AGENTS.md does not document the next-branch workflow, so every agent defaults to branching off main #94

New Issue

clawbot · 2026-09-03T15:14:15+02:00

clawbot commented

2026-09-03 15:14:15 +02:00

Problem

AGENTS.md is the file every agent reads before touching this repo, and it says nothing about the branching model. It documents only make fmt / make test / make lint, commit, and push.

The actual model, per owner ruling (sneak, 2026-08-10, recorded on #91):

branch and pr per issue, landing on next, squash merged by manager on successful review. next is always ready for me to merge to main without notice.

Because that is written down only in a closed issue's comment thread, tooling and agents fall back to the default assumption: branch off main, PR into main. main is a protected branch, so a PR opened that way is wrong-based and has to be caught and redone.

This is not hypothetical — it is currently corrected by hand on every single dispatch. Three workers were dispatched on 2026-09-03 and all three needed an explicit override telling them to branch off next and target next. The one time that override is forgotten, the PR silently targets a protected branch.

Definition of done

AGENTS.md has a Branching section stating plainly:
- Branch off next, never off main.
- Open PRs with base next. One branch and one PR per issue.
- main is protected and is only ever updated by the milestone PR from next, which sneak merges.
- next must stay green and mergeable to main without notice; feature branches may be red.
- Pull and rebase on next immediately before pushing, resolving conflicts yourself. TODO.md is a known conflict hotspot when units land concurrently.
The commit-message convention is stated: each squashed commit ends with (closes #N).
The stale FORMAT.md path reference in the Repository-Specific Notes is left alone here — #74 owns that move and will update it. Do not race it.

Notes

Keep this short and imperative. AGENTS.md is read by every agent on every task; it is not the place for rationale. The rationale lives in #91.

Commit title must end with (closes #94) — confirm the number this issue actually receives before committing.

## Problem `AGENTS.md` is the file every agent reads before touching this repo, and it says nothing about the branching model. It documents only `make fmt` / `make test` / `make lint`, commit, and push. The actual model, per owner ruling (sneak, 2026-08-10, recorded on https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues/91): > branch and pr per issue, landing on next, squash merged by manager on successful review. next is always ready for me to merge to main without notice. Because that is written down only in a closed issue's comment thread, tooling and agents fall back to the default assumption: branch off `main`, PR into `main`. `main` is a protected branch, so a PR opened that way is wrong-based and has to be caught and redone. This is not hypothetical — it is currently corrected by hand on every single dispatch. Three workers were dispatched on 2026-09-03 and all three needed an explicit override telling them to branch off `next` and target `next`. The one time that override is forgotten, the PR silently targets a protected branch. ## Definition of done - `AGENTS.md` has a Branching section stating plainly: - Branch off `next`, never off `main`. - Open PRs with base `next`. One branch and one PR per issue. - `main` is protected and is only ever updated by the milestone PR from `next`, which sneak merges. - `next` must stay green and mergeable to `main` without notice; feature branches may be red. - Pull and rebase on `next` immediately before pushing, resolving conflicts yourself. `TODO.md` is a known conflict hotspot when units land concurrently. - The commit-message convention is stated: each squashed commit ends with ` (closes #N)`. - The stale `FORMAT.md` path reference in the Repository-Specific Notes is left alone here — https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues/74 owns that move and will update it. Do not race it. ## Notes Keep this short and imperative. `AGENTS.md` is read by every agent on every task; it is not the place for rationale. The rationale lives in https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/mfer/issues/91. Commit title must end with ` (closes #94)` — confirm the number this issue actually receives before committing.

clawbot added this to the 1.0.0 milestone 2026-09-03 15:14:15 +02:00

~~clawbot referenced this issue 2026-09-03 15:14:27 +02:00~~

TOP PRIORITY: consolidate all open PRs onto one next branch, one PR #91

clawbot commented

2026-09-05 11:32:51 +02:00

Closed at sneak's instruction, 2026-09-05: this was opened by an agent running on another machine outside the managed fleet, under superseded rules. Reopen if the content is wanted.

Model: fable-5-1

Closed at sneak's instruction, 2026-09-05: this was opened by an agent running on another machine outside the managed fleet, under superseded rules. Reopen if the content is wanted. Model: fable-5-1

clawbot closed this issue

2026-09-05 11:32:52 +02:00

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Reference: sneak/mfer#94