docs/approvals.md

@@ -11,12 +11,9 @@ informed about what happens after a decision lands.
 ## End-to-end approval flow
 
 1. The submitting agent (the child's parent, holding the `approvals`
-   tool group) edits files in the child's proposed config repo
-   (any tracked path, but `agent.nix` is the contract entry point)
-   and commits with its own git identity. The parent's container has
-   the child's proposed config repo bind-mounted read-write at
-   `/agents/<name>/config/` (topology-driven via `set_nspawn_flags`;
-   the agent's *own* config at `/agents/<self>/config/` is read-only).
+   tool group) edits files under the child's `/agents/<name>/config/`
+   (any tracked path, but `agent.nix` is the contract entry point) and
+   commits with its own git identity.
 2. The submitting agent submits the commit sha via `request_apply_commit(agent,
    commit_ref)`. `commit_ref` must be a commit **sha** (7-40 hex
    chars, short or full) — a branch or tag name is rejected so the
@@ -66,11 +63,11 @@ informed about what happens after a decision lands.
    failure, main stays put and the working tree resets back to
    the previous deployed commit.
 6. `HelperEvent::ApprovalResolved` (and `Rebuilt` for the
-   ApplyCommit kind) land in the **submitting agent's** inbox, carrying
-   both the canonical sha and the terminal tag. Helper events route to
-   the submitting agent via `notify_submitter` (the approval row carries
-   a `submitter` column recording which agent called `request_apply_commit`
-   or `request_init_config`).
+   ApplyCommit kind) land in the root agent's inbox, carrying both
+   the canonical sha and the terminal tag. (Helper events currently route
+   to the root agent via `notify_manager` regardless of which agent
+   submitted the approval; routing them to the submitting agent is tracked
+   in #1953.)
 
 ### Withdrawing a pending approval
 
@@ -91,8 +88,7 @@ without it has nothing of its own to withdraw.
 `InitConfig` approvals are the first step in a two-step spawn
 flow. On approve, hive-c0re seeds the proposed config repo with
 a default `agent.nix` template and sends `HelperEvent::ConfigReady { agent }`
-to the submitting agent's inbox via `notify_submitter`. The submitting
-agent then reviews,
+to the root agent. The submitting agent then reviews,
 edits, and commits the template before calling `request_apply_commit`
 to proceed to an `ApplyCommit` approval. The first `ApplyCommit`
 creates the container; subsequent ones rebuild it with new config.
@@ -404,33 +400,26 @@ The dashboard deep-links into this org — a `config repo` link
 per container row and a `commit on forge` link per approval
 card. See `docs/web-ui.md`.
 
-### Submitting agent's view of config repos
+### Root-agent view of applied + meta
 
-Every parent agent's container has its **direct children's** proposed
-config repos bind-mounted read-write (topology-driven: `lifecycle.rs`
-calls `bind_child_agent_dirs` for each entry in
-`topology::children_of(agent_name)`). An agent with the `approvals`
-tool group can therefore edit, commit, and submit changes for any of
-its direct children directly inside its container at `/agents/<child>/config/`.
+The root agent container gets three host-side bind mounts via
+`set_nspawn_flags`:
 
-Agents holding the `can_manage_top_level_agents` topology role
-(defined as `ROLE_CAN_MANAGE_TOP_LEVEL_AGENTS` in `hive-c0re/src/topology.rs`)
-get additional host-side bind mounts via `set_nspawn_flags`:
-
-- `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/` → `/agents/` (RW) — all top-level
-  agents' proposed repos (not just direct children).
-- `/var/lib/hyperhive/applied/` → `/applied/` (RO) — every agent's
-  authoritative applied repo, including `.git`.
+- `/var/lib/hyperhive/agents/` → `/agents/` (RW) — proposed
+  repos. The root agent edits + commits per-agent config here.
+- `/var/lib/hyperhive/applied/` → `/applied/` (RO) — every
+  agent's authoritative applied repo, including `.git`.
 - `/var/lib/hyperhive/meta/` → `/meta/` (RO) — the swarm-wide
   deploy flake.
 
-The root agent holds this role; a sub-manager that only manages a
-subtree does not, and only has its direct children's config dirs.
+This is the **root agent's** view — RW over *every* agent's config. An
+agent with the `approvals` group that owns a subtree (a sub-manager) has
+the equivalent RW scoped to its own children's config repos.
 
 Each proposed repo (`/agents/<n>/config/`) is pre-configured
 with `applied` as a git remote pointing at
-`/applied/<n>/.git`. Useful incantations from inside an agent with
-the full `/applied` mount:
+`/applied/<n>/.git`. Useful incantations from inside the
+root agent's container:
 
 ```sh
 git -C /agents/<n>/config fetch applied
@@ -444,8 +433,9 @@ git -C /meta log --oneline                                    # swarm-wide deplo
 cat /meta/flake.lock | jq '.nodes | with_entries(select(.key | startswith("agent-")))'
 ```
 
-The RO binds block push at the kernel level — git plumbing inside the
-container cannot corrupt either authoritative repo.
+The RO binds block push at the kernel level, so the root agent
+can only fetch / read — git plumbing inside the container
+cannot corrupt either authoritative repo.
 
 ## Migration from the pre-tag / pre-meta schemes
 
@@ -505,25 +495,25 @@ updates the root agent itself.
 
 ## Root-agent policy
 
-The system prompt (`hive-ag3nt/prompts/system.md`, rendered via
-`hive_ag3nt::prompt::render`) is the **same for every agent**; what
-varies is which MCP tools are surfaced (gated by tool groups and
-capabilities in `agent.nix`). There is no `role:manager` block that
-renders only for the root agent. The root agent's approval-gating
-behaviour comes from its CLAUDE.md / agent-specific instructions, not
-the system prompt template.
+From `hive-ag3nt/prompts/system.md` (`<!-- role:manager -->` block,
+rendered via `hive_ag3nt::prompt::render`): the root agent does NOT
+rubber-stamp sub-agent config requests. It verifies (role match,
+package legitimacy, cheaper alternative, blast radius) before
+committing and calling `request_apply_commit`.
 
-`ask(question, options?, multi?, ttl_seconds?, to?)` is available to
-**any agent** — it queues a question and returns the id immediately.
-When `to` is omitted (or `"operator"`) the question shows up on the
-dashboard; when `to` is another agent's name, the recipient receives a
+For ambiguous cases or anything that needs human signal, the
+the root agent calls `ask(question, options?, multi?, ttl_seconds?, to?)` —
+queues the question and returns the id immediately. When `to` is
+omitted (or `"operator"`) the question shows up on the dashboard;
+when `to` is a sub-agent's name, the recipient receives a
 `HelperEvent::QuestionAsked` and answers via their own `answer`
 tool. Either way the answer arrives back as
 `HelperEvent::QuestionAnswered { id, question, answer, answerer }`
 in the asker's inbox. Storage is `hive-c0re::operator_questions`
 (sqlite) — same table, with a nullable `target` column
 (NULL = operator). Dispatch goes through
-`hive-c0re/src/questions.rs::{handle_ask, handle_answer}`. The answer flow is:
+`hive-c0re/src/questions.rs::{handle_ask, handle_answer}` so both
+the agent + root-agent surfaces stay aligned. The answer flow is:
 
 ```
 POST /answer-question/{id}                       agent: Answer { id, answer }
@@ -536,21 +526,22 @@ POST /answer-question/{id}                       agent: Answer { id, answer }
 Two more paths resolve a pending question with a sentinel answer:
 
 - `POST /cancel-question/{id}` (✗ CANC3L button on the dashboard)
-  resolves with `[cancelled]`. The asking agent sees a terminal state
+  resolves with `[cancelled]`. The root agent sees a terminal state
   and can fall back.
 - `ttl_seconds` deadline: a tokio watchdog spawned at submit time
   fires `answer(id, "[expired]")` once the ttl runs out. Already-
   resolved races no-op. The dashboard surfaces a `⏳ MM:SS` chip
   on each pending question with a deadline.
 
-## Helper events to the submitting agent
+## Helper events to the root agent
 
-`Coordinator::notify_submitter(approval_id, &HelperEvent)` routes the
-event to the agent that originally submitted the approval (looked up from
-the `submitter` column on the `approvals` table). The harness delivers it
-as a regular `system` inbox message so it drives a normal claude turn.
-Legacy approval rows that predate the submitter column fall back to the
-root agent. Variants (`hive_sh4re::HelperEvent`):
+`Coordinator::notify_manager(&HelperEvent)` enqueues an inbox
+message from sender `system` with the event JSON in the body. The
+root agent's harness no longer short-circuits these — they drive a
+regular claude turn so the root agent can react. (Today these go to the
+root agent regardless of which agent submitted the approval — routing to
+the submitting agent is tracked in #1953.) Variants
+(`hive_sh4re::HelperEvent`):
 
 - `ApprovalResolved { id, agent, commit_ref, status, note }` —
   fired by `actions::approve` + `actions::deny` whenever an