GitHub issues

One Build entry point with two triggers sharing everything underneath: Import now (manual pull while you watch) and Auto-import (per-project label watchers on the host scheduler). Both funnel through one matcher, one intent heuristic, and one card-creation path, so manual and automatic can never draft the same repo#number twice. Rule semantics live in automation-rules.md.

Guarantees

• Single dedupe. github_imports(issue_key → card_id) is claimed with

an owner token before any work starts. Liveness is verified by card existence: a deleted card's issue can come back instead of being refused as in-flight forever.

• Parked by default. Both flows default to parked Bucket drafts

(creation dialogs default to started instead).

• Isolated auto-start. Rules start workers only into an isolated

worktree, verified against the effective spawn environment. Without one it fails closed: save refuses, ticks park with the fix named.

• Verified write-back. Completion summaries carry a hidden card marker

matched back on the issue before counting as posted — retries never double-post. Posting is explicit and confirmed, never automatic. Done in Stelow is not merged/deployed.

• Bounded blast radius. 10 drafts per rule per tick; rules never move

cards, merge code, or clear labels behind your back (the import clears its own trigger labels so the loop is pull-once).

Trust model

Issue text is untrusted input: it lands verbatim in a worker prompt on your machine, and no permission mode is read-only. The author allowlist is the gate (explicit logins only — role associations don't exist upstream). Prefer parked drafts for public repos; reserve auto-start for member-only traffic into worktrees. Defense in depth, cheapest first: exact-label matching → allowlist → parked default → worktree isolation → file claims → 10/tick cap.

Linked discussion and completion notes

• Mirror: linked issues render a read-only, badged comment stream on

the card. Mirrored text never routes to the worker. Posting back needs an inline confirm naming the destination — human gesture only.

• Card-birth issues: opt-in checkbox (off by default) creates the

issue via gh after the card exists; failures keep the card and name the cause instead of inviting double-creation.

• Done-note draft: a cheap preset drafts the completion note from the

card's scopes; artifacts ride as a detachable checklist; Post uses the human-gated comment RPC.

Operations

• Schedules: watchers plus the discussion mirror (see

automation-rules.md).

• Kill switch: STELOW_GITHUB_ISSUES=0 on the host disables the

scheduler, its RPCs, and the panel button.

• Troubleshooting: "saved disabled" means GitHub was unreachable at save

(re-enable to prime and go live); "parked, no worktree preset" means create a New-worktree preset; "in-flight" on manual import means another flow is creating that card — refresh.