig reconcile-session <session>
rig reconcile-session <session> --rig <rigId> --node <logicalId>
rig reconcile-session <session> --no-launch
rig reconcile-session <session> --json

This is a no-launch, no-input adopt. --rig/--node disambiguate when the canonical session name does not uniquely resolve. --no-launch is accepted for explicitness (it is the only mode this command has).

Five-term restore status vocabulary

The shipped restore vocabulary is intentionally honest. It surfaces in rig up / rig restore / rig ps. Use the term that fits — do not collapse to a generic "ok/failed":

• resumed — seat resumed from its original session/snapshot and is live.
• fresh-primed — seat opted into --fresh and was freshly started.
• awaiting-decision — zero-session honest state. There is no resumable session AND no --fresh opt-in was given; the seat is waiting for an operator decision. Previously fudged as failed; that was wrong — nothing is broken, the system is asking for input.
• attention_required — seat is in a state needing operator attention; not a transport failure. Clear via rig seat clear-attention once the attention has been resolved.
• failed — the send transport or launch genuinely failed.

This replaces the prior collapsed model (the v0.3.3 four-term vocabulary, in which rebuilt was a term, is retired).

rig seat clear-attention — audited reconcile of stuck attention

When a seat is stuck in attention_required, do NOT hand-edit SQLite to fake-clear the state. Use the evidence-gated, operator-attested, audited reconcile:

rig seat clear-attention <session>
rig seat clear-attention <session> --reason "operator attested: the operator re-authed, confirmed live"
rig seat clear-attention <session> --json

--reason <text> can acknowledge startup-status and subset-restore attention. It does not bypass full-restore continuity checks or an active pane-identity mismatch/missing-pane check; those run first. Successful identity re-verification can also clear coexisting startup or subset-restore attention. If neither earlier path clears attention, omitting --reason requires activity or send evidence. Startup and restore clears write their corresponding audit events; an identity-only clear updates the current binding and identity verdict without a clear event. Acknowledgment or responsiveness alone does not prove that the original conversation resumed.

A 422 response names the uncleared class and its failed check. If the recorded native token needs correction and you know the actual token, use rig seat set-resume-token <session> --token-stdin --reason <explanation>, then rerun rig seat clear-attention <session> to check the live evidence. The token update records operator provenance; it does not itself prove continuity. Stopping/relaunching a working seat is a separate disruptive operation, not a required cleanup or proof of resumed lineage.

Periodic snapshots — crash-insurance floor

The daemon ships a periodic-snapshot scheduler. It runs independently of teardown events and provides the crash-insurance floor that prior event-only/teardown-only snapshots could not provide on hard crashes.

Config keys (SettingsStore):

• snapshots.periodic.enabled — default true
• snapshots.periodic.interval_seconds — default 300
• snapshots.periodic.retention_keep — default 10

Newest-wins semantics: when both auto-periodic and auto-pre-down snapshots exist for a rig, the freshest of the two is selected for restore. A newer auto-periodic beats a stale auto-pre-down (the crash fix); a genuinely-fresher auto-pre-down still wins on graceful cycles. Manual snapshots are handled separately. See packages/daemon/src/domain/snapshot-repository.ts for the ordering rule.

The last-snapshot floor surfaces in rig ps / status output so an operator can see at a glance how recent the crash-insurance floor is.

Codex profile-v2 preflight

Profile-bearing launch/restore surfaces run a profile-load preflight. When profile-load issues are detected, the failure is honest and actionable (named error + remediation pointer) instead of a silent partial launch that would later look like an attention_required seat with no explanation.

cmux launch readiness

cmux-backed launches no longer produce silent partial workspace state. When parts of the workspace are missing, the launch surfaces partial state honestly and the UI exposes a one-click open-missing affordance.

(See also ## Token-Efficient Defaults (v0.4.0+) below for the compact-by-default read-command surface that lands in 0.4.0.)

Token-Efficient Defaults (v0.4.0+)

v0.4.0 flips the five most frequently invoked read-commands from firehose-by-default to compact-by-default, and rig queue list adopts the docker / kubectl read-command grammar. All defaults preserve breadth and capability — the firehose is one explicit flag away.

rig ps — scope-aware: bare rig ps = ALL rigs; --nodes = your rig only

rig ps                      # ALL active rigs on the host, one compact row each — RUN FIRST to know the world
rig ps --rig <name>         # one named rig's summary
rig ps --nodes --rig <name> # per-node (seat) detail for a NAMED rig — the normal drill-in
rig ps --nodes              # per-node detail — CURRENT rig ONLY (deliberately narrow; NOT the whole host)
rig ps --json               # compact JSON (default = a bare array of ALL non-archived rigs)
rig ps --nodes -A           # cross-rig node inventory (was v0.3.4 default)
rig ps --nodes --full       # complete record (the v0.3.4 per-node default shape; resumeToken VALUE retained here for downstream consumers)
rig ps --nodes --session <sess>  # narrow to one canonical session
rig ps --active             # opt-in active-state filter (does NOT change the all-states default — ps surfaces topology/readiness, where stopped/recoverable/attention IS the actionable signal)

v0.4.0 breadth + projection changes:

• Rig-level rig ps lists ALL active rigs (one row each — the cheap "know the world" view). The --nodes (per-seat) view defaults to your CURRENT rig only (from OPENRIG_SESSION_NAME's @<rig> suffix); --rig <name> picks another rig, -A widens --nodes to the whole host (expensive — prefer --fields/--limit).
• Per-node TL;DR projection (compact) is the default; --full returns the raw byte-equivalent passthrough. Daemon-side recoveryGuidance relocated to a guidance-by-reference map (no longer duplicated per-node) — even --full benefits.
• All-states stays default (different from rig queue list which defaults to active-only) — for ps, non-running states ARE often the actionable signal.
• Resume-token security: --full JSON emits resumeTokenPresent (boolean) — the actual resumeToken value also remains in --full for downstream consumers that legitimately need it, but the compact default never carries it (an orch glance never accidentally leaks token material).

⚠ SCOPE-AWARENESS — the one that bites: rig ps --nodes (and --nodes --json) show ONLY your current rig's seats, by design — the narrow default protects your context window. Narrow output is not the whole world. Never conclude "my rig is the only rig on the host" from a --nodes read — run bare rig ps FIRST (cheap; it lists every rig), then rig ps --nodes --rig <name> for the one you need. (-A widens to the whole-host node view; choose it when that breadth is needed.)

rig whoami — compact-by-default + --full (--verbose alias)

rig whoami                  # compact: identity + peers names + edges + transcript path
rig whoami --json           # compact JSON
rig whoami --full           # complete payload (v0.3.4 default shape)
rig whoami --verbose        # alias of --full

The first command every agent runs on boot AND every compaction-restore. The compact default keeps identity-recovery essentials (identity, peers names + sessionNames, edges directional kind + to.sessionName, transcriptPath). --full adds contextUsage, commands, peersNote, runtimeContext. The compact-default is an ALLOWLIST projection — future payload fields default to --full and cannot silently re-bloat the every-boot path.

rig queue list — active-frontier + docker/kubectl grammar

rig queue list                       # active, compact, CURRENT-rig (docker-ps default)
rig queue list -a                    # + closed/done history within current breadth (docker -a)
rig queue list -A                    # cross-rig breadth (kubectl -A)
rig queue list --full                # add body + chain-of-record + transition history
rig queue list -o json               # compact JSON (token-safe, machine-parseable)
rig queue list --full -o json        # full JSON
rig queue list --mine                # just the caller's items
rig queue list --destination <s>     # destined to <s>
rig queue list --source <s>          # sourced by <s>
rig queue show <qitemId>             # bounded single-item body preview
rig queue show <qitemId> --full      # complete body and chain fields

Four orthogonal axes (scope × history × field-breadth × encoding), all composable. STOP using bare rig queue list as the cross-rig firehose. Default is now active + compact + current-rig. Cross-rig history with full bodies is opt-in via -A -a --full; request only the breadth and fields needed for the question.

rig restore-check — summary + not-ready-only default + --full

rig restore-check               # summary counts + not-ready seats (with reasons) only
rig restore-check --full        # complete per-seat readiness across the fleet (v0.3.4 default)
rig restore-check --rig <name>  # narrow
rig restore-check --as <session>  # narrow to one seat

The summary retains not-ready seats and their reasons; --full adds ready-seat detail when needed. Scope the query before expanding its payload.

rig context — context-window usage viewer (0.4.x; REMOVED in 0.5.0)

rig context                # compact summary        (0.4.x only)
rig context --full         # complete current payload
rig context --rig <name>   # narrow to one rig
rig context --threshold 80 # filter to seats at/above 80%

Lower leverage than the others; keeps the read-command surface compact-by-default after the 0.4.0 upgrade. ⚠ 0.5.0: this usage viewer is removed entirely and the rig context name is reassigned to the context library (store + compose) — see "Context packs and paced delivery (0.5.0)" below. On a 0.5.0 host, bare rig context is the library, not this viewer.

Keep routine reads bounded

Choose scope, active/history breadth and fields before expanding a result. A status question usually needs identifiers, owner, state and reason; open the full body or artifact when it is relevant. Preserve full evidence on disk instead of repeatedly loading unchanged output. Compact defaults reduce reading cost; they do not remove the full-detail path or prove that nothing exists outside the scope.

rig scope mission|slice progress — deterministic progress updates

rig scope mission progress <mission> --add "<line>"   # append a progress line; --set replaces; --section <heading> (default Rail); --status active|done|blocked
rig scope slice progress <slice-path> --add "<line>"  # same flags: --add / --set, --section <heading>, --status active|done|blocked

Replaces hand-editing PROGRESS.md with markdown. Writes the canonical structure the OpenRig PROGRESS UI page reads. rig scope mission create + rig scope slice create now scaffold PROGRESS.md automatically.

rig scope mission|slice stage / verified / repair — deterministic maturity vocabulary

rig scope slice stage <slice> <new-stage>             # wip / provisional / established / canonical / superseded / retired
rig scope slice stage <slice> superseded --successor <id>  # superseded REQUIRES --successor (rejected otherwise)
rig scope mission stage <mission> <new-stage>         # same enum + rules at mission tier

rig scope slice verified <slice> --against "<source>" # stamp `verified: <today> against <source>`; --against MANDATORY
rig scope mission verified <mission> --against "<source>"

rig scope slice repair <slice>                        # idempotent repair: backfill PROGRESS.md, conform id/stage/verified, repair ghosts
rig scope mission repair <mission>                    # mission-tier idempotent repair

rig scope slice show <slice>                          # derives read-time effective-reliability from (stage × verified)
                                                      # — stale-`verified` `canonical` reported as effectively `provisional`

Composes with the progress command + scaffolding to update scope IDs and maturity vocabulary through rig scope. Agents update stage / verified / id through commands rather than hand-editing markdown and drifting. The --against MANDATORY rule on verified is the anti-stale keystone: bare timestamps are rejected because a bare timestamp is exactly what lets stale trackers lie while looking fresh. STOP hand-editing the stage / verified / id fields in scope frontmatter; use the new verbs. Existing missions / slices with id:null ghosts or missing PROGRESS.md are repaired idempotently via repair.

rig skill audit — skill cascade provenance

rig skill audit                  # human report of findings
rig skill audit --json           # structured findings
rig skill audit --severity warn  # stale + mirror-drift only
rig skill audit --rig <name>     # narrow to embedded skill copies for one rig

Read-only audit of the skill cascade. Detects missing / stale / self-referential / invalid-date / mirror-drift across the canonical skills workspace → product mirror → hub cwd → installed plugin chain. Findings route back to the lifecycle for shaped propagation runs. False-green prevention: when audit evidence is unavailable, the CLI emits unable-to-audit with exit code 2 rather than reporting clean.

rig seat clear-attention — extended to derived projection staleness

clear-attention also reaches restore-derived attention even when startupStatus=ready and sessionStatus=running. Full-restore attention requires the restore reconciler's exact native-token and usable-pane checks; --reason cannot replace them. Subset-restore attention can reach the attestation path when no active pane-identity class takes precedence. That path records operator_recovered with runtimeCwdVerified:false; it is an acknowledgment, not proof of resumed lineage. Without an explicit stored continuity outcome, inventory leaves continuity null (unverified in rig seat status) unless the same restore attempt has a matching receipt and reconciliation with strict native-token and usable-pane proof. Explicit stored outcomes remain historical facts; acknowledgment or responsiveness alone cannot infer resumed.

Native Codex session id capture

Codex seats can now record the real native session id from the Codex SessionStart hook instead of relying on scrape-shaped identity. Corroborate the id across the current hook payload, provider history and managed record before relying on it. A release introducing native capture does not prove that every existing seat uses it; retain any unavailable or conflicting identity evidence explicitly.

Codex resume preserves approval posture

Resuming a Codex seat preserves the launching seat's approval/sandbox posture and profile flags. Product-emitted resume commands carry the posture flags instead of silently falling back to implicit-deny or an unrelated profile.

Do not "fix" a resumed Codex seat by relaunching it with broader approvals unless the operator explicitly grants a bounded window. Verify the seat's active posture first, and preserve it when composing recovery commands.

rig seat set-resume-token --token-stdin

printf '%s' "$RESUME_TOKEN" | rig seat set-resume-token <session> --token-stdin

Use this command to set or restore a seat resume token. It replaces direct SQLite edits, rejects unauthorized writes and bad/null token false-ready paths, records redacted audit/provenance, and keeps token material out of command arguments, stdout, logs, and normal status rows. Use stdin, not an inline flag, when passing token material.

Core Loop

Most work in OpenRig reduces to this loop:

• recover identity: rig whoami (compact default; add --full only when you need the heavy payload)
• inspect inventory: rig ps --nodes (compact default; add --full only when you need the firehose)
• read context: rig transcript ..., rig ask ..., rig chatroom history ...
• act: rig send, rig capture, rig broadcast, lifecycle commands

Agent-Managed Apps

An agent-managed app is a deployable OpenRig unit made of:

• the software or service
• one specialist agent dedicated to that software

Treat the specialist as the domain delegate for that app. The current canonical example is:

• rig: secrets-manager
• pod: vault
• member: specialist
• logical ID: vault.specialist
• session: vault-specialist@secrets-manager

Typical operator loop:

rig up secrets-manager --cwd /path/to/project
rig ps --nodes --json
rig send vault-specialist@secrets-manager "Check Vault health and report back." --verify
rig env status secrets-manager
rig env logs secrets-manager

Cross-rig communication is valid when the target session resolves uniquely. Example:

rig send vault-specialist@secrets-manager "Read secret/data/dogfood and report the value." --verify

Use the specialist instead of teaching every peer the same app-specific toolchain. For Vault, ask vault.specialist to do secrets-domain work rather than improvising curl or Vault CLI usage in unrelated agents.

Identity and Recovery

Start here after launch, compaction, or confusion:

rig whoami --json

What it gives you today:

• identity: rig, logical ID, pod/member, session name, runtime
• peers and directional edges
• transcript info
• contextUsage when available

Flags:

rig whoami --session <name>
rig whoami --node-id <id>

If the daemon is unreachable but identity can still be inferred, --json may return a partial result instead of crashing.

WhoamiResult (v0.3.3+) carries a required peersNote field with three pointers the agent can use to navigate the rest of the rig from a cold start. The human-formatted CLI output preserves the literal Peers: line prefix verbatim (parser/test compatibility) and surfaces the clarifier in-band beneath it; the JSON form exposes peersNote directly for programmatic consumers.

Inventory and Monitoring

rig ps                      # ALL active rigs on the host, one compact row each (run FIRST to know the world)
rig ps --nodes              # compact node inventory (current rig)
rig ps -A                   # all-rigs breadth (was the pre-0.4.0 default)
rig ps --nodes --full       # complete per-node record (the firehose — opt-in)
rig ps --nodes --json       # compact JSON node inventory (add --full for the full record)

v0.4.0 flipped these to compact-by-default — see the rig ps compact-defaults section above; STOP using bare rig ps --nodes --json as a fleet-wide firehose (scope and detail are separate choices). The compact rig ps --nodes node inventory (add --full only when you need the complete record, -A for cross-rig breadth) carries, per node:

• session name
• runtime
• session/startup status
• restore outcome (compact: resumeTokenPresent boolean; the token VALUE is in --full)
• attach/resume commands
• latest error

Other health surfaces:

rig status
rig daemon status
rig config
rig preflight
rig doctor
rig env status <rig>
rig env logs <rig>
rig env down <rig>

Bounded agent self-scout

Use the typed health projection before reading raw coordination history. The default query is the current seat; widen deliberately when the evidence points beyond it:

rig health --json
rig health --rig <rig-id> --json
rig health --instance --json
rig health explain <finding-id> --json

Follow the returned stable finding ID and suggestedInspection. Use explain when the summary matters: it returns the same canonical record with its bounded window, freshness, literal detector rule, evidence references, and next inspection. Human output projects those same fields; it does not calculate a second score.

An empty result means only that no records matched the bounded query. It is not a healthy assertion. Stale, unavailable, contradictory, and indeterminate evidence stays explicit. Never read raw SQLite for a self-scout, and never turn a finding into an acknowledgement, notification, queue row, or remediation automatically: rig health is strictly read-only.

Transcript and Communication

Transcript access

rig transcript <session> --tail 100
rig transcript <session> --grep "pattern"
rig transcript <session> --json

Send to one session

rig send <session> "message"
rig send <session> "message" --verify
rig send <session> "message" --wait-for-idle <seconds>
rig send <session> "message" --raw
rig send <session> "message" --dangerously-interact --reason "<why>"
rig send <session> "message" --host <id>
rig send <session> "message" --json

The send-guard (v0.4.0) — the default is SAFE. A default rig send is guarded: it will NOT submit into an interactive prompt / permission block on the target pane. Flags:

• --verify — delivery evidence.
• --force — a back-compat no-op on the send DECISION: it never bypasses the interactive-prompt/permission guard and never changes whether a message is delivered (a mid-task/busy pane already sends-with-advisory by default). (It does NOT "bypass activity-risk checks" — that earlier teaching is retired.) It is not fully inert, though — it is still parsed solely to be rejected in combination with --wait-for-idle: rig send … --force --wait-for-idle <n> prints --wait-for-idle cannot be combined with --force, exits 1, and sends nothing. So do not read "no-op" as "--force --wait-for-idle is harmless"; that pairing errors. (Verified against current product main d37a08ad: the guard-bypass no-op is declared at send.ts and confirmed by runtime capture — a plain --force send delivers through the ordinary path; the --wait-for-idle rejection is enforced at send.ts, routes/transport.ts, and session-transport.ts, and confirmed by runtime capture — exit 1, nothing sent.)
• --wait-for-idle <seconds> — wait until the target is explicitly idle before sending. Cannot be combined with --force (that pairing is rejected: exit 1, nothing sent).
• --raw — send exact text/keystrokes without the From/To messaging envelope (still guarded against interactive prompts).
• --dangerously-interact --reason "<why>" — the ONLY override of the prompt/permission guard: deliberately drive an interactive prompt/permission block (implies --raw, requires --reason, audit-logged).
• --host <id> — send on a remote host declared in ~/.openrig/hosts.yaml (ssh hosts shell out; http hosts go CLI-direct to the remote daemon).
• --from <session> — deprecated and ignored; it does not select the sender. Sender identity comes from the current seat and transport provenance; cross-host envelopes use the durable local origin, not the supplied flag or a relay identity.
• --context <ref> (0.5.0) — attach a composed context pack/piece by ref (see "Context packs and paced delivery"). Small piece → send --context; a real pack → rig walk. The noun rig context composes the ref; the verb delivers it.

Durable work goes to the QUEUE, not send. rig send is an ephemeral message to a pane — it can be missed, and its delivery status is pane-render, not receipt. If you are assigning work, or the message is important enough that losing it would be a real bummer, use rig queue (below): it's durable, owned, tracked, and survives compaction and restart. Reach for send for a quick conversational nudge; reach for the queue for anything that must not get lost. Do not default to send for work — that's the most common mistake.

As of v0.3.3, content beginning with -- or - is safe: rig send <session> "content starting with -- or - is now safe" delivers literally. The daemon's send_text path carries an explicit -- end-of-options sentinel so tmux no longer parses dash-prefixed content as its own flags. The CLI surface itself is unchanged. For multi-line or large bodies handed off as durable work, use rig queue create --body-file <path> (- for stdin) — that's the queue-side surface, not rig send.

--verify delivery outcomes (v0.3.3+):

• delivered — text + Enter both succeeded and capture re-confirmed the body landed.
• rendered-unconfirmed — text + Enter both succeeded but capture could not re-confirm the body (TUI redraw race or scroll). The message landed; the post-send re-check could not prove it. Treat as landed-but-unconfirmable, NOT failure.
• failed — the send transport itself failed.

The legacy Verified: yes/no line is preserved verbatim (parser/test compatibility). A new Delivery: <outcome> line carries the named outcome above.

Observed operator nuance for --verify:

• Sent to ... + Verified: yes (Delivery: delivered) = strong positive delivery evidence.
• Sent to ... + Verified: no + Delivery: rendered-unconfirmed = the message landed; capture could not re-prove it. Don't blind-retry — check reply / rig capture / transcript before sending again.
• Sent to ... + Verified: no + Delivery: failed = send-transport failure.
• no Sent to ... line or a hard error = send failure.

When you get Verified: no, do not immediately retry blindly. First check one of:

• a direct reply from the target
• rig capture <session>
• transcript evidence
• queue/outbox state if the message asked for a durable handoff

Capture terminal output

rig capture <session>
rig capture <session> --lines 50
rig capture --rig <name>
rig capture --pod <name> --rig <name>
rig capture --rig <name> --json

Broadcast

rig broadcast --rig <name> "message"
rig broadcast --pod <name> "message"
rig broadcast "message"
rig broadcast --rig <name> "message" --json

Use rig broadcast sparingly — prefer rig send fan-out. Without --rig or --pod, broadcast targets every running session across ALL rigs (plus attached external_cli nodes) — the fastest way to cause a broadcast storm. Reserve rig broadcast for small rigs or a genuine all-hands emergency. For the normal "message several seats at once" case, use rig send, which scopes the fan-out and keeps the messaging envelope, the delivery/interactive-prompt guards, and per-recipient results:

rig send --to dev-impl@my-rig,dev-qa@my-rig "message to specific seats"   # named seats (comma-list or repeat --to)
rig send --pod dev "message to one pod"                                    # scoped fan-out
rig send --rig my-rig "message to one rig"                                 # scoped fan-out

Chatroom

rig chatroom send <rig> <message> [--sender <name>]
rig chatroom history <rig> [--topic <name>] [--after <id>] [--since <ts>] [--sender <name>] [--limit <n>] [--json]
rig chatroom wait <rig> [--after <id>] [--topic <name>] [--sender <name>] [--timeout <seconds>] [--json]
rig chatroom clear <rig>
rig chatroom topic <rig> <topic-name> [--body <text>] [--sender <name>]
rig chatroom watch <rig> [--tmux]

Key commands:

• send — post a message
• history — retrieve with composable filters (sender, since, after, topic)
• wait — block until new matching messages arrive (polls history, times out honestly)
• clear — delete all messages for the rig (destructive, rig-scoped)

See something, say something

OpenRig has an observation stream — the fleet's zero-friction institutional memory, mined for real product improvements. When you notice anything worth externalizing, say something and keep working:

• a bug, a rough edge, or something that needs fixing
• a feature idea or an improvement
• something that worked really well — a technique, tool, or pattern worth spreading
• an observation, positive or negative feedback, or something genuinely cool, productive, or funny

rig stream emit --source <your-session> --body "what you noticed"

That's the whole reflex. Don't decide where it goes or who it's for — the intake router triages (destination/type/urgency/tags are optional hints — --hint-type review|handoff|idea, --hint-urgency routine|urgent|critical, --hint-tags — never required). One command, then carry on; the value is the habit, not the polish. Don't overdo it, either: stream real signal, not narration — a good observation beats ten noisy ones. It's a passing thought you externalize, not a chore.

• topic — set a topic marker
• watch — SSE or tmux-based live stream

Roundtable protocol:

1. Inspect old room: rig chatroom history my-rig --limit 5
2. Save if needed: rig chatroom history my-rig --json > /tmp/old-room.json
3. Clear if needed: rig chatroom clear my-rig
4. Set topic: rig chatroom topic my-rig "ROUND START"
5. Post: rig chatroom send my-rig "position..." --sender <session>
6. Monitor: rig chatroom wait my-rig --timeout 120
7. Close: rig chatroom topic my-rig "ROUND CLOSED"

rig ask

rig ask <rig> "question"
rig ask <rig> "question" --json

Current shipped behavior:

• queries the daemon for evidence
• returns rig summary
• returns transcript excerpts
• may return chat excerpts
• returns insufficiency state and optional guidance

This is an evidence/context command. It is not a hidden second-LLM call.

rig auth — agent auth-profile management (v0.4.1, product-native)

Product-native switching of agent auth profiles from the CLI. The runtime is a flag (--runtime <codex>), not a command noun — never rig codex-auth.

rig auth status --runtime codex          # presence / mode / parseability / login-state (never prints token contents)
rig auth list --runtime codex            # saved profiles
rig auth save <profile> --runtime codex  # snapshot the auth FILE (mode-guarded), never echoes contents
rig auth switch <profile> --runtime codex
rig auth validate <profile> --runtime codex
rig auth seats … --runtime codex         # seat -> profile registry (metadata only; NOT proof of a live account)

Hard secret boundary: no token value is ever printed, logged, queued, streamed, or committed; status/validate report presence/mode/login-state only; seat labels are metadata, not live-account proof. MVP is --runtime codex; other runtimes use the same surface with a different --runtime, never a parallel command.

Context packs and paced delivery (0.5.0)

Compose context once, hand it to a seat cleanly. A library primitive plus a set of delivery flags. The rule that keeps the grammar coherent — internalize this one: the noun stores and composes; the verbs deliver. rig context never sends anything; delivery is only ever rig send / rig broadcast / rig walk / rig queue.

Version note: this describes the library surface introduced in 0.5.0. Check the installed command and serving daemon before relying on it. In 0.4.x, bare rig context was a context-window usage viewer (above); in 0.5.0 that viewer is removed and the rig context name belongs to the library here.

rig context — the store + compose library (never delivers)

Manage and compose context (any text/markdown) into reusable packs. Every piece and pack has a stable, path-like ref — you address context the way you address files (skills/claude-compaction-restore, reference/rig-spec.md).

rig context list                     # what's in the library
rig context show <ref>               # read a piece or pack
rig context add <source-dir>         # install an existing pack directory into the store
rig context preview <ref>            # assemble + show a pack WITHOUT delivering it
rig context sync                     # re-walk discovery roots, refresh the library index
rig context rm <ref>
rig context compose --out packs/<ref> --from <fileA> <fileB> ...   # ordered pieces -> a durable pack

• Sensible default store location; works unconfigured, can be pointed elsewhere later (another folder now; a machine or URL later).
• compose (v1) is honest ordered concatenation of named files into a durable pack with a ref — "here's a file, read a file."
• No delivery verb lives on the noun. To get a pack to a seat, hand its ref to a delivery verb below.

rig walk — paced delivery of a sequence

rig walk <seat> --through <ref | file ...> --pace 10s

Walk a seat through a pack: each piece is sent into the pane, spaced by --pace, so the agent processes between sends (the human paste → wait → paste rhythm). Its own top-level verb, push-direction — the walker leads and does not wait for replies; the spacing does the work. Reach for walk on onboarding, repriming, or a fleet update — anything absorbed in order rather than all at once.

The delivery grammar — send a ref, walk a pack, or attach it to a qitem

When	Verb
One thing, now	rig send <seat> --context <ref>
One thing, everyone	rig broadcast --rig <rig> --context <ref>
A sequence, absorbed	rig walk <seat> --through <ref> --pace 10s
Context riding a durable handoff	rig queue create … --body-context <ref>

• Rule of thumb: small piece → send --context; real pack → walk. An oversized send --context warns "this is walk-sized" instead of blasting the pane.
• --body-context snapshot rule: a qitem built from a ref stores the resolved content in its body plus the ref for provenance — the handoff carries what was actually sent, and a later library edit never silently rewrites a past handoff's history.
• The orchestrator habit — assign work with its context attached:

  rig context compose --out packs/qitem-brief --from <brief-file> <proof-file>
  rig queue create --destination dev-driver@build --body-context packs/qitem-brief --summary "…"
  

  Replace <brief-file> and <proof-file> with your existing local files. The curated context rides the durable handoff, survives compaction, and is auditable.

Skills tier vs context tier: skills are the HOT tier (ambient, finite, always-visible front-matter); context packs are the COLD tier (unbounded, fetched on instruction — "read rig context get onboarding-width"). Don't overrun the skill layer by using skills as context packs — that's what this primitive is for.

Lifecycle

Bring a rig up

rig up <source>
rig up <source> --plan
rig up <source> --yes
rig up <source> --cwd /path/to/project
rig up <source> --existing
rig up <source> --fresh <seat...>
rig up <source> --json

<source> can be:

• a rig spec path
• a .rigbundle path
• a bare name

Bare names are special:

• if they match a library spec, rig up launches from the spec library
• if they do not match a library spec, rig up treats the name as an existing-rig restore/power-on target
• if both exist, rig up fails loudly on ambiguity

Resume-original-by-default (v0.3.4+):

• For an existing rig, rig up <name> resumes each seat from its original session/snapshot by default (operation A). Seats that successfully resume report resumed.
• --fresh <seat...> is the per-seat opt-in for deliberate fresh-prime (operation B). Named seats are reported as fresh-primed.
• --existing forces existing-rig restore semantics on a bare name, bypassing library-spec resolution. Useful when a rig name collides with a library spec name.
• Example: rig up --existing my-rig --fresh dev-impl — resume everything in my-rig except dev-impl, which is freshly primed.
• Seats with no resumable session land in awaiting-decision (zero-session honest state, NOT failed); see the five-term restore vocabulary in "Recovery and Resilience" below.

--plan (v0.3.4+):

• rig up <source> --plan produces a read-only restore plan preview. It surfaces per-seat resume/fresh-prime intent and any awaiting-decision seats without mutating state. Honest async timeout: a stuck plan reports the timeout rather than hanging silently.

Current behavior notes:

• --target <root> is only for .rigbundle / package installation. It does not change agent cwd.
• rig up --cwd is shipped. rig up --cwd <path> sends a per-run cwd override for all members in that launch.
• local: agent_ref values resolve relative to the rig spec directory, not your shell cwd.
• if you copy a built-in spec elsewhere, keep its agents/ tree beside the YAML or rewrite those refs to path:/absolute/path
• rig specs add <directory> installs a full spec tree when the directory contains rig.yaml or agent.yaml.
• Permission policy: a rig carries a permission policy and boots with it (never changed on the fly). Default if none set = the minimum floor (Claude acceptEdits / Codex workspace-only / Pi --no-approve); otherwise a chosen built-in (Locked / Standard / Open) or deliberately none. When you spec or bring up a rig, decide its policy — apply it via applying-a-permission-policy (see also the onboarding menu, "Permission policy — pick one at setup").

Legacy/spec-specific surfaces still ship too:

rig bootstrap <spec> [--plan] [--yes] [--json]
rig requirements <spec> [--json]

Tear a rig down

rig down <rig>            # <rig> = rig name or id (active rig)
rig down <rig> --snapshot
rig down <rig> --delete
rig down <rig> --force
rig down <rig> --json

If --snapshot succeeds, human output includes the restore hint.

Archive a stopped rig (recoverable) — v0.3.3+

rig archive <rig> [--json]
rig unarchive <rig> [--json]

rig archive marks a stopped rig as archived (sets archivedAt) without discarding it. The rig is preserved for later restoration via rig unarchive, which clears archivedAt and returns the rig to the active set.

Archive vs delete:

• rig down --delete — permanent removal; not recoverable.
• rig archive — recoverable; the rig is hidden from the default active view but its record + snapshots are preserved.

Visibility in rig ps:

• rig ps — active rigs only (default).
• rig ps --include-archived — includes archived rigs, marked with *.

SSE events rig.archived / rig.unarchived drive Project / dashboard updates; consumers that depend on the rig list should subscribe rather than poll.

Environment services

rig env status <rig>
rig env logs <rig> [service]
rig env down <rig>

Use these for service-backed rigs and agent-managed apps. For secrets-manager, these are the fastest CLI surfaces for:

• confirming whether Vault is healthy
• reading Vault container logs
• stopping the Vault env without tearing down the specialist session first

Release management without killing live claimed sessions

rig release <rigId>
rig release <rigId> --delete
rig release <rigId> --json

Use rig release for adopted/claimed-session rigs when you want OpenRig to stop managing the rig but leave the tmux sessions alive. This is the safe recovery/reset surface for the "sessions still exist, management is broken or stale" case. If the rig contains OpenRig-launched nodes, rig release refuses loudly instead of pretending the mixed rig is safe to detach.

Snapshots and restore

rig snapshot <rigId>
rig snapshot list <rigId>
rig restore <snapshotId> --rig <rigId>

rig restore requires --rig <rigId>.

Claude Code autonomy note:

• unattended rig whoami on boot may require the local permission allow list to include Bash(rig:*)

Import/export and bundles

rig export <rigId> -o rig.yaml
rig import <path> [--instantiate] [--materialize-only] [--preflight] [--target-rig <rigId>] [--rig-root <root>]
rig bundle create <spec> -o out.rigbundle
rig bundle inspect <bundle>
rig bundle install <bundle> [--plan] [--yes] [--target <root>] [--json]

Legacy package surface

This still ships, but is explicitly marked legacy:

rig package validate <path>
rig package plan <path> [--target <dir>] [--runtime <runtime>] [--role <name>]
rig package install <path> [--target <dir>] [--runtime <runtime>] [--role <name>] [--allow-merge]
rig package list
rig package rollback <installId>

Discovery and Topology Mutation

Discover unmanaged tmux sessions

rig discover
rig discover --json
rig discover --draft

Bind a discovered session

rig bind <discoveredId> --rig <rigId> --node <logicalId>
rig bind <discoveredId> --rig <rigId> --pod <namespace> --member <name>

There is no shipped top-level rig claim command. The current adoption surface is discover, bind, adopt, and unclaim.

Self-attach the current shell or agent

rig attach --self --rig <rigId> --node <logicalId>
rig attach --self --rig <rigId> --node <logicalId> --print-env
rig attach --self --rig <rigId> --pod <namespace> --member <name> --runtime <runtime>

Use rig attach --self when the current agent should attach itself directly instead of going through discover + bind.

Current proven behavior:

• inside tmux: attaches as a normal tmux-backed node, preserving inbound rig send / rig capture
• outside tmux: attaches as external_cli
• --print-env prints the OPENRIG_NODE_ID and OPENRIG_SESSION_NAME exports for the current shell

Recommended flow:

rig attach --self --rig <rigId> --node <logicalId> --print-env > /tmp/openrig-self-attach.env
. /tmp/openrig-self-attach.env
rig whoami --json

Notes:

• for tmux-backed self-attach, rig whoami --json is the right verification
• for raw/external self-attach, rig ps --nodes --json is currently the more reliable verification surface
• if the current shell is outside tmux, pass --display-name <name> when you want a stable human session label recorded

Adopt a topology and bind live sessions

rig adopt <path> --bind <logicalId=tmuxSessionOrDiscoveryId>
rig adopt <path> --bind <logicalId=...> --bind <logicalId=...> --json
rig adopt <path> --bindings-file <bindings.yaml>
rig adopt <path> --bind <logicalId=...> --target-rig <rigId> --rig-root <root>

Use rig adopt when the sessions already exist and you want OpenRig to start managing them.

A bindings file is the durable map from authored logical IDs to live sessions. Shape:

bindings:
  dev1.impl2: dev1.impl2@rigged-buildout
  dev1.qa: dev1.qa@rigged-buildout

Spec + bindings is the proven recovery pair for adopted rigs. Spec gives OpenRig the intended topology. Bindings tells OpenRig which discovered live session belongs in each logical node.

Proven adopted-rig recovery workflow

This workflow is proven for the case where the external tmux sessions are still alive:

rig release <rigId> --delete
rig discover --json
rig adopt <spec.yaml> --bindings-file <bindings.yaml>

What this does:

• removes OpenRig management without killing the sessions
• re-discovers those same sessions as unmanaged
• re-attaches them to the topology defined by the spec + bindings

Important limits:

• this is for sessions still alive
• spec alone is not enough for adopted rigs; you also need bindings
• this does not yet mean OpenRig can recreate dead external sessions from nothing

Add unmanaged pods into an existing rig

This is the proven workflow when a rig is already managed, but a new pod was created outside OpenRig and you want to add it later:

rig adopt <pod-fragment.yaml> --bindings-file <pod.bindings.yaml> --target-rig <rigId>

Use this when:

• the target rig already exists
• the new sessions are live and visible in rig discover --json
• you want additive topology growth, not a full rebuild

What to prepare:

• a pod fragment spec with only the new pod
• a bindings file mapping the new logical IDs to the live session names

Verification loop:

rig discover --json
rig adopt <fragment.yaml> --bindings-file <bindings.yaml> --target-rig <rigId>
rig ps --nodes --rig <rigId>   # the target rig's nodes (--nodes alone = your current rig)
rig export <rigId> -o rig.yaml

Success looks like:

• the new sessions stop appearing in rig discover
• the new logical IDs appear in rig ps --nodes --rig <rigId>
• rig export includes the new pod

Mixed-origin rigs are allowed

One rig can contain both:

• adopted nodes bound from already-running sessions
• OpenRig-launched nodes created later with rig expand / rig launch

Current safety rule:

• rig release is for claimed/adopted-only rigs
• if a rig contains launched nodes, rig release fails with contains_launched_nodes

Manager-assisted recovery

The proven operator pattern is:

• keep one OpenRig manager session outside the rig it manages
• address the target by rig name, not cached rig ID
• find the target rig with bare rig ps (lists all rigs), then resolve its owner from rig ps --nodes --rig <target> (a bare --nodes read is your current rig only, not the target's)
• send the manager the spec path, bindings path, and verification steps with rig send

This lets ordinary agents ask the manager for OpenRig help instead of every agent needing to be an OpenRig expert.

Add/remove running topology parts

rig grow <rig-id> <member...> [--pod <pod> | --new-pod <pod>] [--runtime <runtime>] [--cwd <path>] [--json]
rig expand <rig-id> <pod-fragment-path> [--rig-root <path>] [--json]
rig launch <rigId> <nodeRef> [--json]
rig launch <rigId> --seats <a,b,c> [--hold-reason <text>] [--json]
rig remove <rigId> <nodeRef> [--json]
rig shrink <rigId> <podRef> [--json]
rig unclaim <sessionRef> [--json]

rig grow is the simplest way to add seats: no YAML, the default agent spec, and one runtime and working directory for the named seats (--new-pod creates a pod for them). Check rig grow --help on your installed version. Use a fragment with rig expand (a pod) or rig add (one member) when a seat needs an explicit model, a permission policy, a different agent spec or role profile, per-seat runtime or cwd, or startup files.

Node-granular managed partial restore (v0.3.4+):

• rig launch <rigId> <nodeRef> relaunches a single seat by logical id or node id through orchestration.
• rig launch <rigId> --seats <a,b,c> relaunches a comma-separated subset of seats.
• --hold-reason <text> records a reason for holding non-target seats during the partial launch.
• This is a SUPPORTED managed path. The prior pod_aware_launch_unsupported dead-end is retired; pod-aware narrow launch now goes through this surface rather than ad-hoc rebuilds.

Add a member to an existing pod — v0.3.3+

rig add <rig-id> <pod-namespace> <member-fragment-path> [--json]

rig add is the top-level verb for the add_member converge op. It adds a single member to an existing pod from a YAML/JSON member fragment file. The daemon resolves the named pod, validates the member, runs preflight, and launches the member in place.

HTTP outcomes:

• 201 — member added; per-node launch state included in the response.
• 400 — validation_failed or preflight_failed (the fragment or its launch posture is rejected before any state change).
• 409 — member_conflict (a member with that identity already exists in the pod).

Use rig add when you want additive growth inside a pod without re-running the full rig expand pod-fragment path or rebuilding the rig.

Specs and Validation

Validate specs

rig spec validate <path> [--json]
rig spec preflight <path> [--rig-root <root>] [--json]
rig agent validate <path> [--json]

Spec library

rig specs ls [--kind <kind>] [--json]
rig specs show <name-or-id> [--json]
rig specs preview <name-or-id> [--json]
rig specs add <yaml-or-directory> [--json]
rig specs sync [--json]
rig specs remove <name-or-id> [--json]
rig specs rename <name-or-id> <new-name> [--json]

MCP

rig mcp serve [--port <port>]

Current shipped MCP tools:

• rig_up
• rig_down
• rig_ps
• rig_status
• rig_snapshot_create
• rig_snapshot_list
• rig_restore
• rig_discover
• rig_bind
• rig_bundle_inspect
• rig_agent_validate
• rig_rig_validate
• rig_rig_nodes
• rig_send
• rig_capture
• rig_chatroom_send
• rig_chatroom_watch

Troubleshooting and Weird States

When the CLI behaves strangely, use the smallest truthful check first:

rig whoami --json
rig daemon status
rig ps --nodes --json

Specific operator rules:

• Sent to ... + Verified: no is ambiguous delivery, not automatic failure. Check reply, rig capture, transcript evidence, or queue/outbox state before retrying.
• partial rig whoami --json can happen when identity is still inferable but the daemon-backed path is degraded.
• the unified-exec-process warning is a host/tooling-layer signal, not automatic proof that the OpenRig topology is unhealthy.

If you hit the unified-exec warning, inspect for stale one-shot helpers before touching live seats:

ps -axo pid,ppid,command | rg 'tmux send-keys|rig queue create|tmux attach|codex|claude'

Safe cleanup target:

• orphaned one-shot wrappers like tmux send-keys ...

Do not mass-kill:

• tmux attach ...
• codex ...
• claude ...

JSON and Error Posture

Design assumptions that hold in the shipped CLI:

• many operator commands support --json
• error messages are intended to say what happened, why it matters, and what to do next
• daemon-backed commands fail loudly when the daemon is stopped or unhealthy
• restore failure is not something you should silently reinterpret as success

After-Compaction Recovery Checklist

1. rig whoami --json
2. rig transcript <your-session> --tail 100
3. rig ps — lists ALL rigs on the host (know the world FIRST); then rig ps --nodes --rig <your-rig> for your seats. ⚠ rig ps --nodes --json alone is your CURRENT rig only — do NOT mistake it for the whole host (a freshly-compacted agent has no other context to catch the lie).
4. rig chatroom history <rig> --limit 50

Commands That Do Not Exist

Do not assume these exist unless the shipped help starts listing them:

• rig claim
• rig blame
• rig replay