diff --git a/docs/CAPABILITY-ROUTING.md b/docs/CAPABILITY-ROUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f47cc79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/CAPABILITY-ROUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+# Capability-Based Task Routing
+
+**Principle: a tool that one OS can't support is not a loss — it's a routing
+constraint.** In a multi-agent, multi-OS fleet we don't force every capability onto
+every host. We let each host advertise what it can do, let each task declare what it
+needs, and let the scheduler send the task to a host that qualifies. FreeBSD stays lean;
+the capability simply lives where it's cheap.
+
+This is the operational payoff of the dual-OS survivability model: heterogeneous hosts,
+one task board, automatic placement.
+
+## What Colibri already provides
+
+The matching engine exists today in `colibri-daemon` — this is wiring, not a rewrite:
+
+- **Agents carry capability tags** — `agents.capabilities` (JSON array) in the store
+  (`colibri-store` schema); registered via `colibri` client / `--capabilities`.
+- **Tasks declare requirements** — jobs and intake requests carry `required_capabilities`
+  (`colibri intake-task --capabilities <csv>`).
+- **The scheduler matches** — `pick_agent(required, agents)` scores each idle/active agent
+  with `capability_match_score` and picks the best fit.
+- **Unmatched = parked, not failed** — if requirements are non-empty and no online agent
+  matches, `pick_agent` returns `None`: the task is created but left **unassigned until a
+  capable agent appears**. Exactly the behaviour we want — a screenshot task waits for a
+  Linux host rather than failing on FreeBSD.
+
+## What we add to realize it
+
+| Piece | Status | Action |
+| ----- | ------ | ------ |
+| Capability vocabulary | tags are free-form (`rust`, `python`, `linux`) | Agree a shared tag set (below) |
+| Agents advertise real capabilities | manual / ad-hoc | Derive from `verify_facts_probe.py`; register at agent start |
+| Skills declare their needs | `SkillManifest` has no requirements field | Add `required_capabilities: Vec<String>`; scheduler reads it |
+| Cross-host agent pool | daemon listens on a **local Unix socket only** | One orchestrator daemon (debby/Hermes); remote agents reach it over Tailscale |
+
+### Cross-host topology (the one real decision)
+
+The daemon's socket is local, so today the agent pool is per-host. To route *across*
+hosts, agents on every host must be visible to one scheduler. Recommended:
+
+- **Central orchestrator daemon on debby (Hermes).** Agents on domedog/osa reach its
+  socket over Tailscale (forwarded via SSH/`socat`). Hermes is already the designated
+  orchestrator, so this matches the agent matrix.
+- Alternative (heavier, deferred): daemon-to-daemon federation.
+
+## Capability vocabulary (initial)
+
+Flat, explicit tags — the matcher does exact string comparison, no implied hierarchy.
+Sourced from the probe and recorded per host in [`HOST-MATRIX.md`](./HOST-MATRIX.md).
+
+| Category | Tags |
+| -------- | ---- |
+| OS | `linux`, `freebsd` |
+| Isolation | `docker`, `freebsd-jail` |
+| Display | `gui`, `screenshot`, `wayland` |
+| Hardware | `gpu`, `zfs` |
+| Runtime | `python3.12`, `node24`, `rust`, `go` |
+| Media | `ffmpeg`, `pillow`/`image-render` |
+
+Hosts advertise only what they truly have. Example from the current fleet:
+
+- **domedog / debby (Linux):** `linux`, `docker`, `gui`, `screenshot`, `image-render`, …
+- **osa (FreeBSD):** `freebsd`, `freebsd-jail`, `zfs`, `rust`, … (no `screenshot`/`image-render`)
+
+## Worked example: the tmux-screenshot skill
+
+This is why we could drop `py312-pillow` from the FreeBSD ISO without losing the skill:
+
+1. FreeBSD image drops Pillow — stays lean (`pkg-list` carries only `python312`).
+2. The skill manifest declares `required_capabilities: ["screenshot"]` (or `image-render`).
+3. Only Linux hosts advertise `screenshot` (Pillow is trivial there).
+4. Colibri routes any screenshot task to debby/domedog automatically; if both are offline
+   the task parks until one returns.
+
+The capability moved hosts. It was never lost.
+
+_See [`AGENTS.md`](../AGENTS.md) for the agent matrix, [`HOST-MATRIX.md`](./HOST-MATRIX.md)
+for per-host facts, and [`TOOLCHAIN.md`](./TOOLCHAIN.md) for runtime versions._