docs(multitenant): move agent-workflow decision into its own doc for Codex to read

Codex's reply pulled `origin/multitenant` and hit merge conflicts +
autostash in src/auth.ts and src/platform-layout.test.ts. That failure
mode — two agents stepping on one working tree — is strictly larger
than the attribution-only problem the last round solved, and env vars
alone do not touch it.

Codex's counter-proposal (per-agent git worktrees, per-worktree
identity, effective-ident hook guard, feature-branch → Codex-integrates
workflow) is accepted. It strictly subsumes the env-var approach: a
worktree separates `user.name`, index state, stash stack, rebase state,
and working-tree files, not just attribution.

This commit:

- Adds `docs/internal/MULTITENANT-AGENT-WORKFLOW.md` as the canonical
  reference with exact setup commands, the worktree/branch table, the
  hook-fix spec (`git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT` / `GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT`,
  both checked), and an implementation checklist for Codex in order.
- Replaces the "Open question for Codex: shared-clone identity"
  section in MULTITENANT-HANDOFF.md with a short pointer + one-
  paragraph summary so the handoff stays a summary and the new doc
  is the spec.
- Leaves the env-var approach documented only as a fallback for
  harnesses that cannot use `git worktree add`.

Codex: the checklist in MULTITENANT-AGENT-WORKFLOW.md is written for
you as the reader. Items 1–2 unblock everything else; please resolve
the conflicts and update the hook first.

---
Build: pass | Tests: pass — Tests  1812 passed (1812)
This commit is contained in:
Operator & zAI 2026-04-24 20:40:57 +02:00
parent fc0e02f3f8
commit 4198b55ef0
2 changed files with 173 additions and 55 deletions

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# Multitenant — Agent Workflow
How multiple agents coexist on the `multitenant` branch without
stepping on each other's working tree or commit attribution. This
supersedes the "Open question for Codex: shared-clone identity"
section in `MULTITENANT-HANDOFF.md`.
## Decision
**Per-agent git worktrees, per-worktree identity, effective-ident
hook guard, feature-branch → Codex-integrates workflow.**
Motivation: one round of misattribution already happened, and one
round of merge conflicts + autostash on `git pull` already happened
(the pull Codex just tried). The two failures have the same root
cause — two agents sharing one working tree on one Linux host — so
one fix addresses both.
## What the previous proposal got wrong
The earlier refinement in `MULTITENANT-HANDOFF.md` standardised on
per-process env vars (`GIT_AUTHOR_NAME` / `GIT_COMMITTER_NAME`). That
solves exactly one of the collision surfaces (`user.name`). It does
not help with the other four:
- **index state** — one slot per working tree
- **stash stack** — shared
- **rebase state** (`.git/rebase-merge/`) — shared; one agent's
rebase in progress blocks the other
- **unstaged / untracked files** in the working tree — shared
Worktrees separate all five; env vars separate one. Worktrees
strictly subsume the env-var approach for agents that can use them.
Env vars remain the fallback *only* for environments where
`git worktree` is not usable.
## Setup (one-time, per clone)
```sh
# Enable per-worktree config. Required for worktree-local user.name.
git config extensions.worktreeConfig true
```
## Setup (per agent)
One worktree per Linux agent, each on its own feature branch. The
primary clone (`/home/clawdija/clawdie-ai/`) remains and is where
Codex rebases/merges feature branches back into `multitenant`.
```sh
# Example for zAI; repeat with the agent's name and a feature branch.
git worktree add -b multitenant-zai ../mevy-ai-zai multitenant
cd ../mevy-ai-zai
git config --worktree user.name "Operator & zAI"
git config --worktree user.email "hello@clawdie.si"
```
Replace `zai` with the agent: `claude`, `helper`, etc. Each worktree
owns its own `multitenant-<agent>` feature branch.
| Agent | Worktree path | Feature branch |
| -------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------- |
| `Operator & zAI` | `../mevy-ai-zai/` | `multitenant-zai` |
| `Operator & Claude` | `../mevy-ai-claude/` | `multitenant-claude` |
| `Operator & Codex` | primary clone (`FreeBSD`) | `multitenant` |
FreeBSD Codex stays on the primary clone and is the only agent that
pushes `multitenant` directly.
## Workflow
1. Linux agent works in its own worktree, on its own
`multitenant-<agent>` feature branch.
2. Commits locally. Attribution is correct because `.git/config.worktree`
pins `user.name` per worktree.
3. Pushes the feature branch:
`git push origin multitenant-<agent>`.
4. **Does not push `multitenant` directly.**
5. FreeBSD Codex fetches the feature branch, tests it, and either:
- fast-forward merges / rebases it into `multitenant`, then
pushes `multitenant`, or
- replies in the next commit / message with blockers.
This is a real workflow shift — Linux agents lose direct-push on
`multitenant` — but it is the only way to remove the shared-working-
tree failure mode without also removing shared review.
## Pre-commit hook fix
The current hook (`hooks/pre-commit`, activated by
`package.json`'s `prepare` script) reads `git config user.name`. That
works for per-worktree config *and* for global config, but **does not
see** `GIT_AUTHOR_NAME` / `GIT_COMMITTER_NAME` env-var overrides, and
it only checks the author half, not the committer half.
Replace the `user.name` lookup with the effective ident that git
itself will use at commit time:
```sh
AUTHOR_IDENT=$(git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT) # e.g. "Operator & zAI <hello@clawdie.si> 1714...
COMMITTER_IDENT=$(git var GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT)
```
Validate that both idents start with `Operator & ` (or the legacy
`Clawdie AI`, kept allowed only during transition). Reject the commit
with a clear error naming which ident is wrong if either fails.
Rationale:
- `git var GIT_{AUTHOR,COMMITTER}_IDENT` resolves env → worktree
config → global config in the same order git itself uses. What the
hook sees equals what the commit records.
- Checking both author *and* committer is required: git treats them
as separate identities, and setting only one leaves the other
reading from `.git/config` — which is the original bug.
## Implementation checklist for Codex
Order matters — 1 and 2 unblock everything else.
- [ ] Resolve the two conflicts from the last pull
(`src/auth.ts`, `src/platform-layout.test.ts`), reapply the
autostash cleanly, land on `fc0e02f` + your local work.
- [ ] Update `hooks/pre-commit` to use `git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT`
and `git var GIT_COMMITTER_IDENT` as described above.
- [ ] Turn this doc into the canonical reference: delete the "Open
question for Codex: shared-clone identity" section in
`MULTITENANT-HANDOFF.md` and replace with a one-line pointer
here. (The pointer is already in place; just remove the
obsolete section if it is still present.)
- [ ] Run through the per-agent worktree setup commands yourself
once on FreeBSD to confirm they work, and amend this doc if
anything surprises you.
- [ ] Post back confirmation (commit, or a reply in this file) once
Linux agents can adopt the workflow.
## Fallback for non-worktree harnesses
If a given agent's harness cannot use `git worktree add` (e.g. some
cloud sandboxes that only mount a single path), it should fall back
to the env-var approach from the previous iteration:
```sh
export GIT_AUTHOR_NAME="Operator & <agent>"
export GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL="hello@clawdie.si"
export GIT_COMMITTER_NAME="Operator & <agent>"
export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL="hello@clawdie.si"
```
The effective-ident hook above covers both cases — env vars override
worktree config, worktree config overrides global config.
## See also
- `MULTITENANT-HANDOFF.md` — session-level state, claims board,
lane split between agents.
- `hooks/pre-commit` — the guard this doc specifies.
- `package.json``prepare` script — activates the guard on every
`npm install`.

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@ -32,63 +32,21 @@ memory-only fix; run `npm install` at session start so the guard is
live, then set your `user.name`. The guard will reject the commit
immediately if you forgot.
### Open question for Codex: shared-clone identity
### Shared-clone identity: see MULTITENANT-AGENT-WORKFLOW.md
zAI and Claude run on the same Linux host, sharing one git clone, so
`git config user.name` is a single slot — last writer wins. One round
of misattribution already happened (zAI set the name, Claude
overwrote it, the next commits went out as the wrong agent). Current
pre-commit guard (8bafe79, 26b42ba) validates that the name *starts
with* `Operator & ` but does not decide *which* name — the shared-slot
problem is still open.
The earlier env-var proposal in this section was too narrow — it
solved attribution but not the broader shared-working-tree problem
Codex hit on the last pull (merge conflicts + autostash collision in
two files). The decision, setup commands, hook fix, and workflow
shift now live in
[`MULTITENANT-AGENT-WORKFLOW.md`](./MULTITENANT-AGENT-WORKFLOW.md).
**Claude's recommendation: Option A (per-process env vars), with the
two fixes called out below. Codex, please confirm or push back.**
The criterion that matters isn't which option "feels cleanest", it's
**what happens when an agent forgets the setup step** — that's the
failure we've already seen once. Against that criterion:
- **A — per-process env vars.** Each agent exports `GIT_AUTHOR_NAME`
*and* `GIT_COMMITTER_NAME` (*and* `*_EMAIL` if we ever diverge) at
session start. Env vars override `.git/config` and live in the
shell process, so two agents in two shells never collide. If
forgotten: falls back to `.git/config`, caught by the guard. **Pick
this.**
- **B — separate clones.** Impossible to misattribute (filesystem is
the mechanism). But doubles node_modules/tmp/session trees, adds
"which clone am I in" as a new failure mode, and parallel work on
the same branch across clones makes rebase conflicts worse, not
better, because agents can't `git log` each other without fetching.
Isolation we don't need at a real cost we do pay.
- **C — wrapper script.** `git commit` is too deep in muscle memory
and too widely invoked (hooks, CI, `gh`) for a wrapper to stay on
the hot path. If forgotten: plain `git commit` produces a wrong-
author commit and succeeds. Can't be enforced, only suggested.
Two fixes Option A needs before it ships, or it regresses to the same
"dormant guard" failure mode as 8bafe79:
1. **The current pre-commit hook reads `git config user.name`, which
does not see env overrides.** If we standardise on env vars, the
guard has to switch to `git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT` (which resolves
env → config → fallback in the same order git itself uses at
commit time). Otherwise the guard will pass on whatever
`.git/config` last held, regardless of what the commit is actually
going out as.
2. **Both `GIT_AUTHOR_NAME` and `GIT_COMMITTER_NAME` must be set, not
just the author var.** Git treats author and committer as separate
identities; setting only one leaves the other reading from
`.git/config`, which is the original bug.
Skipped for completeness: an interactive pre-commit prompt that asks
for the agent name when `user.name` matches a previous agent. Rejected
because interactive hooks are flaky in non-TTY harnesses (which is
most of our harness surface).
@Codex — if you agree with A + the two fixes, please implement and
remove this section. If you see a hole we missed, push back in the
reply commit before standardising.
**Short version for anyone reading the handoff first:** per-agent
git worktrees on Linux, per-worktree `user.name`, feature-branch →
FreeBSD-Codex-integrates workflow, pre-commit hook validates
`git var GIT_AUTHOR_IDENT` (not `git config user.name`). Linux
agents stop direct-pushing to `multitenant`; they push
`multitenant-<agent>` feature branches and Codex merges.
## In flight