heartbeat

WoterClip Heartbeat

Execute the WoterClip heartbeat cycle: pick up assigned Linear issues, resolve the right persona, do the work, and report back with structured comments.

Arguments:

• --dry-run — Show what would be picked up without doing work
• --persona <name> — Only pick issues matching a specific persona

Reference files (consult as needed during execution):

• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/comment-format.md — Comment templates and rules
• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/label-conventions.md — Label lifecycle and read-modify-write pattern
• ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/status-mapping.md — Linear states, sort order, inbox filtering

Step 1: Load Config & Lock

1. Read .woterclip/config.yaml. If missing, stop and instruct the user to run /woterclip-init.
2. Check for lockfile at .woterclip/.heartbeat-lock.
   • If lockfile exists and is less than stale_lock_hours old → stop with message: "Previous heartbeat still active. Skipping."
   • If lockfile exists and is older than stale_lock_hours → delete it, log: "Cleaned stale lockfile."
   • If no lockfile → proceed.
3. Create lockfile with current ISO timestamp.
4. On any exit path (success, error, or early return), delete the lockfile.

Check quiet hours: if quiet_hours.enabled and current time is within the quiet window:

• behavior: "skip" → delete lockfile and exit with message: "Quiet hours active. Skipping."
• behavior: "triage-only" → proceed but only load Orchestrator persona (skip worker personas in step 3).

Step 2: Check Inbox

1. Call mcp__claude_ai_Linear__list_issues with filter for assigned issues (assignee: "me").
2. Filter client-side:
   • Keep only issues with status "In Progress" or "Todo"
   • Skip issues without a persona label (unless Orchestrator is default and issue has no label)
   • Skip agent-blocked issues unless new human comments exist since the last agent comment (check via mcp__claude_ai_Linear__list_comments)
3. Sort:
   • Primary: status — In Progress before Todo
   • Secondary: priority — Urgent > High > Medium > Low > None
4. Detect stale agent-working labels: if an issue has agent-working but no heartbeat comment within stale_lock_hours, clean the stale label (remove agent-working, post cleanup comment).

Step 3: Pick Issue

1. If --persona <name> flag is set, filter to only issues matching that persona's label.
2. Pick the first issue from the sorted inbox.
3. If --dry-run, report what would be picked and exit:

   Dry run — would pick:
     WOT-XX [backend] "Issue title" (In Progress, High)
   Queue:
     WOT-YY [frontend] "Other issue" (Todo, Medium)
   

4. If no issues match → delete lockfile and exit: "No issues in queue. Heartbeat complete."

Step 4: Resolve Persona

1. Read the issue's labels. Find the persona label by matching against the personas map in config.
2. No persona label found → load the persona with is_default: true (typically Orchestrator).
3. Load persona files from .woterclip/<persona.path>/:
   • SOUL.md → inject into context as identity instructions
   • TOOLS.md → inject into context as tool guidance
   • config.yaml → read runtime settings

Apply runtime config from persona's config.yaml:

• model — note the target model (informational; cannot switch mid-session)
• thinking_effort — apply if supported
• max_turns — respect as work budget
• enable_chrome — note for browser-dependent tasks

Step 5: Validate Tools

Read required_tools from persona config. For each entry, verify the tool prefix is available:

• mcp__claude_ai_Linear should match any tool starting with mcp__claude_ai_Linear__
• If a required tool prefix has no matching tools available → stop work on this issue immediately
  • Post a blocked comment naming the missing tool
  • Apply agent-blocked label (read-modify-write)
  • Remove agent-working if present
  • Proceed to step 11 (next issue)

Step 6: Lock Issue

1. Call mcp__claude_ai_Linear__get_issue to read the issue's current labels.
2. If agent-working is already present (from a previous heartbeat on same issue), proceed without re-saving.
3. Otherwise, append agent-working to the labels array and call mcp__claude_ai_Linear__save_issue with the full label set.

Step 7: Understand Context

1. Read issue title, description, and all comments via mcp__claude_ai_Linear__get_issue and mcp__claude_ai_Linear__list_comments.
2. If the issue has a parent, read the parent issue for broader context.
3. Identify new comments since the last heartbeat (look for comments after the last WoterClip-formatted comment).
4. Parse heartbeat counter: find the last comment matching Heartbeat #N pattern. Next comment will be #N+1. If none found, start at #1.

Step 8: Do Work

Follow the persona's SOUL.md instructions. This step varies by persona:

Orchestrator persona: Triage the issue – apply persona labels, create sub-issues, or escalate. Never write code.

CEO persona: Make strategic decisions – prioritization, scope, architecture, coordination. Never write code.

Worker personas (backend, frontend, etc.):

• Use repo tools (Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob) to implement changes
• For large scope: create Linear sub-issues via mcp__claude_ai_Linear__save_issue with parentId set to current issue, team from config, and appropriate persona labels
• For small scope: work directly, use internal tasks to track progress
• Commit changes with descriptive conventional commit messages
• Respect max_turns from persona config as a work budget

If Linear MCP becomes unavailable mid-work: Stop immediately. Leave agent-working label in place (will be cleaned as stale on next heartbeat). Delete lockfile and exit with error log.

Step 9: Report

Post a structured comment on the Linear issue via mcp__claude_ai_Linear__save_comment.

Follow the comment format from ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/comment-format.md:

• Include Heartbeat #N counter (incremented from step 7)
• Include timestamp and duration
• Include persona name in footer
• List commits with SHAs, sub-issues created, and next steps
• For blocked status: name who needs to act (Board user from config linear.user_name)

Append heartbeat metadata to .woterclip/heartbeat-log.jsonl:

{"heartbeat": N, "timestamp": "ISO", "issue": "WOT-XX", "persona": "name", "duration_sec": N, "status": "in_progress|completed|blocked", "actions": ["description"]}

Step 10: Update State

Read the issue's current labels via mcp__claude_ai_Linear__get_issue, then update based on outcome:

Outcome	Labels	Status
Completed	Remove agent-working	Move to Done (or In Review if PR opened)
Blocked	Remove agent-working, add agent-blocked	Keep In Progress
More work needed	Keep agent-working	Keep In Progress

For blocked issues: include the Board user's display name in the comment text (e.g., "@Alex Kim — please review").

Step 11: Next Issue or Exit

1. If issues worked this heartbeat < max_issues_per_heartbeat, return to Step 2 to pick the next issue.
2. Otherwise, delete lockfile and exit.
3. If 0 todo issues remain in queue, suggest pausing the schedule.
4. If 3+ issues are blocked, suggest Board attention rather than more heartbeats.