chore(orchestrator): fix pre-existing #868 README prettier drift

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/orchestrator/README.md fails
`pnpm format:check` on origin/main as-is (confirmed against the
unmodified origin/main blob directly, unrelated to this branch's
Patch-3 change). The repo-wide mandatory pre-push hook
(`pnpm typecheck && pnpm lint && pnpm format:check`) blocks any push
based on current main until this is fixed.

Whitespace/table-alignment only via `prettier --write` -- no content
change. Kept as its own commit so blame stays clean and this no-ops
cleanly whenever #868's own fix lands on main first.

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.ps1

@@ -185,6 +185,16 @@ switch ($platform) {
             $headSha = ($branchPayload.commit.id | Out-String).Trim()
         }
         catch {
+            # A not-yet-pushed feature branch has no in-flight pipeline, so the
+            # pre-push queue guard must treat 404 as "queue clear", not crash.
+            $statusCode = $null
+            if ($_.Exception.Response) {
+                $statusCode = [int]$_.Exception.Response.StatusCode
+            }
+            if ($statusCode -eq 404) {
+                Write-Host "[ci-queue-wait] branch $Branch not yet on remote — no in-flight pipeline; queue clear."
+                exit 0
+            }
             Write-Error "Could not resolve $Branch head SHA from Gitea API."
             exit 1
         }

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/ci-queue-wait.sh

@@ -137,7 +137,21 @@ gitea_get_branch_head_sha() {
     local branch="$3"
     local token="$4"
     local url="https://${host}/api/v1/repos/${repo}/branches/${branch}"
-    curl -fsSL -H "User-Agent: curl/8" -H "Authorization: token ${token}" "$url" | python3 -c '
+    # Capture HTTP status so an absent branch (404) is distinguished from an API
+    # error. A not-yet-pushed feature branch has no in-flight pipeline, so the
+    # pre-push queue guard must treat 404 as "queue clear", not crash.
+    local resp code body
+    resp=$(curl -sS -H "User-Agent: curl/8" -H "Authorization: token ${token}" -w $'\n%{http_code}' "$url")
+    code="${resp##*$'\n'}"
+    body="${resp%$'\n'*}"
+    if [[ "$code" == "404" ]]; then
+        echo "__BRANCH_ABSENT__"
+        return 0
+    fi
+    if [[ "$code" != "200" ]]; then
+        return 1
+    fi
+    printf '%s' "$body" | python3 -c '
 import json, sys
 data = json.load(sys.stdin)
 commit = data.get("commit") or {}
@@ -219,6 +233,10 @@ elif [[ "$PLATFORM" == "gitea" ]]; then
         exit 1
     }
     HEAD_SHA=$(gitea_get_branch_head_sha "$HOST" "$OWNER/$REPO" "$BRANCH" "$TOKEN")
+    if [[ "$HEAD_SHA" == "__BRANCH_ABSENT__" ]]; then
+        echo "[ci-queue-wait] branch ${BRANCH} not yet on remote — no in-flight pipeline; queue clear."
+        exit 0
+    fi
     if [[ -z "$HEAD_SHA" ]]; then
         echo "Error: Could not resolve ${BRANCH} head SHA." >&2
         exit 1

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Regression harness for ci-queue-wait.sh's 404-branch-absent handling.
+#
+# gitea_get_branch_head_sha() resolves a branch's head SHA before the
+# pre-push queue guard runs. A branch that has never been pushed doesn't
+# exist on the remote yet, so Gitea's branches/<branch> endpoint 404s.
+# Before the fix, `curl -fsSL` failed on the 404, its empty stdout was piped
+# into `python3 -c 'json.load(sys.stdin)'`, and the resulting
+# JSONDecodeError crashed the guard -- blocking every new feature branch's
+# first push. The fix must treat 404 as "no in-flight pipeline" (queue
+# clear) while still failing closed on a genuine API error.
+#
+# Covers:
+#   (a) 404 branch-absent          -> exit 0, "queue clear" message.
+#   (b) 200 existing branch + a terminal CI state -> unchanged behavior.
+#   (c) genuine API error (500)    -> still fail-closed (nonzero exit).
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+WORK_DIR="${MOSAIC_TEST_WORK_DIR:-$PWD/.mosaic-test-work/ci-queue-wait-branch-absent}"
+REPO_DIR="$WORK_DIR/repo"
+STUB_DIR="$WORK_DIR/stubs"
+
+rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$REPO_DIR" "$STUB_DIR"
+
+git -C "$REPO_DIR" init -q
+git -C "$REPO_DIR" remote add origin https://git.example.test/acme/widgets.git
+
+# Minimal curl stub. Selects a canned response by inspecting which Gitea
+# endpoint is being hit (branches/<branch> vs commits/<sha>/status) and
+# whether -w '%{http_code}' was requested. Only the patched branch-lookup
+# call passes -w; the unpatched call and the (unchanged) status call both
+# use plain `curl -fsSL` semantics -- exit nonzero and print nothing on a
+# non-2xx response. This lets the same stub exercise both the pre-fix and
+# post-fix branch-lookup code paths faithfully.
+cat > "$STUB_DIR/curl" <<'SH'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+has_w=0
+url=""
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        -w) has_w=1 ;;
+        http://*|https://*) url="$arg" ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+case "$url" in
+    */branches/*) mode="${MOSAIC_STUB_BRANCH_MODE:?MOSAIC_STUB_BRANCH_MODE not set}" ;;
+    */status)     mode="${MOSAIC_STUB_STATUS_MODE:-terminal-success}" ;;
+    *)
+        echo "curl stub: unrecognized URL: $url" >&2
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+esac
+
+case "$mode" in
+    404)  code=404; body="" ;;
+    200)  code=200; body='{"commit":{"id":"deadbeefcafef00d0123456789abcdef01234567"}}' ;;
+    500)  code=500; body='{"message":"internal server error"}' ;;
+    no-status)         code=200; body='{}' ;;
+    terminal-success)  code=200; body='{"state":"success"}' ;;
+    *)
+        echo "curl stub: unknown mode=$mode" >&2
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+esac
+
+if [[ "$has_w" == 1 ]]; then
+    printf '%s\n%s' "$body" "$code"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+# Unpatched branch-lookup call / status-endpoint call: real curl -fsSL
+# exits nonzero and emits nothing on stdout for a non-2xx response.
+if [[ "$code" != "200" ]]; then
+    exit 22
+fi
+printf '%s' "$body"
+SH
+chmod +x "$STUB_DIR/curl"
+
+run_ci_queue_wait() {
+    local branch="$1"
+    (
+        cd "$REPO_DIR"
+        export PATH="$STUB_DIR:$PATH"
+        export MOSAIC_CREDENTIALS_FILE="$WORK_DIR/no-credentials.json"
+        export GITEA_TOKEN="stub-token"
+        export GITEA_URL="https://git.example.test"
+        "$SCRIPT_DIR/ci-queue-wait.sh" -B "$branch" --purpose push -t 5 -i 1
+    )
+}
+
+fail=0
+
+# (a) 404 branch-absent -> queue clear, exit 0.
+set +e
+out_a=$(MOSAIC_STUB_BRANCH_MODE=404 run_ci_queue_wait "feat/not-pushed-yet" 2>&1)
+status_a=$?
+set -e
+if [[ "$status_a" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(a): expected exit 0 for 404 branch-absent, got $status_a" >&2
+    echo "$out_a" >&2
+    fail=1
+elif [[ "$out_a" != *"queue clear"* ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(a): expected a queue-clear message, got:" >&2
+    echo "$out_a" >&2
+    fail=1
+fi
+
+# (b) 200 existing branch + terminal CI state -> unchanged behavior, exit 0.
+set +e
+out_b=$(MOSAIC_STUB_BRANCH_MODE=200 MOSAIC_STUB_STATUS_MODE=terminal-success run_ci_queue_wait "main" 2>&1)
+status_b=$?
+set -e
+if [[ "$status_b" -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(b): expected exit 0 for existing branch with terminal status, got $status_b" >&2
+    echo "$out_b" >&2
+    fail=1
+elif [[ "$out_b" != *"sha=deadbeefcafef00d0123456789abcdef01234567"* ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(b): expected the resolved HEAD SHA to be logged, got:" >&2
+    echo "$out_b" >&2
+    fail=1
+elif [[ "$out_b" == *"queue clear"* ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(b): an existing branch must not take the branch-absent path" >&2
+    echo "$out_b" >&2
+    fail=1
+fi
+
+# (c) genuine API error (500) -> still fail-closed, exit nonzero.
+set +e
+out_c=$(MOSAIC_STUB_BRANCH_MODE=500 run_ci_queue_wait "feat/some-branch" 2>&1)
+status_c=$?
+set -e
+if [[ "$status_c" -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(c): expected a nonzero exit for a genuine 500 API error, got 0" >&2
+    echo "$out_c" >&2
+    fail=1
+elif [[ "$out_c" == *"queue clear"* ]]; then
+    echo "FAIL(c): a genuine API error must not be reported as queue-clear" >&2
+    echo "$out_c" >&2
+    fail=1
+fi
+
+if [[ "$fail" -eq 0 ]]; then
+    echo "ci-queue-wait branch-absent regression passed (3/3 cases)"
+fi
+
+exit "$fail"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/orchestrator/README.md

@@ -4,18 +4,18 @@ Helper scripts for r0 coordinator / orchestrator sessions — mission lifecycle,
 session health, continuation, and board maintenance. See
 `framework/guides/ORCHESTRATOR-PROTOCOL.md` for the surrounding process.
 
-| Script | Purpose |
+| Script               | Purpose                                                                                         |
-|--------|---------|
+| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `mission-init.sh` | Initialize a new orchestration mission (manifest, scratchpad, TASKS.md). |
+| `mission-init.sh`    | Initialize a new orchestration mission (manifest, scratchpad, TASKS.md).                        |
-| `mission-status.sh` | Show the mission progress dashboard. |
+| `mission-status.sh`  | Show the mission progress dashboard.                                                            |
-| `session-run.sh` | Generate continuation context and launch the target runtime. |
+| `session-run.sh`     | Generate continuation context and launch the target runtime.                                    |
-| `session-resume.sh` | Crash recovery for dead orchestrator sessions. |
+| `session-resume.sh`  | Crash recovery for dead orchestrator sessions.                                                  |
-| `session-status.sh` | Check agent session health. |
+| `session-status.sh`  | Check agent session health.                                                                     |
-| `continue-prompt.sh` | Generate the continuation prompt for the next session. |
+| `continue-prompt.sh` | Generate the continuation prompt for the next session.                                          |
-| `board-roll.sh` | Keep a LIVE orchestration board under its byte cap by rolling the oldest entries to its LEDGER. |
+| `board-roll.sh`      | Keep a LIVE orchestration board under its byte cap by rolling the oldest entries to its LEDGER. |
-| `smoke-test.sh` | Behavior smoke checks for the coord continue/run workflows. |
+| `smoke-test.sh`      | Behavior smoke checks for the coord continue/run workflows.                                     |
-| `test-board-roll.sh` | Regression harness for `board-roll.sh`. |
+| `test-board-roll.sh` | Regression harness for `board-roll.sh`.                                                         |
-| `_lib.sh` | Shared functions sourced by the above (state files, TASKS.md parsing, locks). |
+| `_lib.sh`            | Shared functions sourced by the above (state files, TASKS.md parsing, locks).                   |
 
 ## board-roll.sh
 
@@ -35,16 +35,23 @@ always-current `##` sections) is pinned and never touched:
 
 ```markdown
 # MOS ORCHESTRATION BOARD — LIVE state
+
 > protocol blockquote … (pinned)
 
 ## 🟦 Curated always-current section (pinned)
+
 …
 
 <!-- BOARD-ROLL:START -->
+
 ### 2026-07-22 (mid²²) — newest tick, stays longest
+
 …
+
 ### 2026-07-20 (dawn) — oldest tick, rolled first
+
 …
+
 <!-- BOARD-ROLL:END -->
 ```
 

packages/mosaic/package.json

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
     "lint": "eslint src",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
     "test": "vitest run --passWithNoTests && pnpm run test:framework-shell",
-    "test:framework-shell": "python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh"
+    "test:framework-shell": "python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@mosaicstack/brain": "workspace:*",