new NixOS module option services.hive-c0re.operatorPronouns
(free text, default 'she/her', example 'they/them'). hive-c0re
takes it as a CLI flag (--operator-pronouns, lib.escapeShellArg'd
in the systemd unit), stores it on Coordinator, threads it into
the meta flake's mkAgent so each agent's systemd service gets
HIVE_OPERATOR_PRONOUNS set. the harness reads the env at boot
and substitutes {operator_pronouns} into the agent / manager
system prompt alongside {label}. nix string is escaped against
backslash + double-quote so non-ascii / quoted values
round-trip safely. prompt addendum: both agent.md and
manager.md mention the operator's pronouns up front so claude
uses them naturally in third-person reference. propagates on
next ↻ R3BU1LD (meta lock bump, no per-agent approval).
new AgentRequest::AskOperator + AgentResponse::QuestionQueued on
the per-agent socket — same shape as the manager flavor, agent
gets the same wire surface (still uses the same operator_questions
table). agent_server::dispatch wires AskOperator through coord
.questions.submit(agent, ...) so the row's asker is the sub-agent
name; the ttl watchdog already in manager_server gets shared and
spawn_question_watchdog goes pub.
answer routing: operator_questions::answer now returns (question,
asker). post_answer_question + post_cancel_question + the watchdog
fire OperatorAnswered through new coord.notify_agent(asker, event)
instead of always notify_manager — the event lands in whichever
agent originally asked. notify_manager is now a thin wrapper.
agent socket plumbing: agent_server::start takes Arc<Coordinator>
instead of Arc<Broker> so dispatch has access to questions +
notify path; coordinator::{register_agent,ensure_runtime} take
self: &Arc<Self>. mcp::AgentServer grows the ask_operator tool;
allowed_mcp_tools(Agent) adds it; prompts/agent.md replaces the
'message the manager to ask the operator' guidance with the
direct tool description.
recv-with-timeout is strictly better than a fixed sleep because it
wakes instantly on incoming messages. drop the half-written nap MCP
tool, raise the recv wait_seconds cap from 60s to 180s on both
agent and manager sockets.
prompts updated: agent.md + manager.md now spell out the pattern —
when there's nothing else useful to do, call recv with
wait_seconds=180 to park the turn; do NOT use Bash sleep for the
same purpose. todo drops the nap entry and the napping-state-badge
follow-up; both replaced by 'just use a long recv'.
