fix(#977): add MANAGER_CONTAINER=h-root, migrate root container name

docs/agent-hierarchy.md

@@ -104,13 +104,15 @@ which axis the post-milestone version reads each special-case along:
 
 ### A — naming + bootstrap
 
-- `MANAGER_AGENT = "root"` (broker recipient name) and
-  `MANAGER_NAME = "root"` (container name). Both now `"root"`;
-  renamed from `"manager"`/`"hm1nd"` via the migration script in
-  `migrate.rs` (idempotent, marker-guarded).
+- `MANAGER_AGENT = "root"` (broker recipient name),
+  `MANAGER_NAME = "root"` (logical name, state-dir key), and
+  `MANAGER_CONTAINER = "h-root"` (nixos-container name). The `h-`
+  prefix makes the manager consistent with all sub-agents and lets
+  `lifecycle::list()` use a single `starts_with("h-")` filter.
+  Existing `root` containers are renamed to `h-root` by migration
+  phase 5 in `migrate.rs` (idempotent, marker-guarded).
 - `auto_update::ensure_manager` runs at hive-c0re boot and spawns
-  `root` if missing. Becomes "ensure the root agent exists" once any
-  agent can be at the root. **Topology**: root has no parent, so
+  `h-root` if missing. **Topology**: root has no parent, so
   hive-c0re itself owns its lifecycle (no parent to delegate to).
 
 ### B — wire-protocol privileges
@@ -236,8 +238,9 @@ repos they're working on.
 meta-flake's per-agent flake.nix wrapper). For the manager unit
 that means a hardcoded `HIVE_LABEL` env value:
 
-- `HIVE_LABEL = "root"` — container name; matches what `meta.rs`
-  injects at deploy time.
+- `HIVE_LABEL = "root"` — logical agent name; matches what `meta.rs`
+  injects at deploy time. (The nixos-container is `h-root`, but the
+  harness identifies itself by logical name.)
 
 Real deploys never read these — `meta::render_flake` overrides them
 via the generated wrapper. They exist so the manager

hive-c0re/src/agent_sockets.rs

@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 
-use crate::lifecycle::MANAGER_NAME;
-
 const HOST_SOCKETS_PATH: &str = "/var/lib/hyperhive/agent-sockets.json";
 
 /// Host-side parent directory holding per-agent socket subdirs. The
@@ -217,6 +215,7 @@ pub fn spawn_poll() {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
+    use crate::lifecycle::MANAGER_NAME;
 
     #[test]
     fn socket_path_for_uses_subdir_layout() {

hive-c0re/src/container_view.rs

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use rusqlite::Connection;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 use crate::coordinator::Coordinator;
-use crate::lifecycle::{self, AGENT_PREFIX, MANAGER_NAME};
+use crate::lifecycle::{self, AGENT_PREFIX, MANAGER_CONTAINER, MANAGER_NAME};
 
 /// An agent-declared extra navigation link surfaced on the dashboard card.
 /// Written by the `hive-dashboard-links` NixOS oneshot into
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ pub async fn build_all(coord: &Coordinator) -> Vec<ContainerView> {
     let topology = crate::topology::read();
     let mut out = Vec::new();
     for c in &raw {
-        let (logical, is_manager) = if c == MANAGER_NAME {
+        let (logical, is_manager) = if c == MANAGER_CONTAINER {
             (MANAGER_NAME.to_owned(), true)
         } else if let Some(n) = c.strip_prefix(AGENT_PREFIX) {
             (n.to_owned(), false)

hive-c0re/src/lifecycle.rs

@@ -10,11 +10,14 @@ use tokio::process::Command;
 /// name itself can be at most `MAX_AGENT_NAME` chars.
 pub const AGENT_PREFIX: &str = "h-";
 pub const MAX_AGENT_NAME: usize = 9;
-/// Container name of the manager. Lives in the same path scheme as sub-agents
-/// (`/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/root/`, `/var/lib/hyperhive/applied/root/`),
-/// but its container has no `h-` prefix and extends a different
-/// nixosConfiguration (`root`, not `agent-base`).
+/// Logical name of the manager agent (broker recipient, state-dir key,
+/// meta flake attribute). All persistent state lives under `root/`.
 pub const MANAGER_NAME: &str = "root";
+/// Container name of the manager. Uses the same `h-` prefix as sub-agents
+/// so `nixos-container list` output is uniform and the list filter is
+/// a single `starts_with(AGENT_PREFIX)` check. Logical name → container
+/// name: `root` → `h-root`.
+pub const MANAGER_CONTAINER: &str = "h-root";
 
 /// Mount point of the per-agent runtime directory inside the container.
 pub const CONTAINER_RUNTIME_MOUNT: &str = "/run/hive";
@@ -72,7 +75,7 @@ pub fn agent_web_port(name: &str) -> u16 {
 #[must_use]
 pub fn container_name(name: &str) -> String {
     if name == MANAGER_NAME {
-        MANAGER_NAME.to_owned()
+        MANAGER_CONTAINER.to_owned()
     } else {
         format!("{AGENT_PREFIX}{name}")
     }
@@ -161,7 +164,7 @@ async fn port_collision(self_name: &str) -> Option<String> {
     let port = agent_web_port(self_name);
     let raw = list().await.unwrap_or_default();
     for c in raw {
-        let other = if c == MANAGER_NAME {
+        let other = if c == MANAGER_CONTAINER {
             MANAGER_NAME.to_owned()
         } else if let Some(n) = c.strip_prefix(AGENT_PREFIX) {
             n.to_owned()
@@ -233,7 +236,7 @@ async fn agents_for_meta(name_to_add: Option<&str>) -> Result<Vec<crate::meta::A
     let mut out: Vec<crate::meta::AgentSpec> = containers
         .into_iter()
         .filter_map(|c| {
-            let (name, is_manager) = if c == MANAGER_NAME {
+            let (name, is_manager) = if c == MANAGER_CONTAINER {
                 (MANAGER_NAME.to_owned(), true)
             } else if let Some(n) = c.strip_prefix(AGENT_PREFIX) {
                 (n.to_owned(), false)
@@ -598,7 +601,7 @@ pub async fn list() -> Result<Vec<String>> {
     Ok(String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout)
         .lines()
         .map(str::trim)
-        .filter(|line| line.starts_with(AGENT_PREFIX) || *line == MANAGER_NAME)
+        .filter(|line| line.starts_with(AGENT_PREFIX))
         .map(str::to_owned)
         .collect())
 }
@@ -1076,9 +1079,8 @@ fn set_nspawn_flags(
     let path = format!("/etc/nixos-containers/{container}.conf");
     let original = std::fs::read_to_string(&path).with_context(|| format!("read {path}"))?;
 
-    // Logical agent name (container name minus the sub-agent prefix).
-    // For the manager the strip is a no-op — harmless, manager paths
-    // below are gated on `container == MANAGER_NAME` anyway.
+    // Logical agent name — strip the `h-` prefix.
+    // For the manager: `h-root` → `root`. For sub-agents: `h-iris` → `iris`.
     let agent_name = container.strip_prefix(AGENT_PREFIX).unwrap_or(container);
 
     // Claude credentials land at `/home/<agent>/.claude` so the
@@ -1099,7 +1101,7 @@ fn set_nspawn_flags(
     // the `/agents` bind below already exposes both (along with
     // every sub-agent's). For regular agents the harness dir is
     // the sibling of notes_dir (same parent, "harness" subdir).
-    if container != MANAGER_NAME {
+    if container != MANAGER_CONTAINER {
         let _ = write!(
             binds,
             " --bind={notes}:/agents/{agent_name}/state",
@@ -1120,7 +1122,7 @@ fn set_nspawn_flags(
             );
         }
     }
-    if container == MANAGER_NAME {
+    if container == MANAGER_CONTAINER {
         // systemd-nspawn refuses to start a container whose bind
         // source doesn't exist. The meta repo is created by the
         // startup migration, but make sure the directory is there

hive-c0re/src/migrate.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-//! Startup auto-migration from the pre-meta layout. Four idempotent
-//! phases: applied repo, proposed repo, meta repo, container repoint.
+//! Startup auto-migration. Five idempotent phases: applied repo,
+//! proposed repo, meta repo, container repoint, root→h-root rename.
 //! Kill-switch: `HIVE_SKIP_META_MIGRATION=1`. Full migration sequence
 //! and phase details: `docs/approvals.md::Migration from the pre-tag`.
 
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use tokio::process::Command;
 
 use crate::coordinator::Coordinator;
-use crate::lifecycle::{self, AGENT_PREFIX, MANAGER_NAME};
+use crate::lifecycle::{self, AGENT_PREFIX, MANAGER_CONTAINER, MANAGER_NAME};
 use crate::meta;
 
 const KILL_SWITCH: &str = "HIVE_SKIP_META_MIGRATION";
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ fn repoint_marker() -> PathBuf {
     PathBuf::from("/var/lib/hyperhive/.meta-migration-done")
 }
 
+/// Marker for phase 5. Once present, root→h-root container rename is
+/// skipped on future restarts.
+fn hroot_rename_marker() -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from("/var/lib/hyperhive/.hroot-rename-done")
+}
+
 /// Substring that identifies the *current* agent flake boilerplate.
 /// Bumped whenever the template changes so the startup migration
 /// re-renders existing agents onto the new shape. Today the marker
@@ -108,6 +114,12 @@ pub async fn run(coord: &Arc<Coordinator>) -> Result<()> {
     {
         tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration: write repoint marker failed");
     }
+
+    // Phase 5: rename `root` nixos-container to `h-root` for naming
+    // consistency with sub-agents. Guarded by marker; skipped on
+    // fresh installs (conf file absent) and after first successful run.
+    rename_manager_container(coord).await;
+
     Ok(())
 }
 
@@ -140,12 +152,82 @@ fn migrate_harness_files(name: &str) {
     }
 }
 
+/// Phase 5: rename the `root` nixos-container to `h-root` so the
+/// manager container name is consistent with the `h-` prefix used by
+/// all sub-agents. Idempotent and marker-guarded. Steps:
+///
+/// 1. Check `/etc/nixos-containers/root.conf` exists (old name present).
+/// 2. Stop the `root` container.
+/// 3. Copy `root.conf` → `h-root.conf`.
+/// 4. Move `/var/lib/nixos-containers/root/` → `h-root/` (if present).
+/// 5. `systemctl daemon-reload` so systemd sees the new unit name.
+/// 6. `nixos-container start h-root`.
+/// 7. Write the done marker.
+///
+/// Best-effort: logs warnings on failure. A failed rename leaves both
+/// conf files present; on the next hive-c0re start the marker is
+/// absent so the phase retries.
+async fn rename_manager_container(coord: &Arc<Coordinator>) {
+    if hroot_rename_marker().exists() {
+        return;
+    }
+    let old_conf = std::path::PathBuf::from("/etc/nixos-containers/root.conf");
+    let new_conf = std::path::PathBuf::from("/etc/nixos-containers/h-root.conf");
+    if !old_conf.exists() {
+        // Fresh install — root container was never created under the old name.
+        let _ = std::fs::write(hroot_rename_marker(), b"done\n");
+        return;
+    }
+    if new_conf.exists() {
+        // Already renamed (but marker was lost — write it and return).
+        tracing::info!("migration phase 5: h-root.conf already present, marking done");
+        let _ = std::fs::write(hroot_rename_marker(), b"done\n");
+        return;
+    }
+    tracing::info!("migration phase 5: renaming root container to h-root");
+    let _guard = coord.transient_guard(MANAGER_NAME, crate::coordinator::TransientKind::Rebuilding);
+
+    // Stop the old container.
+    if let Err(e) = Command::new("nixos-container").args(["stop", "root"]).status().await {
+        tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration phase 5: nixos-container stop root failed");
+    }
+
+    // Copy conf file.
+    if let Err(e) = std::fs::copy(&old_conf, &new_conf) {
+        tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration phase 5: copy root.conf failed — aborting");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Move rootfs if it exists (may be absent for ephemeral containers).
+    let old_rootfs = std::path::PathBuf::from("/var/lib/nixos-containers/root");
+    let new_rootfs = std::path::PathBuf::from("/var/lib/nixos-containers/h-root");
+    if old_rootfs.exists() && !new_rootfs.exists() {
+        if let Err(e) = std::fs::rename(&old_rootfs, &new_rootfs) {
+            tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration phase 5: rename rootfs failed (non-fatal)");
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Daemon reload so systemd picks up the new container@h-root unit.
+    if let Err(e) = Command::new("systemctl").args(["daemon-reload"]).status().await {
+        tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration phase 5: systemctl daemon-reload failed");
+    }
+
+    // Start the renamed container.
+    if let Err(e) = Command::new("nixos-container").args(["start", "h-root"]).status().await {
+        tracing::warn!(error = ?e, "migration phase 5: nixos-container start h-root failed");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    tracing::info!("migration phase 5: root container renamed to h-root");
+    let _ = std::fs::write(hroot_rename_marker(), b"done\n");
+}
+
 async fn enumerate_agents() -> Vec<String> {
     let containers = lifecycle::list().await.unwrap_or_default();
     containers
         .into_iter()
         .filter_map(|c| {
-            if c == MANAGER_NAME {
+            if c == MANAGER_CONTAINER {
                 Some(MANAGER_NAME.to_owned())
             } else {
                 c.strip_prefix(AGENT_PREFIX).map(str::to_owned)