refactor(cli): single-package workspace init and root dist build (#274)

Init templates match ~/.uncaged-nerve: scripts/build.mjs writes dist/senses/*/index.js and dist/workflows/*/index.js; drop @uncaged/nerve-skills from generated package.json; refresh Cursor skills rule copy.

Sense worker sends full compute result on signal IPC so the kernel can route workflow triggers; update e2e harness paths (migrations under senses/, noop under dist/workflows).

Fixes #274

Made-with: Cursor

.knowledge/adapter-isolation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+# Adapter Process Isolation
+
+Describes sandboxing, process isolation, resource limits, and timeout enforcement for adapter invocations in the Nerve workflow system.
+
+## Process Isolation Model
+
+Adapters run in a **two-tier isolation** model:
+
+1. **Workflow Worker Process** — Each workflow runs in a dedicated Node.js worker process (`workflow-worker.ts`) forked from the main daemon
+2. **Adapter Child Process** — Each adapter spawns CLI tools as child processes via `spawnSafe()` with `shell: false`
+
+## Resource Limits & Timeouts
+
+### Adapter-Level Timeouts
+
+- **Default timeout**: 300 seconds (300,000ms) for both cursor and hermes adapters
+- **Configurable** via `AgentConfig.timeout` in adapter factory functions
+- **Wall-clock enforcement** using `setTimeout()` — kills child process with `SIGTERM` on timeout
+- **AbortSignal support** — external cancellation triggers immediate `SIGTERM`
+
+### Timeout Behavior
+
+```ts
+// Timeout resolution priority (packages/core/src/spawn-safe.ts):
+// 1. Explicit timeoutMs value
+// 2. AbortSignal presence → no internal timer (relies on external abort)
+// 3. DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS (300_000) fallback
+```
+
+- Child process terminated with `SIGTERM` on timeout/abort
+- Returns `{ kind: "timeout", stdout, stderr }` error result
+- **No grace period** — immediate kill
+- **No SIGKILL escalation** — relies entirely on `SIGTERM` effectiveness
+
+#### SIGTERM Limitations
+
+If a child process **ignores or blocks `SIGTERM`** (e.g., signal handlers, blocked delivery):
+
+- **No fallback to `SIGKILL`** — process may remain alive indefinitely
+- **No escalation timer** — spawnSafe() does not implement progressive signal escalation
+- **Potential zombie/orphan risk** — unresponsive processes continue consuming resources
+- **OS-level cleanup only** — relies on parent process death or OS reaping mechanisms
+
+## Sandboxing Characteristics
+
+### What's Isolated
+
+- **File system**: Child process runs in specified `cwd` (workflow working directory)
+- **Environment**: Controlled env vars via `nerveCommandEnv()` + optional overrides
+- **Network**: No explicit restrictions (inherits parent process network access)
+- **Process tree**: Child processes are direct children, not containerized
+
+### What's NOT Sandboxed
+
+- **No resource quotas** (CPU, memory, disk I/O limits)
+- **No filesystem chroot/containers** — full filesystem access within user permissions
+- **No network isolation** — can make arbitrary network calls
+- **No syscall filtering** — no seccomp or similar restrictions
+
+#### Runtime Resource Enforcement
+
+**No active resource monitoring or constraints**:
+
+- **No cgroups** (Linux) — no CPU, memory, or I/O limits enforced
+- **No job objects** (Windows) — no resource quotas or process tree limits
+- **No worker_threads resource tracking** — Node.js worker processes run unrestricted
+- **Pure timeout-based enforcement** — only wall-clock time limits via `setTimeout()`
+- **OS-scheduled resource sharing** — relies entirely on operating system process scheduling
+
+Adapters can consume unlimited:
+- **CPU time** (until timeout)
+- **Memory** (until OOM)
+- **Disk I/O** (no quotas)
+- **Network bandwidth** (no throttling)
+- **File descriptors** (until ulimit)
+
+#### Environment Variable Security
+
+The `nerveCommandEnv()` function provides **minimal sanitization**:
+
+```ts
+// spawn-safe.ts lines 47-55
+export function nerveCommandEnv(): SpawnEnv {
+  const home = homedir();
+  const pnpmHome = join(home, ".local/share/pnpm");
+  return {
+    ...process.env,           // ← Full parent environment inherited
+    PNPM_HOME: pnpmHome,
+    PATH: `${pnpmHome}:${process.env.PATH ?? ""}`,
+  };
+}
+```
+
+- **No filtering of sensitive keys** — `NODE_OPTIONS`, `LD_PRELOAD`, `PYTHONPATH` passed through unchanged
+- **Full environment inheritance** — all parent process environment variables copied
+- **Injection risk** — malicious env vars (e.g., `NODE_OPTIONS=--require=evil.js`) affect Node.js child processes
+- **Path manipulation** — sensitive PATH entries remain accessible to adapters
+
+## Security Model
+
+### Execution Context
+
+- Uses `shell: false` to prevent shell injection attacks
+- Arguments passed as separate array elements (not shell-parsed)
+- PATH includes `~/.local/share/pnpm` for tool discovery
+- Inherits parent process user/group permissions
+
+#### File Descriptor Management
+
+```ts
+// spawn-safe.ts line 122
+stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"]
+```
+
+- **stdin closed**: Child receives no input (`stdio[0]: "ignore"`)
+- **stdout/stderr captured**: Piped to parent for collection (`stdio[1,2]: "pipe"`)
+- **No explicit fd closing**: Node.js default behavior — inherits other file descriptors
+- **Parent sockets/pipes accessible**: Child can access parent's open network connections, database handles, etc.
+- **Security risk**: Adapter processes may access unintended parent file descriptors
+
+### Attack Surface
+
+- CLI tools have **full user-level filesystem access**
+- Can spawn additional processes (not tracked/limited)
+- Network requests unrestricted
+- Resource consumption relies on OS-level limits
+
+## Worker Process Management
+
+### Workflow Isolation
+
+- Each workflow type gets dedicated worker process
+- Worker processes handle multiple concurrent threads (runIds)
+- Kill flags enable per-thread cancellation without killing worker
+- Graceful shutdown waits up to 10 seconds for in-flight operations
+
+#### Cross-RunId Contamination Risks
+
+**Shared mutable state** poses contamination risks between concurrent runIds:
+
+- **`process.env` mutations**: Environment changes affect all subsequent runIds in same worker
+- **`require.cache` pollution**: Module cache shared across all runIds — side effects persist
+- **Global variables**: Any global state mutations from one runId visible to others
+- **`process.cwd()` changes**: Working directory changes affect entire worker process
+- **File descriptors**: Open files/sockets shared between runId executions
+
+**No runId-specific scoping** implemented:
+- Worker reuses single Node.js process for efficiency
+- Each role execution sees cumulative environment from previous runIds
+- **Mitigation relies on adapter discipline** — clean implementations avoid global mutations
+
+### Error Handling
+
+- Adapter failures don't crash the worker process
+- Timeout/abort errors are isolated to specific role execution
+- Worker process survives adapter failures and continues serving other threads
+
+## Configuration
+
+```yaml
+# Example nerve.yaml configuration for timeout overrides
+workflows:
+  my-workflow:
+    roles:
+      coder:
+        adapter:
+          type: cursor
+          timeout: 600000  # 10 minutes in milliseconds
+```
+
+Timeout configuration happens at the adapter creation level, not as a system-wide sandbox policy.

.knowledge/adapter.md

@@ -5,13 +5,23 @@ Adapter = capability. Role = scenario. Workflows declare adapters directly via i
 ## AgentFn Protocol
 
 ```ts
-type AgentFn = (prompt: string, context: WorkflowContext) => Promise<string>
+type AgentFn = (ctx: ThreadContext, systemPrompt: string) => Promise<string>
 ```
 
-- Input: prompt + context (start frame, messages, workdir, AbortSignal)
-- Output: raw string — structured extraction is separate
+- Input: thread context (`{ threadId, start, steps }`) + system prompt (role identity)
+- Output: **single-shot `Promise<string>`** — no streaming support
 - Adapter handles tool-specific details internally
 
+### Streaming Limitations
+
+The `AgentFn` protocol does **not** support streaming responses (`AsyncIterable<string>` or `ReadableStream`). It's strictly limited to single-shot `Promise<string>` returns.
+
+For long-running or incremental agent outputs:
+- CLI tools buffer full output until completion
+- Timeout enforcement via `timeoutMs` (default 300s)
+- No intermediate results exposed to workflow logic
+- Progress indication happens at the CLI tool level only
+
 ## Available Adapters
 
 | Package | Adapter | Tool |
@@ -45,3 +55,14 @@ extract:
 ```
 
 Two-level merge: global → role override. Retry once on parse failure (feeds error back to LLM), then throw `ExtractError`.
+
+## Error Handling
+
+When adapters' underlying CLI tools (e.g., `cursor-agent` or `hermes`) fail, errors are surfaced **synchronously via rejection** with no fallback/retry logic:
+
+- **Missing/unavailable tool**: `spawn_failed` error when CLI binary not found in `$PATH`
+- **Non-zero exit code**: `non_zero_exit` error with captured stdout/stderr
+- **Timeout**: `timeout` error when execution exceeds configured `timeoutMs`
+- **Abort signal**: `aborted` error when `AbortSignal` triggers cancellation
+
+All errors are immediately thrown as `Error` instances with descriptive messages (e.g., `"cursor-agent: exitCode=7 stdout=... stderr=..."`). No automatic retries or fallback adapters.

.knowledge/architecture.md

@@ -5,20 +5,22 @@ Observation engine for autonomous agents — sense the world, react to changes,
 ## Core Pipeline
 
 ```
-External World → Sense → Signal → Reflex → Workflow → Log
+External World → Sense → Signal → Workflow → Log
+                           ↑
+                     compute() returns
+                     { signal, workflow }
 ```
 
-Causality is **one-directional**. Logs are the end of the chain — they cannot trigger Reflexes (prevents feedback loops).
+Causality is **one-directional**. Logs are the end of the chain — they cannot trigger further Senses (prevents feedback loops).
 
-## Three Orthogonal Extension Points
+## Two Extension Points
 
 | Extension | Question | Nature |
 |-----------|----------|--------|
-| **Sense** | What to compute | `compute()` function |
-| **Reflex** | When to compute | Declarative YAML (interval / on) |
+| **Sense** | What to observe & when to react | `compute()` pure function + YAML config (interval / on) |
 | **Workflow** | What to do | Roles + Moderator |
 
-Each is independent. Reflex doesn't know compute internals, Sense doesn't know when it's triggered, Workflow doesn't know why it was started.
+Senses own both the "what" (compute logic) and the "when" (config-driven scheduling). A Sense can trigger a Workflow directly by returning `{ signal, workflow: { name, prompt } }`.
 
 ## Two Event Types
 
@@ -31,3 +33,14 @@ Each is independent. Reflex doesn't know compute internals, Sense doesn't know w
 - One worker per Workflow type (on-demand)
 - Workers never talk to each other
 - All user code runs in isolated Workers; kernel never loads user code directly
+
+## Storage Systems
+
+- **Log Store** — SQLite with WAL mode for audit trails and workflow state
+- **Sense Databases** — Isolated SQLite per sense group for private data
+- **Knowledge Store** — Vector search index for project context
+- **Blob Store** — Content-addressable storage for large artifacts
+
+## Signal Flow
+
+Sense compute outputs are routed through signal routing logic that determines whether to emit a signal or trigger a workflow—never both simultaneously.

.knowledge/cli.md

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 ```bash
 nerve init                    # scaffold a new workspace (nerve.yaml, senses/, workflows/)
+nerve init --force            # reinitialize workspace even if ~/.uncaged-nerve/ exists (preserves data/)
+nerve init --from <git-url>   # clone existing workspace from git repository
 nerve validate                # validate nerve.yaml config
 nerve dev                     # run kernel foreground (development, Ctrl+C to stop)
 nerve start                   # start daemon (background)
@@ -14,6 +16,14 @@ nerve status                  # check daemon health (uptime, senses, workflows)
 nerve daemon                  # restart daemon (stop + start)
 ```
 
+### Init Behavior
+
+**Default `nerve init`**: Creates workspace at `~/.uncaged-nerve/`. If this directory already exists and is non-empty, **exits with error** requiring `--force` flag. No merge/overwrite logic — prevents accidental workspace destruction.
+
+**Force mode `nerve init --force`**: Reinitializes workspace even if `~/.uncaged-nerve/` exists. **Preserves `data/` directory** (containing sense SQLite databases and logs) but overwrites all config files (`nerve.yaml`, `package.json`, etc.) and example senses.
+
+**Git clone `nerve init --from <url>`**: Clones existing repository to `~/.uncaged-nerve/`. Requires empty target directory — fails if workspace already exists and is non-empty.
+
 ## Sense Management
 
 ```bash

.knowledge/coding-conventions.md

@@ -24,6 +24,21 @@ type Config = { throttle?: string }
 - `throw` only for programmer errors (bugs)
 - No try-catch for flow control
 
+### Result<T, E> Type
+
+Defined in `@uncaged/nerve-core` (`packages/core/src/result.ts`):
+
+```ts
+export type Result<T, E = Error> = { ok: true; value: T } | { ok: false; error: E };
+```
+
+**Discriminated union** with tagged `ok` field. Helper functions:
+- `ok(value)` → `{ ok: true, value }`
+- `err(error)` → `{ ok: false, error }`
+
+**Exhaustive handling**: Pattern is `if (!result.ok) { handle error }` then access `result.value`. 
+No compiler enforcement - relies on manual discipline and TypeScript's flow control analysis.
+
 ## Naming
 
 | Type | Style |
@@ -38,9 +53,25 @@ type Config = { throttle?: string }
 - Always named exports, never default
 - One module = one responsibility
 
+### Module Naming Conventions
+
+**Primary exports** use descriptive, unambiguous names:
+- Functions: `createXxx()`, `parseXxx()`, `xxxAgent()` (e.g., `createCursorAdapter`, `cursorAgent`)
+- Types: Domain-specific prefixes (e.g., `CursorAgentOptions`, `SenseComputeFn`, `ThreadContext`)
+- Constants: `UPPER_SNAKE_CASE` with context (e.g., `DEFAULT_SENSE_SIGNAL_RETENTION`, `CURSOR_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MS`)
+
+**Avoiding ambiguity**:
+- Package-scoped naming: `@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor` exports `cursorAgent`, `createCursorAdapter`
+- Factory pattern: `createXxxAdapter()` for configurable instances, `xxxAdapter` for defaults
+- Descriptive type prefixes prevent collision (e.g., `CursorAgentOptions` vs `HermesAgentOptions`)
+
 ## Async
 
 - Always `async/await`, never `.then()` chains
+- Use `AbortSignal` for cancellation: `AbortController` to create signals, pass to long-running operations
+- `spawn-safe.ts` and adapter functions accept `abortSignal: AbortSignal | null` parameter
+- On abort: child processes receive `SIGTERM`, async operations should check `signal.aborted`
+- No enforced Biome/Vitest rules for AbortSignal usage (manual discipline required)
 
 ## No Dynamic Import
 

.knowledge/knowledge-layer.md

@@ -19,10 +19,20 @@ nerve knowledge query --repo /path "query"  # search specific repo
 
 ## Embedding
 
-- Remote service: configured via `EMBED_SERVICE_URL` env var (self-hosted Cloudflare Worker + KV cache)
-- Model: Dashscope text-embedding-v3 (1024 dims)
-- Cache: content-addressable (sha256 of model+text), never expires
-- Fallback: word-overlap scoring when embed service not configured
+- **Default model**: Dashscope text-embedding-v3 (1024 dimensions)
+- **Remote service**: configured via `EMBED_SERVICE_URL` env var (self-hosted Cloudflare Worker + KV cache)
+- **Model configuration**: No mechanism to specify alternate models — hardcoded to text-embedding-v3 in remote service
+- **Vector dimensions**: Fixed at 1024 (Float32Array, stored as 4096-byte Buffer blobs in SQLite)
+- **Cache**: content-addressable (sha256 of model+text), never expires
+- **Fallback**: word-overlap scoring when embed service not configured
+
+### Configuration
+
+The embedding model is **not configurable** through `knowledge.yaml` or other config files. The remote service at `embed.shazhou.workers.dev` uses Dashscope text-embedding-v3 exclusively. To use different models, you would need to:
+
+1. Deploy your own embedding service compatible with the same API
+2. Point `EMBED_SERVICE_URL` to your service
+3. Ensure vector dimensions match (1024) or modify knowledge database schema
 
 ## Chunking
 

.knowledge/sense.md

@@ -2,18 +2,39 @@
 
 A `compute()` function that samples or derives external data. The only first-class citizen in nerve.
 
-## Behavior
+## Contract
 
-- Returns `T | null` — non-null emits a Signal, null is silent (no storage write, no signal, no downstream trigger)
-- Each Sense has its own **independent SQLite database**
-- Cross-sense reads are read-only via `peers` parameter
-- Schema defined with Drizzle ORM (`schema.ts` is single source of truth)
+Each sense module (`src/index.ts`) must export:
 
-## Sense → Workflow
+```ts
+export { snapshots as table } from "./schema.ts";  // drizzle table for runtime to insert into
 
-If `compute()` returns an object with `workflow: "name|maxRounds|prompt"`, the engine starts that workflow and does **not** emit a Signal. `workflow: null` or `""` means emit signal normally.
+export async function compute(): Promise<ComputeResult<T>> { ... }  // pure, no args
+```
 
-See `routeSenseComputeOutput` / `parseSenseWorkflowDirective` in `@uncaged/nerve-core`.
+**Function Signature & Input Schema:**
+- `compute()` is **parameterless** — no direct inputs, environment variables available
+- No database access within compute — runtime provides isolated execution context 
+- Must be pure function (no side effects, no external API calls)
+
+**Return Value Contract:**
+- `ComputeResult<T>` = `null | { signal: T; workflow: WorkflowTrigger | null }`
+  - `null` → silent, no storage, no signal  
+  - `{ signal: data, workflow: null }` → persist + emit signal
+  - `{ signal, workflow: WorkflowTrigger }` → persist + emit signal + trigger workflow
+  - Any other value → treated as `{ signal: value, workflow: null }`
+
+**Error Handling & Serialization:**
+- Exceptions caught by worker, logged as errors (no signal emitted)
+- Signal payload must be JSON-serializable (passed via IPC)
+- Invalid workflow triggers silently dropped (signal still emitted)
+
+**Timeout & Scheduling Semantics:**
+- Timeout priority: explicit config → AbortSignal → DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS (30s)
+- Enforced via `Promise.race()` with timeout promise
+- Grace period can trigger `process.exit(1)` after timeout (kills worker group)
+- Interval translation: YAML config values used directly as milliseconds in `setInterval()`
+- Jitter control: throttle mechanism prevents rapid-fire, single deferred trigger per throttle window
 
 ## Config (nerve.yaml)
 
@@ -27,3 +48,14 @@ senses:
     interval: 30s        # periodic trigger (optional)
     on: [disk-pressure]  # trigger on signals from other senses (optional)
 ```
+
+## Manual Trigger Context
+
+**`nerve sense trigger <name>`** sends IPC message to running daemon. The compute context is initialized as follows:
+
+- **SQLite Database**: Opened in **read-write mode** at `data/senses/<name>.db`
+- **Migrations**: All `*.sql` files in `senses/<name>/migrations/` applied in lexicographic order
+- **Environment**: Inherits daemon process environment (no special secrets injection)
+- **Arguments**: No runtime arguments or mock inputs supported — `compute()` is always pure function with no parameters
+- **Isolation**: Runs in forked child process (worker) with full filesystem access within user permissions
+- **Persistence**: Runtime automatically calls `db.insert(table).values(result.signal)` if compute returns non-null signal

.knowledge/signal-routing.md

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+# Signal Routing
+
+Signal routing is the core mechanism that determines how Sense outputs flow through the Nerve system.
+
+## Routing Logic
+
+When a Sense `compute()` function returns non-null, the output goes through `routeSenseComputeOutput()` in `packages/core/src/sense-workflow-directive.ts`:
+
+```
+Sense compute() → non-null → routeSenseComputeOutput() → { signal, workflow }
+                           ↓
+          kernel.ts → signal ALWAYS emitted + optional workflow start
+```
+
+## Two Output Formats
+
+### 1. Explicit Format
+```typescript
+{
+  signal: any,           // emitted as signal
+  workflow: {           // optional workflow trigger
+    name: string,
+    maxRounds: number,
+    prompt: string,
+    dryRun: boolean
+  } | null
+}
+```
+
+### 2. Shorthand Format
+Any other value is treated as:
+```typescript
+{ signal: payload, workflow: null }
+```
+
+## Workflow Directive Parsing
+
+## Concrete Routing Predicates
+
+The routing decision is implemented in `routeSenseComputeOutput()` using these exact matching criteria:
+
+### 1. Explicit Format Detection
+```typescript
+if (isPlainRecord(payload) && Object.hasOwn(payload, "signal"))
+```
+- Payload must be a plain object
+- Must have `signal` property (any value)
+- Workflow extracted from `workflow` property or defaults to null
+
+### 2. Workflow Validation
+When workflow is non-null, it's validated via `parseWorkflowTrigger()`:
+- `name`: non-empty string (trimmed)  
+- `maxRounds`: positive integer >= 1
+- `prompt`: string
+- `dryRun`: boolean
+
+**Critical behavior**: Invalid workflows are silently dropped (become null) but signal emission continues. This prevents malformed workflow config from blocking signals.
+
+### 3. Fallback to Shorthand
+Any value that doesn't match explicit format becomes:
+```typescript
+{ signal: payload, workflow: null }
+```
+
+## Processing Flow
+
+```typescript
+// In kernel.ts handleSenseWorkerSignal()
+const { signal: signalPayload, workflow } = routeResult.value;
+
+// Signal is ALWAYS emitted when compute returns non-null
+bus.emit({ id, senseId, payload: signalPayload, timestamp });
+
+// Workflow is started ONLY if workflow is non-null
+if (workflow !== null) {
+  workflowManager.startWorkflow(workflow.name, { ... });
+}
+```
+
+## Legacy String Format (Deprecated)
+
+The old `"name|maxRounds|prompt"` string format is converted to the structured format internally but should not be used in new code.
+
+## Key Behaviors
+
+1. **Signal priority**: Every non-null compute result emits a signal, regardless of workflow
+2. **Additive behavior**: Valid workflow triggers are executed in addition to signal emission
+3. **Failure tolerance**: Invalid workflow directives are silently ignored, signal still emits
+4. **Structure-based routing**: No complex predicates - simply checks object structure and property existence
+
+This routing mechanism ensures clean separation between perception (signals) and action (workflows) while maintaining backward compatibility.

.knowledge/storage-layer.md

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+# Storage Layer
+
+Nerve uses multiple storage systems designed for different data types and access patterns.
+
+## Core Storage Components
+
+### 1. Log Store (`logs.db`)
+Append-only audit trail implemented in SQLite with WAL mode.
+
+**Schema:**
+- `logs` — all system events (signals, workflow transitions, sense outputs)
+- `meta` — key-value store for system metadata
+- `workflow_runs` — materialized view of workflow execution state
+
+**Key Features:**
+- Atomic workflow state updates via transactions
+- Thread message persistence for crash recovery
+- Configurable log archival to JSONL files
+- Full-text search across log entries
+
+### 2. Sense Databases
+Each sense group gets its own SQLite database for private state.
+
+**Characteristics:**
+- Isolated per sense group (e.g., `system-senses.db`)
+- Managed by individual sense compute functions
+- Drizzle ORM integration for schema management
+- No cross-sense data sharing
+
+### 3. Knowledge Store (`knowledge.db`)
+Vector-enabled search index for project context.
+
+**Contents:**
+- Chunked source files with embeddings
+- Curated knowledge cards from `.knowledge/`
+- Semantic search capabilities
+- Global vs. repo-scoped search modes
+
+### 4. Blob Store (CAS)
+Content-addressable storage for large artifacts.
+
+**Design:**
+- SHA-256 based file naming
+- Automatic deduplication
+- Used for workflow artifacts and large payloads
+
+## Consistency & Isolation Mechanisms
+
+### SQLite WAL Mode
+All SQLite databases use `PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL` for:
+- **Writer-reader concurrency** — readers don't block writers
+- **Atomic writes** — each transaction is fully applied or rolled back
+- **Crash recovery** — WAL provides consistent state after crashes
+
+### Transaction Management
+
+#### Log Store Transactions
+Uses `BEGIN IMMEDIATE` transactions (`packages/store/src/log-store.ts`):
+```typescript
+function runInTransaction<T>(db: DatabaseSync, fn: () => T): T {
+  db.exec("BEGIN IMMEDIATE");  // Exclusive write lock
+  try {
+    const result = fn();
+    db.exec("COMMIT");
+    return result;
+  } catch (e) {
+    db.exec("ROLLBACK");
+    throw e;
+  }
+}
+```
+
+**Key Operations:**
+- `upsertWorkflowRun()` — atomically writes log entry + workflow state
+- `archiveLogs()` — transactional export + delete + watermark update
+
+#### Sense Database Isolation
+- Each sense group has its own SQLite file (e.g., `system-senses.db`)
+- No cross-sense transactions or coordination required
+- Independent schema migrations per sense
+- Private `_signals` table for signal history retention
+
+### Process-Level Isolation
+
+#### Worker Process Architecture
+- **One worker per sense group** — prevents data races within group
+- **One worker per workflow type** — isolated execution contexts  
+- **No shared memory** — all communication via IPC messages
+
+#### Concurrency Control
+Workflow manager enforces limits per workflow:
+```yaml
+workflows:
+  my-workflow:
+    concurrency: 2        # Max parallel threads
+    overflow: "queue"     # or "drop" 
+    maxQueue: 10         # Queue depth limit
+```
+
+### Consistency Guarantees & Failure Modes
+
+**Strong Consistency (Single Database)**:
+1. **Within Log Store** — ACID transactions with immediate consistency
+2. **Within Sense DB** — WAL mode ensures atomic commits per database
+3. **Workflow State** — `upsertWorkflowRun()` atomically updates log + materialized view
+
+**No Cross-Database Consistency**:
+- No distributed transactions across multiple SQLite files
+- Log Store and Sense Databases can temporarily diverge during failures
+- Signal emission and workflow triggering are separate, non-atomic operations
+
+**Failure Recovery Mechanisms**:
+- **Sense worker crash**: State rebuilt from sense SQLite database on respawn
+- **Workflow worker crash**: Thread state recovered from log store message history
+- **Kernel crash**: All workers respawned, state recovered from persistent stores
+- **Log Store corruption**: WAL recovery on database open
+- **Sense DB corruption**: Migrations re-run, `_signals` table rebuilt if needed
+
+**Rollback Scenarios**:
+- **Log write failure**: Transaction rolled back, no state changes persisted
+- **Sense compute failure**: Error logged, no signal/workflow emitted
+- **Workflow failure**: Thread marked as failed in materialized view
+- **IPC failure**: Worker respawned, pending operations lost (not rolled back)
+
+## Archive Strategy
+
+Logs older than retention window (default 30 days) are:
+1. Exported to `data/archive/logs/YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl`
+2. Deleted from active database
+3. Watermark updated to prevent re-processing
+
+This keeps the active database size bounded while preserving audit trails.

.knowledge/worker-isolation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# Worker Isolation
+
+Nerve's worker architecture ensures complete isolation between different types of user code while maintaining system stability.
+
+## Process Architecture
+
+```
+Kernel (Main Process)
+├── Sense Worker (Group A) ── sense-1, sense-2
+├── Sense Worker (Group B) ── sense-3, sense-4
+├── Workflow Worker (cleanup) ── cleanup workflow instances
+└── Workflow Worker (review) ── review workflow instances
+```
+
+## Isolation Boundaries
+
+### 1. Sense Workers
+- **One worker per sense group** (configured in `nerve.yaml`)
+- Groups share a child process but have isolated execution contexts
+- Crash in one sense doesn't affect other groups
+- Each group has its own SQLite database
+
+### 2. Workflow Workers  
+- **One worker per workflow type** (spawned on-demand)
+- Multiple threads of the same workflow share a worker process
+- Concurrency limits enforced at the workflow level
+- Workers terminate when no active threads remain
+
+### 3. Kernel Protection
+- **User code never runs in kernel process**
+- All `compute()` and workflow role functions run in workers
+- Kernel only handles IPC, scheduling, and coordination
+- System remains stable even with infinite loops or crashes in user code
+
+## Worker Lifecycle
+
+### Sense Workers
+```
+nerve daemon start → spawn worker per group → long-lived process
+                   → hot reload on file changes
+                   → respawn on crash
+```
+
+### Workflow Workers
+```
+workflow trigger → check existing worker → reuse or spawn
+                                       → execute thread
+                                       → terminate when idle
+```
+
+## Communication Patterns
+
+### Kernel ↔ Sense Worker
+- IPC via child process stdio
+- JSON-formatted messages
+- Worker reports signals back to kernel
+- Bidirectional: kernel can request immediate computes
+
+### Kernel ↔ Workflow Worker  
+- Similar IPC protocol
+- Workflow definition loaded in worker
+- Role execution results streamed back
+- Thread state managed in kernel
+
+## Resource Limits & Control
+
+### Timeout Enforcement
+Configurable timeouts per sense (in `nerve.yaml`):
+```yaml
+senses:
+  my-sense:
+    timeout: 30000      # Execution timeout (ms)
+    gracePeriod: 5000   # Grace period before hard kill
+```
+
+**Timeout Implementation:**
+- `AbortController` for async operations 
+- `Promise.race()` between compute and timeout
+- Grace period triggers `process.exit(1)` to kill entire worker group
+
+### Memory & CPU Limits
+**No Application-Level Resource Quotas**:
+- No memory caps, CPU throttling, or disk I/O limits enforced by Nerve
+- Workers can consume arbitrary system resources until OS limits
+- No cgroup/container isolation — full filesystem access within user permissions
+- No syscall filtering (no seccomp restrictions)
+
+**OS-Level Constraints Only**:
+- Process memory limited by system `ulimit -m` 
+- CPU usage bounded by scheduler only
+- Network requests unrestricted
+- Can spawn additional processes (not tracked by Nerve)
+
+### Concurrency Control
+
+#### Sense Workers
+- One active compute per sense at a time (serialized via promise chains)
+- No memory sharing between sense groups
+- Crash isolation: one sense crash doesn't affect other groups
+
+#### Workflow Workers
+Per-workflow limits configured in `nerve.yaml`:
+```yaml
+workflows:
+  my-workflow:
+    concurrency: 2        # Max parallel threads
+    overflow: "drop"      # or "queue"
+    maxQueue: 10         # Queue size limit
+```
+
+### Process Management
+
+#### Signal Handling
+Workers ignore session broadcast signals (SIGINT/SIGTERM):
+```typescript
+// Workers ignore terminal signals; kernel coordinates shutdown
+process.on("SIGINT", () => {}); 
+process.on("SIGTERM", () => {});
+```
+
+#### Graceful Shutdown & State Handoff
+**Sense Workers**:
+- IPC `shutdown` message → `process.exit(0)` (immediate)
+- No graceful termination period for senses
+- State rebuilt from SQLite on respawn (no handoff needed)
+
+**Workflow Workers**:
+- IPC `shutdown` → wait for in-flight threads to complete
+- Drain timeout: `WORKER_SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT_MS` (10s)
+- If threads don't complete → `SIGKILL` force termination
+- Thread state preserved in log store for crash recovery
+
+**State Handoff Mechanism**:
+- No explicit state transfer between old/new workers
+- Sense workers: SQLite database contains full state
+- Workflow workers: Log store contains thread message history
+- Kernel coordinates recovery via `recoverThreadsForWorker()`
+
+## Failure Handling
+
+### Worker Crashes
+- **Sense workers**: Automatic respawn after 1s delay, state rebuilt from DB
+- **Workflow workers**: Crash recovery from log store thread messages  
+- **Kernel protection**: Main process continues, marks affected runs as crashed
+- **Crash limits**: Max 5 crashes per workflow in 60s window (prevents infinite respawn)
+
+### Resource Exhaustion
+- **Memory**: Worker process killed by OS, kernel respawns automatically
+- **Compute timeout**: Grace period → hard kill → respawn
+- **Infinite loops**: Timeout enforcement prevents hanging indefinitely
+
+This architecture allows Nerve to run untrusted or experimental code safely while maintaining system availability.

.knowledge/workflow.md

@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ Stateful multi-step execution driven by Roles and a Moderator.
 
 - **Workflow** — definition with concurrency strategy
 - **Thread** — one execution instance, unique `runId`
-- **Role** — executes actions (has side effects). `(start, messages) → { content, meta }`
-- **Moderator** — pure routing function. `(context) → next role | END`
+- **Role** — executes actions (has side effects). `(ctx: ThreadContext) → Promise<RoleResult<M>>`
+- **Moderator** — pure routing function. `(ctx: ThreadContext) → next role | END`
 
 ## Thread Lifecycle
 
@@ -54,6 +54,69 @@ const workflow: WorkflowDefinition<MyMeta> = {
 ```
 
 - `adapter: AgentFn` — direct function reference
-- `prompt: string | ((start, messages) => Promise<string>)` — static or dynamic
+- `prompt: string | ((ctx: ThreadContext) => Promise<string>)` — static or dynamic
 - `meta: z.ZodType<M>` — Zod schema, directly (no wrapper needed)
 - `extract: LlmExtractorConfig` — provider for structured extraction
+
+## Runtime Enforcement Mechanisms
+
+### Role Authority & Validation
+
+**Role Function Lookup**:
+- Roles accessed via `def.roles[nextRole]` dictionary lookup
+- Unknown roles trigger immediate workflow error (`Unknown role: ${nextRole}`)
+- No dynamic role registration during execution
+
+**Result Validation** (`validateRoleResult()`):
+```typescript
+// Required return shape from every role function
+{ content: string, meta: Record<string, unknown> }
+```
+- `content` must be string (non-string → workflow error)
+- `meta` must be plain object (array/null/primitive → workflow error)
+- Validation failure terminates thread immediately
+
+### Moderator Authority & Routing Control
+
+**Next Role Selection**:
+- Moderator must return role name from `roles` keys OR `END` symbol
+- Called after every role completion (receives full context)
+- No validation of role name until execution attempt
+- Pure function constraint: cannot perform side effects
+
+**Causal Chain Integrity**:
+- Moderator receives immutable **ThreadContext**: `{ threadId, start, steps }`
+- Steps array contains ALL role outputs in chronological order
+- No role can modify prior steps or start metadata
+- Thread context built from log store on crash recovery
+
+### Unauthorized Command Event Prevention
+
+**Message Flow Control**:
+- Role functions have NO direct access to kernel IPC
+- All outputs flow through `sendWorkflowMessage()` wrapper
+- Worker process validates messages before kernel transmission
+- No direct log store database access from roles
+
+**Process Isolation**:
+- Roles execute in forked worker processes (not kernel)
+- File system access limited to user permissions
+- No network isolation (roles can make arbitrary HTTP calls)
+- Worker has read/write access to workflow workspace only
+
+### Concurrent Thread Management
+
+**Kill Flag Implementation**:
+```typescript
+type KillFlag = { value: boolean };
+// Checked before role execution and after completion
+if (killFlag.value) {
+  sendThreadEvent(runId, "killed", { exitCode: 137 });
+  return;
+}
+```
+
+**Concurrency Enforcement**:
+- Workflow manager enforces per-workflow limits in kernel
+- Excess threads queued/dropped per overflow policy
+- No role can spawn additional threads (no access to workflow manager)

CLAUDE.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 ## Core Concepts
 
 ```
-External World → Sense → Signal → Reflex → Workflow → Log
+External World → Sense → Signal → Workflow → Log
                   ↑                                     ↑
               "what to observe"                  "what to do"
 ```
@@ -14,19 +14,18 @@ External World → Sense → Signal → Reflex → Workflow → Log
 
 | Concept | What it is |
 |---------|-----------|
-| **Sense** | A `compute()` function that samples or derives data. Returns `T \| null` — non-null emits a Signal, null is silent. Each Sense has its own SQLite database. |
+| **Sense** | A `compute()` function that samples or derives data. Returns `ComputeResult<T>` — non-null emits a Signal (and optionally triggers a Workflow), null is silent. Each Sense has its own SQLite database. Scheduling (interval, on) is configured in nerve.yaml. |
 | **Signal** | A notification emitted when a Sense returns non-null. Pure fact, no intent. Distributed via an in-memory Signal Bus. Not persisted. |
-| **Reflex** | A declarative trigger (YAML) connecting Senses to actions. Trigger types: `interval` (periodic), `on` (react to Signals). Action types: trigger a Sense, or start a Workflow. |
 | **Workflow** | A stateful multi-step execution. Contains **Roles** (actors with side effects) and a **Moderator** (pure router). Each instance is a **Thread** with a unique `runId`. |
-| **Log** | Immutable audit trail. Records executions, state transitions, errors. **Cannot trigger Reflexes** — prevents feedback loops. |
-| **Engine** | The kernel orchestrating everything. Holds Signal Bus, Reflex Scheduler, Process Manager, Workflow Manager. Never loads user code directly — all user code runs in isolated Workers. |
+| **Log** | Immutable audit trail. Records executions, state transitions, errors. Cannot trigger Senses — prevents feedback loops. |
+| **Engine** | The kernel orchestrating everything. Holds Signal Bus, Process Manager, Workflow Manager. Never loads user code directly — all user code runs in isolated Workers. |
 | **Daemon** | The `nerve-daemon` package — engine runtime. Runs as a background process. |
 
 ### Architecture Rules
 
-- **Three orthogonal extension points**: Sense (what to compute), Reflex (when to compute), Workflow (what to do)
+- **Two extension points**: Sense (what to observe + when), Workflow (what to do)
 - **Process isolation**: One worker per Sense group (long-lived), one per Workflow type (on-demand). Workers never talk to each other.
-- **Causality is one-directional**: External world → Sense → Signal → Reflex → Action + Log. Logs are the end of the chain.
+- **Causality is one-directional**: External world → Sense → Signal → Workflow + Log. Logs are the end of the chain.
 
 
 
@@ -94,9 +93,34 @@ For mutually exclusive fields, use discriminated unions:
 
 ```typescript
 // ✅ Good
-type ReflexConfig =
-  | { kind: "sense"; sense: string; interval: string | null; on: string[] | null }
-  | { kind: "workflow"; workflow: string; on: string[] | null };
+type ComputeResult<T> =
+  | null
+  | { signal: T; workflow: WorkflowTrigger | null };
+```
+
+### Workflow authoring (user modules)
+
+Roles and moderators take **ThreadContext** (`threadId`, `start`, `steps`) — not separate `StartStep` / message arrays.
+
+```typescript
+import type { RoleResult, ThreadContext, WorkflowDefinition } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import { END } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+
+type MyMeta = { round: number };
+
+async function planner(ctx: ThreadContext): Promise<RoleResult<MyMeta>> {
+  void ctx.start;
+  void ctx.steps;
+  return { content: "plan", meta: { round: ctx.steps.length } };
+}
+
+const workflow: WorkflowDefinition<Record<"planner", MyMeta>> = {
+  name: "example",
+  roles: { planner },
+  moderator(ctx: ThreadContext<Record<"planner", MyMeta>>) {
+    return ctx.steps.length === 0 ? "planner" : END;
+  },
+};
 ```
 
 ## Modules & Exports

packages/adapter-cursor/src/index.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, WorkflowContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { type Result, type SpawnEnv, type SpawnError, ok, spawnSafe } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 export type CursorAgentMode = "plan" | "ask" | "default";
@@ -96,16 +96,16 @@ export function createCursorAdapter(config: CursorAdapterConfig): AgentFn {
   const timeoutMs = config.timeout;
   const mode = config.mode ?? "default";
 
-  return async (prompt: string, context: WorkflowContext): Promise<string> => {
+  return async (_ctx: ThreadContext, prompt: string): Promise<string> => {
     const run = await cursorAgent({
       prompt,
       mode,
       model: config.model,
-      cwd: context.workdir,
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
       env: null,
       timeoutMs,
-      dryRun: context.start.meta.dryRun,
-      abortSignal: context.signal,
+      dryRun: false,
+      abortSignal: null,
     });
     if (!run.ok) {
       throwCursorSpawnError(run.error);

packages/adapter-hermes/src/index.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, WorkflowContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { type Result, type SpawnEnv, type SpawnError, ok, spawnSafe } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /**
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ export function createHermesAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
   const modelFromConfig = config.model === "auto" ? null : config.model;
   const timeoutMs = config.timeout;
 
-  return async (prompt: string, context: WorkflowContext): Promise<string> => {
+  return async (_ctx: ThreadContext, prompt: string): Promise<string> => {
     const run = await hermesAgent({
       prompt,
       model: modelFromConfig,
@@ -106,8 +106,8 @@ export function createHermesAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
       maxTurns: HERMES_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS,
       env: null,
       timeoutMs,
-      dryRun: context.start.meta.dryRun,
-      abortSignal: context.signal,
+      dryRun: false,
+      abortSignal: null,
     });
     if (!run.ok) {
       throwHermesSpawnError(run.error);

packages/cli/package.json

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
   "scripts": {
     "prepublishOnly": "bash ../../scripts/prepublish-check.sh",
     "build": "rslib build",
+    "pretest": "pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-core run build && pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-daemon run build",
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {

packages/cli/src/__tests__/create-sense.test.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import {
   buildSenseIndexTs,
   buildSenseMigrationSql,
-  buildSensePackageJson,
   buildSenseSchemaTs,
   validateResourceName,
 } from "../commands/create.js";
@@ -46,20 +45,11 @@ describe("buildSenseMigrationSql", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("buildSensePackageJson", () => {
-  it("includes esbuild script and sense name", () => {
-    const pkg = JSON.parse(buildSensePackageJson("my-sense"));
-    expect(pkg.name).toBe("nerve-sense-my-sense");
-    expect(pkg.scripts.build).toContain("esbuild");
-    expect(pkg.scripts.build).toContain("src/index.ts");
-    expect(pkg.devDependencies.esbuild).toBeTruthy();
-  });
-});
-
 describe("buildSenseIndexTs", () => {
   it("embeds sense id in stub with TypeScript types", () => {
     const ts = buildSenseIndexTs("my-sense");
     expect(ts).toContain("my-sense");
+    expect(ts).toContain("export { mySense as table }");
     expect(ts).toContain("export async function compute");
     expect(ts).toContain("LibSQLDatabase");
     expect(ts).toContain("Promise<SenseResult>");

packages/cli/src/__tests__/create-workflow.test.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "nod
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { buildWorkflowPackageJson, buildWorkflowScaffold } from "../commands/create.js";
+import { buildWorkflowScaffold } from "../commands/create.js";
 
 let tmpDir: string;
 
@@ -33,9 +33,11 @@ describe("buildWorkflowScaffold", () => {
     expect(indexTs).toContain("@uncaged/nerve-core");
   });
 
-  it("root index wires moderator and END", () => {
+  it("root index wires moderator with ThreadContext and END", () => {
     const { indexTs } = buildWorkflowScaffold("test");
     expect(indexTs).toContain("moderator");
+    expect(indexTs).toContain("ThreadContext");
+    expect(indexTs).toContain("ctx.steps.length");
     expect(indexTs).toContain("END");
   });
 
@@ -46,9 +48,13 @@ describe("buildWorkflowScaffold", () => {
     expect(indexTs).toContain("./roles/main/index.js");
   });
 
-  it("main role module exports mainRole function", () => {
+  it("main role module exports mainRole with ThreadContext", () => {
     const { roleMainIndexTs } = buildWorkflowScaffold("test");
     expect(roleMainIndexTs).toContain("export async function mainRole");
+    expect(roleMainIndexTs).toContain("ThreadContext");
+    expect(roleMainIndexTs).toContain("RoleResult");
+    expect(roleMainIndexTs).not.toContain("StartStep");
+    expect(roleMainIndexTs).not.toContain("WorkflowMessage");
   });
 
   it("uses different names per call", () => {
@@ -75,21 +81,6 @@ describe("buildWorkflowScaffold", () => {
     const { roleMainPromptMd } = buildWorkflowScaffold("my-flow");
     expect(roleMainPromptMd).toContain("# my-flow — main role");
   });
-
-  it("package.json defines esbuild bundling to dist/", () => {
-    const pkg = JSON.parse(buildWorkflowPackageJson("my-flow")) as {
-      scripts: { build: string };
-      devDependencies: { esbuild: string };
-    };
-    expect(pkg.scripts.build).toContain("esbuild");
-    expect(pkg.scripts.build).toContain("--outdir=dist");
-    expect(pkg.devDependencies.esbuild).toBeTruthy();
-  });
-
-  it("buildWorkflowScaffold includes package.json body", () => {
-    const { packageJson } = buildWorkflowScaffold("wf");
-    expect(JSON.parse(packageJson).scripts.build).toContain("esbuild");
-  });
 });
 
 describe("workflow scaffold file writing (simulated)", () => {

packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-create.test.ts

@@ -122,54 +122,49 @@ describe("e2e create", () => {
   });
 
   it(
-    "create workflow scaffolds sources and package.json with esbuild build",
-    { timeout: 10_000 },
+    "create workflow scaffolds sources and root build emits dist/workflows/<name>/index.js",
+    { timeout: 120_000 },
     async () => {
       fakeHome = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-create-e2e-"));
       const nerveRoot = join(fakeHome, ".uncaged-nerve");
 
-      await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["init", "--force", "--skip-install"]);
+      await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["init", "--force"]);
 
       const wf = await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["create", "workflow", "e2e-flow"]);
       expect(wf.exitCode).toBe(0);
       expect(wf.stdout).toContain("✅");
 
-      const pkgPath = join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "e2e-flow", "package.json");
-      const indexPath = join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "e2e-flow", "index.ts");
-      const mainRolePath = join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "e2e-flow", "roles", "main", "index.ts");
-      expect(existsSync(pkgPath)).toBe(true);
-      expect(JSON.parse(readFileSync(pkgPath, "utf8")).scripts.build).toContain("esbuild");
+      const wfDir = join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "e2e-flow");
+      const indexPath = join(wfDir, "index.ts");
+      const mainRolePath = join(wfDir, "roles", "main", "index.ts");
+      expect(existsSync(join(wfDir, "package.json"))).toBe(false);
       expect(existsSync(indexPath)).toBe(true);
       expect(existsSync(mainRolePath)).toBe(true);
       expect(readFileSync(indexPath, "utf8")).toContain('name: "e2e-flow"');
       expect(readFileSync(mainRolePath, "utf8")).toContain("e2e-flow started");
+      expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", "e2e-flow", "index.js"))).toBe(true);
     },
   );
 
   it(
-    "create sense scaffolds src/index.ts, src/schema.ts, package.json and migration",
-    { timeout: 60_000 },
+    "create sense scaffolds src/, migration, and root build emits dist/senses/<name>/index.js",
+    { timeout: 120_000 },
     async () => {
       fakeHome = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-create-e2e-"));
       const nerveRoot = join(fakeHome, ".uncaged-nerve");
 
-      await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["init", "--force", "--skip-install"]);
+      await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["init", "--force"]);
 
       const sense = await runTestCli(fakeHome, ["create", "sense", "e2e-sense"]);
       expect(sense.exitCode).toBe(0);
       expect(sense.stdout).toContain("✅");
 
       const base = join(nerveRoot, "senses", "e2e-sense");
-      expect(existsSync(join(base, "package.json"))).toBe(true);
+      expect(existsSync(join(base, "package.json"))).toBe(false);
       expect(existsSync(join(base, "src", "index.ts"))).toBe(true);
       expect(existsSync(join(base, "src", "schema.ts"))).toBe(true);
       expect(existsSync(join(base, "migrations", "0001_init.sql"))).toBe(true);
-
-      const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(join(base, "package.json"), "utf8"));
-      expect(pkg.scripts.build).toContain("esbuild");
-
-      // pnpm install + build should produce index.js
-      expect(existsSync(join(base, "index.js"))).toBe(true);
+      expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "senses", "e2e-sense", "index.js"))).toBe(true);
     },
   );
 

packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-harness.ts

@@ -37,7 +37,15 @@
  * ```
  */
 
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, symlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import {
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  rmSync,
+  symlinkSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from "node:fs";
 import { createRequire } from "node:module";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
@@ -61,6 +69,27 @@ const nerveDaemonRoot = dirname(require.resolve("@uncaged/nerve-daemon/package.j
 const senseWorkerScript = join(nerveDaemonRoot, "dist", "sense-worker.js");
 const workflowWorkerScript = join(nerveDaemonRoot, "dist", "workflow-worker.js");
 
+function resolveDrizzleOrmPackageRoot(): string {
+  const requireFromDaemon = createRequire(join(nerveDaemonRoot, "package.json"));
+  const entry = requireFromDaemon.resolve("drizzle-orm");
+  let dir = dirname(entry);
+  for (let i = 0; i < 12; i += 1) {
+    const pkgPath = join(dir, "package.json");
+    if (existsSync(pkgPath)) {
+      try {
+        const name = (JSON.parse(readFileSync(pkgPath, "utf8")) as { name: string }).name;
+        if (name === "drizzle-orm") return dir;
+      } catch {
+        // keep walking
+      }
+    }
+    const parent = dirname(dir);
+    if (parent === dir) break;
+    dir = parent;
+  }
+  throw new Error("Could not resolve drizzle-orm package root for e2e harness");
+}
+
 const nerveYamlTemplate = `senses:
   counter:
     group: e2e
@@ -88,9 +117,9 @@ const echoWorkflowIndexJs = `const END = "__end__";
 export default {
   name: "echo",
   roles: {
-    echo: async (start, _messages) => {
+    echo: async (ctx) => {
       await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 350));
-      const p = typeof start.content === "string" ? start.content : "";
+      const p = typeof ctx.start.content === "string" ? ctx.start.content : "";
       return {
         content: p.length > 0 ? "echo:" + p : "echo:empty",
         meta: {},
@@ -121,17 +150,30 @@ api:
   host: 127.0.0.1
 `;
 
-/** Empty migration — counter sense uses only `_signals` (auto-created by daemon). */
-const counterMigration = `-- no-op migration for e2e counter sense
-SELECT 1;
+/** Schema for sense signal rows persisted via \`db.insert(table)\` (see sense-runtime). */
+const counterMigration = `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS counter_signals (
+  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
+  count INTEGER,
+  launched INTEGER,
+  idle INTEGER
+);
 `;
 
 /**
  * Minimal counter sense — each compute returns an incrementing count.
- * Does NOT touch the DB directly; signal persistence is handled by the daemon
- * (`runtime.persistSignal`) which writes to `_signals` automatically.
+ * Does NOT touch the DB directly in compute(); the daemon inserts into \`table\`
+ * and persistSignal handles \`_signals\`.
  */
-const counterIndexJs = `let _count = 0;
+const counterIndexJs = `import { integer, sqliteTable } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
+
+export const table = sqliteTable("counter_signals", {
+  id: integer("id").primaryKey({ autoIncrement: true }),
+  count: integer("count"),
+  launched: integer("launched"),
+  idle: integer("idle"),
+});
+
+let _count = 0;
 export async function compute(_db, _peers, _options) {
   _count += 1;
   return { signal: { count: _count }, workflow: null };
@@ -139,12 +181,21 @@ export async function compute(_db, _peers, _options) {
 `;
 
 /** First trigger launches local noop workflow; later triggers emit a plain signal. */
-const counterIndexJsWithNoopWorkflow = `let _launched = false;
+const counterIndexJsWithNoopWorkflow = `import { integer, sqliteTable } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
+
+export const table = sqliteTable("counter_signals", {
+  id: integer("id").primaryKey({ autoIncrement: true }),
+  count: integer("count"),
+  launched: integer("launched"),
+  idle: integer("idle"),
+});
+
+let _launched = false;
 export async function compute(_db, _peers, _options) {
   if (!_launched) {
     _launched = true;
     return {
-      signal: { launched: true },
+      signal: { launched: 1 },
       workflow: {
         name: "noop",
         maxRounds: 3,
@@ -153,7 +204,7 @@ export async function compute(_db, _peers, _options) {
       },
     };
   }
-  return { signal: { idle: true }, workflow: null };
+  return { signal: { idle: 1 }, workflow: null };
 }
 `;
 
@@ -209,7 +260,8 @@ function writeWorkspaceLayout(nerveRoot: string, withNoopWorkflow: boolean): voi
   mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "data", "senses"), { recursive: true });
   mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "data", "blobs"), { recursive: true });
   mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "counter", "migrations"), { recursive: true });
-  mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "echo", "dist"), { recursive: true });
+  mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "senses", "counter"), { recursive: true });
+  mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", "echo"), { recursive: true });
   writeFileSync(
     join(nerveRoot, "nerve.yaml"),
     withNoopWorkflow ? nerveYamlWithNoopWorkflow : nerveYamlTemplate,
@@ -221,20 +273,19 @@ function writeWorkspaceLayout(nerveRoot: string, withNoopWorkflow: boolean): voi
     "utf8",
   );
   writeFileSync(
-    join(nerveRoot, "senses", "counter", "index.js"),
+    join(nerveRoot, "dist", "senses", "counter", "index.js"),
     withNoopWorkflow ? counterIndexJsWithNoopWorkflow : counterIndexJs,
     "utf8",
   );
   writeFileSync(
-    join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "echo", "dist", "index.js"),
+    join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", "echo", "index.js"),
     echoWorkflowIndexJs,
     "utf8",
   );
   if (withNoopWorkflow) {
-    mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "noop", "dist"), { recursive: true });
-    mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "noop", "migrations"), { recursive: true });
+    mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", "noop"), { recursive: true });
     writeFileSync(
-      join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "noop", "dist", "index.js"),
+      join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", "noop", "index.js"),
       noopWorkflowIndexJs,
       "utf8",
     );
@@ -267,11 +318,17 @@ function useNoopWorkflow(opts: StartTestDaemonOpts): boolean {
  */
 export function linkWorkspaceDaemonIntoNerveRoot(nerveRoot: string): void {
   const daemonPkgRoot = dirname(require.resolve("@uncaged/nerve-daemon/package.json"));
-  const linkDir = join(nerveRoot, "node_modules", "@uncaged");
-  const linkPath = join(linkDir, "nerve-daemon");
+  const nm = join(nerveRoot, "node_modules");
+  mkdirSync(nm, { recursive: true });
+
+  const linkDir = join(nm, "@uncaged");
   mkdirSync(linkDir, { recursive: true });
-  if (existsSync(linkPath)) return;
-  symlinkSync(daemonPkgRoot, linkPath);
+  const linkPath = join(linkDir, "nerve-daemon");
+  if (!existsSync(linkPath)) symlinkSync(daemonPkgRoot, linkPath);
+
+  const drizzlePkgRoot = resolveDrizzleOrmPackageRoot();
+  const drizzleLink = join(nm, "drizzle-orm");
+  if (!existsSync(drizzleLink)) symlinkSync(drizzlePkgRoot, drizzleLink);
 }
 
 /**

packages/cli/src/__tests__/e2e-validate-init.test.ts

@@ -202,10 +202,9 @@ describe("e2e init", () => {
     // Verify key files exist
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "nerve.yaml"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "package.json"))).toBe(true);
-    expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "pnpm-workspace.yaml"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "scripts", "build.mjs"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "biome.json"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, ".gitignore"))).toBe(true);
-    expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "package.json"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "src", "index.ts"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "src", "schema.ts"))).toBe(true);
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "migrations", "0001_init.sql"))).toBe(
@@ -214,19 +213,14 @@ describe("e2e init", () => {
     expect(existsSync(join(nerveRoot, ".cursor", "rules", "nerve-skills.mdc"))).toBe(true);
 
     const pkgJson = readFileSync(join(nerveRoot, "package.json"), "utf8");
-    expect(pkgJson).toContain('"@uncaged/nerve-skills": "latest"');
-    expect(pkgJson).toContain('"build": "pnpm -r build"');
+    expect(pkgJson).not.toContain("nerve-skills");
+    expect(pkgJson).toContain('"build": "node scripts/build.mjs"');
+    expect(pkgJson).toContain('"esbuild": "^0.27.0"');
 
-    const workspaceYaml = readFileSync(join(nerveRoot, "pnpm-workspace.yaml"), "utf8");
-    expect(workspaceYaml).toContain("workflows/*");
-    expect(workspaceYaml).toContain("senses/*");
-
-    const sensePkgJson = readFileSync(
-      join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "package.json"),
-      "utf8",
-    );
-    expect(sensePkgJson).toContain("nerve-sense-cpu-usage");
-    expect(sensePkgJson).toContain("esbuild");
+    const buildScript = readFileSync(join(nerveRoot, "scripts", "build.mjs"), "utf8");
+    expect(buildScript).toContain('path.join(root, "senses")');
+    expect(buildScript).toContain('path.join(root, "workflows")');
+    expect(buildScript).toContain("dist");
   });
 
   it("generated nerve.yaml passes validate", { timeout: 10_000 }, async () => {

packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts

@@ -20,39 +20,18 @@ export type WorkflowScaffoldFiles = {
   indexTs: string;
   roleMainIndexTs: string;
   roleMainPromptMd: string;
-  packageJson: string;
 };
 
-export function buildWorkflowPackageJson(name: string): string {
-  return `${JSON.stringify(
-    {
-      name: `nerve-workflow-${name}`,
-      private: true,
-      type: "module",
-      scripts: {
-        build:
-          "esbuild index.ts --bundle --platform=node --format=esm --outdir=dist --packages=external",
-      },
-      devDependencies: {
-        esbuild: "^0.27.0",
-      },
-    },
-    null,
-    2,
-  )}\n`;
-}
-
 export function buildWorkflowScaffold(name: string): WorkflowScaffoldFiles {
   return {
     indexTs: buildWorkflowIndexTs(name),
     roleMainIndexTs: buildWorkflowMainRoleIndexTs(name),
     roleMainPromptMd: buildWorkflowMainRolePromptMd(name),
-    packageJson: buildWorkflowPackageJson(name),
   };
 }
 
 function buildWorkflowIndexTs(name: string): string {
-  return `import type { WorkflowDefinition } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+  return `import type { ThreadContext, WorkflowDefinition } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { END } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import { mainRole } from "./roles/main/index.js";
@@ -64,8 +43,8 @@ const workflow: WorkflowDefinition<Record<"main", MainMeta>> = {
   roles: {
     main: mainRole,
   },
-  moderator({ steps }) {
-    if (steps.length === 0) {
+  moderator(ctx: ThreadContext<Record<"main", MainMeta>>) {
+    if (ctx.steps.length === 0) {
       return "main";
     }
     return END;
@@ -77,18 +56,16 @@ export default workflow;
 }
 
 function buildWorkflowMainRoleIndexTs(name: string): string {
-  return `import type { RoleResult, StartStep, WorkflowMessage } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+  return `import type { RoleResult, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /**
  * Main role — implement LLM calls, scripts, HTTP, etc.
  * Optional: align behavior with \`prompt.md\` in this directory.
  */
 export async function mainRole(
-  start: StartStep,
-  messages: WorkflowMessage[],
+  ctx: ThreadContext,
 ): Promise<RoleResult<Record<string, unknown>>> {
-  void start;
-  void messages;
+  void ctx;
   // TODO: implement your role logic here
   return {
     content: "${name} started",
@@ -134,32 +111,14 @@ export const ${exportName} = sqliteTable("${table}", {
 `;
 }
 
-export function buildSensePackageJson(name: string): string {
-  return `${JSON.stringify(
-    {
-      name: `nerve-sense-${name}`,
-      private: true,
-      type: "module",
-      scripts: {
-        build:
-          "esbuild src/index.ts --bundle --platform=node --format=esm --outdir=. --out-extension:.js=.js --packages=external",
-      },
-      devDependencies: {
-        esbuild: "^0.27.0",
-        "drizzle-orm": "*",
-      },
-    },
-    null,
-    2,
-  )}\n`;
-}
-
 export function buildSenseIndexTs(senseId: string): string {
   const exportName = senseIdToSchemaExportName(senseId);
   return `import type { LibSQLDatabase } from "drizzle-orm/libsql";
 
 import { ${exportName} } from "./schema.js";
 
+export { ${exportName} as table } from "./schema.js";
+
 type SenseResult = {
   signal: { label: string; ts: number };
   workflow: null;
@@ -247,30 +206,39 @@ const createWorkflowCommand = defineCommand({
 
     mkdirSync(workflowDir, { recursive: true });
     const scaffold = buildWorkflowScaffold(args.name);
-    writeFile(join(workflowDir, "package.json"), scaffold.packageJson);
     writeFile(join(workflowDir, "index.ts"), scaffold.indexTs);
     writeFile(join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "index.ts"), scaffold.roleMainIndexTs);
     writeFile(join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "prompt.md"), scaffold.roleMainPromptMd);
 
     process.stdout.write("✅ Workflow scaffolded:\n");
-    process.stdout.write(`   ${join(workflowDir, "package.json")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(workflowDir, "index.ts")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "index.ts")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "prompt.md")}\n`);
+
+    process.stdout.write("\nBuilding workspace (workflows + senses)…\n");
+    try {
+      await spawnAsync("pnpm", ["run", "build"], nerveRoot);
+      process.stdout.write(
+        `✅ Build complete — ${join("dist", "workflows", args.name, "index.js")} ready.\n`,
+      );
+    } catch {
+      process.stdout.write(`⚠️ Build failed. Run manually:\n   cd ${nerveRoot} && pnpm run build\n`);
+    }
+
     process.stdout.write("\n💡 Next steps:\n");
-    process.stdout.write(
-      `   1. In ${workflowDir}, run \`npm install\` then \`npm run build\` (bundles to dist/index.js).\n`,
-    );
-    process.stdout.write("   2. Add to nerve.yaml:\n");
+    process.stdout.write("   1. Add to nerve.yaml:\n");
     process.stdout.write("         workflows:\n");
     process.stdout.write(`           ${args.name}:\n`);
     process.stdout.write("             concurrency: 1\n");
     process.stdout.write("             overflow: drop\n");
     process.stdout.write(
-      `   3. Edit ${join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "index.ts")} (and optional prompt.md).\n`,
+      `   2. Edit ${join(workflowDir, "roles", "main", "index.ts")} (and optional prompt.md).\n`,
     );
     process.stdout.write(
-      `   4. Adjust moderator routing in ${join(workflowDir, "index.ts")} if you add roles.\n`,
+      `   3. Adjust moderator routing in ${join(workflowDir, "index.ts")} if you add roles.\n`,
+    );
+    process.stdout.write(
+      `   4. After edits, run \`pnpm run build\` from the workspace root (${nerveRoot}); output is dist/workflows/<name>/index.js.\n`,
     );
     process.stdout.write("   5. Run `nerve start` to launch the daemon.\n");
   },
@@ -311,26 +279,23 @@ const createSenseCommand = defineCommand({
 
     mkdirSync(join(senseDir, "src"), { recursive: true });
     mkdirSync(join(senseDir, "migrations"), { recursive: true });
-    writeFile(join(senseDir, "package.json"), buildSensePackageJson(args.name));
     writeFile(join(senseDir, "src", "index.ts"), buildSenseIndexTs(args.name));
     writeFile(join(senseDir, "src", "schema.ts"), buildSenseSchemaTs(args.name));
     writeFile(join(senseDir, "migrations", "0001_init.sql"), buildSenseMigrationSql(args.name));
 
     process.stdout.write("✅ Sense scaffolded:\n");
-    process.stdout.write(`   ${join(senseDir, "package.json")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(senseDir, "src", "index.ts")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(senseDir, "src", "schema.ts")}\n`);
     process.stdout.write(`   ${join(senseDir, "migrations", "0001_init.sql")}\n`);
 
-    process.stdout.write("\nInstalling sense dependencies and building…\n");
+    process.stdout.write("\nBuilding workspace (senses + workflows)…\n");
     try {
-      await spawnAsync("pnpm", ["install", "--no-cache", "--ignore-workspace"], senseDir);
-      await spawnAsync("pnpm", ["run", "build"], senseDir);
-      process.stdout.write("✅ Build complete — index.js ready.\n");
-    } catch {
+      await spawnAsync("pnpm", ["run", "build"], nerveRoot);
       process.stdout.write(
-        `⚠️ Build failed. Run manually:\n   cd ${senseDir} && pnpm install --no-cache --ignore-workspace && pnpm run build\n`,
+        `✅ Build complete — ${join("dist", "senses", args.name, "index.js")} ready.\n`,
       );
+    } catch {
+      process.stdout.write(`⚠️ Build failed. Run manually:\n   cd ${nerveRoot} && pnpm run build\n`);
     }
 
     process.stdout.write("\n💡 Next steps:\n");
@@ -343,7 +308,9 @@ const createSenseCommand = defineCommand({
     process.stdout.write(
       `   2. Edit ${join(senseDir, "src", "index.ts")} to implement ${args.name}.\n`,
     );
-    process.stdout.write(`   3. Re-run \`pnpm run build\` in ${senseDir} after edits.\n`);
+    process.stdout.write(
+      `   3. Re-run \`pnpm run build\` from the workspace root (${nerveRoot}) after edits.\n`,
+    );
     process.stdout.write("   4. Run `nerve start` to launch the daemon.\n");
   },
 });

packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts

@@ -17,11 +17,6 @@ senses:
     interval: 10s
 `;
 
-const PNPM_WORKSPACE_YAML = `packages:
-  - 'workflows/*'
-  - 'senses/*'
-`;
-
 const BIOME_JSON = `{
   "$schema": "https://biomejs.dev/schemas/1.9.0/schema.json",
   "formatter": {
@@ -54,17 +49,20 @@ const PACKAGE_JSON = `${JSON.stringify(
     private: true,
     type: "module",
     scripts: {
-      build: "pnpm -r build",
+      build: "node scripts/build.mjs",
     },
     dependencies: {
       "@uncaged/nerve-core": "latest",
       "@uncaged/nerve-daemon": "latest",
-      "@uncaged/nerve-skills": "latest",
       "drizzle-orm": "latest",
+      zod: "^4.3.6",
     },
     devDependencies: {
       "@biomejs/biome": "latest",
+      "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
       "drizzle-kit": "latest",
+      esbuild: "^0.27.0",
+      typescript: "^5.7.0",
     },
     pnpm: {
       onlyBuiltDependencies: ["esbuild"],
@@ -74,6 +72,54 @@ const PACKAGE_JSON = `${JSON.stringify(
   2,
 )}\n`;
 
+const BUILD_MJS = `import * as esbuild from "esbuild";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+const root = path.join(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)), "..");
+const dist = path.join(root, "dist");
+
+const opts = {
+  bundle: true,
+  platform: "node",
+  format: "esm",
+  packages: "external",
+};
+
+function listDirs(dir) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) return [];
+  return fs
+    .readdirSync(dir)
+    .filter((name) => !name.startsWith(".") && !name.startsWith("_"))
+    .map((name) => ({ name, full: path.join(dir, name) }))
+    .filter(({ full }) => fs.statSync(full).isDirectory());
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  // Clean dist/
+  fs.rmSync(dist, { recursive: true, force: true });
+
+  for (const { name, full } of listDirs(path.join(root, "senses"))) {
+    const entry = path.join(full, "src", "index.ts");
+    if (!fs.existsSync(entry)) continue;
+    const outfile = path.join(dist, "senses", name, "index.js");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(outfile), { recursive: true });
+    await esbuild.build({ ...opts, entryPoints: [entry], outfile });
+  }
+
+  for (const { name, full } of listDirs(path.join(root, "workflows"))) {
+    const entry = path.join(full, "index.ts");
+    if (!fs.existsSync(entry)) continue;
+    const outfile = path.join(dist, "workflows", name, "index.js");
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(outfile), { recursive: true });
+    await esbuild.build({ ...opts, entryPoints: [entry], outfile });
+  }
+}
+
+await main();
+`;
+
 const GITIGNORE = `data/
 logs/
 nerve.pid
@@ -83,31 +129,26 @@ knowledge.db
 
 const NERVE_SKILLS_MDC = `---
 description: >-
-  Nerve skills package — where bundled Agent Skills live in this workspace and how to use them
+  Where Agent Skills live in this Nerve workspace and how to use them with Cursor
 alwaysApply: true
 ---
 
-# Nerve skills (\`@uncaged/nerve-skills\`)
+# Nerve Agent Skills
 
-This workspace lists **@uncaged/nerve-skills** in \`package.json\`. It ships **Agent Skills** (one directory per skill, each with a \`SKILL.md\`) for Nerve development and related tasks.
+**Agent Skills** are directories that contain a \`SKILL.md\` (with YAML frontmatter). Cursor loads them from **Project Skills** paths (for example \`.cursor/skills/\` or your global skills directory).
 
-## After install
+## Getting Nerve-oriented skills
 
-Run your package manager in this workspace (e.g. \`pnpm install\`, \`npm install\` — whatever \`nerve init\` used). Then skills are on disk at:
+There is no separate npm package for skills in the default workspace. To align with Nerve CLI, daemon, and monorepo conventions:
 
-- \`node_modules/@uncaged/nerve-skills/<skill-id>/SKILL.md\`
-
-Example (current catalog):
-
-- **nerve-dev** — Nerve architecture, CLI, sense/workflow patterns, \`nerve.yaml\`, and conventions: read \`node_modules/@uncaged/nerve-skills/nerve-dev/SKILL.md\`.
+1. Copy or symlink skill folders from the **Nerve** repository (e.g. \`packages/skills/*/\`) into \`.cursor/skills/\`, **or**
+2. Follow project documentation and \`CLAUDE.md\` / \`.cursor/rules/\` in this repo.
 
 ## How to use in an agent
 
-1. For tasks that match a skill’s **description** (in the \`SKILL.md\` frontmatter), open that \`SKILL.md\` and follow its structure and checklists.
-2. Prefer the skill as the **source of truth** for Nerve-specific conventions over generic assumptions.
-3. If the catalog grows, new skills appear as new sibling directories under \`node_modules/@uncaged/nerve-skills/\`.
-
-Do not commit \`node_modules\`; the dependency is the supported way to get and update skills to match \`@uncaged/nerve-skills\` on npm.
+1. When a task matches a skill’s **description** (in \`SKILL.md\` frontmatter), open that file and follow its steps.
+2. Prefer those conventions for sense/workflow layout, \`nerve.yaml\`, and tooling over generic guesses.
+3. Keep skills versioned with your dotfiles or project; update them when you upgrade Nerve.
 `;
 
 const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
@@ -124,6 +165,8 @@ export const cpuUsage = sqliteTable("cpu_usage", {
 
 const CPU_INDEX_TS = `import { cpus } from "node:os";
 
+export { cpuUsage as table } from "./schema.js";
+
 type SenseResult = {
   signal: { model: string; loadPercent: number; ts: number };
   workflow: null;
@@ -154,24 +197,6 @@ export async function compute(): Promise<SenseResult> {
 }
 `;
 
-const CPU_SENSE_PACKAGE_JSON = `${JSON.stringify(
-  {
-    name: "nerve-sense-cpu-usage",
-    private: true,
-    type: "module",
-    scripts: {
-      build:
-        "esbuild src/index.ts --bundle --platform=node --format=esm --outdir=. --out-extension:.js=.js --packages=external",
-    },
-    devDependencies: {
-      esbuild: "^0.27.0",
-      "drizzle-orm": "*",
-    },
-  },
-  null,
-  2,
-)}\n`;
-
 const CPU_MIGRATION_SQL = `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS cpu_usage (
   id          INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
   ts          INTEGER NOT NULL,
@@ -334,10 +359,9 @@ async function runInitWorkspace(force: boolean, skipInstall = false): Promise<vo
 
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "nerve.yaml"), NERVE_YAML);
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "package.json"), PACKAGE_JSON);
-  writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "pnpm-workspace.yaml"), PNPM_WORKSPACE_YAML);
+  writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "scripts", "build.mjs"), BUILD_MJS);
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "biome.json"), BIOME_JSON);
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, ".gitignore"), GITIGNORE);
-  writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "package.json"), CPU_SENSE_PACKAGE_JSON);
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "src", "index.ts"), CPU_INDEX_TS);
   writeFile(join(nerveRoot, "senses", "cpu-usage", "src", "schema.ts"), CPU_SCHEMA_TS);
   writeFile(

packages/core/package.json

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "drizzle-orm": "1.0.0-beta.23-c10d10c",
     "yaml": "^2.8.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -12,12 +12,7 @@ export type {
   ComputeResult,
 } from "./config.js";
 export type { Signal, SenseInfo } from "./sense.js";
-export type {
-  SenseBlobStore,
-  SenseComputeOptions,
-  SensePeerMap,
-  SenseComputeFn,
-} from "./sense-contract.js";
+export type { SenseComputeFn, SenseModule } from "./sense-contract.js";
 export { labelSenseTrigger, senseTriggerLabels } from "./sense-trigger-labels.js";
 export type {
   WorkflowMessage,
@@ -25,6 +20,7 @@ export type {
   Role,
   RoleMeta,
   StartStep,
+  ThreadContext,
   WorkflowContext,
   AgentFn,
   RoleStep,

packages/core/src/sense-contract.ts

@@ -1,46 +1,22 @@
+import type { SQLiteTable } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
 import type { ComputeResult } from "./config.js";
 
-/**
- * Minimal read/write/exists interface for the CAS blob store injected into
- * sense compute functions (RFC-001 §8). Matches BlobStore from @uncaged/nerve-store.
- */
-export type SenseBlobStore = {
-  write: (content: string | Uint8Array | Buffer) => string;
-  read: (hash: string) => Buffer | null;
-  exists: (hash: string) => boolean;
-};
-
-/**
- * Options injected by the engine into every compute invocation.
- * `signal` is always present; `blobs` is only available when running
- * inside the sense worker (RFC-001 §8).
- */
-export type SenseComputeOptions = {
-  signal: AbortSignal;
-  blobs: SenseBlobStore | null;
-};
-
-/**
- * Read-only map of peer sense name → their Drizzle DB.
- * `TDb` defaults to `unknown` so callers that don't need peer queries can
- * leave it unspecified.
- */
-export type SensePeerMap<TDb = unknown> = Readonly<Record<string, TDb>>;
-
 /**
  * The function signature every sense `src/index.ts` must export as a named
  * `compute` export.
  *
- * - `db`    — the sense's own Drizzle DB instance (read-write).
- * - `peers` — read-only map of peer sense name → Drizzle DB.
- * - `options` — injected options; `options.blobs` is available inside the
- *              sense worker; `options.signal` carries the AbortSignal.
- *
+ * Pure: no DB, no peers.
  * Return `null` to stay silent, or `{ signal, workflow }` to emit a Signal
  * (and optionally trigger a Workflow).
+ * The runtime handles persistence via `db.insert(table).values(result.signal)`.
  */
-export type SenseComputeFn<T = unknown, TDb = unknown> = (
-  db: TDb,
-  peers: SensePeerMap<TDb>,
-  options: SenseComputeOptions,
-) => Promise<ComputeResult<T>>;
+export type SenseComputeFn<T = unknown> = () => Promise<ComputeResult<T>>;
+
+/**
+ * The full shape a sense module (`src/index.ts`) must export.
+ * `compute` provides the data; `table` tells the runtime where to persist it.
+ */
+export type SenseModule<T = unknown> = {
+  compute: SenseComputeFn<T>;
+  table: SQLiteTable;
+};

packages/core/src/workflow.ts

@@ -21,39 +21,41 @@ export type WorkflowMessage = {
 /** The typed output of a Role execution. */
 export type RoleResult<Meta> = { content: string; meta: Meta };
 
-/**
- * A Role is a pure async function: receives the engine start frame plus prior
- * role messages only (the start frame is not included in `messages`).
- * Returns typed content + meta. Implementation can be an agent, LLM call,
- * script, HTTP request, etc.
- */
-export type Role<Meta> = (
-  start: StartStep,
-  messages: WorkflowMessage[],
-) => Promise<RoleResult<Meta>>;
-
 /** Maps role names to their meta types — the single generic that drives all inference. */
 export type RoleMeta = Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>;
 
-/** Engine start frame: prompt, max rounds cap, dry-run flag, and timestamps for the thread. */
+/** Engine start frame: initial prompt, max rounds cap, and thread identity. */
 export type StartStep = {
   role: START;
   content: string;
   /** Thread identity (same as workflow `runId`); for role prompts and CLI `nerve thread` context. */
-  meta: { maxRounds: number; dryRun: boolean; threadId: string };
+  meta: { maxRounds: number; threadId: string };
   timestamp: number;
 };
 
-/** Thread context passed to agent adapters (RFC-003): conversation frame, repo root, cancellation. */
-export type WorkflowContext = {
+/**
+ * Thread-scoped context for roles, moderator, and agent adapters (RFC-005).
+ * `workdir` and `signal` are adapter/engine config — not part of this shape.
+ */
+export type ThreadContext<M extends RoleMeta = RoleMeta> = {
+  threadId: string;
   start: StartStep;
-  messages: WorkflowMessage[];
-  workdir: string;
-  signal: AbortSignal;
+  steps: RoleStep<M>[];
 };
 
+/**
+ * @deprecated Use {@link ThreadContext}.
+ */
+export type WorkflowContext = ThreadContext;
+
+/**
+ * A Role receives the full thread context (start frame + prior role steps) and returns
+ * typed content + meta. Implementation can be an agent, LLM call, script, HTTP request, etc.
+ */
+export type Role<Meta> = (ctx: ThreadContext) => Promise<RoleResult<Meta>>;
+
 /** Unified agent invocation — raw string output; structured meta uses the extract layer. */
-export type AgentFn = (prompt: string, context: WorkflowContext) => Promise<string>;
+export type AgentFn = (ctx: ThreadContext, systemPrompt: string) => Promise<string>;
 
 /** A discriminated union of role steps after each execution, aligned with `StartStep` shape. */
 export type RoleStep<M extends RoleMeta> = {
@@ -61,23 +63,17 @@ export type RoleStep<M extends RoleMeta> = {
 }[keyof M & string];
 
 /**
- * Moderator input: the complete workflow history.
- * Contains the start frame and all role steps so far.
- * On initial call, `steps` is empty — moderator can check `steps.length === 0`.
- * Round count is `steps.length`; maxRounds is in `start.meta.maxRounds`.
+ * @deprecated Use {@link ThreadContext}.
  */
-export type ModeratorContext<M extends RoleMeta> = {
-  start: StartStep;
-  steps: RoleStep<M>[];
-};
+export type ModeratorContext<M extends RoleMeta> = ThreadContext<M>;
 
 /**
- * The moderator — a pure routing function. Receives the full workflow context
- * (start frame + all prior steps). Returns the next role name or END.
+ * The moderator — a pure routing function. Receives the full thread context
+ * (start frame + all prior steps). On initial call, `steps` is empty.
+ * Round count is `steps.length`; maxRounds is in `start.meta.maxRounds`.
+ * Returns the next role name or END.
  */
-export type Moderator<M extends RoleMeta> = (
-  context: ModeratorContext<M>,
-) => (keyof M & string) | END;
+export type Moderator<M extends RoleMeta> = (ctx: ThreadContext<M>) => (keyof M & string) | END;
 
 /** The complete definition of a workflow, as authored by users. */
 export type WorkflowDefinition<M extends RoleMeta> = {

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/sense-runtime.test.ts

@@ -7,10 +7,9 @@ import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-sqlite";
 import { integer, real, sqliteTable } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
-import { createBlobStore } from "@uncaged/nerve-store";
 import { parseParentMessage } from "../ipc.js";
-import { executeCompute, openPeerDb, openSenseDb, runMigrations } from "../sense-runtime.js";
-import type { ComputeFn, DrizzleDB, PeerMap, SenseRuntime } from "../sense-runtime.js";
+import { executeCompute, openSenseDb, runMigrations } from "../sense-runtime.js";
+import type { DrizzleDB, SenseRuntime } from "../sense-runtime.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Helpers
@@ -151,76 +150,50 @@ describe("openSenseDb", () => {
   });
 });
 
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// openPeerDb
-// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-describe("openPeerDb", () => {
-  it("opens an existing db in read-only mode", () => {
-    // Create a writable db first
-    const dbPath = makeTempDbPath();
-    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(dbPath);
-    sqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    sqlite.prepare("INSERT INTO samples (ts, value) VALUES (1, 42.0)").run();
-    sqlite.close();
-
-    const result = openPeerDb(dbPath);
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (!result.ok) return;
-
-    // Should be able to read
-    const peerDb = result.value;
-    const rows = peerDb.select().from(samples).all();
-    expect(rows).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(rows[0].value).toBe(42.0);
-  });
-
-  it("returns err when db path does not exist", () => {
-    const result = openPeerDb("/nonexistent/path/to/peer.db");
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-  });
-});
-
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // executeCompute
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 describe("executeCompute", () => {
-  function makeRuntime(computeFn: ComputeFn): {
-    runtime: SenseRuntime;
-    sqlite: DatabaseSync;
-  } {
-    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
-    sqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    const db = drizzle({ client: sqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
+  function makeRuntime(
+    computeFn: SenseRuntime["compute"],
+    sqlite?: DatabaseSync,
+  ): { runtime: SenseRuntime; sqlite: DatabaseSync } {
+    const db_sqlite = sqlite ?? new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
+    if (!sqlite) db_sqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
+    const db = drizzle({ client: db_sqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
     return {
-      runtime: { name: "test-sense", db, compute: computeFn, persistSignal: () => {} },
-      sqlite,
+      runtime: {
+        name: "test-sense",
+        db,
+        compute: computeFn,
+        table: samples,
+        persistSignal: () => {},
+      },
+      sqlite: db_sqlite,
     };
   }
 
-  const emptyPeers: PeerMap = {};
+  it("returns non-null and inserts into table when compute returns data", async () => {
+    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async () => ({
+      signal: { ts: 1000, value: 0.5 },
+      workflow: null,
+    }));
 
-  it("returns the compute result when compute returns a non-null value", async () => {
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (db) => {
-      await db.insert(samples).values({ ts: Date.now(), value: 0.5 });
-      return { signal: 0.5, workflow: null };
-    });
-
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers);
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) return;
-    expect(result.value).toEqual({ signal: 0.5, workflow: null });
+    expect(result.value).toEqual({ signal: { ts: 1000, value: 0.5 }, workflow: null });
 
     const rows = sqlite.prepare("SELECT * FROM samples").all();
     expect(rows).toHaveLength(1);
     sqlite.close();
   });
 
-  it("returns null (no signal) when compute returns null", async () => {
+  it("returns null and does not insert when compute returns null", async () => {
     const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async () => null);
 
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers);
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) return;
     expect(result.value).toBeNull();
@@ -235,60 +208,14 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
       throw new Error("something went wrong");
     });
 
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers);
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
     if (result.ok) return;
     expect(result.error.message).toContain("something went wrong");
     sqlite.close();
   });
 
-  it("compute can read from peers", async () => {
-    // Set up a peer db with data
-    const peerSqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
-    peerSqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    peerSqlite.prepare("INSERT INTO samples (ts, value) VALUES (100, 3.14)").run();
-    const peerDb = drizzle({ client: peerSqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
-
-    const peers: PeerMap = { "other-sense": peerDb };
-
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (_db, p) => {
-      const rows = await p["other-sense"].select().from(samples).all();
-      return rows.length > 0 ? { signal: rows[0].value, workflow: null } : null;
-    });
-
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, peers);
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (!result.ok) return;
-    expect(result.value).toEqual({ signal: 3.14, workflow: null });
-
-    peerSqlite.close();
-    sqlite.close();
-  });
-
-  it("write to own db does not affect peer db (isolation)", async () => {
-    const peerSqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
-    peerSqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    const peerDb = drizzle({ client: peerSqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
-    const peers: PeerMap = { "peer-sense": peerDb };
-
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (db) => {
-      await db.insert(samples).values({ ts: 999, value: 9.9 });
-      return { signal: 9.9, workflow: null };
-    });
-
-    await executeCompute(runtime, peers);
-
-    const peerRows = peerSqlite.prepare("SELECT * FROM samples").all();
-    expect(peerRows).toHaveLength(0);
-
-    const ownRows = sqlite.prepare("SELECT * FROM samples").all();
-    expect(ownRows).toHaveLength(1);
-
-    peerSqlite.close();
-    sqlite.close();
-  });
-
-  it("inserts correctly into the sense db directory path", async () => {
+  it("inserts correctly into the sense db from openSenseDb", async () => {
     const dbPath = makeTempDbPath();
     const migrationsDir = makeTempMigrationsDir(INIT_SQL);
     const dbResult = openSenseDb(dbPath, migrationsDir);
@@ -301,14 +228,12 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
     const runtime: SenseRuntime = {
       name: "cpu-usage",
       db,
-      compute: async (d) => {
-        await d.insert(samples).values({ ts: 1000, value: 1.23 });
-        return { signal: 1.23, workflow: null };
-      },
+      compute: async () => ({ signal: { ts: 1000, value: 1.23 }, workflow: null }),
+      table: samples,
       persistSignal: () => {},
     };
 
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, {});
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
 
     const rows = dbSqlite.prepare("SELECT * FROM samples").all() as Array<{
@@ -323,17 +248,10 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
 
   it("returns err when compute exceeds timeoutMs", async () => {
     const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(
-      (_db, _peers, options) =>
-        new Promise<null>((resolve, reject) => {
-          const t = setTimeout(() => resolve(null), 5_000);
-          options?.signal.addEventListener("abort", () => {
-            clearTimeout(t);
-            reject(new Error("aborted"));
-          });
-        }),
+      () => new Promise<null>((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(null), 5_000)),
     );
 
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers, 50);
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, 50);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
     if (result.ok) return;
     expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/timed out/i);
@@ -341,37 +259,14 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
   });
 
   it("completes within timeout when compute is fast", async () => {
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async () => ({ signal: 42, workflow: null }));
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers, 5_000);
+    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async () => ({
+      signal: { ts: 1, value: 42 },
+      workflow: null,
+    }));
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, 5_000);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) return;
-    expect(result.value).toEqual({ signal: 42, workflow: null });
-    sqlite.close();
-  });
-
-  it("passes AbortSignal to compute fn", async () => {
-    let capturedSignal: AbortSignal | undefined;
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (_db, _peers, options) => {
-      capturedSignal = options?.signal;
-      return null;
-    });
-
-    await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers, 1_000);
-    expect(capturedSignal).toBeInstanceOf(AbortSignal);
-    sqlite.close();
-  });
-
-  it("passes BlobStore as options.blobs when blobStore argument is provided", async () => {
-    const blobsRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-blobs-"));
-    const blobStore = createBlobStore(blobsRoot);
-    let seen: ReturnType<typeof createBlobStore> | undefined;
-    const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (_db, _peers, options) => {
-      seen = options?.blobs;
-      return null;
-    });
-
-    await executeCompute(runtime, emptyPeers, undefined, blobStore);
-    expect(seen).toBe(blobStore);
+    expect(result.value).toEqual({ signal: { ts: 1, value: 42 }, workflow: null });
     sqlite.close();
   });
 });
@@ -429,19 +324,14 @@ describe("runMigrations journal", () => {
     const first = runMigrations(sqlite, dir);
     expect(first.ok).toBe(true);
 
-    // Insert a row so we can verify second run doesn't fail on CREATE TABLE
     sqlite.exec("INSERT INTO samples (ts, value) VALUES (1, 1.0)");
 
-    // Run again — migration must NOT re-run (would fail without IF NOT EXISTS but
-    // the journal prevents it even for non-idempotent SQL)
     const nonIdempotentSql = "CREATE TABLE samples2 (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY)";
     writeFileSync(join(dir, "0002_samples2.sql"), nonIdempotentSql);
 
-    // First time: creates samples2
     const second = runMigrations(sqlite, dir);
     expect(second.ok).toBe(true);
 
-    // Second time: 0002 already in journal, must not re-run
     const third = runMigrations(sqlite, dir);
     expect(third.ok).toBe(true);
 

packages/daemon/src/agent-adapters/echo.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, WorkflowContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /**
  * Echo adapter (`type: "echo"`) — returns the assembled prompt unchanged.
  * Used for tests and dry-run wiring before real adapters exist.
  */
 export function createEchoAgent(_config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
-  return async (prompt: string, _context: WorkflowContext) => prompt;
+  return async (_ctx: ThreadContext, prompt: string) => prompt;
 }

packages/daemon/src/index.ts

@@ -17,13 +17,12 @@ export type {
 
 export type { SignalBus, SignalHandler, Unsubscribe } from "./signal-bus.js";
 
-export type { ComputeFn, DrizzleDB, PeerMap, SenseRuntime } from "./sense-runtime.js";
+export type { DrizzleDB, SenseRuntime } from "./sense-runtime.js";
 
 export {
   runMigrations,
   openSenseDb,
-  openPeerDb,
-  loadComputeFn,
+  loadSenseModule,
   executeCompute,
 } from "./sense-runtime.js";
 

packages/daemon/src/ipc.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  * Protocol per RFC §5.2: hub-and-spoke, all messages through engine.
  */
 
-import type { Result } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { Result, WorkflowTrigger } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { err, isPlainRecord, ok } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /** Parent → Worker: trigger one compute cycle for a sense */
@@ -72,6 +72,13 @@ export type SignalMessage = {
   payload: unknown;
 };
 
+/** Worker → Parent: sense compute result includes a workflow to start */
+export type SenseWorkflowTriggerMessage = {
+  type: "sense-workflow-trigger";
+  sense: string;
+  workflow: WorkflowTrigger;
+};
+
 /** Worker → Parent: compute threw or returned an unexpected error */
 export type ErrorMessage = {
   type: "error";
@@ -139,7 +146,8 @@ export type WorkerToParentMessage =
   | HealthResponseMessage
   | ThreadEventMessage
   | WorkflowErrorMessage
-  | ThreadWorkflowMessageMessage;
+  | ThreadWorkflowMessageMessage
+  | SenseWorkflowTriggerMessage;
 
 const PARENT_MSG_TYPES = new Set([
   "compute",
@@ -340,6 +348,7 @@ const WORKER_MSG_TYPES = new Set([
   "thread-event",
   "workflow-error",
   "thread-workflow-message",
+  "sense-workflow-trigger",
 ]);
 
 function parseThreadWorkflowMessageMsg(
@@ -377,6 +386,36 @@ function parseThreadWorkflowMessageMsg(
   });
 }
 
+function parseSenseWorkflowTriggerMsg(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Result<WorkerToParentMessage> {
+  if (typeof obj.sense !== "string") {
+    return err(new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' message missing string 'sense' field"));
+  }
+  if (!isPlainRecord(obj.workflow)) {
+    return err(
+      new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' message missing object 'workflow' field"),
+    );
+  }
+  const wf = obj.workflow;
+  if (typeof wf.name !== "string")
+    return err(new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' workflow missing string 'name'"));
+  if (typeof wf.maxRounds !== "number")
+    return err(new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' workflow missing number 'maxRounds'"));
+  if (typeof wf.prompt !== "string")
+    return err(new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' workflow missing string 'prompt'"));
+  if (typeof wf.dryRun !== "boolean")
+    return err(new Error("Worker 'sense-workflow-trigger' workflow missing boolean 'dryRun'"));
+  return ok({
+    type: "sense-workflow-trigger",
+    sense: obj.sense,
+    workflow: {
+      name: wf.name,
+      maxRounds: wf.maxRounds,
+      prompt: wf.prompt,
+      dryRun: wf.dryRun,
+    },
+  });
+}
+
 /** Validate and parse an unknown IPC message received from a worker process. */
 export function parseWorkerMessage(raw: unknown): Result<WorkerToParentMessage> {
   if (!isPlainRecord(raw)) {
@@ -395,5 +434,6 @@ export function parseWorkerMessage(raw: unknown): Result<WorkerToParentMessage>
   if (obj.type === "thread-event") return parseThreadEventMsg(obj);
   if (obj.type === "workflow-error") return parseWorkflowErrorMsg(obj);
   if (obj.type === "thread-workflow-message") return parseThreadWorkflowMessageMsg(obj);
+  if (obj.type === "sense-workflow-trigger") return parseSenseWorkflowTriggerMsg(obj);
   return ok({ type: "ready" });
 }

packages/daemon/src/sense-runtime.ts

@@ -4,43 +4,20 @@ import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
 import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-sqlite";
 import type { NodeSQLiteDatabase } from "drizzle-orm/node-sqlite";
+import type { SQLiteTable } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
 
-import type { ComputeResult, Result } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { ComputeResult, Result, SenseComputeFn } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { DEFAULT_SENSE_SIGNAL_RETENTION, err, isPlainRecord, ok } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
-import type { BlobStore } from "@uncaged/nerve-store";
-
 /** A Drizzle DB instance (schema-generic) */
 export type DrizzleDB = NodeSQLiteDatabase<Record<string, never>>;
 
-/** Read-only map of peer sense name → their Drizzle DB */
-export type PeerMap = Readonly<Record<string, DrizzleDB>>;
-
-/** Options passed to a compute function */
-export type ComputeOptions = {
-  signal: AbortSignal;
-  /** CAS under `data/blobs/`; injected by the sense worker when available. */
-  blobs?: BlobStore;
-};
-
-/**
- * The shape every sense's index.ts must export.
- * Engine injects `db` (read-write), `peers` (read-only), and `options`
- * (`signal`, and `blobs` when running in the sense worker — RFC-001 §8 CAS).
- * Returns a structured result when a signal should be emitted (and optionally a workflow),
- * or null for silence.
- */
-export type ComputeFn<T = unknown> = (
-  db: DrizzleDB,
-  peers: PeerMap,
-  options?: ComputeOptions,
-) => Promise<ComputeResult<T>>;
-
 /** All state held for one sense inside a worker */
 export type SenseRuntime = {
   name: string;
   db: DrizzleDB;
-  compute: ComputeFn;
+  compute: SenseComputeFn;
+  table: SQLiteTable;
   persistSignal: (payload: unknown) => void;
 };
 
@@ -126,13 +103,13 @@ export function runMigrations(sqlite: DatabaseSync, migrationsDir: string): Resu
   return ok(undefined);
 }
 
+/** Run `_signals` row prune after this many inserts (amortize DELETE cost). */
+const SIGNAL_INSERTS_PER_PRUNE = 100;
+
 /**
  * Open (or create) the SQLite file at `dbPath`, run all migrations in
  * `migrationsDir`, and wrap with Drizzle ORM.
  */
-/** Run `_signals` row prune after this many inserts (amortize DELETE cost). */
-const SIGNAL_INSERTS_PER_PRUNE = 100;
-
 export function openSenseDb(
   dbPath: string,
   migrationsDir: string,
@@ -184,27 +161,12 @@ export function openSenseDb(
 }
 
 /**
- * Open a peer sense DB in read-only mode (no migrations).
+ * Dynamically import the compute function and table from a sense's index.ts/js.
+ * The module must export a named `compute` function and a named `table` (SQLiteTable).
  */
-export function openPeerDb(dbPath: string): Result<DrizzleDB> {
-  let sqlite: DatabaseSync;
-
-  try {
-    sqlite = new DatabaseSync(dbPath, { readOnly: true });
-  } catch (e) {
-    const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
-    return err(new Error(`Failed to open peer database "${dbPath}" (readonly): ${msg}`));
-  }
-
-  // Same schema-agnostic Drizzle wrapper as openSenseDb.
-  return ok(drizzle({ client: sqlite }) as DrizzleDB);
-}
-
-/**
- * Dynamically import the compute function from a sense's index.ts/js.
- * The module must export a named `compute` function.
- */
-export async function loadComputeFn(senseIndexPath: string): Promise<Result<ComputeFn>> {
+export async function loadSenseModule(
+  senseIndexPath: string,
+): Promise<Result<{ compute: SenseComputeFn; table: SQLiteTable }>> {
   let mod: unknown;
 
   try {
@@ -221,26 +183,34 @@ export async function loadComputeFn(senseIndexPath: string): Promise<Result<Comp
     );
   }
 
-  return ok(mod.compute as ComputeFn);
+  if (!("table" in mod) || mod.table === null || typeof mod.table !== "object") {
+    return err(
+      new Error(
+        `Sense module "${senseIndexPath}" must export a named "table" (drizzle SQLiteTable)`,
+      ),
+    );
+  }
+
+  return ok({
+    compute: mod.compute as SenseComputeFn,
+    table: mod.table as SQLiteTable,
+  });
 }
 
 /**
  * Execute a sense's compute function with an optional soft timeout.
  * If timeoutMs is provided and compute takes longer, the AbortSignal is
  * triggered and an error Result is returned.
- * When `blobStore` is set, it is exposed as `options.blobs` (see RFC-001 §8).
+ * When compute returns non-null, `result.signal` is persisted to the sense's
+ * table via `db.insert(table).values(result.signal)` and `persistSignal` is
+ * called with `result.signal`. Returns the full `ComputeResult` so callers
+ * can inspect the `workflow` field.
  */
 export async function executeCompute(
   runtime: SenseRuntime,
-  peers: PeerMap,
   timeoutMs?: number,
-  blobStore?: BlobStore,
 ): Promise<Result<ComputeResult<unknown>>> {
   const controller = new AbortController();
-  const options: ComputeOptions =
-    blobStore !== undefined
-      ? { signal: controller.signal, blobs: blobStore }
-      : { signal: controller.signal };
 
   let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
   const timeoutPromise =
@@ -254,10 +224,17 @@ export async function executeCompute(
       : null;
 
   try {
-    const computePromise = runtime.compute(runtime.db, peers, options);
+    const computePromise = runtime.compute();
     const result = timeoutPromise
       ? await Promise.race([computePromise, timeoutPromise])
       : await computePromise;
+
+    if (result !== null) {
+      // Cast required: DrizzleDB is schema-agnostic; the sense module guarantees shape compatibility.
+      await runtime.db.insert(runtime.table).values(result.signal as Record<string, unknown>);
+      runtime.persistSignal(result.signal);
+    }
+
     return ok(result);
   } catch (e) {
     const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);

packages/daemon/src/sense-worker.ts

@@ -3,14 +3,13 @@
  *
  * Entry point for `nerve worker sense --group <name>`.
  * Receives the group name via CLI args, reads nerve.yaml, initialises one
- * SenseRuntime per sense in the group, builds peer read-only connections,
- * then signals ready and enters the IPC event loop.
+ * SenseRuntime per sense in the group, then signals ready and enters the
+ * IPC event loop.
  *
  * Layout assumptions (nerve user config at `~/.uncaged-nerve/`):
- *   senses/<name>/index.js        ← compiled compute
+ *   dist/senses/<name>/index.js   ← bundled compute (esbuild)
  *   senses/<name>/migrations/     ← SQL migration files
  *   data/senses/<name>.db         ← SQLite data file
- *   data/blobs/<aa>/<hashrest>    ← CAS (sha256), via options.blobs in compute
  *   nerve.yaml                    ← config
  */
 
@@ -19,14 +18,13 @@ import "./experimental-warning-suppression.js";
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
 
-import { parseNerveConfig, routeSenseComputeOutput } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import { parseNerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { NerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
-import { createBlobStore } from "@uncaged/nerve-store";
 import type { WorkerToParentMessage } from "./ipc.js";
 import { parseParentMessage } from "./ipc.js";
-import { executeCompute, loadComputeFn, openPeerDb, openSenseDb } from "./sense-runtime.js";
-import type { DrizzleDB, PeerMap, SenseRuntime } from "./sense-runtime.js";
+import { executeCompute, loadSenseModule, openSenseDb } from "./sense-runtime.js";
+import type { SenseRuntime } from "./sense-runtime.js";
 import { ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals } from "./worker-fork-support.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -52,7 +50,7 @@ function sendError(sense: string, error: string): void {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Initialisation helpers (each extracted to keep bootstrap complexity low)
+// Initialisation helpers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 function readConfig(nerveRoot: string): NerveConfig {
@@ -78,65 +76,30 @@ async function initSense(
   nerveRoot: string,
   senseName: string,
   retention: number,
-): Promise<{ db: DrizzleDB; runtime: SenseRuntime }> {
+): Promise<SenseRuntime> {
   const dbPath = join(nerveRoot, "data", "senses", `${senseName}.db`);
   const migrationsDir = join(nerveRoot, "senses", senseName, "migrations");
-  const senseIndexPath = resolve(join(nerveRoot, "senses", senseName, "index.js"));
+  const senseIndexPath = resolve(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "senses", senseName, "index.js"));
 
   const dbResult = openSenseDb(dbPath, migrationsDir, retention);
   if (!dbResult.ok) {
     throw new Error(`Failed to init DB for "${senseName}": ${dbResult.error.message}`);
   }
 
-  const computeResult = await loadComputeFn(senseIndexPath);
-  if (!computeResult.ok) {
-    throw new Error(`Failed to load compute for "${senseName}": ${computeResult.error.message}`);
+  const moduleResult = await loadSenseModule(senseIndexPath);
+  if (!moduleResult.ok) {
+    throw new Error(`Failed to load module for "${senseName}": ${moduleResult.error.message}`);
   }
 
-  const { db } = dbResult.value;
   return {
-    db,
-    runtime: {
-      name: senseName,
-      db,
-      compute: computeResult.value,
-      persistSignal: dbResult.value.persistSignal,
-    },
+    name: senseName,
+    db: dbResult.value.db,
+    compute: moduleResult.value.compute,
+    table: moduleResult.value.table,
+    persistSignal: dbResult.value.persistSignal,
   };
 }
 
-function buildPeers(
-  nerveRoot: string,
-  allSenseNames: string[],
-  ownDbs: Map<string, DrizzleDB>,
-  groupSenseNames: Set<string>,
-): PeerMap {
-  const entries: [string, DrizzleDB][] = [];
-
-  for (const peerName of allSenseNames) {
-    // Exclude senses that belong to this worker's own group — they are not peers
-    if (groupSenseNames.has(peerName)) continue;
-
-    const own = ownDbs.get(peerName);
-    if (own !== undefined) {
-      entries.push([peerName, own]);
-      continue;
-    }
-
-    const peerDbPath = join(nerveRoot, "data", "senses", `${peerName}.db`);
-    const peerResult = openPeerDb(peerDbPath);
-    if (!peerResult.ok) {
-      process.stderr.write(
-        `[sense-worker] Warning: could not open peer DB for "${peerName}": ${peerResult.error.message}\n`,
-      );
-      continue;
-    }
-    entries.push([peerName, peerResult.value]);
-  }
-
-  return Object.fromEntries(entries);
-}
-
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Grace period: hard kill after soft timeout
 //
@@ -173,13 +136,11 @@ function clearGracePeriodTimer(senseName: string): void {
 async function runCompute(
   senseName: string,
   runtime: SenseRuntime,
-  peers: PeerMap,
   timeoutMs: number,
   gracePeriodMs: number | null,
-  blobStore: ReturnType<typeof createBlobStore>,
 ): Promise<void> {
   try {
-    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, peers, timeoutMs, blobStore);
+    const result = await executeCompute(runtime, timeoutMs);
     if (!result.ok) {
       sendError(senseName, result.error.message);
       if (gracePeriodMs !== null && result.error.message.includes("timed out")) {
@@ -189,12 +150,7 @@ async function runCompute(
     }
     clearGracePeriodTimer(senseName);
     if (result.value != null) {
-      const routeResult = routeSenseComputeOutput(result.value);
-      if (!routeResult.ok) {
-        sendError(senseName, routeResult.error.message);
-        return;
-      }
-      runtime.persistSignal(routeResult.value.signal);
+      // Single IPC message: kernel uses routeSenseComputeOutput(payload) for signal + optional workflow.
       sendSignal(senseName, result.value);
     }
   } catch (e: unknown) {
@@ -210,11 +166,9 @@ async function runCompute(
 function handleMessage(
   raw: unknown,
   runtimes: Map<string, SenseRuntime>,
-  peers: PeerMap,
   group: string,
   senseConfigs: Map<string, { timeout: number | null; gracePeriod: number | null }>,
   inFlight: Map<string, Promise<void>>,
-  blobStore: ReturnType<typeof createBlobStore>,
 ): void {
   const parseResult = parseParentMessage(raw);
   if (!parseResult.ok) {
@@ -245,14 +199,13 @@ function handleMessage(
     return;
   }
 
-  // Look up timeout/gracePeriod per-sense at compute time (RFC §5.3: these are per-sense)
   const sc = senseConfigs.get(msg.sense);
   const timeoutMs = sc?.timeout ?? DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS;
   const gracePeriodMs = sc?.gracePeriod ?? null;
 
   const previous = inFlight.get(msg.sense) ?? Promise.resolve();
   const next = previous
-    .then(() => runCompute(msg.sense, runtime, peers, timeoutMs, gracePeriodMs, blobStore))
+    .then(() => runCompute(msg.sense, runtime, timeoutMs, gracePeriodMs))
     .catch((e: unknown) => {
       const errMsg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
       sendError(msg.sense, errMsg);
@@ -279,14 +232,12 @@ async function bootstrap(nerveRoot: string, group: string): Promise<void> {
   }
 
   const runtimes = new Map<string, SenseRuntime>();
-  const ownDbs = new Map<string, DrizzleDB>();
   const failedSenses: string[] = [];
 
   for (const senseName of groupSenses) {
     try {
       const retention = config.senses[senseName].retention;
-      const { db, runtime } = await initSense(nerveRoot, senseName, retention);
-      ownDbs.set(senseName, db);
+      const runtime = await initSense(nerveRoot, senseName, retention);
       runtimes.set(senseName, runtime);
     } catch (e: unknown) {
       const eMsg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
@@ -297,16 +248,11 @@ async function bootstrap(nerveRoot: string, group: string): Promise<void> {
     }
   }
 
-  // If ALL senses failed, exit with error so kernel respawns
   if (runtimes.size === 0) {
     process.stderr.write(`[sense-worker] All senses in group "${group}" failed to load, exiting\n`);
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
-  const groupSenseNames = new Set(groupSenses);
-  const peers = buildPeers(nerveRoot, Object.keys(config.senses), ownDbs, groupSenseNames);
-
-  // Build per-sense timeout/gracePeriod map (RFC §5.3: these are per-sense, not per-group)
   const senseConfigs = new Map<string, { timeout: number | null; gracePeriod: number | null }>();
   for (const senseName of groupSenses) {
     const sc = config.senses[senseName];
@@ -317,12 +263,11 @@ async function bootstrap(nerveRoot: string, group: string): Promise<void> {
   }
 
   const inFlight = new Map<string, Promise<void>>();
-  const blobStore = createBlobStore(join(nerveRoot, "data", "blobs"));
 
   sendReady();
 
   process.on("message", (raw: unknown) => {
-    handleMessage(raw, runtimes, peers, group, senseConfigs, inFlight, blobStore);
+    handleMessage(raw, runtimes, group, senseConfigs, inFlight);
   });
 }
 

packages/daemon/src/workflow-manager.ts

@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ export type WorkflowManager = {
   updateConfig: (newConfig: NerveConfig) => void;
   /**
    * Drain active threads for a workflow, then respawn its worker process.
-   * Used for hot reload when bundled workflow output under workflows/<name>/dist/ changes.
+   * Used for hot reload when bundled workflow output under dist/workflows/<name>/ changes.
    * Waits up to `drainTimeoutMs` for threads to complete before force-killing.
    */
   drainAndRespawn: (workflowName: string, drainTimeoutMs?: number) => Promise<void>;
@@ -127,7 +127,6 @@ function ensureThreadMessagesWithStart(
   threadId: string,
   fallbackPrompt: string,
   fallbackMaxRounds: number,
-  fallbackDryRun: boolean,
 ): WorkflowMessage[] {
   const mapped: WorkflowMessage[] = messages.map((m) => ({
     role: m.role,
@@ -141,7 +140,7 @@ function ensureThreadMessagesWithStart(
   const start: WorkflowMessage = {
     role: START,
     content: fallbackPrompt,
-    meta: { maxRounds: fallbackMaxRounds, dryRun: fallbackDryRun, threadId },
+    meta: { maxRounds: fallbackMaxRounds, threadId },
     timestamp: Date.now(),
   };
   return [start, ...mapped];
@@ -408,7 +407,6 @@ export function createWorkflowManager(
       runId,
       launch.prompt,
       launch.maxRounds,
-      launch.dryRun,
     );
     state.active.add(runId);
     const msg: ResumeThreadMessage = {

packages/daemon/src/workflow-worker.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,14 @@ import "./experimental-warning-suppression.js";
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
 
-import type { RoleMeta, StartStep, WorkflowDefinition, WorkflowMessage } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type {
+  RoleMeta,
+  RoleStep,
+  StartStep,
+  ThreadContext,
+  WorkflowDefinition,
+  WorkflowMessage,
+} from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { END, START, isPlainRecord } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import type {
@@ -87,15 +94,14 @@ function normalizeStartMeta(
   threadIdFallback: string,
 ): StartStep["meta"] {
   if (!isPlainRecord(meta)) {
-    return { maxRounds: maxRoundsFallback, dryRun: false, threadId: threadIdFallback };
+    return { maxRounds: maxRoundsFallback, threadId: threadIdFallback };
   }
   const maxRounds = typeof meta.maxRounds === "number" ? meta.maxRounds : maxRoundsFallback;
-  const dryRun = typeof meta.dryRun === "boolean" ? meta.dryRun : false;
   const threadId =
     typeof meta.threadId === "string" && meta.threadId.length > 0
       ? meta.threadId
       : threadIdFallback;
-  return { maxRounds, dryRun, threadId };
+  return { maxRounds, threadId };
 }
 
 function startStepFromWorkflowMessage(
@@ -107,7 +113,7 @@ function startStepFromWorkflowMessage(
     return {
       role: START,
       content: "",
-      meta: { maxRounds: maxRoundsFallback, dryRun: false, threadId: threadIdFallback },
+      meta: { maxRounds: maxRoundsFallback, threadId: threadIdFallback },
       timestamp: Date.now(),
     };
   }
@@ -124,8 +130,30 @@ type ThreadMessagesState = {
   start: StartStep;
   /** Role outputs only; never includes the `__start__` frame. */
   messages: WorkflowMessage[];
+  /** From IPC (`start-thread` / `resume-thread`); not part of `StartStep.meta`. */
+  dryRun: boolean;
 };
 
+function workflowMessagesToRoleSteps(messages: WorkflowMessage[]): RoleStep<RoleMeta>[] {
+  return messages.map((m) => ({
+    role: m.role,
+    meta: m.meta as Record<string, unknown>,
+    content: m.content,
+    timestamp: m.timestamp,
+  })) as RoleStep<RoleMeta>[];
+}
+
+function buildThreadContext(
+  start: StartStep,
+  roleMessages: WorkflowMessage[],
+): ThreadContext<RoleMeta> {
+  return {
+    threadId: start.meta.threadId,
+    start,
+    steps: workflowMessagesToRoleSteps(roleMessages),
+  };
+}
+
 function initThreadMessages(
   runId: string,
   resumeMessages: WorkflowMessage[],
@@ -139,6 +167,7 @@ function initThreadMessages(
       return {
         start: startStepFromWorkflowMessage(first, maxRounds, runId),
         messages: [...rest],
+        dryRun,
       };
     }
     const prompt = freshPrompt ?? "";
@@ -146,17 +175,18 @@ function initThreadMessages(
       start: {
         role: START,
         content: prompt,
-        meta: { maxRounds, dryRun, threadId: runId },
+        meta: { maxRounds, threadId: runId },
         timestamp: Date.now(),
       },
       messages: [...resumeMessages],
+      dryRun,
     };
   }
   const prompt = freshPrompt ?? "";
   const start: StartStep = {
     role: START,
     content: prompt,
-    meta: { maxRounds, dryRun, threadId: runId },
+    meta: { maxRounds, threadId: runId },
     timestamp: Date.now(),
   };
   sendWorkflowMessage(runId, {
@@ -165,14 +195,13 @@ function initThreadMessages(
     meta: start.meta,
     timestamp: start.timestamp,
   });
-  return { start, messages: [] };
+  return { start, messages: [], dryRun };
 }
 
 async function executeRole(
   def: WorkflowDefinition<RoleMeta>,
   nextRole: string,
-  start: StartStep,
-  messages: WorkflowMessage[],
+  ctx: ThreadContext<RoleMeta>,
   runId: string,
 ): Promise<{ content: string; meta: Record<string, unknown> } | null> {
   const role = def.roles[nextRole];
@@ -183,7 +212,7 @@ async function executeRole(
 
   let result: { content: string; meta: Record<string, unknown> };
   try {
-    result = await role(start, messages);
+    result = await role(ctx);
   } catch (e: unknown) {
     const errMsg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
     sendThreadEvent(runId, "failed", { error: errMsg, exitCode: 1 });
@@ -213,37 +242,20 @@ async function runThread(
     dryRun,
   );
 
-  const steps: Array<{
-    role: string;
-    meta: Record<string, unknown>;
-    content: string;
-    timestamp: number;
-  }> = [];
-
-  // Rebuild steps from any resumed messages
-  for (const msg of roleMessages) {
-    steps.push({
-      role: msg.role,
-      meta: msg.meta as Record<string, unknown>,
-      content: msg.content,
-      timestamp: msg.timestamp,
-    });
-  }
-
   if (killFlag.value) {
     sendThreadEvent(runId, "killed", { exitCode: 137 });
     return;
   }
 
-  let nextRole = def.moderator({ start, steps });
+  let nextRole = def.moderator(buildThreadContext(start, roleMessages));
 
   if (nextRole === END) {
     sendThreadEvent(runId, "completed", { exitCode: 0 });
     return;
   }
 
-  while (steps.length < maxRounds) {
-    const result = await executeRole(def, nextRole, start, roleMessages, runId);
+  while (roleMessages.length < maxRounds) {
+    const result = await executeRole(def, nextRole, buildThreadContext(start, roleMessages), runId);
 
     if (killFlag.value) {
       sendThreadEvent(runId, "killed", { exitCode: 137 });
@@ -261,14 +273,7 @@ async function runThread(
     roleMessages.push(message);
     sendWorkflowMessage(runId, message);
 
-    steps.push({
-      role: nextRole,
-      meta: result.meta,
-      content: result.content,
-      timestamp: message.timestamp,
-    });
-
-    nextRole = def.moderator({ start, steps });
+    nextRole = def.moderator(buildThreadContext(start, roleMessages));
 
     if (nextRole === END) {
       sendThreadEvent(runId, "completed", { exitCode: 0 });
@@ -298,7 +303,7 @@ async function loadWorkflowDefinition(
   nerveRoot: string,
   workflowName: string,
 ): Promise<WorkflowDefinition<RoleMeta>> {
-  const indexPath = resolve(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", workflowName, "dist", "index.js"));
+  const indexPath = resolve(join(nerveRoot, "dist", "workflows", workflowName, "index.js"));
   if (!existsSync(indexPath)) {
     throw new Error(
       `Workflow definition not found for "${workflowName}". Expected:\n  ${indexPath}`,

packages/role-committer/src/index.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole, decorateRole, onFail, withDryRun } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -43,13 +43,17 @@ export function createCommitterRole(
 ): Role<CommitterMeta> {
   const inner = createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => committerPrompt(start.meta.threadId),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => committerPrompt(ctx.threadId),
     committerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );
 
   return decorateRole(inner, [
-    withDryRun({ label: "committer", meta: { committed: true } as CommitterMeta }),
+    withDryRun({
+      label: "committer",
+      meta: { committed: true } as CommitterMeta,
+      dryRun: extract.dryRun === true,
+    }),
     onFail({ label: "committer", meta: { committed: false } as CommitterMeta }),
   ]) as Role<CommitterMeta>;
 }

packages/role-reviewer/src/reviewer.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ export function createReviewerRole(
   const resolved: ReviewerConfig = { ...defaults, ...config };
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => reviewerPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId, config: resolved }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => reviewerPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId, config: resolved }),
     reviewerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-sense/roles/coder.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Return \`done: false\` if you made progress but there is still work to do.`;
 export function createCoderRole(adapter: AgentFn, extract: LlmExtractorConfig): Role<CoderMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => coderPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => coderPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId }),
     coderMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-sense/roles/planner.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export function createPlannerRole(
 ): Role<PlannerMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => plannerPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => plannerPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId }),
     plannerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-sense/roles/tester.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ export function createTesterRole(
 ): Role<TesterMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => testerPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId, nerveRoot }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => testerPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId, nerveRoot }),
     testerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-workflow/roles/coder.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ Return \`done: false\` if you made progress but there is still work to do, or if
 export function createCoderRole(adapter: AgentFn, extract: LlmExtractorConfig): Role<CoderMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => coderPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => coderPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId }),
     coderMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-workflow/roles/planner.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ export function createPlannerRole(
 ): Role<PlannerMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => plannerPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => plannerPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId }),
     plannerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-meta/src/develop-workflow/roles/tester.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { AgentFn, Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { LlmExtractorConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { createRole } from "@uncaged/nerve-workflow-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ export function createTesterRole(
 ): Role<TesterMeta> {
   return createRole(
     adapter,
-    async (start: StartStep) => testerPrompt({ threadId: start.meta.threadId, nerveRoot }),
+    async (ctx: ThreadContext) => testerPrompt({ threadId: ctx.threadId, nerveRoot }),
     testerMetaSchema,
     extract,
   );

packages/workflow-utils/src/__tests__/create-role.test.ts

@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@ import type {
   AgentFn,
   ModeratorContext,
   RoleMeta,
-  WorkflowContext,
+  ThreadContext,
   WorkflowDefinition,
-  WorkflowMessage,
 } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { END, START } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
@@ -50,17 +49,25 @@ function toolCallResponse(argsJson: string): {
 function makeStart(threadId: string): {
   role: typeof START;
   content: string;
-  meta: { maxRounds: number; dryRun: boolean; threadId: string };
+  meta: { maxRounds: number; threadId: string };
   timestamp: number;
 } {
   return {
     role: START,
     content: "",
-    meta: { maxRounds: 10, dryRun: false, threadId },
+    meta: { maxRounds: 10, threadId },
     timestamp: Date.now(),
   };
 }
 
+function makeCtx(threadId: string): ThreadContext {
+  return {
+    threadId,
+    start: makeStart(threadId),
+    steps: [],
+  };
+}
+
 describe("createRole", () => {
   afterEach(() => {
     vi.unstubAllGlobals();
@@ -71,88 +78,83 @@ describe("createRole", () => {
     vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(toolCallResponse(JSON.stringify({ n: 3 }))));
 
     const schema = z.object({ n: z.number() });
-    const adapter: AgentFn = async (prompt) => prompt;
-    const role = createRole(adapter, "hello", schema, { provider });
+    const adapter: AgentFn = async (_ctx, prompt) => prompt;
+    const role = createRole(adapter, "hello", schema, { provider, dryRun: null });
 
-    const out = await role(makeStart("t1"), []);
+    const out = await role(makeCtx("t1"));
     expect(out.content).toBe("hello");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ n: 3 });
   });
 
-  it("passes WorkflowContext with workdir defaulting to process.cwd()", async () => {
+  it("passes ThreadContext to AgentFn", async () => {
     vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(toolCallResponse(JSON.stringify({ n: 0 }))));
 
-    const seen: WorkflowContext[] = [];
-    const adapter: AgentFn = async (_prompt, ctx) => {
+    const seen: ThreadContext[] = [];
+    const adapter: AgentFn = async (ctx, _prompt) => {
       seen.push(ctx);
       return "x";
     };
-    const role = createRole(adapter, "p", z.object({ n: z.number() }), { provider });
-    await role(makeStart("t1"), []);
+    const role = createRole(adapter, "p", z.object({ n: z.number() }), { provider, dryRun: null });
+    await role(makeCtx("t1"));
 
     expect(seen).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(seen[0].workdir).toBe(process.cwd());
+    expect(seen[0].threadId).toBe("t1");
+    expect(seen[0].steps).toEqual([]);
   });
 
   it("resolves dynamic prompt functions before AgentFn", async () => {
     vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(toolCallResponse(JSON.stringify({ n: 99 }))));
 
     const schema = z.object({ n: z.number() });
-    const adapter: AgentFn = async (prompt) => prompt;
+    const adapter: AgentFn = async (_ctx, prompt) => prompt;
     const role = createRole(
       adapter,
-      async (start, messages) => `tid=${start.meta.threadId} n=${messages.length}`,
+      async (ctx) => `tid=${ctx.threadId} n=${ctx.steps.length}`,
       schema,
-      { provider },
+      { provider, dryRun: null },
     );
 
-    const start = makeStart("thread-x");
-    const msgs: WorkflowMessage[] = [{ role: "a", content: "m", meta: {}, timestamp: 1 }];
-    const out = await role(start, msgs);
-    expect(out.content).toBe("tid=thread-x n=1");
+    const ctx: ThreadContext = {
+      threadId: "thread-x",
+      start: makeStart("thread-x"),
+      steps: [],
+    };
+    const out = await role(ctx);
+    expect(out.content).toBe("tid=thread-x n=0");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ n: 99 });
   });
 
-  it("uses start.meta.dryRun when extract.dryRun is omitted", async () => {
-    const spy = vi.spyOn(extractFn, "extractMetaOrThrow").mockResolvedValue({ n: 0 });
-
-    const adapter: AgentFn = async () => "raw";
-    const role = createRole(adapter, "p", z.object({ n: z.number() }), { provider });
-    const start = {
-      role: START,
-      content: "",
-      meta: { maxRounds: 10, dryRun: true, threadId: "x" },
-      timestamp: 1,
-    };
-    await role(start, []);
-
-    expect(spy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      "raw",
-      expect.anything(),
-      expect.objectContaining({ provider, dryRun: true }),
-    );
-  });
-
-  it("prefers extract.dryRun over start.meta.dryRun", async () => {
+  it("uses extract dryRun null as live extract", async () => {
     const spy = vi.spyOn(extractFn, "extractMetaOrThrow").mockResolvedValue({ n: 0 });
 
     const adapter: AgentFn = async () => "raw";
     const role = createRole(adapter, "p", z.object({ n: z.number() }), {
       provider,
-      dryRun: false,
+      dryRun: null,
     });
-    const start = {
-      role: START,
-      content: "",
-      meta: { maxRounds: 10, dryRun: true, threadId: "x" },
-      timestamp: 1,
-    };
-    await role(start, []);
+    await role(makeCtx("x"));
 
     expect(spy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       "raw",
       expect.anything(),
-      expect.objectContaining({ dryRun: false }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ provider, dryRun: false }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("uses extract.dryRun true for structured extract", async () => {
+    const spy = vi.spyOn(extractFn, "extractMetaOrThrow").mockResolvedValue({ n: 0 });
+
+    const adapter: AgentFn = async () => "raw";
+    const role = createRole(adapter, "p", z.object({ n: z.number() }), {
+      provider,
+      dryRun: true,
+    });
+    await role(makeCtx("x"));
+
+    expect(spy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "raw",
+      expect.anything(),
+      expect.objectContaining({ dryRun: true }),
     );
   });
 });
@@ -164,7 +166,7 @@ describe("WorkflowDefinition compatibility", () => {
     const manual: WorkflowDefinition<M> = {
       name: "legacy",
       roles: {
-        legacy: async (_start, _messages) => ({
+        legacy: async (_ctx) => ({
           content: "hi",
           meta: { id: "a" },
         }),
@@ -172,8 +174,8 @@ describe("WorkflowDefinition compatibility", () => {
       moderator: (_ctx: ModeratorContext<M>) => END,
     };
 
-    const start = makeStart("t1");
-    const out = await manual.roles.legacy(start, []);
+    const ctx = makeCtx("t1");
+    const out = await manual.roles.legacy(ctx);
     expect(out.content).toBe("hi");
     expect(out.meta.id).toBe("a");
   });

packages/workflow-utils/src/__tests__/role-decorators.test.ts

@@ -1,22 +1,25 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
-import type { Role, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import { START } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { decorateRole, onFail, withDryRun } from "../role-decorators.js";
 
 type TestMeta = Record<string, unknown> & { ok: boolean };
 
-function fakeStart(dryRun: boolean): StartStep {
+function fakeCtx(): ThreadContext {
   return {
-    role: START,
-    content: "",
-    meta: {
-      threadId: "t1",
-      dryRun,
-      maxRounds: 10,
+    threadId: "t1",
+    start: {
+      role: START,
+      content: "",
+      meta: {
+        threadId: "t1",
+        maxRounds: 10,
+      },
+      timestamp: Date.now(),
     },
-    timestamp: Date.now(),
+    steps: [],
   };
 }
 
@@ -38,18 +41,19 @@ const failNonErrorRole: Role<TestMeta> = async () => {
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 describe("withDryRun", () => {
-  const dec = withDryRun<TestMeta>({ label: "test", meta: { ok: true } });
+  const dec = withDryRun<TestMeta>({ label: "test", meta: { ok: true }, dryRun: true });
 
   it("short-circuits on dry-run", async () => {
     const role = dec(successRole);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(true), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("[dry-run] test skipped");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: true });
   });
 
   it("delegates when not dry-run", async () => {
-    const role = dec(successRole);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(false), []);
+    const innerDec = withDryRun<TestMeta>({ label: "test", meta: { ok: true }, dryRun: false });
+    const role = innerDec(successRole);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("done");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: true });
   });
@@ -64,21 +68,21 @@ describe("onFail", () => {
 
   it("passes through on success", async () => {
     const role = dec(successRole);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(false), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("done");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: true });
   });
 
   it("catches Error and returns structured failure", async () => {
     const role = dec(failRole);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(false), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("test failed: boom");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: false });
   });
 
   it("catches non-Error throws", async () => {
     const role = dec(failNonErrorRole);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(false), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("test failed: string error");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: false });
   });
@@ -91,21 +95,21 @@ describe("onFail", () => {
 describe("decorateRole", () => {
   it("applies decorators left-to-right", async () => {
     const role = decorateRole(failRole, [
-      withDryRun({ label: "x", meta: { ok: true } }),
-      onFail({ label: "x", meta: { ok: false } }),
+      withDryRun<TestMeta>({ label: "x", meta: { ok: true }, dryRun: false }),
+      onFail<TestMeta>({ label: "x", meta: { ok: false } }),
     ]);
     // Not dry-run, so withDryRun passes through → failRole throws → onFail catches
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(false), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("x failed: boom");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: false });
   });
 
   it("dry-run short-circuits before onFail", async () => {
     const role = decorateRole(failRole, [
-      withDryRun({ label: "x", meta: { ok: true } }),
-      onFail({ label: "x", meta: { ok: false } }),
+      withDryRun<TestMeta>({ label: "x", meta: { ok: true }, dryRun: true }),
+      onFail<TestMeta>({ label: "x", meta: { ok: false } }),
     ]);
-    const result = await role(fakeStart(true), []);
+    const result = await role(fakeCtx());
     expect(result.content).toBe("[dry-run] x skipped");
     expect(result.meta).toEqual({ ok: true });
   });

packages/workflow-utils/src/__tests__/role-factories.test.ts

@@ -1,20 +1,24 @@
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { z } from "zod";
 
-import { START } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import { START, type ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import { createCursorRole } from "../role-cursor.js";
 import { createHermesRole } from "../role-hermes.js";
 import { createLlmRole } from "../role-llm.js";
 import { createReActRole } from "../role-react.js";
 
-function startFrame(dryRun: boolean, threadId: string) {
+function threadCtx(threadId: string): ThreadContext {
   return {
-    role: START,
-    content: "user prompt",
-    meta: { maxRounds: 10, dryRun, threadId },
-    timestamp: 1,
-  } as const;
+    threadId,
+    start: {
+      role: START,
+      content: "user prompt",
+      meta: { maxRounds: 10, threadId },
+      timestamp: 1,
+    },
+    steps: [],
+  };
 }
 
 describe("createCursorRole", () => {
@@ -27,13 +31,14 @@ describe("createCursorRole", () => {
     const schema = z.object({ done: z.boolean() });
     const role = createCursorRole({
       cwd: process.cwd(),
-      prompt: async (tid) => {
-        expect(tid).toBe("run-1");
+      prompt: async (ctx) => {
+        expect(ctx.threadId).toBe("run-1");
         return "task";
       },
       extract: { provider: { baseUrl: "https://x", apiKey: "k", model: "m" }, schema },
+      dryRun: true,
     });
-    const out = await role(startFrame(true, "run-1"), []);
+    const out = await role(threadCtx("run-1"));
     expect(out.content).toContain("dryRun");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ done: false });
   });
@@ -48,13 +53,14 @@ describe("createHermesRole", () => {
   it("uses dry run stub and extract defaults", async () => {
     const schema = z.object({ done: z.boolean() });
     const role = createHermesRole({
-      prompt: async (tid) => {
-        expect(tid).toBe("h1");
+      prompt: async (ctx) => {
+        expect(ctx.threadId).toBe("h1");
         return "hermes task";
       },
       extract: { provider: { baseUrl: "https://x", apiKey: "k", model: "m" }, schema },
+      dryRun: true,
     });
-    const out = await role(startFrame(true, "h1"), []);
+    const out = await role(threadCtx("h1"));
     expect(out.content).toContain("hermes");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ done: false });
   });
@@ -99,13 +105,13 @@ describe("createLlmRole", () => {
 
     const role = createLlmRole({
       provider: { baseUrl: "https://api", apiKey: "k", model: "gpt" },
-      prompt: async (tid) => {
-        expect(tid).toBe("llm1");
+      prompt: async (ctx) => {
+        expect(ctx.threadId).toBe("llm1");
         return [{ role: "user" as const, content: "hi" }];
       },
       extract: { provider: { baseUrl: "https://ext", apiKey: "k2", model: "small" }, schema },
     });
-    const out = await role(startFrame(false, "llm1"), []);
+    const out = await role(threadCtx("llm1"));
     expect(out.content).toBe("hello from model");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ n: 7 });
   });
@@ -183,8 +189,8 @@ describe("createReActRole", () => {
     const role = createReActRole({
       provider: { baseUrl: "https://api", apiKey: "k", model: "gpt" },
       tools: [tool],
-      prompt: async (tid) => {
-        expect(tid).toBe("r1");
+      prompt: async (ctx) => {
+        expect(ctx.threadId).toBe("r1");
         return [{ role: "user" as const, content: "go" }];
       },
       extract: {
@@ -193,7 +199,7 @@ describe("createReActRole", () => {
       },
       maxIterations: 5,
     });
-    const out = await role(startFrame(false, "r1"), []);
+    const out = await role(threadCtx("r1"));
     expect(out.content).toBe("final answer");
     expect(out.meta).toEqual({ done: true });
   });

packages/workflow-utils/src/create-role.ts

@@ -1,32 +1,19 @@
-import type {
-  AgentFn,
-  Role,
-  StartStep,
-  WorkflowContext,
-  WorkflowMessage,
-} from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { AgentFn, Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { z } from "zod";
 
 import { extractMetaOrThrow } from "./shared/extract-fn.js";
 import type { LlmProvider } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 
-type PromptInput = string | ((start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => Promise<string>);
+type PromptInput = string | ((ctx: ThreadContext) => Promise<string>);
 
 export type LlmExtractorConfig = {
   provider: LlmProvider;
-  /** When omitted, uses `start.meta.dryRun` at runtime. */
-  dryRun?: boolean;
+  /** When null, structured extract runs in live mode (not dry-run). */
+  dryRun: boolean | null;
 };
 
-type StartMetaWithWorkdir = StartStep["meta"] & { workdir?: string | null };
-
-function resolveWorkdir(start: StartStep): string {
-  const m = start.meta as StartMetaWithWorkdir;
-  return m.workdir ?? process.cwd();
-}
-
-function resolveDryRun(extract: LlmExtractorConfig, start: StartStep): boolean {
-  return extract.dryRun ?? start.meta.dryRun;
+function resolveExtractDryRun(extract: LlmExtractorConfig): boolean {
+  return extract.dryRun === true;
 }
 
 /** Builds a Role from an AgentFn, prompt, Zod meta schema, and LLM extract config. */
@@ -36,19 +23,12 @@ export function createRole<M extends Record<string, unknown>>(
   meta: z.ZodType<M>,
   extract: LlmExtractorConfig,
 ): Role<M> {
-  return async (start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => {
-    const ctx: WorkflowContext = {
-      start,
-      messages,
-      workdir: resolveWorkdir(start),
-      signal: new AbortController().signal,
-    };
-
-    const promptText = typeof prompt === "string" ? prompt : await prompt(start, messages);
-    const raw = await adapter(promptText, ctx);
+  return async (ctx: ThreadContext) => {
+    const promptText = typeof prompt === "string" ? prompt : await prompt(ctx);
+    const raw = await adapter(ctx, promptText);
     const result = await extractMetaOrThrow(raw, meta, {
       provider: extract.provider,
-      dryRun: resolveDryRun(extract, start),
+      dryRun: resolveExtractDryRun(extract),
     });
     return { content: raw, meta: result };
   };

packages/workflow-utils/src/index.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ export {
   type NerveYamlError,
   type ReadNerveYamlOptions,
 } from "./shared/context.js";
-export { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
 export {
   decorateRole,
   withDryRun,
@@ -37,6 +36,7 @@ export {
   type SpawnSafeOptions,
 } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 export type { LlmError, LlmProvider } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
+export { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
 export type {
   CliPromptFn,
   CursorRoleDefaults,
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ export type {
   HermesRoleRequired,
   LlmMessage,
   LlmPromptFn,
+  LlmRoleDefaults,
   LlmRoleRequired,
   MetaExtractConfig,
   ReActRoleDefaults,

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-cursor.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import { type CursorAgentMode, cursorAgent } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor
 import type { Role, SpawnEnv } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import type { CursorRoleDefaults, CursorRoleRequired } from "./role-types.js";
-import { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
 import { formatLlmError } from "./shared/format-error.js";
 import { llmExtract } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 
@@ -11,6 +10,7 @@ const CURSOR_DEFAULTS: CursorRoleDefaults = {
   model: "auto",
   env: {},
   timeoutMs: 300_000,
+  dryRun: false,
 };
 
 function pick<T>(opts: Record<string, unknown>, key: string, fallback: T): T {
@@ -27,14 +27,14 @@ function pick<T>(opts: Record<string, unknown>, key: string, fallback: T): T {
 export function createCursorRole<T>(
   options: CursorRoleRequired<T> & Partial<CursorRoleDefaults>,
 ): Role<T> {
-  return async (start, _messages) => {
-    const dry = isDryRun(start);
+  return async (ctx) => {
     const d = CURSOR_DEFAULTS;
     const mode = pick<CursorAgentMode>(options as Record<string, unknown>, "mode", d.mode);
     const model = pick<string>(options as Record<string, unknown>, "model", d.model);
     const env = pick<SpawnEnv>(options as Record<string, unknown>, "env", d.env);
     const timeoutMs = pick<number>(options as Record<string, unknown>, "timeoutMs", d.timeoutMs);
-    const prompt = await options.prompt(start.meta.threadId);
+    const dry = pick<boolean>(options as Record<string, unknown>, "dryRun", d.dryRun);
+    const prompt = await options.prompt(ctx);
     const run = await cursorAgent({
       prompt,
       mode,

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-decorators.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-import type { Role, StartStep, WorkflowMessage } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-
-import { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
+import type { Role, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Decorator types
@@ -38,23 +36,25 @@ export type WithDryRunOptions<M> = {
   label: string;
   /** Meta returned when dry-run skips execution. */
   meta: M;
+  /** Adapter-level dry-run flag (e.g. from extract / wiring config). */
+  dryRun: boolean;
 };
 
 /**
  * Returns a decorator that short-circuits with a stable result when
- * `start.meta.dryRun` is true.
+ * `dryRun` is true.
  */
 export function withDryRun<M extends Record<string, unknown>>(
   opts: WithDryRunOptions<M>,
 ): RoleDecorator<M> {
-  return (role) => async (start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => {
-    if (isDryRun(start)) {
+  return (role) => async (ctx: ThreadContext) => {
+    if (opts.dryRun) {
       return {
         content: `[dry-run] ${opts.label} skipped`,
         meta: opts.meta,
       };
     }
-    return role(start, messages);
+    return role(ctx);
   };
 }
 
@@ -76,9 +76,9 @@ export type OnFailOptions<M> = {
 export function onFail<M extends Record<string, unknown>>(
   opts: OnFailOptions<M>,
 ): RoleDecorator<M> {
-  return (role) => async (start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => {
+  return (role) => async (ctx: ThreadContext) => {
     try {
-      return await role(start, messages);
+      return await role(ctx);
     } catch (e) {
       const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
       return {

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-hermes.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import type { Role } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import type { HermesRoleDefaults, HermesRoleRequired } from "./role-types.js";
-import { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
 import { formatLlmError } from "./shared/format-error.js";
 import { hermesAgent, resolveHermesOptions } from "./shared/hermes-agent.js";
 import { llmExtract } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
@@ -9,10 +8,9 @@ import { llmExtract } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 export function createHermesRole<T>(
   options: HermesRoleRequired<T> & Partial<HermesRoleDefaults>,
 ): Role<T> {
-  return async (start, _messages) => {
-    const dry = isDryRun(start);
+  return async (ctx) => {
     const h = resolveHermesOptions(options);
-    const prompt = await options.prompt(start.meta.threadId);
+    const prompt = await options.prompt(ctx);
     const run = await hermesAgent({
       prompt,
       model: h.model,
@@ -22,7 +20,7 @@ export function createHermesRole<T>(
       maxTurns: h.maxTurns,
       env: Object.keys(h.env).length === 0 ? null : h.env,
       timeoutMs: h.timeoutMs,
-      dryRun: dry,
+      dryRun: h.dryRun,
       abortSignal: null,
     });
     if (!run.ok) {
@@ -43,7 +41,7 @@ export function createHermesRole<T>(
       text,
       schema: options.extract.schema,
       provider: options.extract.provider,
-      dryRun: dry,
+      dryRun: h.dryRun,
     });
     if (!metaR.ok) {
       throw new Error(`llmExtract: ${formatLlmError(metaR.error)}`);

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-llm.ts

@@ -1,15 +1,19 @@
 import type { Role } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
-import type { LlmMessage, LlmRoleRequired } from "./role-types.js";
-import { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
+import type { LlmMessage, LlmRoleDefaults, LlmRoleRequired } from "./role-types.js";
 import { formatLlmError } from "./shared/format-error.js";
 import { chatCompletionText } from "./shared/llm-chat.js";
 import { llmExtract } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 
-export function createLlmRole<T>(options: LlmRoleRequired<T>): Role<T> {
-  return async (start, _messages) => {
-    const dry = isDryRun(start);
-    const messages: LlmMessage[] = await options.prompt(start.meta.threadId);
+const LLM_DEFAULTS: LlmRoleDefaults = {
+  dryRun: false,
+};
+
+export function createLlmRole<T>(options: LlmRoleRequired<T> & Partial<LlmRoleDefaults>): Role<T> {
+  return async (ctx) => {
+    const dry =
+      "dryRun" in options && options.dryRun !== undefined ? options.dryRun : LLM_DEFAULTS.dryRun;
+    const messages: LlmMessage[] = await options.prompt(ctx);
     const result = await chatCompletionText({ provider: options.provider, messages });
     if (!result.ok) {
       throw new Error(`llm: ${formatLlmError(result.error)}`);

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-react.ts

@@ -1,26 +1,26 @@
 import type { Role } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import type { LlmMessage, ReActRoleDefaults, ReActRoleRequired } from "./role-types.js";
-import { isDryRun } from "./role-types.js";
 import { formatLlmError } from "./shared/format-error.js";
 import { reActIterativeChat } from "./shared/llm-chat.js";
 import { llmExtract } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 
 const REACT_DEFAULTS: ReActRoleDefaults = {
   maxIterations: 10,
+  dryRun: false,
 };
 
 export function createReActRole<T>(
   options: ReActRoleRequired<T> & Partial<ReActRoleDefaults>,
 ): Role<T> {
-  return async (start, _messages) => {
-    const dry = isDryRun(start);
+  return async (ctx) => {
     const def = REACT_DEFAULTS;
     const maxIt =
       "maxIterations" in options && options.maxIterations !== undefined
         ? options.maxIterations
         : def.maxIterations;
-    const messages: LlmMessage[] = await options.prompt(start.meta.threadId);
+    const dry = "dryRun" in options && options.dryRun !== undefined ? options.dryRun : def.dryRun;
+    const messages: LlmMessage[] = await options.prompt(ctx);
     const result = await reActIterativeChat({
       provider: options.provider,
       tools: options.tools,

packages/workflow-utils/src/role-types.ts

@@ -1,18 +1,21 @@
-import type { SpawnEnv, StartStep } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+import type { SpawnEnv, StartStep, ThreadContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { z } from "zod";
 
 import type { LlmProvider } from "./shared/llm-extract.js";
 
-/** Returns the thread-level dry-run flag from the workflow start frame. */
-export function isDryRun(start: StartStep): boolean {
-  return start.meta.dryRun;
+/**
+ * @deprecated `dryRun` has been removed from `StartStep.meta` (RFC-005).
+ * Use adapter/role-level `dryRun` config instead.
+ */
+export function isDryRun(_start: StartStep): boolean {
+  return false;
 }
 
-export type CliPromptFn = (threadId: string) => Promise<string>;
+export type CliPromptFn = (ctx: ThreadContext) => Promise<string>;
 
 export type LlmMessage = { role: "system" | "user" | "assistant"; content: string };
 
-export type LlmPromptFn = (threadId: string) => Promise<LlmMessage[]>;
+export type LlmPromptFn = (ctx: ThreadContext) => Promise<LlmMessage[]>;
 
 export type MetaExtractConfig<T> = {
   provider: LlmProvider;
@@ -37,6 +40,7 @@ export type CursorRoleDefaults = {
   model: string;
   env: SpawnEnv;
   timeoutMs: number;
+  dryRun: boolean;
 };
 
 export type HermesRoleRequired<T> = {
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@ export type HermesRoleDefaults = {
   maxTurns: number;
   env: SpawnEnv;
   timeoutMs: number;
+  dryRun: boolean;
 };
 
 export type LlmRoleRequired<T> = {
@@ -60,6 +65,10 @@ export type LlmRoleRequired<T> = {
   extract: MetaExtractConfig<T>;
 };
 
+export type LlmRoleDefaults = {
+  dryRun: boolean;
+};
+
 export type ReActRoleRequired<T> = {
   provider: LlmProvider;
   tools: ReActTool[];
@@ -69,4 +78,5 @@ export type ReActRoleRequired<T> = {
 
 export type ReActRoleDefaults = {
   maxIterations: number;
+  dryRun: boolean;
 };

packages/workflow-utils/src/shared/hermes-agent.ts

@@ -13,22 +13,30 @@ const HERMES_DEFAULTS: HermesRoleDefaults = {
   maxTurns: 90,
   env: {},
   timeoutMs: 600_000,
+  dryRun: false,
 };
 
+const HERMES_OPTION_KEYS = [
+  "model",
+  "provider",
+  "skills",
+  "quiet",
+  "maxTurns",
+  "env",
+  "timeoutMs",
+  "dryRun",
+] as const satisfies readonly (keyof HermesRoleDefaults)[];
+
 export function resolveHermesOptions<T>(
   options: HermesRoleRequired<T> & Partial<HermesRoleDefaults>,
 ): HermesRoleDefaults {
   const d = HERMES_DEFAULTS;
-  return {
-    model: "model" in options && options.model !== undefined ? options.model : d.model,
-    provider:
-      "provider" in options && options.provider !== undefined ? options.provider : d.provider,
-    skills: "skills" in options && options.skills !== undefined ? options.skills : d.skills,
-    quiet: "quiet" in options && options.quiet !== undefined ? options.quiet : d.quiet,
-    maxTurns:
-      "maxTurns" in options && options.maxTurns !== undefined ? options.maxTurns : d.maxTurns,
-    env: "env" in options && options.env !== undefined ? options.env : d.env,
-    timeoutMs:
-      "timeoutMs" in options && options.timeoutMs !== undefined ? options.timeoutMs : d.timeoutMs,
-  };
+  const o = options as Partial<HermesRoleDefaults>;
+  let resolved: HermesRoleDefaults = { ...d };
+  for (const k of HERMES_OPTION_KEYS) {
+    if (k in o && o[k] !== undefined) {
+      resolved = { ...resolved, [k]: o[k] } as HermesRoleDefaults;
+    }
+  }
+  return resolved;
 }

pnpm-lock.yaml

@@ -86,6 +86,9 @@ importers:
 
   packages/core:
     dependencies:
+      drizzle-orm:
+        specifier: 1.0.0-beta.23-c10d10c
+        version: 1.0.0-beta.23-c10d10c(@cloudflare/workers-types@4.20260425.1)(@types/better-sqlite3@7.6.13)(@types/mssql@9.1.11(@azure/core-client@1.10.1))(better-sqlite3@11.10.0)(mssql@11.0.1(@azure/core-client@1.10.1))(sql.js@1.14.1)(zod@4.3.6)
       yaml:
         specifier: ^2.8.3
         version: 2.8.3
@@ -2033,6 +2036,7 @@ packages:
 
   uuid@8.3.2:
     resolution: {integrity: sha512-+NYs2QeMWy+GWFOEm9xnn6HCDp0l7QBD7ml8zLUmJ+93Q5NF0NocErnwkTkXVFNiX3/fpC6afS8Dhb/gz7R7eg==}
+    deprecated: uuid@10 and below is no longer supported.  For ESM codebases, update to uuid@latest.  For CommonJS codebases, use uuid@11 (but be aware this version will likely be deprecated in 2028).
     hasBin: true
 
   vite@8.0.9: