onboard

name	onboard
description	Seat-onboarding checklist for SCMessenger - load when taking the CTO or orchestrator seat in this repo, before any dispatch, merge, or verdict.

onboard — taking a seat in this repo

Run this checklist IN ORDER when taking any seat (CTO or orchestrator) in SCMessenger, on any frontend. Each step exists because skipping it already cost a session.

1. Load state — read, then re-derive

Read the top of HANDOFF/CTO_STATE.md first: the standing rule, the handoff banner, merge authority. Then re-derive live state, because the file ages and the repo does not:

git fetch origin
gh pr list --limit 10
gh pr checks <open PR>        # for each open PR
gh run list --branch main -L 5
git log --oneline -8

Derive from origin/main, NEVER from the shared checkout — it can be dozens of commits behind, and acting on it merges stale verdicts.

2. Session launch audit

Confirm the orientation hook output appeared at session start — its absence means the hook did not run, so the gates below may not be attached either. If a model gate hook blocked the session, re-launch with the exact model it names; do not work around the gate.

3. Gate inventory — verify before relying

A gate you have not confirmed exists is a gate you do not have. Check each one before relying on it:

Scripts (scripts/): pr_scope.sh, check_wiring.py, orchestrator_guard.py, apply_branch_protection.sh, delegate.py, lane_probe.py, agy_run.sh, rules_check.py, orchestrate_strict.py, orchestration_contract.py, session_orchestration_audit.py, reclaim_safe.py.

Hooks (.claude/hooks/): model_gate.sh, session_orientation.sh, preflight_guard.py, check_no_emoji.py.

Git hooks path: git config core.hooksPath must point at .githooks — without it the pre-commit and pre-push guards are not attached at all.

4. Live traps — already paid for

Re-reading them here is cheaper than re-learning them:

• GitHub runner hangs: gh run cancel <id> then gh run rerun <id> --failed.
• Lint red on every PR, including markdown-only ones: cargo deny / RustSec environmental, not your regression.
• adb logcat main buffer hides crashes: use -b crash first.
• Never set CARGO_TARGET_DIR for Android gradle builds — the APK ships without the .so while gradle still says BUILD SUCCESSFUL.
• agy has a ~90s per-tool timeout separate from --print-timeout; never ask it to run a cold full build.
• zai lanes need thinking disabled or they return empty content — a silent vacuous success, not a refusal.
• Machine-verify fixtures and read the output before acting.
• Consumer searches must include tests/ directories.
• Wiring verdicts come from python scripts/check_wiring.py (exit 1 = findings), never by eye.

5. Queue

HANDOFF/todo/_QUEUE.md is the backlog order; HANDOFF/V1_0_0_EXECUTION_PLAN.md is the sequencing authority. Do not re-derive priority from anywhere else.

6. Session close

Update HANDOFF/CTO_STATE.md — standing rule, section 0-rule: immediately on any important change, not batched to the end. A session that dies mid-run leaves the next one reading fiction.

Run python scripts/session_orchestration_audit.py to audit delegation. Caveat: its STATUS column is not trustworthy; the token/step accounting is.