docs/rfc-003-agent-config-layer.md

@@ -6,29 +6,30 @@
 
 ## Summary
 
-Introduce a top-level `agents` and `extract` configuration in `nerve.yaml`, separating agent infrastructure from workflow business logic. Workflows define Roles (prompt + schema) that reference named Agents by domain expertise, not by implementation detail.
+Define a minimal agent abstraction where **adapter = capability** and **role = scenario**. Workflows directly declare which adapter each role uses — no intermediate registry or `nerve.yaml` agent config. `nerve.yaml` only holds `extract` config and `knowledge` settings.
 
 ## Motivation
 
-Currently, Role definitions in workflows are tightly coupled with agent implementation details (type, model, timeout). This leads to:
+The original design introduced a `nerve.yaml` agents registry to map logical names (e.g. `developer`) to adapter implementations. In practice this added an unnecessary layer of indirection:
 
-- **Duplication** — multiple workflows using the same agent config repeat it everywhere
-- **Fragility** — switching from `cursor` to `codex` requires touching every workflow
-- **Leaky abstraction** — workflow authors need to know agent internals
+- **Agent names are arbitrary** — `developer` vs `coder` vs `engineer` is a naming exercise, not architecture
+- **One more config to maintain** — adding/changing an adapter requires editing both `nerve.yaml` and the workflow
+- **Same adapter, same config** — in reality, most workflows just need "use cursor" or "use hermes", not a named abstraction on top
+
+The simpler model: **workflow roles declare their adapter directly**. The adapter *is* the capability.
 
 ## Key Concepts
 
-### Agent vs Role
+### Adapter vs Role
 
-| | Agent | Role |
+| | Adapter | Role |
 |---|---|---|
-| **What** | Professional domain capability | Scenario-specific persona |
-| **Granularity** | Few (2–4) | Many (per workflow step) |
-| **Examples** | `developer`, `ops`, `writer` | `architect`, `coder`, `reviewer`, `deployer` |
-| **Defines** | Tool, model, timeout defaults | Prompt, meta schema, timeout override |
-| **Layer** | Infrastructure (`nerve.yaml`) | Business logic (TypeScript) |
+| **What** | Capability — what tools are available | Scenario — what to do with those tools |
+| **Granularity** | Few (cursor, hermes, claude, codex) | Many (per workflow step) |
+| **Defines** | How to spawn an agent, tool access | Prompt, schema, timeout |
+| **Layer** | Infrastructure (packages) | Business logic (WorkflowSpec) |
 
-A `developer` agent becomes an architect, coder, or reviewer depending on the prompt it receives. The agent defines *what it's good at*; the role defines *what it does right now*.
+A `cursor` adapter becomes an architect, coder, or reviewer depending on the role's prompt. The adapter defines *what it can do*; the role defines *what it does right now*.
 
 ### Agent Protocol
 
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ A separate concern that parses agent output (raw string) into typed meta:
 type ExtractFn<T> = (raw: string, schema: Schema<T>) => Promise<T>
 ```
 
-Configured globally in `nerve.yaml`, overridable per agent and per role (three-level merge: global → agent → role).
+Configured globally in `nerve.yaml`, overridable per role (two-level merge: global → role).
 
 **Error handling**: retry once (feed raw output + parse error back to LLM for correction), then throw `ExtractError`. The workflow moderator decides the recovery strategy (retry role, skip, or terminate) — extract never makes workflow-level decisions.
 
@@ -60,17 +61,9 @@ Configured globally in `nerve.yaml`, overridable per agent and per role (three-l
 
 ### Configuration (`nerve.yaml`)
 
-```yaml
-agents:
-  developer:
-    type: cursor          # adapter: cursor | hermes | codex | ...
-    model: auto           # "auto" = delegate to adapter's default strategy
-    timeout: 300s
-  ops:
-    type: hermes
-    model: auto           # each adapter interprets "auto" independently
-    timeout: 600s
+`nerve.yaml` holds only extract and knowledge config — no agent registry:
 
+```yaml
 extract:
   provider: dashscope
   model: qwen-plus
@@ -78,14 +71,19 @@ extract:
 
 ### Workflow Definition (TypeScript)
 
+Roles declare their adapter directly — no indirection through named agents:
+
 ```ts
+import { cursorAdapter, createCursorAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor";
+import { hermesAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes";
+
 const workflow: WorkflowSpec<MyMeta> = {
   name: "develop-workflow",
   roles: {
-    architect: { agent: "developer", prompt: architectPrompt, meta: architectSchema },
-    coder:     { agent: "developer", prompt: coderPrompt,     meta: coderSchema },
-    reviewer:  { agent: "developer", prompt: reviewPrompt,    meta: reviewSchema, timeout: "60s" },
-    deployer:  { agent: "ops",       prompt: deployPrompt,    meta: deploySchema },
+    architect: { adapter: cursorAdapter,  prompt: architectPrompt, meta: architectSchema },
+    coder:     { adapter: createCursorAdapter({ model: "claude-sonnet-4", timeout: 600 }), prompt: coderPrompt, meta: coderSchema },
+    reviewer:  { adapter: hermesAdapter,  prompt: reviewPrompt,    meta: reviewSchema },
+    deployer:  { adapter: hermesAdapter,  prompt: deployPrompt,    meta: deploySchema },
   },
   moderator,
 };
@@ -94,14 +92,12 @@ const workflow: WorkflowSpec<MyMeta> = {
 ### Runtime Assembly
 
 ```
-nerve.yaml        →  AgentRegistry  →  adapter(cursor/hermes/codex/...)
-                                            ↓
-WorkflowSpec      →  Role(agent + prompt)  →  AgentFn(prompt, ctx) → string
-                                                                        ↓
+WorkflowSpec      →  Role(adapter fn + prompt)  →  adapter(prompt, ctx) → string
+                                                                            ↓
 nerve.yaml#extract →  ExtractFn(string, schema) → T (typed meta)
 ```
 
-`AgentRegistry` reads config, instantiates adapters, and returns `AgentFn` by name. Role assembly is handled by the runtime — users never call Role factories directly.
+Adapter is a direct function reference on each role — no map, no lookup, no registry.
 
 ### Adapter Packages
 
@@ -109,49 +105,51 @@ Each agent adapter lives in its own package to avoid pulling unnecessary depende
 
 ```
 packages/
-  adapter-cursor/     # @nerve/adapter-cursor — cursor-agent CLI
-  adapter-hermes/     # @nerve/adapter-hermes — hermes CLI subagent
-  adapter-claude/     # @nerve/adapter-claude — claude-code CLI (future)
-  adapter-codex/      # @nerve/adapter-codex — codex CLI (future)
+  adapter-cursor/     # @uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor — cursor-agent CLI
+  adapter-hermes/     # @uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes — hermes CLI subagent
+  adapter-claude/     # @uncaged/nerve-adapter-claude — claude-code CLI (future)
+  adapter-codex/      # @uncaged/nerve-adapter-codex — codex CLI (future)
 ```
 
-Each adapter exports a single factory function:
+Each adapter exports a **default instance** and a **factory** for customization:
 
 ```ts
-// @nerve/adapter-cursor
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn } from "@nerve/core";
+// @uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor
+import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
+// Factory — custom config
 export function createCursorAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn;
+
+// Default — sensible defaults (model: "auto", timeout: 300)
+export const cursorAdapter: AgentFn;
 ```
 
-The factory receives the full `AgentConfig` (type, model, timeout) and returns an `AgentFn` that spawns the CLI tool, passes the prompt, and returns raw output.
+The factory receives adapter config (model, timeout) and returns an `AgentFn` that spawns the CLI tool, passes the prompt, and returns raw output.
 
-**Registration** — `AgentRegistry` accepts adapter factories at construction:
+**Wiring** — workflows import adapters directly, no daemon-level registry:
 
 ```ts
-import { createCursorAdapter } from "@nerve/adapter-cursor";
-import { createHermesAdapter } from "@nerve/adapter-hermes";
+import { cursorAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor";
+import { hermesAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes";
 
-const registry = createAgentRegistry(config.agents, {
-  cursor: createCursorAdapter,
-  hermes: createHermesAdapter,
-});
+// Use default instances directly in roles
+{ adapter: cursorAdapter, prompt: "...", meta: schema }
 ```
 
-The daemon's entry point wires installed adapters; adapters not installed are not imported. `nerve validate` checks that referenced adapter types have a registered factory.
+Adapters not installed simply can't be imported — TypeScript catches missing dependencies at compile time.
 
 **Workspace `package.json`** only lists the adapters it actually uses:
 
 ```json
 {
   "dependencies": {
-    "@nerve/adapter-cursor": "workspace:*",
-    "@nerve/adapter-hermes": "workspace:*"
+    "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor": "workspace:*",
+    "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes": "workspace:*"
   }
 }
 ```
 
-**Migration from `workflow-utils`** — the existing `role-cursor.ts` / `shared/cursor-agent.ts` spawn logic moves to `@nerve/adapter-cursor`. `role-hermes.ts` / `shared/hermes-agent.ts` moves to `@nerve/adapter-hermes`. `workflow-utils` retains only extract, prompt utilities, and shared spawn infrastructure.
+**Migration from `workflow-utils`** — the existing `role-cursor.ts` / `shared/cursor-agent.ts` spawn logic moves to `@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor`. `role-hermes.ts` / `shared/hermes-agent.ts` moves to `@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes`. `workflow-utils` retains only extract, prompt utilities, and shared spawn infrastructure.
 
 ### Dynamic Prompts
 
@@ -161,10 +159,9 @@ The daemon's entry point wires installed adapters; adapters not installed are no
 type PromptInput = string | ((start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => Promise<string>);
 
 type RoleSpec<M> = {
-  agent: string;
+  adapter: AgentFn;
   prompt: PromptInput;
   meta: Schema<M>;
-  timeout: string | null;
 };
 ```
 
@@ -172,23 +169,20 @@ Static prompts cover simple cases. Dynamic prompts (functions) are needed when t
 
 ### Timeout Resolution
 
-Two-layer with role override:
+Timeout is an **adapter concern**, not a role concern. Roles define *what to do* (prompt + schema); adapters define *how to do it* (tool, model, timeout).
 
-1. Agent config provides the default timeout
-2. Role definition can override for specific scenarios
-
-```yaml
-# Agent default
-agents:
-  developer:
-    timeout: 300s
-```
+When different roles need different timeouts, create separate adapter instances:
 
 ```ts
-// Role override — review is faster
-reviewer: { agent: "developer", ..., timeout: "60s" }
-// coder uses agent default (300s)
-coder: { agent: "developer", ... }
+import { cursorAdapter, createCursorAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor";
+
+const fastCursor = createCursorAdapter({ model: "auto", timeout: 60 });
+const slowCursor = createCursorAdapter({ model: "auto", timeout: 600 });
+
+roles: {
+  reviewer: { adapter: fastCursor, prompt: reviewPrompt, meta: reviewSchema },
+  coder:    { adapter: slowCursor, prompt: coderPrompt,  meta: coderSchema },
+}
 ```
 
 ### No Runtime Fallback
@@ -198,9 +192,9 @@ coder: { agent: "developer", ... }
 
 Rationale: silent fallback hides quality differences (cursor → hermes subagent produces very different output) and makes debugging harder.
 
-### Agent Hot-Reload
+### Adapter Hot-Reload
 
-Follows the existing `nerve.yaml` hot-reload mechanism. On config change, `AgentRegistry` rebuilds. Running workflow threads are not affected (they use the `AgentFn` bound at thread start). New threads automatically use the updated config.
+Follows the existing `nerve.yaml` hot-reload mechanism. On config change, adapters are rebuilt. Running workflow threads are not affected (they use the `AdapterFn` bound at thread start). New threads automatically use the updated config.
 
 ### WorkflowContext
 
@@ -218,8 +212,8 @@ type WorkflowContext = {
 ### Configuration Validation
 
 `nerve validate` checks:
-- All agent names referenced in WorkflowSpec roles exist in `nerve.yaml`
-- Agent type adapters are available (CLI exists, service reachable)
+- All roles have a valid adapter function (not null/undefined)
+- Adapter CLIs are available (binary exists in PATH)
 - Extract provider is configured and reachable
 
 ## Compatibility with Current Types
@@ -230,7 +224,7 @@ The existing `Role<Meta>` signature:
 type Role<Meta> = (start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => Promise<RoleResult<Meta>>
 ```
 
-remains the runtime interface. The new config layer is syntactic sugar — the runtime assembles `Role<Meta>` functions from `(agent config + prompt + schema)` instead of users writing them by hand. `WorkflowDefinition` stays the same at the engine level; `WorkflowSpec` is the new user-facing authoring format that compiles down to it at daemon startup / hot-reload time (runtime lazy compile, not `nerve init`).
+remains the runtime interface. The new config layer is syntactic sugar — the runtime assembles `Role<Meta>` functions from `(adapter + prompt + schema)` instead of users writing them by hand. `WorkflowDefinition` stays the same at the engine level; `WorkflowSpec` is the new user-facing authoring format that compiles down to it at daemon startup / hot-reload time (runtime lazy compile, not `nerve init`).
 
 Existing hand-written `Role` functions continue to work — `WorkflowSpec` is additive, not a breaking change.
 
@@ -310,13 +304,13 @@ Workflow context (start + msgs)     Per run, moderator-controlled history
 ## Open Questions
 
 1. **Agent long-term memory** — storage format and mechanism for persisting domain expertise across runs
-2. **Embedding service** — self-hosted vs managed (Cloudflare Workers AI, Dashscope, etc.), model choice (e.g. `text-embedding-3-small`)
 
 ### Resolved
 
-- **Agent naming** → arbitrary names allowed, docs provide a recommended set (`developer`, `ops`, `writer`)
-- **Extract override granularity** → three-level merge: global → agent → role
+- **Agent naming / registry** → removed; workflow roles declare adapter directly, no intermediate registry
+- **Extract override granularity** → two-level merge: global → role (agent level removed)
 - **Context threading** → `WorkflowContext` includes `workdir` and `signal` (see design above)
+- **Embedding service** → self-hosted, 1024-dim vectors, content-hash cache
 
 ## References
 

packages/adapter-cursor/src/index.ts

@@ -83,10 +83,15 @@ function throwCursorSpawnError(error: SpawnError): never {
   throw new Error(`cursor-agent: ${error.message}`);
 }
 
+/** Default adapter config: model auto-selection and 300s wall-clock cap (milliseconds). */
+const CURSOR_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MS = 300_000;
+
 /**
- * Factory for RFC-003 `AgentRegistry`: runs `cursor-agent` using config + per-invocation context.
+ * Builds a Cursor CLI `AgentFn` from adapter config (model, timeout).
  */
 export function createCursorAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
+  const timeoutMs = config.timeout;
+
   return async (prompt: string, context: WorkflowContext): Promise<string> => {
     const run = await cursorAgent({
       prompt,
@@ -94,7 +99,7 @@ export function createCursorAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
       model: config.model,
       cwd: context.workdir,
       env: null,
-      timeoutMs: null,
+      timeoutMs,
       dryRun: context.start.meta.dryRun,
       abortSignal: context.signal,
     });
@@ -104,3 +109,10 @@ export function createCursorAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
     return run.value;
   };
 }
+
+/** Default instance — `model: "auto"`, `timeout: 300` seconds (as milliseconds). */
+export const cursorAdapter: AgentFn = createCursorAdapter({
+  type: "cursor",
+  model: "auto",
+  timeout: CURSOR_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MS,
+});

packages/adapter-hermes/src/index.ts

@@ -88,11 +88,15 @@ function throwHermesSpawnError(error: SpawnError): never {
 
 const HERMES_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS = 90;
 
+/** Default wall-clock cap: 300 seconds (milliseconds). */
+const HERMES_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MS = 300_000;
+
 /**
- * Factory for RFC-003 `AgentRegistry`: runs `hermes chat` using config + per-invocation context.
+ * Builds a Hermes CLI `AgentFn` from adapter config (model, timeout).
  */
 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> => {
     const run = await hermesAgent({
@@ -103,7 +107,7 @@ export function createHermesAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
       quiet: true,
       maxTurns: HERMES_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MAX_TURNS,
       env: null,
-      timeoutMs: null,
+      timeoutMs,
       dryRun: context.start.meta.dryRun,
       abortSignal: context.signal,
     });
@@ -113,3 +117,10 @@ export function createHermesAdapter(config: AgentConfig): AgentFn {
     return run.value;
   };
 }
+
+/** Default instance — `model: "auto"`, `timeout: 300` seconds (as milliseconds). */
+export const hermesAdapter: AgentFn = createHermesAdapter({
+  type: "hermes",
+  model: "auto",
+  timeout: HERMES_ADAPTER_DEFAULT_MS,
+});

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

@@ -200,7 +200,6 @@ function defaultTestConfig(withNoopWorkflow: boolean): NerveConfig {
       ...(withNoopWorkflow ? { noop: { concurrency: 1, overflow: "drop" as const } } : {}),
     },
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
   };

packages/cli/src/__tests__/knowledge-query.test.ts

@@ -1,35 +1,201 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 
-import type { KnowledgeChunkRow } from "../knowledge/knowledge-db.js";
-import { rankChunksByWordOverlap } from "../knowledge/query.js";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 
-function chunk(path: string, text: string): KnowledgeChunkRow {
-  return {
-    path,
-    slug: `${path}#0`,
-    chunkIndex: 0,
-    text,
-    embedding: Buffer.alloc(8),
-    contentHash: "ab",
-  };
+import { fakeEmbeddingBytes } from "../knowledge/fake-embedding.js";
+import { contentHash, openKnowledgeDb, replaceAllChunks } from "../knowledge/knowledge-db.js";
+import { KNOWLEDGE_DB } from "../knowledge/paths.js";
+
+const DIM = 1024;
+
+function fakeEmbedding1024(seed: string): Buffer {
+  const buf = Buffer.alloc(DIM * 4);
+  for (let i = 0; i < DIM; i++) {
+    const c = seed.charCodeAt(i % Math.max(seed.length, 1)) || 1;
+    buf.writeFloatLE((c / 255) * Math.sin(i + 0.1), i * 4);
+  }
+  return buf;
 }
 
-describe("rankChunksByWordOverlap", () => {
-  it("returns higher scores for chunks that share words with the query", () => {
-    const rows = [
-      chunk("a.md", "the signal bus emits notifications"),
-      chunk("b.md", "unrelated cooking recipes"),
-    ];
+const embedMocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  resolveEmbedConfig: vi.fn(),
+  embedQuery: vi.fn(),
+}));
 
-    const ranked = rankChunksByWordOverlap("signal bus", rows, 10);
+vi.mock("../knowledge/embed-service.js", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../knowledge/embed-service.js")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    resolveEmbedConfig: () => embedMocks.resolveEmbedConfig(),
+    embedQuery: (cfg: Parameters<typeof actual.embedQuery>[0], text: string) =>
+      embedMocks.embedQuery(cfg, text),
+  };
+});
+
+import { queryKnowledgeRepo } from "../knowledge/query.js";
+
+describe("queryKnowledgeRepo (word overlap fallback)", () => {
+  const savedUrl = process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL;
+  const savedToken = process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = undefined;
+    process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = undefined;
+    embedMocks.resolveEmbedConfig.mockReturnValue(null);
+    embedMocks.embedQuery.mockReset();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (savedUrl !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = savedUrl;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = undefined;
+    }
+    if (savedToken !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = savedToken;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = undefined;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("returns higher scores for chunks that share words with the query", async () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-q-"));
+    const dbPath = join(root, KNOWLEDGE_DB);
+    mkdirSync(root, { recursive: true });
+
+    const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
+    try {
+      replaceAllChunks(db, [
+        {
+          path: "a.md",
+          slug: "a.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: "the signal bus emits notifications",
+          contentHash: contentHash("the signal bus emits notifications"),
+          embedding: fakeEmbeddingBytes("a"),
+        },
+        {
+          path: "b.md",
+          slug: "b.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: "unrelated cooking recipes",
+          contentHash: contentHash("unrelated cooking recipes"),
+          embedding: fakeEmbeddingBytes("b"),
+        },
+      ]);
+    } finally {
+      db.close();
+    }
+
+    const ranked = await queryKnowledgeRepo(root, dbPath, "signal bus", 10);
     expect(ranked.length).toBe(2);
-    expect(ranked[0]?.chunk.path).toBe("a.md");
-    expect(ranked[1]?.chunk.path).toBe("b.md");
+    expect(ranked[0]?.path).toBe("a.md");
+    expect(ranked[1]?.path).toBe("b.md");
     expect(ranked[0]?.score).toBeGreaterThan(ranked[1]?.score ?? 0);
   });
 
-  it("respects limit", () => {
-    const rows = [chunk("x.md", "one"), chunk("y.md", "two")];
-    expect(rankChunksByWordOverlap("one", rows, 1)).toHaveLength(1);
+  it("respects limit", async () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-q2-"));
+    const dbPath = join(root, KNOWLEDGE_DB);
+    mkdirSync(root, { recursive: true });
+
+    const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
+    try {
+      replaceAllChunks(db, [
+        {
+          path: "x.md",
+          slug: "x.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: "one",
+          contentHash: contentHash("one"),
+          embedding: fakeEmbeddingBytes("x"),
+        },
+        {
+          path: "y.md",
+          slug: "y.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: "two",
+          contentHash: contentHash("two"),
+          embedding: fakeEmbeddingBytes("y"),
+        },
+      ]);
+    } finally {
+      db.close();
+    }
+
+    const ranked = await queryKnowledgeRepo(root, dbPath, "one", 1);
+    expect(ranked).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("queryKnowledgeRepo (embed service)", () => {
+  const savedUrl = process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL;
+  const savedToken = process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = "http://embed.test";
+    process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = "test-token";
+    embedMocks.resolveEmbedConfig.mockReturnValue({
+      url: "http://embed.test",
+      token: "test-token",
+    });
+    embedMocks.embedQuery.mockImplementation(async (_c: unknown, text: string) =>
+      fakeEmbedding1024(text),
+    );
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    embedMocks.embedQuery.mockReset();
+    embedMocks.resolveEmbedConfig.mockReset();
+    if (savedUrl !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = savedUrl;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = undefined;
+    }
+    if (savedToken !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = savedToken;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = undefined;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("uses cosine similarity when embed config is present", async () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-q-embed-"));
+    const dbPath = join(root, KNOWLEDGE_DB);
+    mkdirSync(root, { recursive: true });
+
+    const textA = "alpha beta gamma";
+    const textB = "zzz unrelated";
+
+    const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
+    try {
+      replaceAllChunks(db, [
+        {
+          path: "a.md",
+          slug: "a.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: textA,
+          contentHash: contentHash(textA),
+          embedding: fakeEmbedding1024(textA),
+        },
+        {
+          path: "b.md",
+          slug: "b.md#0",
+          chunkIndex: 0,
+          text: textB,
+          contentHash: contentHash(textB),
+          embedding: fakeEmbedding1024(textB),
+        },
+      ]);
+    } finally {
+      db.close();
+    }
+
+    const ranked = await queryKnowledgeRepo(root, dbPath, textA, 10);
+    expect(ranked.length).toBe(2);
+    expect(ranked[0]?.path).toBe("a.md");
+    expect(ranked[0]?.score).toBeGreaterThan(ranked[1]?.score ?? 0);
   });
 });

packages/cli/src/__tests__/knowledge-sync.test.ts

@@ -4,12 +4,55 @@ import { join } from "node:path";
 
 import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const DIM = 1024;
+
+function fakeEmbedding1024(seed: string): Buffer {
+  const buf = Buffer.alloc(DIM * 4);
+  for (let i = 0; i < DIM; i++) {
+    const c = seed.charCodeAt(i % Math.max(seed.length, 1)) || 1;
+    buf.writeFloatLE((c / 255) * Math.sin(i + 0.1), i * 4);
+  }
+  return buf;
+}
+
+vi.mock("../knowledge/embed-service.js", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../knowledge/embed-service.js")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    resolveEmbedConfig: vi.fn(() => ({ url: "http://embed.test", token: "test-token" })),
+    embedTexts: vi.fn(async (_config: unknown, texts: string[]) =>
+      texts.map((t) => fakeEmbedding1024(t)),
+    ),
+  };
+});
 
 import { runKnowledgeSync } from "../knowledge/sync.js";
 
 describe("runKnowledgeSync", () => {
-  it("creates knowledge.db with chunk rows", () => {
+  const savedUrl = process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL;
+  const savedToken = process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = "http://embed.test";
+    process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = "test-token";
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (savedUrl !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = savedUrl;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL = undefined;
+    }
+    if (savedToken !== undefined) {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = savedToken;
+    } else {
+      process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN = undefined;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("creates knowledge.db with chunk rows", async () => {
     const nerveHome = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-home-"));
     const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-know-sync-"));
     mkdirSync(join(root, "docs"), { recursive: true });
@@ -29,8 +72,9 @@ exclude: []
 `,
     );
 
-    const result = runKnowledgeSync(root, nerveHome);
+    const result = await runKnowledgeSync(root, nerveHome);
     expect(result.chunksWritten).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(result.embeddingSource).toBe("remote");
 
     const db = new DatabaseSync(result.dbPath, { readOnly: true });
     try {

packages/cli/src/__tests__/validate-workflow-agents.test.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * RFC-003 Phase 5: nerve validate — WorkflowSpec agent refs and extract.
+ * RFC-003 Phase 5: nerve validate — WorkflowSpec adapter usage and extract.
  */
 
 import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ import type { NerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 import {
-  collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences,
   validateAgentConfigurationLayer,
+  workflowSourcesDeclareAdapterRoles,
 } from "../workflow-agent-validation.js";
 
 function baseConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ function baseConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     senses: {},
     workflows: {},
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     ...overrides,
   };
@@ -33,17 +32,18 @@ describe("validateAgentConfigurationLayer", () => {
     rmSync(nerveRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
-  it("fails when WorkflowSpec references an agent not in nerve.yaml", () => {
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-agents-"));
+  it("fails when workflow sources use adapters but extract is missing", () => {
+    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-adapters-"));
     mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src"), { recursive: true });
     writeFileSync(
       join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src", "index.ts"),
       `
 import type { WorkflowSpec } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
+const adapter = async () => "";
 const spec: WorkflowSpec<{ r: { x: number } }> = {
   name: "demo",
   roles: {
-    r: { agent: "missing-agent", prompt: "p", meta: {} as never, timeout: null },
+    r: { adapter: adapter, prompt: "p", meta: {} as never },
   },
   moderator: () => "__end__" as never,
 };
@@ -52,30 +52,26 @@ export default spec;
       "utf8",
     );
 
-    const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(baseConfig({ agents: {} }), nerveRoot);
+    const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(baseConfig(), nerveRoot);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
     if (!result.ok) {
-      expect(result.message).toContain("missing-agent");
+      expect(result.message).toMatch(/extract/i);
     }
   });
 
-  it("passes when all WorkflowSpec agent refs exist and extract is configured", () => {
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-agents-"));
+  it("passes when adapters are used and extract is configured", () => {
+    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-adapters-"));
     mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src"), { recursive: true });
     writeFileSync(
       join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src", "index.ts"),
       `
-roles: { x: { agent: "my-dev", prompt: "", meta: {} as never, timeout: null } }
-agent: "my-dev"
+roles: { x: { adapter: foo, prompt: "", meta: {} as never } }
 `,
       "utf8",
     );
 
     const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(
       baseConfig({
-        agents: {
-          "my-dev": { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-        },
         extract: { provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" },
       }),
       nerveRoot,
@@ -83,64 +79,36 @@ agent: "my-dev"
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
   });
 
-  it("requires extract when any WorkflowSpec agent ref is found", () => {
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-agents-"));
+  it("passes when no adapter usage is detected", () => {
+    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-adapters-"));
     mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src"), { recursive: true });
     writeFileSync(
       join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "demo", "src", "wf.ts"),
-      `const role = { agent: "my-dev", prompt: "x" };`,
+      `const role = { prompt: "x" };`,
       "utf8",
     );
 
-    const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(
-      baseConfig({
-        agents: {
-          "my-dev": { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-        },
-        extract: null,
-      }),
-      nerveRoot,
-    );
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!result.ok) {
-      expect(result.message).toMatch(/extract/i);
-    }
-  });
-
-  it("rejects unknown agent adapter type in nerve.yaml", () => {
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-val-agents-"));
-    const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(
-      baseConfig({
-        agents: {
-          bad: { type: "future-adapter", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-        },
-      }),
-      nerveRoot,
-    );
-    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!result.ok) {
-      expect(result.message).toContain("future-adapter");
-      expect(result.message).toContain("echo");
-    }
+    const result = validateAgentConfigurationLayer(baseConfig(), nerveRoot);
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
   });
 });
 
-describe("collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences", () => {
+describe("workflowSourcesDeclareAdapterRoles", () => {
   let nerveRoot: string;
 
   afterEach(() => {
     rmSync(nerveRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
-  it("collects agent strings from workflows/*/src", () => {
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-collect-refs-"));
+  it("detects adapter: identifiers under workflows/*/src", () => {
+    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-collect-adapters-"));
     mkdirSync(join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "w1", "src", "nested"), { recursive: true });
     writeFileSync(
       join(nerveRoot, "workflows", "w1", "src", "nested", "a.ts"),
-      `agent: 'alpha'\nagent: "beta"`,
+      "adapter: foo\nadapter: bar",
       "utf8",
     );
 
-    expect(collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences(nerveRoot)).toEqual(["alpha", "beta"]);
+    expect(workflowSourcesDeclareAdapterRoles(nerveRoot)).toBe(true);
   });
 });

packages/cli/src/commands/knowledge-query-run.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export function parseKnowledgeQueryLimit(raw: string | undefined): number {
   return Number.isFinite(n) && n > 0 ? n : DEFAULT_LIMIT;
 }
 
-export function runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText: string, limit: number): void {
+export async function runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText: string, limit: number): Promise<void> {
   const roots = listRegisteredKnowledgeRoots();
   if (roots.length === 0) {
     process.stderr.write(
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ export function runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText: string, limit: number): void
     );
     process.exit(1);
   }
-  const hits = queryKnowledgeGlobal(roots, KNOWLEDGE_DB, queryText, limit);
+  const hits = await queryKnowledgeGlobal(roots, KNOWLEDGE_DB, queryText, limit);
   if (hits.length === 0) {
     process.stdout.write("No results.\n");
     return;
@@ -39,11 +39,11 @@ export function runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText: string, limit: number): void
   }
 }
 
-export function runKnowledgeQueryScoped(
+export async function runKnowledgeQueryScoped(
   repoFlag: string | undefined,
   queryText: string,
   limit: number,
-): void {
+): Promise<void> {
   let repoRoot: string | null = null;
   if (repoFlag !== undefined && String(repoFlag).trim().length > 0) {
     repoRoot = resolve(String(repoFlag).trim());
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ export function runKnowledgeQueryScoped(
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
-  const hits = queryKnowledgeRepo(repoRoot, dbPath, queryText, limit);
+  const hits = await queryKnowledgeRepo(repoRoot, dbPath, queryText, limit);
   if (hits.length === 0) {
     process.stdout.write("No results.\n");
     return;

packages/cli/src/commands/knowledge.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ const syncCommand = defineCommand({
       process.exit(1);
     }
     try {
-      const result = runKnowledgeSync(repoRoot);
+      const result = await runKnowledgeSync(repoRoot);
       process.stdout.write(
         `✅ Indexed ${String(result.filesIndexed)} file(s), ${String(result.chunksWritten)} chunk(s) → ${result.dbPath}\n`,
       );
@@ -73,11 +73,11 @@ const queryCommand = defineCommand({
     const limit = parseKnowledgeQueryLimit(args.limit);
 
     if (args.g) {
-      runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText, limit);
+      await runKnowledgeQueryGlobal(queryText, limit);
       return;
     }
 
-    runKnowledgeQueryScoped(args.repo as string, queryText, limit);
+    await runKnowledgeQueryScoped(args.repo as string, queryText, limit);
   },
 });
 

packages/cli/src/knowledge/embed-service.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/**
+ * Remote embedding service client — calls embed.shazhou.workers.dev
+ * for real vector embeddings. Falls back to fake hash-based embeddings
+ * if credentials are not configured.
+ */
+
+type EmbedResponse = {
+  embeddings: number[][];
+  model: string;
+  dimensions: number;
+  cached: boolean[];
+};
+
+export type EmbedServiceConfig = {
+  url: string;
+  token: string;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Resolve embed service config from environment or cfg.
+ * Returns null if not configured (will fall back to placeholder).
+ */
+export function resolveEmbedConfig(): EmbedServiceConfig | null {
+  const url = process.env.EMBED_SERVICE_URL ?? null;
+  const token = process.env.EMBED_AUTH_TOKEN ?? null;
+  if (url === null || token === null) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  return { url, token };
+}
+
+const BATCH_SIZE = 100;
+
+/**
+ * Call remote embedding service. Batches texts in groups of 100.
+ * Returns Float32Array per text (stored as Buffer for SQLite BLOB).
+ */
+export async function embedTexts(config: EmbedServiceConfig, texts: string[]): Promise<Buffer[]> {
+  const results: Buffer[] = [];
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < texts.length; i += BATCH_SIZE) {
+    const batch = texts.slice(i, i + BATCH_SIZE);
+    const resp = await fetch(`${config.url}/embed`, {
+      method: "POST",
+      headers: {
+        "Content-Type": "application/json",
+        Authorization: `Bearer ${config.token}`,
+      },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ texts: batch }),
+    });
+
+    if (!resp.ok) {
+      const body = await resp.text();
+      throw new Error(`Embed service error ${String(resp.status)}: ${body}`);
+    }
+
+    const data = (await resp.json()) as EmbedResponse;
+
+    for (const vec of data.embeddings) {
+      const buf = Buffer.alloc(vec.length * 4);
+      for (let j = 0; j < vec.length; j++) {
+        buf.writeFloatLE(vec[j] as number, j * 4);
+      }
+      results.push(buf);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return results;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Embed a single text (for query). Returns Float32Array as Buffer.
+ */
+export async function embedQuery(config: EmbedServiceConfig, text: string): Promise<Buffer> {
+  const results = await embedTexts(config, [text]);
+  const first = results[0];
+  if (first === undefined) {
+    throw new Error("Embed service returned empty result");
+  }
+  return first;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cosine similarity between two embedding buffers (Float32LE encoded).
+ */
+export function cosineSimilarity(a: Buffer, b: Buffer): number {
+  const len = Math.min(a.length, b.length) / 4;
+  let dot = 0;
+  let normA = 0;
+  let normB = 0;
+  for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+    const va = a.readFloatLE(i * 4);
+    const vb = b.readFloatLE(i * 4);
+    dot += va * vb;
+    normA += va * va;
+    normB += vb * vb;
+  }
+  const denom = Math.sqrt(normA) * Math.sqrt(normB);
+  if (denom === 0) return 0;
+  return dot / denom;
+}

packages/cli/src/knowledge/knowledge-db.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
 import { DatabaseSync } from "node:sqlite";
 
-import { fakeEmbeddingBytes } from "./fake-embedding.js";
-
 export type KnowledgeChunkRow = {
   path: string;
   slug: string;
@@ -18,6 +16,7 @@ export type KnowledgeChunkInsert = {
   chunkIndex: number;
   text: string;
   contentHash: string;
+  embedding: Buffer;
 };
 
 const SCHEMA = `
@@ -56,7 +55,7 @@ export function replaceAllChunks(db: DatabaseSync, rows: KnowledgeChunkInsert[])
     for (let i = 0; i < rows.length; i++) {
       const row = rows[i];
       if (row === undefined) continue;
-      const emb = fakeEmbeddingBytes(row.text);
+      const emb = row.embedding;
       insert.run({
         path: row.path,
         chunk_index: row.chunkIndex,
@@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ export function loadAllChunks(db: DatabaseSync): KnowledgeChunkRow[] {
     chunk_index: number;
     slug: string;
     text: string;
-    embedding: Buffer;
+    embedding: Buffer | Uint8Array;
     content_hash: string;
   }>;
   return rows.map((r) => ({
@@ -90,7 +89,7 @@ export function loadAllChunks(db: DatabaseSync): KnowledgeChunkRow[] {
     slug: r.slug,
     chunkIndex: r.chunk_index,
     text: r.text,
-    embedding: r.embedding,
+    embedding: Buffer.from(r.embedding),
     contentHash: r.content_hash,
   }));
 }

packages/cli/src/knowledge/query.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 
+import {
+  type EmbedServiceConfig,
+  cosineSimilarity,
+  embedQuery,
+  resolveEmbedConfig,
+} from "./embed-service.js";
 import type { KnowledgeChunkRow } from "./knowledge-db.js";
 import { loadAllChunks, openKnowledgeDb } from "./knowledge-db.js";
 import { wordOverlapScore } from "./word-overlap.js";
@@ -13,7 +19,20 @@ export type KnowledgeQueryHit = {
   score: number;
 };
 
-export function rankChunksByWordOverlap(
+function rankChunksByCosine(
+  queryEmbedding: Buffer,
+  chunks: KnowledgeChunkRow[],
+  limit: number,
+): Array<{ chunk: KnowledgeChunkRow; score: number }> {
+  const scored = chunks.map((chunk) => ({
+    chunk,
+    score: cosineSimilarity(queryEmbedding, chunk.embedding),
+  }));
+  scored.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score);
+  return scored.slice(0, limit);
+}
+
+function rankChunksByWordOverlap(
   query: string,
   chunks: KnowledgeChunkRow[],
   limit: number,
@@ -26,16 +45,30 @@ export function rankChunksByWordOverlap(
   return scored.slice(0, limit);
 }
 
-export function queryKnowledgeRepo(
+async function rankChunks(
+  queryText: string,
+  chunks: KnowledgeChunkRow[],
+  limit: number,
+  embedConfig: EmbedServiceConfig | null,
+): Promise<Array<{ chunk: KnowledgeChunkRow; score: number }>> {
+  if (embedConfig !== null) {
+    const queryVec = await embedQuery(embedConfig, queryText);
+    return rankChunksByCosine(queryVec, chunks, limit);
+  }
+  return rankChunksByWordOverlap(queryText, chunks, limit);
+}
+
+export async function queryKnowledgeRepo(
   repoRoot: string,
   dbPath: string,
   queryText: string,
   limit: number,
-): KnowledgeQueryHit[] {
+): Promise<KnowledgeQueryHit[]> {
+  const embedConfig = resolveEmbedConfig();
   const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
   try {
     const rows = loadAllChunks(db);
-    const ranked = rankChunksByWordOverlap(queryText, rows, limit);
+    const ranked = await rankChunks(queryText, rows, limit, embedConfig);
     return ranked.map((r) => ({
       repoRoot,
       path: r.chunk.path,
@@ -48,12 +81,13 @@ export function queryKnowledgeRepo(
   }
 }
 
-export function queryKnowledgeGlobal(
+export async function queryKnowledgeGlobal(
   repoRoots: ReadonlyArray<string>,
   dbFileName: string,
   queryText: string,
   limit: number,
-): KnowledgeQueryHit[] {
+): Promise<KnowledgeQueryHit[]> {
+  const embedConfig = resolveEmbedConfig();
   const combined: KnowledgeQueryHit[] = [];
   for (const root of repoRoots) {
     const dbPath = join(root, dbFileName);
@@ -63,7 +97,7 @@ export function queryKnowledgeGlobal(
     const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
     try {
       const rows = loadAllChunks(db);
-      const ranked = rankChunksByWordOverlap(queryText, rows, limit);
+      const ranked = await rankChunks(queryText, rows, limit, embedConfig);
       for (const r of ranked) {
         combined.push({
           repoRoot: root,

packages/cli/src/knowledge/sync.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,10 @@ import { join } from "node:path";
 import { type KnowledgeConfig, parseKnowledgeYaml } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import { chunkKnowledgeFile } from "./chunk.js";
+import { type EmbedServiceConfig, embedTexts, resolveEmbedConfig } from "./embed-service.js";
+import { fakeEmbeddingBytes } from "./fake-embedding.js";
 import { listKnowledgeFiles } from "./glob-files.js";
+import type { KnowledgeChunkInsert } from "./knowledge-db.js";
 import { contentHash, openKnowledgeDb, replaceAllChunks } from "./knowledge-db.js";
 import { KNOWLEDGE_DB, KNOWLEDGE_YAML } from "./paths.js";
 import { registerKnowledgeRepoRoot } from "./registry.js";
@@ -14,6 +17,7 @@ export type KnowledgeSyncResult = {
   dbPath: string;
   filesIndexed: number;
   chunksWritten: number;
+  embeddingSource: "remote" | "placeholder";
 };
 
 function loadConfig(repoRoot: string): KnowledgeConfig {
@@ -25,21 +29,35 @@ function loadConfig(repoRoot: string): KnowledgeConfig {
   return parsed.value;
 }
 
+async function computeEmbeddings(
+  texts: string[],
+  embedConfig: EmbedServiceConfig | null,
+): Promise<{ buffers: Buffer[]; source: "remote" | "placeholder" }> {
+  if (embedConfig !== null) {
+    const buffers = await embedTexts(embedConfig, texts);
+    return { buffers, source: "remote" };
+  }
+  // Fallback to placeholder when embed service is not configured
+  const buffers = texts.map((t) => fakeEmbeddingBytes(t));
+  return { buffers, source: "placeholder" };
+}
+
 /**
  * @param nerveHomeForRegistry — when set, registers this repo under that Nerve home (for tests); default writes `~/.uncaged-nerve/data/knowledge-repos.json`.
  */
-export function runKnowledgeSync(
+export async function runKnowledgeSync(
   repoRoot: string,
   nerveHomeForRegistry: string | null = null,
-): KnowledgeSyncResult {
+): Promise<KnowledgeSyncResult> {
   const config = loadConfig(repoRoot);
   const relFiles = listKnowledgeFiles(repoRoot, config);
-  const inserts: Array<{
+
+  const preInserts: Array<{
     path: string;
     slug: string;
     chunkIndex: number;
     text: string;
-    contentHash: string;
+    hash: string;
   }> = [];
 
   for (const rel of relFiles) {
@@ -49,17 +67,30 @@ export function runKnowledgeSync(
     for (let i = 0; i < chunks.length; i++) {
       const ch = chunks[i];
       if (ch === undefined) continue;
-      const text = ch.text;
-      inserts.push({
+      preInserts.push({
         path: rel,
         slug: ch.slug,
         chunkIndex: i,
-        text,
-        contentHash: contentHash(text),
+        text: ch.text,
+        hash: contentHash(ch.text),
       });
     }
   }
 
+  // Compute embeddings (remote or placeholder)
+  const embedConfig = resolveEmbedConfig();
+  const texts = preInserts.map((p) => p.text);
+  const { buffers, source } = await computeEmbeddings(texts, embedConfig);
+
+  const inserts: KnowledgeChunkInsert[] = preInserts.map((p, idx) => ({
+    path: p.path,
+    slug: p.slug,
+    chunkIndex: p.chunkIndex,
+    text: p.text,
+    contentHash: p.hash,
+    embedding: buffers[idx] ?? fakeEmbeddingBytes(p.text),
+  }));
+
   const dbPath = join(repoRoot, KNOWLEDGE_DB);
   const db = openKnowledgeDb(dbPath);
   try {
@@ -75,5 +106,6 @@ export function runKnowledgeSync(
     dbPath,
     filesIndexed: relFiles.length,
     chunksWritten: inserts.length,
+    embeddingSource: source,
   };
 }

packages/cli/src/workflow-agent-validation.ts

@@ -1,20 +1,17 @@
 /**
- * RFC-003: cross-check WorkflowSpec `agent:` references in workflow sources against nerve.yaml.
+ * RFC-003: validate extract config when workflows declare `adapter:` roles.
  */
 
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, readdirSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 
 import type { NerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-import { KNOWN_AGENT_ADAPTER_IDS } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /**
- * Matches RoleSpec `agent: "name"` / `agent: 'name'` in workflow TypeScript sources.
- * NOTE: This regex can match occurrences inside comments. For current usage (validation
- * hint) this is acceptable — false positives just trigger a "missing agent" warning that
- * the user can ignore. If precision becomes important, switch to AST-based extraction.
+ * Detects RoleSpec `adapter:` usage in workflow TypeScript sources.
+ * NOTE: This regex can match occurrences inside comments.
  */
-const WORKFLOW_SPEC_AGENT_PATTERN = /agent:\s*["']([^"']+)["']/g;
+const WORKFLOW_SPEC_ADAPTER_PATTERN = /adapter:\s*[a-zA-Z_$]/;
 
 function collectTsSourceFiles(dir: string, acc: string[]): void {
   if (!existsSync(dir)) return;
@@ -29,15 +26,14 @@ function collectTsSourceFiles(dir: string, acc: string[]): void {
 }
 
 /**
- * Collects distinct agent names referenced via `agent: "..."` in each workflow's `src` tree.
+ * Returns true when any workflow `src` tree appears to use WorkflowSpec roles with adapters.
  */
-export function collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences(nerveRoot: string): string[] {
+export function workflowSourcesDeclareAdapterRoles(nerveRoot: string): boolean {
   const workflowsRoot = join(nerveRoot, "workflows");
   if (!existsSync(workflowsRoot)) {
-    return [];
+    return false;
   }
 
-  const refs = new Set<string>();
   for (const wfName of readdirSync(workflowsRoot)) {
     const wfDir = join(workflowsRoot, wfName);
     if (!statSync(wfDir).isDirectory()) continue;
@@ -48,52 +44,29 @@ export function collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences(nerveRoot: string): string[]
 
     for (const filePath of files) {
       const content = readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
-      for (const m of content.matchAll(WORKFLOW_SPEC_AGENT_PATTERN)) {
-        refs.add(m[1]);
+      if (WORKFLOW_SPEC_ADAPTER_PATTERN.test(content)) {
+        return true;
       }
     }
   }
 
-  return [...refs].sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b));
+  return false;
 }
 
-const knownAdapterSet = new Set<string>(KNOWN_AGENT_ADAPTER_IDS);
-
 export type AgentLayerValidationResult = { ok: true } | { ok: false; message: string };
 
 /**
- * Validates agents.*.type against known adapters, WorkflowSpec agent refs vs `agents:`,
- * and `extract:` when any WorkflowSpec role references an agent (typed meta uses extract).
+ * Ensures `extract:` is configured when workflow sources declare role adapters (typed meta uses extract).
  */
 export function validateAgentConfigurationLayer(
   config: NerveConfig,
   nerveRoot: string,
 ): AgentLayerValidationResult {
-  for (const [name, agent] of Object.entries(config.agents)) {
-    if (!knownAdapterSet.has(agent.type)) {
-      return {
-        ok: false,
-        message: `agents.${name}.type: unknown adapter "${agent.type}" (known: ${KNOWN_AGENT_ADAPTER_IDS.join(", ")})`,
-      };
-    }
-  }
-
-  const refs = collectWorkflowSpecAgentReferences(nerveRoot);
-
-  for (const ref of refs) {
-    if (config.agents[ref] === undefined) {
-      return {
-        ok: false,
-        message: `WorkflowSpec references unknown agent "${ref}" (not defined under agents: in nerve.yaml)`,
-      };
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (refs.length > 0 && config.extract === null) {
+  if (workflowSourcesDeclareAdapterRoles(nerveRoot) && config.extract === null) {
     return {
       ok: false,
       message:
-        "extract: required when WorkflowSpec roles reference agents (configure extract.provider and extract.model)",
+        "extract: required when WorkflowSpec roles use adapters (configure extract.provider and extract.model)",
     };
   }
 

packages/core/src/__tests__/config.test.ts

@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ describe("parseNerveConfig", () => {
         overflow: "queue",
         maxQueue: 10,
       });
-      expect(result.value.agents).toEqual({});
       expect(result.value.extract).toBe(null);
       expect(result.value.api).toEqual({ port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" });
     });
@@ -223,19 +222,11 @@ senses:
       expect(result.value.senses.cpu.on).toEqual(["memory"]);
     });
 
-    it("parses agents and extract sections", () => {
+    it("parses extract section", () => {
       const yaml = `
 senses:
   cpu:
     group: system
-agents:
-  developer:
-    type: cursor
-    model: auto
-    timeout: 300s
-  my-custom-agent:
-    type: hermes
-    model: auto
 extract:
   provider: dashscope
   model: qwen-plus
@@ -243,37 +234,8 @@ extract:
       const result = parseNerveConfig(yaml);
       expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
       if (!result.ok) return;
-      expect(result.value.agents.developer).toEqual({
-        type: "cursor",
-        model: "auto",
-        timeout: 300_000,
-      });
-      expect(result.value.agents["my-custom-agent"]).toEqual({
-        type: "hermes",
-        model: "auto",
-        timeout: null,
-      });
       expect(result.value.extract).toEqual({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" });
     });
-
-    it("allows arbitrary kebab-case agent names including multi-segment keys", () => {
-      const yaml = `
-senses:
-  cpu:
-    group: system
-agents:
-  a:
-    type: x
-    model: auto
-  bb-cc-dd:
-    type: y
-    model: z
-`;
-      const result = parseNerveConfig(yaml);
-      expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
-      if (!result.ok) return;
-      expect(Object.keys(result.value.agents).sort()).toEqual(["a", "bb-cc-dd"]);
-    });
   });
 
   describe("invalid configs", () => {
@@ -504,49 +466,20 @@ workflows:
       expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/max_queue.*not allowed.*drop/);
     });
 
-    it("returns error when agent key is not kebab-case", () => {
+    it("returns error when agents key is present", () => {
       const yaml = `
 senses:
   cpu:
     group: system
 agents:
-  Developer:
+  developer:
     type: cursor
     model: auto
 `;
       const result = parseNerveConfig(yaml);
       expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
       if (result.ok) return;
-      expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/invalid key "Developer"/);
-    });
-
-    it("returns error when agent key uses underscores", () => {
-      const yaml = `
-senses:
-  cpu:
-    group: system
-agents:
-  my_agent:
-    type: cursor
-    model: auto
-`;
-      const result = parseNerveConfig(yaml);
-      expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-      if (result.ok) return;
-      expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/invalid key "my_agent"/);
-    });
-
-    it("returns error when agents section is not an object", () => {
-      const yaml = `
-senses:
-  cpu:
-    group: system
-agents: []
-`;
-      const result = parseNerveConfig(yaml);
-      expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
-      if (result.ok) return;
-      expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/agents: must be an object/);
+      expect(result.error.message).toMatch(/agents: key is no longer supported/);
     });
 
     it("returns error when extract section is not an object", () => {

packages/core/src/__tests__/workflow-spec.test.ts

@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-
-import { resolveRoleTimeoutMs } from "../workflow-spec.js";
-
-describe("resolveRoleTimeoutMs", () => {
-  it("uses agent default when role timeout is null", () => {
-    const r = resolveRoleTimeoutMs(null, 300_000);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.value).toBe(300_000);
-  });
-
-  it("uses role override string over agent default", () => {
-    const r = resolveRoleTimeoutMs("60s", 300_000);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.value).toBe(60_000);
-  });
-
-  it("allows explicit role duration when agent default is null", () => {
-    const r = resolveRoleTimeoutMs("5s", null);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.value).toBe(5000);
-  });
-
-  it("returns err for invalid duration string", () => {
-    const r = resolveRoleTimeoutMs("not-a-duration", 300_000);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-  });
-});

packages/core/src/agent-adapter-ids.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 /**
  * Agent adapter ids referenced by tooling / docs (RFC-003).
- * Daemon wiring registers factories via `createAgentRegistry(..., adapterFactories)`;
- * echo is built-in; others must be supplied for runtime use.
+ * Workflows import adapter packages directly; echo may be used in tests via a small factory.
  */
 export const KNOWN_AGENT_ADAPTER_IDS = ["echo", "cursor", "hermes", "codex"] as const;

packages/core/src/config.ts

@@ -36,12 +36,13 @@ export type NerveApiConfig = {
   host: string;
 };
 
-/** Agent adapter defaults keyed by arbitrary kebab-case names in `nerve.yaml` (RFC-003). */
+/** Adapter factory input (model, timeout); used by adapter packages (RFC-003). */
 export type AgentConfig = {
-  /** Adapter id (e.g. `cursor`, `hermes`, `codex`). */
+  /** Adapter id (e.g. `cursor`, `hermes`, `echo`) — informational for factories that branch on type. */
   type: string;
   /** Model id or `"auto"` for adapter defaults. */
   model: string;
+  /** Wall-clock cap in milliseconds, or `null` for adapter-specific default. */
   timeout: number | null;
 };
 
@@ -71,8 +72,6 @@ export type NerveConfig = {
   senses: Record<string, SenseConfig>;
   workflows: Record<string, WorkflowConfig>;
   api: NerveApiConfig;
-  /** Named agent adapters; keys must be kebab-case (RFC-003). */
-  agents: Record<string, AgentConfig>;
   /** Global extract defaults; `null` when the section is omitted. */
   extract: ExtractConfig | null;
 };

packages/core/src/duration.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const DURATION_MULTIPLIERS: Record<string, number> = {
 
 /**
  * Parse a duration string such as `5s`, `10m`, `1h` to milliseconds.
- * Used by `parseNerveConfig` and WorkflowSpec role timeout (RFC-003).
+ * Used by `parseNerveConfig` sense/workflow duration fields.
  */
 export function parseDurationStringToMs(value: string): Result<number> {
   const match = DURATION_RE.exec(value);

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ export type {
 } from "./workflow.js";
 export { START, END, DEFAULT_ENGINE_MAX_ROUNDS } from "./workflow.js";
 export type { PromptInput, RoleSpec, WorkflowSpec } from "./workflow-spec.js";
-export { resolveRoleTimeoutMs } from "./workflow-spec.js";
 export { parseDurationStringToMs } from "./duration.js";
 export type { Schema, ExtractFn } from "./extract-layer.js";
 export { ExtractError } from "./extract-layer.js";

packages/core/src/parse-nerve-config.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import { parse } from "yaml";
 
 import {
-  type AgentConfig,
   DEFAULT_SENSE_SIGNAL_RETENTION,
   type ExtractConfig,
   type NerveApiConfig,
@@ -19,11 +18,6 @@ function isValidGroupName(value: string): boolean {
   return /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$/.test(value);
 }
 
-/** Agent map keys in nerve.yaml — arbitrary kebab-case labels (RFC-003). */
-function isValidAgentKebabName(name: string): boolean {
-  return /^[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$/.test(name);
-}
-
 function parseRetentionField(name: string, field: unknown): Result<number> {
   if (field === undefined || field === null) {
     return ok(DEFAULT_SENSE_SIGNAL_RETENTION);
@@ -273,59 +267,6 @@ function parseWorkflows(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Result<Record<string, Wor
   return ok(workflows);
 }
 
-function validateAgentConfig(agentKey: string, raw: unknown): Result<AgentConfig> {
-  if (!isPlainRecord(raw)) {
-    return err(new Error(`agents.${agentKey}: must be an object`));
-  }
-
-  const obj = raw;
-
-  if (typeof obj.type !== "string" || obj.type.trim() === "") {
-    return err(new Error(`agents.${agentKey}.type: required non-empty string`));
-  }
-
-  if (typeof obj.model !== "string" || obj.model.trim() === "") {
-    return err(new Error(`agents.${agentKey}.model: required non-empty string`));
-  }
-
-  const timeoutResult = parseDurationField(obj.timeout, `agents.${agentKey}.timeout`);
-  if (!timeoutResult.ok) return timeoutResult;
-
-  return ok({
-    type: obj.type,
-    model: obj.model,
-    timeout: timeoutResult.value,
-  });
-}
-
-function parseAgents(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Result<Record<string, AgentConfig>> {
-  if (obj.agents === undefined || obj.agents === null) {
-    return ok({});
-  }
-
-  if (!isPlainRecord(obj.agents)) {
-    return err(new Error("agents: must be an object if provided"));
-  }
-
-  const agents: Record<string, AgentConfig> = {};
-
-  for (const [name, agentRaw] of Object.entries(obj.agents)) {
-    if (!isValidAgentKebabName(name)) {
-      return err(
-        new Error(
-          `agents: invalid key "${name}" (expected kebab-case: lowercase letters, digits, single hyphens between segments)`,
-        ),
-      );
-    }
-
-    const result = validateAgentConfig(name, agentRaw);
-    if (!result.ok) return result;
-    agents[name] = result.value;
-  }
-
-  return ok(agents);
-}
-
 function parseExtract(obj: Record<string, unknown>): Result<ExtractConfig | null> {
   if (obj.extract === undefined || obj.extract === null) {
     return ok(null);
@@ -386,8 +327,13 @@ export function parseNerveConfig(raw: string): Result<NerveConfig> {
   const apiResult = parseApiConfig(obj);
   if (!apiResult.ok) return apiResult;
 
-  const agentsResult = parseAgents(obj);
-  if (!agentsResult.ok) return agentsResult;
+  if (Object.hasOwn(obj, "agents")) {
+    return err(
+      new Error(
+        "agents: key is no longer supported — declare adapters on WorkflowSpec roles (RFC-003)",
+      ),
+    );
+  }
 
   const extractResult = parseExtract(obj);
   if (!extractResult.ok) return extractResult;
@@ -397,7 +343,6 @@ export function parseNerveConfig(raw: string): Result<NerveConfig> {
     senses,
     workflows: workflowsResult.value,
     api: apiResult.value,
-    agents: agentsResult.value,
     extract: extractResult.value,
   });
 }

packages/core/src/workflow-spec.ts

@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
-import { parseDurationStringToMs } from "./duration.js";
 import type { Schema } from "./extract-layer.js";
-import type { Result } from "./result.js";
-import { ok } from "./result.js";
-import type { Moderator, RoleMeta, StartStep, WorkflowMessage } from "./workflow.js";
+import type { AgentFn, Moderator, RoleMeta, StartStep, WorkflowMessage } from "./workflow.js";
 
 /** Static string or async prompt built from thread context (RFC-003 dynamic prompts). */
 export type PromptInput =
@@ -10,15 +7,13 @@ export type PromptInput =
   | ((start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => Promise<string>);
 
 /**
- * Authoring-time role: references a named agent, prompt, extract schema, and optional timeout.
- * Compiles to runtime `Role<Meta>` via `compileWorkflowSpec` (RFC-003 Phase 4).
+ * Authoring-time role: adapter function, prompt, extract schema (RFC-003).
+ * Compiles to runtime `Role<Meta>` via `compileWorkflowSpec`.
  */
 export type RoleSpec<Meta extends Record<string, unknown>> = {
-  agent: string;
+  adapter: AgentFn;
   prompt: PromptInput;
   meta: Schema<Meta>;
-  /** Override agent default; `null` uses the agent's configured timeout from `nerve.yaml`. */
-  timeout: string | null;
 };
 
 /** User-facing workflow authoring shape; compiles to `WorkflowDefinition`. */
@@ -27,16 +22,3 @@ export type WorkflowSpec<M extends RoleMeta> = {
   roles: { [K in keyof M]: RoleSpec<M[K]> };
   moderator: Moderator<M>;
 };
-
-/**
- * Two-level timeout: explicit role string wins; otherwise agent default (milliseconds).
- */
-export function resolveRoleTimeoutMs(
-  roleTimeout: string | null,
-  agentDefaultMs: number | null,
-): Result<number | null> {
-  if (roleTimeout === null) {
-    return ok(agentDefaultMs);
-  }
-  return parseDurationStringToMs(roleTimeout);
-}

packages/daemon/package.json

@@ -22,12 +22,10 @@
   "scripts": {
     "prepublishOnly": "bash ../../scripts/prepublish-check.sh",
     "build": "rslib build",
-    "pretest": "pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-core run build && pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor run build && pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes run build",
+    "pretest": "pnpm --filter @uncaged/nerve-core run build",
     "test": "vitest run"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor": "workspace:*",
-    "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes": "workspace:*",
     "@uncaged/nerve-core": "workspace:*",
     "@uncaged/nerve-store": "workspace:*",
     "drizzle-orm": "1.0.0-beta.23-c10d10c",

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/agent-registry.test.ts

@@ -1,105 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn, StartStep, WorkflowContext } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-import { START } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-
-import { type AgentAdapterFactories, createAgentRegistry } from "../agent-registry.js";
-
-function makeContext(overrides: Partial<WorkflowContext> = {}): WorkflowContext {
-  const start: StartStep = {
-    role: START,
-    content: "",
-    meta: { maxRounds: 10, dryRun: false, threadId: "thread-1" },
-    timestamp: Date.now(),
-  };
-  return {
-    start,
-    messages: [],
-    workdir: "/tmp/repo",
-    signal: new AbortController().signal,
-    ...overrides,
-  };
-}
-
-function echoAgent(model = "auto"): AgentConfig {
-  return { type: "echo", model, timeout: null };
-}
-
-describe("createAgentRegistry", () => {
-  it("get() returns AgentFn for a defined agent", async () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: echoAgent() }, {});
-    const fn = registry.get("dev");
-    expect(typeof fn).toBe("function");
-    const out = await fn("hello", makeContext());
-    expect(out).toBe("hello");
-  });
-
-  it("get() throws for an undefined agent and the message includes the name", () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: echoAgent() }, {});
-    expect(() => registry.get("missing-agent")).toThrow(/missing-agent/);
-  });
-
-  it("getAgentConfig returns the original AgentConfig", () => {
-    const cfg = echoAgent();
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: cfg }, {});
-    expect(registry.getAgentConfig("dev")).toEqual(cfg);
-  });
-
-  it("getAgentConfig throws for an undefined agent", () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: echoAgent() }, {});
-    expect(() => registry.getAgentConfig("missing-agent")).toThrow(/missing-agent/);
-  });
-
-  it("echo adapter returns the prompt unchanged", async () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ e: echoAgent() }, {});
-    const prompt = "exact copy\n\tunicode: 你好";
-    await expect(registry.get("e")(prompt, makeContext())).resolves.toBe(prompt);
-  });
-
-  it("multiple agents have independent instances", async () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry(
-      {
-        "agent-a": echoAgent(),
-        "agent-b": echoAgent(),
-      },
-      {},
-    );
-    const a = registry.get("agent-a");
-    const b = registry.get("agent-b");
-    expect(a).not.toBe(b);
-    await expect(a("only-a", makeContext())).resolves.toBe("only-a");
-    await expect(b("only-b", makeContext())).resolves.toBe("only-b");
-  });
-
-  it("AbortSignal is accessible in context", async () => {
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: echoAgent() }, {});
-    const inner = registry.get("dev");
-    const seen: WorkflowContext[] = [];
-    const trace: AgentFn = async (prompt, ctx) => {
-      seen.push(ctx);
-      return inner(prompt, ctx);
-    };
-    const ac = new AbortController();
-    const ctx = makeContext({ signal: ac.signal });
-    await expect(trace("x", ctx)).resolves.toBe("x");
-    expect(seen).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(seen[0].signal).toBe(ac.signal);
-  });
-
-  it("invokes plugin adapter factories for non-echo types", async () => {
-    const factories: AgentAdapterFactories = {
-      mirror: (cfg) => async (prompt, _ctx) => `${cfg.type}:${prompt}`,
-    };
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry(
-      { dev: { type: "mirror", model: "auto", timeout: null } },
-      factories,
-    );
-    await expect(registry.get("dev")("ping", makeContext())).resolves.toBe("mirror:ping");
-  });
-
-  it("throws when adapter type is missing from factories (message lists available)", () => {
-    expect(() =>
-      createAgentRegistry({ dev: { type: "codex", model: "auto", timeout: null } }, {}),
-    ).toThrow(/Unknown agent adapter type: "codex" \(available: echo\)/);
-  });
-});

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/compile-workflow-spec.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 
 import type {
   AgentFn,
@@ -13,13 +13,12 @@ import type {
 } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { END, START } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
-import { createAgentRegistry } from "../agent-registry.js";
-import { type CompileWorkflowSpecDeps, compileWorkflowSpec } from "../compile-workflow-spec.js";
+import { compileWorkflowSpec } from "../compile-workflow-spec.js";
 
 type DemoMeta = { n: number };
 
-function echoAgent(): import("@uncaged/nerve-core").AgentConfig {
-  return { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: 300_000 };
+function echoAdapter(): AgentFn {
+  return async (prompt: string, _ctx: WorkflowContext) => prompt;
 }
 
 function makeStart(threadId = "t1"): StartStep {
@@ -49,18 +48,15 @@ describe("compileWorkflowSpec", () => {
       name: "demo",
       roles: {
         main: {
-          agent: "dev",
+          adapter: echoAdapter(),
           prompt: "hello",
           meta: schema,
-          timeout: null,
         },
       },
       moderator: (_ctx: ModeratorContext<{ main: DemoMeta }>) => END,
     };
 
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry({ dev: echoAgent() }, {});
     const def = compileWorkflowSpec(spec, {
-      registry,
       extractFn: async <T>(raw: string, _s: Schema<T>) => ({ n: raw.length }) as T,
       createContext: makeContext,
     });
@@ -76,51 +72,29 @@ describe("compileWorkflowSpec", () => {
 
     const order: string[] = [];
 
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry(
-      {
-        dev: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-      },
-      {},
-    );
-
-    const extractFn: CompileWorkflowSpecDeps["extractFn"] = async <T>(
-      raw: string,
-      _sch: Schema<T>,
-    ) => {
-      order.push("extract");
-      return { n: raw.length } as T;
-    };
-
-    const orig = registry.get("dev");
+    const baseEcho = echoAdapter();
     const spyAgent: AgentFn = async (prompt, ctx) => {
       order.push("agent");
-      return orig(prompt, ctx);
-    };
-
-    const registryWithSpy = {
-      ...registry,
-      get(name: string): AgentFn {
-        if (name === "dev") return spyAgent;
-        return registry.get(name);
-      },
+      return baseEcho(prompt, ctx);
     };
 
     const spec: WorkflowSpec<{ main: DemoMeta }> = {
       name: "order-test",
       roles: {
         main: {
-          agent: "dev",
+          adapter: spyAgent,
           prompt: "ping",
           meta: schema,
-          timeout: null,
         },
       },
       moderator: () => END,
     };
 
     const def = compileWorkflowSpec(spec, {
-      registry: registryWithSpy,
-      extractFn,
+      extractFn: async <T>(raw: string, _sch: Schema<T>) => {
+        order.push("extract");
+        return { n: raw.length } as T;
+      },
       createContext: makeContext,
     });
 
@@ -130,89 +104,55 @@ describe("compileWorkflowSpec", () => {
     expect(order).toEqual(["agent", "extract"]);
   });
 
-  it("exposes two-level timeout via resolveRoleTimeoutMs integration (agent default vs override)", async () => {
+  it("passes WorkflowContext from createContext to AgentFn (adapter owns timeout)", async () => {
     const witness: DemoMeta | null = null;
     const schema: Schema<DemoMeta> = { witness };
 
-    const timeoutSpy = vi.spyOn(AbortSignal, "timeout");
+    const seenCtx: WorkflowContext[] = [];
 
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry(
-      {
-        slow: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: 400_000 },
-      },
-      {},
-    );
+    const adapter: AgentFn = async (_prompt, ctx) => {
+      seenCtx.push(ctx);
+      return "x";
+    };
 
-    const specDefault: WorkflowSpec<{ main: DemoMeta }> = {
-      name: "def",
+    const spec: WorkflowSpec<{ main: DemoMeta }> = {
+      name: "ctx",
       roles: {
         main: {
-          agent: "slow",
+          adapter,
           prompt: "x",
           meta: schema,
-          timeout: null,
         },
       },
       moderator: () => END,
     };
 
-    await compileWorkflowSpec(specDefault, {
-      registry,
+    await compileWorkflowSpec(spec, {
       extractFn: async <T>(_raw: string, _s: Schema<T>) => ({ n: 0 }) as T,
       createContext: makeContext,
     }).roles.main(makeStart(), []);
 
-    expect(timeoutSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(400_000);
-
-    timeoutSpy.mockClear();
-
-    const specOverride: WorkflowSpec<{ main: DemoMeta }> = {
-      name: "ov",
-      roles: {
-        main: {
-          agent: "slow",
-          prompt: "x",
-          meta: schema,
-          timeout: "60s",
-        },
-      },
-      moderator: () => END,
-    };
-
-    await compileWorkflowSpec(specOverride, {
-      registry,
-      extractFn: async <T>(_raw: string, _s: Schema<T>) => ({ n: 0 }) as T,
-      createContext: makeContext,
-    }).roles.main(makeStart(), []);
-
-    expect(timeoutSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(60_000);
-    timeoutSpy.mockRestore();
+    expect(seenCtx).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(seenCtx[0].workdir).toBe("/tmp/repo");
   });
 
   it("resolves dynamic prompt functions before AgentFn", async () => {
     const witness: DemoMeta | null = null;
     const schema: Schema<DemoMeta> = { witness };
 
-    const registry = createAgentRegistry(
-      { dev: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null } },
-      {},
-    );
-
     const spec: WorkflowSpec<{ main: DemoMeta }> = {
       name: "dyn",
       roles: {
         main: {
-          agent: "dev",
+          adapter: echoAdapter(),
           prompt: async (start, messages) => `tid=${start.meta.threadId} n=${messages.length}`,
           meta: schema,
-          timeout: null,
         },
       },
       moderator: () => END,
     };
 
     const def = compileWorkflowSpec(spec, {
-      registry,
       extractFn: async <T>(raw: string, _s: Schema<T>) => ({ n: raw.length }) as T,
       createContext: makeContext,
     });

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

@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ function makeConfig(workflows: Record<string, WorkflowConfig> = {}): NerveConfig
     senses: {},
     workflows,
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
   };

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

@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ function makeWfConfig(workflows: Record<string, WorkflowConfig> = {}): NerveConf
     senses: {},
     workflows,
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
   };
@@ -461,7 +460,6 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
       senses: {},
       workflows: { "my-wf": { concurrency: 1, overflow: "drop" } },
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -498,7 +496,6 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
       senses: {},
       workflows: { "old-wf": { concurrency: 1, overflow: "drop" } },
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -521,7 +518,6 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
       senses: {},
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -545,7 +541,6 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
       senses: {},
       workflows: { "my-wf": { concurrency: 1, overflow: "drop" } },
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -563,7 +558,6 @@ describe("Kernel — workflow hot reload via file-watcher (Phase 3)", () => {
       senses: {},
       workflows: { "my-wf": { concurrency: 5, overflow: "queue", maxQueue: 50 } },
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/kernel-agent-registry-reload.test.ts

@@ -1,158 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Kernel AgentRegistry integration — rebuilt on reloadConfig (RFC-003 Phase 5).
- */
-
-import { EventEmitter } from "node:events";
-import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
-import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
-import { join } from "node:path";
-
-import type { NerveConfig } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-
-const mockCreateAgentRegistry = vi.hoisted(() =>
-  vi.fn(() => ({
-    get: vi.fn(),
-    getAgentConfig: vi.fn(),
-  })),
-);
-
-const mockChildren: MockChild[] = [];
-
-type MockChild = EventEmitter & {
-  send: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
-  kill: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
-  pid: number;
-};
-
-function makeMockChild(pid = 1): MockChild {
-  const child = new EventEmitter() as MockChild;
-  setImmediate(() => {
-    child.emit("message", { type: "ready" });
-  });
-  child.send = vi.fn((msg: unknown) => {
-    if (msg === null || typeof msg !== "object") return;
-    const m = msg as Record<string, unknown>;
-    if (m.type === "shutdown") {
-      setImmediate(() => child.emit("exit", 0, null));
-    }
-  });
-  child.kill = vi.fn((_signal?: string) => {
-    child.emit("exit", null, _signal ?? "SIGKILL");
-  });
-  child.pid = pid;
-  return child;
-}
-
-vi.mock("node:child_process", () => ({
-  fork: vi.fn((_script: string, _args: string[], _opts: unknown) => {
-    const child = makeMockChild(mockChildren.length + 1);
-    mockChildren.push(child);
-    return child;
-  }),
-}));
-
-vi.mock("../agent-registry.js", () => ({
-  createAgentRegistry: mockCreateAgentRegistry,
-}));
-
-const { createKernel } = await import("../kernel.js");
-const { createLogStore } = await import("@uncaged/nerve-store");
-
-function makeConfig(agents: NerveConfig["agents"]): NerveConfig {
-  return {
-    senses: {
-      "cpu-usage": {
-        group: "system",
-        throttle: null,
-        timeout: null,
-        gracePeriod: null,
-        retention: 10_000,
-        interval: null,
-        on: [],
-      },
-    },
-    workflows: {},
-    maxRounds: 10,
-    agents,
-    extract: null,
-    api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
-  };
-}
-
-describe("kernel — AgentRegistry hot-reload", () => {
-  let nerveRoot: string;
-
-  beforeEach(() => {
-    mockChildren.length = 0;
-    mockCreateAgentRegistry.mockClear();
-    mockCreateAgentRegistry.mockImplementation(() => ({
-      get: vi.fn(),
-      getAgentConfig: vi.fn(),
-    }));
-    vi.useFakeTimers({ shouldAdvanceTime: true });
-    nerveRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "nerve-kernel-agent-reg-"));
-  });
-
-  afterEach(() => {
-    vi.useRealTimers();
-    rmSync(nerveRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
-  });
-
-  it("rebuilds AgentRegistry on reloadConfig", async () => {
-    const logStore = createLogStore(join(nerveRoot, "logs.db"));
-    const a = makeConfig({
-      dev: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-    });
-    const kernel = createKernel(a, nerveRoot, { logStore });
-    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
-
-    expect(mockCreateAgentRegistry).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
-    expect(mockCreateAgentRegistry).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
-      1,
-      a.agents,
-      expect.objectContaining({
-        cursor: expect.any(Function),
-        hermes: expect.any(Function),
-      }),
-    );
-
-    const b = makeConfig({
-      dev: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-      ops: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null },
-    });
-    kernel.reloadConfig(b);
-
-    expect(mockCreateAgentRegistry).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
-    expect(mockCreateAgentRegistry).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
-      2,
-      b.agents,
-      expect.objectContaining({
-        cursor: expect.any(Function),
-        hermes: expect.any(Function),
-      }),
-    );
-
-    const reloadLogs = logStore.query({ source: "system", type: "agent_registry_reload" });
-    expect(reloadLogs.length).toBe(1);
-    expect(reloadLogs[0].payload).toBe(JSON.stringify({ agentNames: ["dev", "ops"] }));
-
-    await kernel.stop();
-    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
-  });
-
-  it("getAgentRegistry returns the registry from the latest reload", async () => {
-    const cfg = makeConfig({});
-    const kernel = createKernel(cfg, nerveRoot);
-    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
-
-    const r1 = kernel.getAgentRegistry();
-    kernel.reloadConfig(makeConfig({ x: { type: "echo", model: "auto", timeout: null } }));
-    const r2 = kernel.getAgentRegistry();
-
-    expect(r1).not.toBe(r2);
-
-    await kernel.stop();
-    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
-  });
-});

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

@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/kernel-phase6.test.ts

@@ -85,7 +85,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,
@@ -246,7 +245,6 @@ describe("kernel — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     });
@@ -281,7 +279,6 @@ describe("kernel — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -306,7 +303,6 @@ describe("kernel — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     });
@@ -347,7 +343,6 @@ describe("kernel — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     });

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

@@ -105,7 +105,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,

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

@@ -117,7 +117,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,
@@ -457,7 +456,6 @@ describe("kernel + workflowManager integration", () => {
         },
         workflows: { "new-workflow": { concurrency: 1, overflow: "drop" } },
         maxRounds: 10,
-        agents: {},
         extract: null,
         api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
       };
@@ -535,7 +533,6 @@ describe("kernel + workflowManager integration", () => {
         },
         workflows: {},
         maxRounds: 10,
-        agents: {},
         extract: null,
         api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
       };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/kernel.test.ts

@@ -74,7 +74,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,
@@ -287,7 +286,6 @@ describe("kernel — groupForSense mapping", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/log-store-integration.test.ts

@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ describe("LogStore + SenseScheduler integration", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -76,7 +75,6 @@ describe("LogStore + SenseScheduler integration", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -117,7 +115,6 @@ describe("LogStore + SenseScheduler integration", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/phase6-integration.test.ts

@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,
@@ -171,7 +170,6 @@ describe("phase6 — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -209,7 +207,6 @@ describe("phase6 — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -234,7 +231,6 @@ describe("phase6 — reloadConfig", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -289,7 +285,6 @@ describe("phase6 — error isolation", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };
@@ -441,7 +436,6 @@ describe("phase6 — getHealth", () => {
       },
       workflows: {},
       maxRounds: 10,
-      agents: {},
       extract: null,
       api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     };

packages/daemon/src/__tests__/sense-scheduler-throttle-pending.test.ts

@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,

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

@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig> = {}): NerveConfig {
     },
     workflows: {},
     maxRounds: 10,
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
     ...overrides,

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

@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ function makeConfig(overrides: Partial<NerveConfig["workflows"]> = {}): NerveCon
     maxRounds: 10,
     senses: {},
     workflows: overrides as NerveConfig["workflows"],
-    agents: {},
     extract: null,
     api: { port: null, token: null, host: "127.0.0.1" },
   };

packages/daemon/src/agent-registry.ts

@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
-import type { AgentConfig, AgentFn } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-
-import { createEchoAgent } from "./agent-adapters/echo.js";
-
-export type AgentAdapterFactory = (config: AgentConfig) => AgentFn;
-
-export type AgentAdapterFactories = Record<string, AgentAdapterFactory>;
-
-export type AgentRegistry = {
-  get(name: string): AgentFn;
-  /** Resolved agent defaults from `nerve.yaml` (e.g. timeout for WorkflowSpec compile). */
-  getAgentConfig(name: string): AgentConfig;
-};
-
-function formatAvailableAdapters(adapterFactories: AgentAdapterFactories): string {
-  const pluginIds = Object.keys(adapterFactories).sort();
-  return ["echo", ...pluginIds].join(", ");
-}
-
-function createAgentFnForConfig(
-  config: AgentConfig,
-  adapterFactories: AgentAdapterFactories,
-): AgentFn {
-  if (config.type === "echo") {
-    return createEchoAgent(config);
-  }
-  const factory = adapterFactories[config.type];
-  if (factory === undefined) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Unknown agent adapter type: "${config.type}" (available: ${formatAvailableAdapters(adapterFactories)})`,
-    );
-  }
-  return factory(config);
-}
-
-export function createAgentRegistry(
-  agents: Record<string, AgentConfig>,
-  adapterFactories: AgentAdapterFactories,
-): AgentRegistry {
-  const byName = new Map<string, AgentFn>();
-  const configs = new Map<string, AgentConfig>();
-  for (const [name, config] of Object.entries(agents)) {
-    byName.set(name, createAgentFnForConfig(config, adapterFactories));
-    configs.set(name, config);
-  }
-
-  return {
-    get(name: string): AgentFn {
-      const fn = byName.get(name);
-      if (fn === undefined) {
-        throw new Error(`Agent not found: "${name}"`);
-      }
-      return fn;
-    },
-    getAgentConfig(name: string): AgentConfig {
-      const config = configs.get(name);
-      if (config === undefined) {
-        throw new Error(`Agent not found: "${name}"`);
-      }
-      return config;
-    },
-  };
-}

packages/daemon/src/compile-workflow-spec.ts

@@ -9,22 +9,10 @@ import type {
   WorkflowMessage,
   WorkflowSpec,
 } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-import { resolveRoleTimeoutMs } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
-
-import type { AgentRegistry } from "./agent-registry.js";
-
-/** Combines user cancellation (`AbortSignal` from context) with an optional wall-clock cap. */
-function mergeWorkflowSignals(userSignal: AbortSignal, timeoutMs: number | null): AbortSignal {
-  if (timeoutMs === null) {
-    return userSignal;
-  }
-  return AbortSignal.any([userSignal, AbortSignal.timeout(timeoutMs)]);
-}
 
 export type CompileWorkflowSpecDeps = {
-  registry: AgentRegistry;
   /**
-   * Typed extraction for agent raw output (global/agent/role merge applied before compile).
+   * Typed extraction for agent raw output (global/role merge applied before compile).
    */
   extractFn: <T>(raw: string, schema: Schema<T>) => Promise<T>;
   /** Builds thread context for each role invocation (workdir, cancellation, etc.). */
@@ -36,35 +24,21 @@ function compileRoleForSpec<Meta extends Record<string, unknown>>(
   deps: CompileWorkflowSpecDeps,
 ): Role<Meta> {
   return async (start: StartStep, messages: WorkflowMessage[]) => {
-    const agentFn = deps.registry.get(roleSpec.agent);
-    const agentConfig = deps.registry.getAgentConfig(roleSpec.agent);
-    const timeoutResult = resolveRoleTimeoutMs(roleSpec.timeout, agentConfig.timeout);
-    if (!timeoutResult.ok) {
-      throw timeoutResult.error;
-    }
-    const baseCtx = deps.createContext(start, messages);
-    const signal = mergeWorkflowSignals(baseCtx.signal, timeoutResult.value);
-    const ctx: WorkflowContext = {
-      start: baseCtx.start,
-      messages: baseCtx.messages,
-      workdir: baseCtx.workdir,
-      signal,
-    };
+    const ctx = deps.createContext(start, messages);
 
     const promptText =
       typeof roleSpec.prompt === "string"
         ? roleSpec.prompt
         : await roleSpec.prompt(start, messages);
 
-    const raw = await agentFn(promptText, ctx);
+    const raw = await roleSpec.adapter(promptText, ctx);
     const meta = await deps.extractFn(raw, roleSpec.meta);
     return { content: raw, meta };
   };
 }
 
 /**
- * Turns RFC-003 `WorkflowSpec` into engine `WorkflowDefinition`: resolves agents, timeout layers,
- * and wires extract per role.
+ * Turns RFC-003 `WorkflowSpec` into engine `WorkflowDefinition`: wires adapters and extract per role.
  */
 export function compileWorkflowSpec<M extends RoleMeta>(
   spec: WorkflowSpec<M>,

packages/daemon/src/index.ts

@@ -58,12 +58,6 @@ export type {
 export { createWorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 export type { WorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 
-export { createAgentRegistry } from "./agent-registry.js";
-export type {
-  AgentAdapterFactories,
-  AgentAdapterFactory,
-  AgentRegistry,
-} from "./agent-registry.js";
 export { compileWorkflowSpec } from "./compile-workflow-spec.js";
 export type { CompileWorkflowSpecDeps } from "./compile-workflow-spec.js";
 export { createEchoAgent } from "./agent-adapters/echo.js";

packages/daemon/src/kernel.ts

@@ -8,8 +8,6 @@ import { hostname } from "node:os";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 
-import { createCursorAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor";
-import { createHermesAdapter } from "@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes";
 import {
   type HealthInfo,
   type NerveConfig,
@@ -21,8 +19,6 @@ import { routeSenseComputeOutput } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 import { createLogStore } from "@uncaged/nerve-store";
 import type { LogStore } from "@uncaged/nerve-store";
-import { createAgentRegistry } from "./agent-registry.js";
-import type { AgentRegistry } from "./agent-registry.js";
 import { createDaemonHandlers } from "./daemon-handlers.js";
 import { createDaemonIpcServer } from "./daemon-ipc.js";
 import type { DaemonIpcServer } from "./daemon-ipc.js";
@@ -46,15 +42,6 @@ import { createSenseWorkerPool, resolveWorkerScript } from "./worker-pool.js";
 import { createWorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 import type { WorkflowManager } from "./workflow-manager.js";
 
-import type { AgentAdapterFactories } from "./agent-registry.js";
-
-function defaultAgentAdapterFactories(): AgentAdapterFactories {
-  return {
-    cursor: createCursorAdapter,
-    hermes: createHermesAdapter,
-  };
-}
-
 export type KernelHealth = {
   uptime: number;
   activeSenses: number;
@@ -77,8 +64,6 @@ export type Kernel = {
   triggerSense: (senseName: string) => void;
   restartGroup: (group: string) => Promise<void>;
   reloadConfig: (newConfig: NerveConfig) => void;
-  /** Agent adapters rebuilt on config hot-reload; running workflow threads keep bindings from thread start. */
-  getAgentRegistry: () => AgentRegistry;
   getHealth: () => KernelHealth;
   /** HTTP/IPC-oriented health (version, uptime seconds, hostname). */
   getDaemonHealth: () => HealthInfo;
@@ -141,7 +126,6 @@ export function createKernel(
   });
 
   let config = initialConfig;
-  let agentRegistry = createAgentRegistry(config.agents, defaultAgentAdapterFactories());
 
   let _signalIdCounter = 0;
   function nextSignalId(): number {
@@ -321,14 +305,6 @@ export function createKernel(
     const oldConfig = config;
     const oldWorkflows = config.workflows;
     config = newConfig;
-    agentRegistry = createAgentRegistry(newConfig.agents, defaultAgentAdapterFactories());
-    logStore.append({
-      source: "system",
-      type: "agent_registry_reload",
-      refId: null,
-      payload: JSON.stringify({ agentNames: Object.keys(newConfig.agents).sort() }),
-      timestamp: Date.now(),
-    });
     scheduler.stop();
     scheduler = createSenseScheduler(config, bus, triggerFn, {
       logStore,
@@ -501,7 +477,6 @@ export function createKernel(
     triggerSense,
     restartGroup: (group) => senseWorkerPool.restartGroup(group),
     reloadConfig,
-    getAgentRegistry: () => agentRegistry,
     getHealth,
     getDaemonHealth,
   };

packages/workflow-utils/package.json

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

packages/workflow-utils/src/__tests__/extract-layer.test.ts

@@ -48,11 +48,7 @@ describe("mergeExtractConfig", () => {
   const emptyLayer: ExtractConfigLayer = { provider: null, model: null };
 
   it("resolves global-only extract settings", () => {
-    const result = mergeExtractConfig(
-      { provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" },
-      emptyLayer,
-      emptyLayer,
-    );
+    const result = mergeExtractConfig({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" }, emptyLayer);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) {
       return;
@@ -60,13 +56,9 @@ describe("mergeExtractConfig", () => {
     expect(result.value).toEqual({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" });
   });
 
-  it("lets agent override global provider and model", () => {
-    const agent: ExtractConfigLayer = { provider: "openai", model: null };
-    const result = mergeExtractConfig(
-      { provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" },
-      agent,
-      emptyLayer,
-    );
+  it("lets role override global provider and keep model from global", () => {
+    const role: ExtractConfigLayer = { provider: "openai", model: null };
+    const result = mergeExtractConfig({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" }, role);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) {
       return;
@@ -74,19 +66,18 @@ describe("mergeExtractConfig", () => {
     expect(result.value).toEqual({ provider: "openai", model: "qwen-plus" });
   });
 
-  it("lets role override agent and global", () => {
-    const agent: ExtractConfigLayer = { provider: "openai", model: "gpt-4o" };
+  it("lets role override model and inherit provider from global", () => {
     const role: ExtractConfigLayer = { provider: null, model: "small" };
-    const result = mergeExtractConfig({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" }, agent, role);
+    const result = mergeExtractConfig({ provider: "dashscope", model: "qwen-plus" }, role);
     expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
     if (!result.ok) {
       return;
     }
-    expect(result.value).toEqual({ provider: "openai", model: "small" });
+    expect(result.value).toEqual({ provider: "dashscope", model: "small" });
   });
 
   it("returns error when provider cannot be resolved", () => {
-    const result = mergeExtractConfig(null, { provider: null, model: "m" }, emptyLayer);
+    const result = mergeExtractConfig(null, { provider: null, model: "m" });
     expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
     if (result.ok) {
       return;

packages/workflow-utils/src/shared/merge-extract-config.ts

@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@ import type { ExtractConfig, Result } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 import { err, ok } from "@uncaged/nerve-core";
 
 /**
- * One level in global → agent → role merge. Use `null` for a field to inherit
- * from the lower-precedence layer (RFC-003).
+ * One level in global → role merge. Use `null` for a field to inherit from global (RFC-003).
  */
 export type ExtractConfigLayer = {
   provider: string | null;
@@ -12,11 +11,10 @@ export type ExtractConfigLayer = {
 
 export function mergeExtractConfig(
   global: ExtractConfig | null,
-  agent: ExtractConfigLayer,
   role: ExtractConfigLayer,
 ): Result<ExtractConfig> {
-  const provider = role.provider ?? agent.provider ?? global?.provider ?? null;
-  const model = role.model ?? agent.model ?? global?.model ?? null;
+  const provider = role.provider ?? global?.provider ?? null;
+  const model = role.model ?? global?.model ?? null;
 
   if (provider === null || provider.trim() === "") {
     return err(new Error("extract: unresolved provider after merge"));

pnpm-lock.yaml

@@ -102,12 +102,6 @@ importers:
 
   packages/daemon:
     dependencies:
-      '@uncaged/nerve-adapter-cursor':
-        specifier: workspace:*
-        version: link:../adapter-cursor
-      '@uncaged/nerve-adapter-hermes':
-        specifier: workspace:*
-        version: link:../adapter-hermes
       '@uncaged/nerve-core':
         specifier: workspace:*
         version: link:../core