docs: add AGENTS contribution guide

Author: ThomasK33

AGENTS.md

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+You are an experienced, pragmatic software engineering AI agent. Do not over-engineer a solution when a simple one is possible. Keep edits minimal. If you want an exception to ANY rule, you MUST stop and get permission first.
+
+# Project Overview
+
+`agent-terminal` is a CLI-first terminal automation tool for AI agents and humans. It creates long-lived PTY-backed sessions, exposes machine-friendly commands to control them, and produces inspectable artifacts such as semantic snapshots, PNG screenshots, asciicast recordings, and WebM exports.
+
+The current implementation is a TypeScript/Node v1 with these main building blocks:
+
+- **Commander** for the CLI surface (`src/cli/main.ts`).
+- **node-pty** for PTY/process lifecycle.
+- **Zod** for protocol, manifest, and artifact validation.
+- **ghostty-web + Playwright** as the reference renderer for screenshot, wait, snapshot, and replay/export flows.
+- **Vitest, ESLint, Prettier, and TypeScript** for quality gates.
+- **mise** as the canonical task runner in CI.
+
+Session state is stored under `~/.agent-terminal` by default. In tests and automation, prefer an isolated absolute `AGENT_TERMINAL_HOME` instead of writing into the real home directory.
+
+# Reference
+
+## Important files
+
+- `src/cli/main.ts` — public CLI contract and command registration.
+- `src/cli/commands/*.ts` — command implementations; most behavior changes start here.
+- `src/host/hostMain.ts` — per-session host orchestration for PTY, renderer, RPC, waits, and artifacts.
+- `src/host/eventLog.ts` — append-only `events.jsonl` writer/reader; sequence numbers must stay contiguous.
+- `src/host/replay.ts` — validated replay loader; keep its event-log assumptions aligned with `src/host/eventLog.ts`.
+- `src/protocol/schemas.ts` and `src/protocol/messages.ts` — machine-facing schemas and result shapes.
+- `src/storage/` — path guards, home/session resolution, manifest I/O, and artifact manifests.
+- `src/renderer/ghosttyWeb/backend.ts` — reference renderer and Playwright browser harness.
+- `src/export/asciicast.ts` and `src/export/webm.ts` — recording export logic.
+- `src/util/assert.ts` — shared fail-fast assertion helpers.
+- `design/20260319_agent-terminal-v1.md` — architecture and product intent.
+- `dogfood/` — proof bundles plus scripts for reviewer-facing validation artifacts.
+
+## Important directories
+
+- `src/cli/` — CLI entrypoint, output envelopes, and user-facing commands.
+- `src/host/` — long-lived session host, event logging, replay, RPC.
+- `src/renderer/` — renderer abstraction plus the `ghostty-web` reference backend.
+- `src/storage/` — filesystem layout and manifest/artifact helpers.
+- `src/protocol/` — Zod schemas, envelopes, and command/result types.
+- `test/unit/` — focused unit tests with mocked dependencies.
+- `test/integration/` — CLI-level behavior against isolated temp homes.
+- `test/e2e/` — higher-level fixture-driven flows that assert rendered output and artifacts.
+- `test/fixtures/apps/` — tiny terminal apps used by e2e and dogfooding.
+- `design/` — architecture, roadmap, and dogfooding docs.
+
+## Architecture
+
+Treat the architecture as:
+
+`CLI -> per-session host -> PTY + append-only event log -> renderer replay -> artifact manifests/files`
+
+Important implications:
+
+- The **CLI JSON envelope** is the stable automation surface.
+- The **per-session host** is internal implementation detail.
+- The **event log** is canonical execution truth.
+- The **renderer** provides reference visual truth, not native-terminal parity.
+- Artifacts should be reproducible from session state and replay data, not from ad hoc side channels.
+
+# Essential commands
+
+Preferred setup uses `mise`; fall back to direct `npm` only when necessary.
+
+```sh
+mise install
+mise run bootstrap
+```
+
+If `mise` is unavailable:
+
+```sh
+npm ci
+npx playwright install chromium
+```
+
+Core commands:
+
+```sh
+mise run build          # or: npm run build
+mise run format         # or: npm run format
+mise run format-check   # or: npm run format:check
+mise run lint           # or: npm run lint
+mise run typecheck      # or: npm run typecheck
+mise run test           # or: npm run test
+mise run clean          # or: npm run clean
+mise run ci             # or: npm run verify
+```
+
+CLI-specific development commands:
+
+```sh
+npx tsx src/cli/main.ts --help
+npx tsx src/cli/main.ts doctor --json
+npm run version:json
+```
+
+Other important scripts:
+
+```sh
+bash dogfood/generate-week3-bundles.sh
+find dogfood -type f -name 'commands.sh' | sort
+```
+
+Development server: **none**. This is a CLI project, so iterative development usually means running `npx tsx src/cli/main.ts <command>` against an isolated `AGENT_TERMINAL_HOME`.
+
+# Patterns
+
+- **Do use `--json` for automation and prefer direct CLI invocation (`npx tsx src/cli/main.ts ...`) while developing.** Tests and design docs assume automation consumers read JSON envelopes. **Do not** scrape human-readable output when a JSON mode exists, and do not rely on noisy `npm run` wrappers when you need machine-parseable JSON.
+- **Do isolate session homes in tests.** Follow the pattern in `test/helpers.ts` and `test/e2e/helpers.ts`: create a temp directory, set absolute `AGENT_TERMINAL_HOME`, clean it up, and destroy any surviving sessions. **Do not** let tests mutate `~/.agent-terminal`.
+- **Do fail fast with assertions and schemas.** Existing code uses `invariant()`, `assertString()`, and `.safeParse()`/`.strict()` heavily. **Do not** silently coerce invalid paths, session IDs, or manifest data.
+- **Do preserve the event-log-as-truth model.** New snapshot, screenshot, wait, or export features should flow through replayable event/state data. **Do not** add one-off state that only live PTY code can see.
+- **Do keep storage writes inside validated helpers.** Path resolution in `src/storage/sessionPaths.ts`, manifest writers, and artifact helpers intentionally guard against path escape and invalid filenames. **Do not** write manifest-like files with ad hoc `fs.writeFile()` logic.
+- **Do keep CI hand-curated.** `.github/workflows/ci.yml` is intentionally maintained by hand even though `mise generate github-action` can scaffold it. **Do not** overwrite the checked-in workflow with generated output without preserving the repo-specific steps and comments.
+- **Do update coupled limits together.** `src/host/eventLog.ts` and `src/host/replay.ts` both enforce the 50 MB event-log limit. **Do not** change one without the other.
+- **Do add tests at the right layer.** Small parser/validation changes usually belong in `test/unit`; CLI wiring and temp-home behavior fit `test/integration`; renderer/artifact flows belong in `test/e2e`.
+
+## Testing patterns
+
+- Unit tests often mock command dependencies and assert exact envelopes or manifest writes.
+- Integration tests run the real CLI via `tsx src/cli/main.ts` against temp homes.
+- E2E tests use fixture apps such as `hello-prompt`, `color-grid`, and `resize-demo`, then assert visible output, screenshots, casts, videos, and artifact manifests.
+- Renderer/export changes should usually be validated with both automated tests and a dogfood bundle under `dogfood/`.
+
+# Anti-patterns
+
+- **Never delete running sessions.** `gc` behavior and tests explicitly protect running sessions; cleanup code must reconcile state first.
+- **Do not assume reference rendering equals native rendering.** The `ghostty-web` backend is a pinned reference renderer; parity with native terminal emulators is not guaranteed.
+- **Do not bypass protocol/schema updates.** If a CLI JSON shape changes, update the corresponding schemas/messages/tests in the same change.
+- **Do not rely on README alone for behavior details.** The README is brief; the design docs, command implementations, and tests are the authoritative references.
+
+# Code style
+
+- Follow the repo defaults: 2-space indentation, single quotes, trailing commas, semicolons, LF endings.
+- This is strict TypeScript with `NodeNext` modules and ESM imports that include `.js` file extensions from TypeScript source.
+- Prefer `import type` for type-only imports; ESLint enforces this.
+- Keep schemas strict (`z.object(...).strict()`) and prefer existing helper/assertion utilities over duplicated validation code.
+- Match the existing style of small helpers, explicit invariants, and straightforward control flow. Avoid introducing abstraction layers without a concrete need.
+
+# Commit and Pull Request Guidelines
+
+Before committing:
+
+```sh
+mise run ci
+```
+
+If `mise` is unavailable, run:
+
+```sh
+npm run verify
+```
+
+Additional expectations:
+
+- If you touch renderer, screenshot, wait, export, or retention behavior, also run the most relevant e2e test(s) and regenerate or inspect the related `dogfood/` proof bundle when feasible.
+- If you touch CLI JSON, schemas, manifests, or artifact formats, verify both implementation and tests in the same change.
+- If you change environment/bootstrap assumptions, re-check `.github/workflows/ci.yml` and `mise.toml` together.
+
+Commit messages in recent history commonly use an imperative summary with a type prefix, e.g. `feat: ...`. Default to `type: summary` (`feat:`, `fix:`, `docs:`, `test:`, `refactor:`) unless the user asks for another convention.
+
+There is no checked-in PR template. Write PR descriptions manually and include:
+
+- what changed and why,
+- user-facing or automation-facing behavior changes,
+- exact validation commands run,
+- any design-doc deviations,
+- and links or paths to screenshots, video, or `dogfood/` artifacts when the change affects rendered output or reviewable proof.