feat(cli): add nerve init --from to clone workspace from git

Made-with: Cursor

.cursor/rules/no-dynamic-import.mdc

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+description: Ban dynamic import() in production code — use static imports instead
+globs: packages/*/src/**/*.ts
+alwaysApply: true
+---
+
+# No Dynamic Import in Production Code
+
+## Rule
+
+Do NOT use `await import()` or dynamic `import()` expressions in production source code.
+Always use static top-level `import` statements.
+
+## Why
+
+- Static imports enable tree-shaking and bundler optimizations
+- They make dependencies explicit and discoverable at a glance
+- Dynamic imports of Node built-ins or project modules add unnecessary async overhead
+
+## Exceptions (must include a comment explaining why)
+
+1. **`sense-runtime.ts`** — loads user-authored sense modules whose paths are only known at runtime
+2. **`workflow-worker.ts`** — loads user-authored workflow modules whose paths are only known at runtime
+
+When suppressing, add a comment directly above:
+
+```ts
+// Dynamic import required: user module path resolved at runtime
+const mod = await import(senseIndexPath);
+```
+
+## Test Files
+
+Test files (`__tests__/**`) are exempt — dynamic import after `vi.mock()` is standard vitest practice.

docs/skill-publish.md

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# Skill: Publish @uncaged/nerve packages to npm
+
+## When to use
+
+When releasing a new version of any `@uncaged/nerve-*` package to npm.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- npm login with an account that has **owner** access to the `@uncaged` org
+- All tests pass: `pnpm -r run test`
+- Clean working tree (no uncommitted changes)
+
+## Packages
+
+| Package | Path | npm |
+|---------|------|-----|
+| `@uncaged/nerve-core` | `packages/core` | [link](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@uncaged/nerve-core) |
+| `@uncaged/nerve-daemon` | `packages/daemon` | [link](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@uncaged/nerve-daemon) |
+| `@uncaged/nerve-cli` | `packages/cli` | [link](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@uncaged/nerve-cli) |
+
+## Dependency order
+
+`core` → `daemon` → `cli`
+
+Always publish in this order. If `core` has changes, bump and publish it first, then update dependents.
+
+## Steps
+
+### 1. Ensure clean state
+
+```bash
+git checkout main && git pull origin main
+pnpm install
+pnpm -r run build
+pnpm -r run test
+```
+
+### 2. Bump versions
+
+Manually update `version` in each changed package's `package.json`.
+
+Follow semver:
+- **patch** (0.1.x): bug fixes, refactors
+- **minor** (0.x.0): new features, non-breaking API additions
+- **major** (x.0.0): breaking changes
+
+If bumping `core`, also update the `@uncaged/nerve-core` dependency version in `daemon` and `cli` package.json. Same for `daemon` → `cli`.
+
+### 3. Build
+
+```bash
+pnpm -r run build
+```
+
+### 4. Publish (in order)
+
+```bash
+# Only publish packages that have version bumps
+# MUST use pnpm publish (not npm) — pnpm converts workspace:* to real versions
+cd packages/core && pnpm publish --access public --no-git-checks
+cd packages/daemon && pnpm publish --access public --no-git-checks
+cd packages/cli && pnpm publish --access public --no-git-checks
+```
+
+### 5. Commit & tag
+
+```bash
+git add -A
+git commit -m "release: @uncaged/nerve-core@X.Y.Z, @uncaged/nerve-daemon@X.Y.Z, @uncaged/nerve-cli@X.Y.Z"
+git tag -a vX.Y.Z -m "Release vX.Y.Z"
+git push origin main --tags
+```
+
+## Pitfalls
+
+- **Don't publish without building first** — `tsup` output in `dist/` is what npm ships
+- **Dependency order matters** — if you publish `daemon` before `core`, npm may resolve the old `core` version
+- **`--access public`** is required for scoped packages on first publish; safe to always include
+- **Check `npm whoami`** to confirm you're logged in as the right account
+- **No changeset tool** — this project uses manual version bumps (no changesets/lerna)

docs/skill-setup.md

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+# Skill: Setup nerve from scratch
+
+## When to use
+
+Setting up the nerve project for local development from a fresh clone.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- **Node.js** ≥ 18
+- **pnpm** ≥ 9 (`npm install -g pnpm`)
+- **Git** access to `git.shazhou.work`
+
+## Steps
+
+### 1. Clone
+
+```bash
+git clone https://git.shazhou.work/uncaged/nerve.git
+cd nerve
+```
+
+### 2. Install dependencies
+
+```bash
+pnpm install
+```
+
+This installs all workspace packages and links internal dependencies (`core` → `daemon` → `cli`).
+
+### 3. Build all packages
+
+```bash
+pnpm -r run build
+```
+
+Build order is handled automatically by pnpm workspace — `core` builds first, then `daemon`, then `cli`.
+
+### 4. Run tests
+
+```bash
+pnpm -r run test
+```
+
+Or test individual packages:
+
+```bash
+pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-core test
+pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-daemon test
+pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-cli test
+```
+
+### 5. Try the CLI
+
+```bash
+# Link the CLI globally
+cd packages/cli && npm link
+
+# Initialize a workspace
+mkdir ~/my-nerve-workspace && cd ~/my-nerve-workspace
+nerve init
+
+# Edit senses in nerve.yaml, then:
+nerve start      # start the daemon
+nerve sense list  # list registered senses
+nerve stop       # stop the daemon
+```
+
+### 6. Lint & format
+
+```bash
+pnpm run check    # biome lint check
+pnpm run format   # biome auto-format
+```
+
+## Project structure
+
+```
+nerve/
+├── packages/
+│   ├── core/       # @uncaged/nerve-core — shared types, log store, blob store
+│   ├── daemon/     # @uncaged/nerve-daemon — kernel, sense runtime, workflow manager
+│   └── cli/        # @uncaged/nerve-cli — CLI commands (init, start, stop, sense, etc.)
+├── docs/           # RFCs, conventions, skills
+├── pnpm-workspace.yaml
+└── biome.json      # linter/formatter config
+```
+
+## Key conventions
+
+- **Monorepo** with pnpm workspaces
+- **ESM only** — all packages output ESM (`"type": "module"`)
+- **tsup** for builds, **vitest** for tests, **biome** for lint/format
+- **SQLite** (better-sqlite3) for log store and blob store
+- See `docs/coding-conventions.md` for code style rules
+
+## Pitfalls
+
+- **Must build before test** — daemon and cli import compiled output from core
+- **better-sqlite3** requires native compilation — if `pnpm install` fails, ensure you have build tools (`build-essential` on Linux, Xcode CLI tools on macOS)
+- **Node 18+** required — uses native `fetch`, `crypto.randomUUID`, etc.
+- **pnpm only** — don't use npm/yarn, workspace links won't resolve correctly

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 {
   "name": "nerve",
   "private": true,
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=22.5.0"
+  },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm -r run build",
     "check": "biome check .",
@@ -8,7 +11,7 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@biomejs/biome": "^1.9.0",
-    "tsup": "^8.0.0",
+    "@rslib/core": "^0.21.3",
     "typescript": "^5.5.0"
   }
 }

packages/cli/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 {
   "name": "@uncaged/nerve-cli",
-  "version": "0.1.4",
+  "engines": {
+    "node": ">=22.5.0"
+  },
+  "version": "0.1.8",
   "type": "module",
   "bin": {
     "nerve": "dist/cli.js"
@@ -14,7 +17,8 @@
     "access": "public"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsup",
+    "prepublishOnly": "bash ../../scripts/prepublish-check.sh",
+    "build": "rslib build",
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {
@@ -22,9 +26,9 @@
     "citty": "^0.1.6"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@uncaged/nerve-daemon": "workspace:*",
-    "@types/better-sqlite3": "^7.6.13",
+    "@rslib/core": "^0.21.3",
     "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
+    "@uncaged/nerve-daemon": "workspace:*",
     "vitest": "^4.1.5"
   }
 }

packages/cli/rslib.config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+import { defineConfig } from "@rslib/core";
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  lib: [
+    {
+      format: "esm",
+      dts: true,
+      banner: {
+        js: "#!/usr/bin/env node",
+      },
+    },
+  ],
+  source: {
+    entry: {
+      index: "src/index.ts",
+      cli: "src/cli.ts",
+      "daemon-bootstrap": "src/daemon-bootstrap.ts",
+    },
+  },
+  output: {
+    target: "node",
+    cleanDistPath: true,
+    externals: ["@uncaged/nerve-daemon"],
+  },
+});

packages/cli/src/__tests__/daemon-cli.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { daemonCommand } from "../commands/daemon.js";
+import { devCommand } from "../commands/dev.js";
+import { daemonStartCommand } from "../commands/start.js";
+
+describe("nerve daemon command group", () => {
+  it("exposes start, stop, status, restart, and logs subcommands", () => {
+    const subs = daemonCommand.subCommands;
+    expect(subs).toBeDefined();
+    if (!subs) {
+      throw new Error("expected daemonCommand.subCommands");
+    }
+    expect(Object.keys(subs).sort()).toEqual(["logs", "restart", "start", "status", "stop"]);
+  });
+
+  it("shares the same start command object as top-level nerve start alias", () => {
+    const subs = daemonCommand.subCommands;
+    expect(subs?.start).toBe(daemonStartCommand);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("nerve dev", () => {
+  it("is a foreground dev command", () => {
+    expect(devCommand.meta?.name).toBe("dev");
+    expect(devCommand.meta?.description).toMatch(/foreground/i);
+  });
+});

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

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for sense SQLite helpers used by `nerve sense schema` / `nerve sense query`.
+ */
+
+import { mkdirSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  assertSenseDbExists,
+  collectColumnKeys,
+  defaultPreviewSql,
+  formatRowsAsAlignedTable,
+  listTableSqlStatements,
+  parseSenseQueryArgs,
+  pickDefaultPreviewTable,
+  senseDbPath,
+} from "../sense-sqlite.js";
+
+let tmpDir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  tmpDir = join(
+    tmpdir(),
+    `nerve-sense-sqlite-${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(16).slice(2)}`,
+  );
+  mkdirSync(join(tmpDir, "data", "senses"), { recursive: true });
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe("senseDbPath", () => {
+  it("points at data/senses/<name>.db under the given root", () => {
+    expect(senseDbPath("/root", "cpu-usage")).toBe(join("/root", "data", "senses", "cpu-usage.db"));
+  });
+});
+
+describe("assertSenseDbExists", () => {
+  it("throws when the file is missing", () => {
+    expect(() => assertSenseDbExists(tmpDir, "nope")).toThrow(/No database at/);
+  });
+
+  it("returns the path when the file exists", () => {
+    const p = join(tmpDir, "data", "senses", "x.db");
+    new DatabaseSync(p).close();
+    expect(assertSenseDbExists(tmpDir, "x")).toBe(p);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("listTableSqlStatements", () => {
+  it("returns CREATE statements ordered by tbl_name", () => {
+    const p = join(tmpDir, "data", "senses", "t.db");
+    const db = new DatabaseSync(p);
+    db.exec("CREATE TABLE zebra (id INTEGER)");
+    db.exec("CREATE TABLE alpha (id INTEGER)");
+    const stmts = listTableSqlStatements(db);
+    db.close();
+    expect(stmts).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(stmts[0]).toMatch(/^CREATE TABLE alpha/i);
+    expect(stmts[1]).toMatch(/^CREATE TABLE zebra/i);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("pickDefaultPreviewTable", () => {
+  it("prefers non-_migrations tables when both exist", () => {
+    const p = join(tmpDir, "data", "senses", "t.db");
+    const db = new DatabaseSync(p);
+    db.exec("CREATE TABLE _migrations (name TEXT PRIMARY KEY)");
+    db.exec("CREATE TABLE readings (id INTEGER)");
+    expect(pickDefaultPreviewTable(db)).toBe("readings");
+    db.close();
+  });
+
+  it("uses _migrations when it is the only table", () => {
+    const p = join(tmpDir, "data", "senses", "t.db");
+    const db = new DatabaseSync(p);
+    db.exec("CREATE TABLE _migrations (name TEXT PRIMARY KEY)");
+    expect(pickDefaultPreviewTable(db)).toBe("_migrations");
+    db.close();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("defaultPreviewSql", () => {
+  it("quotes identifiers for SQL safety", () => {
+    expect(defaultPreviewSql(`weird"name`)).toContain(`weird""name`);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("parseSenseQueryArgs", () => {
+  it("parses sense name only", () => {
+    expect(parseSenseQueryArgs(["cpu"])).toEqual({ name: "cpu", sql: undefined });
+  });
+
+  it("strips --json", () => {
+    expect(parseSenseQueryArgs(["cpu", "--json"])).toEqual({ name: "cpu", sql: undefined });
+    expect(parseSenseQueryArgs(["--json", "cpu"])).toEqual({ name: "cpu", sql: undefined });
+  });
+
+  it("joins remaining tokens into SQL", () => {
+    expect(parseSenseQueryArgs(["cpu", "SELECT", "1"])).toEqual({ name: "cpu", sql: "SELECT 1" });
+  });
+
+  it("throws when name is missing", () => {
+    expect(() => parseSenseQueryArgs(["--json"])).toThrow(/Missing sense name/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("formatRowsAsAlignedTable", () => {
+  it("shows empty marker for no rows", () => {
+    expect(formatRowsAsAlignedTable([])).toContain("(0 rows)");
+  });
+
+  it("aligns columns from row data", () => {
+    const out = formatRowsAsAlignedTable([
+      { a: 1, b: "x" },
+      { a: 22, b: "yy" },
+    ]);
+    expect(out).toContain("a");
+    expect(out).toContain("b");
+    expect(out).toContain("22");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("collectColumnKeys", () => {
+  it("preserves key order from first row then appends new keys", () => {
+    expect(
+      collectColumnKeys([
+        { z: 1, a: 2 },
+        { a: 3, b: 4 },
+      ]),
+    ).toEqual(["z", "a", "b"]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("readonly query integration", () => {
+  it("runs default preview SQL on a real db", () => {
+    const p = join(tmpDir, "data", "senses", "demo.db");
+    const rw = new DatabaseSync(p);
+    rw.exec("CREATE TABLE items (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, v TEXT)");
+    rw.exec("INSERT INTO items (v) VALUES ('a'), ('b')");
+    rw.close();
+
+    const db = new DatabaseSync(p, { readOnly: true });
+    const table = pickDefaultPreviewTable(db);
+    expect(table).toBe("items");
+    if (table === null) {
+      throw new Error("expected items table");
+    }
+    const sql = defaultPreviewSql(table);
+    const rows = db.prepare(sql).all() as Record<string, unknown>[];
+    db.close();
+    expect(rows.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
+  });
+});

packages/cli/src/cli.ts

@@ -1,15 +1,37 @@
 import { defineCommand, runMain } from "citty";
 
+import { daemonCommand } from "./commands/daemon.js";
+import { devCommand } from "./commands/dev.js";
 import { initCommand } from "./commands/init.js";
 import { logsCommand } from "./commands/logs.js";
 import { senseCommand } from "./commands/sense.js";
-import { startCommand } from "./commands/start.js";
+import { daemonStartCommand } from "./commands/start.js";
 import { statusCommand } from "./commands/status.js";
 import { stopCommand } from "./commands/stop.js";
 import { storeCommand } from "./commands/store.js";
 import { validateCommand } from "./commands/validate.js";
 import { workflowCommand } from "./commands/workflow.js";
 
+/**
+ * Citty picks the first non-flag token as a subcommand name. Rewrite
+ * `nerve init --from <url>` so the URL is not mistaken for `workflow`/`workspace`.
+ */
+function normalizeNerveArgv(argv: string[]): string[] {
+  const initIdx = argv.indexOf("init");
+  if (initIdx === -1) return argv;
+  const tail = argv.slice(initIdx + 1);
+  const fromAt = tail.indexOf("--from");
+  if (fromAt === -1) return argv;
+  const beforeFrom = tail.slice(0, fromAt);
+  if (beforeFrom.some((a) => !a.startsWith("-"))) return argv;
+  const next = tail[fromAt + 1];
+  if (next === undefined || next.startsWith("-")) return argv;
+  const reserved = new Set(["workflow", "workspace"]);
+  if (reserved.has(next)) return argv;
+  const mergedTail = [...tail.slice(0, fromAt), `--from=${next}`, ...tail.slice(fromAt + 2)];
+  return [...argv.slice(0, initIdx + 1), ...mergedTail];
+}
+
 const main = defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "nerve",
@@ -17,7 +39,9 @@ const main = defineCommand({
   },
   subCommands: {
     init: initCommand,
-    start: startCommand,
+    daemon: daemonCommand,
+    dev: devCommand,
+    start: daemonStartCommand,
     stop: stopCommand,
     status: statusCommand,
     logs: logsCommand,
@@ -28,4 +52,4 @@ const main = defineCommand({
   },
 });
 
-runMain(main);
+runMain(main, { rawArgs: normalizeNerveArgv(process.argv.slice(2)) });

packages/cli/src/commands/daemon.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { defineCommand } from "citty";
+
+import { logsCommand } from "./logs.js";
+import { daemonStartCommand, runDaemonStartCommand } from "./start.js";
+import { statusCommand } from "./status.js";
+import { runStopCommand, stopCommand } from "./stop.js";
+
+const daemonRestartCommand = defineCommand({
+  meta: {
+    name: "restart",
+    description: "Stop then start the nerve daemon",
+  },
+  async run() {
+    await runStopCommand();
+    await runDaemonStartCommand();
+  },
+});
+
+export const daemonCommand = defineCommand({
+  meta: {
+    name: "daemon",
+    description: "Manage the nerve background daemon",
+  },
+  subCommands: {
+    start: daemonStartCommand,
+    stop: stopCommand,
+    status: statusCommand,
+    restart: daemonRestartCommand,
+    logs: logsCommand,
+  },
+});

packages/cli/src/commands/dev.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { defineCommand } from "citty";
+
+import { runForegroundKernelSession } from "../run-foreground-kernel.js";
+import { loadDaemonModule } from "../workspace-daemon.js";
+import { getNerveRoot } from "../workspace.js";
+
+export const devCommand = defineCommand({
+  meta: {
+    name: "dev",
+    description: "Run the nerve kernel in the foreground (development mode)",
+  },
+  async run() {
+    const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
+    const { createKernel } = await loadDaemonModule(nerveRoot);
+    await runForegroundKernelSession(nerveRoot, createKernel);
+  },
+});

packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { execFile, spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
 
 import { defineCommand } from "citty";
 
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@ const PACKAGE_JSON = `{
     "drizzle-kit": "latest"
   },
   "pnpm": {
-    "onlyBuiltDependencies": ["better-sqlite3", "esbuild"]
+    "onlyBuiltDependencies": ["esbuild"]
   }
 }
 `;
@@ -42,6 +44,8 @@ const GITIGNORE = `data/
 node_modules/
 `;
 
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
 const CPU_SCHEMA_TS = `import { integer, real, sqliteTable, text } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
 
 export const cpuUsage = sqliteTable("cpu_usage", {
@@ -90,7 +94,6 @@ function writeFile(filePath: string, content: string): void {
 }
 
 async function runCommand(cmd: string, args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<void> {
-  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
   await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
     const child = spawn(cmd, args, { cwd, stdio: "inherit" });
     child.on("close", (code) => {
@@ -102,10 +105,6 @@ async function runCommand(cmd: string, args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<voi
 }
 
 async function detectPackageManager(): Promise<{ cmd: string; installArgs: string[] }> {
-  const { execFile } = await import("node:child_process");
-  const { promisify } = await import("node:util");
-  const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
-
   for (const pm of ["pnpm", "yarn", "npm"]) {
     try {
       await execFileAsync(pm, ["--version"]);
@@ -219,23 +218,94 @@ const initWorkspaceCommand = defineCommand({
   },
 });
 
-async function tryRequireSqlite(nerveRoot: string): Promise<boolean> {
+/** Verify built-in `node:sqlite` (Node.js ≥22.5) loads in a child process. */
+async function verifyNodeSqlite(): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
-    const modulePath = join(nerveRoot, "node_modules", "better-sqlite3");
-    // Use a child process to test if the native module loads
-    const { execFile } = await import("node:child_process");
-    const { promisify } = await import("node:util");
-    const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
-    await execFileAsync("node", ["-e", `require(${JSON.stringify(modulePath)})`], {
-      cwd: nerveRoot,
-      timeout: 10_000,
-    });
+    await execFileAsync(
+      "node",
+      [
+        "--input-type=module",
+        "-e",
+        "import { DatabaseSync } from 'node:sqlite'; new DatabaseSync(':memory:').exec('SELECT 1');",
+      ],
+      { timeout: 10_000 },
+    );
     return true;
   } catch {
     return false;
   }
 }
 
+function isNerveRootNonEmpty(nerveRoot: string): boolean {
+  if (!existsSync(nerveRoot)) return false;
+  return readdirSync(nerveRoot).length > 0;
+}
+
+async function runInitFromGit(url: string): Promise<void> {
+  const trimmed = url.trim();
+  if (trimmed.length === 0) {
+    process.stderr.write("❌ --from requires a non-empty git URL.\n");
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
+  if (isNerveRootNonEmpty(nerveRoot)) {
+    process.stderr.write(
+      `❌ ${nerveRoot} already exists and is not empty. Remove it (or empty it) before using --from.\n`,
+    );
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    await execFileAsync("git", ["--version"]);
+  } catch {
+    process.stderr.write("❌ git is not available. Install git and retry.\n");
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    await execFileAsync("pnpm", ["--version"]);
+  } catch {
+    process.stderr.write("❌ pnpm is not available. Install pnpm and retry.\n");
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  process.stdout.write(`Cloning ${trimmed} → ${nerveRoot} …\n`);
+  try {
+    await runCommand("git", ["clone", trimmed, nerveRoot], process.cwd());
+  } catch {
+    process.stderr.write("❌ git clone failed.\n");
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  if (!existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "nerve.yaml"))) {
+    process.stdout.write(`⚠️ ${join(nerveRoot, "nerve.yaml")} not found after clone.\n`);
+  }
+  if (!existsSync(join(nerveRoot, "package.json"))) {
+    process.stdout.write(`⚠️ ${join(nerveRoot, "package.json")} not found after clone.\n`);
+  }
+
+  process.stdout.write("Installing dependencies with pnpm …\n");
+  try {
+    await runCommand("pnpm", ["install", "--no-cache"], nerveRoot);
+  } catch {
+    process.stdout.write(
+      `⚠️ pnpm install failed. Try manually:\n   cd ${nerveRoot} && pnpm install --no-cache\n`,
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (!(await verifyNodeSqlite())) {
+    process.stdout.write(
+      "⚠️ Built-in SQLite (node:sqlite) is not available in this Node.js build. " +
+        "The daemon requires Node.js 22.5 or newer with SQLite enabled.\n",
+    );
+  }
+
+  process.stdout.write(
+    `✅ Workspace cloned to ${nerveRoot}\n\n💡 Next steps:\n   1. Review nerve.yaml and install any missing tooling.\n   2. Run \`nerve start\` to launch the daemon.\n`,
+  );
+}
+
 async function runInitWorkspace(force: boolean): Promise<void> {
   const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
 
@@ -268,27 +338,11 @@ async function runInitWorkspace(force: boolean): Promise<void> {
     );
   }
 
-  // Verify better-sqlite3 native module — rebuild up to 2 times if broken
-  const sqlitePath = join(nerveRoot, "node_modules", "better-sqlite3");
-  if (existsSync(sqlitePath)) {
-    for (let attempt = 1; attempt <= 2; attempt++) {
-      if (await tryRequireSqlite(nerveRoot)) break;
-      process.stdout.write(
-        `${attempt === 1 ? "Building" : "Retrying build of"} native module better-sqlite3 (attempt ${attempt}/2)…\n`,
-      );
-      try {
-        await runCommand(cmd, ["rebuild", "better-sqlite3"], nerveRoot);
-      } catch {
-        // will be caught by the verify below
-      }
-    }
-    if (!(await tryRequireSqlite(nerveRoot))) {
-      process.stdout.write(
-        `⚠️ better-sqlite3 native module is not working. The daemon will fail to start.\n` +
-          `   Fix: cd ${nerveRoot} && ${cmd} rebuild better-sqlite3\n` +
-          `   Or:  npm install --build-from-source better-sqlite3\n`,
-      );
-    }
+  if (!(await verifyNodeSqlite())) {
+    process.stdout.write(
+      "⚠️ Built-in SQLite (node:sqlite) is not available in this Node.js build. " +
+        "The daemon requires Node.js 22.5 or newer with SQLite enabled.\n",
+    );
   }
 
   if (!existsSync(join(nerveRoot, ".git"))) {
@@ -310,7 +364,7 @@ export const initCommand = defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "init",
     description:
-      "Initialize workspace (nerve init) or scaffold templates (nerve init workflow <name>)",
+      "Initialize workspace (nerve init), clone from git (nerve init --from <url>), or scaffold templates (nerve init workflow <name>)",
   },
   args: {
     force: {
@@ -318,12 +372,21 @@ export const initCommand = defineCommand({
       description: "Reinitialize even if workspace already exists (preserves data/)",
       default: false,
     },
+    from: {
+      type: "string",
+      description: "Clone an existing git repo into ~/.uncaged-nerve instead of scaffolding",
+      required: false,
+    },
   },
   subCommands: {
     workflow: initWorkflowCommand,
     workspace: initWorkspaceCommand,
   },
   async run({ args }) {
+    if (args.from !== undefined) {
+      await runInitFromGit(String(args.from));
+      return;
+    }
     await runInitWorkspace(args.force);
   },
 });

packages/cli/src/commands/sense.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,20 @@
 import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
 import { type SenseInfo, parseNerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { defineCommand } from "citty";
 
 import { listSensesViaDaemon, triggerSenseViaDaemon } from "../daemon-client.js";
+import {
+  assertSenseDbExists,
+  defaultPreviewSql,
+  formatRowsAsAlignedTable,
+  listTableSqlStatements,
+  openSenseDb,
+  parseSenseQueryArgs,
+  pickDefaultPreviewTable,
+} from "../sense-sqlite.js";
 import { getNerveRoot, getSocketPath, isRunning } from "../workspace.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -70,7 +80,6 @@ const senseListCommand = defineCommand({
   },
   async run() {
     if (!isRunning()) {
-      // Daemon not running — show static info from nerve.yaml
       process.stderr.write(
         "⚠️  Daemon is not running — showing static config only (no last signal time).\n\n",
       );
@@ -139,6 +148,115 @@ const senseTriggerCommand = defineCommand({
   },
 });
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// nerve sense schema <name>
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const senseSchemaCommand = defineCommand({
+  meta: {
+    name: "schema",
+    description: "Print CREATE TABLE statements from a sense SQLite database",
+  },
+  args: {
+    name: {
+      type: "positional",
+      description: "Sense name (data/senses/<name>.db under the nerve workspace)",
+    },
+    json: {
+      type: "boolean",
+      description: "Print JSON array of CREATE TABLE SQL strings",
+      default: false,
+    },
+  },
+  async run({ args }) {
+    const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
+    let db: DatabaseSync | undefined;
+    try {
+      db = openSenseDb(nerveRoot, args.name);
+      const statements = listTableSqlStatements(db);
+      if (args.json) {
+        process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify(statements, null, 2)}\n`);
+      } else if (statements.length === 0) {
+        process.stdout.write("(no tables)\n");
+      } else {
+        for (const sql of statements) {
+          process.stdout.write(`${sql};\n\n`);
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (e) {
+      const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+      process.stderr.write(`❌ ${msg}\n`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    } finally {
+      db?.close();
+    }
+  },
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// nerve sense query <name> [sql...]
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const senseQueryCommand = defineCommand({
+  meta: {
+    name: "query",
+    description:
+      "Run a read-only SQL query against a sense database (default: last 10 rows of the first data table). Pass optional SQL after the sense name; multiple words are joined.",
+  },
+  args: {
+    name: {
+      type: "positional",
+      description: "Sense name (data/senses/<name>.db under the nerve workspace)",
+    },
+    json: {
+      type: "boolean",
+      description: "Print result rows as JSON",
+      default: false,
+    },
+  },
+  async run({ args, rawArgs }) {
+    const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
+    let db: DatabaseSync | undefined;
+    try {
+      let parsed: { name: string; sql: string | undefined };
+      try {
+        parsed = parseSenseQueryArgs(rawArgs);
+      } catch (e) {
+        const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+        process.stderr.write(`❌ ${msg}\n`);
+        process.exit(1);
+      }
+
+      db = openSenseDb(nerveRoot, args.name);
+
+      let sql = parsed.sql?.trim();
+      if (!sql) {
+        const table = pickDefaultPreviewTable(db);
+        if (table === null) {
+          process.stderr.write("❌ No tables found in database.\n");
+          process.exit(1);
+        } else {
+          sql = defaultPreviewSql(table);
+        }
+      }
+
+      const rows = db.prepare(sql).all() as Record<string, unknown>[];
+
+      if (args.json) {
+        process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify(rows, null, 2)}\n`);
+      } else {
+        process.stdout.write(formatRowsAsAlignedTable(rows));
+      }
+    } catch (e) {
+      const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+      process.stderr.write(`❌ ${msg}\n`);
+      process.exit(1);
+    } finally {
+      db?.close();
+    }
+  },
+});
+
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // nerve sense (parent command)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -151,5 +269,7 @@ export const senseCommand = defineCommand({
   subCommands: {
     list: senseListCommand,
     trigger: senseTriggerCommand,
+    schema: senseSchemaCommand,
+    query: senseQueryCommand,
   },
 });

packages/cli/src/commands/start.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { createWriteStream, existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { mkdir } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
@@ -5,11 +6,10 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 
 import { defineCommand } from "citty";
 
-import { runForegroundKernelSession } from "../run-foreground-kernel.js";
-import { loadDaemonModule } from "../workspace-daemon.js";
 import {
   getLogPath,
   getNerveRoot,
+  getSocketPath,
   isRunning,
   readPidFile,
   removePidFile,
@@ -52,15 +52,10 @@ function daemonBootstrapScript(): string {
     return bootstrapJs;
   }
   throw new Error(
-    `daemon-bootstrap.js not found next to CLI at ${bootstrapJs}. Build the CLI package (e.g. \`pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-cli build\`) before using background mode (\`nerve start -d\`).`,
+    `daemon-bootstrap.js not found next to CLI at ${bootstrapJs}. Build the CLI package (e.g. \`pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-cli build\`) before using \`nerve daemon start\`.`,
   );
 }
 
-async function runForeground(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
-  const { createKernel } = await loadDaemonModule(nerveRoot);
-  await runForegroundKernelSession(nerveRoot, createKernel);
-}
-
 async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
   if (isRunning()) {
     const pid = readPidFile();
@@ -71,7 +66,6 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
   const logPath = getLogPath();
   await mkdir(join(nerveRoot, "logs"), { recursive: true });
 
-  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
   const logStream = createWriteStream(logPath, { flags: "a" });
   await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
     if (logStream.pending) logStream.once("open", () => resolve());
@@ -82,7 +76,7 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
 
   const child = spawn(process.execPath, [bootstrapPath], {
     detached: true,
-    stdio: ["ignore", logStream.fd, logStream.fd],
+    stdio: ["ignore", (logStream as any).fd, (logStream as any).fd],
     env: { ...process.env, NERVE_ROOT: nerveRoot },
     cwd: nerveRoot,
   });
@@ -97,7 +91,6 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
 
   writePidFile(pid);
 
-  const { getSocketPath } = await import("../workspace.js");
   const ready = await waitForSocket(getSocketPath(), 5000);
 
   if (!ready || !isRunning()) {
@@ -110,29 +103,20 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
 
   process.stdout.write(`✅ Nerve daemon started (pid ${pid}).\n`);
   process.stdout.write(`   Logs: ${logPath}\n`);
-  process.stdout.write("   Run `nerve stop` to stop.\n");
+  process.stdout.write("   Run `nerve daemon stop` (or `nerve stop`) to stop.\n");
 }
 
-export const startCommand = defineCommand({
+/** Background daemon only — use `nerve dev` for foreground mode. */
+export async function runDaemonStartCommand(): Promise<void> {
+  await runDaemon(getNerveRoot());
+}
+
+export const daemonStartCommand = defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "start",
-    description: "Start the nerve daemon",
+    description: "Start the nerve daemon in the background",
   },
-  args: {
-    daemon: {
-      type: "boolean",
-      alias: "d",
-      description: "Run as background daemon",
-      default: false,
-    },
-  },
-  async run({ args }) {
-    const nerveRoot = getNerveRoot();
-
-    if (args.daemon) {
-      await runDaemon(nerveRoot);
-    } else {
-      await runForeground(nerveRoot);
-    }
+  async run() {
+    await runDaemonStartCommand();
   },
 });

packages/cli/src/commands/stop.ts

@@ -15,44 +15,49 @@ async function waitForExit(pid: number, timeoutMs: number): Promise<boolean> {
   return false;
 }
 
+/** Core stop logic — also used by `nerve daemon restart`. */
+export async function runStopCommand(): Promise<void> {
+  const pid = readPidFile();
+  if (pid === null) {
+    process.stdout.write("⚠️ No PID file found — daemon may not be running.\n");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (!isRunning()) {
+    process.stdout.write("⚠️ Daemon is not running (stale PID file). Cleaning up.\n");
+    removePidFile();
+    return;
+  }
+
+  process.stdout.write(`Stopping nerve daemon (pid ${pid})…\n`);
+  try {
+    process.kill(pid, "SIGTERM");
+  } catch (e) {
+    const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
+    process.stderr.write(`❌ Failed to send SIGTERM: ${msg}\n`);
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
+  const graceful = await waitForExit(pid, 10_000);
+  if (!graceful) {
+    process.stdout.write("⚠️ Daemon did not exit in 10s — sending SIGKILL.\n");
+    try {
+      process.kill(pid, "SIGKILL");
+    } catch {
+      // already dead
+    }
+  }
+
+  removePidFile();
+  process.stdout.write("✅ Daemon stopped.\n");
+}
+
 export const stopCommand = defineCommand({
   meta: {
     name: "stop",
     description: "Stop the nerve daemon",
   },
   async run() {
-    const pid = readPidFile();
-    if (pid === null) {
-      process.stdout.write("⚠️ No PID file found — daemon may not be running.\n");
-      return;
-    }
-
-    if (!isRunning()) {
-      process.stdout.write("⚠️ Daemon is not running (stale PID file). Cleaning up.\n");
-      removePidFile();
-      return;
-    }
-
-    process.stdout.write(`Stopping nerve daemon (pid ${pid})…\n`);
-    try {
-      process.kill(pid, "SIGTERM");
-    } catch (e) {
-      const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
-      process.stderr.write(`❌ Failed to send SIGTERM: ${msg}\n`);
-      process.exit(1);
-    }
-
-    const graceful = await waitForExit(pid, 10_000);
-    if (!graceful) {
-      process.stdout.write("⚠️ Daemon did not exit in 10s — sending SIGKILL.\n");
-      try {
-        process.kill(pid, "SIGKILL");
-      } catch {
-        // already dead
-      }
-    }
-
-    removePidFile();
-    process.stdout.write("✅ Daemon stopped.\n");
+    await runStopCommand();
   },
 });

packages/cli/src/daemon-bootstrap.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env node
-
 import { runForegroundKernelSession } from "./run-foreground-kernel.js";
 import { loadDaemonModule } from "./workspace-daemon.js";
 

packages/cli/src/sense-sqlite.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
+
+/** SQLite path for a sense under the nerve workspace root. */
+export function senseDbPath(nerveRoot: string, senseName: string): string {
+  return join(nerveRoot, "data", "senses", `${senseName}.db`);
+}
+
+export function assertSenseDbExists(nerveRoot: string, senseName: string): string {
+  const path = senseDbPath(nerveRoot, senseName);
+  if (!existsSync(path)) {
+    throw new Error(`No database at ${path}`);
+  }
+  return path;
+}
+
+/** Open a sense SQLite database in readonly mode using node:sqlite. */
+export function openSenseDb(nerveRoot: string, senseName: string): DatabaseSync {
+  const path = assertSenseDbExists(nerveRoot, senseName);
+  return new DatabaseSync(path, { readOnly: true });
+}
+
+/** `SELECT sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'` (non-null sql only). */
+export function listTableSqlStatements(db: DatabaseSync): string[] {
+  const rows = db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT sql FROM sqlite_master WHERE type = 'table' AND sql IS NOT NULL ORDER BY tbl_name`,
+    )
+    .all() as { sql: string }[];
+  return rows.map((r) => r.sql);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Table used for `nerve sense query <name>` with no SQL.
+ * Prefers real data tables over `_migrations`, then lexicographic by name.
+ */
+export function pickDefaultPreviewTable(db: DatabaseSync): string | null {
+  const row = db
+    .prepare(
+      `SELECT name FROM sqlite_master
+       WHERE type = 'table' AND sql IS NOT NULL
+         AND name NOT LIKE 'sqlite\\_%' ESCAPE '\\'
+       ORDER BY
+         CASE WHEN name = '_migrations' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END,
+         name
+       LIMIT 1`,
+    )
+    .get() as { name: string } | undefined;
+  return row?.name ?? null;
+}
+
+export function defaultPreviewSql(table: string): string {
+  return `SELECT * FROM "${table.replace(/"/g, '""')}" ORDER BY rowid DESC LIMIT 10`;
+}
+
+/** Parse sense name and optional SQL from subcommand raw argv (flags stripped). */
+export function parseSenseQueryArgs(rawArgs: string[]): { name: string; sql: string | undefined } {
+  const pos: string[] = [];
+  for (let i = 0; i < rawArgs.length; i++) {
+    const a = rawArgs[i];
+    if (a === "--json" || a === "--no-json") continue;
+    if (a.startsWith("-")) {
+      const eq = a.indexOf("=");
+      if (eq === -1 && i + 1 < rawArgs.length && !rawArgs[i + 1].startsWith("-")) {
+        i += 1;
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    pos.push(a);
+  }
+  if (pos.length < 1) {
+    throw new Error("Missing sense name");
+  }
+  const name = pos[0];
+  const sql = pos.length > 1 ? pos.slice(1).join(" ") : undefined;
+  return { name, sql };
+}
+
+function stringifyCell(value: unknown): string {
+  if (value === null || value === undefined) return "";
+  if (typeof value === "bigint") return value.toString();
+  if (typeof value === "number" || typeof value === "boolean") return String(value);
+  if (typeof value === "string") return value;
+  if (Buffer.isBuffer(value)) return value.toString("hex");
+  try {
+    return JSON.stringify(value);
+  } catch {
+    return String(value);
+  }
+}
+
+/** Collect column keys in stable order (first row keys, then any extras). */
+export function collectColumnKeys(rows: Record<string, unknown>[]): string[] {
+  const keys: string[] = [];
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  for (const row of rows) {
+    for (const k of Object.keys(row)) {
+      if (!seen.has(k)) {
+        seen.add(k);
+        keys.push(k);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return keys;
+}
+
+const MAX_CELL = 64;
+
+function truncate(s: string): string {
+  if (s.length <= MAX_CELL) return s;
+  return `${s.slice(0, MAX_CELL - 1)}…`;
+}
+
+/** Plain aligned table for terminal output. */
+export function formatRowsAsAlignedTable(rows: Record<string, unknown>[]): string {
+  if (rows.length === 0) {
+    return "(0 rows)\n";
+  }
+  const cols = collectColumnKeys(rows);
+  const cells = rows.map((row) => cols.map((c) => truncate(stringifyCell(row[c]))));
+  const widths = cols.map((c, j) => Math.max(c.length, ...cells.map((r) => r[j].length)));
+  const sep = widths.map((w) => "-".repeat(w)).join("-+-");
+  const header = cols.map((c, j) => c.padEnd(widths[j])).join(" | ");
+  const body = cells.map((r) => r.map((cell, j) => cell.padEnd(widths[j])).join(" | ")).join("\n");
+  return `${header}\n${sep}\n${body}\n`;
+}

packages/cli/tsconfig.json

@@ -6,5 +6,6 @@
     "composite": false,
     "types": ["node"]
   },
-  "include": ["src"]
+  "include": ["src"],
+  "exclude": ["src/__tests__"]
 }

packages/cli/tsup.config.ts

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-import { defineConfig } from "tsup";
-
-export default defineConfig({
-  entry: ["src/index.ts", "src/cli.ts", "src/daemon-bootstrap.ts"],
-  format: ["esm"],
-  dts: true,
-  clean: true,
-  banner: {
-    js: "#!/usr/bin/env node",
-  },
-  /** Daemon is loaded from workspace node_modules at runtime — never bundle it. */
-  external: ["@uncaged/nerve-daemon"],
-});

packages/core/package.json

@@ -1,17 +1,25 @@
 {
   "name": "@uncaged/nerve-core",
-  "version": "0.1.2",
+  "version": "0.1.4",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
+  "files": [
+    "dist"
+  ],
+  "publishConfig": {
+    "access": "public"
+  },
   "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsup",
+    "prepublishOnly": "bash ../../scripts/prepublish-check.sh",
+    "build": "rslib build",
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "yaml": "^2.8.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
+    "@rslib/core": "^0.21.3",
     "vitest": "^4.1.5"
   }
 }

packages/core/rslib.config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { defineConfig } from "@rslib/core";
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  lib: [
+    {
+      format: "esm",
+      dts: true,
+    },
+  ],
+  source: {
+    entry: {
+      index: "src/index.ts",
+    },
+  },
+  output: {
+    target: "node",
+    cleanDistPath: true,
+  },
+});

packages/core/tsup.config.ts

@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-import { defineConfig } from "tsup";
-
-export default defineConfig({
-  entry: ["src/index.ts"],
-  format: ["esm"],
-  dts: true,
-  clean: true,
-});

packages/daemon/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@uncaged/nerve-daemon",
-  "version": "0.1.3",
+  "version": "0.1.5",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "types": "dist/index.d.ts",
@@ -11,17 +11,18 @@
     "access": "public"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsup",
+    "prepublishOnly": "bash ../../scripts/prepublish-check.sh",
+    "build": "rslib build",
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@uncaged/nerve-core": "workspace:*",
-    "better-sqlite3": "^11.10.0",
-    "drizzle-orm": "^0.43.1",
+    "drizzle-orm": "1.0.0-beta.23-c10d10c",
     "yaml": "^2.8.3"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@types/better-sqlite3": "^7.6.13",
+    "@rslib/core": "^0.21.3",
+    "@types/node": "^22.0.0",
     "vitest": "^4.1.5"
   }
 }

packages/daemon/rslib.config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import { defineConfig } from "@rslib/core";
+
+export default defineConfig({
+  lib: [
+    {
+      format: "esm",
+      dts: true,
+    },
+  ],
+  source: {
+    entry: {
+      index: "src/index.ts",
+      "sense-worker": "src/sense-worker.ts",
+    },
+  },
+  output: {
+    target: "node",
+    cleanDistPath: true,
+  },
+});

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/crash-recovery.test.ts

@@ -89,10 +89,11 @@ function makeLogStore(
       }
       return activeRuns;
     }),
-    getTriggerPayload: vi.fn(() => ({ value: 42 })),
-    getThreadEvents: vi.fn(() => [{ type: "thread_start", triggerPayload: {} }]),
+    getTriggerPayload: vi.fn((): unknown => ({ value: 42 })),
+    getThreadEvents: vi.fn((): Array<{ type: string; [key: string]: unknown }> => [{ type: "thread_start", triggerPayload: {} }]),
     archiveLogs: vi.fn(() => ({ days: [], vacuumed: false })),
     close: vi.fn(),
+    getAllWorkflowRuns: vi.fn(() => []),
   };
   return store;
 }
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — crash recovery (Phase 3)", () => {
       child.emit("exit", 1, null);
 
       const crashedCalls = logStore.upsertWorkflowRun.mock.calls.filter(
-        ([entry]: [{ type: string }]) => entry.type === "crashed",
+        (args: any[]) => (args[0] as { type: string }).type === "crashed",
       );
       expect(crashedCalls).toHaveLength(2);
 
@@ -216,10 +217,10 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — crash recovery (Phase 3)", () => {
 
       // resume-thread should have been sent
       const resumeCalls = (secondChild.send as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls.filter(
-        ([msg]: [unknown]) =>
-          msg !== null &&
-          typeof msg === "object" &&
-          (msg as Record<string, unknown>).type === "resume-thread",
+        (args: any[]) =>
+          args[0] !== null &&
+          typeof args[0] === "object" &&
+          (args[0] as Record<string, unknown>).type === "resume-thread",
       );
       expect(resumeCalls).toHaveLength(1);
       expect(resumeCalls[0][0]).toMatchObject({
@@ -286,7 +287,7 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — crash recovery (Phase 3)", () => {
       });
 
       const appendCalls = logStore.append.mock.calls.filter(
-        ([entry]: [{ type: string }]) => entry.type === "thread_command_event",
+        (args: any[]) => (args[0] as { type: string }).type === "thread_command_event",
       );
       expect(appendCalls).toHaveLength(1);
       expect(appendCalls[0][0]).toMatchObject({
@@ -313,7 +314,7 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — crash recovery (Phase 3)", () => {
       mgr.startWorkflow("my-wf", payload);
 
       const startedCall = logStore.upsertWorkflowRun.mock.calls.find(
-        ([entry]: [{ type: string }]) => entry.type === "started",
+        (args: any[]) => (args[0] as { type: string }).type === "started",
       );
       expect(startedCall).toBeDefined();
       const logEntry = startedCall?.[0] as { payload: string | null };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/hot-reload.test.ts

@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ function makeLogStore() {
     getThreadEvents: vi.fn(() => []),
     archiveLogs: vi.fn(() => ({ days: [], vacuumed: false })),
     close: vi.fn(),
+    getAllWorkflowRuns: vi.fn(() => []),
   };
 }
 
@@ -126,7 +127,7 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — drainAndRespawn (Phase 3 hot reload)", () => {
     await drainPromise;
 
     const interruptedCalls = logStore.upsertWorkflowRun.mock.calls.filter(
-      ([entry]: [{ type: string }]) => entry.type === "interrupted",
+      (args: any[]) => (args[0] as { type: string }).type === "interrupted",
     );
     expect(interruptedCalls).toHaveLength(2);
 
@@ -190,10 +191,10 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — drainAndRespawn (Phase 3 hot reload)", () => {
 
     const newChild = mockChildren[1];
     const resumeCalls = (newChild.send as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls.filter(
-      ([msg]: [unknown]) =>
-        msg !== null &&
-        typeof msg === "object" &&
-        (msg as Record<string, unknown>).type === "resume-thread",
+      (args: any[]) =>
+        args[0] !== null &&
+        typeof args[0] === "object" &&
+        (args[0] as Record<string, unknown>).type === "resume-thread",
     );
     expect(resumeCalls).toHaveLength(0);
 
@@ -218,10 +219,10 @@ describe("WorkflowManager — drainAndRespawn (Phase 3 hot reload)", () => {
 
     const newChild = mockChildren[1];
     const startCalls = (newChild.send as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls.filter(
-      ([msg]: [unknown]) =>
-        msg !== null &&
-        typeof msg === "object" &&
-        (msg as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
+      (args: any[]) =>
+        args[0] !== null &&
+        typeof args[0] === "object" &&
+        (args[0] as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
     );
     expect(startCalls).toHaveLength(1);
 
@@ -266,7 +267,7 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
     // Kernel's handleWorkflowFileChange should log a workflow_reload event
     // We test this via the kernel itself
     const appendCalls = logStore.append.mock.calls;
-    const startCall = appendCalls.find(([e]: [{ type: string }]) => e.type === "start");
+    const startCall = appendCalls.find((args: any[]) => (args[0] as { type: string }).type === "start");
     expect(startCall).toBeDefined();
 
     const stopPromise = kernel.stop();

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/kernel-trigger-sense.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  * Unit tests for kernel.triggerSense() — IPC issue #36.
  *
  * These tests use a mock child_process and a mock LogStore so they do NOT
- * require better-sqlite3 to be present in the test environment.
+ * require a real LogStore (node:sqlite) in integration tests.
  */
 
 import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ vi.mock("node:child_process", () => ({
 const { createKernel } = await import("../kernel.js");
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Mock LogStore factory (avoids better-sqlite3 dependency)
+// Mock LogStore factory (avoids SQLite I/O in this unit test)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 function makeMockLogStore() {

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/kernel-workflow-integration.test.ts

@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ function makeLogStore() {
     appendWithWorkflowUpdate: vi.fn(),
     getWorkflowRun: vi.fn(() => null),
     getActiveWorkflowRuns: vi.fn(() => []),
+    getAllWorkflowRuns: vi.fn(() => []),
     getTriggerPayload: vi.fn(() => null),
     getThreadEvents: vi.fn(() => []),
     archiveLogs: vi.fn(() => ({ days: [], vacuumed: false })),
@@ -137,10 +138,10 @@ describe("kernel + workflowManager integration", () => {
       // We need to check that a start-thread message was sent to the workflow worker
       const workflowWorker = mockChildren.find((c) =>
         (c.send as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls.some(
-          ([msg]: [unknown]) =>
-            msg !== null &&
-            typeof msg === "object" &&
-            (msg as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
+          (args: unknown[]) =>
+            args[0] !== null &&
+            typeof args[0] === "object" &&
+            (args[0] as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
         ),
       );
       expect(workflowWorker).toBeDefined();
@@ -212,10 +213,10 @@ describe("kernel + workflowManager integration", () => {
       // No workflow worker should have been spawned (only the sense group worker)
       const workflowWorkerSpawned = mockChildren.some((c) =>
         (c.send as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.calls.some(
-          ([msg]: [unknown]) =>
-            msg !== null &&
-            typeof msg === "object" &&
-            (msg as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
+          (args: unknown[]) =>
+            args[0] !== null &&
+            typeof args[0] === "object" &&
+            (args[0] as Record<string, unknown>).type === "start-thread",
         ),
       );
       expect(workflowWorkerSpawned).toBe(false);

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

@@ -2,15 +2,15 @@ import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 
-import Database from "better-sqlite3";
-import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/better-sqlite3";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
+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 "../blob-store.js";
 import { parseParentMessage } from "../ipc.js";
 import { executeCompute, openPeerDb, openSenseDb, runMigrations } from "../sense-runtime.js";
-import type { DrizzleDB, PeerMap, SenseRuntime } from "../sense-runtime.js";
+import type { ComputeFn, DrizzleDB, PeerMap, SenseRuntime } from "../sense-runtime.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Helpers
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ const samples = sqliteTable("samples", {
 
 describe("runMigrations", () => {
   it("creates table via SQL migration file", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const migrationsDir = makeTempMigrationsDir(INIT_SQL);
     const result = runMigrations(sqlite, migrationsDir);
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ describe("runMigrations", () => {
   });
 
   it("runs multiple migrations in lexicographic order", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-multi-"));
 
     writeFileSync(join(dir, "0001_init.sql"), INIT_SQL);
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ describe("runMigrations", () => {
   });
 
   it("returns ok when migrations directory is empty", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const dir = makeTempMigrationsDirEmpty();
     const result = runMigrations(sqlite, dir);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
@@ -89,14 +89,14 @@ describe("runMigrations", () => {
   });
 
   it("returns err when migrations directory does not exist", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const result = runMigrations(sqlite, "/nonexistent/path/migrations");
     expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
     sqlite.close();
   });
 
   it("returns err when a migration SQL is invalid", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-bad-sql-"));
     writeFileSync(join(dir, "0001_bad.sql"), "NOT VALID SQL !!!;");
     const result = runMigrations(sqlite, dir);
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ describe("openPeerDb", () => {
   it("opens an existing db in read-only mode", () => {
     // Create a writable db first
     const dbPath = makeTempDbPath();
-    const sqlite = new Database(dbPath);
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(dbPath);
     sqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
     sqlite.prepare("INSERT INTO samples (ts, value) VALUES (1, 42.0)").run();
     sqlite.close();
@@ -168,13 +168,13 @@ describe("openPeerDb", () => {
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 describe("executeCompute", () => {
-  function makeRuntime(computeFn: (db: DrizzleDB, peers: PeerMap) => Promise<unknown | null>): {
+  function makeRuntime(computeFn: ComputeFn): {
     runtime: SenseRuntime;
-    sqlite: Database.Database;
+    sqlite: DatabaseSync;
   } {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     sqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    const db = drizzle(sqlite) as DrizzleDB;
+    const db = drizzle({ client: sqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
     return {
       runtime: { name: "test-sense", db, compute: computeFn },
       sqlite,
@@ -226,10 +226,10 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
 
   it("compute can read from peers", async () => {
     // Set up a peer db with data
-    const peerSqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const peerSqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     peerSqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
     peerSqlite.prepare("INSERT INTO samples (ts, value) VALUES (100, 3.14)").run();
-    const peerDb = drizzle(peerSqlite) as DrizzleDB;
+    const peerDb = drizzle({ client: peerSqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
 
     const peers: PeerMap = { "other-sense": peerDb };
 
@@ -248,9 +248,9 @@ describe("executeCompute", () => {
   });
 
   it("write to own db does not affect peer db (isolation)", async () => {
-    const peerSqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const peerSqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     peerSqlite.exec(INIT_SQL);
-    const peerDb = drizzle(peerSqlite) as DrizzleDB;
+    const peerDb = drizzle({ client: peerSqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
     const peers: PeerMap = { "peer-sense": peerDb };
 
     const { runtime, sqlite } = makeRuntime(async (db) => {
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ describe("parseParentMessage", () => {
 
 describe("runMigrations journal", () => {
   it("does not re-run an already-applied migration", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-journal-"));
     writeFileSync(join(dir, "0001_init.sql"), INIT_SQL);
 
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ describe("runMigrations journal", () => {
   });
 
   it("tracks migrations in _migrations table", () => {
-    const sqlite = new Database(":memory:");
+    const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(":memory:");
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-journal2-"));
     writeFileSync(join(dir, "0001_init.sql"), INIT_SQL);
 

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/workflow-manager.test.ts

@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ function makeLogStore() {
     getThreadEvents: vi.fn(() => []),
     archiveLogs: vi.fn(() => ({ days: [], vacuumed: false })),
     close: vi.fn(),
+    getAllWorkflowRuns: vi.fn(() => []),
   };
 }
 

packages/daemon/src/kernel.ts

@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ import { createReflexScheduler } from "./reflex-scheduler.js";
 import type { ReflexScheduler } from "./reflex-scheduler.js";
 import { createSignalBus } from "./signal-bus.js";
 import type { SignalBus } from "./signal-bus.js";
+import {
+  formatCapturedStderrTail,
+  formatChildExitSummary,
+  teeCapturedStderr,
+} from "./worker-fork-support.js";
 import { createWorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 import type { WorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 
@@ -84,10 +89,16 @@ function resolveWorkerScript(): string {
   return join(__dir, "sense-worker.js");
 }
 
-function spawnWorker(nerveRoot: string, group: string, workerScript: string): ChildProcess {
+function spawnWorker(
+  nerveRoot: string,
+  group: string,
+  workerScript: string,
+  stderrTail: { value: string },
+): ChildProcess {
   const child = fork(workerScript, ["--group", group, "--root", nerveRoot], {
-    stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "inherit", "ipc"],
+    stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "pipe", "ipc"],
   });
+  teeCapturedStderr(child, stderrTail);
   // Prevent unhandled EPIPE when writing to a child whose IPC channel closed
   child.on("error", (err) => {
     if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "EPIPE") {
@@ -240,7 +251,8 @@ export function createKernel(
   }
 
   function startWorker(group: string): Promise<void> {
-    const child = spawnWorker(nerveRoot, group, workerScript);
+    const stderrTail = { value: "" };
+    const child = spawnWorker(nerveRoot, group, workerScript, stderrTail);
 
     let workerReadyResolve: (() => void) | undefined;
     const workerReady = new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
@@ -255,9 +267,10 @@ export function createKernel(
       handleWorkerMessage(raw);
     });
 
-    child.on("exit", (code) => {
+    child.on("exit", (code, signal) => {
+      const summary = formatChildExitSummary(code, signal ?? null);
       process.stderr.write(
-        `[kernel] worker for group "${group}" exited with code ${code ?? "null"}\n`,
+        `[kernel] worker for group "${group}" exited (${summary})${formatCapturedStderrTail(stderrTail.value)}\n`,
       );
       // Resolve ready in case the worker exits before sending ready (prevents hangs)
       workerReadyResolve?.();

packages/daemon/src/log-store.ts

@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@
 
 import { mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
-import Database from "better-sqlite3";
-import type BetterSqlite3 from "better-sqlite3";
+import { DatabaseSync, type StatementSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
 import {
   DEFAULT_LOG_RETENTION_MS,
@@ -184,7 +183,23 @@ function buildJsonlBody(rows: SqlLogRow[]): string {
   return `${lines.join("\n")}\n`;
 }
 
-function runOptionalVacuum(sqlite: BetterSqlite3.Database, vacuum?: boolean): boolean {
+function runInTransaction<T>(db: DatabaseSync, fn: () => T): T {
+  db.exec("BEGIN IMMEDIATE");
+  try {
+    const out = fn();
+    db.exec("COMMIT");
+    return out;
+  } catch (e) {
+    try {
+      db.exec("ROLLBACK");
+    } catch {
+      // ignore rollback errors
+    }
+    throw e;
+  }
+}
+
+function runOptionalVacuum(sqlite: DatabaseSync, vacuum?: boolean): boolean {
   if (vacuum !== true) return false;
   sqlite.exec("VACUUM");
   return true;
@@ -199,7 +214,7 @@ function resolveArchiveStartDay(watermark: string | null, minDay: string): strin
 function runArchiveDayLoop(
   dbPath: string,
   options: ArchiveLogsOptions,
-  selectLogsForDayStmt: BetterSqlite3.Statement,
+  selectLogsForDayStmt: StatementSync,
   archiveDayTx: (day: string, start: number, endExclusive: number) => void,
   startDay: string,
   lastDay: string,
@@ -235,8 +250,8 @@ function runArchiveDayLoop(
 export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
   mkdirSync(dirname(dbPath), { recursive: true });
 
-  const sqlite: BetterSqlite3.Database = new Database(dbPath);
-  sqlite.pragma("journal_mode = WAL");
+  const sqlite = new DatabaseSync(dbPath);
+  sqlite.exec("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL");
   sqlite.exec(SCHEMA_SQL);
 
   const insertStmt = sqlite.prepare(
@@ -288,8 +303,8 @@ export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
     "DELETE FROM logs WHERE ts >= @start AND ts < @endExclusive",
   );
 
-  const upsertWorkflowRunTx = sqlite.transaction(
-    (entry: Omit<LogEntry, "id">, run: WorkflowRun) => {
+  function upsertWorkflowRunTx(entry: Omit<LogEntry, "id">, run: WorkflowRun): LogEntry {
+    return runInTransaction(sqlite, () => {
       const info = insertStmt.run({
         source: entry.source,
         type: entry.type,
@@ -304,8 +319,8 @@ export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
         ts: run.ts,
       });
       return { ...entry, id: Number(info.lastInsertRowid) };
-    },
-  );
+    });
+  }
 
   function append(entry: Omit<LogEntry, "id">): LogEntry {
     const info = insertStmt.run({
@@ -320,7 +335,7 @@ export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
 
   function query(filter: LogQuery = {}): LogEntry[] {
     const conditions: string[] = [];
-    const params: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    const params: Record<string, string | number> = {};
 
     if (filter.source !== undefined) {
       conditions.push("source = @source");
@@ -376,11 +391,11 @@ export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
   }
 
   function upsertWorkflowRun(entry: Omit<LogEntry, "id">, run: WorkflowRun): LogEntry {
-    return upsertWorkflowRunTx(entry, run) as LogEntry;
+    return upsertWorkflowRunTx(entry, run);
   }
 
   function appendWithWorkflowUpdate(entry: Omit<LogEntry, "id">, run: WorkflowRun): LogEntry {
-    return upsertWorkflowRunTx(entry, run) as LogEntry;
+    return upsertWorkflowRunTx(entry, run);
   }
 
   function getWorkflowRun(runId: string): WorkflowRun | null {
@@ -460,10 +475,12 @@ export function createLogStore(dbPath: string): LogStore {
     return result;
   }
 
-  const archiveDayTx = sqlite.transaction((day: string, start: number, endExclusive: number) => {
-    deleteLogsForDayStmt.run({ start, endExclusive });
-    setMetaStmt.run({ key: LOG_ARCHIVE_META_KEY, value: day });
-  });
+  function archiveDayTx(day: string, start: number, endExclusive: number): void {
+    runInTransaction(sqlite, () => {
+      deleteLogsForDayStmt.run({ start, endExclusive });
+      setMetaStmt.run({ key: LOG_ARCHIVE_META_KEY, value: day });
+    });
+  }
 
   function readWatermark(): string | null {
     const raw = getMeta(LOG_ARCHIVE_META_KEY);

packages/daemon/src/sense-runtime.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import { mkdirSync, readFileSync, readdirSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
-import Database from "better-sqlite3";
-import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/better-sqlite3";
-import type { BetterSQLite3Database } from "drizzle-orm/better-sqlite3";
+import { drizzle } from "drizzle-orm/node-sqlite";
+import type { NodeSQLiteDatabase } from "drizzle-orm/node-sqlite";
 
 import type { Result } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { err, ok } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { err, ok } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import type { BlobStore } from "./blob-store.js";
 
 /** A Drizzle DB instance (schema-generic) */
-export type DrizzleDB = BetterSQLite3Database<Record<string, never>>;
+export type DrizzleDB = NodeSQLiteDatabase<Record<string, never>>;
 
 /** Read-only map of peer sense name → their Drizzle DB */
 export type PeerMap = Readonly<Record<string, DrizzleDB>>;
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ export type SenseRuntime = {
   compute: ComputeFn;
 };
 
-function ensureMigrationsTable(sqlite: Database.Database): Result<void> {
+function ensureMigrationsTable(sqlite: DatabaseSync): Result<void> {
   try {
     sqlite.exec(
       `CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS _migrations (
@@ -69,11 +69,7 @@ function listMigrationFiles(migrationsDir: string): Result<string[]> {
   }
 }
 
-function applyMigrationFile(
-  sqlite: Database.Database,
-  file: string,
-  filePath: string,
-): Result<void> {
+function applyMigrationFile(sqlite: DatabaseSync, file: string, filePath: string): Result<void> {
   let sql: string;
   try {
     sql = readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
@@ -83,13 +79,18 @@ function applyMigrationFile(
   }
 
   const insertJournal = sqlite.prepare("INSERT INTO _migrations (name, applied_at) VALUES (?, ?)");
+  sqlite.exec("BEGIN IMMEDIATE");
   try {
-    sqlite.transaction(() => {
-      sqlite.exec(sql);
-      insertJournal.run(file, Date.now());
-    })();
+    sqlite.exec(sql);
+    insertJournal.run(file, Date.now());
+    sqlite.exec("COMMIT");
     return ok(undefined);
   } catch (e) {
+    try {
+      sqlite.exec("ROLLBACK");
+    } catch {
+      // ignore secondary errors during rollback
+    }
     const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
     return err(new Error(`Migration "${file}" failed: ${msg}`));
   }
@@ -97,10 +98,10 @@ function applyMigrationFile(
 
 /**
  * Run all *.sql migration files in the given directory against a
- * better-sqlite3 Database, in lexicographic order.
+ * `node:sqlite` DatabaseSync, in lexicographic order.
  * Tracks applied migrations in _migrations table to avoid re-running.
  */
-export function runMigrations(sqlite: Database.Database, migrationsDir: string): Result<void> {
+export function runMigrations(sqlite: DatabaseSync, migrationsDir: string): Result<void> {
   const tableResult = ensureMigrationsTable(sqlite);
   if (!tableResult.ok) return tableResult;
 
@@ -129,14 +130,13 @@ export function runMigrations(sqlite: Database.Database, migrationsDir: string):
 export function openSenseDb(
   dbPath: string,
   migrationsDir: string,
-): Result<{ sqlite: Database.Database; db: DrizzleDB }> {
-  let sqlite: Database.Database;
+): Result<{ sqlite: DatabaseSync; db: DrizzleDB }> {
+  let sqlite: DatabaseSync;
 
   try {
     mkdirSync(dirname(dbPath), { recursive: true });
-    sqlite = new Database(dbPath);
-    // WAL mode for better concurrent read performance
-    sqlite.pragma("journal_mode = WAL");
+    sqlite = new DatabaseSync(dbPath);
+    sqlite.exec("PRAGMA journal_mode=WAL");
   } catch (e) {
     const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
     return err(new Error(`Failed to open database "${dbPath}": ${msg}`));
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ export function openSenseDb(
   const migResult = runMigrations(sqlite, migrationsDir);
   if (!migResult.ok) return migResult;
 
-  const db = drizzle(sqlite) as DrizzleDB;
+  const db = drizzle({ client: sqlite }) as DrizzleDB;
   return ok({ sqlite, db });
 }
 
@@ -153,16 +153,16 @@ export function openSenseDb(
  * Open a peer sense DB in read-only mode (no migrations).
  */
 export function openPeerDb(dbPath: string): Result<DrizzleDB> {
-  let sqlite: Database.Database;
+  let sqlite: DatabaseSync;
 
   try {
-    sqlite = new Database(dbPath, { readonly: true });
+    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}`));
   }
 
-  return ok(drizzle(sqlite) as DrizzleDB);
+  return ok(drizzle({ client: sqlite }) as DrizzleDB);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ export async function loadComputeFn(senseIndexPath: string): Promise<Result<Comp
   let mod: unknown;
 
   try {
+    // Dynamic import required: user-authored sense module, path resolved at runtime
     mod = await import(senseIndexPath);
   } catch (e) {
     const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);

packages/daemon/src/sense-worker.ts

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ 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 { ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals } from "./worker-fork-support.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // IPC helpers
@@ -336,6 +337,10 @@ if (!parsed) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
+if (typeof process.send === "function") {
+  ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals();
+}
+
 bootstrap(parsed.nerveRoot, parsed.group).catch((e) => {
   const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
   process.stderr.write(`[sense-worker] Unhandled bootstrap error: ${msg}\n`);

packages/daemon/src/worker-fork-support.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import type { ChildProcess } from "node:child_process";
+
+const STDERR_TAIL_MAX_CHARS = 16_384;
+
+/**
+ * Forked workers inherit the parent's process group. In foreground `nerve dev`,
+ * terminal-driven SIGINT/SIGTERM is delivered to the whole group, so workers can exit
+ * on the default handler before the kernel sends `{ type: "shutdown" }` over IPC.
+ * Swallow these in worker processes so the parent coordinates shutdown (issue #55).
+ * Only call when `process.send` is defined (fork IPC); standalone `node …-worker.js` keeps default Ctrl+C behaviour.
+ */
+export function ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals(): void {
+  const swallow = (): void => {};
+  process.on("SIGINT", swallow);
+  process.on("SIGTERM", swallow);
+}
+
+export function teeCapturedStderr(child: ChildProcess, tail: { value: string }): void {
+  const stream = child.stderr;
+  if (stream === null || stream === undefined) return;
+  stream.setEncoding("utf8");
+  stream.on("data", (chunk: string | Buffer) => {
+    const text = typeof chunk === "string" ? chunk : chunk.toString("utf8");
+    process.stderr.write(text);
+    tail.value = (tail.value + text).slice(-STDERR_TAIL_MAX_CHARS);
+  });
+}
+
+export function formatChildExitSummary(
+  code: number | null,
+  signal: NodeJS.Signals | null,
+): string {
+  const codeStr = code === null || code === undefined ? "null" : String(code);
+  if (signal) {
+    return `code=${codeStr} signal=${signal}`;
+  }
+  return `code=${codeStr}`;
+}
+
+export function formatCapturedStderrTail(tail: string, maxChars = 800): string {
+  const trimmed = tail.trim();
+  if (trimmed.length === 0) return "";
+  const normalized = trimmed.replace(/\r?\n/g, "\\n");
+  if (normalized.length <= maxChars) {
+    return ` worker_stderr=${normalized}`;
+  }
+  return ` worker_stderr=…${normalized.slice(-maxChars)}`;
+}

packages/daemon/src/workflow-manager.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,11 @@ import type {
 import { parseWorkerMessage } from "./ipc.js";
 import type { LogStore } from "./log-store.js";
 import type { WorkflowRunStatus } from "./log-store.js";
+import {
+  formatCapturedStderrTail,
+  formatChildExitSummary,
+  teeCapturedStderr,
+} from "./worker-fork-support.js";
 
 export type WorkflowManager = {
   /** Trigger a new workflow thread (called by Reflex scheduler). */
@@ -60,6 +65,7 @@ type WorkerEntry = {
   stopping: boolean;
   /** When set, the worker is draining before a hot-reload respawn. */
   draining: boolean;
+  stderrTail: { value: string };
 };
 
 // Crash respawn backoff: track crash timestamps per workflow.
@@ -85,10 +91,12 @@ function spawnWorkflowWorker(
   nerveRoot: string,
   workflowName: string,
   workerScript: string,
+  stderrTail: { value: string },
 ): ChildProcess {
   const child = fork(workerScript, ["--workflow", workflowName, "--root", nerveRoot], {
-    stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "inherit", "ipc"],
+    stdio: ["ignore", "inherit", "pipe", "ipc"],
   });
+  teeCapturedStderr(child, stderrTail);
   // Prevent unhandled EPIPE when writing to a child whose IPC channel closed
   child.on("error", (err) => {
     if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code !== "EPIPE") {
@@ -395,7 +403,11 @@ export function createWorkflowManager(
     state.active.clear();
   }
 
-  function handleWorkerExit(workflowName: string, code: number | null): void {
+  function handleWorkerExit(
+    workflowName: string,
+    code: number | null,
+    signal: NodeJS.Signals | null,
+  ): void {
     const entry = workers.get(workflowName);
     if (entry?.draining) {
       workers.delete(workflowName);
@@ -416,8 +428,10 @@ export function createWorkflowManager(
       }
       return;
     }
+    const summary = formatChildExitSummary(code, signal);
+    const stderrExtra = entry !== undefined ? formatCapturedStderrTail(entry.stderrTail.value) : "";
     process.stderr.write(
-      `[workflow-manager] worker for "${workflowName}" exited with code ${code ?? "null"}\n`,
+      `[workflow-manager] worker for "${workflowName}" exited (${summary})${stderrExtra}\n`,
     );
     handleWorkerCrash(workflowName);
   }
@@ -428,17 +442,24 @@ export function createWorkflowManager(
       return existing;
     }
 
-    const child = spawnWorkflowWorker(nerveRoot, workflowName, workerScript);
+    const stderrTail = { value: "" };
+    const child = spawnWorkflowWorker(nerveRoot, workflowName, workerScript, stderrTail);
 
     child.on("message", (raw: unknown) => {
       handleWorkerMessage(workflowName, raw);
     });
 
-    child.on("exit", (code) => {
-      handleWorkerExit(workflowName, code);
+    child.on("exit", (code, signal) => {
+      handleWorkerExit(workflowName, code, signal ?? null);
     });
 
-    const entry: WorkerEntry = { workflowName, process: child, stopping: false, draining: false };
+    const entry: WorkerEntry = {
+      workflowName,
+      process: child,
+      stopping: false,
+      draining: false,
+      stderrTail,
+    };
     workers.set(workflowName, entry);
     return entry;
   }

packages/daemon/src/workflow-worker.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import type {
 
 import type { ThreadCommandEventMessage, ThreadEventType, WorkerToParentMessage } from "./ipc.js";
 import { parseParentMessage } from "./ipc.js";
+import { ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals } from "./worker-fork-support.js";
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // IPC helpers
@@ -197,6 +198,7 @@ async function loadWorkflowDefinition(
     );
   }
 
+  // Dynamic import required: user-authored workflow module, path resolved at runtime
   const mod = await import(indexPath);
   const def: unknown = mod.default ?? mod;
 
@@ -334,6 +336,10 @@ if (!parsed) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
+if (typeof process.send === "function") {
+  ignoreSessionBroadcastSignals();
+}
+
 bootstrap(parsed.nerveRoot, parsed.workflow).catch((e) => {
   const msg = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
   process.stderr.write(`[workflow-worker] Unhandled bootstrap error: ${msg}\n`);

packages/daemon/tsup.config.ts

@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-import { defineConfig } from "tsup";
-
-export default defineConfig({
-  entry: ["src/index.ts", "src/sense-worker.ts"],
-  format: ["esm"],
-  dts: true,
-  clean: true,
-});

pnpm-workspace.yaml

@@ -3,5 +3,4 @@ packages:
 
 onlyBuiltDependencies:
   - "@biomejs/biome"
-  - better-sqlite3
   - esbuild

scripts/prepublish-check.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# All packages must use pnpm publish. Block npm publish unconditionally.
+
+if [ -z "$npm_execpath" ] || [[ "$npm_execpath" != *pnpm* ]]; then
+  echo "❌ Use 'pnpm publish' instead of 'npm publish'."
+  echo "   pnpm auto-converts workspace:* dependencies to real versions."
+  exit 1
+fi