diff --git a/factory/agents/plugin.py b/factory/agents/plugin.py
index ada2e6d..838c140 100644
--- a/factory/agents/plugin.py
+++ b/factory/agents/plugin.py
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 
 import yaml
 
+from factory.ace.injector import inject_playbook
+from factory.ace.paths import DEFAULTS_DIR as _PLAYBOOKS_DIR
 from factory.agents.runner import _PROMPTS_DIR
 
 _AGENTS_YML = Path(__file__).parent / "agents.yml"
@@ -17,7 +19,7 @@
 @dataclass(frozen=True)
 class AgentMeta:
     description: str
-    model: str
+    model: str  # from agents.yml; not emitted in frontmatter (subagents inherit parent model)
     tools: list[str]
 
 
@@ -52,8 +54,15 @@ def generate_agent_content(role: str) -> str:
 
     meta = config[role]
     prompt = (_PROMPTS_DIR / f"{role}.md").read_text()
+    # Only inject factory-default playbooks (not user-local ~/.factory/playbooks/)
+    # so that sync_agents.py output is deterministic across machines.
+    playbook_path = _PLAYBOOKS_DIR / f"{role}.md"
+    if playbook_path.exists():
+        playbook = playbook_path.read_text().strip()
+        if playbook:
+            prompt = inject_playbook(prompt, playbook)
     frontmatter = yaml.dump(
-        {"name": role, "description": meta.description, "model": meta.model, "tools": meta.tools},
+        {"name": role, "description": meta.description, "tools": meta.tools},
         default_flow_style=False,
         sort_keys=False,
         allow_unicode=True,
diff --git a/factory/cli.py b/factory/cli.py
index c8acb7c..71b05c3 100644
--- a/factory/cli.py
+++ b/factory/cli.py
@@ -1106,6 +1106,21 @@ def cmd_explain(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     return 0
 
 
+def cmd_emit(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
+    from factory.events import emit_event
+
+    project_path = Path(args.project).resolve()
+    data: dict = {}
+    if args.data:
+        try:
+            data = json.loads(args.data)
+        except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
+            print(f"Error: --data is not valid JSON: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+    emit_event(project_path, args.event_type, agent=args.agent, data=data)
+    return 0
+
+
 def cmd_vault_init(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     from factory.obsidian.notes import init_vault
 
@@ -2357,6 +2372,13 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
     p.add_argument("--port", type=int, default=8420, help="Server port (default: 8420)")
     p.add_argument("--host", default="0.0.0.0", help="Server host (default: 0.0.0.0)")
 
+    # emit — emit a structured event to .factory/events.jsonl
+    p = sub.add_parser("emit", help="Emit a structured event to .factory/events.jsonl")
+    p.add_argument("event_type", help="Event type (e.g. agent.started, agent.completed)")
+    p.add_argument("--agent", default=None, help="Agent role name")
+    p.add_argument("--project", default=".", help="Project path")
+    p.add_argument("--data", default=None, help="JSON string of additional event data")
+
     # agent — invoke a specialist agent directly
     p = sub.add_parser("agent", help="Invoke a specialist agent with a task")
     p.add_argument("role", choices=["researcher", "strategist", "builder", "reviewer",
@@ -2552,6 +2574,7 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
         "install": cmd_install,
         "serve-mcp": cmd_serve_mcp,
         "dashboard": cmd_dashboard,
+        "emit": cmd_emit,
         "agent": cmd_agent,
         "ceo": cmd_ceo,
         "run": cmd_run,
diff --git a/skills/pipeline-subagents/SKILL.md b/skills/pipeline-subagents/SKILL.md
index 77b28c4..71e584f 100644
--- a/skills/pipeline-subagents/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/pipeline-subagents/SKILL.md
@@ -99,16 +99,23 @@ Process steps in topological order:
 
 1. **Identify next batch** — steps whose dependencies are all complete
 2. **Build prompts** — incorporate output from prior steps (agent results are returned directly)
-3. **Invoke agents:**
-   - Single step: one Agent call
-   - Parallel batch: multiple Agent calls in same message
-   - Archival: can use `run_in_background: true`
+3. **Emit start event** and **invoke agents:**
+   ```bash
+   factory emit agent.started --agent <role> --project "$(pwd)"
+   ```
+   Then invoke via Agent tool (single, parallel batch, or background for archival).
 4. **Read results** — Agent tool returns subagent output directly
-5. **Apply gate rule:**
+5. **Persist review and emit completion:**
+   ```bash
+   mkdir -p .factory/reviews
+   factory emit agent.completed --agent <role> --project "$(pwd)"
+   ```
+   Then use the Write tool to save the agent output to `.factory/reviews/<role>-latest.md`
+6. **Apply gate rule:**
    - **PROCEED**: Move to next step
    - **REDIRECT**: Re-invoke with corrections (max 2 per step)
    - **ABORT**: Skip downstream steps, jump to summary
-6. **Repeat** until done
+7. **Repeat** until done
 
 ### Error Recovery
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index f6b9c00..206eb30 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -80,6 +80,21 @@ def test_finalize_with_scores(self):
     def test_no_command_returns_1(self):
         assert main([]) == 1
 
+    def test_emit_subcommand(self):
+        parser = build_parser()
+        args = parser.parse_args(["emit", "agent.started", "--agent", "researcher", "--project", "/p"])
+        assert args.command == "emit"
+        assert args.event_type == "agent.started"
+        assert args.agent == "researcher"
+        assert args.project == "/p"
+
+    def test_emit_defaults(self):
+        parser = build_parser()
+        args = parser.parse_args(["emit", "cycle.started"])
+        assert args.agent is None
+        assert args.project == "."
+        assert args.data is None
+
     def test_ceo_mode_interactive(self):
         parser = build_parser()
         args = parser.parse_args(["ceo", "distributed eval runner", "--mode", "interactive"])
diff --git a/tests/test_events.py b/tests/test_events.py
index 71ba596..93e6d3e 100644
--- a/tests/test_events.py
+++ b/tests/test_events.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+from argparse import Namespace
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from factory.events import discover_factory_projects, emit_event, load_events
@@ -155,3 +156,77 @@ def test_returns_sorted(self, tmp_path):
         projects = discover_factory_projects(tmp_path)
         assert projects[0].name == "alpha"
         assert projects[1].name == "zeta"
+
+
+class TestCmdEmit:
+    def test_cmd_emit_writes_event(self, tmp_path):
+        from factory.cli import cmd_emit
+
+        (tmp_path / ".factory").mkdir()
+        args = Namespace(
+            event_type="agent.started",
+            agent="researcher",
+            project=str(tmp_path),
+            data=None,
+        )
+        rc = cmd_emit(args)
+        assert rc == 0
+
+        events_file = tmp_path / ".factory" / "events.jsonl"
+        assert events_file.exists()
+
+        event = json.loads(events_file.read_text().strip())
+        assert event["type"] == "agent.started"
+        assert event["agent"] == "researcher"
+
+    def test_cmd_emit_with_data(self, tmp_path):
+        from factory.cli import cmd_emit
+
+        (tmp_path / ".factory").mkdir()
+        args = Namespace(
+            event_type="agent.completed",
+            agent="builder",
+            project=str(tmp_path),
+            data='{"task": "fix bug", "duration": 42}',
+        )
+        rc = cmd_emit(args)
+        assert rc == 0
+
+        events_file = tmp_path / ".factory" / "events.jsonl"
+        event = json.loads(events_file.read_text().strip())
+        assert event["type"] == "agent.completed"
+        assert event["agent"] == "builder"
+        assert event["data"]["task"] == "fix bug"
+        assert event["data"]["duration"] == 42
+
+    def test_cmd_emit_without_agent(self, tmp_path):
+        from factory.cli import cmd_emit
+
+        (tmp_path / ".factory").mkdir()
+        args = Namespace(
+            event_type="cycle.started",
+            agent=None,
+            project=str(tmp_path),
+            data='{"cycle": 1}',
+        )
+        rc = cmd_emit(args)
+        assert rc == 0
+
+        events_file = tmp_path / ".factory" / "events.jsonl"
+        event = json.loads(events_file.read_text().strip())
+        assert event["type"] == "cycle.started"
+        assert event["agent"] is None
+        assert event["data"]["cycle"] == 1
+
+    def test_cmd_emit_rejects_invalid_json(self, tmp_path):
+        from factory.cli import cmd_emit
+
+        (tmp_path / ".factory").mkdir()
+        args = Namespace(
+            event_type="agent.started",
+            agent="researcher",
+            project=str(tmp_path),
+            data="not valid json",
+        )
+        rc = cmd_emit(args)
+        assert rc == 1
diff --git a/tests/test_plugin_agents.py b/tests/test_plugin_agents.py
index c2f4a8a..3ce6963 100644
--- a/tests/test_plugin_agents.py
+++ b/tests/test_plugin_agents.py
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ def test_frontmatter_has_required_fields(self):
             fm = _parse_frontmatter(content)
             assert "name" in fm, f"{role}: missing name"
             assert "description" in fm, f"{role}: missing description"
-            assert "model" in fm, f"{role}: missing model"
             assert "tools" in fm, f"{role}: missing tools"
 
     def test_frontmatter_name_matches_role(self):
@@ -108,8 +107,9 @@ def test_preserves_prompt_content(self):
         for role in ALL_ROLES:
             source = (_PROMPTS_DIR / f"{role}.md").read_text()
             generated = generate_agent_content(role)
-            assert generated.endswith(source), (
-                f"{role}: generated file does not end with source prompt"
+            # Generated content may have playbook injected, so check source is in it
+            assert source in generated, (
+                f"{role}: generated file does not include source prompt"
             )
 
     def test_unknown_role_raises(self):