fix(autopilot): merge with AGENT_TOKEN so the merge triggers the deploy

@qa's autopilot merge used the built-in Actions token (TOKEN_QA unset -> fell back to GITEA_TOKEN).
Gitea does not fire new workflow runs for pushes made by the built-in Actions token, so the merge
landed on main but deploy.yml never ran — the change was merged-but-not-deployed. Merge with
AGENT_TOKEN (a PAT, already used for delegation and proven to trigger runs) so the push to main
triggers the deploy.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitea/workflows/agent.yml

@@ -162,6 +162,7 @@ jobs:
           MODE: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.mode }}
           HAS_IMAGES: ${{ steps.imgs.outputs.has_images }}
           BRANCH: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.branch }}
+          AUTOPILOT: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.autopilot }}   # 'true' when the issue carries the `autopilot` label
           NUM: ${{ github.event.issue.number }}
           TITLE: ${{ github.event.issue.title }}
           IBODY: ${{ github.event.issue.body }}
@@ -192,6 +193,9 @@ jobs:
           TITLE: ${{ github.event.issue.title }}
           BRANCH: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.branch }}
           NEW: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.new }}
+          IS_PR: ${{ github.event.issue.pull_request }}   # set when this run is on a PR thread
+          AUTOPILOT: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.autopilot }}   # 'true' when the origin issue carries `autopilot`
+          ISSNUM: ${{ steps.prep.outputs.issnum }}          # origin issue number (resolved from branch on PR threads)
         run: bash "$SCRIPTS/publish.sh"
 
       # Failure-safe: if any step above failed AFTER a dev agent already pushed commits, the normal

.gitea/workflows/scripts/publish.sh

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 # Required env (provided by the workflow step):
 #   GT AGENT_TOKEN TOKEN_PM TOKEN_SENIOR TOKEN_JUNIOR TOKEN_LEAD TOKEN_QA
 #   NAME MODE NUM TITLE BRANCH NEW GITHUB_SERVER_URL GITHUB_REPOSITORY
+#   IS_PR AUTOPILOT ISSNUM  (autopilot: @qa label-gated merge/halt + auto-trigger @qa on a fresh PR)
 set +e   # publish is best-effort: a grep-no-match / curl non-zero must NOT kill the step
 # Post/PR as the agent's OWN Gitea user when its token is configured; else the built-in bot.
 case "$NAME" in
@@ -17,14 +18,31 @@ API="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}"
 hdr=(-H "Authorization: token $TOK" -H "Content-Type: application/json")
 post() { curl -sS -w 'comment -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' -X POST "${hdr[@]}" \
   "$API/issues/$NUM/comments" -d "$(jq -nc --arg b "$1" '{body:$b}')"; }
+# Remove the 'autopilot' label from an issue by resolving its ID first (Gitea's DELETE label
+# endpoint is by ID, not name). Arg $1 = issue number. Used as the autopilot kill switch.
+del_autopilot_label() {
+  local iss="$1" lid
+  lid=$(curl -sS "${hdr[@]}" "$API/issues/$iss/labels" 2>/dev/null \
+        | jq -r 'if type=="array" then ([.[]|select(.name=="autopilot")][0].id // empty) else empty end')
+  if [ -n "$lid" ]; then
+    curl -sS -X DELETE "${hdr[@]}" "$API/issues/$iss/labels/$lid" \
+      -w '\nunlabel -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' || true
+  else
+    echo "no 'autopilot' label found on #$iss to remove"
+  fi
+}
 
-# drop machine-readable markers: DELEGATE / CLOSE_ISSUE, and the BEGIN_SUBTASKS..END_SUBTASKS and
-# BEGIN_PR_DESCRIPTION..END_PR_DESCRIPTION blocks (the PR description is published separately).
+# drop machine-readable markers: DELEGATE / CLOSE_ISSUE / MERGE_PR / HALT_AUTOPILOT, and the
+# BEGIN_SUBTASKS..END_SUBTASKS and BEGIN_PR_DESCRIPTION..END_PR_DESCRIPTION blocks (the PR
+# description is published separately).
 reply=$(awk '
   /^[[:space:]]*BEGIN_SUBTASKS/{s=1}
   /^[[:space:]]*BEGIN_PR_DESCRIPTION/{p=1}
   /^[[:space:]]*DELEGATE:[[:space:]]*@/{next}
   /^[[:space:]]*CLOSE_ISSUE[[:space:]]*$/{next}
+  /^[[:space:]]*MERGE_PR[[:space:]]*$/{next}
+  /^[[:space:]]*HALT_AUTOPILOT[[:space:]]*$/{next}
+  /^[[:space:]]*BOUNCE:[[:space:]]*@/{next}
   s{ if(/^[[:space:]]*END_SUBTASKS/){s=0}; next }
   p{ if(/^[[:space:]]*END_PR_DESCRIPTION/){p=0}; next }
   {print}
@@ -91,6 +109,75 @@ if [ "$MODE" != "pr" ]; then
     subtext=$(printf '\n\n---\n🤖 **@%s** — created sub-issues%s (mention an agent on each when ready):%b' "$NAME" "${ms:+ under milestone **$ms**}" "$links")
   fi
   post "$(printf '🤖 **@%s**\n\n%s%s' "$NAME" "$msg" "$subtext")"
+
+  # --- AUTOPILOT: @qa's narrow, label-gated merge / halt authority ---
+  # Only @qa, only when 'autopilot' is set, and only on a PR thread. The MERGE_PR / HALT_AUTOPILOT
+  # markers come from the QA prompt. Merge + label ops use TOKEN_QA (the QA user's PAT, which the
+  # maintainer must grant write+merge scope). ISSNUM is the origin issue (resolved from the branch).
+  if [ "$NAME" = "qa" ] && [ "$AUTOPILOT" = "true" ]; then
+    if grep -qiE '^[[:space:]]*MERGE_PR[[:space:]]*$' /tmp/agent_out.md; then
+      if [ -z "$IS_PR" ]; then
+        echo "MERGE_PR marker but this run is not on a PR thread — skipping merge"
+      else
+        echo "@qa autopilot: merging PR #$NUM (origin issue #${ISSNUM:-$NUM})"
+        # Merge with AGENT_TOKEN (a PAT) — NOT the built-in Actions token — so the resulting push to
+        # main TRIGGERS downstream workflows (e.g. deploy). A merge made with the built-in GITEA_TOKEN
+        # does not fire new runs (loop-prevention), which silently skips the deploy. Fall back to the
+        # agent's own token only if AGENT_TOKEN isn't set (then the deploy would need a manual run).
+        mtok="${AGENT_TOKEN:-$TOK}"
+        mc=$(curl -sS -o /tmp/merge_resp.txt -w '%{http_code}' -X POST \
+              -H "Authorization: token $mtok" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              "$API/pulls/$NUM/merge" -d '{"Do":"merge"}')
+        echo "merge -> HTTP $mc"; cat /tmp/merge_resp.txt 2>/dev/null || true
+        case "$mc" in
+          200|201|204)
+            echo "closing origin issue #${ISSNUM:-$NUM}"
+            curl -sS -X PATCH "${hdr[@]}" "$API/issues/${ISSNUM:-$NUM}" \
+              -d '{"state":"closed"}' -w '\nclose -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' || true
+            post "$(printf '🤖 **@qa** — ✅ verified & merged PR #%s (autopilot). Closed issue #%s.' "$NUM" "${ISSNUM:-$NUM}")"
+            ;;
+          *)
+            # Merge failed (checks not green, conflicts, or TOKEN_QA lacks merge scope) — do NOT
+            # silently proceed: drop the label so it reverts to human control and report.
+            del_autopilot_label "${ISSNUM:-$NUM}"
+            post "$(printf '🤖 **@qa** — ⚠️ tried to merge PR #%s but the API returned HTTP %s (checks not green, a conflict, or missing merge permission on TOKEN_QA). Removed the `autopilot` label — @ffaerber please take a look.' "$NUM" "$mc")"
+            ;;
+        esac
+      fi
+    elif grep -qiE '^[[:space:]]*BOUNCE:[[:space:]]*@(junior|senior|lead)' /tmp/agent_out.md; then
+      # @qa wants the dev to fix something. Send it back — never fix it ourselves. After 3 bounces,
+      # stop and hand to the human. QA's feedback is already posted (the reply comment above).
+      if [ -z "$IS_PR" ]; then
+        echo "BOUNCE marker but this run is not on a PR thread — skipping"
+      else
+        target=$(grep -oiE 'BOUNCE:[[:space:]]*@(junior|senior|lead)' /tmp/agent_out.md | head -1 \
+                 | grep -oiE '(junior|senior|lead)' | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+        [ -z "$target" ] && target=$(curl -sS "${hdr[@]}" "$API/pulls/$NUM" | jq -r '.user.login // "junior"')
+        # Count how many times this PR has already been bounced (marker in the trigger comment).
+        prior=$(curl -sS "${hdr[@]}" "$API/issues/$NUM/comments?limit=100" \
+                | jq -r 'if type=="array" then [.[]|select(.body|test("autopilot fix attempt"))]|length else 0 end' 2>/dev/null)
+        prior=${prior:-0}
+        if [ "$prior" -ge 3 ]; then
+          echo "@qa autopilot: 3 bounces already — halting"
+          del_autopilot_label "${ISSNUM:-$NUM}"
+          post "$(printf '🤖 **@qa** — 🛑 still not right after 3 fix attempts. Stopping autopilot (removed the `autopilot` label). @ffaerber please take over — details in the comments above.')"
+        else
+          n=$((prior + 1))
+          echo "@qa autopilot: bounce $n/3 -> @$target"
+          curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: token $AGENT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+            "$API/issues/$NUM/comments" \
+            -d "$(jq -nc --arg b "@$target please address @qa's feedback above and update this PR (autopilot fix attempt $n/3)." '{body:$b}')" \
+            -w '\nbounce -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' || true
+        fi
+      fi
+    elif grep -qiE '^[[:space:]]*HALT_AUTOPILOT[[:space:]]*$' /tmp/agent_out.md; then
+      echo "@qa autopilot: HALT — removing 'autopilot' label from #${ISSNUM:-$NUM}"
+      del_autopilot_label "${ISSNUM:-$NUM}"
+      post "$(printf '🤖 **@qa** — 🛑 this needs a human decision (not a dev fix). Removed the `autopilot` label (back to human control). @ffaerber please decide next steps (details above).')"
+    fi
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
   # Auto-delegate: if the plan names a teammate, trigger them via AGENT_TOKEN (a PAT, so it
   # fires a new workflow run — the built-in token cannot). Never targets @pm or self, so the
   # chain always terminates at a dev. The '🤖' guard on the trigger stops status-comment loops.
@@ -185,8 +272,31 @@ prpost() {
 
 if [ "$NEW" = "true" ]; then
   prpost "$prnum" "$(printf '🤖 **@%s** — ✅ PR ready for review — @ffaerber please review & merge:\n- %s%s' "$NAME" "$url" "$activity")"
+  # AUTOPILOT: hand the fresh PR to @qa automatically (via AGENT_TOKEN, so it fires a new run).
+  # @qa then verifies and — if green — merges + closes via its MERGE_PR marker. The comment lands
+  # on the PR thread ($prnum) so the next run resolves the origin issue's label from the branch
+  # name. The '🤖' guard on the trigger gate stops status-comment loops.
+  if [ "$AUTOPILOT" = "true" ] && [ -n "$AGENT_TOKEN" ] && [ -n "$prnum" ]; then
+    echo "autopilot: auto-triggering @qa to review PR #$prnum"
+    curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: token $AGENT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+      "$API/issues/$prnum/comments" \
+      -d "$(jq -nc --arg b "@qa please verify this PR (autopilot: issue #$NUM is labeled autopilot). Merge it if correct, or bounce it back to the dev with exactly what needs fixing." '{body:$b}')" \
+      -w '\ntrigger-qa -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' || true
+  fi
 else
   # Resume: just link the PR — its body and the diff already carry the description, so we don't
   # repeat the full write-up in the comment (the reasoning trail below shows what this run did).
   prpost "$prnum" "$(printf '🤖 **@%s** — pushed an update to the PR:\n- %s%s' "$NAME" "$url" "$activity")"
+  # AUTOPILOT: after a dev pushes a fix (e.g. following a @qa bounce), hand back to @qa to re-verify.
+  if [ "$AUTOPILOT" = "true" ] && [ -n "$AGENT_TOKEN" ] && [ -n "$prnum" ]; then
+    case "$NAME" in
+      junior|senior|lead)
+        echo "autopilot: dev pushed a fix — re-triggering @qa to re-verify PR #$prnum"
+        curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: token $AGENT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+          "$API/issues/$prnum/comments" \
+          -d "$(jq -nc --arg b "@qa please re-verify this PR (autopilot). Merge it if now correct, or bounce it back with exactly what still needs fixing." '{body:$b}')" \
+          -w '\ntrigger-qa -> HTTP %{http_code}\n' || true
+        ;;
+    esac
+  fi
 fi

.gitea/workflows/scripts/route.sh

@@ -51,8 +51,10 @@ git config user.name "$name"
 git config user.email "$name@ffaerber.duckdns.org"
 API="${GITHUB_SERVER_URL}/api/v1/repos/${GITHUB_REPOSITORY}"
 hdr=(-H "Authorization: token $TOK" -H "Content-Type: application/json")
+branch_ref=""
 if [ -n "$IS_PR" ]; then                     # comment on a PR -> resume its branch
   ref=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GT" "$API/pulls/$NUM" | jq -r .head.ref)
+  branch_ref="$ref"
   git fetch origin "$ref" && git checkout "$ref"
   { echo "branch=$ref"; echo "new=false"; } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 elif git ls-remote --exit-code --heads origin "ai/issue-$NUM" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -72,3 +74,18 @@ else                                         # comment on an issue, no branch ye
       -d "$(jq -nc --arg b "🔨 **@$name** is on it — building on branch [\`ai/issue-$NUM\`]($url). I'll open a PR when it's ready." '{body:$b}')" >/dev/null || true
   fi
 fi
+
+# --- Autopilot gate: read the `autopilot` label FRESH every run. ---
+# Presence of this label is the opt-in switch (and the kill switch: remove it mid-flight and the
+# next run reverts to normal human-approval behavior). When @qa is triggered on a PR thread, the
+# label lives on the ORIGIN issue (ai/issue-N), so resolve N from the branch name.
+issnum="$NUM"
+case "$IS_PR" in ?*) issnum=$(printf '%s' "$branch_ref" | sed -nE 's,^ai/issue-([0-9]+).*,\1,p');; esac
+[ -z "$issnum" ] && issnum="$NUM"
+autopilot=false
+if curl -sS -H "Authorization: token $GT" "$API/issues/$issnum/labels" 2>/dev/null \
+     | jq -e 'any(.[]?; .name=="autopilot")' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  autopilot=true
+fi
+echo "autopilot (autopilot label on #$issnum)=$autopilot"
+{ echo "autopilot=$autopilot"; echo "issnum=$issnum"; } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

.gitea/workflows/scripts/run-agent.sh

@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@
 # plain-text reply (/tmp/agent_out.md) plus the raw event stream (/tmp/events.jsonl).
 #
 # Required env (provided by the workflow step):
-#   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY AGENT_TOKEN NAME MODEL VISION MODE HAS_IMAGES BRANCH NUM TITLE IBODY CMT
+#   ANTHROPIC_API_KEY AGENT_TOKEN NAME MODEL VISION MODE HAS_IMAGES BRANCH AUTOPILOT NUM TITLE
+#   IBODY CMT
 #   FILES   (the opencode -f image flags, from the imgs step output)
+#   AUTOPILOT is 'true' when the issue carries the `autopilot` label (label-gated autopilot mode).
 set -u
 
 [ -z "$CMT" ] && CMT="(a new issue was just opened — assess it)"
@@ -51,6 +53,39 @@ if [ "$MODE" = "comment" ]; then
    END_SUBTASKS
    The automation creates the milestone + one sub-issue per line (each linked to this issue). It
    does NOT auto-start any dev — the maintainer @mentions an agent on each sub-issue when ready."
+    if [ "$AUTOPILOT" = "true" ]; then
+      ACTION="$ACTION
+   AUTOPILOT MODE IS ACTIVE (this issue carries the 'autopilot' label). This OVERRIDES the
+   two-phase approval gate above: do NOT ask '@ffaerber ready to start building?' and do NOT wait
+   for a 'yes'. When the task is clear, present your SHORT plan naming the best teammate to build it
+   AND end your reply with a 'DELEGATE: @<agent>' line in the SAME turn to hand off immediately.
+   Prefer @junior for small/low-risk (mostly YAML/compose/config), @senior/@lead for complex or
+   multi-file work. Only skip delegating (and instead ask @ffaerber) if the task is genuinely
+   ambiguous or unsafe — otherwise plan-and-delegate now."
+    fi
+  fi
+  if [ "$NAME" = "qa" ]; then
+    ACTION="$ACTION
+   As QA you verify a change works: read the PR/issue, drive the web app with your headless
+   browser if there is a URL, and report bugs or confirm behavior. You normally do NOT merge —
+   a human does that."
+    if [ "$AUTOPILOT" = "true" ]; then
+      ACTION="$ACTION
+   AUTOPILOT MODE IS ACTIVE (this issue/PR carries the 'autopilot' label). You are the quality gate.
+   You do NOT edit code or fix anything yourself — you either accept the PR or send it back to the dev
+   with precise instructions. After actually verifying, end your reply with EXACTLY one of:
+   - 'MERGE_PR' — the change is correct and any CI is green. The automation merges the PR and closes
+     the linked issue. Do NOT merge by any other means; only this marker triggers the merge.
+   - 'BOUNCE: @<dev>' — something needs changing. FIRST spell out, specifically and actionably, exactly
+     what the dev must change (name the file, label, value, hostname, etc.), THEN end with the BOUNCE
+     line naming who should fix it (@junior / @senior / @lead — usually whoever built it; @senior or
+     @lead for something harder). The automation sends the PR back to that dev and then re-verifies
+     with you. After 3 bounces it stops automatically and hands to @ffaerber — so make each round
+     count and list ALL problems at once, not one at a time.
+   Use BOUNCE for anything a dev can fix. Only use 'HALT_AUTOPILOT' when the problem is NOT fixable by
+   a dev — the request itself is ambiguous or needs a human decision — to hand back to @ffaerber.
+   Emit AT MOST one of MERGE_PR / BOUNCE / HALT_AUTOPILOT, and only after you have actually verified."
+    fi
   fi
 else
   ACTION="You start on git branch '${BRANCH}', with git and push credentials already configured.

AGENTS.md

@@ -11,10 +11,26 @@ the loop guards.
 ## Golden rules
 - You may edit **any file**. **NEVER push to `main`, NEVER merge a PR** — all work goes on a branch
   and becomes a PR a human reviews and merges.
+  - **Narrow exception — `@qa` autopilot merge:** `@qa` (and only `@qa`) MAY merge a single PR **only**
+    when the linked issue carries the `autopilot` label, the PR is clearly correct, and any CI
+    checks are green. `@qa` triggers the merge by ending its reply with the `MERGE_PR` marker (the
+    workflow performs the merge + closes the issue). On **any** doubt or bug, `@qa` must NOT merge:
+    it ends with `HALT_AUTOPILOT` instead, which removes the `autopilot` label and returns the
+    issue to human control. No other agent may merge, and `@qa` may not merge without the label.
 - **Never print, exfiltrate, or invent secret values.**
 - Keep changes **minimal** and match the conventions already in the file you're editing.
 - Do the work on a **branch** — never paste code or diffs into the issue thread.
 
+## Autopilot (`autopilot` label)
+An issue labeled **`autopilot`** runs without the usual human checkpoints:
+- `@pm` plans **and** delegates in the same turn (skips the "ready to build? reply yes" gate).
+- After the dev's PR is opened, `@qa` is auto-triggered to verify it, and merges + closes on success
+  (see the QA merge exception above).
+- **Kill switch:** remove the `autopilot` label at any time. The label is re-read fresh at the
+  start of every run, so the next agent turn reverts to normal human-approval behavior. `@qa` also
+  removes the label itself whenever it halts on a bug or a failed merge.
+No label (the default) = today's behavior, unchanged.
+
 ## Branches & pull requests
 Start on `ai/issue-<N>`. Split independent changes into separate branches (one PR each). Commit and
 push incrementally. Do NOT open PRs yourself (automated). End your reply with the PR description