roles

# roles - Gas Town Role Responsibilities

Understand the five Gas Town roles and when Claude should behave as each.

## Quick Reference

| Role | Core Directive | Key Behavior |
|------|----------------|--------------|
| **Mayor** | Coordinate, don't implement | Dispatches work, never edits code |
| **Crew** | Wait for human direction | Human-guided implementation |
| **Polecat** | Execute hooked work autonomously | Auto-execute on hook, push before done |
| **Witness** | Monitor only, never implement | Reports issues, doesn't fix them |
| **Refinery** | Only merge MERGE_READY branches | Processes merge queue, escalates conflicts |

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## Role Detection

**How do I know which role I am?**

Check your working directory and agent configuration:

| Indicator | Role |
|-----------|------|
| `~/gt` (town root) | Mayor |
| `<rig>/crew/*` | Crew |
| `<rig>/polecats/*` | Polecat |
| `<rig>/witness/` | Witness |
| `<rig>/refinery/` | Refinery |

Also check `permissionMode` in your agent config:
- `auto` → Polecat (autonomous execution)
- `default` → All other roles (human oversight)

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## The Propulsion Principle

> **If you find work on your hook, YOU RUN IT.**

This applies to **Mayor** and **Polecat** roles only.

- **Mayor**: Check hook → Work hooked? → RUN IT
- **Polecat**: Check hook → Work hooked? → RUN IT (autonomous)
- **Crew**: Check hook → Work hooked? → Show human, await confirmation
- **Witness/Refinery**: No autonomous execution

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## Role Details

### Mayor (Coordinator)

**Location**: `~/gt` (town root)

**Directive**: Coordinate, don't implement.

The Mayor sits above all rigs, dispatching work and coordinating across projects.

**Does**:
- Dispatch work to polecats (`gt sling`)
- Coordinate across rigs
- Handle escalations
- Make strategic decisions

**Doesn't**:
- Edit code (even in `mayor/rig/`)
- Micromanage workers
- Do per-worker cleanup (Witness handles that)

See: `references/mayor.md`

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### Crew (Human-Managed Developer)

**Location**: `