diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 6d5d3eb5..b990bfb8 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
   the separate `hivectl` crate, which talks to the daemon over the host
   admin socket. Owns the sqlite broker, approval + reminder +
   schedule queues, the meta flake, lifecycle (`nixos-container`
-  shellouts), gateway / forge / matrix provisioning, per-container stats,
-  and the axum operator dashboard (`dashboard.rs`). Largest crate.
+  shellouts), gateway / forge / matrix wiring (agent forge and matrix
+  accounts are `swarm-controller`'s), per-container stats, and the axum
+  operator dashboard (`dashboard/`). Largest crate.
 - **`hivectl/`** — standalone operator CLI (`hivectl` binary). Talks to
   the `hive-c0re` daemon over the host admin socket (`hive-host-sock`
   wire types) — does NOT link `hive-c0re`. Full, always-current verb
@@ -47,11 +48,10 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
 - **`hive-agent/`** — the serve-loop binary: turn-loop *policy* layer
   (`turn.rs`) over `hive-runtime`, per-agent web UI (`web_ui/`
   module dir), event + turn-stats sqlite sinks, login flow, system-prompt
-  renderer.
+  renderer, and the claude launch-config layer (`mcp_config.rs`:
+  tool-group/capability → `--allowedTools`, `--mcp-config` render).
 - **`hive-agent-mcp/`** — the embedded MCP server (long-lived
-  streamable-http listener, `hive-mcp-http` systemd unit) + its claude
-  launch-config layer (tool-group/capability → `--allowedTools`,
-  `--mcp-config` render).
+  streamable-http listener, `hive-mcp-http` systemd unit).
 - **`hive-runtime/`** — the runtime an agent's turns run on: one
   `Runtime` interface (`run`/`compact`/`archive`/`canceller`/`choices`) with a `claude` backend
   (a pass-through to `hive-claude`) and an `acp` backend (any Agent Client
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
   journal, so both layers together store every record twice. Deliberately
   single-purpose — do not grow it into a utility crate.
 - **`hive-screen-mcp/`** — stdio MCP bridge for GUI agents
-  (`hyperhive.gui.enable`): `screenshot` via `grim`, `type_text` /
+  (`services.hyperhive.agent.gui.enable`): `screenshot` via `grim`, `type_text` /
   `key_press` via `wtype` (Wayland virtual-keyboard protocol), and
   `mouse_move` / `mouse_click` as RFB pointer events to the local neatvnc
   server. All userspace, no daemon of its own.
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ hand-maintained per-file tree drifts out of sync with the code.
   `hive-core-agent-sock` above: **this socket never leaves the container**
   and `hive-c0re` is not in the path at all — no broker round-trip, no
   long-poll, no marker files. Also carries `extra_mcp`: the
-  `hyperhive.extraMcpServers` spec + parsing, shared by `hive-agent` and
+  `services.hyperhive.agent.extraMcpServers` spec + parsing, shared by `hive-agent` and
   `hive-subagent-mcp` — not a socket protocol, just the natural home since
   both already depend on this crate.
 - **`hive-types/`** — zero-dependency (bar serde) leaf crate holding the
diff --git a/docs/turn-loop/README.md b/docs/turn-loop/README.md
index 15338e7e..60823ca5 100644
--- a/docs/turn-loop/README.md
+++ b/docs/turn-loop/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,20 @@
 # Turn loop + MCP
 
-How the harness wakes up, what it asks claude to do, and what tools
-claude has access to in return.
+How the harness wakes up, what it asks the agent's runtime to do, and what
+tools the agent has access to in return.
+
+## Runtimes
+
+Every turn runs through `hive-runtime`, on the runtime
+`services.hyperhive.agent.runtime` selects:
+
+- **`claude`** (default) — one `claude --print` process per turn.
+  → [claude-invocation.md](claude-invocation.md)
+- **`acp`** — any Agent Client Protocol agent, run as one long-lived child
+  of the harness. → [`hive-runtime/README.md`](../../hive-runtime/README.md)
+
+Both report the turn in claude's `stream-json` shape, so the loop below is
+the same for either.
 
 ## The loop
 
@@ -22,21 +35,22 @@ agents) runs:
 2. Pop one message. Peek the remaining inbox depth with `Status`.
 3. Emit `LiveEvent::TurnStart { from, body, unread }` onto the SSE
    bus.
-4. Spawn claude (one process per turn) and pipe the wake prompt
-   over stdin.
-5. Stream stdout (JSON lines) into the bus as
+4. Hand the wake prompt to the runtime: on `claude`, spawn
+   `claude --print` and pipe it over stdin; on `acp`, send it as a
+   prompt on the agent's session.
+5. Stream the turn's `stream-json` lines into the bus as
    `LiveEvent::Stream(value)`. Pump stderr as `Note`.
-6. Wait for claude to exit and classify the turn's outcome from the
-   stream + exit — success, compaction, rate-limit, auth-failure, or
-   hard failure. The outcome drives the post-turn action (see
+6. Wait for the turn to end and classify its outcome from the
+   stream + result — success, compaction, rate-limit, auth-failure, stall,
+   or hard failure. The outcome drives the post-turn action (see
    [Turn outcomes](#turn-outcomes)); the session handles compaction
    internally (see
    [Compaction](claude-invocation.md#compaction)). This page describes
-   rate-limit and auth-failure detection [below](#failure-detection-and-login).
+   rate-limit and auth-failure detection [below](#failure-detection-and-login-claude).
 7. Emit `LiveEvent::TurnEnd { ok, note }`. Sleep `poll_ms` to avoid
    tight loops on transient failures.
 
-### Failure detection and login
+### Failure detection and login (claude)
 
 - **Rate limit** — a `429` / `rate_limit` marker on stderr, or a parsed
   `{"type":"error"}` rate-limit event on stdout (conversation-text
@@ -65,13 +79,16 @@ agents) runs:
 
 ## Harness binary shape
 
-Two sibling crates, both role-agnostic (there is one role: agent —
-the privilege boundary lives server-side at the broker socket
-(`/run/hive/mcp.sock`), which refuses privileged `Request` variants
-regardless of who sends them):
+Two sibling binaries over one runtime library, all role-agnostic (there
+is one role: agent — the privilege boundary lives server-side at the
+broker socket (`/run/hive/mcp.sock`), which refuses privileged `Request`
+variants regardless of who sends them):
 
 - `hive-agent` — long-running harness loop (the inbox poll +
-  claude-pump + ack/requeue cycle described above).
+  runtime turn + ack/requeue cycle described above).
+- `hive-runtime` — the library every turn runs through, one `Runtime`
+  impl per runtime (`ClaudeRuntime`, `AcpRuntime`); `hive-subagent-mcp`
+  drives its nested sessions through it too.
 - `hive-agent-mcp` — MCP server for the built-in `hyperhive` surface.
   Run with `--http <addr>` as a persistent streamable-HTTP daemon (the
   `hive-mcp-http` systemd unit, on `services.hyperhive.agent.mcp.httpPort`, default
@@ -130,8 +147,8 @@ else a `TurnError`) drives the post-claude branch:
 | `Err(Failed(err))` | route `[system] \`<qualified-label>\` claude turn failed:\n<err>` to `operator` via `send_to_operator` |
 
 `ApiStall` catches an Anthropic API stall — a multi-retry connection storm where
-the stream goes silent for minutes. The idle watchdog lives in `hive-claude`'s
-driver (`Config::idle_timeout`, enforced around `child.wait()`): the timer
+the stream goes silent for minutes. On `claude` the idle watchdog lives in
+`hive-claude`'s driver (`Config::idle_timeout`, enforced around `child.wait()`): the timer
 resets on every stdout line, so a large but still-streaming turn is never cut —
 only complete output silence for the window trips it. The harness sets the
 window from `HIVE_TURN_IDLE_SECS` (`0` disables) and maps the driver's
diff --git a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
index edd6d0d1..07deba2b 100644
--- a/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
+++ b/docs/turn-loop/claude-invocation.md
@@ -1,20 +1,26 @@
 # The claude invocation
 
+How a turn runs on the `claude` runtime, the default
+(`services.hyperhive.agent.runtime`). An `acp` agent's turns:
+→ [`hive-runtime/README.md`](../../hive-runtime/README.md).
+
 ```
 claude --print --verbose --output-format stream-json --model <name> \
   --effort <level> --resume <title>   # or --name <title> on first use \
-  --system-prompt-file /run/hive/claude-system-prompt.md \
-  --mcp-config /run/hive/claude-mcp-config.json --strict-mcp-config \
+  --system-prompt-file /run/hive-config/claude-system-prompt.md \
+  --mcp-config /run/hive-config/claude-mcp-config.json --strict-mcp-config \
   --tools <builtins> --allowedTools <builtins+mcp>
 # wake prompt piped over stdin
 ```
 
-**Crate split.** The generic subprocess mechanics — spawning
-`claude --print`, streaming + classifying stream-json, session
-lookup/archive, and the durable-session compaction loop — live in the
-reusable **`hive-claude`** crate (`hive_claude::{Claude, InfiniteSession,
-Attach, CompactionPolicy, PercentPolicy, Telemetry, Sink, SessionStore}`;
-see `hive-claude/README.md`). `hive-agent`'s `turn` module is the
+**Crate split.** `hive-agent` runs every turn through `hive-runtime`,
+whose `ClaudeRuntime` is a pass-through to the external **`hive-claude`**
+crate (a crates.io dependency, not in this repo). `hive-claude` holds the
+generic subprocess mechanics — spawning `claude --print`, streaming +
+classifying stream-json, session lookup/archive, and the durable-session
+compaction loop (`hive_claude::{Claude, InfiniteSession, Attach,
+CompactionPolicy, PercentPolicy, Telemetry, Sink, SessionStore}`).
+`hive-agent`'s `turn` module is the
 hyperhive **policy layer** on top: it builds the per-turn config from
 the bus, bridges the output stream onto the event bus (`BusSink`), and
 owns the compaction / autoreset / retry decisions in `drive_turn`. The
@@ -278,5 +284,6 @@ identity, the reset/autoreset/retry state machine, and the
 telemetry-to-bus bridge — lives in `hive-agent`'s `turn` module; see its
 `//!` doc comment (`hive-agent/src/turn.rs`) for the exact call shape.
 The actual claude spawn, stream classification, and the
-reactive/proactive compaction loop are in the `hive-claude` crate.
+reactive/proactive compaction loop are in the `hive-claude` crate, reached
+through `hive-runtime`'s `ClaudeRuntime`.
 Login-wait lives in `hive-agent`'s `login` module.
diff --git a/hive-agent/README.md b/hive-agent/README.md
index 2fadfb8f..54c38be0 100644
--- a/hive-agent/README.md
+++ b/hive-agent/README.md
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # hive-agent
 
 The in-container harness serve-loop binary — one instance per agent.
-Long-polls the broker inbox and drives one `claude --print` turn per
-inbox message, over the `hive-claude` driver. There is one role here
+Long-polls the broker inbox and drives one turn per inbox message
+through `hive-runtime`, on the agent's runtime (`claude --print` by
+default, or an ACP agent). It has one role
 (agent); the `Surface` trait + `AgentSurface` zero-sized type tag keep
 the turn loop generic and testable for future roles without a
 parallel copy of the loop.
@@ -11,20 +12,21 @@ parallel copy of the loop.
 
 You don't call into this crate from elsewhere — it's the top-level
 binary systemd starts per agent container. Look here when you need to
-understand or change: what happens between "a message lands in the
-inbox" and "claude produces a reply", how login/auth is bootstrapped,
-how the per-agent web UI is served, or how turn/event stats get
+understand or change: what happens between a message landing in the
+inbox and the agent's reply, how the harness bootstraps login/auth,
+how it serves the per-agent web UI, or how turn/event stats get
 recorded. Architecture detail lives in
 [`docs/turn-loop/`](../docs/turn-loop/README.md); this README is just the
 map of the module tree.
 
 ## Shape
 
+- **`main.rs`** — the serve loop and the `Surface` trait; broker calls
+  (inbox poll, ack, send) go through `hive-sock-client` with
+  `hive-core-agent-sock` wire types.
 - **`turn.rs`** — the turn-loop policy layer: renders the system
-  prompt + MCP config, invokes `hive-claude`, classifies the outcome,
-  and feeds the event/turn-stats sinks.
-- **`client.rs`** — broker client (inbox poll, ack, send) speaking the
-  `hive-sh4re` wire protocol.
+  prompt + MCP config, runs the turn through `hive-runtime`, classifies
+  the outcome, and feeds the event/turn-stats sinks.
 - **`login.rs` / `login_session.rs`** — first-run and session-resume
   auth flow for the `claude` CLI.
 - **`mcp_config.rs`** — renders the per-turn `--mcp-config` /
@@ -37,8 +39,6 @@ map of the module tree.
 - **`events.rs` / `turn_stats.rs` / `stats.rs`** — append-only event
   sink and per-turn telemetry recording (context usage, cost, tool
   favorites) under `harness/`.
-- **`forge_notify.rs`** — subscribes to forge notifications and wakes
-  the harness on new activity.
 - **`prompt.rs`** — system-prompt renderer (persona + tool docs +
   environment facts).
 - **`web_ui/`** — the per-agent dashboard (terminal pane, status,
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ map of the module tree.
 - **`paths.rs`** — canonical path resolution for state/harness dirs and
   the harness-local sqlite files.
 
-Sibling: **`hive-agent-mcp`** (the MCP server this loop points claude
-at every turn). Both are described together in
-[`docs/turn-loop/::Harness binary shape`](../docs/turn-loop/README.md).
+Siblings: **`hive-agent-mcp`** (the MCP server this loop points the
+agent at every turn) and **`hive-runtime`** (the library a turn runs
+through).
+[`docs/turn-loop/::Harness binary shape`](../docs/turn-loop/README.md#harness-binary-shape)
+covers all three together.