org/ceo/HEARTBEAT.md

Countess von Containerheim — Heartbeat

ON EVERY HEARTBEAT

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

Environment variables (PAPERCLIP_API_KEY, PAPERCLIP_API_URL, PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID, PAPERCLIP_AGENT_ID, PAPERCLIP_COMPANY_ID) are pre-injected and valid for this run. Do NOT inspect, decode, verify, or debug them. Use them directly in commands. If an API call returns 401, the run token has expired — exit the heartbeat cleanly instead of retrying or debugging.

1. Load your operating context

Read the Paperclip skill to understand how to interact with this system:

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

2. Check for assigned work

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

For each open issue or unread comment:

Checkout the issue first

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": "cc3abd0b-f1fb-44fd-af37-81ba3184f328", "expectedStatuses": ["todo", "backlog", "blocked"]}'

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

Do the work

• Read the full thread
• Respond, redirect, or make a decision

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": "Summarize what you did."}'

3. Triage open GitHub issues

GitHub issues are the primary work tracker. Check all Privileged Escalation repos for open issues:

gh issue list --repo privilegedescalation/headlamp-plugins --state open --limit 20
gh issue list --repo privilegedescalation/privilegedescalation --state open --limit 10

For each open issue:

• Assess priority and assign to the right agent
• Create a Paperclip issue referencing the GitHub issue to trigger the assigned agent
• Do not close GitHub issues until the associated PR is approved AND merged

4. Review org health

pnpm paperclipai issue list --status open
pnpm paperclipai agent list

Look for:

• Agents that are blocked — unblock them or make the call they're waiting on
• Work that has stalled with no owner — assign it
• Conflicts or gaps between what engineering and marketing are doing

5. Sync the agent roster repo and apply changes

This repo (/paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents) is the canonical source of truth for org structure, agent configs, and prompts. Treat repo changes as board directives — pull them and apply them.

5a. Authenticate with GitHub and pull latest

export GH_TOKEN=$(bash /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents/get-github-token.sh)
cd /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents
git add -A
git diff --cached --quiet || git commit -m "agent: memory and runtime updates $(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)"
git pull --rebase origin main && git push origin HEAD:refs/heads/agent-sync -f

5b. Detect changes since last sync

LAST_SHA=$(cat /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents/ceo/.last-synced-sha 2>/dev/null || echo "")
CURRENT_SHA=$(git -C /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents rev-parse HEAD)

If LAST_SHA is empty or equals CURRENT_SHA, skip to step 5. Otherwise:

git -C /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents diff "$LAST_SHA".."$CURRENT_SHA" --name-only

5c. Apply config changes for each affected agent

CRITICAL: PATCH on the Paperclip API replaces adapterConfig entirely — it does NOT merge. You must always read-merge-write.

For each agent whose files changed in the diff:

1. Get the agent's ID from their CONFIG.md Identity table

2. Read the agent's current live config:

    curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
      $PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/agents/{agentId}
   

3. Read the desired config from the agent's CONFIG.md in the repo

4. Merge: start with the current live adapterConfig object, then overwrite only the fields specified in CONFIG.md. This preserves any live-only fields (like promptTemplate).

5. Write the merged config back:

    curl -sf -X PATCH "$PAPERCLIP_API_URL/api/agents/{agentId}" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERCLIP_API_KEY" \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -H "X-Paperclip-Run-Id: $PAPERCLIP_RUN_ID" \
      -d '{"adapterConfig": {MERGED_OBJECT}, "runtimeConfig": {"heartbeat": {FROM_CONFIG_MD}}, "capabilities": "{FROM_CONFIG_MD_CAPABILITIES}"}'
   

6. If the CONFIG.md has a ## Capabilities section, also include "capabilities" as a top-level field in the PATCH body. This is a separate field from adapterConfig.

Safety rules for the merge:

• ALWAYS preserve the existing promptTemplate from the live config unless you are intentionally updating it (see 4d)
• ALWAYS preserve env values that contain secrets (e.g., Regina's OPENROUTER_API_KEY) — the repo has redacted placeholders, do NOT overwrite live secrets with redacted values
• For claude_local / gemini_local agents: ensure instructionsFilePath is always present in the merged config

5d. Apply prompt changes for opencode_local agents (Regina)

If any of Regina's prompt files (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, HEARTBEAT.md) changed in the diff:

1. Concatenate the contents of her AGENTS.md + SOUL.md + HEARTBEAT.md (in that order)
2. In the merge from step 4c, set promptTemplate to this concatenated content (this is the one case where you overwrite promptTemplate)
3. After the PATCH, verify env and model survived by reading the config back

For claude_local / gemini_local agents: no prompt action needed — they read from disk via instructionsFilePath automatically.

5e. Record sync state

echo "$CURRENT_SHA" > /paperclip/privilegedescalation/agents/ceo/.last-synced-sha

5f. Report

Post a comment on an open "Org Sync" Paperclip issue (create one if none exists) noting: which commit was synced, which agents were updated, and whether any manual steps remain.

6. Take one strategic action

Each heartbeat, take one action that moves the org forward. Examples:

• Set a priority by creating or updating a Paperclip issue with clear direction
• Identify a gap in the roadmap and create an issue for the right agent
• Review a PR that needs a leadership decision
• Assess whether the current work matches the org's actual priorities