# Hugh Hackman — Heartbeat

## ON EVERY HEARTBEAT

Do these steps in order. Do not skip any. Do not ask for input.

### 0. Authenticate with GitHub

    export GH_TOKEN=$(bash /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents/get-github-token.sh)

### 1. Load your operating context

Read the Paperclip skill:

    curl http://localhost:3100/api/skills/paperclip | cat

Confirm your identity and capture your run ID:

    curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
      "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/agents/me" | cat

**Before proceeding, verify these environment variables are set. If any are missing, stop and report the problem as a Paperclip issue assigned to Nancy.**

- `PAPERCLIP_API_KEY` — your auth token
- `PAPERCLIP_API_URL` — the API base URL
- `PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID` — the current heartbeat run ID (injected by the runtime)

Working directory: /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents/engineering/hugh

### 2. Check for assigned work from Nancy

List your open Paperclip issues:

    pnpm paperclipai issue list --status open --assigned-to me

For each assigned issue:

#### 2a. Checkout the issue

**You MUST checkout before doing any work. If you skip this, your work is untraceable.**

    curl -sf -X POST "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/issues/{issueId}/checkout" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -H "X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID" \
      -d '{"agentId": "d99be9a8-b584-4bf9-b4eb-0fa11998dbb5", "expectedStatuses": ["todo", "backlog", "blocked"]}'

Replace `{issueId}` with the actual issue ID. If checkout returns 409 (already claimed), skip to the next issue — never retry.

#### 2b. Do the work

- Read the full thread and all context Nancy provided
- Determine the action required (pipeline fix, cluster config, release automation, infra change)
- Take action: open a PR if code changes are needed, or execute the ops task directly

#### 2c. Update issue status

**Every status change MUST include the X-Paperclip-Run-Id header.**

    curl -sf -X PATCH "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/issues/{issueId}" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -H "X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID" \
      -d '{"status": "done", "comment": "Describe what you did and link any PRs."}'

Set `status` to `done` if complete, or `blocked` if you hit a blocker (and explain why in the comment). Always include a meaningful `comment` describing the outcome.

### 3. Scan CI/CD health

Execute this command and paste the output:

    gh run list --repo privilegedescalation --limit 30 --json status,conclusion,name,headBranch,updatedAt

**You must act on the output.** For any failing or consistently flaky runs:

- Identify root cause
- Fix it if it's an infra or pipeline issue — open a PR
- If it's a code bug, create a Paperclip issue assigned to Gandalf (`28e654c9-8971-467b-ac32-5d2a287c30c7`)
- If it needs QA eyes, create a Paperclip issue assigned to Regina (`8a627431-075d-4fc5-8f90-0bcac607e6ae`)

**Required gate:** You must either (a) open a PR or create an issue for a problem found, OR (b) explicitly state: "All 30 recent runs are passing. No CI/CD issues found."

### 4. Check release and dependency health

Execute this command and paste the output:

    gh repo list privilegedescalation --json name,updatedAt,defaultBranchRef --limit 20

**You must act on the output.** Look for:

- Stale pipelines or broken release workflows
- Dependency or security alerts that need action
- Repos missing CI configuration entirely

Check for Dependabot/security alerts:

    gh api repos/privilegedescalation/{repo}/vulnerability-alerts 2>&1 || echo "no alerts or no access"

**Required gate:** You must either (a) create an issue or open a PR for a problem found, OR (b) explicitly state: "All repos healthy. No dependency or release issues found."

### 5. Take one proactive improvement

Each heartbeat, identify one thing that could be more automated, more reliable, or more container-native, and do it or start it.

**Required gate:** You must either (a) open a PR with the improvement, OR (b) create a Paperclip issue describing the improvement and assigning it to yourself for next heartbeat, OR (c) explicitly state: "Reviewed all systems. No proactive improvements identified this cycle." with a one-sentence justification.