docs(federation): sync M3 backlog to origin/main reality (#671)

docs/federation/TASKS.md

@@ -93,15 +93,15 @@ Goal: Two federated gateways exchange real data over mTLS. Inbound requests pass
 
 | id        | status      | description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            | issue | agent  | branch                               | depends_on       | estimate | notes                                                                                                                                                    |
 | --------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----- | ------ | ------------------------------------ | ---------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| FED-M3-01 | not-started | `packages/types/src/federation/` — request/response DTOs for `list`, `get`, `capabilities` verbs. Wire-format zod schemas + inferred TS types. Includes `FederationRequest`, `FederationListResponse<T>`, `FederationGetResponse<T>`, `FederationCapabilitiesResponse`, error envelope, `_source` tag. | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-types             | —                | 4K       | Reusable from gateway server + client + harness. Pure types — no I/O, no NestJS.                                                                         |
-| FED-M3-02 | not-started | `tools/federation-harness/` scaffold: `docker-compose.two-gateways.yml` (Server A + Server B + step-CA), `seed.ts` (provisions grants, peers, sample tasks/notes/credentials per scope variant), `harness.ts` helper (boots stack, returns typed clients). README documents harness use.               | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-harness           | DEPLOY-04 (soft) | 8K       | Falls back to local docker-compose if `mos-test-1/-2` not yet redeployed (DEPLOY chain blocked on IMG-FIX). Permanent test infra used by M3+.            |
-| FED-M3-03 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/federation-auth.guard.ts` (NestJS guard). Validates inbound client cert from Fastify TLS context, extracts `grantId` + `subjectUserId` from custom OIDs, loads grant from DB, asserts `status='active'`, attaches `FederationContext` to request.                  | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-auth-guard        | M3-01            | 8K       | Reuses OID parsing logic mirrored from `ca.service.ts` post-issuance verification. 401 on malformed/missing OIDs; 403 on revoked/expired/missing grant.  |
-| FED-M3-04 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/scope.service.ts`. Pipeline: (1) resource allowlist + excluded check, (2) native RBAC eval as `subjectUserId`, (3) scope filter intersection (`include_teams`, `include_personal`), (4) `max_rows_per_query` cap. Pure service — DB calls injected.                | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-scope-service     | M3-01            | 10K      | Hardest correctness target in M3. Reuses `parseFederationScope` (M2-03). Returns either `{ allowed: true, filter }` or structured deny reason for audit. |
+| FED-M3-01 | done        | `packages/types/src/federation/` — request/response DTOs for `list`, `get`, `capabilities` verbs. Wire-format zod schemas + inferred TS types. Includes `FederationRequest`, `FederationListResponse<T>`, `FederationGetResponse<T>`, `FederationCapabilitiesResponse`, error envelope, `_source` tag. | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-types             | —                | 4K       | Reusable from gateway server + client + harness. Pure types — no I/O, no NestJS.                                                                         |
+| FED-M3-02 | done        | `tools/federation-harness/` scaffold: `docker-compose.two-gateways.yml` (Server A + Server B + step-CA), `seed.ts` (provisions grants, peers, sample tasks/notes/credentials per scope variant), `harness.ts` helper (boots stack, returns typed clients). README documents harness use.               | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-harness           | DEPLOY-04 (soft) | 8K       | Falls back to local docker-compose if `mos-test-1/-2` not yet redeployed (DEPLOY chain blocked on IMG-FIX). Permanent test infra used by M3+.            |
+| FED-M3-03 | done        | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/federation-auth.guard.ts` (NestJS guard). Validates inbound client cert from Fastify TLS context, extracts `grantId` + `subjectUserId` from custom OIDs, loads grant from DB, asserts `status='active'`, attaches `FederationContext` to request.                  | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-auth-guard        | M3-01            | 8K       | Reuses OID parsing logic mirrored from `ca.service.ts` post-issuance verification. 401 on malformed/missing OIDs; 403 on revoked/expired/missing grant.  |
+| FED-M3-04 | in-progress | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/scope.service.ts`. Pipeline: (1) resource allowlist + excluded check, (2) native RBAC eval as `subjectUserId`, (3) scope filter intersection (`include_teams`, `include_personal`), (4) `max_rows_per_query` cap. Pure service — DB calls injected.                | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-scope-service     | M3-01            | 10K      | Hardest correctness target in M3. Reuses `parseFederationScope` (M2-03). Returns either `{ allowed: true, filter }` or structured deny reason for audit. |
 | FED-M3-05 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/verbs/list.controller.ts`. Wires AuthGuard → ScopeService → tasks/notes/memory query layer; applies row cap; tags rows with `_source`. Resource selector via path param.                                                                                           | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-verb-list         | M3-03, M3-04     | 6K       | Routes: `POST /api/federation/v1/list/:resource`. No body persistence. Audit write deferred to M4.                                                       |
 | FED-M3-06 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/verbs/get.controller.ts`. Single-resource fetch by id; same pipeline as list. 404 on not-found, 403 on RBAC/scope deny — both audited the same way.                                                                                                                | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-verb-get          | M3-03, M3-04     | 6K       | `POST /api/federation/v1/get/:resource/:id`. Mirrors list controller patterns.                                                                           |
-| FED-M3-07 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/verbs/capabilities.controller.ts`. Read-only enumeration: returns `{ resources, excluded_resources, max_rows_per_query, supported_verbs }` derived from grant scope. Always allowed for an active grant — no RBAC eval.                                            | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-verb-capabilities | M3-03            | 4K       | `GET /api/federation/v1/capabilities`. Smallest verb; useful sanity check that mTLS + auth guard work end-to-end.                                        |
-| FED-M3-08 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/client/federation-client.service.ts`. Outbound mTLS dialer: picks `(certPem, sealed clientKey)` from `federation_peers`, unwraps key, builds undici Agent with mTLS, calls peer verb, parses typed response, wraps non-2xx into `FederationClientError`.                  | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-client            | M3-01            | 8K       | Independent of server stream — can land in parallel with M3-03/04. Cert/key cached per-peer; flushed by future M5/M6 logic.                              |
-| FED-M3-09 | not-started | `apps/gateway/src/federation/client/query-source.service.ts`. Accepts `source: "local" \| "federated:<host>" \| "all"` from gateway query layer; for `"all"` fans out to local + each peer in parallel; merges results; tags every row with `_source`.                                                 | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-query-source      | M3-08            | 8K       | Per-peer failure surfaces as `_partial: true` in response, not hard failure (sets up M5 offline UX). M5 adds caching + circuit breaker on top.           |
+| FED-M3-07 | in-progress | `apps/gateway/src/federation/server/verbs/capabilities.controller.ts`. Read-only enumeration: returns `{ resources, excluded_resources, max_rows_per_query, supported_verbs }` derived from grant scope. Always allowed for an active grant — no RBAC eval.                                            | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-verb-capabilities | M3-03            | 4K       | `GET /api/federation/v1/capabilities`. Smallest verb; useful sanity check that mTLS + auth guard work end-to-end.                                        |
+| FED-M3-08 | done        | `apps/gateway/src/federation/client/federation-client.service.ts`. Outbound mTLS dialer: picks `(certPem, sealed clientKey)` from `federation_peers`, unwraps key, builds undici Agent with mTLS, calls peer verb, parses typed response, wraps non-2xx into `FederationClientError`.                  | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-client            | M3-01            | 8K       | Independent of server stream — can land in parallel with M3-03/04. Cert/key cached per-peer; flushed by future M5/M6 logic.                              |
+| FED-M3-09 | in-progress | `apps/gateway/src/federation/client/query-source.service.ts`. Accepts `source: "local" \| "federated:<host>" \| "all"` from gateway query layer; for `"all"` fans out to local + each peer in parallel; merges results; tags every row with `_source`.                                                 | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-query-source      | M3-08            | 8K       | Per-peer failure surfaces as `_partial: true` in response, not hard failure (sets up M5 offline UX). M5 adds caching + circuit breaker on top.           |
 | FED-M3-10 | not-started | Integration tests for MILESTONES.md M3 acceptance #6 (malformed OIDs → 401; valid cert + revoked grant → 403) and #7 (`max_rows_per_query` cap). Real PG, mocked TLS context (Fastify req shim).                                                                                                       | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-integration       | M3-05, M3-06     | 8K       | Vitest profile gated by `FEDERATED_INTEGRATION=1`. Single-gateway suite; no harness required.                                                            |
 | FED-M3-11 | not-started | E2E tests for MILESTONES.md M3 acceptance #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #8, #9, #10 (8 cases). Uses harness from M3-02; two real gateways, real Step-CA, real mTLS. Each test asserts both happy-path response and audit/no-persist invariants.                                                                  | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-e2e               | M3-02, M3-09     | 12K      | Largest single task. Each acceptance gets its own `it(...)` for clear failure attribution.                                                               |
 | FED-M3-12 | not-started | Independent security review (sonnet, not author of M3-03/04/05/06/07/08/09): focus on cert-SAN spoofing, OID extraction edge cases, scope-bypass via filter manipulation, RBAC-bypass via subjectUser swap, response leakage when scope deny.                                                          | #462  | sonnet | feat/federation-m3-security-review   | M3-11            | 10K      | Two review rounds budgeted. PRD requires explicit test for every 401/403 path — review verifies coverage.                                                |
@@ -118,6 +118,8 @@ Goal: Two federated gateways exchange real data over mTLS. Inbound requests pass
 
 **Test bed fallback:** If `mos-test-1.woltje.com` / `mos-test-2.woltje.com` are still blocked on `FED-M2-DEPLOY-IMG-FIX` when M3-11 is ready to run, the harness's local `docker-compose.two-gateways.yml` is a sufficient stand-in. Production-host validation moves to M7 acceptance suite (PRD AC-12).
 
+**Backlog sync — 2026-06-24 (orchestrator):** Status reconciled against `origin/main` (release 0.0.48). Landed on main: **FED-M3-01** (DTOs, PR #506), **FED-M3-02** (harness scaffold, PR #505), **FED-M3-03** (mTLS auth-guard, PR #509 — CRIT-1/2 + HIGH-1..4 remediated in-PR), **FED-M3-08** (outbound mTLS client, PR #508). With M3-01/03/08 merged, three cards became dependency-clear and were dispatched to the idle coder lane: **FED-M3-04** scope.service → coder0 (`feat/federation-m3-scope-service`); **FED-M3-09** query-source + **FED-M3-07** capabilities verb → coder1 (`feat/federation-m3-query-source` first). Reviewer warmed for the M3 trust-boundary PRs. Remaining blocked-by-DAG: M3-05/06 (await M3-04), M3-10 (await M3-05/06), M3-11 (await M3-09), M3-12→14 (tail). Deploy chain (DEPLOY-IMG-FIX → 03/04) still independent of M3 code — harness local docker-compose fallback covers M3-11.
+
 ## Milestone 4 — search + audit + rate limit (FED-M4)
 
 _Deferred. Issue #463._

docs/fleet/north-star.md

@@ -353,6 +353,25 @@ re-evaluate if isolation or write-volume demands it.
 - **Docs as projections:** `docs/TASKS.md` and `MISSION-MANIFEST.md` become generated exports of the DB, not hand-maintained.
 - **Sub-decision pending:** dedicated schema in existing PG instance (recommended) vs. dedicated PG instance. Revisit if isolation or write-volume demands it.
 
+## Decisions of record (2026-06-24, with Jason)
+
+- **Per-agent model switch (operator-configurable, NOT a global lock):** model selection is
+  **per-agent**, never a host-global pin. Claude sessions MUST NOT be locked to a single model in
+  `~/.claude/settings.json`; each agent chooses its model independently. The plumbing already exists —
+  roster `model_hint` → `MOSAIC_AGENT_MODEL` → `start-agent-session.sh` appends `--model <hint>` to that
+  agent's harness (claude or pi); settable today via `mosaic fleet add|edit <agent> --model <hint>`.
+  **North-star target:** surface this as a **per-agent model switch in the webUI** (with CLI/TUI parity
+  per MVP-X1) — read the roster, expose a per-agent model dropdown, write `model_hint` back, and restart
+  that one agent to apply. Unset = inherit the harness default. This **composes with** the budget
+  downgrade ladder (opus → sonnet → haiku, then Claude → Codex): the operator sets the per-agent model
+  _intent/ceiling_; budget pacing may downgrade within policy. Tracked as a Fleet `TASKS.md` entry under
+  the Phase-5 webUI surface.
+- **Orchestrator runtime (confirmed live):** the **orchestrator and enhancer run Claude Opus 4.8 in the
+  Claude Code harness**; only workers (coder/reviewer) run pi/gpt-5.5. Consistent with the 2026-06-20
+  "Claude reserved for Claude Code only" decision (the orchestrator runs _in_ Claude Code, not an
+  alternate Claude harness). Pi/gpt-5.5 as the orchestrator is permitted **only if proven** at least as
+  satisfactory; absent that proof, the orchestrator stays on Claude Opus 4.8.
+
 ## Future enhancements (north-star, post-MVP — not on the MVP track)
 
 - **Mosaic Claude Discord Plugin** — a first-party Mosaic Discord connector that properly

packages/db/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@mosaicstack/db",
-  "version": "0.0.3",
+  "version": "0.0.4",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaicstack/stack.git",

packages/mosaic/framework/fleet/profiles/software-delivery.yaml

@@ -27,45 +27,49 @@ id: software-delivery
 title: Software Delivery
 description: >-
   The engineering fleet that turns ratified objectives into shipped, reviewed,
-  merged code. The lead (planner — the orchestrator seat) plans phased FRs into a
-  depends_on DAG, decomposition splits them into one-PR-each cards, coders execute
-  to green CI, and review / security-review / site-tester / merge-gate guard the
-  merge. This mirrors today's coding fleet.
-# NOTE: the canonical lead seat is the "orchestrator". In the persona library the
-# orchestrator IS the `planner` class (see roles/planner.md: "the planner role IS
-# the existing orchestrator class") — so the lead/floor reference `planner`, the
-# only class that actually resolves to a role contract.
-lead: planner
+  merged code. The lead (orchestrator) runs the supervisor loop and dispatches
+  ready work; it hands goal-decomposition to the planner, which plans phased FRs
+  into a depends_on DAG, decomposition splits them into one-PR-each cards, coders
+  execute to green CI, and review / security-review / site-tester / merge-gate
+  guard the merge. This mirrors today's coding fleet.
+# NOTE: the lead seat is the dedicated "orchestrator" — the always-on coordinator
+# that runs the supervisor tick, dispatches ready work, and routes PRs to the
+# merge-gate while holding only lean coordination state. The planner is now a
+# distinct seat (heavy goal-decomposition context) that reports to the
+# orchestrator. The two-agent floor is orchestrator + enhancer.
+lead: orchestrator
 floor:
-  - planner
+  - orchestrator
   - enhancer
 roster:
+  - class: orchestrator
   - class: board
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: decomposition
     reports_to: planner
   - class: code
     reports_to: decomposition
     multiplicity: 2
   - class: review
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: security-review
     reports_to: review
   - class: site-tester
     reports_to: review
   - class: documentation
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: merge-gate
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: rebase
     reports_to: merge-gate
   - class: operator
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: session-review
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
   - class: enhancer
-    reports_to: planner
+    reports_to: orchestrator
 notes: >-
-  Two-agent floor (orchestrator/planner + enhancer) is always staffed; every other
-  seat is added on demand.
+  Two-agent floor (orchestrator + enhancer) is always staffed; every other seat is
+  added on demand.

packages/mosaic/framework/fleet/roles/LIBRARY.md

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ their intro so tooling can group them.
 
 | Persona         | Purpose                                                                        |
 | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| orchestrator    | Always-on coordinator — runs the supervisor loop, dispatches ready work        |
 | board           | Multi-lens deliberation panel; owns the mission's direction, not its execution |
 | planner         | Turns ratified objectives into a phased FR plan wired into a `depends_on` DAG  |
 | decomposition   | Splits FRs into one-PR-each cards wired with `depends_on` edges                |

packages/mosaic/framework/fleet/roles/orchestrator.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Orchestrator — fleet role definition
+
+The **orchestrator** is one half of the fleet's two-agent floor: every fleet runs,
+at minimum, an **orchestrator** and an **enhancer**. The orchestrator is the
+fleet's **always-on coordinator and dispatcher** (`class: orchestrator`,
+`persistent_persona: true`) — it owns fleet _movement_, not the work itself.
+
+It is a **core, always-on** agent, not an ephemeral per-lane worker.
+
+## Mandate
+
+1. **Run the supervisor tick** — perform the readiness scan each loop and keep the
+   two-agent floor (orchestrator + enhancer) healthy, restoring it the moment it
+   drops below the floor.
+2. **Dispatch ready work** — pick up cards whose `depends_on` edges are satisfied
+   and assign them via the backlog/claim, so no idle agent sits while ready work
+   exists.
+3. **Delegate decomposition, don't do it** — hand goal-decomposition work to the
+   **planner**, which it coordinates; the orchestrator tracks the resulting plan
+   but does not author the DAG itself.
+4. **Route PRs to the merge-gate** — push reviewed, ready-to-land PRs at the
+   **merge-gate** (the only merge path); it never approves or merges itself.
+5. **Interface with the operator/user** — be the fleet's coordination surface,
+   relaying status and accepting direction, while holding only coordination state.
+6. **Keep the loop turning** — re-dispatch on completion or failure so the fleet
+   keeps moving rather than stalling.
+
+## Boundaries
+
+- **Does NOT decompose goals into the DAG/cards** — that is the **planner**'s lane,
+  which the orchestrator dispatches to.
+- **Does NOT write product/source code** (coders), **review** (review), or
+  **approve merges itself** (merge-gate).
+- **Does NOT carry deep per-task context** — it delegates and tracks, keeping its
+  own context lean so the coordination loop stays fast.
+
+The orchestrator moves work; it never holds the heavy planning or execution
+context that the seats it dispatches to carry.
+
+## Persona
+
+A lean, decisive coordinator. It thinks in readiness and throughput, dispatches the
+next ready card the instant a dependency clears, and never lets an idle agent sit
+while ready work exists — keeping its own context minimal so the loop never slows.
+
+> Doctrine: `docs/fleet/north-star.md` (two-agent floor + role library).

packages/mosaic/framework/fleet/roles/planner.md

@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 The **planner** turns ratified objectives into an executable **plan** — phased
 functional requirements (FRs) wired into a `depends_on` DAG.
 
-> **Alias:** the planner role IS the existing **orchestrator** class. The
-> orchestrator _plays_ planner; this file documents the planning contract, it does
-> **not** introduce a competing class. The two-agent floor (orchestrator +
-> enhancer) is preserved — do not split planner into a separate persistent agent
-> that would break it.
+> **Reports to the orchestrator.** The planner is the goal-decomposition seat that
+> the **orchestrator** dispatches planning work to; it carries the heavy
+> goal-decomposition context, while the orchestrator holds only the lean
+> coordination state. The two-agent floor is **orchestrator + enhancer** — the
+> planner is added on demand, not part of the floor.
 
 It is a **front-office** role.
 
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ It is a **front-office** role.
    between FRs so downstream decomposition can parallelize safely.
 3. **Emit a plan, not tasks** — the planner's output is the phased FR/DAG
    document. Splitting FRs into one-PR-each cards is the **decomposition** role's job.
-4. **Re-plan on failure** — when execution diverges, the planner (orchestrator)
-   re-sequences the DAG rather than letting agents improvise.
+4. **Re-plan on failure** — when execution diverges, the planner re-sequences the
+   DAG rather than letting agents improvise.
 
 ## Boundaries
 
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ merge path.
 ## Persona
 
 The architect of the mission's shape. It thinks in phases and dependencies, hands
-a clean DAG to decomposition, and keeps the orchestrator/enhancer floor intact.
+a clean DAG to decomposition, and reports its plan back to the orchestrator that
+dispatched it.
 
 > Doctrine: `docs/fleet/north-star.md` (two-agent floor + role library).

packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh

@@ -37,7 +37,14 @@ INSTALL_MODE="${MOSAIC_INSTALL_MODE:-prompt}"
 # packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-backlog.ts). Without these, an update
 # wipes the operator's fleet AND their backlog. Glob entries are honored by
 # both the rsync path (`--exclude`) and the glob-aware cp fallback below.
-PRESERVE_PATHS=("CONSTITUTION.md" "AGENTS.md" "SOUL.md" "USER.md" "TOOLS.md" "STANDARDS.md" "memory" "sources" "credentials" "fleet/*.yaml" "fleet/agents" "fleet/run" "fleet/backlog")
+#
+# fleet/roles.local — the persona OVERRIDE layer (H4). Baseline personas in
+# fleet/roles/ are reseeded normally on every update (delivering new baseline
+# personas), so any local edit there would be clobbered. User customizations
+# and user-ADDED personas instead live in fleet/roles.local/ and MUST survive
+# `mosaic update` — they win over the baseline on merge (AC-NS-7; see
+# packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-personas.ts).
+PRESERVE_PATHS=("CONSTITUTION.md" "AGENTS.md" "SOUL.md" "USER.md" "TOOLS.md" "STANDARDS.md" "memory" "sources" "credentials" "fleet/*.yaml" "fleet/agents" "fleet/run" "fleet/backlog" "fleet/roles.local")
 
 # Framework-owned contract files: re-copied from defaults/ on every upgrade (the
 # user must not edit them; a divergent copy is backed up once before overwrite).

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/fleet/start-agent-session.sh

@@ -114,10 +114,21 @@ MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX=$(_build_runtime_bin_prefix)
 # safe single bash token regardless of the name's characters.
 AGENT_NAME_Q=$(printf '%q' "$AGENT_NAME")
 
+# MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS must ALSO be exported INTO the pane, for the same reason as
+# MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME above: the pane inherits the tmux SERVER environment (not this
+# script's env, and not the systemd unit's EnvironmentFile), so the per-agent class
+# written to agents/<name>.env would otherwise be invisible in-pane. The launcher
+# composes the persona contract from process.env.MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS at launch
+# (compose-contract -> readPersonaContractBlock); without this export it sees an
+# undefined class and silently injects NO persona contract. %q-quote it so it is a
+# safe single bash token; an empty/unset class %q-quotes to '' and is a harmless
+# no-op downstream (readPersonaContractBlock returns '' for an empty class).
+AGENT_CLASS_Q=$(printf '%q' "${MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS:-}")
+
 if [ -n "$MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX" ]; then
-  PANE_SHELL_SNIPPET="export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=${AGENT_NAME_Q}; export PATH=\"${MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX}:\${PATH}\"; exec ${MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND}"
+  PANE_SHELL_SNIPPET="export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=${AGENT_NAME_Q}; export MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=${AGENT_CLASS_Q}; export PATH=\"${MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX}:\${PATH}\"; exec ${MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND}"
 else
-  PANE_SHELL_SNIPPET="export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=${AGENT_NAME_Q}; exec ${MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND}"
+  PANE_SHELL_SNIPPET="export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=${AGENT_NAME_Q}; export MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=${AGENT_CLASS_Q}; exec ${MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND}"
 fi
 
 mkdir -p "$MOSAIC_AGENT_WORKDIR"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/fleet/test-start-agent-session.sh

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ PATH="$FAKE_BIN:$PATH" \
 MOSAIC_TMUX_SOCKET="$SOCKET3" \
 MOSAIC_AGENT_WORKDIR="$WORKDIR3" \
 MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME="pi" \
+MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS="code" \
 MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN="$FAKE_RUNTIME_BIN" \
 MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND="mosaic yolo pi --model openai-codex/gpt-5.5:high" \
 MOSAIC_HEARTBEAT_RUN_DIR="$HB_RUN_DIR3" \
@@ -127,6 +128,18 @@ echo "$all_args" | grep -qF "exec " || fail "pane command does not use exec"
 echo "$all_args" | grep -qF "mosaic yolo pi --model openai-codex/gpt-5.5:high" || \
   fail "pane command does not forward MOSAIC_AGENT_COMMAND with flags intact"
 
+# d) MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME and the per-agent MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS must BOTH be exported
+#    INTO the pane. The pane inherits the tmux SERVER environment (not this
+#    script's env, nor the systemd unit's EnvironmentFile), so any per-agent var
+#    the launcher needs in-pane must be re-exported in the snippet. CLASS is
+#    load-bearing: the launcher composes the persona contract from
+#    process.env.MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS, so a missing export silently drops the
+#    persona (regression guard for the A3a pane-propagation gap).
+echo "$all_args" | grep -qF "export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=" || \
+  fail "pane command does not export MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME into the pane"
+echo "$all_args" | grep -qF "export MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=code" || \
+  fail "pane command does not export MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS into the pane (persona would silently drop)"
+
 # ── Test 4: when no extra runtime-bin dirs exist, exec still appears ───────────
 TMUX_ARGS_FILE2=$(mktemp)
 FAKE_BIN2=$(mktemp -d)

packages/mosaic/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@mosaicstack/mosaic",
-  "version": "0.0.45",
+  "version": "0.0.48",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaicstack/stack.git",

packages/mosaic/src/commands/compose-contract.spec.ts

@@ -164,4 +164,89 @@ describe('composeContract — overlay composer', () => {
     expect(composeContract('pi', fixture.home)).toContain('# pi runtime contract');
     expect(composeContract('codex', fixture.home)).not.toContain('# pi runtime contract');
   });
+
+  // ── Persona contract injection (A3b) ──────────────────────────────────────
+  // composeContract reads MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS and injects the resolved persona
+  // (override-aware). Save/restore the env so these tests don't leak state.
+  describe('persona contract (A3b)', () => {
+    let prevClass: string | undefined;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      prevClass = process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'];
+    });
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      if (prevClass === undefined) delete process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'];
+      else process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = prevClass;
+    });
+
+    const seedBaseline = (klass: string, body: string): void => {
+      mkdirSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roles'), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roles', `${klass}.md`), body);
+    };
+    const seedOverride = (klass: string, body: string): void => {
+      mkdirSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roles.local'), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roles.local', `${klass}.md`), body);
+    };
+
+    it('injects the baseline persona when MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS is set and a role file exists', () => {
+      seedBaseline('coder', '# Coder\n\n(`class: coder`)\n\nBASELINE-MANDATE: ship the lane.\n');
+      process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = 'coder';
+      const out = composeContract('claude', fixture.home);
+      expect(out).toContain('# Persona Contract (coder)');
+      expect(out).toContain('BASELINE-MANDATE');
+    });
+
+    it('OVERRIDE WINS at launch: roles.local persona is injected over baseline (AC-NS-7)', () => {
+      seedBaseline('coder', '# Coder\n\n(`class: coder`)\n\nBASELINE-MANDATE.\n');
+      seedOverride('coder', '# Coder (override)\n\n(`class: coder`)\n\nOVERRIDE-MANDATE.\n');
+      process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = 'coder';
+      const out = composeContract('claude', fixture.home);
+      expect(out).toContain('# Persona Contract (coder)');
+      expect(out).toContain('OVERRIDE-MANDATE');
+      expect(out).not.toContain('BASELINE-MANDATE');
+    });
+
+    it('does NOT inject a persona when MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS is unset', () => {
+      seedBaseline('coder', '# Coder\n\n(`class: coder`)\n\nBASELINE-MANDATE.\n');
+      delete process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'];
+      const out = composeContract('claude', fixture.home);
+      expect(out).not.toContain('# Persona Contract');
+    });
+
+    it('does NOT inject (no throw) when MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS names an unknown class', () => {
+      seedBaseline('coder', '# Coder\n\n(`class: coder`)\n\nBASELINE-MANDATE.\n');
+      process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = 'nonexistent';
+      expect(() => composeContract('claude', fixture.home)).not.toThrow();
+      expect(composeContract('claude', fixture.home)).not.toContain('# Persona Contract');
+    });
+
+    it('places the persona contract BEFORE the fleet comms block (identity, then peers)', () => {
+      seedBaseline('enhancer', '# Enhancer\n\n(`class: enhancer`)\n\nIMPROVE.\n');
+      mkdirSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet'), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(
+        join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml'),
+        [
+          'agents:',
+          '  - name: orchestrator',
+          '    class: orchestrator',
+          '  - name: enhancer',
+          '    class: enhancer',
+          '',
+        ].join('\n'),
+      );
+      const prevName = process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'];
+      try {
+        process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = 'enhancer';
+        process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'] = 'enhancer';
+        const out = composeContract('claude', fixture.home);
+        expect(out).toContain('# Persona Contract (enhancer)');
+        expect(out).toContain('# Fleet Comms');
+        expect(out.indexOf('# Persona Contract')).toBeLessThan(out.indexOf('# Fleet Comms'));
+      } finally {
+        if (prevName === undefined) delete process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'];
+        else process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'] = prevName;
+      }
+    });
+  });
 });

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-personas.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+import { cp, mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  extractClassesFromDir,
+  listPersonaClasses,
+  personaStatus,
+  resolvePersona,
+} from './fleet-personas.js';
+import { loadProfiles, validateProfile, type FleetProfile } from './fleet-profiles.js';
+
+// The real, committed library: packages/mosaic/src/commands -> framework/fleet.
+const frameworkFleet = resolve(
+  dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
+  '..',
+  '..',
+  'framework',
+  'fleet',
+);
+const realRolesDir = join(frameworkFleet, 'roles');
+
+let tmp: string;
+let rolesDir: string;
+let overrideDir: string;
+
+// A minimal baseline persona file with an inline `class:` + `domain:` marker.
+function baselinePersona(klass: string, domain: string, marker = 'BASELINE'): string {
+  return `# ${klass} — fleet role definition
+
+The **${klass}** is the ${marker} definition (\`class: ${klass}\`, \`domain: ${domain}\`).
+`;
+}
+
+function overridePersona(klass: string, domain: string, marker = 'OVERRIDE'): string {
+  return `# ${klass} — fleet role definition (override)
+
+The **${klass}** is the ${marker} definition (\`class: ${klass}\`, \`domain: ${domain}\`).
+`;
+}
+
+beforeEach(async () => {
+  tmp = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'h4-personas-'));
+  rolesDir = join(tmp, 'roles');
+  overrideDir = join(tmp, 'roles.local');
+  await mkdir(rolesDir, { recursive: true });
+  // Seed two baseline personas. (No override dir yet — created per test.)
+  await writeFile(join(rolesDir, 'ceo.md'), baselinePersona('ceo', 'executive'), 'utf8');
+  await writeFile(join(rolesDir, 'code.md'), baselinePersona('code', 'engineering'), 'utf8');
+});
+
+afterEach(async () => {
+  await rm(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('extractClassesFromDir (shared extraction)', () => {
+  it('records class + domain from inline markers and degrades on missing dir', async () => {
+    const base = await extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir);
+    expect(base.classes.has('ceo')).toBe(true);
+    expect(base.byClass.get('ceo')?.domain).toBe('executive');
+    const missing = await extractClassesFromDir(join(tmp, 'nope'));
+    expect(missing.classes.size).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('resolvePersona — override wins', () => {
+  it('resolves to the override when a class exists in BOTH layers', async () => {
+    await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(overrideDir, 'ceo.md'), overridePersona('ceo', 'executive'), 'utf8');
+
+    const resolved = await resolvePersona('ceo', { rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(resolved?.layer).toBe('override');
+    expect(resolved?.content).toContain('OVERRIDE');
+    expect(resolved?.file).toBe(join(overrideDir, 'ceo.md'));
+  });
+
+  it('resolves to the baseline when no override exists', async () => {
+    const resolved = await resolvePersona('code', { rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(resolved?.layer).toBe('baseline');
+    expect(resolved?.content).toContain('BASELINE');
+  });
+
+  it('returns null for an unknown class', async () => {
+    expect(await resolvePersona('does-not-exist', { rolesDir, overrideDir })).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('custom add — override-only class', () => {
+  it('a class present only in roles.local/ appears in listPersonaClasses and resolves', async () => {
+    await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(
+      join(overrideDir, 'mascot.md'),
+      overridePersona('mascot', 'fun', 'CUSTOM'),
+      'utf8',
+    );
+
+    const classes = await listPersonaClasses({ rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(classes.has('mascot')).toBe(true);
+    // Baseline classes are still present (union).
+    expect(classes.has('ceo')).toBe(true);
+
+    const resolved = await resolvePersona('mascot', { rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(resolved?.layer).toBe('override');
+    expect(resolved?.content).toContain('CUSTOM');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('personaStatus classification', () => {
+  it('classifies baseline / overridden / custom correctly', async () => {
+    await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    // ceo: overridden (both). code: baseline (only base). mascot: custom (only override).
+    await writeFile(join(overrideDir, 'ceo.md'), overridePersona('ceo', 'executive'), 'utf8');
+    await writeFile(join(overrideDir, 'mascot.md'), overridePersona('mascot', 'fun'), 'utf8');
+
+    const status = await personaStatus({ rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    const byClass = new Map(status.map((s) => [s.klass, s]));
+    expect(byClass.get('ceo')?.status).toBe('overridden');
+    expect(byClass.get('code')?.status).toBe('baseline');
+    expect(byClass.get('mascot')?.status).toBe('custom');
+    // Domain surfaced.
+    expect(byClass.get('ceo')?.domain).toBe('executive');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('AC-NS-7 — update-survival simulation', () => {
+  it('override and custom-added class survive a baseline reseed', async () => {
+    // 1. User customizes ceo and adds a brand-new persona in the override layer.
+    await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(overrideDir, 'ceo.md'), overridePersona('ceo', 'executive'), 'utf8');
+    await writeFile(
+      join(overrideDir, 'mascot.md'),
+      overridePersona('mascot', 'fun', 'CUSTOM'),
+      'utf8',
+    );
+
+    // 2. Simulate `mosaic update`: REPLACE the baseline roles/ entirely (as the
+    //    framework reseed/rsync does), leaving roles.local/ untouched. The reseed
+    //    even ships a NEW baseline ceo and adds a brand-new baseline persona.
+    await rm(rolesDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    await mkdir(rolesDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(
+      join(rolesDir, 'ceo.md'),
+      baselinePersona('ceo', 'executive', 'RESEEDED-BASELINE'),
+      'utf8',
+    );
+    await writeFile(join(rolesDir, 'code.md'), baselinePersona('code', 'engineering'), 'utf8');
+    await writeFile(join(rolesDir, 'new-role.md'), baselinePersona('new-role', 'ops'), 'utf8');
+
+    // 3. The override STILL wins (was not clobbered by the reseed).
+    const ceo = await resolvePersona('ceo', { rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(ceo?.layer).toBe('override');
+    expect(ceo?.content).toContain('OVERRIDE');
+    expect(ceo?.content).not.toContain('RESEEDED-BASELINE');
+
+    // 4. The custom-added class still exists and resolves.
+    const mascot = await resolvePersona('mascot', { rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(mascot?.layer).toBe('override');
+    expect(mascot?.content).toContain('CUSTOM');
+
+    // 5. New baseline personas from the reseed are now visible too.
+    const classes = await listPersonaClasses({ rolesDir, overrideDir });
+    expect(classes.has('new-role')).toBe(true);
+    expect(classes.has('mascot')).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('fleet-profiles validation accepts a custom (override-only) persona', () => {
+  it('a profile referencing an override-only class validates', async () => {
+    // Build a profiles dir + roles using the REAL library plus a custom persona.
+    const profilesDir = join(tmp, 'profiles');
+    const customRolesDir = join(tmp, 'real-roles');
+    const customOverrideDir = join(tmp, 'real-roles.local');
+    await mkdir(profilesDir, { recursive: true });
+    await cp(realRolesDir, customRolesDir, { recursive: true });
+    await mkdir(customOverrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(join(customOverrideDir, 'mascot.md'), overridePersona('mascot', 'fun'), 'utf8');
+
+    // A profile whose roster references the custom (override-only) persona.
+    const profileYaml = [
+      'id: custom-team',
+      'title: Custom Team',
+      'description: A team that uses a user-added persona.',
+      'lead: ceo',
+      'floor:',
+      '  - ceo',
+      'roster:',
+      '  - class: ceo',
+      '  - class: mascot',
+      '    reports_to: ceo',
+    ].join('\n');
+    await writeFile(join(profilesDir, 'custom-team.yaml'), profileYaml, 'utf8');
+
+    // Override-aware loadProfiles must accept it (would throw if mascot unknown).
+    const profiles = await loadProfiles({
+      profilesDir,
+      rolesDir: customRolesDir,
+      overrideDir: customOverrideDir,
+    });
+    const team = profiles.find((p: FleetProfile) => p.id === 'custom-team');
+    expect(team).toBeDefined();
+
+    // And direct validation against the union confirms zero problems.
+    const validClasses = await listPersonaClasses({
+      rolesDir: customRolesDir,
+      overrideDir: customOverrideDir,
+    });
+    expect(validateProfile(team as FleetProfile, validClasses)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-personas.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,512 @@
+/**
+ * Persona override layer + resolver (North Star H4).
+ *
+ * Baseline personas are markdown role contracts seeded by the framework into
+ *   <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles/*.md
+ * They are RESEEDED on every `mosaic update` (so new baseline personas ship to
+ * existing installs). That reseed is exactly what would clobber any local edit,
+ * so user customizations must NOT live in roles/.
+ *
+ * The override layer is a sibling directory:
+ *   <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles.local/*.md
+ * It is PRESERVE-protected in install.sh (see PRESERVE_PATHS "fleet/roles.local"),
+ * so `mosaic update` never deletes it while roles/ keeps reseeding. An override
+ * file WINS over the baseline of the same class, and an override file may ADD an
+ * entirely new class that has no baseline at all. This delivers AC-NS-7: a
+ * user-customized persona survives `mosaic update`.
+ *
+ * Class identity is encoded INLINE in the role prose, not as YAML frontmatter:
+ *   (`class: ceo`, `domain: executive`)
+ * The marker value may wrap across a newline. A few engineering personas carry
+ * no marker at all and are identified by filename (e.g. planner -> orchestrator).
+ *
+ * The class-extraction logic here is the SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH for "what
+ * persona classes exist"; fleet-profiles.ts imports it (DRY) so a profile roster
+ * can reference a customized or user-added persona.
+ */
+
+import { readFileSync, readdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { readFile, readdir } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { homedir } from 'node:os';
+import { basename, join } from 'node:path';
+import type { Command } from 'commander';
+
+function defaultMosaicHome(): string {
+  return process.env['MOSAIC_HOME'] ?? join(homedir(), '.config', 'mosaic');
+}
+
+/** Baseline persona role contracts (reseeded on update). */
+export function defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome = defaultMosaicHome()): string {
+  return join(mosaicHome, 'fleet', 'roles');
+}
+
+/** PRESERVE-protected override layer (survives update; wins on merge). */
+export function defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome = defaultMosaicHome()): string {
+  return join(mosaicHome, 'fleet', 'roles.local');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Match a `class: X` marker even when the value wrapped onto the next line.
+ * Allow surrounding backtick(s); the value is a single kebab-case token.
+ * Shared by every caller so the definition of "a class marker" lives once.
+ */
+const CLASS_MARKER = /`?class:\s*\n?\s*([a-z][a-z0-9-]*)`?/g;
+/** Optional `domain: Y` marker that travels alongside the class in the prose. */
+const DOMAIN_MARKER = /`?domain:\s*\n?\s*([a-z][a-z0-9-]*)`?/;
+/** LIBRARY.md persona rows: the first table cell is the persona name. */
+const LIBRARY_ROW = /^\|\s*([a-z][a-z0-9-]*)\s*\|/gm;
+
+/** Where a resolved persona's definition came from. */
+export type PersonaLayer = 'baseline' | 'override';
+
+/** One discovered persona file (a single role contract on disk). */
+export interface PersonaFile {
+  klass: string;
+  /** The markdown file the class was found in. */
+  file: string;
+  domain?: string;
+}
+
+/** The set of persona classes a directory of role contracts defines. */
+export interface DirClasses {
+  /** Every class name the dir contributes (markers + filenames + LIBRARY rows). */
+  classes: Set<string>;
+  /** For classes whose file carries a marker, the file + domain that defined it. */
+  byClass: Map<string, PersonaFile>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Scan one directory of role contracts and extract the persona classes it
+ * defines. THIS is the shared extraction both fleet-personas and fleet-profiles
+ * rely on. Sources, unioned (each needed — see module doc):
+ *   1. inline `class: X` markers in roles/*.md (primary; may wrap a newline),
+ *   2. persona-name cells from LIBRARY.md index tables,
+ *   3. the role filename stem (covers marker-less alias docs like planner).
+ *
+ * Missing dir / unreadable files degrade gracefully to whatever was found.
+ * `byClass` records the defining file+domain for marker-bearing classes so the
+ * resolver can map a class back to its file; filename-only and LIBRARY-only
+ * classes still appear in `classes` for membership checks.
+ */
+export async function extractClassesFromDir(dir: string): Promise<DirClasses> {
+  const acc: DirClasses = { classes: new Set<string>(), byClass: new Map<string, PersonaFile>() };
+  let entries: string[];
+  try {
+    entries = await readdir(dir);
+  } catch {
+    return acc;
+  }
+
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    if (!entry.endsWith('.md')) continue;
+    let text: string;
+    try {
+      text = await readFile(join(dir, entry), 'utf8');
+    } catch {
+      continue;
+    }
+    accumulateEntry(acc, dir, entry, text);
+  }
+  return acc;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Synchronous twin of {@link extractClassesFromDir}. Identical extraction
+ * semantics (same markers, same union of marker/filename/LIBRARY sources) on
+ * sync fs, for the synchronous launch-time prompt path (composeContract) which
+ * cannot await. Missing dir / unreadable files degrade gracefully.
+ */
+export function extractClassesFromDirSync(dir: string): DirClasses {
+  const acc: DirClasses = { classes: new Set<string>(), byClass: new Map<string, PersonaFile>() };
+  let entries: string[];
+  try {
+    entries = readdirSync(dir);
+  } catch {
+    return acc;
+  }
+
+  for (const entry of entries) {
+    if (!entry.endsWith('.md')) continue;
+    let text: string;
+    try {
+      text = readFileSync(join(dir, entry), 'utf8');
+    } catch {
+      continue;
+    }
+    accumulateEntry(acc, dir, entry, text);
+  }
+  return acc;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Apply the class-extraction rules for ONE role file's text into `acc`. Pure
+ * over already-read content, so the async and sync directory scanners share a
+ * single definition of "what classes a file contributes" (DRY — no semantic
+ * drift between the launch-time and command-time paths).
+ */
+function accumulateEntry(acc: DirClasses, dir: string, entry: string, text: string): void {
+  const { classes, byClass } = acc;
+  if (entry === 'LIBRARY.md') {
+    for (const m of text.matchAll(LIBRARY_ROW)) {
+      const name = m[1];
+      if (name && name !== 'persona') classes.add(name);
+    }
+    return;
+  }
+  // The filename stem is itself a valid class (covers marker-less alias docs).
+  const stem = basename(entry, '.md');
+  classes.add(stem);
+  const domainMatch = DOMAIN_MARKER.exec(text);
+  const domain = domainMatch?.[1];
+  let markedClassForFile: string | undefined;
+  for (const m of text.matchAll(CLASS_MARKER)) {
+    const klass = m[1];
+    if (!klass) continue;
+    classes.add(klass);
+    // Record the FIRST marker as the file's defining class (the prose names
+    // the persona's own class up top; later mentions reference siblings).
+    if (!markedClassForFile) {
+      markedClassForFile = klass;
+      byClass.set(klass, { klass, file: join(dir, entry), ...(domain ? { domain } : {}) });
+    }
+  }
+  // A marker-less file still maps its stem to itself (no domain known).
+  if (!markedClassForFile && !byClass.has(stem)) {
+    byClass.set(stem, { klass: stem, file: join(dir, entry) });
+  }
+}
+
+export interface PersonaDirs {
+  /** Baseline roles dir. Defaults to <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles. */
+  rolesDir?: string;
+  /** Override dir. Defaults to <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles.local. */
+  overrideDir?: string;
+  mosaicHome?: string;
+}
+
+function resolveDirs(opts: PersonaDirs): { rolesDir: string; overrideDir: string } {
+  const mosaicHome = opts.mosaicHome ?? defaultMosaicHome();
+  return {
+    rolesDir: opts.rolesDir ?? defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome),
+    overrideDir: opts.overrideDir ?? defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * UNION of baseline classes and override classes. Overrides may ADD entirely new
+ * classes not present in the baseline, so callers (e.g. profile roster
+ * validation) treat a user-added persona as a real class.
+ */
+export async function listPersonaClasses(opts: PersonaDirs = {}): Promise<Set<string>> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const [base, over] = await Promise.all([
+    extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir),
+    extractClassesFromDir(overrideDir),
+  ]);
+  const union = new Set<string>(base.classes);
+  for (const c of over.classes) union.add(c);
+  return union;
+}
+
+export type PersonaStatus = 'baseline' | 'overridden' | 'custom';
+
+export interface PersonaResolution {
+  klass: string;
+  layer: PersonaLayer;
+  /** The file the resolved persona was read from (override wins). */
+  file: string;
+  content: string;
+  domain?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve a persona class to its winning definition: the override file if
+ * roles.local/ defines that class, else the baseline. Match by inline `class:`
+ * marker first, then by filename stem (roles.local/<klass>.md) as a fallback.
+ * Returns null if neither layer defines the class.
+ */
+export async function resolvePersona(
+  klass: string,
+  opts: PersonaDirs = {},
+): Promise<PersonaResolution | null> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const [base, over] = await Promise.all([
+    extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir),
+    extractClassesFromDir(overrideDir),
+  ]);
+  return resolvePersonaFrom(klass, { rolesDir, overrideDir, base, over });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Resolve a single class against ALREADY-EXTRACTED layer maps. Callers that
+ * resolve many classes against the same two directories (e.g. provisioning a
+ * full roster) should {@link extractClassesFromDir} each dir ONCE and reuse the
+ * result here, rather than paying a full directory re-scan per class. Precedence
+ * is identical to {@link resolvePersona}: override layer wins, then baseline.
+ */
+export async function resolvePersonaFrom(
+  klass: string,
+  layers: { rolesDir: string; overrideDir: string; base: DirClasses; over: DirClasses },
+): Promise<PersonaResolution | null> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir, base, over } = layers;
+
+  const fromLayer = async (
+    dir: string,
+    extracted: DirClasses,
+    layer: PersonaLayer,
+  ): Promise<PersonaResolution | null> => {
+    // Prefer the marker-defined file; fall back to the filename stem.
+    let pf = extracted.byClass.get(klass);
+    if (!pf) {
+      const byName = join(dir, `${klass}.md`);
+      if (!extracted.classes.has(klass)) return null;
+      // Class known only via filename/LIBRARY: read the stem file if present.
+      try {
+        const content = await readFile(byName, 'utf8');
+        const dm = DOMAIN_MARKER.exec(content);
+        return { klass, layer, file: byName, content, ...(dm?.[1] ? { domain: dm[1] } : {}) };
+      } catch {
+        return null;
+      }
+    }
+    try {
+      const content = await readFile(pf.file, 'utf8');
+      return { klass, layer, file: pf.file, content, ...(pf.domain ? { domain: pf.domain } : {}) };
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    (await fromLayer(overrideDir, over, 'override')) ??
+    (await fromLayer(rolesDir, base, 'baseline'))
+  );
+}
+
+/**
+ * Synchronous twin of {@link resolvePersona} — same override-wins precedence
+ * (roles.local/ beats roles/, by marker first then filename stem), returning
+ * null if neither layer defines the class. Exists for the synchronous launch
+ * prompt path (composeContract → readPersonaContractBlock) which cannot await.
+ * Keeping it here, beside the async resolver, keeps the resolution semantics in
+ * one module so the launch-time and command-time resolutions never diverge.
+ */
+export function resolvePersonaSync(
+  klass: string,
+  opts: PersonaDirs = {},
+): PersonaResolution | null {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const base = extractClassesFromDirSync(rolesDir);
+  const over = extractClassesFromDirSync(overrideDir);
+
+  const fromLayer = (
+    dir: string,
+    extracted: DirClasses,
+    layer: PersonaLayer,
+  ): PersonaResolution | null => {
+    // Prefer the marker-defined file; fall back to the filename stem.
+    const pf = extracted.byClass.get(klass);
+    if (!pf) {
+      if (!extracted.classes.has(klass)) return null;
+      const byName = join(dir, `${klass}.md`);
+      try {
+        const content = readFileSync(byName, 'utf8');
+        const dm = DOMAIN_MARKER.exec(content);
+        return { klass, layer, file: byName, content, ...(dm?.[1] ? { domain: dm[1] } : {}) };
+      } catch {
+        return null;
+      }
+    }
+    try {
+      const content = readFileSync(pf.file, 'utf8');
+      return { klass, layer, file: pf.file, content, ...(pf.domain ? { domain: pf.domain } : {}) };
+    } catch {
+      return null;
+    }
+  };
+
+  return fromLayer(overrideDir, over, 'override') ?? fromLayer(rolesDir, base, 'baseline');
+}
+
+export interface PersonaStatusEntry {
+  klass: string;
+  status: PersonaStatus;
+  domain?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Classify every known class:
+ *   - baseline   — present only in roles/
+ *   - overridden — present in BOTH roles/ and roles.local/ (override wins)
+ *   - custom     — present only in roles.local/ (user-added)
+ * Domain is taken from the WINNING layer (override domain wins if present).
+ */
+export async function personaStatus(opts: PersonaDirs = {}): Promise<PersonaStatusEntry[]> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const [base, over] = await Promise.all([
+    extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir),
+    extractClassesFromDir(overrideDir),
+  ]);
+
+  const all = new Set<string>([...base.classes, ...over.classes]);
+  const domainOf = (extracted: DirClasses, klass: string): string | undefined =>
+    extracted.byClass.get(klass)?.domain;
+
+  const entries: PersonaStatusEntry[] = [];
+  for (const klass of all) {
+    const inBase = base.classes.has(klass);
+    const inOver = over.classes.has(klass);
+    const status: PersonaStatus = inOver ? (inBase ? 'overridden' : 'custom') : 'baseline';
+    const domain = (inOver ? domainOf(over, klass) : undefined) ?? domainOf(base, klass);
+    entries.push({ klass, status, ...(domain ? { domain } : {}) });
+  }
+  entries.sort((a, b) => a.klass.localeCompare(b.klass));
+  return entries;
+}
+
+// ─── CLI: `mosaic fleet persona <list|show|customize>` ───────────────────────
+
+function printPersonaList(entries: PersonaStatusEntry[]): void {
+  if (entries.length === 0) {
+    console.log('(no personas)');
+    return;
+  }
+  for (const e of entries) {
+    console.log(`${e.klass}\t[${e.status}]\tdomain=${e.domain ?? '-'}`);
+  }
+}
+
+/** Minimal override scaffold for a brand-new (no-baseline) class. */
+function scaffoldOverride(klass: string): string {
+  return `# ${klass} — fleet role definition (override)
+
+The **${klass}** persona (\`class: ${klass}\`) is a user-defined override that
+lives in the PRESERVE-protected \`fleet/roles.local/\` layer and survives
+\`mosaic update\`. Edit this file to define the persona's mandate and boundaries.
+
+## Mandate
+
+1. (describe what this persona owns)
+
+## Boundaries
+
+- (describe what this persona does NOT do)
+`;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Register `persona` under an existing `fleet` command. `mosaicHomeFor` resolves
+ * the active --mosaic-home (parent flag) at call time, mirroring the backlog and
+ * profile subcommand wiring.
+ */
+export function registerFleetPersonaCommand(
+  fleetCmd: Command,
+  mosaicHomeFor: () => string,
+): Command {
+  const personaCmd = fleetCmd
+    .command('persona')
+    .description('Update-surviving persona overrides: baseline ⊕ roles.local layer (H4)');
+
+  personaCmd
+    .command('list')
+    .description('List every persona class with its status (baseline/overridden/custom) and domain')
+    .option('--json', 'Print JSON')
+    .action(async (opts: { json?: boolean }) => {
+      try {
+        const entries = await personaStatus({ mosaicHome: mosaicHomeFor() });
+        if (opts.json) {
+          console.log(JSON.stringify(entries));
+          return;
+        }
+        printPersonaList(entries);
+      } catch (err) {
+        process.stderr.write(`${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}\n`);
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+
+  personaCmd
+    .command('show <class>')
+    .description('Show the RESOLVED persona (override wins) and which layer it came from')
+    .option('--json', 'Print JSON')
+    .action(async (klass: string, opts: { json?: boolean }) => {
+      try {
+        const resolved = await resolvePersona(klass, { mosaicHome: mosaicHomeFor() });
+        if (!resolved) {
+          process.stderr.write(`Unknown persona class "${klass}"\n`);
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+        if (opts.json) {
+          console.log(JSON.stringify(resolved));
+          return;
+        }
+        console.log(`# class: ${resolved.klass}`);
+        console.log(`# layer: ${resolved.layer}`);
+        console.log(`# domain: ${resolved.domain ?? '-'}`);
+        console.log(`# file: ${resolved.file}`);
+        console.log('');
+        console.log(resolved.content);
+      } catch (err) {
+        process.stderr.write(`${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}\n`);
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+
+  personaCmd
+    .command('customize <class>')
+    .description(
+      'Copy the baseline persona into fleet/roles.local/ to edit (override layer). ' +
+        '--new scaffolds a brand-new persona with no baseline.',
+    )
+    .option('--new', 'Scaffold a minimal override for a brand-new class (no baseline required)')
+    .action(async (klass: string, opts: { new?: boolean }) => {
+      try {
+        const { mkdir, writeFile, copyFile, access } = await import('node:fs/promises');
+        const { constants } = await import('node:fs');
+        const mosaicHome = mosaicHomeFor();
+        const rolesDir = defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome);
+        const overrideDir = defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome);
+        const target = join(overrideDir, `${klass}.md`);
+
+        await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+
+        // Do not clobber an existing override.
+        try {
+          await access(target, constants.F_OK);
+          console.log(`Override already exists, not clobbering: ${target}`);
+          return;
+        } catch {
+          // not present — proceed
+        }
+
+        if (opts.new) {
+          await writeFile(target, scaffoldOverride(klass), 'utf8');
+          console.log(`Scaffolded new persona override: ${target}`);
+          return;
+        }
+
+        // Copy the baseline. Prefer the marker-defining file; fall back to stem.
+        const base = await extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir);
+        const pf = base.byClass.get(klass);
+        const source = pf?.file ?? join(rolesDir, `${klass}.md`);
+        try {
+          await access(source, constants.F_OK);
+        } catch {
+          process.stderr.write(
+            `No baseline persona "${klass}" to copy. Use --new to scaffold one.\n`,
+          );
+          process.exitCode = 1;
+          return;
+        }
+        await copyFile(source, target);
+        console.log(`Copied baseline persona to override layer: ${target}`);
+        console.log('Edit it there; it wins over the baseline and survives `mosaic update`.');
+      } catch (err) {
+        process.stderr.write(`${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}\n`);
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+
+  return personaCmd;
+}

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-profiles.spec.ts

@@ -46,10 +46,12 @@ describe('listPersonaClasses (real role library)', () => {
 
   it('covers marker-less engineering personas via filename + LIBRARY index', async () => {
     const classes = await listPersonaClasses(rolesDir);
-    // planner/decomposition have a role file but no inline marker (planner aliases
-    // the orchestrator class) — they resolve from the filename + LIBRARY.md row.
+    // planner/decomposition have a role file but no inline marker — they resolve
+    // from the filename + LIBRARY.md row.
     expect(classes.has('planner')).toBe(true);
     expect(classes.has('decomposition')).toBe(true);
+    // The dedicated orchestrator persona resolves (inline marker + filename + row).
+    expect(classes.has('orchestrator')).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it('returns an empty set for a missing roles dir (graceful)', async () => {
@@ -75,11 +77,17 @@ describe('baseline profiles (real library)', () => {
 
   it('software-delivery has the expected lead, floor, and roster shape', async () => {
     const profile = await loadProfile('software-delivery', realLib);
-    expect(profile.lead).toBe('planner');
-    expect(profile.floor).toEqual(['planner', 'enhancer']);
+    expect(profile.lead).toBe('orchestrator');
+    expect(profile.floor).toEqual(['orchestrator', 'enhancer']);
     const code = profile.roster.find((r) => r.class === 'code');
     expect(code?.multiplicity).toBe(2);
     expect(code?.reportsTo).toBe('decomposition');
+    // The dedicated orchestrator is the lead seat (no reports_to); the planner is
+    // now a distinct seat that reports to it.
+    const orchestrator = profile.roster.find((r) => r.class === 'orchestrator');
+    expect(orchestrator?.reportsTo).toBeUndefined();
+    const planner = profile.roster.find((r) => r.class === 'planner');
+    expect(planner?.reportsTo).toBe('orchestrator');
   });
 
   it('loadProfile throws on an unknown id', async () => {

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-profiles.ts

@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ import { homedir } from 'node:os';
 import { basename, join } from 'node:path';
 import type { Command } from 'commander';
 import YAML from 'yaml';
+import {
+  defaultOverrideDir,
+  extractClassesFromDir,
+  listPersonaClasses as listOverrideAwarePersonaClasses,
+} from './fleet-personas.js';
 
 function defaultMosaicHome(): string {
   return process.env['MOSAIC_HOME'] ?? join(homedir(), '.config', 'mosaic');
@@ -57,57 +62,29 @@ export interface FleetProfile {
 }
 
 /**
- * Extract the set of valid persona classes from the role library.
+ * Extract the set of valid persona classes from a single baseline role dir.
  *
- * Sources (unioned — see module doc for why each is needed):
- *   1. inline `` `class: X` `` markers in every roles/*.md (the primary signal;
- *      a marker may wrap across a newline, e.g. `` `class:\n support-agent` ``).
- *   2. persona-name cells from the LIBRARY.md index tables.
- *   3. the role filename stems (roles/<class>.md), covering personas whose file
- *      documents an alias instead of carrying its own marker (planner ->
- *      orchestrator, decomposition).
- *
- * Returns a Set so membership checks in the validator are O(1). Missing dir or
- * unreadable files degrade gracefully to whatever was found (an empty set makes
- * the validator reject every class, which surfaces a clear error).
+ * Thin wrapper over the shared {@link extractClassesFromDir} in fleet-personas.ts
+ * — the single source of truth for "what classes exist" (DRY). Kept as a
+ * baseline-only, positional-`rolesDir` helper for backward compatibility; the
+ * override-aware union (baseline ⊕ roles.local) used by roster validation is
+ * {@link listPersonaClassesWithOverrides} below.
  */
 export async function listPersonaClasses(rolesDir = defaultRolesDir()): Promise<Set<string>> {
-  const classes = new Set<string>();
-  let entries: string[];
-  try {
-    entries = await readdir(rolesDir);
-  } catch {
-    return classes;
-  }
-  // Match `class: X` even when the value wrapped onto the next line. Allow
-  // surrounding backtick(s); the value is a single kebab-case token.
-  const inlineMarker = /`?class:\s*\n?\s*([a-z][a-z0-9-]*)`?/g;
-  // LIBRARY.md persona rows: first table cell is the persona name.
-  const libraryRow = /^\|\s*([a-z][a-z0-9-]*)\s*\|/gm;
+  return (await extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir)).classes;
+}
 
-  for (const entry of entries) {
-    if (!entry.endsWith('.md')) continue;
-    let text: string;
-    try {
-      text = await readFile(join(rolesDir, entry), 'utf8');
-    } catch {
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (entry === 'LIBRARY.md') {
-      for (const m of text.matchAll(libraryRow)) {
-        const name = m[1];
-        // Skip the markdown table divider / header artifacts.
-        if (name && name !== 'persona') classes.add(name);
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    // Role contract: the filename stem is itself a valid class (covers alias docs).
-    classes.add(basename(entry, '.md'));
-    for (const m of text.matchAll(inlineMarker)) {
-      if (m[1]) classes.add(m[1]);
-    }
-  }
-  return classes;
+/**
+ * Override-aware valid-class set: baseline roles/ ⊕ override roles.local/. A
+ * profile may legitimately reference a user-customized OR user-ADDED persona, so
+ * roster validation resolves against this union (H4). Delegates to the shared
+ * fleet-personas resolver.
+ */
+export async function listPersonaClassesWithOverrides(
+  rolesDir: string,
+  overrideDir: string,
+): Promise<Set<string>> {
+  return listOverrideAwarePersonaClasses({ rolesDir, overrideDir });
 }
 
 function asString(value: unknown, ctx: string): string {
@@ -227,14 +204,21 @@ export interface LoadProfilesOptions {
   profilesDir?: string;
   /** Override the roles dir (tests). Defaults to <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles. */
   rolesDir?: string;
+  /** Persona override dir (tests). Defaults to <mosaicHome>/fleet/roles.local. */
+  overrideDir?: string;
   mosaicHome?: string;
 }
 
-function resolveDirs(opts: LoadProfilesOptions): { profilesDir: string; rolesDir: string } {
+function resolveDirs(opts: LoadProfilesOptions): {
+  profilesDir: string;
+  rolesDir: string;
+  overrideDir: string;
+} {
   const mosaicHome = opts.mosaicHome ?? defaultMosaicHome();
   return {
     profilesDir: opts.profilesDir ?? defaultProfilesDir(mosaicHome),
     rolesDir: opts.rolesDir ?? defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome),
+    overrideDir: opts.overrideDir ?? defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome),
   };
 }
 
@@ -244,7 +228,7 @@ function resolveDirs(opts: LoadProfilesOptions): { profilesDir: string; rolesDir
  * Profiles are returned sorted by id for deterministic output.
  */
 export async function loadProfiles(opts: LoadProfilesOptions = {}): Promise<FleetProfile[]> {
-  const { profilesDir, rolesDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const { profilesDir, rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
   let files: string[];
   try {
     files = (await readdir(profilesDir)).filter((f) => f.endsWith('.yaml') || f.endsWith('.yml'));
@@ -253,7 +237,10 @@ export async function loadProfiles(opts: LoadProfilesOptions = {}): Promise<Flee
   }
   files.sort();
 
-  const validClasses = await listPersonaClasses(rolesDir);
+  // Override-aware: a profile may reference a user-customized or user-ADDED
+  // persona living in the roles.local/ layer (H4), so validate against the
+  // baseline ⊕ override union, not the baseline alone.
+  const validClasses = await listPersonaClassesWithOverrides(rolesDir, overrideDir);
   const profiles: FleetProfile[] = [];
   const seen = new Map<string, string>();
 

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-provision.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+import { access, mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { constants } from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { loadFleetRoster } from './fleet.js';
+import { generateRoster, runProvision } from './fleet-provision.js';
+import { loadProfile } from './fleet-profiles.js';
+
+// These are INTEGRATION tests: each exercises real filesystem I/O — scanning the
+// committed framework/fleet persona library, rendering YAML, writing to a temp
+// mosaicHome, and round-tripping through the real roster parser. On a heavily
+// contended CI runner (the whole monorepo's suites run in parallel) that genuine
+// I/O can exceed vitest's 5s default even though it completes in ~400ms locally.
+// Give the legitimately I/O-bound work generous headroom so CI is deterministic.
+vi.setConfig({ testTimeout: 30_000 });
+
+// The real, committed library: packages/mosaic/src/commands -> framework/fleet.
+const frameworkFleet = resolve(
+  dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
+  '..',
+  '..',
+  'framework',
+  'fleet',
+);
+const rolesDir = join(frameworkFleet, 'roles');
+const profilesDir = join(frameworkFleet, 'profiles');
+
+/** A fresh temp mosaicHome whose fleet/ dir is empty (for write-path tests). */
+async function freshMosaicHome(): Promise<string> {
+  const home = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-provision-'));
+  await mkdir(join(home, 'fleet'), { recursive: true });
+  return home;
+}
+
+async function fileExists(path: string): Promise<boolean> {
+  try {
+    await access(path, constants.F_OK);
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+describe('provision software-delivery (floor, default)', () => {
+  it('materializes only the floor seats with correct flags + valid scaffold', async () => {
+    const profile = await loadProfile('software-delivery', { profilesDir, rolesDir });
+    const { seats, yaml } = await generateRoster(profile, { profilesDir, rolesDir });
+
+    // Floor is orchestrator + enhancer.
+    expect(seats.map((s) => s.name).sort()).toEqual(['enhancer', 'orchestrator']);
+    const orch = seats.find((s) => s.name === 'orchestrator');
+    const enh = seats.find((s) => s.name === 'enhancer');
+    // RULE 2: floor + lead get persistent_persona.
+    expect(orch?.persistentPersona).toBe(true);
+    expect(enh?.persistentPersona).toBe(true);
+    // RULE 3: floor/lead do NOT reset between tasks.
+    expect(orch?.resetBetweenTasks).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(enh?.resetBetweenTasks).toBeUndefined();
+    // RULE 4: default runtime claude.
+    expect(orch?.runtime).toBe('claude');
+
+    // Scaffold round-trips through the real parser.
+    expect(yaml).toContain('version: 1');
+    expect(yaml).toContain('transport: tmux');
+    expect(yaml).toContain('socket_name: mosaic-fleet');
+  });
+});
+
+describe('provision --full', () => {
+  it('expands the entire roster, including multiplicity, deterministically', async () => {
+    const profile = await loadProfile('software-delivery', { profilesDir, rolesDir });
+    const { seats } = await generateRoster(profile, { full: true, profilesDir, rolesDir });
+
+    const names = seats.map((s) => s.name);
+    // code multiplicity 2 -> code0/code1 (RULE 1).
+    expect(names).toContain('code0');
+    expect(names).toContain('code1');
+    expect(names).not.toContain('code');
+    // Singleton seats keep the bare class name.
+    expect(names).toContain('planner');
+    expect(names).toContain('merge-gate');
+
+    // Deterministic ordering: profile roster order, multiplicity expanded inline.
+    const codeIdx0 = names.indexOf('code0');
+    expect(names[codeIdx0 + 1]).toBe('code1');
+
+    // RULE 3: a non-floor, non-lead execution seat resets between tasks.
+    const code0 = seats.find((s) => s.name === 'code0');
+    expect(code0?.resetBetweenTasks).toBe(true);
+    expect(code0?.persistentPersona).toBeUndefined();
+
+    // Seat count == sum of multiplicities.
+    const expected = profile.roster.reduce((n, e) => n + e.multiplicity, 0);
+    expect(seats.length).toBe(expected);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('generated roster round-trips through the real parser', () => {
+  it('feeds generated YAML back through loadFleetRoster (key correctness proof)', async () => {
+    const home = await freshMosaicHome();
+    try {
+      const result = await runProvision('software-delivery', {
+        mosaicHome: home,
+        profilesDir,
+        rolesDir,
+        full: true,
+        write: true,
+      });
+      expect(result.wrote).toBe(join(home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml'));
+
+      const parsed = await loadFleetRoster(result.wrote!);
+      // It parses with no error and carries every seat.
+      const profile = await loadProfile('software-delivery', { profilesDir, rolesDir });
+      const expected = profile.roster.reduce((n, e) => n + e.multiplicity, 0);
+      expect(parsed.agents.length).toBe(expected);
+      // Classes survive the round-trip.
+      expect(parsed.agents.some((a) => a.className === 'orchestrator')).toBe(true);
+      expect(parsed.agents.filter((a) => a.className === 'code').length).toBe(2);
+      // reports_to must NOT have been emitted (parser rejects unknown keys).
+      expect(result.yaml).not.toContain('reports_to');
+    } finally {
+      await rm(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe('override-aware persona validation', () => {
+  let dir: string;
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-provision-ov-'));
+  });
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    await rm(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('resolves a user-added (roles.local-only) persona without a false unresolved error', async () => {
+    const overrideDir = join(dir, 'roles.local');
+    const customProfilesDir = join(dir, 'profiles');
+    await mkdir(overrideDir, { recursive: true });
+    await mkdir(customProfilesDir, { recursive: true });
+    // A brand-new class that exists ONLY in roles.local.
+    await writeFile(
+      join(overrideDir, 'widget-maker.md'),
+      '# widget-maker\n\nThe widget-maker persona (`class: widget-maker`).\n',
+    );
+    await writeFile(
+      join(customProfilesDir, 'custom.yaml'),
+      [
+        'id: custom',
+        'title: Custom',
+        'description: a custom system',
+        'lead: widget-maker',
+        'floor: [widget-maker]',
+        'roster:',
+        '  - class: widget-maker',
+        '',
+      ].join('\n'),
+    );
+
+    const result = await runProvision('custom', {
+      mosaicHome: dir,
+      profilesDir: customProfilesDir,
+      // Point baseline rolesDir at a missing dir so resolution depends on override.
+      rolesDir: join(dir, 'no-baseline'),
+      overrideDir,
+    });
+    expect(result.yaml).toContain('class: widget-maker');
+    // It resolved from the override layer.
+    // (generateRoster records personaLayer; the seat is present.)
+    expect(result.summary).toContain('persona=override');
+  });
+
+  it('FAILS with a clear message when a profile references a bogus class', async () => {
+    const customProfilesDir = join(dir, 'profiles');
+    await mkdir(customProfilesDir, { recursive: true });
+    await writeFile(
+      join(customProfilesDir, 'bogus.yaml'),
+      [
+        'id: bogus',
+        'title: Bogus',
+        'description: bad system',
+        'lead: orchestrator',
+        'floor: [orchestrator]',
+        'roster:',
+        '  - class: orchestrator',
+        '  - class: not-a-real-persona-xyz',
+        '    reports_to: orchestrator',
+        '',
+      ].join('\n'),
+    );
+    await expect(
+      runProvision('bogus', {
+        mosaicHome: dir,
+        profilesDir: customProfilesDir,
+        rolesDir,
+        overrideDir: join(dir, 'roles.local'),
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/not-a-real-persona-xyz|not a known persona class/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('--write protection', () => {
+  it('refuses to clobber an existing roster.yaml without --force', async () => {
+    const home = await freshMosaicHome();
+    try {
+      const rosterPath = join(home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml');
+      await writeFile(rosterPath, 'version: 1\n# operator customizations\n');
+      await expect(
+        runProvision('software-delivery', { mosaicHome: home, profilesDir, rolesDir, write: true }),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(/Refusing to overwrite/);
+      // The original file is untouched.
+      const { readFile } = await import('node:fs/promises');
+      expect(await readFile(rosterPath, 'utf8')).toContain('operator customizations');
+    } finally {
+      await rm(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('--write --force overwrites an existing roster', async () => {
+    const home = await freshMosaicHome();
+    try {
+      const rosterPath = join(home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml');
+      await writeFile(rosterPath, 'version: 1\n# old\n');
+      const result = await runProvision('software-delivery', {
+        mosaicHome: home,
+        profilesDir,
+        rolesDir,
+        write: true,
+        force: true,
+      });
+      expect(result.wrote).toBe(rosterPath);
+      const parsed = await loadFleetRoster(rosterPath);
+      expect(parsed.agents.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('--write to a fresh mosaicHome creates the roster file', async () => {
+    const home = await freshMosaicHome();
+    try {
+      const result = await runProvision('software-delivery', {
+        mosaicHome: home,
+        profilesDir,
+        rolesDir,
+        write: true,
+      });
+      expect(await fileExists(result.wrote!)).toBe(true);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('dry run (no --write) writes nothing', async () => {
+    const home = await freshMosaicHome();
+    try {
+      const result = await runProvision('software-delivery', {
+        mosaicHome: home,
+        profilesDir,
+        rolesDir,
+      });
+      expect(result.wrote).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(await fileExists(join(home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml'))).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      await rm(home, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-provision.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,406 @@
+/**
+ * `mosaic fleet provision --profile <id>` — turn a declared SYSTEM TYPE (a
+ * profile) into a concrete fleet roster (North Star H3).
+ *
+ * A profile (fleet/profiles/<id>.yaml) is a DECLARATIVE mapping from a system
+ * type to a persona roster + org topology (H2). This command MATERIALIZES that
+ * declaration into the concrete `roster.yaml` shape the live fleet consumes — the
+ * same shape `fleet.ts` parses (version/transport/tmux/defaults/runtimes/agents).
+ *
+ * DRY-RUN-FIRST + REVIEWABLE: with no --write it prints the roster it WOULD
+ * generate plus a topology summary and writes nothing. --write persists it, and
+ * REFUSES to clobber an existing roster.yaml without --force (protects operator
+ * customizations).
+ *
+ * DRY: profile parsing/validation is reused wholesale from fleet-profiles.ts
+ * (loadProfile/validateProfile) and persona resolution from fleet-personas.ts
+ * (resolvePersona, override-aware). This module owns ONLY the profile→roster
+ * generation policy, documented inline below so each default is reviewable.
+ */
+
+import { access, mkdir, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
+import { constants } from 'node:fs';
+import { homedir } from 'node:os';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+import type { Command } from 'commander';
+import YAML from 'yaml';
+import {
+  loadProfile,
+  validateProfile,
+  type FleetProfile,
+  type ProfileRosterEntry,
+  defaultProfilesDir,
+  defaultRolesDir,
+  listPersonaClassesWithOverrides,
+} from './fleet-profiles.js';
+import {
+  defaultOverrideDir,
+  extractClassesFromDir,
+  resolvePersonaFrom,
+  type PersonaLayer,
+} from './fleet-personas.js';
+
+function defaultMosaicHome(): string {
+  return process.env['MOSAIC_HOME'] ?? join(homedir(), '.config', 'mosaic');
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// GENERATION RULES — each default below is intentionally simple and documented
+// so a reviewer can ratify or override the policy. See the PR body for the open
+// runtime-per-class question (RULE 4).
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * RULE 4 — Runtime assignment policy (THE one open design question).
+ *
+ * Default: EVERY seat → `runtime: claude`. Claude runs every persona, so it is
+ * the safe universal default and guarantees a structurally-valid, launchable
+ * roster regardless of how the policy ultimately lands. We deliberately do NOT
+ * hardcode pi / gpt-5.5 per class here. The live roster today runs coders on
+ * pi + openai-codex/gpt-5.5:high — whether provisioning should encode a
+ * class→runtime/model map (and WHERE: the profile schema vs a separate
+ * runtime-policy file) is flagged in the PR body for ratification.
+ *
+ * Centralized so changing the policy is a ONE-edit change. If a future profile
+ * entry (or persona) declares a runtime/model preference, honor it here; until
+ * then everything defaults to claude.
+ */
+export const DEFAULT_RUNTIME = 'claude';
+
+/** Result of applying the runtime policy to one seat. */
+interface RuntimeChoice {
+  runtime: string;
+  modelHint?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The single centralized runtime-policy function. Today it returns the universal
+ * `claude` default for every seat. To encode a class→runtime/model map later,
+ * edit ONLY this function (and/or extend the profile schema and read it here).
+ */
+export function resolveSeatRuntime(
+  _klass: string,
+  _isFloor: boolean,
+  _isLead: boolean,
+): RuntimeChoice {
+  return { runtime: DEFAULT_RUNTIME };
+}
+
+/** One generated seat, fully resolved for emission + topology display. */
+export interface GeneratedSeat {
+  name: string;
+  className: string;
+  runtime: string;
+  modelHint?: string;
+  persistentPersona?: boolean;
+  resetBetweenTasks?: boolean;
+  /** Topology edge from the profile (NOT emitted to roster.yaml — see RULE 6). */
+  reportsTo?: string;
+  /** Which persona layer the class resolved from (baseline/override). */
+  personaLayer: PersonaLayer;
+}
+
+export interface GenerateRosterResult {
+  seats: GeneratedSeat[];
+  /** The roster.yaml text (parser-valid, drop-in). */
+  yaml: string;
+}
+
+export interface ProvisionOptions {
+  /** Materialize the entire profile roster (multiplicity expanded). */
+  full?: boolean;
+  mosaicHome?: string;
+  /** Test overrides — mirror fleet-profiles LoadProfilesOptions. */
+  profilesDir?: string;
+  rolesDir?: string;
+  overrideDir?: string;
+}
+
+function resolveDirs(opts: ProvisionOptions): {
+  mosaicHome: string;
+  profilesDir: string;
+  rolesDir: string;
+  overrideDir: string;
+} {
+  const mosaicHome = opts.mosaicHome ?? defaultMosaicHome();
+  return {
+    mosaicHome,
+    profilesDir: opts.profilesDir ?? defaultProfilesDir(mosaicHome),
+    rolesDir: opts.rolesDir ?? defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome),
+    overrideDir: opts.overrideDir ?? defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * RULE 1 — Seat naming. multiplicity 1 → name = class (e.g. `planner`).
+ * multiplicity N>1 → `<class>0`,`<class>1`,… (e.g. `code` ×2 → code0/code1).
+ * Names are deterministic, following profile roster order.
+ */
+function seatNames(entry: ProfileRosterEntry): string[] {
+  if (entry.multiplicity <= 1) return [entry.class];
+  return Array.from({ length: entry.multiplicity }, (_, i) => `${entry.class}${i}`);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Generate the concrete seats + roster.yaml for a validated profile.
+ *
+ * Seat selection:
+ *   --full  → the ENTIRE profile roster, multiplicity expanded.
+ *   default → ONLY the `floor` classes (the always-staffed minimum), matching
+ *             the profile note "two-agent floor always staffed; every other seat
+ *             added on demand."
+ *
+ * Per-seat flags:
+ *   RULE 2 persistent_persona: true for floor classes AND the lead; else omitted.
+ *   RULE 3 reset_between_tasks: true for non-floor, non-lead execution seats;
+ *           floor/lead omit it (mirrors today's coders resetting while the
+ *           orchestrator/enhancer do not).
+ *   RULE 4 runtime: via resolveSeatRuntime (defaults claude).
+ *   RULE 6 reports_to: tracked on the seat for the topology summary but NOT
+ *           emitted to roster.yaml — the fleet.ts parser rejects unknown agent
+ *           keys, so writing reports_to would break round-trip. Confirmed against
+ *           normalizeAgent's allow-list in fleet.ts.
+ *
+ * Persona resolution: every emitted class is resolved override-aware via
+ * resolvePersona so we can (a) record the layer for the summary and (b) refuse
+ * to emit a roster that references a nonexistent persona.
+ */
+export async function generateRoster(
+  profile: FleetProfile,
+  opts: ProvisionOptions,
+): Promise<GenerateRosterResult> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const floor = new Set(profile.floor);
+  const lead = profile.lead;
+
+  const selected: ProfileRosterEntry[] = opts.full
+    ? profile.roster
+    : profile.roster.filter((e) => floor.has(e.class));
+
+  // Scan the persona directories ONCE, then resolve every roster entry against
+  // the in-memory maps. resolvePersona() would otherwise re-scan both dirs per
+  // entry — O(entries × files) redundant reads that push --full provisioning
+  // past the test timeout on slow/contended filesystems.
+  const [base, over] = await Promise.all([
+    extractClassesFromDir(rolesDir),
+    extractClassesFromDir(overrideDir),
+  ]);
+
+  const seats: GeneratedSeat[] = [];
+  for (const entry of selected) {
+    const isFloor = floor.has(entry.class);
+    const isLead = entry.class === lead;
+
+    const resolved = await resolvePersonaFrom(entry.class, { rolesDir, overrideDir, base, over });
+    if (!resolved) {
+      // Defensive: validateProfile already guards this, but a class can resolve
+      // for membership yet have no readable file. Fail loudly rather than emit a
+      // roster pointing at a persona we cannot load.
+      throw new Error(
+        `Cannot provision: roster class "${entry.class}" does not resolve to a readable persona.`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    const runtimeChoice = resolveSeatRuntime(entry.class, isFloor, isLead);
+    for (const name of seatNames(entry)) {
+      const seat: GeneratedSeat = {
+        name,
+        className: entry.class,
+        runtime: runtimeChoice.runtime,
+        personaLayer: resolved.layer,
+      };
+      if (runtimeChoice.modelHint) seat.modelHint = runtimeChoice.modelHint;
+      if (isFloor || isLead) seat.persistentPersona = true;
+      if (!isFloor && !isLead) seat.resetBetweenTasks = true;
+      if (entry.reportsTo) seat.reportsTo = entry.reportsTo;
+      seats.push(seat);
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (seats.length === 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Profile "${profile.id}" produced no seats. ` +
+        (opts.full ? 'Its roster is empty.' : 'No floor seats are defined — try --full.'),
+    );
+  }
+
+  return { seats, yaml: renderRosterYaml(seats) };
+}
+
+/**
+ * RULE 5 — Standard roster scaffolding. We emit the same generic, non-personal
+ * scaffold the committed example presets use (socket_name: mosaic-fleet,
+ * holder_session: _holder, working_directory: ~, claude + pi runtimes) so the
+ * output is a drop-in valid roster. No operator-personal data is copied.
+ *
+ * Built via the `yaml` lib (same serializer the parser uses) so the result
+ * round-trips. reports_to is intentionally NOT included on agents (RULE 6).
+ */
+function renderRosterYaml(seats: GeneratedSeat[]): string {
+  const agents = seats.map((s) => {
+    const a: Record<string, unknown> = {
+      name: s.name,
+      runtime: s.runtime,
+      class: s.className,
+    };
+    if (s.persistentPersona) a['persistent_persona'] = true;
+    if (s.modelHint) a['model_hint'] = s.modelHint;
+    if (s.resetBetweenTasks) a['reset_between_tasks'] = true;
+    return a;
+  });
+
+  const doc = {
+    version: 1,
+    transport: 'tmux',
+    tmux: { socket_name: 'mosaic-fleet', holder_session: '_holder' },
+    defaults: { working_directory: '~' },
+    runtimes: {
+      claude: { reset_command: '/clear' },
+      pi: { reset_command: '/new' },
+    },
+    agents,
+  };
+
+  return YAML.stringify(doc);
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Validation — reuse fleet-profiles.validateProfile (override-aware classes) and
+// name any unresolved class clearly. Never generate a roster referencing a
+// nonexistent persona.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * Validate the profile against the override-aware persona library. Throws with a
+ * clear, class-naming message if any referenced class is unresolved.
+ */
+export async function validateProfileForProvision(
+  profile: FleetProfile,
+  opts: ProvisionOptions,
+): Promise<void> {
+  const { rolesDir, overrideDir } = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const validClasses = await listPersonaClassesWithOverrides(rolesDir, overrideDir);
+  const problems = validateProfile(profile, validClasses);
+  if (problems.length > 0) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Profile "${profile.id}" is invalid; cannot provision:\n  - ${problems.join('\n  - ')}`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Topology summary (printed in dry-run and after write).
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+function formatTopologySummary(seats: GeneratedSeat[]): string {
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+  lines.push(`Topology (${seats.length} seat(s)):`);
+  for (const s of seats) {
+    const reports = s.reportsTo ? `reports_to=${s.reportsTo}` : 'reports_to=- (lead)';
+    lines.push(
+      `  - ${s.name}\tclass=${s.className}\truntime=${s.runtime}\t${reports}\tpersona=${s.personaLayer}`,
+    );
+  }
+  return lines.join('\n');
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// CLI wiring — mirror registerFleetProfileCommand / registerFleetPersonaCommand.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+export interface ProvisionRunResult {
+  yaml: string;
+  summary: string;
+  wrote?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Core provision flow shared by the CLI: load + validate the profile, generate
+ * the roster, optionally write it. Returns the artifacts for printing/testing.
+ */
+export async function runProvision(
+  profileId: string,
+  opts: ProvisionOptions & { write?: boolean; force?: boolean },
+): Promise<ProvisionRunResult> {
+  const dirs = resolveDirs(opts);
+  const profile = await loadProfile(profileId, {
+    mosaicHome: dirs.mosaicHome,
+    profilesDir: dirs.profilesDir,
+    rolesDir: dirs.rolesDir,
+    overrideDir: dirs.overrideDir,
+  });
+  // loadProfile already validates, but re-run with our explicit error wording so
+  // an unresolved class is named clearly even if invoked directly.
+  await validateProfileForProvision(profile, opts);
+
+  const { seats, yaml } = await generateRoster(profile, opts);
+  const summary = formatTopologySummary(seats);
+
+  if (!opts.write) {
+    return { yaml, summary };
+  }
+
+  const rosterPath = join(dirs.mosaicHome, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml');
+  if (!opts.force) {
+    let exists = false;
+    try {
+      await access(rosterPath, constants.F_OK);
+      exists = true;
+    } catch {
+      exists = false;
+    }
+    if (exists) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Refusing to overwrite existing roster: ${rosterPath}. ` +
+          `Pass --force to overwrite, or edit it by hand.`,
+      );
+    }
+  }
+  await mkdir(dirname(rosterPath), { recursive: true });
+  await writeFile(rosterPath, yaml, 'utf8');
+  return { yaml, summary, wrote: rosterPath };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Register `provision` under an existing `fleet` command. `mosaicHomeFor`
+ * resolves the active --mosaic-home (parent flag) at call time, exactly like the
+ * profile/persona/backlog subcommands.
+ */
+export function registerFleetProvisionCommand(
+  fleetCmd: Command,
+  mosaicHomeFor: () => string,
+): Command {
+  const provisionCmd = fleetCmd
+    .command('provision')
+    .description('Materialize a roster.yaml from a system-type profile (H3). DRY-RUN by default.')
+    .requiredOption('--profile <id>', 'System-type profile id to provision')
+    .option('--full', 'Materialize the entire profile roster (default: floor seats only)')
+    .option('--write', 'Write the generated roster to <mosaicHome>/fleet/roster.yaml')
+    .option('--force', 'Overwrite an existing roster.yaml (requires --write)')
+    .action(async (opts: { profile: string; full?: boolean; write?: boolean; force?: boolean }) => {
+      try {
+        const result = await runProvision(opts.profile, {
+          mosaicHome: mosaicHomeFor(),
+          full: opts.full,
+          write: opts.write,
+          force: opts.force,
+        });
+        if (result.wrote) {
+          console.log(`Wrote roster: ${result.wrote}`);
+          console.log('');
+          console.log(result.summary);
+        } else {
+          // DRY RUN: print the roster it WOULD generate + topology, write nothing.
+          console.log('# DRY RUN — no files written. Re-run with --write to persist.');
+          console.log(result.yaml.trimEnd());
+          console.log('');
+          console.log(result.summary);
+        }
+      } catch (err) {
+        process.stderr.write(`${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}\n`);
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      }
+    });
+
+  return provisionCmd;
+}

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet.spec.ts

@@ -82,7 +82,9 @@ describe('registerFleetCommand', () => {
       'init',
       'install',
       'install-systemd',
+      'persona',
       'profile',
+      'provision',
       'ps',
       'remove',
       'restart',
@@ -102,6 +104,19 @@ describe('registerFleetCommand', () => {
     expect(profile!.commands.map((command) => command.name()).sort()).toEqual(['list', 'show']);
   });
 
+  it('registers the persona subcommand with list, show, and customize', () => {
+    const program = buildProgram();
+    const fleet = program.commands.find((command) => command.name() === 'fleet');
+    const persona = fleet!.commands.find((command) => command.name() === 'persona');
+
+    expect(persona).toBeDefined();
+    expect(persona!.commands.map((command) => command.name()).sort()).toEqual([
+      'customize',
+      'list',
+      'show',
+    ]);
+  });
+
   it('registers the backlog subcommand with its operations', () => {
     const program = buildProgram();
     const fleet = program.commands.find((command) => command.name() === 'fleet');
@@ -232,6 +247,8 @@ describe('fleet roster parsing', () => {
     expect(generateAgentEnv(roster, getRosterAgent(roster, 'coder0'))).toBe(
       [
         'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=coder0',
+        // Reflects the roster's non-default `class: implementer` (A3a).
+        'MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=implementer',
         'MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME=codex',
         'MOSAIC_AGENT_MODEL=',
         'MOSAIC_AGENT_WORKDIR=/srv/mosaic',
@@ -241,6 +258,40 @@ describe('fleet roster parsing', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it('emits MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=worker for an agent that declares no class', async () => {
+    cleanup = await tempDir();
+    const rosterPath = join(cleanup, 'roster.json');
+    await writeFile(
+      rosterPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        version: 1,
+        transport: 'tmux',
+        agents: [{ name: 'coder0', runtime: 'codex' }],
+      }),
+    );
+    const roster = await loadFleetRoster(rosterPath);
+    expect(generateAgentEnv(roster, getRosterAgent(roster, 'coder0'))).toContain(
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=worker\n',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('shell-escapes MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS so a launcher reads it verbatim', async () => {
+    cleanup = await tempDir();
+    const rosterPath = join(cleanup, 'roster.json');
+    await writeFile(
+      rosterPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        version: 1,
+        transport: 'tmux',
+        agents: [{ name: 'coder0', runtime: 'codex', class: 'orchestrator' }],
+      }),
+    );
+    const roster = await loadFleetRoster(rosterPath);
+    expect(generateAgentEnv(roster, getRosterAgent(roster, 'coder0'))).toContain(
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=orchestrator\n',
+    );
+  });
+
   it('preserves site-owned agent EnvironmentFile overrides while refreshing roster keys', () => {
     const generated = [
       'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=coder0',
@@ -272,6 +323,28 @@ describe('fleet roster parsing', () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it('updates (does not duplicate) MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS on re-launch', () => {
+    const generated = [
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=coder0',
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=orchestrator',
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME=codex',
+      '',
+    ].join('\n');
+    const existing = [
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=coder0',
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=worker',
+      'MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME=codex',
+      '',
+    ].join('\n');
+
+    const merged = mergeAgentEnv(generated, existing);
+    // mergeAgentEnv keys by VAR name, so the regenerated CLASS wins and there is
+    // exactly one MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS line (no stale worker value left behind).
+    expect(merged).toContain('MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=orchestrator');
+    expect(merged).not.toContain('MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=worker');
+    expect(merged.match(/^MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=/gm)).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
   it('rejects unknown roster fields instead of silently defaulting', async () => {
     cleanup = await tempDir();
     const rosterPath = join(cleanup, 'roster.yaml');

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ import type { Command } from 'commander';
 import YAML from 'yaml';
 import { resolveCommsBlock } from '../fleet/comms-onboarding.js';
 import { registerFleetBacklogCommand } from './fleet-backlog.js';
+import { registerFleetPersonaCommand } from './fleet-personas.js';
 import { registerFleetProfileCommand } from './fleet-profiles.js';
+import { registerFleetProvisionCommand } from './fleet-provision.js';
 
 /**
  * A function that spawns a command with inherited stdio (TTY passthrough).
@@ -489,6 +491,9 @@ export function generateAgentEnv(roster: FleetRoster, agent: FleetAgent): string
   const workingDirectory = agent.workingDirectory ?? roster.defaults.workingDirectory;
   return [
     `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME=${shellEnvValue(agent.name)}`,
+    // Per-agent class → start-agent-session.sh / launcher reads this to inject the
+    // matching persona contract for the agent's class (default `worker`).
+    `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS=${shellEnvValue(agent.className)}`,
     `MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME=${shellEnvValue(agent.runtime)}`,
     // Per-agent model hint → start-agent-session.sh appends `--model <hint>` to
     // the `mosaic yolo` launch so workers run on the roster's model (e.g. pi on
@@ -1711,6 +1716,15 @@ export function registerFleetCommand(program: Command, deps: FleetCommandDeps =
   // from <mosaicHome>/fleet/profiles/*.yaml using the same --mosaic-home flag.
   registerFleetProfileCommand(cmd, () => cmd.opts<{ mosaicHome: string }>().mosaicHome);
 
+  // Update-surviving persona overrides (H4): baseline fleet/roles/ ⊕ the
+  // PRESERVE-protected fleet/roles.local/ override layer, resolved via the same
+  // --mosaic-home flag.
+  registerFleetPersonaCommand(cmd, () => cmd.opts<{ mosaicHome: string }>().mosaicHome);
+
+  // Provisioning (H3): materialize a concrete roster.yaml from a system-type
+  // profile. DRY-RUN by default; --write persists under the same --mosaic-home.
+  registerFleetProvisionCommand(cmd, () => cmd.opts<{ mosaicHome: string }>().mosaicHome);
+
   return cmd;
 }
 

packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { homedir } from 'node:os';
 import { join, dirname } from 'node:path';
 import type { Command } from 'commander';
 import { readFleetCommsBlock } from '../fleet/comms-onboarding.js';
+import { readPersonaContractBlock } from '../fleet/persona-contract.js';
 
 const MOSAIC_HOME = process.env['MOSAIC_HOME'] ?? join(homedir(), '.config', 'mosaic');
 
@@ -384,6 +385,16 @@ For required push/merge/issue-close/release actions, execute without routine con
   // Runtime-specific contract
   parts.push('\n\n# Runtime-Specific Contract\n\n' + readFileSync(runtimeFile, 'utf-8'));
 
+  // Persona contract (A3b): when this agent was spawned with a class
+  // (MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS, exported into the pane env by A3a), inject its resolved
+  // role contract so its identity (mandate + boundaries) is resident from the
+  // first turn. Override-aware via the persona resolver: a user-customized
+  // persona in fleet/roles.local/ wins over the baseline (AC-NS-7 launch proof).
+  // Placed BEFORE fleet comms: identity first, then how-to-reach-peers. No-ops
+  // silently when the class is unset/unknown (mirrors the comms block).
+  const persona = readPersonaContractBlock(mosaicHome, process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS']);
+  if (persona) parts.push('\n\n' + persona);
+
   // Fleet onboarding: when this is a spawned fleet agent (MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME set
   // and present in the roster), inject a comms cheat-sheet + peer roster so it
   // knows how to reach the orchestrator and its peers from its first turn.

packages/mosaic/src/fleet/persona-contract.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, rmSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { readPersonaContractBlock } from './persona-contract.js';
+
+/**
+ * Persona-contract launch injection (A3b). Asserts the override-aware resolver
+ * is wired so a customized persona in roles.local/ wins at launch (AC-NS-7), and
+ * that any miss (unset/empty/unknown class, missing file) no-ops silently —
+ * never throws — mirroring readFleetCommsBlock's tolerant contract.
+ */
+
+const BASELINE_CODER = `# Coder — fleet role definition
+
+The **coder** persona (\`class: coder\`, \`domain: engineering\`).
+
+## Mandate
+
+BASELINE-MANDATE: implement the assigned lane.
+`;
+
+const OVERRIDE_CODER = `# Coder — fleet role definition (override)
+
+The **coder** persona (\`class: coder\`).
+
+## Mandate
+
+OVERRIDE-MANDATE: implement the assigned lane, the user's way.
+`;
+
+function makeHome(): string {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-persona-'));
+  return join(root, 'mosaic-home');
+}
+
+function seedBaseline(home: string, klass: string, body: string): void {
+  const dir = join(home, 'fleet', 'roles');
+  mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(dir, `${klass}.md`), body);
+}
+
+function seedOverride(home: string, klass: string, body: string): void {
+  const dir = join(home, 'fleet', 'roles.local');
+  mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(dir, `${klass}.md`), body);
+}
+
+describe('readPersonaContractBlock — launch-time persona injection (A3b)', () => {
+  let home: string;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    home = makeHome();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    // root is the parent of mosaic-home
+    rmSync(join(home, '..'), { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('injects the baseline persona when the class has a fleet/roles/<class>.md', () => {
+    seedBaseline(home, 'coder', BASELINE_CODER);
+    const block = readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'coder');
+    expect(block).toContain('# Persona Contract (coder)');
+    expect(block).toContain('BASELINE-MANDATE');
+    expect(block).toContain('baseline `fleet/roles/` layer');
+  });
+
+  it('OVERRIDE WINS: roles.local/<class>.md content is injected over the baseline (AC-NS-7)', () => {
+    seedBaseline(home, 'coder', BASELINE_CODER);
+    seedOverride(home, 'coder', OVERRIDE_CODER);
+    const block = readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'coder');
+    expect(block).toContain('# Persona Contract (coder)');
+    expect(block).toContain('OVERRIDE-MANDATE'); // override body present
+    expect(block).not.toContain('BASELINE-MANDATE'); // baseline NOT used
+    expect(block).toContain('roles.local'); // layer note names the override layer
+  });
+
+  it('injects an override-only (user-added) persona with no baseline at all', () => {
+    seedOverride(home, 'reviewer', '# Reviewer\n\n(`class: reviewer`)\n\nCUSTOM-ROLE.\n');
+    const block = readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'reviewer');
+    expect(block).toContain('# Persona Contract (reviewer)');
+    expect(block).toContain('CUSTOM-ROLE');
+  });
+
+  it('no-ops (empty string) when the class is undefined', () => {
+    seedBaseline(home, 'coder', BASELINE_CODER);
+    expect(readPersonaContractBlock(home, undefined)).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('no-ops (empty string) when the class is empty/whitespace', () => {
+    seedBaseline(home, 'coder', BASELINE_CODER);
+    expect(readPersonaContractBlock(home, '')).toBe('');
+    expect(readPersonaContractBlock(home, '   ')).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('no-ops (empty string) for an unknown class with no role file', () => {
+    seedBaseline(home, 'coder', BASELINE_CODER);
+    expect(readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'nonexistent')).toBe('');
+  });
+
+  it('no-ops (empty string, no throw) when no roles directories exist at all', () => {
+    expect(() => readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'coder')).not.toThrow();
+    expect(readPersonaContractBlock(home, 'coder')).toBe('');
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/src/fleet/persona-contract.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+/**
+ * Persona-contract injection at launch (North Star A3b).
+ *
+ * A spawned fleet agent should boot already knowing WHO it is: its class's role
+ * contract (mandate + boundaries). The companion goal A3a exports the agent's
+ * resolved class into the pane env as `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS`; here we read that
+ * class at launch (composeContract → system prompt) and inject the resolved
+ * persona contract so the identity is resident from the agent's first turn.
+ *
+ * OVERRIDE-AWARE: resolution goes through fleet-personas' resolver, so a
+ * user-customized persona in the PRESERVE-protected `fleet/roles.local/` layer
+ * WINS over the baseline `fleet/roles/` of the same class. That is the
+ * launch-time proof of AC-NS-7 — a customized persona actually reaches the model
+ * when the agent boots, not just in `mosaic fleet persona show`.
+ *
+ * Tolerant by contract (mirrors readFleetCommsBlock): an empty/missing class, an
+ * unknown class, or a missing role file all yield '' so the launcher no-ops
+ * silently. This MUST never throw during launch.
+ *
+ * Standalone module (no fleet.ts import) to keep launch.ts's prompt path free of
+ * the heavy fleet command module; it depends only on the lightweight persona
+ * resolver.
+ */
+
+import {
+  resolvePersonaSync,
+  defaultRolesDir,
+  defaultOverrideDir,
+} from '../commands/fleet-personas.js';
+
+/**
+ * Resolve `klass`'s persona contract (override-aware) and render it as a
+ * clearly-delimited launch block. Returns '' on any miss (falsy class, unknown
+ * class, missing/unreadable file) so composeContract can push it unconditionally
+ * and have it no-op silently. Never throws.
+ */
+export function readPersonaContractBlock(mosaicHome: string, klass: string | undefined): string {
+  if (!klass || !klass.trim()) return '';
+  let resolved: ReturnType<typeof resolvePersonaSync>;
+  try {
+    resolved = resolvePersonaSync(klass.trim(), {
+      rolesDir: defaultRolesDir(mosaicHome),
+      overrideDir: defaultOverrideDir(mosaicHome),
+    });
+  } catch {
+    // Best-effort onboarding: a resolver hiccup must not abort the launch.
+    return '';
+  }
+  if (!resolved) return '';
+
+  const layerNote =
+    resolved.layer === 'override'
+      ? '_(resolved from the `fleet/roles.local/` override layer — wins over baseline)_'
+      : '_(resolved from the baseline `fleet/roles/` layer)_';
+
+  return `# Persona Contract (${resolved.klass})
+
+${layerNote}
+
+You are operating as the **${resolved.klass}** persona. The role contract below is your identity — its mandate and boundaries govern what you own and what you must not do for this assignment.
+
+${resolved.content.trim()}`;
+}