fix(#1264): preserve portable standalone launch

Reviewed by scooby via git comms (terminal ACK 32d986). Merge directed by Jason 2026-08-16. Conflicts from #1229 and #1252 resolved on the branch by a pi seat; pre-merge gate verified: tools/install.sh=5d28f773, framework/install.sh=1578c33b, test:framework-shell=48 links with both #1252 and #1245 suites present.

docs/ADMIN-GUIDE/README.md

@@ -9,19 +9,19 @@ This book is the canonical home for installation, configuration, deployment, rou
 - [Documentation atlas](../README.md) — placement rules and source-of-truth boundaries.
 - [Documentation sitemap](../SITEMAP.md) — resolvable current navigation and authority-gated migration summary.
 - [Product requirements](../PRD.md) — normative requirements, currently marked draft.
-- [Operations index](operations/README.md) — current local procedures and explicitly held operational outlines.
+- [Operations index](operations/README.md) — current local procedures, unattended fleet first-start handling, and explicitly held operational outlines.
 - [Security index](security/README.md) — current SSO provider configuration.
 
 ## Chapter map
 
-| Chapter                               | Scope                                                               | Status                                                                  |
+| Chapter                               | Scope                                                               | Status                                                                                         |
-| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `installation/`                       | Prerequisites, installation, and first deployment.                  | Scaffold only.                                                          |
+| `installation/`                       | Prerequisites, installation, and first deployment.                  | Scaffold only.                                                                                 |
-| `configuration/`                      | Environment, provider, tier, and runtime configuration.             | Scaffold only.                                                          |
+| `configuration/`                      | Environment, provider, tier, and runtime configuration.             | Scaffold only.                                                                                 |
-| `deployment/`                         | Topologies, rollout, migration, and upgrade procedures.             | Scaffold only.                                                          |
+| `deployment/`                         | Topologies, rollout, migration, and upgrade procedures.             | Scaffold only.                                                                                 |
-| [`operations/`](operations/README.md) | Health, observability, routine operation, and maintenance.          | Local upgrade/recovery is current; connector lease operations are held. |
+| [`operations/`](operations/README.md) | Health, observability, routine operation, and maintenance.          | Local upgrade/recovery and fleet first start are current; connector lease operations are held. |
-| [`security/`](security/README.md)     | Authentication, authorization, SSO, secrets, and security controls. | SSO provider guide is current; other pages are planned.                 |
+| [`security/`](security/README.md)     | Authentication, authorization, SSO, secrets, and security controls. | SSO provider guide is current; other pages are planned.                                        |
-| `recovery/`                           | Incident response, backup, rollback, and recovery.                  | Scaffold only.                                                          |
+| `recovery/`                           | Incident response, backup, rollback, and recovery.                  | Scaffold only.                                                                                 |
 
 Every promoted page must be added to this index and to [`SITEMAP.md`](../SITEMAP.md) in the same migration slice.
 

docs/ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/README.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 ## Current procedures
 
 - [Upgrade safety and recovery](upgrade-safety-and-recovery.md) — installed-CLI and local-PGlite upgrade, rollback, and framework-configuration recovery.
+- [Fleet unattended first start](fleet-unattended-first-start.md) — systemd/no-TTY identity initialization, failure handling, and isolated verification.
 
 ## Held procedures
 

docs/ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/fleet-unattended-first-start.md

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# Fleet Unattended First-Start Operations
+
+> **Status:** Current after issue #1264 lands. This runbook covers only Mosaic's first-run identity
+> gate; it does not install runtimes or credentials.
+
+## Operational contract
+
+A systemd fleet unit launches under a sanitized environment with no TTY. The generated environment
+sets `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME`; Mosaic resolves that exact value against the canonical installed roster
+before writing identity files.
+
+If top-level identity contracts are missing, Mosaic atomically seeds them from the shipped generic
+sources:
+
+| Destination            | Source                          | New-file mode |
+| ---------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------------- |
+| `$MOSAIC_HOME/SOUL.md` | `$MOSAIC_HOME/defaults/SOUL.md` | `0600`        |
+| `$MOSAIC_HOME/USER.md` | `$MOSAIC_HOME/defaults/USER.md` | `0600`        |
+
+Creation is no-clobber and safe under concurrent seat starts. Existing regular files remain
+byte-for-byte and mode-for-mode unchanged. The runtime composer then injects the exact roster name
+and class; the generic source files grant no seat authority.
+
+## Failure handling
+
+The fleet path never falls back to an interactive wizard. It exits nonzero before runtime execution
+when:
+
+- `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` is not an exact roster member;
+- a defined ambient `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS` is blank/whitespace or disagrees with that member's
+  canonical class;
+- a missing destination has no safe regular default source;
+- a source or existing destination is a symlink (including dangling), directory, unavailable, or over the bounded size;
+- the fleet communications helper/roster cannot be validated; or
+- `USER.md` cannot be securely re-read at the point where its content is composed.
+
+Diagnostics begin with:
+
+```text
+[mosaic] ERROR: unattended fleet identity initialization failed: ...
+```
+
+Repair the exact named source, destination, roster, or helper and retry only that roster member. Do
+not delete or replace an existing personalized `SOUL.md`/`USER.md` merely to clear the check.
+
+## Verification without a live seat
+
+The source gate is:
+
+```bash
+pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic... build && \
+  pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic exec vitest run \
+    src/commands/launch-first-start.spec.ts
+```
+
+The build leg is load-bearing: `dist/` is ignored, so a direct Vitest invocation could otherwise run
+absent or stale CLI output. The gate runs the exact-source built CLI in subprocesses with piped stdin,
+temporary homes, a canonical fixture roster, fake runtime/broker executables, and no provider call. It
+covers no-TTY launch, exact identity,
+private modes, no-clobber, missing/symlink defaults, unknown members, blank/mismatched class,
+portable standalone composition/wizard preservation, and concurrent first start.
+
+Do not use this fixture as proof that a real provider credential is present or that a package has
+been deployed. Those require separate environment-specific evidence.
+
+## Related
+
+- [User workflow](../../USER-GUIDE/workflows/fleet-unattended-first-start.md)
+- [Developer architecture](../../DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/fleet-first-start-identity.md)
+- [Verification report](../../reports/qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md)

docs/DEVELOPER-GUIDE/README.md

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ This book is the canonical home for architecture, package and application guides
 
 - [Lease-broker operations and verification](testing/lease-broker-operations.md) — safe static/test commands plus explicitly held live operations.
 - [Channel adapters](integrations/channel-adapters.md) — current shared contracts and Discord reference boundary; future adapter parity is draft.
+- [Fleet first-start identity](architecture/fleet-first-start-identity.md) — no-TTY launch boundary, roster authority, and no-clobber filesystem design.
 
 Every promoted page must be added to this index and to [`SITEMAP.md`](../SITEMAP.md) in the same migration slice.
 

docs/DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/README.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ This chapter is the canonical home for Mosaic Stack's system model, component bo
 - [`mutator-class-gate.md`](mutator-class-gate.md) — default-deny tool authorization, runtime adapters, launch choke point, and parser assurance boundary.
 - [`compaction-revocation.md`](compaction-revocation.md) — Claude/Pi observer lifecycle, runtime generations, revocation, and the bounded residual stale window.
 - [`channel-protocol.md`](channel-protocol.md) — current shared channel DTOs and Discord compatibility baseline, with unimplemented adapter work explicitly marked draft.
+- [`fleet-first-start-identity.md`](fleet-first-start-identity.md) — roster-owned identity bootstrap for concurrent no-TTY fleet launches.
 - [`decisions/mos-runtime-portability-m1.md`](decisions/mos-runtime-portability-m1.md) — current logical identity, connector lease, grant, audit, and fencing decision; connector activation remains held.
 
 These pages are current security-contract references and are consumed by the lease-broker acceptance suites. Their live deployment gaps remain explicitly labeled in the pages; this migration does not change runtime behavior.

docs/DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/fleet-first-start-identity.md

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# Fleet First-Start Identity Boundary
+
+> **Status:** Implemented by issue #1264. Requirements: `FCM-REQ-12`, `AC-FCM-10`.
+
+## Problem
+
+`launchRuntime()` called `checkSoul()` before runtime execution. A missing top-level `SOUL.md`
+caused `checkSoul()` to spawn a child `mosaic wizard` with inherited stdio. Under a systemd-created
+fleet pane with no TTY, that child blocked or failed before the runtime boundary even though generic
+`defaults/SOUL.md` and `defaults/USER.md` already shipped in the same `MOSAIC_HOME`.
+
+## Chosen boundary
+
+The fix remains at `checkSoul()` and does not add flags to `yolo`, fleet commands, systemd units, or
+`start-agent-session.sh`:
+
+1. A present, nonblank, whitespace-exact `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` selects the fleet path.
+2. `resolveFleetIdentity()` must resolve that exact member through the existing roster/helper
+   boundary, and any defined `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS` (including blank/whitespace) must canonicalize to
+   the roster class, before any identity seed. Only undefined means absent.
+3. `lstatSync()` preflights every destination directory entry without following links, so a dangling
+   link is rejected before its counterpart can be published.
+4. Safe bounded snapshots are read from only the missing contracts under `defaults/`.
+5. Each snapshot is written to a random owner-private temporary file in `MOSAIC_HOME`.
+6. `linkSync()` publishes the complete file without overwriting an existing path. `EEXIST` means a
+   concurrent seat or operator won; the existing path is preserved and revalidated.
+7. Temporary files are removed, and both installed contracts are re-opened through the no-symlink
+   secure-file reader before launch continues.
+8. `composeContract()` independently re-resolves the roster, securely reads fleet `USER.md` through
+   a Linux descriptor at the point of use, and injects exact member identity and communications data.
+
+A standalone launch with no `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` retains the portable tolerant USER read and the
+interactive wizard. Fleet-only no-follow enforcement must not make supported standalone macOS
+composition depend on Linux `/proc` descriptor traversal.
+
+## Identity and authority
+
+The copied defaults deliberately say “Mosaic agent”; they are a generic behavioral base. They are
+not the source of a fleet seat's identity. The canonical roster controls:
+
+- exact agent/session name;
+- canonical role/class and persona;
+- peer rows and point of contact;
+- tmux socket and helper target; and
+- communications generation.
+
+An unknown/padded ambient name, mismatched class, or explicitly blank/whitespace class fails before
+any file is seeded. This avoids replacing the interactive wall with a fleet of indistinguishable or
+ambiently invented identities.
+
+## Concurrency and filesystem properties
+
+- Sources and final destinations are bounded regular files beneath `MOSAIC_HOME`; target and dangling
+  symlinks are not followed.
+- New files have mode `0600`.
+- Hard-link publication is same-filesystem, atomic, and no-clobber.
+- A temporary path is removed only when this process successfully created it.
+- All required source snapshots are validated before the first destination is published, preventing
+  a missing second default from leaving a partial seed.
+- Existing operator files are never chmodded or rewritten.
+
+## Verification
+
+`src/commands/launch-first-start.spec.ts` uses the production-kind boundary: the real built CLI in a
+no-TTY subprocess, not a direct wizard test. The package `test:vitest` gate builds Mosaic before
+Vitest, while the clean-checkout command builds its workspace dependencies first, so ignored
+`dist/cli.js` cannot be absent or stale. A fake lease launcher records whether execution reached the
+runtime boundary and captures the composed prompt.
+Positive and negative cases prove the check can both proceed and refuse. Fleet composition coverage
+replaces a previously validated `USER.md` with an external symlink and proves point-of-use refusal;
+a standalone unreadable-optional-USER case proves the portable tolerant branch remains separate.
+
+Real Pi authentication and provider task execution remain environment tests, not claims of this
+fixture.
+
+## Non-goals
+
+- Runtime installation or pane-PATH resolution (#1256/#1258).
+- The held `~/.mosaic` launch-composition layer in PR #1213.
+- Personalizing the operator's standalone identity without a wizard.
+- Changing fleet systemd or shell launcher code.

docs/PRD.md

@@ -146,6 +146,29 @@ lands. M0 consists only of these normative requirements, the complete task DAG,
 documentation IA checklist, and the legacy example/profile disposition inventory. Subsequent cards
 are defined in [docs/TASKS.md](./TASKS.md) and must remain one card/one PR.
 
+### Unattended fleet first-start amendment (#1264)
+
+`FCM-REQ-11` is reserved by #1256's concurrent runtime-preflight delivery. This amendment therefore
+uses the next non-colliding identifiers.
+
+1. `FCM-REQ-12`: A roster-owned fleet launch SHALL NOT invoke an interactive identity wizard when
+   top-level `SOUL.md` or `USER.md` is absent. It SHALL initialize only missing top-level identity
+   contracts from the shipped generic `defaults/` contracts without overwriting operator-owned
+   bytes. The canonical roster member remains the sole source of the seat's exact name and class;
+   generic defaults grant no fleet identity or authority. Missing or unsafe defaults SHALL fail
+   closed with actionable diagnostics before runtime execution. Non-fleet launches retain the
+   interactive identity flow.
+2. `AC-FCM-10`: A systemd-equivalent no-TTY test with a clean temporary Mosaic home SHALL prove a
+   named fleet seat reaches the runtime boundary without starting `mosaic wizard`, creates
+   byte-equal owner-private `SOUL.md` and `USER.md` seeds, and receives its exact roster name/class in
+   composed context. Tests SHALL also prove no-clobber behavior, concurrent/idempotent first start,
+   fail-closed invalid defaults, and preservation of the standalone interactive path.
+
+`ASSUMPTION:` `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` is the existing launch discriminator for roster-owned fleet
+processes. This amendment does not add a second fleet flag because generated fleet environments
+already set that value and the runtime composer independently resolves it against the canonical
+roster before execution.
+
 ---
 
 ## Exact Cross-Harness Fleet Communications Contract (#766)

docs/SITEMAP.md

@@ -38,11 +38,13 @@ These paths remain canonical because current source/tests consume them or becaus
 - [Quickstart](USER-GUIDE/getting-started/quickstart.md) — installed-CLI first-use route with local PGlite safety boundaries.
 - [Web dashboard](USER-GUIDE/product/web-dashboard.md) — current routes, views, chat persistence, settings, and admin behavior.
 - [Discord conversations](USER-GUIDE/workflows/discord-conversations.md) — current authorized parent-channel, thread, attachment, and control workflow.
+- [Fleet unattended first start](USER-GUIDE/workflows/fleet-unattended-first-start.md) — no-TTY identity bootstrap and exact roster identity.
 
 ## Administrator documentation
 
 - [Administrator operations](ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/README.md) — current local procedures and explicitly held outlines.
 - [Upgrade safety and recovery](ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/upgrade-safety-and-recovery.md) — installed-CLI/local-PGlite upgrade and framework recovery.
+- [Fleet unattended first-start operations](ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/fleet-unattended-first-start.md) — systemd identity initialization, refusal paths, and isolated verification.
 - [Mos connector lease operations](ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/mos-connector-lease-operations.md) — held/non-operative M1 outline while policy remains deny-all.
 - [Administrator security](ADMIN-GUIDE/security/README.md) — current security chapter index.
 - [SSO providers](ADMIN-GUIDE/security/sso-providers.md) — Authentik, WorkOS, and Keycloak configuration and discovery.
@@ -56,6 +58,7 @@ These paths remain canonical because current source/tests consume them or becaus
 - [Lease-broker security](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/lease-broker-security.md) — identity, ancestry, filesystem, observer, and residual boundaries.
 - [Whole mutator-class gate](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/mutator-class-gate.md) — default-deny tool authorization and launch choke point.
 - [Compaction revocation](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/compaction-revocation.md) — lifecycle observers, generation fencing, and residual stale window.
+- [Fleet first-start identity](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/fleet-first-start-identity.md) — roster authority and atomic no-clobber identity seeding.
 - [Architecture decisions](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/decisions/README.md) — implemented and accepted boundaries.
 - [Mos runtime portability M1](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/decisions/mos-runtime-portability-m1.md) — logical identity, connector lease, grants, audit, and fencing.
 - [Architecture RFCs](DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/rfcs/README.md) — draft proposals without operational authority.
@@ -75,6 +78,7 @@ These paths remain canonical because current source/tests consume them or becaus
 - [Archived planning](archive/planning/README.md) — historical briefs, board reviews, and work-package specifications.
 - [Archived work records](archive/work-records/README.md) — historical task scratchpads without live consumers.
 - [P8-003 performance report](reports/qa/p8-003-performance-optimization.md) — historical implementation evidence, not a current SLO.
+- [Issue #1264 unattended fleet first-start verification](reports/qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md) — RED/GREEN no-TTY CLI evidence and explicit untested bounds.
 - [Plans index](plans/README.md) — approved intent and implementation/audit plans.
 - [Documentation information-architecture design](plans/2026-08-10-docs-information-architecture-design.md) — approved documentation structure decision.
 - [Documentation catalog-audit plan](plans/2026-08-10-docs-catalog-audit.md) — evidence method and migration acceptance criteria.

docs/USER-GUIDE/README.md

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ This book is the canonical home for end-user workflows, user-visible behavior, p
 - [Quickstart](getting-started/quickstart.md) — install Mosaic, complete setup, and launch a session.
 - [Web dashboard](product/web-dashboard.md) — current routes, navigation, chat persistence, projects/tasks views, settings, and admin behavior.
 - [Discord conversations](workflows/discord-conversations.md) — current authorized parent-channel, thread, attachment, and control workflow.
+- [Fleet unattended first start](workflows/fleet-unattended-first-start.md) — no-TTY identity bootstrap, exact roster identity, and separate runtime prerequisites.
 
 ## Chapter map
 
@@ -18,7 +19,7 @@ This book is the canonical home for end-user workflows, user-visible behavior, p
 | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
 | `getting-started/` | First-use setup, orientation, and quickstarts.                | Quickstart is current; additional pages are planned. |
 | `concepts/`        | User-facing terminology, product concepts, and mental models. | Scaffold only.                                       |
-| `workflows/`       | Task-oriented procedures for using Mosaic Stack.              | Discord conversation workflow is current.            |
+| `workflows/`       | Task-oriented procedures for using Mosaic Stack.              | Discord and fleet first-start workflows are current. |
 | `product/`         | Current product surfaces and visible behavior.                | Web dashboard reference is current.                  |
 | `troubleshooting/` | User-visible failures, diagnostics, and fixes.                | Scaffold only.                                       |
 
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ This book is the canonical home for end-user workflows, user-visible behavior, p
 - [Quickstart](getting-started/quickstart.md) — the verified installed-CLI first-use path.
 - [Web dashboard](product/web-dashboard.md) — verified current Next.js dashboard behavior and limitations.
 - [Discord conversations](workflows/discord-conversations.md) — verified current Discord user workflow.
+- [Fleet unattended first start](workflows/fleet-unattended-first-start.md) — verified no-TTY first-start behavior and prerequisite boundaries.
 
 Every promoted page must be added to this index and to [`SITEMAP.md`](../SITEMAP.md) in the same migration slice.
 

docs/USER-GUIDE/workflows/fleet-unattended-first-start.md

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# Fleet Unattended First Start
+
+> **Status:** Current for roster-owned local fleet launches after issue #1264 lands. Runtime
+> installation and provider authentication remain separate prerequisites.
+
+A fleet seat started by systemd has no operator at its pane. On its first launch, Mosaic must not
+stop at the interactive identity wizard.
+
+## What happens on first start
+
+When `MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` names an exact member of the installed fleet roster and top-level identity
+contracts are absent, the launcher:
+
+1. validates the exact roster member, its canonical class, and the installed fleet communications
+   helper;
+2. reads the shipped generic contracts from
+   `~/.config/mosaic/defaults/SOUL.md` and `defaults/USER.md`;
+3. creates only the missing top-level `SOUL.md` and `USER.md` as owner-private files;
+4. preserves any existing top-level identity file byte-for-byte; and
+5. launches the runtime with the roster member's exact agent/session name and role/class in composed
+   context.
+
+The generic defaults do **not** make every seat the same identity. They provide a shared behavioral
+base. The canonical roster row supplies each seat's exact name, class, peers, socket, and authority.
+
+## Operator behavior
+
+A normal standalone launch without a fleet identity retains its portable configuration path and still
+uses the interactive wizard when `SOUL.md` is absent:
+
+```bash
+mosaic pi
+```
+
+A roster-owned seat may be started without attaching to its pane:
+
+```bash
+mosaic fleet start <exact-roster-name>
+```
+
+Mosaic refuses before runtime execution if the requested member is absent, its explicitly supplied
+ambient class is blank or conflicts with the roster, a required default is missing or unsafe, or an existing identity contract
+is not a safe regular file. Repair the named component and retry the same exact roster member; do not
+copy another seat's personalized identity.
+
+## Separate prerequisites
+
+This behavior clears the Mosaic identity-wizard wall only. A clean host still needs:
+
+- the declared runtime installed on the pane PATH;
+- the fleet transport and generated unit assets; and
+- runtime/provider authentication appropriate to that seat.
+
+Those checks are separate so a successful identity bootstrap is not reported as a fully authenticated
+agent session.
+
+## Related
+
+- [Administrator runbook](../../ADMIN-GUIDE/operations/fleet-unattended-first-start.md)
+- [Developer architecture](../../DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/fleet-first-start-identity.md)
+- [Verification report](../../reports/qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md)

docs/reports/README.md

@@ -12,11 +12,13 @@ Use the canonical guide, API contract, source, and tests to determine current be
 - [Issue #756 documentation checklist](documentation/756-discord-plugin-checklist.md) — historical completion checklist for the official Discord plugin workstream.
 - [Framework consistency audit — 2026-02-17](documentation/AUDIT-2026-02-17-framework-consistency.md) — historical framework consistency and remediation snapshot.
 - [Compaction-refresh #830 checklist](compaction-refresh/830-documentation-checklist.md) — historical incomplete-at-snapshot documentation checklist.
+- [Issue #1264 documentation checklist](documentation/1264-documentation-checklist.md) — current in-repo user/admin/developer/report coverage and review gate.
 
 ## Code-review evidence
 
 - [Issue #756 independent code review](code-review/756-code-review.md) — historical exact-scope review of the official Discord plugin workstream.
 - [Gateway security-hardening code review — 2026-03-13](code-review/gateway-security-20260313.md) — historical no-blocker review snapshot.
+- [Issue #1264 independent code and security review](code-review/1264-code-review.md) — initial finding, remediation, clean re-review, and remaining formal PR-review gate.
 
 ## Security evidence
 
@@ -26,6 +28,7 @@ Use the canonical guide, API contract, source, and tests to determine current be
 
 - [P8-003 performance optimization report](qa/p8-003-performance-optimization.md) — historical implementation evidence; not a current SLO or production benchmark.
 - [Gateway security-hardening QA report — 2026-03-13](qa/gateway-security-20260313.md) — historical test report with its original live-smoke-test limitation.
+- [Issue #1264 unattended fleet first-start verification](qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md) — RED/GREEN no-TTY CLI evidence, baseline gates, and explicit real-provider limitation.
 
 ## Native Kanban/SOT evidence
 

docs/reports/code-review/1264-code-review.md

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Issue #1264 Code and Security Review
+
+> Branch: `fix/1264-fleet-unattended-first-start` | Base:
+> `origin/next@476db12b92971634b67fd2057b7577ee5894e449`
+
+## Initial automated review
+
+Codex reviewed the pre-PR uncommitted delta with:
+
+```bash
+~/.config/mosaic/tools/codex/codex-code-review.sh --uncommitted \
+  -o /tmp/1264-codex-code-review.json
+```
+
+Result: `request-changes`, confidence `0.93`, 20 files, one should-fix. `checkSoul()` trimmed
+`MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME` for pre-seed resolution while composition used the original value, so a padded
+name could seed files before later refusal.
+
+Remediation rejected blank/leading/trailing-whitespace values before roster lookup or writes and
+added three built-CLI no-side-effect regressions. Automated re-review approved that delta with no
+findings (confidence `0.86`). Initial security review reported risk `none` (confidence `0.91`).
+
+## Formal exact-head review
+
+Daphne reviewed PR #1268 at exact head `43fa0477877e0d0f110da8d11c3033b40ddeb191` and filed Gitea
+review ID 168 as `REQUEST_CHANGES`. The review was source/PR-only; the canary remained untouched.
+
+Blocking groups:
+
+1. class mismatch was validated after first-start mutation;
+2. secure `USER.md` validation was discarded before ordinary path-following composition;
+3. `existsSync()` treated a dangling destination symlink as missing, allowing counterpart partial
+   publication; and
+4. the built-CLI/evidence chain allowed stale ignored `dist/`, cited an unshipped canary object, and
+   carried conflicting test totals/pane wording.
+
+The diagnostic's defaults-only repair advice was also inaccurate for roster/class/destination
+failures.
+
+## Formal-review remediation
+
+All four blocking groups received regressions before production changes. The RED run produced four
+failures while 1,568 existing tests passed. Remediation then:
+
+- validates canonical name and class before seeding;
+- preflights destination directory entries with `lstatSync()` so target and dangling symlinks fail
+  before publication;
+- securely reads `USER.md` through an `O_NOFOLLOW` descriptor at composition time;
+- adds a Mosaic build before package Vitest and a dependency build in the clean-checkout command;
+- replaces defaults-only advice with neutral named-component repair guidance; and
+- reconciles shipping canary provenance, pane chronology, commands, and totals.
+
+Remediation code review:
+
+```bash
+~/.config/mosaic/tools/codex/codex-code-review.sh --uncommitted \
+  -o /tmp/1264-remediation-code-review.json
+```
+
+Result: `approve`, confidence `0.88`, 6 files, no findings. Summary: the fail-closed destination
+checks, class-validation order, secure composition, and build-before-Vitest path are coherent.
+
+Remediation security review:
+
+```bash
+~/.config/mosaic/tools/codex/codex-security-review.sh --uncommitted \
+  -o /tmp/1264-remediation-security-review.json
+```
+
+Result: risk `none`, confidence `0.93`, 9 files, no critical/high/medium/low findings. The sandbox
+could not run Vitest because Vite attempted to create a temporary config artifact on its read-only
+mount (`EROFS`); executor-owned focused and full results are recorded in the QA report.
+
+## Second exact-head review
+
+Daphne reviewed exact head `9dc90be7e13b1cd609f6df97d43d890ef5392ca0` and filed Gitea review
+ID 169 as `REQUEST_CHANGES`. Review 169 confirmed all review-168 closures, then found:
+
+1. the new point-of-use reader was Linux-only but had been applied to every standalone USER read,
+   breaking supported non-fleet macOS composition; and
+2. explicit blank/whitespace `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS` was treated as absent and could seed before
+   runtime, while only undefined should mean absent.
+
+Red-first remediation preserves legacy `readOptional()` for standalone composition, keeps descriptor
+no-follow consumption fleet-only, moves the replacement-symlink case under a valid fleet identity,
+and rejects defined blank/whitespace classes before seeding. Three blank-class CLI cases and one
+tolerant standalone composition case failed before the source change and pass after it.
+
+Review-169 remediation code review approved at confidence `0.90` (4 files, no findings). Security
+review reported risk `none` at confidence `0.90` (4 files, no findings). The review sandbox retained
+its known Vite `EROFS` limitation; executor-owned tests are in the QA report.
+
+## Remaining review gate
+
+Daphne must re-review the next exact pushed head. This report cannot record that future verdict
+without changing the reviewed head, so the authoritative terminal verdict belongs to PR #1268's
+Gitea review record. Fred and goals are excluded as reviewers.

docs/reports/documentation/1264-documentation-checklist.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# #1264 Documentation Completion Checklist
+
+## Required artifacts
+
+- [x] `docs/PRD.md` updated with `FCM-REQ-12` and `AC-FCM-10`.
+- [x] User workflow documents unattended fleet first start and separate prerequisites.
+- [x] Administrator operations page documents source/destination ownership, failure handling, and an
+      exact-source build-before-Vitest verification gate.
+- [x] Developer architecture page documents control flow, identity authority, concurrency, and non-goals.
+- [x] `docs/SITEMAP.md` and book indexes updated.
+- [x] QA evidence is under `docs/reports/qa/`; working notes are under `docs/scratchpads/`.
+- [x] Framework defaults README reflects fleet-versus-standalone behavior.
+
+## API coverage
+
+- [x] No HTTP/API endpoint or DTO changed; OpenAPI and endpoint indexes are not applicable.
+
+## Structural standards
+
+- [x] User, administrator, developer, report, and sitemap indexes link the new pages.
+- [x] No noncanonical file was added at the `docs/` root.
+- [x] Canonical documentation remains in-repo; no external publication was requested or performed.
+
+## Review gate
+
+- [x] Initial padded-name finding remediated and automated re-review approved.
+- [x] Daphne formal review ID 168 completed on exact first head `43fa0477` and requested changes.
+- [x] Four review-168 groups reproduced red and remediated; automated reviews are clean.
+- [x] Daphne review ID 169 completed on exact head `9dc90be7` and confirmed review-168 closures.
+- [x] Review-169 standalone-portability and blank-class blockers reproduced red and remediated;
+      automated reviews are clean.
+- [ ] Daphne exact-second-remediation-head re-review completed after push (Fred/goals excluded).

docs/reports/qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md

@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+# #1264 Unattended Fleet First-Start Verification
+
+> Status: **IN PROGRESS — review-169 remediation complete locally; push/re-review pending** |
+> Executor: goals | Date: 2026-08-16 | Target: isolated local fixtures only
+
+## Objective
+
+Verify that a named fleet seat launched through a systemd-equivalent, no-TTY environment on a clean
+host reaches its runtime boundary without an interactive Mosaic identity wizard. Preserve standalone
+wizard behavior and canonical-roster ownership of exact seat identity.
+
+## Source evidence accepted for local verification
+
+Daphne's canary Run-7 report is reachable from jarvis-brain `origin/main` at
+`8bf94afeb8c7d5df96cdd4a4508e75a1d2999710`,
+`docs/reports/2026-08-16_sbx-canary-greenfield-e2e.md`. The earlier local object
+`6c0b6fc70ae6a179a1b7ff9dedfc54e9adccd19a` is not reachable from an origin ref and is not used as
+shipping provenance. Run 7 measured:
+
+```text
+systemd -> start-agent-session.sh -> mosaic yolo pi (PID 3726)
+                                  -> child mosaic wizard (PID 3762)
+```
+
+The pane was preserved when Run 7 was captured. Formal review ID 168 records that an authorized
+rollback occurred later. This task never accessed or altered the canary VM, pane, snapshot, or
+rollback state. Product behavior is independently tested here with temporary roots and fake runtime
+executables.
+
+## Controls
+
+- Original base: `origin/next@476db12b92971634b67fd2057b7577ee5894e449`.
+- PR: #1268, first pushed head `43fa0477877e0d0f110da8d11c3033b40ddeb191`.
+- `DATABASE_URL` remains unset for local tests.
+- No runtime/provider credential or token value, VM, installed Mosaic tree, unit, timer, PATH profile,
+  or live tmux session is read or mutated. Standard Gitea/Woodpecker wrappers authenticate metadata
+  reads/writes without exposing credential values.
+- Tiny's runtime-preflight and `start-agent-session.sh` PATH work remain out of scope.
+- Held PR #1213 is not a dependency.
+
+## Requirements-to-evidence map
+
+| Acceptance criterion                                                   | Method                                                          | Evidence                      |
+| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
+| No-TTY fleet first start avoids wizard and reaches runtime             | Exact-source built CLI with piped stdin                         | CLI GREEN                     |
+| Missing top-level identity files are initialized from shipped defaults | Exact-byte and `0600` assertions                                | CLI + filesystem GREEN        |
+| Exact seat identity remains roster-owned                               | Captured argv; mismatched/blank class no-side-effect refusals   | CLI GREEN                     |
+| Existing operator identity is never overwritten                        | Custom bytes/mode with defaults removed                         | CLI + filesystem GREEN        |
+| Concurrent/repeated first start is safe                                | Four parallel CLIs plus repeated launch                         | CLI GREEN                     |
+| Missing/unsafe defaults and destinations fail before partial mutation  | Missing, target/dangling symlink, oversized, invalid-root cases | Filesystem/CLI GREEN          |
+| Validated `USER.md` cannot be replaced by an external symlink          | Seed, replace, compose at point of use                          | Composition GREEN             |
+| Standalone launch retains wizard                                       | Same built CLI without fleet identity                           | CLI GREEN                     |
+| Built-CLI evidence cannot use stale ignored `dist/`                    | Build-with-dependencies gate before Vitest                      | Package script + command gate |
+
+## Initial RED
+
+Production source remained unchanged after adding the first reproducer. The CLI was built from
+`origin/next@476db12` before the test.
+
+```bash
+env -u DATABASE_URL pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic exec vitest run \
+  src/commands/launch-first-start.spec.ts
+```
+
+Exit `1`; one file and one test failed. Output included:
+
+```text
+[mosaic] SOUL.md not found. Running setup wizard...
+◆  What would you like to do?
+[mosaic] Setup failed. Run: mosaic wizard
+AssertionError: expected 1 to be +0
+```
+
+The fake runtime-boundary capture was not created. Complete stdout/stderr was retained at
+`/tmp/1264-red.out` during that work session.
+
+## Formal-review remediation RED
+
+Daphne's exact-head review ID 168 requested changes at `43fa0477`. Before changing production code,
+new regressions were run against an exact-source build. Four tests failed while the existing 1,568
+passed:
+
+1. valid roster name plus mismatched ambient class seeded both files before refusal;
+2. dangling `SOUL.md` allowed `USER.md` to be published before refusal;
+3. dangling `USER.md` allowed `SOUL.md` to be published before refusal; and
+4. replacing a securely validated `USER.md` with an external symlink was followed by composition.
+
+This establishes that all four review-168 findings were observable on the pushed implementation.
+
+Daphne's review ID 169 then found two more exact-head failures at `9dc90be7`. Before production
+changes, four new assertions failed:
+
+1. standalone composition routed an unreadable optional `USER.md` through the Linux-only descriptor
+   reader instead of the legacy portable tolerant path; and
+2. explicit `MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS` values `""`, `" "`, and tab were treated as absent, seeded both
+   identity files, and reached runtime.
+
+The replacement-symlink case was also moved under a valid roster identity so it tests the fleet-only
+security boundary rather than standalone behavior.
+
+## Final GREEN
+
+The production-kind command builds Mosaic and all workspace dependencies before invoking Vitest,
+because `dist/` is ignored and may otherwise be absent or stale:
+
+```bash
+env -u DATABASE_URL sh -c '
+  pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic... build &&
+  pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic exec vitest run \
+    src/commands/fleet-first-start-identity.spec.ts \
+    src/commands/launch-first-start.spec.ts \
+    src/commands/launch.spec.ts \
+    src/commands/compose-contract.spec.ts \
+    src/config/file-adapter.test.ts \
+    src/cli-smoke.spec.ts
+'
+```
+
+Exit `0`: `6/6` files, `128/128` tests.
+
+- 15 real-CLI/no-TTY tests cover exact roster name/class, byte-equal `0600` seeds, no-clobber,
+  partial seed, missing/symlink defaults, unknown/padded/blank name, mismatched or explicitly blank
+  class, standalone wizard preservation, and four concurrent starts.
+- 12 direct filesystem tests cover complete publication, existing operators, idempotence, source
+  prevalidation, target and dangling destination links, invalid roots, oversized input, and
+  unexpected link errors.
+- Composition coverage deterministically replaces a valid fleet seat's validated `USER.md` with an
+  external symlink and requires refusal at point of use. A separate standalone case proves tolerant
+  optional composition remains outside the Linux-only fleet reader.
+
+Full package gate (which rebuilds Mosaic itself after the clean-checkout dependency build):
+
+```bash
+env -u DATABASE_URL pnpm --filter @mosaicstack/mosaic run test:vitest
+```
+
+Exit `0`: `88/88` files, `1,577/1,577` tests.
+
+Focused helper + point-of-use coverage:
+
+```text
+2 files, 53/53 tests
+Statements 97.84% | Branches 91.66% | Functions 100% | Lines 97.84%
+Exit 0
+```
+
+Final repository gates after remediation:
+
+```text
+pnpm preflight    exit 0
+pnpm typecheck    45/45 tasks, exit 0
+pnpm lint         25/25 tasks, exit 0
+pnpm build        25/25 tasks, exit 0
+pnpm format:check exit 0
+git diff --check  exit 0
+```
+
+Pre-PR targeted shell runs on the unchanged shell surfaces also passed:
+
+```text
+bash framework/tools/fleet/test-start-agent-session.sh                 exit 0 locally
+bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/test-install-migration.sh         21 passed, 0 failed
+bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-mosaic-init-rce.sh                   PASS
+```
+
+The aggregate local `test:framework-shell` run stopped at `invariant_r_unittest.py`: installed
+operator-global Pi is `0.84.2`, while the invariant is measured for `0.84.1`. Later aggregate stages
+remain unmeasured except the targeted suites above. Root `pnpm test` remains locally **UNTESTED**
+because this checkout prohibits the PostgreSQL-dependent gateway isolation path.
+
+## Review and security evidence
+
+- Initial Codex review found padded-name mutation-before-refusal; it was fixed with three
+  no-side-effect regressions.
+- Codex review of the formal-review remediation: `approve`, confidence `0.88`, 6 files, no findings.
+- Codex security review of the remediation: risk `none`, confidence `0.93`, 9 files, no findings.
+  Its sandbox could not execute Vitest because Vite attempted a write on a read-only mount; the
+  executor-owned results above are the test evidence.
+- Daphne formal review ID 168 at exact head `43fa0477`: `REQUEST_CHANGES`, four blocking groups; all
+  closed by review 169.
+- Daphne formal review ID 169 at exact head `9dc90be7`: `REQUEST_CHANGES`, two blocking groups
+  (standalone portability and explicit blank class). Both now have red-first regressions and local
+  green remediation.
+- Codex review of review-169 remediation: `approve`, confidence `0.90`, 4 files, no findings.
+- Codex security review of review-169 remediation: risk `none`, confidence `0.90`, 4 files, no
+  findings. Exact-new-head Daphne re-review is pending until that head is pushed.
+
+## CI evidence and external blocker
+
+Pipeline 2445 ran against exact first head `43fa0477`:
+
+- install, sanitization, upgrade guard, typecheck, lint, and format passed;
+- Mosaic Vitest passed `88/88`, `1,568/1,568`; and
+- the test step emitted exactly one `FAIL:` line:
+
+```text
+FAIL: host provides 'pi' in the system path; missing-binary cases are not measurable here
+```
+
+That line comes from the inherited `test-start-agent-session.sh` CI-fit guard, not #1264. Fred filed
+the correction as PR #1270. Its pipeline 2448 is terminal green and proves the four formerly masked
+suites execute, but #1270 is not merged, so `next` still carries the failing chain. A new #1268
+pipeline 2449 at `9dc90be7` reproduced the same single inherited `FAIL:` after Mosaic passed
+`1,573/1,573`. A new pipeline is pending the review-169 remediation push. Terminal-green #1268 CI is
+not claimed.
+
+PR #1268's envelope was read back as `user.login=mos-dt-0`; its commit is explicitly authored and
+committed by `goals <[email protected]>`. No goals Gitea login exists on this host, and no
+other principal was borrowed. The cross-wrapper principal defect is tracked in #1272.
+
+## Explicitly untested
+
+- Canary VM remediation/restart: **UNTESTED and prohibited**.
+- Real Pi authentication/provider prompt and task execution: **UNTESTED**.
+- PR #1213 composition layer: **UNTESTED and not required**.
+- Deployment/published npm behavior: **UNTESTED until merge/release**.
+- Local PostgreSQL execution/migration: **UNTESTED and prohibited**.
+
+The local gate proves Mosaic crosses its identity boundary and reaches a fake lease-runtime boundary;
+it does not claim provider readiness, deployment, or a currently running canary seat.

docs/scratchpads/1264-unattended-first-start.md

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+# #1264 — Unattended fleet first start
+
+## Tracking
+
+- Issue: `mosaicstack/stack#1264`
+- PR: `mosaicstack/stack#1268`
+- Branch: `fix/1264-fleet-unattended-first-start`
+- Base: `origin/next@476db12b92971634b67fd2057b7577ee5894e449`
+- First pushed head: `43fa0477877e0d0f110da8d11c3033b40ddeb191`
+- Current remediation worktree: `/var/home/jason.woltje/agent-work/1264-review2-remediation`
+- Coordinator: Fred; reviewer must be neither Fred nor this implementation seat.
+- `docs/TASKS.md` is orchestrator-owned and is not modified by this worker.
+
+The original `/var/home/jason.woltje/agent-work/1264-unattended-first-start` and first remediation
+worktrees were removed without force after each pushed head and clean state were verified. The
+Fred-authorized plain-Git worktree exception was reused for exact-head review remediation because
+`/src` remains unavailable.
+
+## Objective
+
+A roster-owned fleet seat launched from systemd on a clean host must cross Mosaic's first-run identity
+gate without a human or TTY, while retaining exact name/class from the canonical roster and
+preserving the standalone interactive wizard.
+
+## Intake and boundaries
+
+- Shipping canary provenance is jarvis-brain `origin/main` commit
+  `8bf94afeb8c7d5df96cdd4a4508e75a1d2999710`. The earlier local `6c0b6fc...` object is not used.
+- The Run-7 pane was preserved when evidence was captured; formal review records a later authorized
+  rollback. This task never accessed or altered the canary.
+- Tiny's concurrent runtime-preflight, `start-agent-session.sh`, and #1258 PATH seam remain untouched.
+- Held PR #1213 is not a dependency.
+- No runtime/provider credential values or provider calls, installed-host changes, PostgreSQL, unit,
+  timer, or profile mutation. Tests use temporary roots and fake executables only; Gitea/Woodpecker
+  metadata operations use standard wrappers without exposing credentials.
+
+## Requirements and design
+
+- PRD IDs: `FCM-REQ-12`, `AC-FCM-10`; `FCM-REQ-11` is reserved by #1256.
+- A present fleet name must be nonblank, whitespace-exact, and resolve through the canonical roster.
+- Any defined ambient class, including blank/whitespace, must canonicalize to the roster class before
+  mutation; only undefined means absent.
+- Preflight all destination directory entries with no-follow existence semantics so dangling links
+  fail before counterpart publication.
+- Seed only missing top-level files from bounded regular defaults with owner-private, atomic,
+  no-clobber hard links.
+- Generic defaults are behavior, not identity or authority.
+- Securely consume fleet `USER.md` through a Linux descriptor at composition time.
+- Standalone composition retains the portable tolerant USER read and missing identity retains the
+  wizard.
+
+## Progress
+
+- [x] Issue, canary report, Tiny collision state, and PRD read/amended.
+- [x] Initial production-kind RED captured with a real built CLI and no TTY.
+- [x] Implementation, tests, user/admin/developer docs, QA, and indexes delivered.
+- [x] Initial automated review finding (padded name before write) remediated.
+- [x] Commit `43fa0477` pushed; PR #1268 opened against `next`; original worktree removed cleanly.
+- [x] Daphne formal review ID 168 completed on exact first head: `REQUEST_CHANGES` with four groups.
+- [x] All four review-168 groups reproduced red before remediation and passed at `9dc90be7`.
+- [x] Daphne review ID 169 completed on `9dc90be7`: review-168 closures confirmed; two new blockers.
+- [x] Review-169 portability and blank-class blockers reproduced red and now pass locally.
+- [x] Review-169 Codex review approved; security review risk `none`.
+- [ ] Commit/push second remediation with explicit goals author/committer; verify remote object/content.
+- [ ] Daphne exact-new-head re-review.
+- [ ] Terminal #1268 CI. Pipeline 2445's only `FAIL:` was the inherited Pi-PATH CI-fit guard; PR
+  #1270's pipeline 2448 is green, but #1270 is not merged.
+- [ ] Remove the clean remediation worktree after push.
+
+## Test evidence
+
+### Initial RED
+
+The built `origin/next` CLI entered `mosaic wizard`, rendered `What would you like to do?`, exited 1,
+and never created the fake runtime-boundary capture.
+
+### Formal-review RED
+
+Against exact first-head production code, four new tests failed while 1,568 existing tests passed:
+class mismatch mutated before refusal; each dangling destination left its counterpart; and a
+replacement `USER.md` symlink was consumed by composition. Review-169 RED then proved standalone
+composition hit the Linux-only reader and three explicit blank/whitespace class cases seeded and
+launched.
+
+### Final local GREEN
+
+- Exact-source focused gate: `6/6` files, `128/128` tests.
+- Full exact-source Mosaic Vitest: `88/88` files, `1,577/1,577` tests.
+- Helper + point-of-use coverage: `53/53`; 97.84% statements/lines, 91.66% branches, 100% functions.
+- Root preflight passed; typecheck `45/45`, lint `25/25`, build `25/25`.
+- Initial targeted shell gates passed: start-agent-session, install migration `21/21`, init-RCE.
+- Local aggregate framework shell stops at operator-global Pi `0.84.2` versus measured `0.84.1`.
+- Local root `pnpm test` remains unrun because the checkout prohibits its PostgreSQL-dependent path.
+
+The full evidence and command boundaries are in
+`docs/reports/qa/2026-08-16-1264-unattended-first-start.md`.
+
+## Review / delivery notes
+
+- Review-168 remediation Codex review: approve `0.88`; security risk `none` `0.93`.
+- Review-169 remediation Codex review: approve `0.90`; security risk `none` `0.90`.
+- PR envelope reads `mos-dt-0`; the commit reads goals/goals. No goals Gitea principal exists on this
+  host, so no other principal will be borrowed. Tracked in #1272.
+- PR #1270 is pushed, not merged. Do not represent `next` or #1268 CI as green until measured.

docs/scratchpads/README.md

@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@
 - [DOCS-IA-001 — information architecture](DOCS-IA-001.md) — completed structure-design and documentation-contract record.
 - [DOCS-IA-002 — catalog audit and migration](DOCS-IA-002-catalog-audit.md) — active coordinator progress, autonomous lane state, verification evidence, and authority blockers.
 
+## Active implementation records
+
+- [Issue #1264 — unattended fleet first start](1264-unattended-first-start.md) — plan, RED/GREEN evidence, collision boundaries, and PR lifecycle state.
+
 Completed scratchpads may remain here when they provide useful delivery provenance. Their conclusions must be reflected in the owning canonical page before the scratchpad is treated as complete.
 
 ## Related

packages/mosaic/__tests__/platform/detect.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+
+// homedir/platform are read at call time, so they can be stubbed per case.
+vi.mock('node:os', async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import('node:os')>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    homedir: () => '/home/tester',
+    platform: () => mockPlatform,
+  };
+});
+
+let mockPlatform: NodeJS.Platform = 'linux';
+
+const { getShellProfilePath, detectShell } = await import('../../src/platform/detect.js');
+
+describe('getShellProfilePath', () => {
+  const originalShell = process.env['SHELL'];
+  const originalZdotdir = process.env['ZDOTDIR'];
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mockPlatform = 'linux';
+    delete process.env['ZDOTDIR'];
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (originalShell === undefined) delete process.env['SHELL'];
+    else process.env['SHELL'] = originalShell;
+    if (originalZdotdir === undefined) delete process.env['ZDOTDIR'];
+    else process.env['ZDOTDIR'] = originalZdotdir;
+  });
+
+  // The regression this guards: setupPath() in stages/finalize.ts appends the
+  // PATH export to whatever this returns. A line written to ~/.bashrc is
+  // unreachable to `bash -lc`, systemd units and agent seats, because Debian's
+  // default .bashrc returns early for non-interactive shells — so an install
+  // reported success and left `mosaic: command not found`. Same for .zshrc,
+  // which zsh only reads for interactive shells.
+  it('never targets an interactive-only rc file', () => {
+    for (const shell of ['/bin/bash', '/usr/bin/zsh']) {
+      process.env['SHELL'] = shell;
+      const profile = getShellProfilePath();
+      expect(profile).not.toMatch(/\.bashrc$/);
+      expect(profile).not.toMatch(/\.zshrc$/);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('uses ~/.profile for bash', () => {
+    process.env['SHELL'] = '/bin/bash';
+    expect(getShellProfilePath()).toBe('/home/tester/.profile');
+  });
+
+  it('uses ~/.zshenv for zsh', () => {
+    process.env['SHELL'] = '/usr/bin/zsh';
+    expect(getShellProfilePath()).toBe('/home/tester/.zshenv');
+  });
+
+  it('honours ZDOTDIR for zsh', () => {
+    process.env['SHELL'] = '/usr/bin/zsh';
+    process.env['ZDOTDIR'] = '/custom/zdot';
+    expect(getShellProfilePath()).toBe('/custom/zdot/.zshenv');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to ~/.profile for an unknown shell', () => {
+    process.env['SHELL'] = '/bin/somethingelse';
+    expect(detectShell()).toBe('unknown');
+    expect(getShellProfilePath()).toBe('/home/tester/.profile');
+  });
+
+  it('still routes fish to its own config', () => {
+    process.env['SHELL'] = '/usr/bin/fish';
+    expect(getShellProfilePath()).toBe('/home/tester/.config/fish/config.fish');
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/framework/defaults/README.md

@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ mosaic yolo pi             # Launch Pi in yolo mode
 The launcher:
 
 1. Verifies `~/.config/mosaic` exists
-2. Verifies `SOUL.md` exists (auto-runs `mosaic init` if missing)
+2. Resolves identity: standalone launches auto-run `mosaic init` when `SOUL.md` is missing; exact roster-owned fleet launches validate name/class, atomically seed only missing `SOUL.md`/`USER.md` from generic `defaults/`, securely consume `USER.md`, and never prompt
 3. Injects `AGENTS.md` into the runtime
 4. Forwards all arguments to the runtime CLI
 

packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh

@@ -35,6 +35,18 @@ SOURCE_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 TARGET_DIR="${MOSAIC_HOME:-$HOME/.config/mosaic}"
 INSTALL_MODE="${MOSAIC_INSTALL_MODE:-prompt}"
 
+# Normalize the ambient umask so directory modes are a property of the installer
+# and not of whatever shell invoked it (#1236). Debian/Ubuntu ship umask 002, so
+# every `mkdir -p` below yielded 0775 — and the fleet env boundary rejects any
+# managed directory with `mode & 0o022`, which made `mosaic fleet init --write`
+# impossible on a stock install of those distros. Fedora/RHEL ship 022 and did
+# not trip it, so the product worked or did not depending on the operator's
+# login shell. 022 is what this script already assumes it produces: see the
+# umask note in make_durable_snapshot, which restores to the ambient value
+# precisely so "every later sync copy and new framework dir" gets 0644/0755.
+# Now that value is 022 rather than whatever was inherited.
+umask 022
+
 # Deliberately parsed from "$@" (a real, explicit, per-invocation argument) —
 # never an environment variable — so this opt-out can never sit silently
 # inherited in a shell profile. See #869 Point-1 C2.
@@ -696,6 +708,52 @@ sync_framework
 mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR/memory"
 mkdir -p "$TARGET_DIR/credentials"
 
+# Three directories must be 0700, not merely not-group-writable (#1236).
+# The fleet code guards them with two different masks in two different
+# languages, and the strict one wins:
+#
+#   assertPrivateManagedDirectory (fleet-reconciler.js, `mode & 0o077`)
+#       -> MOSAIC_HOME and MOSAIC_HOME/fleet, checked before the roster lock is
+#          taken, so every mutating `mosaic fleet` command dies at 0755.
+#   assert_private_directory (tools/fleet/start-agent-session.sh, `mode & 077`)
+#       -> MOSAIC_HOME/fleet/agents, checked before a pane is ever spawned.
+#
+# Their laxer siblings (`mode & 0o022`) accept 0755, which is why normalizing
+# the umask above is necessary and not sufficient — a correct umask-022 install
+# still produces 0755 and still cannot run `mosaic fleet init --write`. Say the
+# strict modes outright rather than inferring them from a umask.
+#
+# Only these. The rest of the tree is content, stays 0755, and is only ever
+# reached by the 0o022 checks, which 0755 satisfies.
+chmod 700 "$TARGET_DIR" 2>/dev/null || \
+  warn "Could not set 0700 on $TARGET_DIR — 'mosaic fleet' mutations will fail as unsafe-permissions."
+if [[ -d "$TARGET_DIR/fleet" ]]; then
+  chmod 700 "$TARGET_DIR/fleet" 2>/dev/null || \
+    warn "Could not set 0700 on $TARGET_DIR/fleet — 'mosaic fleet' mutations will fail as unsafe-permissions."
+fi
+# fleet/agents does not exist on a first install — the CLI creates it 0700 on
+# demand. It is chmod'd here for the UPGRADE case: a tree built under umask 002
+# has it at 0775, and the repair sweep below cannot rescue it, because stripping
+# group/other write from 0755 leaves 0750 and `mode & 077` is still non-zero.
+if [[ -d "$TARGET_DIR/fleet/agents" ]]; then
+  chmod 700 "$TARGET_DIR/fleet/agents" 2>/dev/null || \
+    warn "Could not set 0700 on $TARGET_DIR/fleet/agents — agent sessions will fail to start as unsafe-permissions."
+fi
+# credentials/ holds secrets and was never meant to be group-readable either.
+# It is not on the fleet boundary, so a failure here breaks nothing — but it is
+# the one directory where a silently-failed chmod leaves secrets group-readable,
+# which is precisely the failure worth a line in the output.
+chmod 700 "$TARGET_DIR/credentials" 2>/dev/null || \
+  warn "Could not set 0700 on $TARGET_DIR/credentials — stored secrets may be readable by other users on this host."
+
+# Repair an existing tree. The umask above only governs directories this run
+# creates, so a host installed under umask 002 before this fix keeps its 0775
+# dirs through every upgrade and stays broken. Strips group/other WRITE only —
+# never read or execute — so it can repair the boundary violation without
+# changing who can traverse or read anything. Scoped to directories: file modes
+# are the manifest's business, not this fix's.
+find "$TARGET_DIR" -type d -perm /022 -exec chmod go-w {} + 2>/dev/null || true
+
 # Reconcile contract files from defaults/ into the framework root: framework-owned
 # files (CONSTITUTION/AGENTS/STANDARDS) are overwritten every upgrade (a divergent
 # copy is backed up once); user-seeded files (TOOLS) are written on first install only.

packages/mosaic/framework/systemd/user/test-fleet-units.sh

@@ -128,6 +128,14 @@ EOF
 sleep 30
 EOF
   chmod 700 "$AGENT_BIN/mosaic"
+  # The launcher resolves the roster's runtime against PANE_PATH before it
+  # spawns anything (#1241), so the runtime this projection names has to be
+  # present here even though the fake `mosaic` above never execs it.
+  cat > "$AGENT_BIN/pi" <<'EOF'
+#!/bin/sh
+sleep 30
+EOF
+  chmod 700 "$AGENT_BIN/pi"
   server_environment_before=$(tmux -L "$TEST_SOCKET" show-environment -g | sort)
   server_sessions_before=$(tmux -L "$TEST_SOCKET" list-sessions | sort)
   if /usr/bin/env -i HOME="$HOLDER_HOME" PATH=/usr/bin:/bin MOSAIC_HOME="$AGENT_HOME" \

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/_scripts/mosaic-doctor

@@ -225,6 +225,54 @@ else
   warn "mosaic-ensure-sequential-thinking helper missing"
 fi
 
+# Fleet transport binary (#1240).
+#
+# `mosaic fleet --help` reads "Manage the local Mosaic tmux fleet" and every
+# roster the CLI scaffolds sets `transport: tmux`, but nothing in the install
+# path provides tmux and, until now, nothing here noticed it was absent. On a
+# greenfield host that produced a fleet which installed clean, started clean,
+# and had no live seat; `mosaic fleet ps` was the operator's first and only
+# signal that anything was wrong.
+#
+# The roster's own `transport:` is read rather than assumed, so a host that
+# declares something other than tmux is told about the binary it actually
+# needs. Absent a roster the check still runs — `mosaic fleet init` will
+# scaffold a tmux fleet on this host, and finding out beforehand is the point.
+#
+# `tools/install.sh` carries a deliberately parallel check at the end of its
+# summary. The two are separate because the installer must be able to say this
+# before the framework's own scripts are guaranteed to be on disk; keep their
+# wording in step.
+fleet_declared_transport() {
+  local roster="$MOSAIC_HOME/fleet/roster.yaml"
+  local declared=""
+
+  if [[ -f "$roster" ]]; then
+    declared="$(sed -n 's/^[[:space:]]*transport:[[:space:]]*//p' "$roster" | head -1 |
+      tr -d '"'\''' | tr -d '\r' | awk '{print $1}')"
+  fi
+
+  printf '%s\n' "${declared:-tmux}"
+}
+
+check_fleet_transport() {
+  local transport
+  transport="$(fleet_declared_transport)"
+
+  if command -v "$transport" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    pass "Fleet transport available: $transport"
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -f "$MOSAIC_HOME/fleet/roster.yaml" ]]; then
+    warn "Fleet transport '$transport' is not installed — this host has a roster and no seat can launch. Install it (e.g. sudo apt-get install -y $transport), then 'mosaic fleet start'."
+  else
+    warn "Fleet transport '$transport' is not installed — 'mosaic fleet' cannot run seats here. Install it (e.g. sudo apt-get install -y $transport) before 'mosaic fleet init'."
+  fi
+}
+
+check_fleet_transport
+
 # Legacy migration surfaces should no longer contain symlink trees.
 legacy_paths=(
   "$HOME/.claude/agent-guides"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/_scripts/test-fleet-transport-check.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Covers the #1240 fleet-transport checks in `mosaic-doctor` and in
+# `tools/install.sh`.
+#
+# Both checks answer the same question — "can a seat actually launch on this
+# host?" — from two different places, because the installer has to be able to
+# answer it before the framework's own scripts are guaranteed to be on disk.
+# Two implementations of one rule is exactly the shape that drifts, so this
+# harness drives BOTH, in one file, from the same table of cases.
+#
+# The functions are extracted from the shipped scripts rather than copied here.
+# A test that carries its own copy of the logic is a test that keeps passing
+# after the shipped copy changes — the failure mode this whole change is about.
+# Extraction is by exact function header and a closing brace in column one; if
+# either script is reshaped so that stops matching, the extraction yields
+# nothing and this fails loudly instead of silently measuring an empty string.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR=$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd)
+DOCTOR="$SCRIPT_DIR/mosaic-doctor"
+# framework/tools/_scripts -> framework/tools -> framework -> mosaic -> packages -> repo
+INSTALLER=$(cd -- "$SCRIPT_DIR/../../../../.." && pwd)/tools/install.sh
+
+fail() {
+  echo "FAIL: $*" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+[ -f "$DOCTOR" ] || fail "missing mosaic-doctor at $DOCTOR"
+[ -f "$INSTALLER" ] || fail "missing install.sh at $INSTALLER"
+
+ROOT=$(mktemp -d)
+trap 'rm -rf "$ROOT"' EXIT
+
+# The cases below run with PATH set to a directory that deliberately does not
+# contain a shell, and a PATH assignment on a command also governs how that
+# command is looked up — so bash has to be named absolutely or it becomes the
+# thing that is missing.
+BASH_BIN=$(command -v bash) || fail "host is missing 'bash'"
+
+# A PATH containing exactly the utilities these functions use and nothing else.
+# The absent-transport cases are only meaningful on a PATH where the transport
+# is genuinely unresolvable, and this host (like most) has tmux in /usr/bin —
+# so the system path cannot be part of the path under test.
+FAKE_BIN="$ROOT/bin"
+mkdir -p "$FAKE_BIN"
+for utility in sed head tr awk; do
+  utility_path=$(command -v "$utility") || fail "host is missing '$utility'"
+  ln -s "$utility_path" "$FAKE_BIN/$utility"
+done
+
+if PATH="$FAKE_BIN" command -v tmux >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "'tmux' is resolvable on the minimal test path; absent-transport cases are not measurable"
+fi
+
+# Extract a function by its exact header, up to a closing brace in column one.
+extract_function() {
+  local source_file="$1"
+  local function_name="$2"
+  local destination="$3"
+
+  awk -v name="$function_name" '
+    $0 == name "() {" { collecting = 1 }
+    collecting { print }
+    collecting && $0 == "}" { exit }
+  ' "$source_file" > "$destination"
+
+  grep -qF "$function_name() {" "$destination" ||
+    fail "could not extract '$function_name' from $source_file — has it been renamed or reshaped?"
+  # An unterminated extraction would be a syntax error the moment it is sourced,
+  # but saying so here names the cause instead of leaving a bash parse error.
+  bash -n "$destination" ||
+    fail "extracted '$function_name' does not parse; the closing brace was probably not found"
+}
+
+extract_function "$DOCTOR" fleet_declared_transport "$ROOT/doctor-declared.sh"
+extract_function "$DOCTOR" check_fleet_transport "$ROOT/doctor-check.sh"
+extract_function "$INSTALLER" check_fleet_transport "$ROOT/installer-check.sh"
+
+# Build a MOSAIC_HOME, optionally with a roster declaring a transport.
+make_home() {
+  local home="$ROOT/$1"
+  local declared="${2-}"
+
+  rm -rf "$home"
+  mkdir -p "$home"
+  if [ -n "$declared" ]; then
+    mkdir -p "$home/fleet"
+    cat > "$home/fleet/roster.yaml" <<EOF
+version: 2
+generation: 1
+transport: $declared
+agents: []
+EOF
+  fi
+  printf '%s\n' "$home"
+}
+
+# Run the doctor's check against a given home and path, capturing which
+# reporter the check chose. The real `pass` prints only under `--verbose` and
+# the real `warn` always prints; these stubs make both unconditional on
+# purpose, because what is under test is the severity the check selects, not
+# whether the default verbosity happens to show it. A check that warned where
+# it should pass would otherwise be invisible here.
+run_doctor_check() {
+  local home="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+
+  MOSAIC_HOME="$home" PATH="$path" "$BASH_BIN" --noprofile --norc -c '
+    set -euo pipefail
+    warn() { echo "[WARN] $*"; }
+    pass() { echo "[OK] $*"; }
+    MOSAIC_HOME="$1"
+    source "$2"
+    source "$3"
+    check_fleet_transport
+  ' _ "$home" "$ROOT/doctor-declared.sh" "$ROOT/doctor-check.sh" 2>&1
+}
+
+run_installer_check() {
+  local home="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+
+  MOSAIC_HOME="$home" PATH="$path" "$BASH_BIN" --noprofile --norc -c '
+    set -euo pipefail
+    warn() { echo "[WARN] $*"; }
+    C="" RESET=""
+    MOSAIC_HOME="$1"
+    source "$2"
+    check_fleet_transport
+  ' _ "$home" "$ROOT/installer-check.sh" 2>&1
+}
+
+# A transport that exists. Named tmux because that is what the default roster
+# declares; the binary never runs, it only has to resolve.
+PRESENT_BIN="$ROOT/present-bin"
+mkdir -p "$PRESENT_BIN"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 0\n' > "$PRESENT_BIN/tmux"
+chmod +x "$PRESENT_BIN/tmux"
+PATH_WITH_TMUX="$PRESENT_BIN:$FAKE_BIN"
+
+# ── absent, no roster ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Nothing has been configured yet, so the honest thing to point at is `init`.
+home=$(make_home no-roster)
+
+output=$(run_doctor_check "$home" "$FAKE_BIN")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF '[WARN]' || fail "doctor did not warn when tmux was absent"
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'tmux' || fail "doctor warning did not name the transport"
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'mosaic fleet init' || fail "doctor did not point a rosterless host at init"
+
+output=$(run_installer_check "$home" "$FAKE_BIN")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF '[WARN]' || fail "installer did not warn when tmux was absent"
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'reports success and no seat comes up' ||
+  fail "installer warning did not say what the missing transport actually breaks"
+
+# ── absent, roster present ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# A configured fleet that cannot launch is a stronger statement than a
+# hypothetical one, and the message says so.
+home=$(make_home with-roster tmux)
+
+output=$(run_doctor_check "$home" "$FAKE_BIN")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF '[WARN]' || fail "doctor did not warn with a roster present and tmux absent"
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'roster' || fail "doctor did not mention the roster it found"
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'mosaic fleet start' || fail "doctor did not point a configured host at start"
+
+# ── present ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Silence from the installer, and a pass (not a warning) from the audit.
+for home_name in no-roster with-roster; do
+  home="$ROOT/$home_name"
+
+  output=$(run_doctor_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+  if echo "$output" | grep -qF '[WARN]'; then
+    fail "doctor warned about the transport while tmux was present ($home_name)"
+  fi
+  echo "$output" | grep -qF '[OK]' || fail "doctor did not record a pass with tmux present ($home_name)"
+
+  output=$(run_installer_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+  if [ -n "$output" ]; then
+    fail "installer was not silent with tmux present ($home_name): $output"
+  fi
+done
+
+# ── the roster declares something other than tmux ────────────────────────────
+# The roster is read, not assumed. A host that declares a different transport
+# is told about the binary it actually needs, and never about tmux — being sent
+# to install the wrong package is worse than no advice at all.
+home=$(make_home other-transport zellij)
+
+output=$(run_doctor_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'zellij' || fail "doctor ignored the roster's declared transport"
+if echo "$output" | grep -qF 'tmux'; then
+  fail "doctor named tmux for a host whose roster declares zellij"
+fi
+
+output=$(run_installer_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'zellij' || fail "installer ignored the roster's declared transport"
+if echo "$output" | grep -qF 'tmux'; then
+  fail "installer named tmux for a host whose roster declares zellij"
+fi
+
+# ── a quoted or trailing-comment transport value ─────────────────────────────
+# YAML permits both and neither is exotic; a check that installs `tmux"` or
+# reads `tmux # default` as a binary name would send the operator nowhere.
+home=$(make_home quoted-transport '"tmux"   # the only transport today')
+
+output=$(run_doctor_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+echo "$output" | grep -qF '[OK] Fleet transport available: tmux' ||
+  fail "doctor did not parse a quoted/commented transport value: $output"
+
+output=$(run_installer_check "$home" "$PATH_WITH_TMUX")
+if [ -n "$output" ]; then
+  fail "installer did not parse a quoted/commented transport value: $output"
+fi
+
+echo "ok - fleet transport checks (mosaic-doctor + install.sh)"

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

@@ -286,6 +286,36 @@ _build_runtime_bin_prefix() {
 MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX=$(_build_runtime_bin_prefix)
 PANE_PATH=${MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX:+${MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN_PREFIX}:}/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
 
+# #1241. The pane runs `mosaic yolo <runtime>` under PANE_PATH with a cleared
+# environment. A binary missing from *that* path is a pane that dies in under a
+# second, inside a session nobody is attached to, with its diagnostic scrolled
+# into a pane tmux then destroys. Resolve both here, before any effect, where
+# the failure is still attributable to the thing that caused it.
+#
+# `mosaic yolo <runtime>` runs checkRuntime(runtime) and the binary it looks for
+# is named exactly like the runtime, so resolving the runtime name is the same
+# question the pane will ask a moment later — asked while an operator can still
+# see the answer.
+_resolve_in_pane_path() {
+  PATH="$PANE_PATH" command -v -- "$1" 2>/dev/null
+}
+
+# Exit 69 (EX_UNAVAILABLE): the seat cannot be provided. Distinguished from the
+# 64 (EX_USAGE) rejections above, which mean the projection itself was bad —
+# here the data is fine and the host is not ready. Callers tell the individual
+# cases apart by `code=`, the same way fail_env's many codes share exit 64.
+fail_launch() {
+  local code="$1"
+  shift
+  echo "ERROR: agent launch aborted: code=${code} agent=${AGENT_NAME} $*" >&2
+  exit 69
+}
+
+for required_binary in mosaic "$MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME"; do
+  _resolve_in_pane_path "$required_binary" >/dev/null ||
+    fail_launch missing-binary "'${required_binary}' is not on the pane PATH (${PANE_PATH})"
+done
+
 _ensure_claude_workdir_trusted() {
   local workdir="$1"
   local resolved
@@ -384,6 +414,19 @@ if [ -n "$PANE_PID" ]; then
   _start_heartbeat_sidecar "$AGENT_NAME" "$PANE_PID" \
     "$MOSAIC_HEARTBEAT_RUN_DIR" "$MOSAIC_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL" || \
     echo "WARNING: heartbeat sidecar could not be started for $AGENT_NAME" >&2
+elif _tmux has-session -t "=${AGENT_NAME}:0.0" 2>/dev/null; then
+  # #1241. Session present, no pane PID after a second of retries. Whatever this
+  # is, it is not a seat an operator can use, so it is not a success either.
+  fail_launch pane-pid-unresolved \
+    "tmux reports the session but no pane PID after 5 attempts"
 else
-  echo "WARNING: could not resolve pane PID for $AGENT_NAME — heartbeat sidecar not started" >&2
+  # #1241. This branch used to print a WARNING about the heartbeat sidecar and
+  # exit 0. It is not a heartbeat problem: tmux destroys a session when its pane
+  # command exits, so an absent session one second after new-session means the
+  # runtime died on startup. Reporting it as success is what let `fleet start`
+  # return 0 over three dead panes — the launcher knew, and said the wrong thing
+  # at the wrong severity to the wrong layer.
+  fail_launch pane-did-not-survive \
+    "the pane exited immediately and tmux destroyed the session;" \
+    "run 'mosaic yolo ${MOSAIC_AGENT_RUNTIME}' in ${MOSAIC_AGENT_WORKDIR} to see why"
 fi

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

@@ -23,8 +23,26 @@ index=0
 if [ "${args[0]:-}" = -L ]; then index=2; fi
 case "${args[$index]:-}" in
   has-session)
+    # The holder always answers. MOSAIC_TEST_HELD_SESSIONS lets a case add
+    # other targets that should answer too — without it there is no way to
+    # model "tmux still reports the session" for a non-holder agent, and the
+    # launcher's pane-pid-unresolved branch is unreachable from this harness.
+    #
+    # A listed target answers only AFTER new-session, because the launcher asks
+    # this question twice about the same name: once before launching, where a
+    # yes means "already running, nothing to do, exit 0", and once after, where
+    # a yes means "the session survived". A shim that answered yes to both
+    # would short-circuit at the first and never reach the branch under test —
+    # it would look like coverage and measure the idempotency path instead.
     for argument in "${args[@]}"; do
       [ "$argument" = '=_holder:0.0' ] && exit 0
+      case " ${MOSAIC_TEST_HELD_SESSIONS:-} " in
+        *" $argument "*)
+          if tr '\0' '\n' < "${MOSAIC_TEST_TMUX_CALLS:?}" | grep -qxF new-session; then
+            exit 0
+          fi
+          ;;
+      esac
     done
     exit 1
     ;;
@@ -62,6 +80,30 @@ env -0 > "${MOSAIC_HOME:?}/fleet/pane-environment"
 SHIM
 chmod +x "$FAKE_BIN/mosaic"
 
+# The runtime the rosters below name. The launcher resolves it against PANE_PATH
+# before spawning (#1241), so it has to exist somewhere the pane would find it —
+# not merely on the launcher's own PATH.
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 0\n' > "$FAKE_BIN/pi"
+chmod +x "$FAKE_BIN/pi"
+
+# PANE_PATH is derived partly from `npm config get prefix`. Left to the real npm
+# it would splice whatever the host has installed into the path under test, and
+# the missing-binary cases below would pass or fail by accident of the machine.
+cat > "$FAKE_BIN/npm" <<'SHIM'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+printf '%s\n' "${MOSAIC_TEST_NPM_PREFIX:-/nonexistent}"
+SHIM
+chmod +x "$FAKE_BIN/npm"
+
+# PANE_PATH always ends in the system path. A host that installs these there can
+# not measure the missing-binary cases at all, and a green run would mean
+# nothing — so say so instead of passing.
+for host_binary in mosaic pi; do
+  if PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin command -v "$host_binary" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    fail "host provides '$host_binary' in the system path; missing-binary cases are not measurable here"
+  fi
+done
+
 write_generated() {
   local home="$1"
   local agent="$2"
@@ -81,6 +123,19 @@ MOSAIC_TMUX_SOCKET=mosaic-test
 EOF
   chmod 600 "$home/fleet/agents/$agent.env.generated"
   mkdir -p "$home/work"
+  install_pane_binaries "$home"
+}
+
+# `$PANE_HOME/.npm-global/bin` is one of the prefixes the launcher folds into
+# PANE_PATH, so this is the pane's own view of "installed", distinct from the
+# launcher's PATH. Tests that need a binary *absent* remove it from here.
+install_pane_binaries() {
+  local pane_home="$1"
+  mkdir -p "$pane_home/.npm-global/bin"
+  local binary
+  for binary in mosaic pi; do
+    ln -sf "$FAKE_BIN/$binary" "$pane_home/.npm-global/bin/$binary"
+  done
 }
 
 run_start() {
@@ -88,6 +143,7 @@ run_start() {
   local agent="$2"
   HOME="$home" PATH="$FAKE_BIN:$PATH" MOSAIC_TEST_TMUX_CALLS="$TMUX_CALLS" \
     MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID="${MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID:-}" \
+    MOSAIC_TEST_HELD_SESSIONS="${MOSAIC_TEST_HELD_SESSIONS:-}" \
     MOSAIC_TEST_HOME="$home" \
     MOSAIC_TEST_FLEET_OWNER=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000 \
     MOSAIC_HOME="$home" "$START" "$agent"
@@ -98,7 +154,10 @@ run_start() {
 HOME_VALID="$ROOT/valid"
 AGENT_VALID="coder0"
 write_generated "$HOME_VALID" "$AGENT_VALID"
-run_start "$HOME_VALID" "$AGENT_VALID"
+# A live pane PID is part of what "valid launch" means. Until #1241 this case
+# ran with none, so the suite's one success path was itself a dead pane the
+# launcher reported as fine.
+MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID=$$ run_start "$HOME_VALID" "$AGENT_VALID"
 valid_args=$(tr '\0' '\n' < "$TMUX_CALLS")
 echo "$valid_args" | grep -qF new-session || fail "valid generated projection did not reach tmux"
 echo "$valid_args" | grep -qF 'mosaic' || fail "fixed mosaic launcher command missing"
@@ -245,6 +304,13 @@ PANE_BASH_ENV="$ROOT/pane-boundary.bash-env"
 printf 'MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN=%s\n' "$FAKE_BIN" > \
   "$HOME_PANE_BOUNDARY/fleet/agents/coder-pane-boundary.env.local"
 chmod 600 "$HOME_PANE_BOUNDARY/fleet/agents/coder-pane-boundary.env.local"
+# This case does not go through run_start, so its pane binaries come from
+# MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN=$FAKE_BIN in the env.local written above — not from the
+# symlinks install_pane_binaries planted under the generated home, which this
+# launcher never consults because HOME here is the trusted parent. That is a
+# legitimate resolution path, but it means dropping MOSAIC_RUNTIME_BIN from
+# this case on the belief that the symlinks cover it would break the #1241
+# binary check rather than exercise it.
 LD_PRELOAD='/not/loaded/by-clean-bootstrap.so' \
 BASH_ENV="$PANE_BASH_ENV" \
 MOSAIC_UNTRUSTED_SENTINEL='must-not-reach-pane' \
@@ -258,6 +324,7 @@ PATH="$PANE_STALE_PATH" \
     "MOSAIC_TEST_HOME=$PANE_TRUSTED_HOME" \
     MOSAIC_TEST_FLEET_OWNER=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000 \
     MOSAIC_TEST_EXECUTE_PANE=1 \
+    "MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID=$$" \
     "$START" coder-pane-boundary
 pane_args=$(tr '\0' '\n' < "$TMUX_CALLS")
 echo "$pane_args" | grep -qxF "HOME=$PANE_TRUSTED_HOME" || \
@@ -392,6 +459,75 @@ echo "$interaction_policy_args" | grep -qF 'new-session' && \
 echo "$output" | grep -qF 'operator interaction service requires runtime pi' || \
   fail "interaction pinned-policy check did not follow strict parsing"
 
+# #1241. The pane runs `mosaic yolo <runtime>` against PANE_PATH. A binary
+# missing from that path is a launch failure, and it has to be named before the
+# session is created — after it, the diagnostic dies with the pane.
+assert_missing_pane_binary_rejected() {
+  local binary="$1"
+  local home="$ROOT/missing-$binary"
+  local agent="coder-missing-$binary"
+  write_generated "$home" "$agent"
+  rm -f "$home/.npm-global/bin/$binary"
+
+  : > "$TMUX_CALLS"
+  local output
+  if output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID=$$ run_start "$home" "$agent" 2>&1); then
+    fail "launch succeeded with '$binary' absent from the pane PATH"
+  fi
+  echo "$output" | grep -qF 'code=missing-binary' || fail "missing '$binary' diagnostic missing"
+  echo "$output" | grep -qF "'$binary'" || fail "missing-binary diagnostic did not name $binary"
+  if tr '\0' '\n' < "$TMUX_CALLS" | grep -qF new-session; then
+    fail "launcher created a session it knew would die ($binary absent)"
+  fi
+}
+
+assert_missing_pane_binary_rejected mosaic
+assert_missing_pane_binary_rejected pi
+
+# #1241. tmux destroys a session when its pane command exits, so no pane PID a
+# second after new-session means the runtime died on startup. This used to be a
+# WARNING about the heartbeat sidecar followed by exit 0 — three layers above it
+# then reported a fleet that was not running.
+: > "$TMUX_CALLS"
+HOME_DEAD_PANE="$ROOT/dead-pane"
+write_generated "$HOME_DEAD_PANE" "coder-dead-pane"
+if output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID='' run_start "$HOME_DEAD_PANE" coder-dead-pane 2>&1); then
+  fail "launcher reported success over a pane that did not survive"
+fi
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'code=pane-did-not-survive' || fail "dead-pane diagnostic missing"
+if echo "$output" | grep -qiF 'heartbeat'; then
+  fail "dead pane is still being reported as a heartbeat-sidecar problem"
+fi
+tr '\0' '\n' < "$TMUX_CALLS" | grep -qF new-session || \
+  fail "dead-pane case did not reach the launch it is measuring"
+
+# #1241, the other way a pane fails. Above, tmux destroyed the session and
+# has-session said so. Here the session is still there and no PID comes back
+# after the retries — a different fault (the pane is alive but unusable, or
+# tmux is answering inconsistently) that an operator has to be told apart from
+# a runtime that died on startup.
+#
+# This case exists because the branch that handles it shipped with nothing able
+# to reach it: the shim answered has-session only for the holder, so every
+# non-holder agent landed in the session-is-gone branch no matter what. A
+# defensive branch nothing exercises is the same shape as the bug this whole
+# change is about, one layer down.
+: > "$TMUX_CALLS"
+HOME_NO_PID="$ROOT/pane-no-pid"
+write_generated "$HOME_NO_PID" "coder-no-pid"
+if output=$(MOSAIC_TEST_PANE_PID='' MOSAIC_TEST_HELD_SESSIONS='=coder-no-pid:0.0' \
+  run_start "$HOME_NO_PID" coder-no-pid 2>&1); then
+  fail "launcher reported success over a session with no resolvable pane PID"
+fi
+echo "$output" | grep -qF 'code=pane-pid-unresolved' || \
+  fail "session-present/no-PID was not reported as pane-pid-unresolved: $output"
+if echo "$output" | grep -qF 'code=pane-did-not-survive'; then
+  fail "a session tmux still reports was diagnosed as a destroyed session"
+fi
+if echo "$output" | grep -qiF 'heartbeat'; then
+  fail "an unresolvable pane PID is still being reported as a heartbeat-sidecar problem"
+fi
+
 # Exact stop derives the socket exclusively from the validated generated
 # projection and ignores an ambient socket supplied by the caller.
 : > "$TMUX_CALLS"

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/quality/test-enumeration-exclusions.txt

@@ -32,10 +32,6 @@ packages/mosaic/framework/tools/tmux/test-send-message-socket.sh | requires a re
 packages/mosaic/framework/tools/tmux/test-send-message-verdict.sh | requires real tmux-pane fixtures on a throwaway socket; CI image ships no tmux; #1017 burndown (same condition as its sibling)
 
 # --- single-suite directories: unmeasured in CI ---
-packages/mosaic/framework/tools/fleet/test-start-agent-session.sh | unmeasured in CI image; stubs tmux via a fake bin dir, likely CI-fit; #1017 burndown
-packages/mosaic/framework/tools/glpi/test-list-http-status.sh | unmeasured in CI image; stub-based (#807 regression harness), likely CI-fit; #1017 burndown
-packages/mosaic/framework/tools/orchestrator/test-board-roll.sh | unmeasured in CI image; file-fixture based, likely CI-fit; #1017 burndown
-packages/mosaic/framework/tools/woodpecker/test-ci-wait-exit-matrix.sh | unmeasured in CI image; drives ci-wait.sh against a stub pipeline-status.sh, likely CI-fit; #1017 burndown
 
 # --- naming-boundary files the strict test-*.sh prefix cannot even name ---
 # (#1017: three independent censuses handled the microtest file three different

packages/mosaic/package.json

@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@
     "build": "tsc",
     "lint": "eslint src",
     "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
-    "test": "vitest run --passWithNoTests && pnpm run test:framework-shell",
+    "test": "pnpm run test:vitest && pnpm run test:framework-shell",
-    "test:framework-shell": "bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/check-test-enumeration.sh && bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/test-check-test-enumeration.sh && python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/promotion_binding_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/promotion_trigger_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_observer_client_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/invariant_r_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/version_coupling_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-repo-host-override.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-tristate.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-github-checks.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-queue-branch.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-head-pin.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-message-field.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-git-credential-mosaic.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-gitea-token-identity.sh && bash framework/tools/woodpecker/test-terminal-green-contract.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-install-ordering-guard.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-mosaic-init-rce.sh && bash framework/tools/tmux/agent-send.test.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-ack.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-enqueue-race.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-hmac.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-quarantine.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-detector.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-fn-oracle.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-reconcile.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-beacon.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-preimage.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-install.sh"
+    "test:vitest": "pnpm run build && vitest run --passWithNoTests",
+    "test:framework-shell": "bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/check-test-enumeration.sh && bash framework/tools/quality/scripts/test-check-test-enumeration.sh && python3 src/lease-broker/daemon_deadline_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/normative_fragments_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/promotion_binding_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/promotion_trigger_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_challenge_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/context_recovery_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_runtime_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/recovery_b1_adversarial_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/receipt_observer_client_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/invariant_r_unittest.py && python3 src/lease-broker/framework_skill_portability_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_tools_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/runtime_launch_guard_unittest.py && python3 src/mutator-gate/version_coupling_unittest.py && python3 framework/tools/lease-broker/check-runtime-launches.py --root ../.. && bash framework/tools/codex/test-pr-diff-context.sh && bash framework/tools/qa/test-deps-preflight.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-gitea-comment.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-review-repo-host-override.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-branch-absent.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-tristate.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-ci-queue-wait-github-checks.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-queue-branch.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-head-pin.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-pr-merge-message-field.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-git-credential-mosaic.sh && bash framework/tools/git/test-gitea-token-identity.sh && bash framework/tools/woodpecker/test-terminal-green-contract.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-install-ordering-guard.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-mosaic-init-rce.sh && bash framework/tools/tmux/agent-send.test.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-ack.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-store-enqueue-race.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-hmac.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-digest-quarantine.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-detector.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-fn-oracle.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-reconcile.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-beacon.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-preimage.sh && bash framework/tools/wake/test-wake-install.sh && bash framework/tools/fleet/test-start-agent-session.sh && bash framework/tools/glpi/test-list-http-status.sh && bash framework/tools/orchestrator/test-board-roll.sh && bash framework/tools/woodpecker/test-ci-wait-exit-matrix.sh && bash framework/tools/_scripts/test-fleet-transport-check.sh"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@mosaicstack/brain": "workspace:*",

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

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { FileConfigAdapter } from '../config/file-adapter.js';
+import { seedFleetIdentityDefaults } from './fleet-first-start-identity.js';
 import { composeContract } from './launch.js';
 
 /**
@@ -319,6 +320,7 @@ describe('composeContract — overlay composer', () => {
         ].join('\n'),
       );
       process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'] = 'exact-self';
+      expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(installedHome)).toEqual(['SOUL.md', 'USER.md']);
 
       const composed = composeContract('pi', installedHome);
       expect(composed).toContain(sourceTools);
@@ -332,6 +334,49 @@ describe('composeContract — overlay composer', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('refuses a fleet USER.md replacement symlink at the point of composition', () => {
+    mkdirSync(join(fixture.home, 'fleet'), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(fixture.home, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml'),
+      [
+        'version: 1',
+        'transport: tmux',
+        'agents:',
+        '  - name: exact-user-seat',
+        '    runtime: pi',
+        '    class: worker',
+        '',
+      ].join('\n'),
+    );
+    process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'] = 'exact-user-seat';
+    process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'] = 'worker';
+    writeFileSync(join(fixture.home, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md'), '# Generic soul\n');
+    writeFileSync(join(fixture.home, 'defaults', 'USER.md'), '# Generic user\n');
+    expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(fixture.home)).toEqual(['SOUL.md']);
+
+    const userPath = join(fixture.home, 'USER.md');
+    const external = join(fixture.root, 'attacker-user.md');
+    writeFileSync(external, 'UNSAFE-REPLACEMENT-USER-CONTENT\n');
+    rmSync(userPath);
+    symlinkSync(external, userPath);
+
+    expect(() => composeContract('pi', fixture.home)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity installed is unavailable or unsafe: ${userPath}`,
+    );
+    expect(readFileSync(external, 'utf8')).toBe('UNSAFE-REPLACEMENT-USER-CONTENT\n');
+  });
+
+  it('preserves tolerant standalone composition when optional USER.md is unreadable', () => {
+    const userPath = join(fixture.home, 'USER.md');
+    rmSync(userPath);
+    mkdirSync(userPath);
+
+    const out = composeContract('pi', fixture.home);
+
+    expect(out).toContain(AGENTS);
+    expect(out).not.toContain('# User Profile');
+  });
+
   it.each(['claude', 'codex', 'opencode', 'pi'] as const)(
     'never injects installed TOOLS.md through a target symlink for %s',
     (runtime) => {

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-first-start-identity.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  lstatSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  readdirSync,
+  rmSync,
+  statSync,
+  symlinkSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  linkIdentityContractNoClobber,
+  seedFleetIdentityDefaults,
+} from './fleet-first-start-identity.js';
+
+const roots: string[] = [];
+const DEFAULT_SOUL = '# Generic soul\n';
+const DEFAULT_USER = '# Generic user\n';
+
+function writeFixture(path: string, content: string | Buffer, mode: number = 0o600): void {
+  mkdirSync(dirname(path), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  writeFileSync(path, content, { mode });
+  chmodSync(path, mode);
+}
+
+function createMosaicHome(): string {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-identity-seed-'));
+  roots.push(root);
+  const mosaicHome = join(root, 'home', '.config', 'mosaic');
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md'), DEFAULT_SOUL);
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md'), DEFAULT_USER);
+  return mosaicHome;
+}
+
+function temporarySeeds(mosaicHome: string): string[] {
+  return readdirSync(mosaicHome).filter((entry) => entry.includes('.fleet-seed-'));
+}
+
+afterEach((): void => {
+  for (const root of roots.splice(0)) rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe('linkIdentityContractNoClobber', () => {
+  it('returns false and preserves a destination that already exists', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const source = join(mosaicHome, 'source.tmp');
+    const destination = join(mosaicHome, 'destination.md');
+    writeFixture(source, 'candidate\n');
+    writeFixture(destination, 'operator\n');
+
+    expect(linkIdentityContractNoClobber(source, destination)).toBe(false);
+    expect(readFileSync(destination, 'utf8')).toBe('operator\n');
+  });
+
+  it('does not misclassify an unexpected link failure as a concurrent winner', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const missingSource = join(mosaicHome, 'missing.tmp');
+
+    expect(() =>
+      linkIdentityContractNoClobber(missingSource, join(mosaicHome, 'destination.md')),
+    ).toThrow();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('seedFleetIdentityDefaults', () => {
+  it('publishes complete owner-private default snapshots', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+
+    expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toEqual(['SOUL.md', 'USER.md']);
+
+    for (const [entry, expected] of [
+      ['SOUL.md', DEFAULT_SOUL],
+      ['USER.md', DEFAULT_USER],
+    ] as const) {
+      const path = join(mosaicHome, entry);
+      expect(readFileSync(path, 'utf8')).toBe(expected);
+      expect(statSync(path).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
+    }
+    expect(temporarySeeds(mosaicHome)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves an existing regular contract byte-for-byte and mode-for-mode', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const customSoul = '# Operator-owned soul\n';
+    writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), customSoul, 0o640);
+
+    expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toEqual(['USER.md']);
+    expect(readFileSync(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), 'utf8')).toBe(customSoul);
+    expect(statSync(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md')).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o640);
+  });
+
+  it('is idempotent after both installed contracts exist', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+
+    expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toEqual(['SOUL.md', 'USER.md']);
+    expect(seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toEqual([]);
+    expect(temporarySeeds(mosaicHome)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('validates every required source before publishing any destination', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const missing = join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md');
+    rmSync(missing);
+
+    expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity default is unavailable or unsafe: ${missing}`,
+    );
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('fails closed when the configured Mosaic home is not a directory', () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-identity-invalid-home-'));
+    roots.push(root);
+    const mosaicHome = join(root, 'mosaic-home');
+    writeFixture(mosaicHome, 'not a directory\n');
+
+    expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity installed is unavailable or unsafe: ${join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md')}`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('refuses a symlinked default instead of following it', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const source = join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md');
+    rmSync(source);
+    symlinkSync(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md'), source);
+
+    expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity default is unavailable or unsafe: ${source}`,
+    );
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('refuses an existing symlinked destination without replacing it', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const destination = join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md');
+    symlinkSync(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md'), destination);
+
+    expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity installed is unavailable or unsafe: ${destination}`,
+    );
+    expect(lstatSync(destination).isSymbolicLink()).toBe(true);
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['SOUL.md', 'USER.md'] as const)(
+    'rejects a dangling %s destination before publishing its counterpart',
+    (entry) => {
+      const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+      const destination = join(mosaicHome, entry);
+      const counterpart = join(mosaicHome, entry === 'SOUL.md' ? 'USER.md' : 'SOUL.md');
+      symlinkSync(join(mosaicHome, 'missing-identity-target'), destination);
+
+      expect(existsSync(destination)).toBe(false);
+      expect(lstatSync(destination).isSymbolicLink()).toBe(true);
+      expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+        `fleet identity installed is unavailable or unsafe: ${destination}`,
+      );
+      expect(lstatSync(destination).isSymbolicLink()).toBe(true);
+      expect(existsSync(counterpart)).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('rejects an oversized source before publishing a partial identity', () => {
+    const mosaicHome = createMosaicHome();
+    const source = join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md');
+    writeFixture(source, Buffer.alloc(256 * 1024 + 1, 0x61));
+
+    expect(() => seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome)).toThrow(
+      `fleet identity default is unavailable or unsafe: ${source}`,
+    );
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/src/commands/fleet-first-start-identity.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { randomBytes } from 'node:crypto';
+import { linkSync, lstatSync, realpathSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { readRegularFileSecure } from '../fleet/secure-file.js';
+
+const MAX_IDENTITY_CONTRACT_BYTES = 256 * 1024;
+export const FLEET_IDENTITY_DEFAULTS = ['SOUL.md', 'USER.md'] as const;
+
+function isFilesystemError(error: unknown, code: string): boolean {
+  return error instanceof Error && 'code' in error && error.code === code;
+}
+
+/** @internal Publish a complete temporary file without replacing any path. */
+export function linkIdentityContractNoClobber(source: string, destination: string): boolean {
+  try {
+    linkSync(source, destination);
+    return true;
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    if (isFilesystemError(error, 'EEXIST')) return false;
+    throw error;
+  }
+}
+
+function unsafeIdentityError(kind: 'default' | 'installed', path: string, error: unknown): Error {
+  const reason = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+  return new Error(`fleet identity ${kind} is unavailable or unsafe: ${path} (${reason})`);
+}
+
+function readIdentityContract(
+  mosaicHome: string,
+  path: string,
+  kind: 'default' | 'installed',
+): Buffer {
+  try {
+    return readRegularFileSecure(path, {
+      root: mosaicHome,
+      maxBytes: MAX_IDENTITY_CONTRACT_BYTES,
+    }).content;
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    throw unsafeIdentityError(kind, path, error);
+  }
+}
+
+function installedEntryExists(path: string): boolean {
+  try {
+    lstatSync(path);
+    return true;
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    if (isFilesystemError(error, 'ENOENT')) return false;
+    throw unsafeIdentityError('installed', path, error);
+  }
+}
+
+/** Secure fleet point-of-use read for a top-level identity contract. */
+export function readInstalledIdentityContractAtPointOfUse(
+  mosaicHome: string,
+  entry: (typeof FLEET_IDENTITY_DEFAULTS)[number],
+): Buffer {
+  const configuredPath = join(mosaicHome, entry);
+  try {
+    // Preserve the launcher's established support for a symlinked Mosaic home,
+    // while pinning this read to the resolved directory. O_NOFOLLOW still
+    // rejects replacement of the identity file itself (or any child ancestor).
+    const canonicalHome = realpathSync(mosaicHome);
+    return readRegularFileSecure(join(canonicalHome, entry), {
+      root: canonicalHome,
+      maxBytes: MAX_IDENTITY_CONTRACT_BYTES,
+    }).content;
+  } catch (error: unknown) {
+    throw unsafeIdentityError('installed', configuredPath, error);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Seed the generic identity base required by unattended fleet launches.
+ *
+ * Exact seat identity remains roster-owned and is injected later by the
+ * runtime composer. Each destination appears atomically through a hard link to
+ * a complete owner-private temporary file; a concurrent first seat may win the
+ * link without allowing either process to overwrite operator content.
+ */
+export function seedFleetIdentityDefaults(mosaicHome: string): string[] {
+  const snapshots = new Map<(typeof FLEET_IDENTITY_DEFAULTS)[number], Buffer>();
+
+  for (const entry of FLEET_IDENTITY_DEFAULTS) {
+    const destination = join(mosaicHome, entry);
+    if (installedEntryExists(destination)) {
+      readIdentityContract(mosaicHome, destination, 'installed');
+      continue;
+    }
+    const source = join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', entry);
+    snapshots.set(entry, readIdentityContract(mosaicHome, source, 'default'));
+  }
+
+  const seeded: string[] = [];
+  for (const [entry, content] of snapshots) {
+    const destination = join(mosaicHome, entry);
+    const temporary = join(
+      mosaicHome,
+      `.${entry}.fleet-seed-${process.pid.toString()}-${randomBytes(6).toString('hex')}`,
+    );
+    let temporaryCreated = false;
+    try {
+      writeFileSync(temporary, content, { flag: 'wx', mode: 0o600 });
+      temporaryCreated = true;
+      if (linkIdentityContractNoClobber(temporary, destination)) {
+        seeded.push(entry);
+      } else {
+        readIdentityContract(mosaicHome, destination, 'installed');
+      }
+    } finally {
+      if (temporaryCreated) rmSync(temporary, { force: true });
+    }
+  }
+
+  for (const entry of FLEET_IDENTITY_DEFAULTS) {
+    readIdentityContract(mosaicHome, join(mosaicHome, entry), 'installed');
+  }
+  return seeded;
+}

packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch-first-start.spec.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,393 @@
+import { spawn, spawnSync, type SpawnSyncReturns } from 'node:child_process';
+import {
+  chmodSync,
+  existsSync,
+  mkdirSync,
+  mkdtempSync,
+  readFileSync,
+  readdirSync,
+  rmSync,
+  statSync,
+  symlinkSync,
+  writeFileSync,
+} from 'node:fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+const CLI_PATH = fileURLToPath(new URL('../../dist/cli.js', import.meta.url));
+const DEFAULT_SOUL_PATH = fileURLToPath(
+  new URL('../../framework/defaults/SOUL.md', import.meta.url),
+);
+const DEFAULT_USER_PATH = fileURLToPath(
+  new URL('../../framework/defaults/USER.md', import.meta.url),
+);
+
+interface GreenfieldFixture {
+  readonly root: string;
+  readonly home: string;
+  readonly mosaicHome: string;
+  readonly binDir: string;
+  readonly capturePath: string;
+}
+
+interface AsyncLaunchResult {
+  readonly status: number | null;
+  readonly signal: NodeJS.Signals | null;
+  readonly stdout: string;
+  readonly stderr: string;
+}
+
+const fixtures: string[] = [];
+
+function writeFixture(path: string, content: string, mode: number = 0o600): void {
+  mkdirSync(dirname(path), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  writeFileSync(path, content, { encoding: 'utf8', mode });
+  chmodSync(path, mode);
+}
+
+function createGreenfieldFixture(): GreenfieldFixture {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'mosaic-first-start-'));
+  fixtures.push(root);
+  const home = join(root, 'home');
+  const mosaicHome = join(home, '.config', 'mosaic');
+  const binDir = join(root, 'bin');
+  const capturePath = join(root, 'runtime-boundary.json');
+
+  mkdirSync(binDir, { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'AGENTS.md'), '# Agent dispatcher\n');
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'runtime', 'pi', 'RUNTIME.md'), '# Pi runtime\n');
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md'), readFileSync(DEFAULT_SOUL_PATH, 'utf8'));
+  writeFixture(join(mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md'), readFileSync(DEFAULT_USER_PATH, 'utf8'));
+  writeFixture(
+    join(mosaicHome, 'fleet', 'roster.yaml'),
+    `version: 1
+transport: tmux
+tmux:
+  socket_name: mosaic-fleet
+  holder_session: _holder
+defaults:
+  working_directory: ~
+runtimes:
+  pi:
+    reset_command: /new
+agents:
+  - name: unattended-seat
+    runtime: pi
+    class: worker
+`,
+  );
+  writeFixture(
+    join(mosaicHome, 'tools', 'tmux', 'agent-send.sh'),
+    '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 0\n',
+    0o755,
+  );
+  writeFixture(
+    join(mosaicHome, 'tools', 'lease-broker', 'launch-runtime.py'),
+    `#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import json
+import os
+import pathlib
+import sys
+pathlib.Path(os.environ["MOSAIC_TEST_RUNTIME_CAPTURE"]).write_text(
+    json.dumps({"argv": sys.argv[1:]}), encoding="utf-8"
+)
+`,
+    0o755,
+  );
+  // checkRuntime() must find Pi, while the fake broker boundary prevents this
+  // executable from running or making a provider call.
+  writeFixture(join(binDir, 'pi'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\nexit 97\n', 0o755);
+
+  return { root, home, mosaicHome, binDir, capturePath };
+}
+
+function launchEnvironment(
+  fixture: GreenfieldFixture,
+  capturePath: string,
+  fleet: boolean = true,
+  agentName: string = 'unattended-seat',
+  agentClass: string = 'worker',
+): NodeJS.ProcessEnv {
+  return {
+    HOME: fixture.home,
+    MOSAIC_HOME: fixture.mosaicHome,
+    ...(fleet
+      ? {
+          MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME: agentName,
+          MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS: agentClass,
+        }
+      : {}),
+    MOSAIC_TEST_RUNTIME_CAPTURE: capturePath,
+    PATH: `${fixture.binDir}:/usr/bin:/bin`,
+  };
+}
+
+function launchSync(
+  fixture: GreenfieldFixture,
+  options: {
+    readonly capturePath?: string;
+    readonly fleet?: boolean;
+    readonly agentName?: string;
+    readonly agentClass?: string;
+  } = {},
+): SpawnSyncReturns<string> {
+  const capturePath = options.capturePath ?? fixture.capturePath;
+  return spawnSync(process.execPath, [CLI_PATH, 'yolo', 'pi'], {
+    cwd: fixture.root,
+    encoding: 'utf8',
+    input: '',
+    timeout: 10_000,
+    env: launchEnvironment(
+      fixture,
+      capturePath,
+      options.fleet ?? true,
+      options.agentName ?? 'unattended-seat',
+      options.agentClass ?? 'worker',
+    ),
+  });
+}
+
+function launchAsync(fixture: GreenfieldFixture, capturePath: string): Promise<AsyncLaunchResult> {
+  return new Promise<AsyncLaunchResult>((resolve, reject): void => {
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [CLI_PATH, 'yolo', 'pi'], {
+      cwd: fixture.root,
+      env: launchEnvironment(fixture, capturePath),
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+    });
+    let stdout = '';
+    let stderr = '';
+    child.stdout.setEncoding('utf8');
+    child.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
+    child.stdout.on('data', (chunk: string): void => {
+      stdout += chunk;
+    });
+    child.stderr.on('data', (chunk: string): void => {
+      stderr += chunk;
+    });
+    child.on('error', reject);
+    child.on('close', (status: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null): void => {
+      resolve({ status, signal, stdout, stderr });
+    });
+    child.stdin.end();
+  });
+}
+
+function outputOf(result: { readonly stdout: string; readonly stderr: string }): string {
+  return `${result.stdout}${result.stderr}`;
+}
+
+function assertPrivateDefaultSeeds(fixture: GreenfieldFixture): void {
+  const soul = join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md');
+  const user = join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md');
+  expect(readFileSync(soul, 'utf8')).toBe(readFileSync(DEFAULT_SOUL_PATH, 'utf8'));
+  expect(readFileSync(user, 'utf8')).toBe(readFileSync(DEFAULT_USER_PATH, 'utf8'));
+  expect(statSync(soul).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
+  expect(statSync(user).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o600);
+}
+
+function capturedArguments(path: string): string[] {
+  const capture = JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, 'utf8')) as { argv: string[] };
+  return capture.argv;
+}
+
+afterEach((): void => {
+  for (const root of fixtures.splice(0)) {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
+
+describe('fleet unattended first start (#1264)', () => {
+  it('reaches the runtime boundary without a TTY or identity wizard on a clean install', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const result = launchSync(fixture);
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.error, output).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(0);
+    expect(output).toContain('Initialized unattended fleet identity defaults: SOUL.md, USER.md');
+    expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    expect(output).not.toContain('What would you like to do?');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath), output).toBe(true);
+    assertPrivateDefaultSeeds(fixture);
+
+    const argv = capturedArguments(fixture.capturePath);
+    expect(argv).toContain('--runtime');
+    expect(argv.join('\n')).toContain('Agent/session: `unattended-seat`');
+    expect(argv.join('\n')).toContain('Role/class: `worker`');
+  });
+
+  it('preserves existing operator identity bytes without requiring defaults', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const customSoul = '# Operator soul\nNever replace this.\n';
+    const customUser = '# Operator user\nNever replace this either.\n';
+    writeFixture(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), customSoul, 0o640);
+    writeFixture(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'), customUser, 0o600);
+    rmSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'defaults'), { recursive: true, force: true });
+
+    const first = launchSync(fixture);
+    const secondCapture = join(fixture.root, 'runtime-boundary-second.json');
+    const second = launchSync(fixture, { capturePath: secondCapture });
+
+    expect(first.status, outputOf(first)).toBe(0);
+    expect(second.status, outputOf(second)).toBe(0);
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), 'utf8')).toBe(customSoul);
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'), 'utf8')).toBe(customUser);
+    expect(statSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md')).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o640);
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(true);
+    expect(existsSync(secondCapture)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it('seeds only the missing identity contract and leaves a custom SOUL byte-exact', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const customSoul = '# Exact custom soul bytes\n';
+    writeFixture(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), customSoul, 0o640);
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture);
+
+    expect(result.status, outputOf(result)).toBe(0);
+    expect(outputOf(result)).toContain('Initialized unattended fleet identity defaults: USER.md');
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'), 'utf8')).toBe(customSoul);
+    expect(statSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md')).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o640);
+    expect(readFileSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'), 'utf8')).toBe(
+      readFileSync(DEFAULT_USER_PATH, 'utf8'),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('fails closed without a wizard or partial seed when a required default is missing', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const missingDefault = join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'USER.md');
+    rmSync(missingDefault);
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture);
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+    expect(output).toContain('unattended fleet identity initialization failed');
+    expect(output).toContain(missingDefault);
+    expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    expect(output).not.toContain('What would you like to do?');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('rejects a symlinked identity default without following it or prompting', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const soulDefault = join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'defaults', 'SOUL.md');
+    rmSync(soulDefault);
+    symlinkSync(DEFAULT_SOUL_PATH, soulDefault);
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture);
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+    expect(output).toContain(`fleet identity default is unavailable or unsafe: ${soulDefault}`);
+    expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('refuses an unknown ambient fleet name before seeding or prompting', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture, { agentName: 'not-in-the-roster' });
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+    expect(output).toContain('canonical fleet identity is unavailable');
+    expect(output).toContain('Agent "not-in-the-roster" is not in the fleet roster');
+    expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('refuses a mismatched ambient fleet class before seeding or prompting', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture, { agentClass: 'reviewer' });
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+    expect(output).toContain('Refusing split identity authority');
+    expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it.each(['', ' ', '\t'])(
+    'refuses explicit blank ambient fleet class %j before seeding',
+    (agentClass: string) => {
+      const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+
+      const result = launchSync(fixture, { agentClass });
+      const output = outputOf(result);
+
+      expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+      expect(output).toContain('Refusing split identity authority');
+      expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+      expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+      expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+      expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it.each([' unattended-seat', 'unattended-seat ', ''])(
+    'refuses non-exact ambient fleet name %j before seeding',
+    (agentName: string) => {
+      const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+
+      const result = launchSync(fixture, { agentName });
+      const output = outputOf(result);
+
+      expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+      expect(output).toContain(
+        'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME must be a non-empty exact roster name with no surrounding whitespace',
+      );
+      expect(output).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+      expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+      expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+      expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+
+  it('keeps the interactive wizard path for a standalone launch', () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+
+    const result = launchSync(fixture, { fleet: false });
+    const output = outputOf(result);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(1);
+    expect(output).toContain('[mosaic] SOUL.md not found. Running setup wizard...');
+    expect(output).toContain('What would you like to do?');
+    expect(output).toContain('[mosaic] Setup failed. Run: mosaic wizard');
+    expect(existsSync(fixture.capturePath)).toBe(false);
+    expect(existsSync(join(fixture.mosaicHome, 'SOUL.md'))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('allows concurrent no-TTY seats to initialize the same defaults without clobber or residue', async () => {
+    const fixture = createGreenfieldFixture();
+    const captures = Array.from({ length: 4 }, (_, index) =>
+      join(fixture.root, `runtime-boundary-${index.toString()}.json`),
+    );
+
+    const results = await Promise.all(
+      captures.map(
+        async (capturePath): Promise<AsyncLaunchResult> => launchAsync(fixture, capturePath),
+      ),
+    );
+
+    for (const result of results) {
+      expect(result.status, outputOf(result)).toBe(0);
+      expect(result.signal, outputOf(result)).toBeNull();
+      expect(outputOf(result)).not.toContain('Running setup wizard');
+    }
+    assertPrivateDefaultSeeds(fixture);
+    expect(captures.every((capturePath) => existsSync(capturePath))).toBe(true);
+    expect(
+      readdirSync(fixture.mosaicHome).filter((entry) => entry.includes('.fleet-seed-')),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});

packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts

@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ import { readRegularFileSecure } from '../fleet/secure-file.js';
 import { readPersonaContractBlock } from '../fleet/persona-contract.js';
 import { canonicalizeRoleClass } from './fleet-personas.js';
 import { launchClaudex, type ClaudexHarnessAdapter } from './claudex.js';
+import {
+  readInstalledIdentityContractAtPointOfUse,
+  seedFleetIdentityDefaults,
+} from './fleet-first-start-identity.js';
 import { runLeaseEnforcementDoctorCheck } from './lease-doctor-check.js';
 
 const MOSAIC_HOME = process.env['MOSAIC_HOME'] ?? join(homedir(), '.config', 'mosaic');
@@ -230,8 +234,55 @@ function checkRuntime(cmd: string): void {
   }
 }
 
+function assertAmbientFleetClassMatches(canonicalName: string, canonicalClass: string): void {
+  const configuredClass = process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS'];
+  if (configuredClass === undefined) return;
+
+  const ambientClass = canonicalizeRoleClass(configuredClass).canonicalClass;
+  if (ambientClass !== canonicalClass) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `Ambient MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS resolves to "${ambientClass}" but canonical roster member "${canonicalName}" resolves to "${canonicalClass}". Refusing split identity authority.`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
 function checkSoul(): void {
   const soulPath = join(MOSAIC_HOME, 'SOUL.md');
+  const fleetAgentName = process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'];
+  if (fleetAgentName !== undefined) {
+    try {
+      if (fleetAgentName.length === 0 || fleetAgentName !== fleetAgentName.trim()) {
+        throw new Error(
+          'MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME must be a non-empty exact roster name with no surrounding whitespace',
+        );
+      }
+      const fleetIdentity = resolveFleetIdentity(MOSAIC_HOME, fleetAgentName);
+      if (!fleetIdentity.ok || !fleetIdentity.identity) {
+        throw new Error(
+          `canonical fleet identity is unavailable: ${fleetIdentity.error ?? 'exact roster member was not resolved'}`,
+        );
+      }
+      assertAmbientFleetClassMatches(
+        fleetIdentity.identity.member.name,
+        fleetIdentity.identity.member.className,
+      );
+      const seeded = seedFleetIdentityDefaults(MOSAIC_HOME);
+      if (seeded.length > 0) {
+        console.log(
+          `[mosaic] Initialized unattended fleet identity defaults: ${seeded.join(', ')}. Exact seat identity remains roster-owned.`,
+        );
+      }
+      return;
+    } catch (error: unknown) {
+      const reason = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+      console.error(`[mosaic] ERROR: unattended fleet identity initialization failed: ${reason}`);
+      console.error(
+        '[mosaic] Repair the named fleet roster, launch identity, installed contract, or shipped default, then retry.',
+      );
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  }
+
   if (!existsSync(soulPath)) {
     console.log('[mosaic] SOUL.md not found. Running setup wizard...');
 
@@ -532,26 +583,27 @@ For required push/merge/issue-close/release actions, execute without routine con
   parts.push(readFileSync(join(mosaicHome, 'AGENTS.md'), 'utf-8'));
 
   // USER.md (+ USER.local.md operator overlay, appended directly under the
-  // profile its base owns).
+  // profile its base owns). Fleet first start is Linux/systemd-owned and uses
-  const user = readOptional(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.md'));
+  // the no-follow reader at point of use. Standalone launches retain the
+  // portable tolerant path used on macOS and other supported hosts.
+  const fleetAgentName = process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME'];
+  const user =
+    fleetAgentName === undefined
+      ? readOptional(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.md'))
+      : readInstalledIdentityContractAtPointOfUse(mosaicHome, 'USER.md').toString('utf8');
   if (user) parts.push('\n\n# User Profile\n\n' + user);
   const userLocal = readOptional(join(mosaicHome, 'USER.local.md'));
   if (userLocal.trim()) {
     parts.push('\n\n## Operator Overlay (USER.local.md)\n\n' + userLocal);
   }
 
-  const fleetIdentity = resolveFleetIdentity(mosaicHome, process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_NAME']);
+  const fleetIdentity = resolveFleetIdentity(mosaicHome, fleetAgentName);
   if (!fleetIdentity.ok) {
     throw new Error(`Fleet communications contract unavailable: ${fleetIdentity.error}`);
   }
   const canonicalMember = fleetIdentity.identity?.member;
-  if (canonicalMember && process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS']?.trim()) {
+  if (canonicalMember) {
-    const ambientClass = canonicalizeRoleClass(process.env['MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS']).canonicalClass;
+    assertAmbientFleetClassMatches(canonicalMember.name, canonicalMember.className);
-    if (ambientClass !== canonicalMember.className) {
-      throw new Error(
-        `Ambient MOSAIC_AGENT_CLASS resolves to "${ambientClass}" but canonical roster member "${canonicalMember.name}" resolves to "${canonicalMember.className}". Refusing split identity authority.`,
-      );
-    }
   }
 
   // TOOLS.md

packages/mosaic/src/platform/detect.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { homedir, platform } from 'node:os';
 
@@ -22,15 +21,18 @@ export function getShellProfilePath(): string | null {
 
   const shell = detectShell();
   switch (shell) {
+    // Both of these deliberately avoid the interactive-only rc files.
+    // Debian's default .bashrc returns early for non-interactive shells, so a
+    // PATH line appended to it never runs for `bash -lc`, systemd units, or
+    // agent seats — an install could report success and still leave `mosaic`
+    // unreachable. .profile is read by login shells and sources .bashrc for
+    // interactive ones, so one line covers both; .zshenv is zsh's equivalent.
     case 'zsh': {
       const zdotdir = process.env['ZDOTDIR'] ?? home;
-      return join(zdotdir, '.zshrc');
+      return join(zdotdir, '.zshenv');
     }
-    case 'bash': {
+    case 'bash':
-      const bashrc = join(home, '.bashrc');
-      if (existsSync(bashrc)) return bashrc;
       return join(home, '.profile');
-    }
     case 'fish':
       return join(home, '.config', 'fish', 'config.fish');
     default:

tools/install.sh

@@ -309,6 +309,124 @@ require_cmd() {
   fi
 }
 
+# True if any shell rc file already puts $1 on PATH.
+#
+# Each file is tested for existence first and grepped one at a time, rather than
+# handed to a single `grep -qs ... "${rc_files[@]}"`. Handing grep a missing file
+# makes the exit status implementation-defined: GNU grep 3.11 returns 0 when -q
+# matched an earlier file, ugrep 7.5 returns 2 for the missing one regardless.
+# On the 2 path the caller reads "not present yet" and appends a duplicate PATH
+# line on every single install.
+path_entry_exists() {
+  local dir="$1" rc_file
+  for rc_file in "$HOME/.profile" "$HOME/.zshenv" "$HOME/.zshrc" "$HOME/.bashrc"; do
+    if [[ -f "$rc_file" ]] && grep -qF "$dir" "$rc_file"; then
+      return 0
+    fi
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
+# Append `export PATH="$1:$PATH"` to the shell profile so $1 survives this
+# process. An `export` here reaches only the installer; every directory the
+# install leaves behind has to be written down somewhere a later shell reads.
+#
+# Deliberately NOT ~/.bashrc: Debian's default .bashrc returns early for
+# non-interactive shells, so a PATH line appended to the bottom of it is
+# unreachable to `bash -lc`, to systemd units, and to every agent seat — the
+# exact consumers that need these binaries. ~/.profile is read by login shells
+# and Debian's .profile sources .bashrc for interactive ones, so a single line
+# there reaches both. For zsh the always-sourced file is .zshenv, not .zshrc.
+#
+# $1 = directory to add, $2 = label for the comment line.
+# Returns 1 (having warned) if the profile could not be written.
+persist_on_path() {
+  local dir="$1" label="$2" profile
+
+  if path_entry_exists "$dir"; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "${ZSH_VERSION:-}" ]] || [[ "$(basename "${SHELL:-}")" == "zsh" ]]; then
+    profile="$HOME/.zshenv"
+  else
+    profile="$HOME/.profile"
+  fi
+
+  # Probe writability in a subshell. A redirection failure on a special built-in
+  # aborts the shell it runs in, so it has to be a child; and the redirection on
+  # the subshell is what silences the "Permission denied" the shell would
+  # otherwise print ahead of our own message.
+  if ! ( : >>"$profile" ) 2>/dev/null; then
+    warn "$dir is not on your PATH and $profile could not be written"
+    dim "  Add to your shell rc:  export PATH=\"$dir:\$PATH\""
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  {
+    echo ""
+    echo "# $label"
+    echo "export PATH=\"$dir:\$PATH\""
+  } >>"$profile"
+  ok "Added $dir to PATH in $profile"
+  return 0
+}
+
+# Persist $PREFIX/bin on PATH instead of only warning about it.
+#
+# The warning it replaces was the last step of an otherwise successful install,
+# so the installer reported success and left `mosaic: command not found` — an
+# unattended install had no operator to read the advice and act on it.
+ensure_prefix_on_path() {
+  if [[ ":$PATH:" == *":$PREFIX/bin:"* ]]; then
+    return
+  fi
+
+  if path_entry_exists "$PREFIX/bin"; then
+    warn "$PREFIX/bin is in your shell profile but not in this shell"
+  elif ! persist_on_path "$PREFIX/bin" "Mosaic CLI"; then
+    return
+  fi
+  dim "  Run:  export PATH=\"$PREFIX/bin:\$PATH\"   (or start a new login shell)"
+}
+
+# Fleet transport binary (#1240).
+#
+# `mosaic fleet --help` reads "Manage the local Mosaic tmux fleet" and every
+# roster the CLI scaffolds sets `transport: tmux`, but nothing in this script
+# provides tmux and, until now, nothing in it mentioned tmux at all. A
+# greenfield host came out of this installer able to install a fleet, start a
+# fleet, and run no seat — the operator's first signal was `mosaic fleet ps`.
+#
+# Not a `require_cmd`: tmux is required by the fleet, not by mosaic. Plenty of
+# hosts install this to run `mosaic claude` and will never scaffold a roster,
+# and failing their install over a binary they do not need would be wrong. It
+# is a warning that names precisely what it blocks.
+#
+# `tools/_scripts/mosaic-doctor` carries a deliberately parallel check, so the
+# same host state gets the same answer from an audit as from an install. They
+# are separate implementations because this one has to work before the
+# framework's scripts are guaranteed to be on disk; keep their wording in step.
+check_fleet_transport() {
+  local transport=tmux
+  local roster="$MOSAIC_HOME/fleet/roster.yaml"
+  local declared=""
+
+  if [[ -f "$roster" ]]; then
+    declared="$(sed -n 's/^[[:space:]]*transport:[[:space:]]*//p' "$roster" | head -1 |
+      tr -d '"'\''' | tr -d '\r' | awk '{print $1}')"
+    [[ -n "$declared" ]] && transport="$declared"
+  fi
+
+  command -v "$transport" &>/dev/null && return 0
+
+  warn "Fleet transport '$transport' is not installed."
+  echo "  The Mosaic fleet runs its agent seats inside $transport. Without it,"
+  echo "  ${C}mosaic fleet start${RESET} reports success and no seat comes up."
+  echo "  Install it before using the fleet, e.g. ${C}sudo apt-get install -y $transport${RESET}"
+  echo "  (this does not affect ${C}mosaic claude${RESET} or the other single-runtime commands)."
+}
+
 installed_cli_version() {
   local json
   json="$(npm ls -g --depth=0 --json --prefix="$PREFIX" 2>/dev/null)" || true
@@ -516,8 +634,175 @@ install_next_cli_from_registry() {
   ok "Installed @next packages: CLI ${installed_cli}, gateway ${installed_gateway}"
 }
 
+# ─── node bootstrap ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+#
+# Nothing on a greenfield host installs Node.js, yet this installer and the CLI
+# it installs both hard-require it. Measured on a clean Debian 13 image: the
+# installer stopped at `require_cmd node` with "Required command not found" and
+# nothing was installed, with no hint of how to proceed.
+#
+# Inlined rather than factored into a sibling file on purpose: this script is
+# fetched standalone by curl and has nothing to source.
+#
+# No-op when a suitable node is already on PATH, so it never fights an
+# operator's nvm/fnm/distro node.
+
+NODE_ROOT="${MOSAIC_NODE_ROOT:-$HOME/.mosaic/node}"
+NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION="${MOSAIC_NODE_VERSION:-v22.23.2}"
+NODE_MIN_MAJOR="${MOSAIC_NODE_MIN_MAJOR:-20}"
+NODE_DIST_BASE="${MOSAIC_NODE_DIST_BASE:-https://nodejs.org/dist}"
+
+# Major version of the node at $1, or empty if it will not run.
+node_major_of() {
+  local candidate="$1" version
+  version="$("$candidate" -e 'process.stdout.write(process.versions.node)' 2>/dev/null)" || return 0
+  printf '%s' "${version%%.*}"
+}
+
+node_is_suitable() {
+  local major
+  major="$(node_major_of "$1")"
+  [[ -n "$major" ]] && [[ "$major" -ge "$NODE_MIN_MAJOR" ]]
+}
+
+install_node() {
+  local node_os node_arch tarball release_url work_dir extracted target node_bin
+
+  case "$(uname -s)" in
+    Linux)  node_os="linux" ;;
+    Darwin) node_os="darwin" ;;
+    *) fail "Unsupported OS '$(uname -s)'. Install Node.js >= $NODE_MIN_MAJOR manually."; return 1 ;;
+  esac
+
+  # Linux here means glibc. Node's official linux-x64 build is dynamically
+  # linked against glibc, so on musl (Alpine) the binary will not exec — but it
+  # fails visibly: node_is_suitable rejects it and ensure_node exits with
+  # "install Node.js manually". No silent breakage, just a wasted download.
+  # A musl host needs the unofficial build, which is out of scope here.
+  case "$(uname -m)" in
+    x86_64|amd64)  node_arch="x64" ;;
+    aarch64|arm64) node_arch="arm64" ;;
+    armv7l)        node_arch="armv7l" ;;
+    *) fail "Unsupported architecture '$(uname -m)'. Install Node.js >= $NODE_MIN_MAJOR manually."; return 1 ;;
+  esac
+
+  # .tar.gz rather than the smaller .tar.xz: gzip is universally present, xz is
+  # not, and a minimal image is exactly the case this exists to handle.
+  tarball="node-${NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION}-${node_os}-${node_arch}.tar.gz"
+  release_url="${NODE_DIST_BASE}/${NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION}"
+
+  work_dir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mosaic-node-XXXXXX")"
+
+  info "Installing Node.js $NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION ($node_os-$node_arch) to $NODE_ROOT…"
+
+  if ! curl -fsSL "${release_url}/${tarball}" -o "$work_dir/$tarball"; then
+    fail "Download failed: ${release_url}/${tarball}"
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"; return 1
+  fi
+
+  # Trust assumption, stated so nobody has to infer it: this verifies INTEGRITY
+  # (the tarball matches the manifest), not AUTHENTICITY (the manifest is
+  # genuinely Node's). The only thing establishing that is TLS to
+  # $NODE_DIST_BASE. Node publishes SHASUMS256.txt.sig signed by its release
+  # keys and we do not check it, which is on par with nvm but means pointing
+  # MOSAIC_NODE_DIST_BASE at an untrusted mirror has no signature backstop.
+  # Tracked as a hardening follow-up (raised by scooby in the #1229 review).
+  if ! curl -fsSL "${release_url}/SHASUMS256.txt" -o "$work_dir/SHASUMS256.txt"; then
+    fail "Could not fetch SHASUMS256.txt; refusing to install an unverified runtime."
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"; return 1
+  fi
+
+  # Keep only our artifact's line, so a missing entry is an error not a pass.
+  if ! grep " ${tarball}\$" "$work_dir/SHASUMS256.txt" >"$work_dir/expected.sha256"; then
+    fail "$tarball has no entry in SHASUMS256.txt; refusing to install."
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"; return 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! (cd "$work_dir" && verify_sha256 expected.sha256); then
+    fail "Checksum mismatch for $tarball; refusing to install."
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"; return 1
+  fi
+  ok "Checksum verified"
+
+  tar xzf "$work_dir/$tarball" -C "$work_dir"
+  extracted="$work_dir/node-${NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION}-${node_os}-${node_arch}"
+  if [[ ! -x "$extracted/bin/node" ]]; then
+    fail "Extracted archive has no bin/node"
+    rm -rf "$work_dir"; return 1
+  fi
+
+  mkdir -p "$NODE_ROOT"
+  target="$NODE_ROOT/$NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION"
+  rm -rf "$target.incoming"
+  mv "$extracted" "$target.incoming"
+  rm -rf "$target"
+  mv "$target.incoming" "$target"
+  ln -sfn "$NODE_BOOTSTRAP_VERSION" "$NODE_ROOT/current"
+  rm -rf "$work_dir"
+
+  node_bin="$NODE_ROOT/current/bin"
+  if ! node_is_suitable "$node_bin/node"; then
+    fail "Installed node at $node_bin/node did not run"
+    return 1
+  fi
+
+  export PATH="$node_bin:$PATH"
+  ok "Node.js $(node -v) installed with npm $(npm -v 2>/dev/null || echo '?')"
+  return 0
+}
+
+# Make the Mosaic-managed Node reachable from the next shell as well as this
+# one. Measured on a greenfield canary run: without this the install finished
+# rc=0, wrote $PREFIX/bin to ~/.profile, and the next login shell found `mosaic`
+# and then died on `env: 'node': No such file or directory` — the CLI is a Node
+# script, so a CLI on PATH without its runtime is a successful install that
+# produces a broken command.
+persist_node_on_path() {
+  persist_on_path "$NODE_ROOT/current/bin" "Mosaic-managed Node.js" || true
+}
+
+ensure_node() {
+  if command -v node &>/dev/null && node_is_suitable node; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  # A previous run may have installed one that is not on this shell's PATH.
+  if node_is_suitable "$NODE_ROOT/current/bin/node"; then
+    export PATH="$NODE_ROOT/current/bin:$PATH"
+    persist_node_on_path
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "${MOSAIC_SKIP_NODE_BOOTSTRAP:-0}" == "1" ]]; then
+    fail "No suitable Node.js and MOSAIC_SKIP_NODE_BOOTSTRAP=1; refusing to download."
+    echo "  Install Node.js >= $NODE_MIN_MAJOR yourself, then re-run this script."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  require_cmd curl
+  require_cmd tar
+
+  # sha256sum on Linux, shasum on macOS. Verification is not optional: without a
+  # checksum this would install an unauthenticated runtime.
+  if command -v sha256sum &>/dev/null; then
+    verify_sha256() { sha256sum -c --status "$1"; }
+  elif command -v shasum &>/dev/null; then
+    verify_sha256() { shasum -a 256 -c --status "$1"; }
+  else
+    fail "sha256sum or shasum required to verify the Node.js download"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  if ! install_node; then
+    fail "Could not bootstrap Node.js. Install Node.js >= $NODE_MIN_MAJOR and re-run."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  persist_node_on_path
+}
+
 # ─── preflight ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+ensure_node
 require_cmd node
 require_cmd npm
 
@@ -682,11 +967,7 @@ if [[ "$FLAG_CLI" == "true" ]]; then
     ensure_monorepo
     install_cli_from_source
 
-    # PATH check for npm prefix
+    ensure_prefix_on_path
-    if [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$PREFIX/bin:"* ]]; then
-      warn "$PREFIX/bin is not on your PATH"
-      dim "  Add to your shell rc:  export PATH=\"$PREFIX/bin:\$PATH\""
-    fi
   elif is_next_registry_lane; then
     info "Next mode — trying fast npm @next install from ${REGISTRY}…"
     if install_next_cli_from_registry; then
@@ -699,11 +980,7 @@ if [[ "$FLAG_CLI" == "true" ]]; then
       export MOSAIC_GATEWAY_SKIP_NPM_INSTALL=1
     fi
 
-    # PATH check for npm prefix
+    ensure_prefix_on_path
-    if [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$PREFIX/bin:"* ]]; then
-      warn "$PREFIX/bin is not on your PATH"
-      dim "  Add to your shell rc:  export PATH=\"$PREFIX/bin:\$PATH\""
-    fi
   else
     if [[ -z "$LATEST" ]]; then
       warn "Could not reach registry at $REGISTRY — skipping npm CLI."
@@ -721,11 +998,7 @@ if [[ "$FLAG_CLI" == "true" ]]; then
       ok "CLI is at or ahead of registry ($CURRENT ≥ $LATEST)."
     fi
 
-    # PATH check for npm prefix
+    ensure_prefix_on_path
-    if [[ ":$PATH:" != *":$PREFIX/bin:"* ]]; then
-      warn "$PREFIX/bin is not on your PATH"
-      dim "  Add to your shell rc:  export PATH=\"$PREFIX/bin:\$PATH\""
-    fi
   fi
 fi
 
@@ -870,6 +1143,11 @@ if [[ "$FLAG_CHECK" == "false" ]]; then
   ok "Done."
 fi
 
+# Fleet readiness (#1240). Runs in both normal and --check mode: "what is the
+# state of this host" is exactly the question --check is asked, and a host that
+# cannot run a seat should not have to discover it from `fleet ps`.
+check_fleet_transport
+
 } # end main
 
 main "$@"