Samocode Run

Runs the samocode autonomous orchestrator on a project session and monitors its progress.

CRITICAL: DO NOT MANUALLY ORCHESTRATE

When user asks to "run samocode" or "continue samocode", you MUST use this skill.

DO NOT:

• Launch phase agents or Task subagents yourself for investigation/planning/implementation phases
• Infer or change the workflow phase yourself; read _overview.md only for status/monitoring
• Edit _overview.md, _signal.json, or _signal_history.jsonl to advance, unblock, rewind, or complete a session
• Pretend to be the orchestrator

The Python worker (main.py) handles ALL of this. Your job is to START the worker and MONITOR its output.

Trigger Phrases

If the user names a remote host ("on pod2", "on the server"), use the samocode-remote skill instead: same rules, worker runs over SSH.

Use this skill when user says:

• "run samocode"
• "start samocode"
• "continue samocode"
• "let samocode work on it"
• "implement the plan"
• Claude command equivalent: /samocode-implement

What is Samocode?

Samocode is an autonomous session orchestrator that runs the configured AI CLI provider in a loop to complete complex tasks. It:

• Reads session state from _overview.md
• Selects one provider for the process and resolves every iteration through a semantic model profile
• Runs phase-specific agents automatically based on current phase
• Sends Telegram notifications on state changes
• Continues until task is complete or blocked

For workflow details and phase definitions, see the installed workflow.md. For model routing, defaults, and migration behavior, see docs/model-routing.md in the Samocode source/package.

Sessions: Manual vs Autonomous

There's no strict "samocode session" - just sessions. Any session can be worked on:

• Manually by you (the parent agent session) - e.g., answering Q&A or reviewing a plan
• Autonomously by samocode - e.g., implementation, testing, quality fixes
• Mixed - start manually, hand off to samocode, take back control when blocked

Human judgment can supply inputs and approve supported gates. Once the worker owns a session lifecycle, only its CLI services may mutate lifecycle state; manual engineering work never authorizes hand-editing workflow control files.

When to Use

Only when user explicitly asks for samocode (see Trigger Phrases above).

Do NOT assume samocode should run just because a session exists.

Execution

Arguments: $ARGUMENTS (session name or project path with session name)

Steps

1. Find .samocode config:

   • Look for .samocode file in current working dir or project path
   • Extract the full path to the .samocode file (e.g., ~/project/.samocode)
   • If .samocode file is missing: ERROR and ask user to create it

2. Determine session name:

   • If $ARGUMENTS is a session name (e.g., "my-task"), use it directly
   • If $ARGUMENTS includes a path, extract session name from it
   • Session will be resolved: exact match → dated match → new session

3. Check session state (if exists):

   • Read _overview.md Status section
   • If Phase is not one of init|investigation|requirements|planning|implementation|testing|quality|pr-readiness|done: report the exact value and stop. Do not edit _overview.md; the worker refuses unknown phases at preflight, and only the human repairs the field.
   • If user asked to "implement the plan" or invoked the /samocode-implement equivalent:
     • This is an implementation handoff, not a generic continue.
     • If Phase: planning and the session is waiting for plan approval (Blocked: waiting_human, Next: Await plan approval, or _signal.json has "for": "plan_approval"), approve the gate before starting samocode:

       samocode approve --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME]
       

       The approval service atomically advances the overview state (Phase → implementation, Blocked → no) and consumes the pending signal. Do NOT manually edit _overview.md or _signal.json.
     • Do NOT start from task-definition, requirements, or planning steps unless no approved/waiting plan exists.
     • If no plan file exists or requirements are incomplete, report that implementation cannot start yet and ask the user how to proceed.
   • If Phase: done:
     • Ask user: "Session is complete. What new work do you want to do?"
     • Do not reopen the completed lifecycle by editing _overview.md; create a new session for new work unless a dedicated worker command supports reopening.
   • If Blocked: workflow_error:
     • Report Last Action and Next, then stop. Do not run a phase agent and do not edit any control file.
     • If it is a worktree_mutated guard rejection (testing mutated tracked files; Last Action names the phase and a HEAD/tracked-path delta): report the delta, then have the human inspect and restore the working dir themselves — git -C [WORKING_DIR] status to see the change, git -C [WORKING_DIR] checkout -- <path> (or reset the stray commit) to undo it — and restart the worker. Do NOT run recover final-polish for this class and never edit _overview.md/_signal.json.
     • If it is a worktree_unverifiable guard rejection (the post-run git snapshot could not run, so the guard could not confirm the working dir is unchanged — git broke or the repo went away, nothing was necessarily mutated): have the human confirm the working dir is still a healthy git repo (git -C [WORKING_DIR] status) and fix whatever broke git before restarting the worker. Same handling class as worktree_mutated: never run recover final-polish and never edit control files.
     • For a final-polish provenance error, run the read-only eligibility check:

       samocode recover final-polish --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME] --check
       

     • Show the exact result to the user. Only after explicit user approval, apply:

       samocode recover final-polish --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME] --apply
       

     • A successful recovery creates an immutable _recovery/ snapshot, preserves _signal_history.jsonl, and returns to completed implementation so the worker can honestly replay testing → quality → testing → pr-readiness. Restart the worker normally after the command succeeds.
     • If the check refuses, investigate/report the mismatch; never broaden or bypass the recovery preconditions.
   • If Blocked: yes, blocked, or waiting_human:
     • Show user the current status (Last Action, Next, reason if available)
     • Ask how to proceed
     • Use a documented CLI gate when one exists; otherwise gather the requested human input and let the worker consume it. Do not edit lifecycle fields.

4. Understand routing before startup:

   • Global config path: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/samocode/config.toml when XDG_CONFIG_HOME is absolute; otherwise ~/.config/samocode/config.toml.
   • samocode install creates defaults only when the file is absent and never overwrites an existing config.
   • Provider precedence is --provider → SAMOCODE_PROVIDER → config default_provider → legacy claude.
   • The provider is fixed for the process. Workflow and implementation-plan phases select semantic profiles only; they never switch providers.
   • The worker loads and validates the global config once at startup. Do not edit it expecting a running process to change; restart Samocode after an edit.
   • Do not hand-resolve or pass per-phase model/effort arguments. The worker logs the authoritative provider/profile/model/effort/source once per iteration.
   • A missing global config enables legacy model env behavior with a warning. Prefer running samocode install before autonomous work.

5. Start samocode:

   samocode run \
     --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] \
     --session [SESSION_NAME] 2>&1
   

   Optional: Add --provider claude|codex to override provider selection for this process, or --timeout SECONDS for the per-iteration time limit (default: 1800s = 30 min). Each child agent iteration is killed if it exceeds this. Increase for complex phases:

   samocode run --config ... --session ... --provider codex --timeout 3600
   

   Do NOT wrap with bash timeout - The orchestrator manages its own timeouts via --timeout. External timeouts can kill iterations mid-work and corrupt session state.

   Run this using the host's background execution facility (run_in_background: true where available, or a short-yield process handle). Retain the handle for supervision.

   Avoid reading background task output directly. The samocode worker output includes full Agent CLI logs which are large (100KB+ per iteration). Monitor progress via _overview.md and other session files instead.

   If debugging requires checking task output (e.g., investigating a crash):

   • Use grep to search for specific errors or patterns first
   • Use tail -n 2 or tail -n 5 max - each line can be huge (full JSON)
   • Use Read with offset and limit to read small portions
   • Never read the entire file

6. Monitor loop (prefer session files over task output):

   6.1. Start background check (sleep duration by phase: investigation/planning 60s, implementation 120-180s, quality 120s, testing 60s):

   Bash(command="sleep 60 && samocode status --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME]", run_in_background=true)
   

   samocode status is read-only and prints Phase/Iteration/Blocked/Worker/Signal/Last/Next plus the last Flow Log entries (--flow N, --json for machine parsing). Fall back to cat [SESSION]/_overview.md only if the CLI is unavailable. Returns task_id (e.g., "b155903")

   6.2. Between checks, do independent work already authorized by the user. When running with companion, use its bounded-work monitoring loop and session HTML guidance; do not block immediately on the delayed check. Read its result when ready, and check the worker handle for unexpected exit. If there is no useful independent work, use the host's wait mechanism without busy polling. Do not let companion work postpone checks indefinitely or mutate the worker's code/lifecycle.

   6.3. Extract from result: Phase, Iteration, Total Iterations, Blocked, Last Action, Next, last 3 Flow Log entries

   6.4. Get recent commits:

   git -C [WORKING_DIR] log --oneline -3
   

   6.5. Report to user:

   Samocode Progress [HH:MM elapsed]
   --------------------------------
   Phase: [phase] (Iteration N/Total)
   Last: [Last Action]
   Next: [Next]
   
   Recent commits:
   - [hash] [message]
   
   Flow:
   - [last 2-3 Flow Log entries]
   

   6.6. Check stop condition:

   • Phase: done → if the session has a companion HTML server, follow the sibling companion/SKILL.md "Required server cleanup" procedure before reporting closure; preserve the local HTML and report the external URL as offline. Report final summary, STOP
   • Blocked: contains workflow_error, yes, or waiting → handle accordingly, STOP
   • Otherwise → goto step 6.1

   IMPORTANT: On STOP, clean up monitoring. When samocode finishes (done/blocked/waiting), do NOT leave pending background sleep tasks running. Stop any active monitoring task via TaskStop before reporting the final status. This prevents stale notification floods.

Handling Waiting States

When samocode signals waiting:

Auto-approve/answer ONLY if user explicitly requested it (e.g., "run samocode and approve", "accept suggestions", "auto-approve"). Otherwise, report the waiting state and wait for user decision.

For waiting_for: plan_approval:

1. Report: "Plan ready for review: [full path to plan file]"
2. If user requested auto-approve: proceed to approval
3. Otherwise: Ask "Approve this plan?" and wait
4. On approval, run the approval CLI (do NOT manually edit _overview.md or _signal.json):

   samocode approve --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME]
   

   The service validates the pending gate, atomically advances the overview (Phase → implementation, Blocked → no), and consumes the pending signal. Non-zero exit means approval was rejected — show the error and ask the user how to proceed.
5. Then restart samocode

For waiting_for: qa_answers:

1. Report: "Q&A ready: [full path to _qa.md]" (includes suggestions)
2. If user requested to accept suggestions: fill in suggested answers
3. Otherwise: Wait for user to provide/confirm answers
4. Update _qa.md with answers
5. Then restart samocode

Read-Only Status

samocode status --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME] [--json] [--flow N]

• Prints Session/Path/Working Dir, Phase with iteration counters, Blocked, Worker (running when the orchestrator lease is held, stopped otherwise), Signal with for/needs/reason, Q&A pending path, Last/Next, and the trailing Flow Log entries
• --json emits the same fields as one JSON object (lists for flow_log/errors)
• Exit 1 with reasons on stderr only when the config or session cannot be resolved
• Never writes: the lease is probed, the signal file is not cleared

Read-Only Gate Check

To verify the final-polish gate state without running the orchestrator:

samocode check final-polish --config [PATH_TO_.SAMOCODE] --session [SESSION_NAME]

• Exit 0: clean — the pr-readiness -> done gate would pass
• Exit 1: errors printed to stderr, one per line, each naming the expected value
• No lock, no writes, no Phase/Blocked precondition — safe mid-session

Quality and pr-readiness agents run this command as a self-check after writing reports or the ledger and fix vocabulary drift before routing. If you see a quality or pr-readiness agent loop unexpectedly, use this command to inspect the current gate state without waiting for the next iteration.

Monitoring Testing Escalation

Testing can auto-escalate one profile rung on an environment block. This is a normal continue, not a stop condition — the next iteration reruns testing on the stronger profile. Recognize it in the Flow Log so you report it as progress, not a failure:

- [NNN @ MM-DD HH:MM] Escalation: testing strong (model/effort) -> max (model/effort); blocker: <reason>

• Blocked stays no, Last Action reads "Testing blocked on environment; escalating strong -> max", Next reads "Escalated testing attempt N/M".
• The per-iteration routing log line for the rerun carries source=escalation and escalated_from=<profile>; _signal_history.jsonl gains a status=escalation row.
• One attempt per phase entry. If the escalated attempt blocks again on the environment, the session stops as a normal block — handle it like any blocked state, do not restart hoping for another escalation.

Required .samocode File

Every project using samocode MUST have a .samocode file in its root:

MAIN_REPO=~/path/to/main/repo
WORKTREES=~/path/to/worktrees/
SESSIONS=~/path/to/_sessions/

All three keys are REQUIRED:

• MAIN_REPO: The main working directory (where the child agent runs)
• SESSIONS: Where samocode session folders are stored
• WORKTREES: Where git worktrees are created

Session Structure

Sessions are stored in SESSIONS dir (from .samocode file), NOT nested inside projects:

[SESSIONS_DIR]/
└── [YY-MM-DD]-[session-name]/    # Session folder (e.g., 26-01-15-pyright-ci)
    ├── _overview.md              # Main session state
    ├── _signal.json              # Control signal
    ├── _qa.md                    # Q&A when waiting for human input
    ├── _logs/                    # Agent iteration logs (JSONL)
    │   └── [MM-DD-HHMM]-[NNN]-[phase].jsonl
    ├── [MM-DD-HH:mm]-plan-*.md   # Implementation plans
    ├── [MM-DD-HH:mm]-dive-*.md   # Investigation reports
    └── [MM-DD-HH:mm]-*.md        # Other artifacts

Key Files in _overview.md

## Status
Phase: [init|investigation|requirements|planning|implementation|testing|quality|pr-readiness|done]
Iteration: N
Blocked: [yes/no]
Last Action: [what happened]
Next: [what to do next]

## Flow Log
- [NNN @ MM-DD HH:MM] Event description -> optional-file.md

Common Issues

1. Missing .samocode file: Create .samocode file in project root with SESSIONS, WORKTREES, MAIN_REPO
2. Telegram errors: Check ~/samocode/.env has TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN and TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID
3. Timeout: Default is 30 min. Increase provider timeout env var (CLAUDE_TIMEOUT or CODEX_TIMEOUT) if iterations need more
4. Missing global config: Run samocode install; legacy mode still runs but cannot use semantic profile routing
5. Invalid config/profile: Fix the reported TOML path/profile. Validation fails before any provider call; do not bypass it with model env vars
6. Provider unavailable: Install the selected CLI or choose a registered provider with --provider; a process never falls back to another provider mid-run
7. Lifecycle preflight/workflow_error: Stop before provider execution. Use the read-only samocode recover final-polish ... --check only for the reported final-polish provenance class; never repair history or phase fields manually

Debugging Samocode Bugs

If samocode exhibits bugs or weird behavior (loops, wrong decisions, missing steps, etc.):

1. Analyze the issue:

   • Check worker output logs for errors
   • Read _overview.md to see what went wrong
   • Check if workflow.md instructions are unclear
   • Check whether the parent session loaded a stale installed skill before the current worker version
   • Check if skills have ambiguous or missing guidance

2. Suggest fixes - DO NOT auto-implement:

   • Identify the root cause (workflow.md, skill, or worker code)
   • Propose specific fix to user with explanation
   • Show exact file and changes needed
   • WAIT FOR USER CONFIRMATION before making any changes

3. Samocode source locations:

   • Worker/orchestrator: ~/samocode/main.py, ~/samocode/worker/
   • Workflow prompt: ~/samocode/workflow.md
   • Skills: ~/samocode/skills/*/SKILL.md
   • Commands: ~/samocode/commands/*.md

4. Common fix patterns:

   • Infinite loops → Add explicit stop conditions in workflow.md
   • Wrong phase transitions → Clarify phase criteria in workflow.md
   • Missing context → Add more explicit instructions in skill
   • Format errors → Add examples in skill or workflow

IMPORTANT: Always propose fixes and wait for user approval. Samocode is critical infrastructure - no cowboy coding.

Example Usage

User: "Run samocode on the hvac project"
→ Find ~/code/hvac-voice-agent/.samocode file
→ Determine session name from context (e.g., "voice-agent")
→ Run: samocode run --config ~/code/hvac-voice-agent/.samocode --session voice-agent
→ Monitor iterations, report progress

User: "Continue the samocode session"
→ Find session name from context or ask user
→ Find .samocode file path
→ Run: samocode run --config [CONFIG_PATH] --session [SESSION_NAME]
→ Monitor iterations, report progress

Remember: You run samocode run; the Python worker resolves the execution target and runs the selected provider (Claude or Codex). You do NOT run phase agents or select their concrete models yourself.