refactor(agents): strip cross-agent boilerplate

[birdmanmandbir]

Summary

• Removes ~334 lines of boilerplate across 12 agent MDs and config following PR feat(skills): rename sp-writing-plans → sp-planning, add explore-reality phase #339
• Strips 5 redundant sections: ## Neil, ## Git & Commits, ## Working Directory, ## Memory & Continuity/## Memory System, and "Never write code" Safety bullet
• All agent-specific commit format lines rescued into each agent's Do Freely section
• CLAUDE.user.md references cleaned up; eve.md design rules updated to say "global CLAUDE.md"

Changes

• config.toml: removed global_prompt_path line
• README.md: removed CLAUDE.user.md file listing
• eve.md: updated 2 design rule lines ("root CLAUDE.user.md" → "global CLAUDE.md"); kept ## Git & Commits intact (contains eve-specific workflow examples)
• 11 agent MDs: removed ## Neil, ## Working Directory, ## Memory & Continuity sections, CLAUDE.user.md parentheticals, and "Never write code" bullets (inke, kestrel, lux, mira, nyx)
• yuki.md: no ## Neil section existed; commit format rescued to Critical Rules

Test plan

• grep -r "CLAUDE.user.md" templates/ttal/ returns 0 results ✅
• grep -r "^## Neil$" templates/ttal/ returns 0 results ✅
• grep -r "^## Working Directory" templates/ttal/ returns 0 results ✅
• grep -r "^## Memory" templates/ttal/ returns 0 results ✅
• grep -r "Never write code" templates/ttal/ returns 0 results ✅
• grep -r "Commit format:" templates/ttal/ returns 11 results (all agents except eve) ✅
• make ci passes ✅

[birdmanmandbir]

PR Review — Strip Cross-Agent Boilerplate

Overall this is a clean and consistent refactor. The removal of Memory & Continuity, Working Directory, and Neil sections is uniform across all 12 agents, and the inline commit format consolidation is good. Three real content losses need addressing before merge.

---

Important Issues

1. yuki.md — git fetch origin dropped with no replacement

The old Git & Commits section had:

- Always `git fetch origin` before making changes

This was Yuki-specific (no other agent had it) and is a behavioral correctness rule — not boilerplate. It's now completely absent from the file. Yuki manages tasks and memory across sessions; committing on a stale branch is a real risk.

Fix: Add back to the Decision Rules commit format bullet or as a standalone Safety bullet.

---

2. inke.md, kestrel.md, mira.md — "I plan, workers execute" safety boundary removed

These three agents lost the explicit prohibition:

**Never write code, edit source files, run builds, or commit in project repos** — I plan, workers execute.

This was removed as part of the boilerplate strip, but it's role-specific (not generic) — it's the single most important behavioral constraint for planners. astra.md still keeps its equivalent ("Don't execute code changes — I plan, workers execute" at line ~101), so the refactor is now inconsistent across planners.

Fix: Add a one-liner to each affected agent's Safety/Never Do section: - Never write code or commit in project repos — I plan, workers execute; use \ttal task go ` to spawn a worker.`

---

3. eve.md agent structure table still lists the three removed sections

eve.md is the agent creation guide. Its "What goes in a CLAUDE.md" table still lists:

| Memory & Continuity | How they persist knowledge across sessions |
| Working Directory | Workspace paths |
| Neil | Timezone, relevant preferences |

All three sections were removed from every agent in this PR. New agents created using eve.md as a guide will add back exactly what this PR just stripped.

Fix: Remove or mark as "global — do not add to agent files" for those three rows in the table.

---

Suggestions (non-blocking)

• kestrel.md and lux.md both use feat(fixes): as the commit scope — if these are distinct roles, differentiating the scope (e.g. feat(kestrel): vs feat(lux):) makes authorship traceable in git log
• athena.md — the structured daily log schema (the markdown template with Task:, Topics:, Status: fields) was unique operational content, not generic boilerplate. Consider preserving it in the Tools or Responsibilities section
• eve.md references to "global CLAUDE.md is SSOT" are improved but could be more explicit: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md rather than just "global CLAUDE.md" to distinguish it from per-agent CLAUDE.md files

---

Strengths

• Consistent execution across all 12 agents — no agent was partially updated
• Commit format consolidated into Decision Rules is more discoverable than buried in a Git section
• Removing phantom CLAUDE.user.md references (a file that never existed) is correct and eliminates comment rot
• config.toml removal of global_prompt_path is coherent with the overall direction
• README.md file tree now accurately reflects reality

---

VERDICT: NEEDS_WORK

Three fixes needed: restore yuki's git fetch origin, restore the "I plan, workers execute" safety line in inke/kestrel/mira, and update eve's agent structure table to remove the now-stripped sections.

[birdmanmandbir]

Triage Update

Fixed

• yuki.md git fetch origin dropped — restored to Critical Rules as a named rule with rationale: "Yuki commits memory and session state; working on a stale branch risks conflicts" — commit 421c65c
• inke/kestrel/mira "I plan, workers execute" removed — restored to Safety in all five planner/auditor agents (inke, kestrel, lux, mira, nyx) for consistency with astra — commit 421c65c
• eve.md agent structure table lists removed sections — table updated: Memory & Continuity, Working Directory, Neil, Git & Commits rows replaced with an explicit "Sections no longer added" note explaining where each now lives — commit 421c65c
• eve.md "global CLAUDE.md" ambiguous — updated to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md in both the design guidelines and No Duplicate Info rule — commit 421c65c

Deferred

• kestrel/lux commit scope differentiation (feat(fixes): for both) — both were designed with the same scope originally; differentiating is a separate decision for Neil, not this PR
• athena.md daily log schema — the structured Task:/Topics:/Status: template was in the Memory section which is intentionally removed; restoring it belongs in a separate respawn pass if needed

False Positive

• none

[birdmanmandbir]

Re-review — commit 421c65c

Fixed

• yuki.md git fetch origin — restored to Critical Rules with rationale ("Yuki commits memory and session state; working on a stale branch risks conflicts") — well-placed and better than before
• inke.md, kestrel.md, lux.md, mira.md, nyx.md — "I plan/audit, workers execute" — restored consistently across all five with appropriate role-specific wording (workers execute vs workers fix for nyx) — good
• eve.md agent structure table — the "Sections no longer added" block with rationale is a clear improvement; future agent authors will know exactly where each concern now lives
• eve.md ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md precision — both the design table and No Duplicate Info rule now use the explicit path

Deferred (accepted)

• kestrel/lux commit scope (feat(fixes):) — same as before, Neil decides
• athena.md daily log schema — separate respawn pass if needed

VERDICT: LGTM

All three required fixes are correct and consistent. No regressions introduced. Ready to merge.

[birdmanmandbir]

Triage Update

All reviewer issues resolved. LGTM received — merging.

Deferred (accepted by reviewer)

• kestrel/lux commit scope differentiation — Neil's call
• athena.md daily log schema — separate respawn pass if needed