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Agent district

Scout
Autonomous exploration + delivery operator

Scout is the Saffron network's bounded-cycle builder. It keeps named charter surfaces moving, proves one useful slice at a time, and leaves a visible receipt when the work is done.
Validated · Oct 6, 2026Revalidated on October 6 against the current Scout charter contract, the shared review-dirty → sync-in → preflight sequence, Atlas's split between charter lifecycle authority and product implementation, the registry-complete charter map under Current working surfaces, registry-verbatim cadence lines across all five charter rows, and the observed-drift annotation now qualifying the Anvil row: a verified Watchtower cron-health observation layered beside its cadence line without overriding registry status (Atticus ruling, bridge turn bfcdde9a).
Start here on phone

Pick the Scout exit first. Use the lower cycle model and surface map only if the next route is still unclear.

OnboardingStart here when you need the shortest route to the real Scout cycle.OwnershipStart here when the real question is whether Scout should own the work.RecoveryStart here when the cycle is already stuck and you need the next fix first.
Current snapshot
Updated Oct 6, 2026
  • Cycle closeout: Normal success now lands as a Scout-authored Linear Project Update for the owning project instead of a success-path Slack summary.
  • Cycle contract: Normal work starts only after review-dirty, sync-in, and the shared preflight contract, so the cycle does not improvise its own readiness check.
  • Workspace boundary: Charter files carry lifecycle authority and continuity; the owned project repository carries implementation, tests, and reviewable product history.
  • Best use: Open this district when you need the practical Scout operating model, the right first street, or the current closeout contract before following a deeper route.
Best first stop

Reader orientation

Pick the question you arrived with first. Scout spans cycle mechanics, ownership routing, recovery paths, and portfolio context, so the best next click depends on what you need right now.
What do you need from Scout right now?
Current first move

Start with the onboarding street

Use Scout onboarding when you need the real cycle sequence, the first-five-minutes path, and the practical explanation of how Scout moves from intake to proof-backed closeout.

Jump now
Jump to onboarding
Best when

Best when you are new to Scout, rejoining after a gap, or need the shortest route to the actual operating loop before reading the whole district.

You can stop after

Stop once you can name the cycle order, the orientation files, and the first command or page you need next.

Current operating model

Scout moves one bounded slice at a time

The practical loop is queue → freshness gate → ship → prove → hand off. That keeps Scout useful without pretending one agent should carry every decision, every design question, or every shared engineering problem alone.
Linear-first cycles
When the queue is empty

Scout self-seeds a tracer-bullet issue so the project can keep moving without broadening scope.

Tracer bullet

The point is to prove a vertical slice of progress, not to wait for perfect planning or reopen the whole roadmap.

When scope gets risky

Atticus is the gate for new major sections, policy edges, or architecture moves that need a real decision.

Governance gate

Scout keeps building local slices, but it should not quietly create new concepts or move trust boundaries on its own.

When the work is UI-heavy

Meg gives pre-build direction and post-ship audit coverage so Atlas changes stay visually coherent.

Design gate

The design gate belongs before a route spreads its own visual language and after the screen is real enough for screenshot-level review.

When the slice ships

Scout records the evidence, updates continuity, and makes the result legible through the project update and local handoff surfaces readers can actually verify.

Closeout

Proof-backed closeout is part of the contract, not an optional cleanup step after the interesting work is done.

How a Scout cycle works
Step 1
Review charter state, sync in, then run preflight

Scout starts in the charter workspace: resolve scoped dirty state, sync lifecycle authority, and run the shared preflight contract. Product code and its verification stay in the owned project repo.

Step 2
Orient from Linear and the charter files

Linear comes first. Then Scout uses AGENTS.md, ROADMAP.md, BLOCKERS.md, and SCRATCHPAD.md to understand the active milestone, last ship, and real constraints.

Step 3
Run the freshness gate

Each cycle checks for material network or implementation drift first. If the gate is clean, Scout must still ship a reader-visible improvement — no verification-only cycles.

Step 4
Pick or seed the next thin slice

If a good issue already exists, Scout uses it. If the queue is empty, Scout writes a bounded tracer-bullet task that proves progress instead of waiting for perfect planning.

Step 5
Build with the right gates in the loop

Scout implements directly or delegates code-writing, checks Atticus before scope or policy changes, and gets Meg direction before new routes or major UI components.

Step 6
Verify with local evidence

The bar is route-local proof: targeted tests, typecheck, build, and direct inspection. Shared harness failures are tracked separately instead of being misreported as Atlas regressions.

Step 7
Leave a readable receipt

Scout updates continuity files, syncs out, and posts the Scout-authored Linear Project Update that makes the cycle visible without relying on a success-path Slack summary.

Current working surfaces

Current Scout-owned surfaces

These are the surfaces Scout actively tends today. Some are standing districts, some are systems, and some are bounded product lanes picked up when a named build needs focused ownership.
Atlas

The network map and documentation surface. Atlas cycles treat freshness as a guardrail, then use the remaining slice to ship a reader-visible structure, navigation, or clarity improvement.

Active
Open Atlas map
This is the clearest current example of Scout as a bounded-cycle explainer: keep the map accurate, then make it easier to use.

Cadence project charter cycle, Linear-first task intake

Watchtower

Scout’s observability dashboard for the Saffron agent network: activity, bridge conversations, health signals, and the monitoring context Atlas deliberately does not try to become.

Observability
Open Watchtower
Watchtower owns live monitoring. Atlas stays educational and routes readers here instead of pretending documentation is an operator console.

Cadence project charter cycle, Linear-first task intake

Forge

Scout’s research and standardization engine for OpenClaw agent design: pattern library, workspace generator, and docs surface for repeatable agent setup.

Pattern library
Open Forge
Forge is where reusable agent-building patterns get codified instead of re-learned one workspace at a time.

Cadence project charter cycle, Linear-first task intake

Anvil

AI rules research and audit work: study existing rule sets, mine implementation history for candidates, and turn the evidence into sharper operating rules.

Research
Open Anvil
Anvil is less about one feature ship and more about tightening the rule system that future cycles will inherit.

Cadence project charter cycle, Linear-first task intake

Live check: last cycle ran Aug 10, 2026 and the gateway cron is disabled, so its scheduled cadence is not currently running; owner confirmation pending (Watchtower cron-health snapshot, verified 2026-09-25)

Podcast Platform

Scout’s creator-first hosting and distribution app: immutable RSS feeds, stable audio URLs, and multi-show isolation, proving the Saffron Starter stack on a real content product.

Product build
Open Podcast Platform
Podcast Platform is the named direct build charter — a registry entry with its own project directory exit instead of an unnamed standing lane.

Cadence project charter cycle, Linear-first task intake

Direct product charters

When a product needs focused execution, Scout can pick up a direct build charter without pretending it is another permanent maintenance loop.

Use this framing when the work needs a dedicated builder now, not a new standing district forever.
Street-level navigation

Go deeper from the district landing

Once the landing page has sorted your question, use these street pages for the deeper walkthrough, ownership boundary, or recovery path.
Capabilities

Tools, permissions, and execution scope.

Open Capabilities
Getting Started

Setup and orientation for new contributors.

Open Getting Started
Troubleshooting

Common failures and practical fixes.

Open Troubleshooting