# Agent Dispatch Pre-flight

## When this applies

Before starting `/loop ... /orchestrate`, `/dispatch`, or any unattended or overnight agent batch. Run this checklist once, before the loop starts — not mid-run.

## Checklist — all must pass before the loop starts

1. **CP reachable.** `curl -fsS "$CP_URL/health"` returns 200. `CP_URL` is defined in `claude/agent-runtimes-cp.md` — read that file for the correct value and any auth headers required.

2. **A dispatcher is polling.** Check the CP dispatchers endpoint (see `agent-runtimes-cp.md`). A queued task with no live dispatcher sits forever — confirm at least one dispatcher is active before queuing work.

3. **Scaffolding present.**
   - `.agent-tasks.json` exists and passes `jq empty .agent-tasks.json` (valid JSON).
   - All templates, repos, and input files referenced by tasks are resolvable from this host.
   - Agent push keys are loaded (`ssh-add -l`) — container agents push branches back; a missing key silently fails the push.

4. **Auth done this session.** `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN` is set in the environment or readable from `~/dev/claude/secrets/claude/long_lived_oauth_token`. Confirm before launching containers.

Do not start the loop until all four pass. Surface any failure to the user and wait for remediation.

## Circuit-breaker

Track task-state changes across invocations. After **5 consecutive invocations with no state change** (no task moved from pending→running, running→completed/failed, etc.): stop dispatching, print a stuck-queue report listing each task and its current status, and wait for the user. Never run an unattended loop without this guard.

## Recovery

If a dispatch batch needs to be aborted mid-run:

- Drain queued tasks: set pending tasks to `cancelled` in `.agent-tasks.json` before the next invocation so the orchestrator does not launch them.
- Let running containers finish or `docker stop` them explicitly.
- Re-dispatch from a clean state once the root cause is resolved.