os-sdlc: observability node, ADR copy-tag-audit pattern, to-issues→to-tickets rename adopted

- reference/pipeline-observability.md: new tenth concept node (run exhaust,
  predefined lifespans via os-doc-hygiene, copy-tag-audit pattern)
- self-improvement-loops: ADR-audit mechanics via vault-copy hook + virgin-tag
- spec-and-ticket-layer: to-tickets confirmed as Pocock v1.1 rename of
  to-issues (leftover skill removed from ~/.agents/skills)
- OVERVIEW: map + index updated, grill queue recorded
- repo docs: live /to-issues references swapped to /to-tickets

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01VgG2g9ooqbnBiZYGAonGYG

CLAUDE.md

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ next signal is production IRL session audits.
 
 ## Issue tracking
 
-Issues (created via `/to-issues`) live on self-hosted Forgejo (`jared/cc-os`), queried with
+Issues (created via `/to-tickets`) live on self-hosted Forgejo (`jared/cc-os`), queried with
 the `tea` CLI — not GitHub/`gh`. See `docs/issue-workflow.md`.
 
 ## OpenSpec workflow

docs/implementation-status.md

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ entry is in the leaf file named.
   (ADR-0031) + three new prompt files; `/readonly` decided as plan-mode convention, no
   skill (ADR-0030); os-doc-hygiene `file_length` scanner signal shipped (issue #25 part 1);
   this file distilled to index+PD (issue #25 parts 2–3, ADR-0032). os-backlog slice 7
-  shipped: SessionStart injection note + /to-issues tracker routing (issue #16); board-id
+  shipped: SessionStart injection note + /to-tickets tracker routing (issue #16); board-id
   cache via BoardResolver (issue #22); slice 8 — Operations board + tracker-routing rubric
   category + ADR-0033 canonizing Planka-state/git-issues-spec (issue #17); route inspect
   issue-shape classification + split-by-kind default (issue #26); cross-project filing

docs/implementation-status/os-backlog.md

@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ column ownership).
   (`hooks/session_start.py` + `hooks/hooks.json`, os-adr-style plugin-local hook): WHEN→THEN
   rules for capture / routing / promotion / column ownership / autonomy labels, ADR-0029
   semantics (the issue body's "afk-ready → Review" was wrong — caught in Codex review),
-  rules only, zero board state, ~447 tokens. `/to-issues` (global skill,
+  rules only, zero board state, ~447 tokens. `to-issues` (now `to-tickets`; global skill,
-  `~/.agents/skills/to-issues/`) gained a destination-tracker step reading the
+  then at `~/.agents/skills/to-issues/`) gained a destination-tracker step reading the
   `.cc-os/config` tracker key; the `planka:`/unset default publishes slices as git issues
   on the repo remote + one Planka pointer card (spec/state boundary preserved — human gate
   decided 2026-07-13). `Backlog::Tracker.issues_destination` + 6 routing tests.
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ column ownership).
   IRL audit (recurring)" (card `1818310715438531668`, P2 + semi, first progress comment
   `1818310889929966683`; recurrence contract: comment + move back to Backlog, never Done).
   Tracker-routing convention canonized as **ADR-0033** (Planka = state / git issues = specs,
-  tracker key grammar, pointer + promotion rules; cites route/to-issues/session-start
+  tracker key grammar, pointer + promotion rules; cites route/to-tickets/session-start
   rather than restating). os-context audit rubric gained category 8 `tracker-routing`
   (capture/route/promote compliance only). Bug found live and fixed: label color fallback
   only rescued `Planka::ValidationError`, but Planka rejects unknown colors as HTTP 400

docs/issue-workflow.md

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 # Issue workflow (Forgejo + tea)
 
-_Last updated: 2026-06-30._
+_Last updated: 2026-07-16._
 
-How issues created by the `/to-issues` skill get tracked and implemented in this repo.
+Note (2026-07-16): the `/to-issues` skill was renamed to `/to-tickets` in Matt Pocock's v1.1 skill set.
+
+How issues created by the `/to-tickets` skill get tracked and implemented in this repo.
 
 ## Tracker
 
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@ tea issues <N> --repo jared/cc-os     # view one issue's body
 
 ## Implement
 
-There is **no auto-trigger and no `/grab` command**. Issues from `/to-issues` are written as independently-grabbable tracer-bullet slices. To implement:
+There is **no auto-trigger and no `/grab` command**. Issues from `/to-tickets` are written as independently-grabbable tracer-bullet slices. To implement:
 
 1. Pick the next **unblocked** issue (check the "Blocked by" line in the body — slices often form a linear chain).
 2. Hand it to a coding session: _"implement issue #N from forgejo jared/cc-os"_.
@@ -48,4 +50,4 @@ tea issues close <N> --repo jared/cc-os
 
 ## Caveat
 
-The Matt-Pocock `to-issues` / `triage` skills default to **GitHub** and were never wired to this Forgejo/`tea` backend for cc-os (no `docs/agents/` config, no `.scratch/`). Re-running them assumes GitHub. Running `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` and describing the `tea`/Forgejo workflow would wire them to the right tracker.
+The Matt-Pocock `to-tickets` (formerly `to-issues`) / `triage` skills default to **GitHub** and were never wired to this Forgejo/`tea` backend for cc-os (no `docs/agents/` config, no `.scratch/`). Re-running them assumes GitHub. Running `/setup-matt-pocock-skills` and describing the `tea`/Forgejo workflow would wire them to the right tracker.

plugins/os-backlog/skills/route/SKILL.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Register a project's issue tracker: figure out what already exists, propose wher
 Planka = state, git issues = specs (ADR-0033, `docs/adr/0033-tracker-routing-planka-is-state-git-issues-are-specs.md`) — the ADR is the canonical statement; the operative routing rules are:
 
 - **WHEN** the project's work is mostly ephemeral tasks, small fixes, or process/coordination (state: backlog/next/doing/review/done, nothing needing a durable written spec) → `planka:<board>`.
-- **WHEN** work is specified as text that must survive and be referenced (features, migrations, architecture-level changes, tracer-bullet slices from `/to-issues`, PRDs from `/to-prd`) → `forgejo:<owner>/<repo>` or `github:<owner>/<repo>`.
+- **WHEN** work is specified as text that must survive and be referenced (features, migrations, architecture-level changes, tracer-bullet slices from `/to-tickets`, PRDs from `/to-prd`) → `forgejo:<owner>/<repo>` or `github:<owner>/<repo>`.
 - **WHEN** a project already tracks issues in-repo (`docs/issues/`, `ISSUES.md`) and wants to stay there → `repo:<path>` (the escape hatch).
 - **WHEN** a code effort needs both state tracking and a durable spec → card-as-pointer + issue-chain-as-spec: the Planka card is a pointer (title + link) into the git issue chain holding the spec; never duplicate spec text into the card description.
 - **WHEN** a Planka-tracked effort accretes significant code/design decisions in card comments → flag promotion to the user (open a git issue chain for the spec, turn the card into a pointer); never promote silently.

plugins/os-sdlc/OVERVIEW.md

@@ -37,8 +37,10 @@ graph TD
     PS --> AD[agent-design-principles]
     PS --> WP[worktree-parallelism]
     DG --> PF[plugin-factory]
+    PS --> PO[pipeline-observability]
     PS -.blocked stage.-> NAT[never-ask-twice]
     NAT <--> SIL[self-improvement-loops]
+    PO --> SIL
     SIL --> PF
     PS -.deferred.-> HZ[horizon]
     WP -.deferred.-> HZ
@@ -54,6 +56,7 @@ graph TD
 | [deterministic-gates](reference/deterministic-gates.md) | settled | Hooks, not agents, run tests/lint; red/green asserted mechanically; green command pluggable per project |
 | [agent-design-principles](reference/agent-design-principles.md) | settled | Single job, minimal tool allowlist (programmer: no Bash), settled facts in via prompt, minimum out via return format |
 | [worktree-parallelism](reference/worktree-parallelism.md) | direction | Worktree-per-spec, sequential tickets within a spec, parallel across specs, human merge gate |
+| [pipeline-observability](reference/pipeline-observability.md) | direction | What a run writes down (exhaust), where it lives, predefined lifespans (os-doc-hygiene); copy-tag-audit pattern feeds the loops |
 | [never-ask-twice](reference/never-ask-twice.md) | direction | The agency mechanism: two-tier lookup → mint-time scope classification → audit promotion; decision-category autonomy labels |
 | [self-improvement-loops](reference/self-improvement-loops.md) | direction | Session audits, ADR audits, eval harnesses, skill-lint — each catches a different drift |
 | [plugin-factory](reference/plugin-factory.md) | direction | Same factory builds plugins from a PRD; the eval harness is the green command |
@@ -80,6 +83,15 @@ Everything in [horizon](reference/horizon.md) stays unbuilt until the interactiv
 factory is trusted. Open items live per-node in each doc's "Open questions" —
 this file carries none.
 
+**Grill queue** (decided 2026-07-16): the critical path is
+[spec-and-ticket-layer](reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md) →
+[pipeline-stages](reference/pipeline-stages.md) — grill in that order first.
+Then [never-ask-twice](reference/never-ask-twice.md) +
+[self-improvement-loops](reference/self-improvement-loops.md) (can run in
+parallel with pipeline build; NAT's formalization ADR is independent), then
+[horizon](reference/horizon.md). The remaining nodes' open questions are
+implementation-time calls, not grill material.
+
 ## Sources
 
 - Vault: `matt-pocock-skills-v1-1-changes.md`, `agentic-sdlc-ai-developer-workflow-taxonomy.md`

plugins/os-sdlc/reference/pipeline-observability.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# pipeline observability
+
+_Status: direction — as of 2026-07-16_
+_Connects to: [pipeline-stages](pipeline-stages.md), [self-improvement-loops](self-improvement-loops.md), [never-ask-twice](never-ask-twice.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
+
+## Purpose
+
+Defines what a pipeline run writes down — its exhaust — where it goes, and how long it
+lives. The self-improvement loops and the never-ask-twice promotion mechanism are only as
+good as this exhaust; it was implicit in the original design and is made explicit here.
+Load this before designing any run report, audit input, or blocked-stage log.
+
+## Design
+
+- **Every run emits exhaust**: stages executed, actor per stage, gate outcomes (red/green,
+  iterations consumed), blocked-stage reports (the questions the pipeline could not
+  auto-resolve — [never-ask-twice](never-ask-twice.md)'s raw input), and a human-facing
+  summary. This is the feed the loops in
+  [self-improvement-loops](self-improvement-loops.md) consume.
+- **Every exhaust artifact has a predefined lifespan** (composes with os-doc-hygiene):
+  run-scoped scratch dies with the worktree; run reports persist on the ticket; anything
+  durable gets *promoted* to its proper home (ADR, vault note, issue comment) rather than
+  accumulating as clutter. No unbounded log directories.
+- **Copy → tag → audit pattern** (deterministic where possible, per the three-actor test):
+  the write side is a hook (code actor), the review side is the periodic audit (agent
+  actor). Reference case — ADRs: the ADR-writing skill becomes a named agent whose hook
+  copies every new ADR into the vault at write time; the ADR audit then reads only *virgin*
+  (untagged) vault copies, keeps the durable ones, revises for clarity where needed, and
+  tags them audited — the next round checks only new virgin ADRs. The same pattern
+  generalizes to other streams (blocked-stage reports, run reports): mechanical capture at
+  write time, audit consumes the untagged backlog, tagging marks progress.
+
+## Open questions
+
+- Run-report format and home: an issue comment on the ticket (durable, in-tracker, visible
+  at merge review) vs. a file artifact — leaning issue comment.
+- Lifespan policy per artifact class (scratch / run report / blocked-stage report) and how
+  os-doc-hygiene enforces it.
+- Which exhaust stream gets the copy-tag-audit hook first (ADRs are the obvious pilot).
+
+## Sources
+
+- 2026-07-16 design session — user-identified gap ("I assumed this mechanism was baked into
+  the concept") + the ADR copy-tag-audit proposal
+- os-doc-hygiene plugin (lifespan enforcement)
+- ADR-0037

plugins/os-sdlc/reference/pipeline-stages.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # pipeline stages
 
 _Status: direction — as of 2026-07-16_
-_Connects to: [deterministic-gates](deterministic-gates.md), [agent-design-principles](agent-design-principles.md), [spec-and-ticket-layer](spec-and-ticket-layer.md), [worktree-parallelism](worktree-parallelism.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
+_Connects to: [deterministic-gates](deterministic-gates.md), [agent-design-principles](agent-design-principles.md), [spec-and-ticket-layer](spec-and-ticket-layer.md), [worktree-parallelism](worktree-parallelism.md), [pipeline-observability](pipeline-observability.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
 
 ## Purpose
 
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ Manually triggered by `/implement <ticket>`. Stages, in order:
    aligns with both tests and spec. Order matters — misaligned tests invalidate a "code passes
    tests" result.
 7. **Cleanup & report** (agent/code mix) — trims scratch artifacts, produces a summary for the
-   human.
+   human. What gets written, where, and for how long is defined in
+   [pipeline-observability](pipeline-observability.md).
 8. **Human merge gate** — v1 has no automated merge; see
    [worktree-parallelism](worktree-parallelism.md).
 

plugins/os-sdlc/reference/self-improvement-loops.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # self improvement loops
 
 _Status: direction — as of 2026-07-16_
-_Connects to: [never-ask-twice](never-ask-twice.md), [plugin-factory](plugin-factory.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
+_Connects to: [never-ask-twice](never-ask-twice.md), [plugin-factory](plugin-factory.md), [pipeline-observability](pipeline-observability.md), [overview](../OVERVIEW.md)_
 
 ## Purpose
 
@@ -29,7 +29,11 @@ audit's own cost/latency never blocks a ticket.
   scope-classification judgment calls that slipped through at mint time. A wrong mint-time
   call is treated as a delay, not a loss — anything missed gets caught in the next ADR
   audit, so the loop is self-correcting rather than requiring the mint-time call to be
-  perfect.
+  perfect. Proposed mechanics (2026-07-16, user): the copy-tag-audit pattern from
+  [pipeline-observability](pipeline-observability.md) — a hook copies every new ADR into
+  the vault at write time; the audit reads only *virgin* (untagged) copies, keeps the
+  durable ones, revises for clarity, tags them audited; the next round checks only new
+  virgin ADRs. This makes the capture side deterministic and the audit's workload bounded.
 - **c. Eval harnesses** (exists — autoresearch pattern, already running for os-vault,
   os-adr, os-context) — catches capability regression. Functions as "the AI version of TDD"
   for plugin-type projects: a plugin's eval suite is the thing that must stay green across
@@ -47,8 +51,9 @@ Together, these four loops are:
 
 ## Open questions
 
-- ADR-audit criteria: what specifically counts as "stale," how missed promotions are
+- ADR-audit criteria: what specifically counts as "stale" and "durable," and cadence.
-  detected mechanically (diffing local ADRs against vault convention notes?), and cadence.
+  (Mechanical detection is now sketched via the copy-tag-audit pattern above — remaining
+  question is the judgment rubric the audit applies to each virgin ADR.)
 - Whether ADR audits live in os-context (alongside the existing session-audit skill) or in
   os-adr (alongside `find`/`create`/`migrate`) — an ownership question, not yet settled.
 - Whether (a)-(d) should share a common audit-report format so

plugins/os-sdlc/reference/spec-and-ticket-layer.md

@@ -26,8 +26,9 @@ issue-tracker state for os-sdlc.
   - **to-spec** — publishes the sharpened plan to the issue tracker as a spec-bearing issue
     (or epic-equivalent) — the durable artifact other stages read from.
   - **to-tickets** — decomposes the spec into feature-specific, independently-implementable
-    increments, each its own issue, tracer-bullet style (same shape as the existing
+    increments, each its own issue, tracer-bullet style. Confirmed 2026-07-16: this is
-    `to-issues` skill, but scoped to a published spec rather than an ad hoc plan).
+    Pocock's v1.1 *rename* of `to-issues` ("a spec defines the destination; tickets are the
+    journey"), not a sibling — the leftover `to-issues` skill was removed the same day.
   - **`/implement`** — consumes exactly one ticket into the [pipeline-stages](pipeline-stages.md)
     pipeline. One ticket in, one worktree/branch out (see
     [worktree-parallelism](worktree-parallelism.md)).
@@ -46,8 +47,6 @@ issue-tracker state for os-sdlc.
   (DeltaRefinery decomposed work into explicit levels; Pocock's wayfinder is looser).
 - Concrete spec issue template (sections, required fields) and ticket issue template
   (acceptance criteria shape, tracer-bullet slice size).
-- Whether `to-tickets` reuses the existing `to-issues` skill directly or needs its own
-  spec-aware variant.
 
 ## Sources
 
@@ -55,5 +54,5 @@ issue-tracker state for os-sdlc.
 - ADR-0042 (2026-07-16, Planka retirement / git-issues-only os-backlog)
 - `plugins/os-sdlc/OVERVIEW.md`
 - SecondBrain vault: `matt-pocock-skills-v1-1-changes.md`
-- `plugins/os-backlog/` (tracker key, `issue-create`/`issues` CLI, `to-issues` skill)
+- `plugins/os-backlog/` (tracker key, `issue-create`/`issues` CLI)
 - 2026-07-16 design session (this doc's origin)