Add /adjudicate command: debate low-priority backlog to a verdict

Parked P2/P3 technical items accumulate faster than I can judge their
necessity. /adjudicate runs a grounded per-item debate (investigator →
build/drop advocates → judge) over a repo's ROADMAP and routes each to
DROP / DO / ESCALATE, so I ratify decisions instead of researching them.

Recommend-only in v1; verdict autonomy is gated by blast radius, not
priority. ROADMAP-only input — nudges /triage rather than reading the
raw inbox.

AGENTS.md

@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ The global layer lives here and is wired into `~/.claude` by **directory symlink
 file added under `adapters/` is live immediately — no per-file linking:
 
 - `~/.claude/commands` → `adapters/claude/commands/` — global slash commands (`/retrofit`,
-  `/handoff`, `/full-eval`, `/capture`, `/triage`, `/roundup`, `/new-project`, `/design`).
+  `/handoff`, `/full-eval`, `/capture`, `/triage`, `/roundup`, `/new-project`, `/design`,
+  `/adjudicate`).
 - `~/.claude/agents` → `adapters/claude/agents/` — global subagents (reviewer, evaluator,
   security-auditor, doc-auditor, exerciser, researcher, janitor, portability-checker,
   start9-spec-checker, design-checker, onboarding-tester).
@@ -88,9 +89,18 @@ should carry this so any vendor's agent surfaces pending items at session start:
 ## Current state
 
 - **Fleet built and live** — commands `/capture /triage /roundup /new-project /handoff /retrofit
-  /full-eval /design`; subagents incl. `design-checker` + `onboarding-tester` (substance in
-  `guides/`, thin wrappers in `adapters/claude/`, symlinked into `~/.claude`). Dogfoods its own
-  standard. Latest `/roundup`: `STATUS.md` 2026-06-16.
+  /full-eval /design /adjudicate`; subagents incl. `design-checker` + `onboarding-tester`
+  (substance in `guides/`, thin wrappers in `adapters/claude/`, symlinked into `~/.claude`).
+  Dogfoods its own standard. Latest `/roundup`: `STATUS.md` 2026-06-16.
+- **`/adjudicate` built this session (ROADMAP item 10), live.** Debates each parked P2/P3 backlog
+  item on a repo's ROADMAP to a verdict so the owner ratifies instead of researching: per item,
+  investigator (grounds it in the code + classifies blast radius) → build- ∥ drop-advocate → judge
+  (rubric = `how-i-work.md` + repo `AGENTS.md`, biased to DROP on ties). Verdicts: **DROP** (auto,
+  ratified in one batch), **DO** (low blast radius → annotated plan, recommend-only), **ESCALATE**
+  (HIGH blast radius / low confidence → balanced brief for the owner). Autonomy gated by blast
+  radius, not priority; ROADMAP-only (nudges `/triage` first, never reads raw inbox). **v1 is
+  recommend-only** — never executes; v2 (narrow auto-execution of the safe DO class) deferred until
+  trust is built.
 - **`onboarding-tester` built this session (ROADMAP item 9), live.** Docs-only adopter agent: walks
   a product's published docs as a literal newcomer (never reading source), reports doc gaps, and on
   a fully clean run emits a publishable "all it took was X, Y, Z" walkthrough. First target: keysat

ROADMAP.md

@@ -214,3 +214,34 @@ Qdrant, and it hosts matrix-bridge); **don't hardcode a model — query the Spar
 gateway** for the live one (daily driver Qwen3.6, hot-swappable); networking reduced to LAN /
 WireGuard / StartTunnel (Proton VPN + Tor were legacy, dropped). UNVERIFIED banner replaced
 with a "verified 2026-06-15" note; decision steps 4 and 6 aligned. Commit `ee5c8bb`.
+
+## 10. `adjudicate` — debate low-priority backlog items to a verdict ✅ BUILT (2026-06-17)
+
+Built and live: `guides/adjudicate.md` + `adapters/claude/commands/adjudicate.md` (the
+`/adjudicate` command). Solves backlog clutter the owner can't easily judge: low-priority
+(P2/P3) technical/backend items that may be necessary or may be bells-and-whistles, and that
+he shouldn't spend expertise on *because* they're low priority. Run inside a repo, it
+adjudicates that repo's ROADMAP items via a grounded debate and routes each to a verdict the
+owner ratifies instead of researching.
+
+- **Pipeline (per item):** investigator (read-only — does the problem exist? already handled?
+  what would it touch? + blast-radius classification) → build-advocate ∥ drop-advocate (argue
+  from the investigator's findings, not speculation) → judge (rubric = `how-i-work.md` + repo
+  `AGENTS.md`; **biased to DROP on ties / low confidence**, since these are already low-priority).
+- **Three verdicts:** **DROP** (the only autonomously-applied call — ratified in one batch, owner
+  needn't understand the tech), **DO** (worth it + LOW blast radius → annotated with a ready plan,
+  recommend-only, not executed), **ESCALATE** (worth it but HIGH blast radius / low confidence /
+  an epic → balanced brief for the owner's call).
+- **Autonomy is gated by blast radius, not priority** — HIGH = touches data/auth/money/external
+  surface or changes observable behavior (unclear ⇒ HIGH). It may auto-recommend *dropping* a HIGH
+  item but never *doing* one.
+- **ROADMAP-only input.** Nudges the owner to `/triage` first if untriaged inbox items exist for
+  the repo, but never reads raw inbox items into the debate (that's `/triage`'s routing job —
+  duplicating it invites drift). Two gates: confirm the item set before fan-out (cost control),
+  then approve the batch of ROADMAP edits. The ROADMAP diff + commit message is the audit trail
+  (no separate report file).
+
+**Remaining options:** (a) **v2 — narrow auto-execution** of the safe "DO + LOW blast radius +
+reversible + test-covered" class, once the owner has watched it make calls and trusts the verdicts
+(deliberately deferred — recommend-only first to build trust); (b) a thin `/triage`-then-`/adjudicate`
+combo if the two-command chaining friction proves real (YAGNI for now).

adapters/claude/commands/adjudicate.md

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+description: Debate each low-priority (P2/P3) backlog item on this repo's ROADMAP to a DROP/DO/ESCALATE verdict — recommend-only, applied on your approval
+argument-hint: [optional scope, e.g. a ROADMAP item number or "P3"]
+---
+
+Adjudicate the low-priority technical backlog of the repository in the current working
+directory. Scope, if any: $ARGUMENTS
+
+Your complete orchestration guide — phases, the per-item investigate→debate→judge pipeline,
+the three verdicts (DROP / DO / ESCALATE), and the report + approval flow — is at:
+
+    ~/Projects/standards/guides/adjudicate.md
+
+Read it in full first, then follow it exactly. If you cannot read that file, stop and report
+precisely that — do not improvise the adjudication.
+
+Claude Code specifics for Phase 2: per item, launch the investigator first, then the build- and
+drop-advocates as a single parallel batch, then the judge; run items concurrently in batches to
+keep the fan-out manageable. These are read-only role agents — the only write is the ROADMAP
+edit in Phase 4, after the owner approves.

guides/adjudicate.md

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+# Adjudicate — debate low-priority backlog items to a verdict
+
+*Substance file per the portability protocol. Vendor wrappers (e.g.
+`adapters/claude/commands/adjudicate.md`) point here; this guide is self-contained
+and written as plain prose any orchestrating agent could follow.*
+
+You are running inside one project repo. Low-priority technical/backend items pile up on its
+`ROADMAP.md` that the owner can't easily judge the necessity of — and shouldn't have to spend
+expertise on, precisely *because* they're low priority. Your job is to run a grounded debate
+over each eligible item and reach a verdict, so the owner ratifies decisions instead of
+researching them.
+
+**Recommend-only.** You never execute, build, or ship anything here. Your output is verdicts
+and a single batch of ROADMAP edits the owner approves. The most you change is the backlog
+itself.
+
+**Autonomy is gated by blast radius, not priority.** A low-priority item can still be
+dangerous (it touches data, auth, money, an external surface, or changes observable app
+behavior). You may autonomously recommend *dropping* such an item, but you may never recommend
+silently *doing* it — anything above the blast-radius line goes to the owner as a brief.
+
+## Phase 1 — Orient & select (no fan-out yet)
+
+1. Read this repo's `ROADMAP.md` and `AGENTS.md` (especially `## Current state`) for context.
+2. **Inbox nudge (don't triage).** Do the session-start inbox-check: if
+   `~/Projects/standards/INBOX.md` has unchecked items tagged for this repo, tell the owner
+   *"N untriaged inbox items for this repo — run `/triage` first to land them on the ROADMAP,
+   or proceed with just what's there."* You operate on ROADMAP only; never read raw inbox items
+   into the debate — that is `/triage`'s routing job, and duplicating its rules invites drift.
+3. **Select candidates.** Eligible = parked, low-priority backlog items: P2/P3 where items
+   carry an explicit priority; otherwise items that read as nice-to-have / deferred.
+   **Exclude:** P0/P1 or clearly-active items, anything already marked done/built, and
+   `(new:…)`-style new-repo seeds. If `$ARGUMENTS` names specific items (e.g. a ROADMAP number
+   or `P3`), scope to those.
+4. **Confirm the set before spending agents.** Show the owner the list you intend to adjudicate
+   (one line each) and let them trim or confirm. A full run is ~4 subagents per item — this gate
+   controls cost and catches any item that's more important than its placement suggests.
+
+## Phase 2 — Per item: investigate → debate → judge
+
+For each confirmed item, run this pipeline (items may run in parallel where your tooling
+allows; within an item the stages are sequential):
+
+1. **Investigator** (read-only). Grounds the debate in reality so it isn't two models
+   speculating. Reads the actual code and reports: does the problem this item describes actually
+   exist, or is it already handled? What would the change touch (files, surfaces)? **Classify
+   blast radius:** LOW (reversible, internal, test-covered, no observable behavior change) or
+   HIGH (touches data/auth/money/an external surface, or changes observable app behavior). When
+   unsure, classify HIGH.
+2. **Build-advocate** and **Drop-advocate** (in parallel). Each receives the item text and the
+   investigator's findings and argues one side honestly, citing the findings — not speculation:
+   - *Build-advocate*: the concrete benefit, the cost or risk of leaving it undone, who or what
+     it helps.
+   - *Drop-advocate*: YAGNI, added complexity and maintenance, opportunity cost, whether it's
+     bells-and-whistles for its own sake.
+3. **Judge.** Receives the item, the investigator's findings (incl. blast radius), and both
+   briefs. Decides against the rubric = `how-i-work.md` + this repo's `AGENTS.md`. **Bias to
+   DROP on a tie or low confidence** — these items are already low-priority, so death is the
+   default unless a clear case is made. Emits a structured verdict (next section).
+
+## The three verdicts
+
+- **DROP** — not worth doing. The only autonomously-applied call. (Still ratified in one batch
+  by the owner per Phase 4 — "autonomous" means the owner needn't understand the tech, not that
+  files change unseen.)
+- **DO** — worth doing **and** blast radius LOW. Annotate the ROADMAP item with the decision and
+  a short ready-to-act plan; surface it for the owner's go-ahead to schedule. You do **not**
+  execute it (recommend-only).
+- **ESCALATE** — worth doing **but** blast radius HIGH, **or** the judge's confidence is low,
+  **or** the item is really an epic that should be split first. Produce a balanced brief: the
+  build case, the drop case, the judge's lean, and why it's above the line. This is the owner's
+  real judgment call — made cheap because they're ratifying reasoning, not generating it.
+
+## Phase 3 — Report (inline, no file written)
+
+Show the owner one report. No new tracked artifact — the ROADMAP diff and the commit message
+are the durable record (same convention as `/triage`).
+
+```
+# Adjudication — <repo> — <date>
+Adjudicated N of M eligible items.
+
+## DROP (ratify to remove)
+- <item> — one-line why-not + judge confidence
+
+## DO (low blast radius — your go-ahead to schedule)
+- <item> — one-line why + the ready plan
+
+## ESCALATE (your call — balanced brief)
+- <item> — build case / drop case / judge's lean / why it crosses the line
+```
+
+## Phase 4 — Approve, apply, commit
+
+1. **One approval gate.** Wait for the owner to confirm the batch. Never edit `ROADMAP.md`
+   before they approve — it's a durable file (same rule as `/triage`).
+2. **Apply** the approved changes to `ROADMAP.md`: delete DROP items outright (git history is
+   the record — don't leave tombstones); annotate DO items with the decision + plan; annotate
+   ESCALATE items with the judge's lean so the brief isn't lost.
+3. **Commit.** Present the proposed message and wait for confirmation (one approval covers
+   commit + push, per `how-i-work.md`). The message records the verdicts and the why for each
+   drop — that *is* the audit trail. No AI-attribution trailer.
+4. **Report** what was dropped, what's queued as DO, and what's waiting on the owner as
+   ESCALATE.
+
+## Rules
+
+- Recommend-only. Never execute, build, or ship — your single write is the ROADMAP edit, after
+  approval.
+- Never auto-recommend *doing* a HIGH-blast-radius item; route it to ESCALATE. When blast radius
+  is unclear, treat it as HIGH.
+- Ground every argument in the investigator's findings. If the investigator can't read the code
+  or the item is too vague to investigate, say so and ESCALATE it rather than debating in a
+  vacuum.
+- Don't read raw inbox items into the debate — nudge the owner to `/triage` first. ROADMAP is
+  the only input.
+- Preserve the owner's judgment as the gate: propose verdicts, apply only on approval, and
+  surface anything consequential rather than deciding it.
+- If blocked at any point, report exactly what blocked you — never fabricate a verdict.