mailbox-worker-execution

name	mailbox-worker-execution
description	Mailbox worker execution workflow for agents that claim dispatch cards, complete scoped work, run required checks, and report done or blocked with evidence.
argument-hint	<ATM context>
charter-invariants-injected	true

Mailbox Worker Execution

Use this skill for worker intake threads that receive or claim mailbox dispatch cards from a captain, broker, or Team Agents lane.

The worker's job is not to acknowledge the card. The worker's job is to read the card fully, complete the required scoped work, run required validators or checks, and only then report completion. If the required work cannot be finished, report a blocker honestly.

Actor Identity Handoff Gate

Before any next --claim, worker claim, batch checkpoint, tasks ... --actor, or governed git ... command, resolve this agent's explicit actor id.

• If this is a new editor, new agent, takeover, or uncertain identity state, run node atm.mjs identity clear --json before claiming.
• Set an actor-scoped identity before taking authority: node atm.mjs identity set --actor "$ATM_ACTOR_ID" --editor <editor-id> --git-name "<git user.name>" --git-email "<git user.email>" --json.
• Never treat repo default identity as authority. It is only a stale-prone hint and may belong to the previous agent.
• Do not claim, commit, or report as another actor unless ATM returned an explicit takeover route for that actor and task.

Worker Intake Rule

Before claiming a dispatch, identify the worker actor id for this editor/thread. If this worker is taking over a reused editor, reused worktree, or previous agent's mailbox, clear stale default identity first and set the worker's own actor-scoped identity.

Do not inherit the captain's identity. Do not use a repo default identity as permission to claim, edit, close, report, or commit.

First Command

node atm.mjs next --prompt "$ARGUMENTS" --json

After every next --prompt or next --claim response, read evidence.nextAction.playbook before editing, closing, or committing.

Core Rule

Treat the active dispatch card as the authority. Follow its scope, deliverables, validators, report contract, and write boundary.

Team Agents Worker Rule

If the dispatch comes from a Team Agents lane, the worker remains bounded even when the Team runtime used team start --execute:

• Do not self-close, self-commit, or claim task.lifecycle / git.write.
• Respect L1 through L5 role boundaries and only perform the role assigned to this worker.
• If the report contains broker-conflict-blocked, stop and report the blocker; do not continue through local edits or hook bypass.
• Include atm.teamProviderRunArtifact.v1, atm.reviewAgentSignature.v1, real observability events, or knowledge.query output when those are the required evidence surfaces for the role.

Completion Rule

Report completion only when the required work is actually finished. Do not mark done merely because the card was read, claimed, one command was run, one check passed, or a report body was drafted.

If uncertain whether the card is complete, the safe default is to report what remains and mark the work blocked or partial instead of done.

Report Rule

When work is complete, include command-backed evidence when required, list what changed, and state validator PASS/FAIL clearly. Do not send thin reports such as ok, done, or PASS without details.

Handoff

node atm.mjs handoff summarize --task "$ARGUMENTS" --json

Charter Invariants

• INV-ATM-001 ??No second registry (enforcement: gate, breaking change: yes) Rule: A host project must not create a second AtomicRegistry implementation outside of packages/core or introduce a parallel ID allocation, version tracking, or registry promotion path.
• INV-ATM-002 ??Lock before edit (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: no) Rule: No governed file mutation may occur without a valid ScopeLock recorded in .atm/locks/ for the current WorkItem. Agents must call atm lock before editing files.
• INV-ATM-003 ??Schema-validated promotion only (enforcement: gate, breaking change: yes) Rule: An UpgradeProposal must pass all automatedGates (including JSON Schema validation) before promotion. Direct registry mutation that bypasses the UpgradeProposal path is forbidden.
• INV-ATM-004 ??No competing highest authority (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: yes) Rule: No host project rule, profile, or configuration may declare itself to have authority equal to or higher than the AtomicCharter. Any rule that contradicts an invariant must go through a charter waiver proposal.
• INV-ATM-005 ??Host rule amendments require waiver flow (enforcement: waiver-required, breaking change: no) Rule: When a host project rule conflicts with a charter invariant, the host must submit a behavior.evolve UpgradeProposal with a charterWaiver field and a linked HumanReviewDecision. Silent override is not permitted.
• INV-ATM-006 ??Framework work tracking stays target-local (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: yes) Rule: The framework repository must not host downstream adopter planning queues or project-specific work tracking artifacts. ATM framework-development tasks may live in the framework repository only as ATM-managed .atm/history/tasks ledger records with CLI transition evidence.
• INV-ATM-007 ??Public framework docs remain English-only (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: yes) Rule: Public contributor-facing documentation in the framework repository must remain English-only and repository-neutral. Non-English planning notes, local experiments, or downstream operating guidance must live in the coordinating host workspace unless they are translated into neutral English framework documentation.
• INV-ATM-008 ??Broker tickets, not refusals (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: no) Rule: Every governed shared-write gate (runner-sync, build windows, release mirrors, git commit, projection regeneration) must respond with a broker ticket - execute now, enqueue with position, or batch into a shared write window - never a bare refusal. Reads and private writes (own ledger, evidence, task events, lane sessions) never queue. The only standing exceptions are the four owner-ruled cases in docs/governance/parallel-governance-charter.md; any new serialization point requires an explicit project-owner ruling before it ships.
• INV-ATM-009 ??Generalized repair and data-driven policy (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: no) Rule: Any code logic change, bug fix, or governance rule change must first be designed as the most general rule that correctly explains the observed failure class. Hard-coded special cases are allowed only with recorded evidence that the general rule is not currently safe, feasible, or economical, and that the exception is bounded and reversible. Data-shaped behavior, including thresholds, mappings, allowlists, routing choices, telemetry classifications, prompts, message text, fixtures, and domain content, must first be modeled outside control flow through schemas, registries, configuration, observed counters, or compact digest evidence instead of embedded changeable numbers or strings. The generalized solution must remain observable, testable, and no broader than the evidence supports.
• INV-ATM-010 ??Single canonical worktree and compose-first shared writes (enforcement: doctor, breaking change: no) Rule: Normal governed parallel development uses one canonical worktree, base, and HEAD. A shared physical file is compose-eligible rather than a file lock: workers declare bounded atom/CID/content-anchor/source-range intents and submit proposals, while the broker, format adapter, and transactional composer decide compose, revalidation, escalation, or queue. A neutral steward is the only shared-file writer and shared delivery records member attribution. Queueing or revalidation is a fallback for a true logical conflict, stale base/CAS failure, unsupported adapter, or fairness bound. AI workers must not use Git branches, detached worktrees, alternate indexes, merges, or rebases as normal concurrency/isolation mechanisms. The closed exceptions are emergency/anomaly recovery, historical read-only discrimination, and non-development sealed packaging; each requires a named receipt and cannot perform normal governed contribution writes.