feat(agent): COD-549 launch workers in existing project directories

.changeset/project-worker-directories.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"aicodeman": minor
+---
+
+Allow `codeman agent spawn` to start workers in the current project directory or an existing directory selected with `--working-dir`, while preserving explicit case quick-start behavior. A directory launch uses `POST /api/v1/sessions` followed by the mode's start route (`/interactive` or `/shell`), and its `--json` output is `{ sessionId, workingDir, created: true }`, plus `ready` when a readiness wait ran, `readinessError` when that call failed, and `startupError` when the start failed (exit 1). Only an omitted case means "use a directory": an empty case name still goes to quick-start, which refuses it, and an empty or whitespace-only `--working-dir` is refused locally (exit 4) before any request instead of resolving to the cwd. A cwd that resolves to the home directory is refused the same way, because the server would install its workspace hooks (and an injected skill) into `~/.claude`; an explicit `--working-dir ~` is still accepted.
+
+One change for named-case spawns too: an unknown `--mode` is now refused locally (exit 4) before any request, where it used to reach quick-start and come back as the server's 400 (exit 1).

README.md

@@ -982,6 +982,7 @@ The skill above drives the API with `curl` and `jq` from a preamble Codeman seed
 ```bash
 codeman agent ls                                          # sessions; * marks this one
 SID=$(codeman agent spawn scratch-1 --mode claude)        # quick-start + wait for the composer where the mode has a ready mark
+SID=$(codeman agent spawn --working-dir ~/src/app --mode codex)   # no case: an existing directory (cwd by default)
 codeman agent send "$SID" 'review src/, then say DONE' --until stop,exit --timeout 300000   # --wait = default signal set
 codeman agent read "$SID"                                 # last answer (as the server reads it for that mode)
 codeman agent read "$SID" --tail 3000                     # terminal tail, ANSI stripped (every mode)
@@ -994,7 +995,7 @@ codeman agent ack <msg-id>                                # remove what you hand
 codeman agent rm "$SID"                                   # any session except this one
 ```
 
-Rules the commands enforce rather than document: they refuse outside a Codeman session and never guess a URL; `send` transmits printable text plus Enter only (a control byte such as `Ctrl+C` is `app_exit` in opencode — ESC exists solely as `interrupt`, which never appends Enter); `rm` refuses an empty id, an unprovable self id and a prefix match in either direction. Ids may be the 8-character prefixes `ls` prints (resolved through the list; an ambiguous prefix refuses, anything shorter than 8 characters refuses on every verb). A prompt that starts with `-` goes after `--` (`send "$SID" -- "- fix the bug"`). The echo of the prompt you sent is output too: a `--match` marker that appears verbatim in the prompt matches at once, before the worker has done anything, so the prompt asks for it in halves. A remote session whose host is asleep answers a fire-and-forget `send` with `buffered` (Codeman wakes the host and types the prompt once the pane is back) or `dropped` (over the wake buffer's cap, nothing will be typed: exit `1`). Exit codes: `0` delivered/matched/signal, `1` error, `2` timeout, `3` the worker exited or the wait ended without an answer (`delivered:false`, `ended:true`), `4` refused. `spawn` prints the id alone on stdout (prose goes to stderr), so `SID=$(…)` captures exactly the id. `--json` prints the envelope's `data` for every verb. `--until stop` on a mode without hook signals is the server's 400, passed through — the marker path (`--match`) is the answer there, exactly as for the skill.
+Rules the commands enforce rather than document: they refuse outside a Codeman session and never guess a URL; `send` transmits printable text plus Enter only (a control byte such as `Ctrl+C` is `app_exit` in opencode — ESC exists solely as `interrupt`, which never appends Enter); `rm` refuses an empty id, an unprovable self id and a prefix match in either direction. Ids may be the 8-character prefixes `ls` prints (resolved through the list; an ambiguous prefix refuses, anything shorter than 8 characters refuses on every verb). A prompt that starts with `-` goes after `--` (`send "$SID" -- "- fix the bug"`). The echo of the prompt you sent is output too: a `--match` marker that appears verbatim in the prompt matches at once, before the worker has done anything, so the prompt asks for it in halves. A remote session whose host is asleep answers a fire-and-forget `send` with `buffered` (Codeman wakes the host and types the prompt once the pane is back) or `dropped` (over the wake buffer's cap, nothing will be typed: exit `1`). Exit codes: `0` delivered/matched/signal, `1` error, `2` timeout, `3` the worker exited or the wait ended without an answer (`delivered:false`, `ended:true`), `4` refused. `spawn` prints the id alone on stdout (prose goes to stderr), so `SID=$(…)` captures exactly the id. `spawn` with no case, or with `--working-dir`, starts the worker in that existing directory through `POST /api/v1/sessions` plus `POST /api/v1/sessions/:id/interactive` (or `/shell`) instead of quick-start, so no case is created and the directory is never labelled agent scratch; an empty `--working-dir` refuses (exit `4`) rather than falling back to cwd, and so does a cwd that is your home directory (Codeman's hooks would land in `~/.claude`), which needs an explicit `--working-dir ~`; if the start fails it still prints the created id and exits `1`. `--json` prints the envelope's `data` for every verb, except a directory `spawn`, which prints `{ sessionId, workingDir, created: true }`, plus `ready` when a readiness wait ran, `readinessError` when that call failed, and `startupError` when the start failed. `--until stop` on a mode without hook signals is the server's 400, passed through — the marker path (`--match`) is the answer there, exactly as for the skill.
 
 ### MCP server (`codeman mcp`): drive Codeman from any MCP client
 

docs/api-reference.md

@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@ request returns. The capture runs synchronous tmux calls on the server; the
 
 ## The `codeman agent` CLI (client over these endpoints)
 
-`codeman agent ls|spawn|send|wait|read|interrupt|rm|post|inbox|ack` (`src/cli-agent.ts`) is the command-line client for the endpoints above, for agents the skill does not reach (a pi or shell session, a machine without `jq`). It adds no route: `spawn` is `POST /api/v1/quick-start` (+ `wait-output` on the mode's `capabilities.composerReadyMark` from the CLI registry, where it declares one), `send` is `POST …/input` with `clientId`+`seq` (and `wait`/`waitTimeout` for `--wait` / `--until <signals>`; `delivered:false` without `duplicate` and `wait.ended` both exit 3 — the CLI never reports a dead worker as done), `wait` is `GET …/wait` (`--until`) or `GET …/wait-output` (`--match`, `from=buffer` by default), `read` is `GET …/last-response` or `GET …/terminal?tail=`, `interrupt` is `POST …/input` with a bare `\u001b`, `rm` is `DELETE …/sessions/:id`, and the inbox verbs map one to one onto the [agent inbox](#agent-inbox) routes (`post` → `POST …/inbox`, `inbox [id] [--wait]` → `GET …/inbox[?wait=]`, own inbox by default, `ack <ids…>` → `POST …/inbox/ack`); `ls` adds an `INBOX` column from `GET /api/v1/agent-inbox/summary` and drops it when that route does not answer. A fire-and-forget `send` to a sleeping wake-on-LAN host reads the route's `buffered` (own line, exit 0) and `dropped` (exit 1: the chunk is gone). An id may be the 8-character form `ls` prints, resolved through `GET /api/v1/sessions`; anything shorter refuses before any request, the same floor as `PARENT_SESSION_ID_MIN_PREFIX`. Every call carries `X-Codeman-Parent-Session`; only `spawn`'s quick-start carries `X-Codeman-Agent-Origin: codeman-agent-cli` (the agent-scratch label must never reach a request that cannot create the case directory). Basic auth comes from `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` or the data dir's `.env`. Server-side error codes are shown verbatim (`INVALID_INPUT: until=stop …` on a hook-less mode is not hidden); exit codes are `0` ok, `1` error, `2` timeout, `3` the session exited, `4` refused by a client-side guard (for `inbox --wait`, `3` only when `GET /api/v1/sessions` no longer lists the session; a wait the server ended otherwise, on a restart or a detach, is `2`). `post` takes text that starts with `-` as it is (a markdown file often does); text that is exactly an option (`--json`, `-h`) goes after `--`. See the README section "`codeman agent`" for the guards and `test/cli-agent.test.ts` for the pinned behaviour.
+`codeman agent ls|spawn|send|wait|read|interrupt|rm|post|inbox|ack` (`src/cli-agent.ts`) is the command-line client for the endpoints above, for agents the skill does not reach (a pi or shell session, a machine without `jq`). It adds no route: `spawn <case>` is `POST /api/v1/quick-start`, and `spawn` with no case (the caller's cwd) or with `--working-dir <dir>` (an existing local directory; combining it with a case, or an empty or whitespace-only value, refuses with exit 4 before any request; so does a cwd that resolves to the home directory, since the server would install its hooks there, so HOME needs an explicit `--working-dir ~`) is `POST /api/v1/sessions` with `workingDir`, `mode`, `name` and `parentSessionId` followed by `POST /api/v1/sessions/:id/interactive` or `/shell` (the mode's `capabilities.startMode`), never retried; either form then runs `wait-output` on the mode's `capabilities.composerReadyMark` from the CLI registry where it declares one. `send` is `POST …/input` with `clientId`+`seq` (and `wait`/`waitTimeout` for `--wait` / `--until <signals>`; `delivered:false` without `duplicate` and `wait.ended` both exit 3 — the CLI never reports a dead worker as done), `wait` is `GET …/wait` (`--until`) or `GET …/wait-output` (`--match`, `from=buffer` by default), `read` is `GET …/last-response` or `GET …/terminal?tail=`, `interrupt` is `POST …/input` with a bare `\u001b`, `rm` is `DELETE …/sessions/:id`, and the inbox verbs map one to one onto the [agent inbox](#agent-inbox) routes (`post` → `POST …/inbox`, `inbox [id] [--wait]` → `GET …/inbox[?wait=]`, own inbox by default, `ack <ids…>` → `POST …/inbox/ack`); `ls` adds an `INBOX` column from `GET /api/v1/agent-inbox/summary` and drops it when that route does not answer. A fire-and-forget `send` to a sleeping wake-on-LAN host reads the route's `buffered` (own line, exit 0) and `dropped` (exit 1: the chunk is gone). An id may be the 8-character form `ls` prints, resolved through `GET /api/v1/sessions`; anything shorter refuses before any request, the same floor as `PARENT_SESSION_ID_MIN_PREFIX`. Every call carries `X-Codeman-Parent-Session`; only `spawn`'s quick-start carries `X-Codeman-Agent-Origin: codeman-agent-cli` (the agent-scratch label must never reach a request that cannot create the case directory). Basic auth comes from `CODEMAN_PASSWORD` or the data dir's `.env`. `--json` prints the envelope's `data`, except a directory `spawn`, which prints `{ sessionId, workingDir, created: true }`, plus `ready` when a readiness wait ran, `readinessError` when that call failed, and `startupError` when the start failed (with `ready: false`, exit 1, the created id kept so the caller can inspect it). An unknown `--mode` refuses (exit 4) before any request, for a named case too. Server-side error codes are shown verbatim (`INVALID_INPUT: until=stop …` on a hook-less mode is not hidden); exit codes are `0` ok, `1` error, `2` timeout, `3` the session exited, `4` refused by a client-side guard (for `inbox --wait`, `3` only when `GET /api/v1/sessions` no longer lists the session; a wait the server ended otherwise, on a restart or a detach, is `2`). `post` takes text that starts with `-` as it is (a markdown file often does); text that is exactly an option (`--json`, `-h`) goes after `--`. See the README section "`codeman agent`" for the guards and `test/cli-agent.test.ts` for the pinned behaviour.
 
 `codeman mcp` (`src/mcp-server.ts`) is a Model Context Protocol server on stdio over the same endpoints, for MCP clients: `list_sessions` (`GET /api/v1/sessions`), `start_session` (`POST /api/v1/quick-start` with `X-Codeman-Agent-Origin: codeman-mcp`, then `wait-output` on the mode's ready mark), `send_prompt` (`POST …/input` with `wait`/`waitTimeout`), `wait_for_session` (`GET …/wait` or `…/wait-output`), `read_output` (`GET …/last-response` or `…/terminal?tail=`), `interrupt_session` and `delete_session`. It adds no route. The URL comes from `CODEMAN_API_URL` or `--url`, never a guess; prompting, interrupting and deleting are limited to sessions the process started (or the calling session's own children) unless it runs with `--allow-any-session`. See the README section "MCP server" and `test/mcp-server.test.ts`.
 

docs/wiki/Driving-Codeman-From-An-Agent.md

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ act outside a Codeman session. One line in a case's `AGENTS.md` is enough: *"oth
 ```bash
 codeman agent ls                                          # sessions; * marks this one
 SID=$(codeman agent spawn scratch-1 --mode claude)        # quick-start + wait for the composer where the mode has a ready mark
+SID=$(codeman agent spawn --working-dir ~/src/app --mode codex)   # no case: an existing directory (cwd by default)
 codeman agent send "$SID" 'review src/, then say DONE' --until stop,exit --timeout 300000
 codeman agent read "$SID"                                 # last answer (as the server reads it for that mode)
 codeman agent read "$SID" --tail 3000                     # terminal tail, ANSI stripped (every mode)
@@ -53,6 +54,20 @@ codeman agent ack <msg-id>                                # remove what you hand
 codeman agent rm "$SID"                                   # any session except this one
 ```
 
+- **`spawn [case]`** uses the current directory when no case is supplied. Use
+  `codeman agent spawn --working-dir /path/to/project --mode codex` for another existing
+  local directory. A case and `--working-dir` cannot be combined, and an empty case
+  name (`spawn "$CASE"` with `CASE` unset) is refused rather than read as "no case",
+  as is an empty `--working-dir` (exit 4, before any request), so it never falls back to cwd.
+  A cwd that is your home directory is refused the same way, because Codeman's hooks would
+  land in `~/.claude`; pass `--working-dir ~` to start a worker there on purpose.
+  Explicit case names retain quick-start behavior (creating a scratch case if missing).
+  A directory launch is `POST /api/v1/sessions` followed by
+  `POST /api/v1/sessions/:id/interactive` (or `/shell`); it preserves the project and
+  parent lineage, and never labels it as agent scratch. Choose a separate worktree for
+  each worker that will edit code. If startup fails or its response is lost, the CLI
+  reports the exact created session ID and exits `1`; inspect that session before
+  deciding what to do next.
 - **Ids** may be the 8-character form `ls` prints. Anything shorter refuses, and so does an
   ambiguous prefix.
 - **`send`** takes ONE quoted argument of printable text and presses Enter. A prompt that
@@ -68,7 +83,10 @@ codeman agent rm "$SID"                                   # any session except t
   **Keep agent inbox across restarts** is on (see [Settings Reference](Settings-Reference)),
   and goes when its session is deleted.
 - **Exit codes** are the same for every verb: `0` done, `1` error, `2` timeout, `3` the
-  worker exited, `4` refused. `--json` prints the response's `data`.
+  worker exited, `4` refused. `--json` prints the response's `data`, except a directory
+  `spawn`, which prints `{ sessionId, workingDir, created: true }`, plus `ready` when a
+  readiness wait ran, `readinessError` when that call failed, and `startupError` when the
+  start failed.
 
 ## The MCP server
 

plugins/codeman/skills/codeman/SKILL.md

@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ verbs over the same endpoints, with the guards below (no control bytes, no self-
 no guessed URL) enforced in code, and it is also your own way through when this
 machine has no `jq` for the preamble below.
 
+For an existing project, use one command:
+`codeman agent spawn --working-dir /path/to/project --mode codex`. With no case and
+no `--working-dir`, `spawn` uses cwd. Give editing workers separate worktrees. A
+positional case keeps quick-start behavior and cannot be combined with
+`--working-dir`; an empty `--working-dir` (`"$WT"` unset) refuses with exit 4
+rather than falling back to cwd, and a cwd that is HOME refuses too (hooks would
+land in `~/.claude`; pass `--working-dir ~` to mean it). Directory launches keep parent lineage and never
+mark the project as agent scratch. If startup fails or is ambiguous, the CLI
+reports the exact created ID: inspect it before retrying or cleaning up.
+
 ## 0. Guard and bootstrap
 
 If `CODEMAN_MUX` is not `1`, **stop and say so**. Do not guess an API URL; a server

plugins/codeman/skills/codeman/reference/messaging.md

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ own head: the worker enforcing the cap is the one who has to be told about it.
 
 | Job | Channel |
 | --- | --- |
-| spawn a worker, create its case | HTTP `quick-start` (the only path) |
+| spawn a worker, create its case | HTTP `quick-start` (the only path that creates a case); an existing directory is `POST sessions` + `interactive` (`codeman agent spawn --working-dir`) |
 | readiness, incl. the trust dialog | HTTP, Flow 1 (a message cannot answer a dialog) |
 | deliver a task to a READY claude worker | **messaging** (preferred) or HTTP input |
 | steer a BUSY claude worker mid-turn | **messaging** (read between the worker's tool calls; the HTTP path can only type into the composer, where text waits for the turn to end) |

plugins/codeman/skills/codeman/reference/verbs.md

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ wrong directory.** `quick-start` with a new `caseName` does not find your repo:
 |-------------------|------|------------------------------|
 | a fresh scratch dir (throwaway experiments) | `POST /api/v1/quick-start {"caseName":"scratch-1","mode":"claude"}` with a **new** case name | Codeman creates the directory and **writes hooks**: `stop` and `blocked` fire, send-and-wait is trustworthy |
 | a linked case (a real repo in the linked-cases registry) | same call with the linked name | **hooks installed at session create**, so `stop` fires here too. Not guaranteed: the operator can turn it off. Check |
-| any other absolute path, e.g. a git worktree you made | `POST /api/v1/sessions {"workingDir":"/abs/path","mode":"claude"}` then `POST /api/v1/sessions/:id/interactive` | same: **hooks installed at session create**, subject to the same setting. Check |
+| any other absolute path, e.g. a git worktree you made | `POST /api/v1/sessions {"workingDir":"/abs/path","mode":"claude"}` then `POST /api/v1/sessions/:id/interactive` (what `codeman agent spawn --working-dir /abs/path` sends) | same: **hooks installed at session create**, subject to the same setting. Check |
 
 Read `.data.casePath` back from the `quick-start` response and check it is where you
 meant. `caseName` accepts letters, digits, `-` and `_` only, and it resolves through

skills/codeman/SKILL.md

@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ verbs over the same endpoints, with the guards below (no control bytes, no self-
 no guessed URL) enforced in code, and it is also your own way through when this
 machine has no `jq` for the preamble below.
 
+For an existing project, use one command:
+`codeman agent spawn --working-dir /path/to/project --mode codex`. With no case and
+no `--working-dir`, `spawn` uses cwd. Give editing workers separate worktrees. A
+positional case keeps quick-start behavior and cannot be combined with
+`--working-dir`; an empty `--working-dir` (`"$WT"` unset) refuses with exit 4
+rather than falling back to cwd, and a cwd that is HOME refuses too (hooks would
+land in `~/.claude`; pass `--working-dir ~` to mean it). Directory launches keep parent lineage and never
+mark the project as agent scratch. If startup fails or is ambiguous, the CLI
+reports the exact created ID: inspect it before retrying or cleaning up.
+
 ## 0. Guard and bootstrap
 
 If `CODEMAN_MUX` is not `1`, **stop and say so**. Do not guess an API URL; a server