diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/iterate.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/iterate.ts
index d1166048..2c072248 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/iterate.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/iterate.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,88 @@
 import { Command } from 'commander';
 import kleur from 'kleur';
-import { agentsCmd } from './agents.js';
+import { promises as fs } from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { randomBytes } from 'node:crypto';
+import { configDir } from '@profullstack/sh1pt-core';
+import { describeInput, resolveInput } from '../input.js';
+
+// agentsCmd moved to root level — see https://github.com/profullstack/sh1pt/issues/235
+
+const GOALS_FILE = () => path.join(configDir(), 'iterate-goals.json');
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Experiments persistence
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+interface Experiment {
+  id: string;
+  hypothesis: string;
+  variants: string[];
+  traffic: number;
+  minSample: number;
+  createdAt: string;
+  updatedAt: string;
+  status: 'active' | 'ended' | 'paused';
+  significance?: number;
+  sampleCount?: number;
+  winner?: 'A' | 'B' | 'inconclusive';
+  note?: string;
+}
+
+const EXPERIMENTS_FILE = () => path.join(configDir(), 'iterate-experiments.json');
+
+async function loadExperiments(): Promise<Experiment[]> {
+  try {
+    const raw = await fs.readFile(EXPERIMENTS_FILE(), 'utf8');
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
+    return Array.isArray(parsed) ? parsed : [];
+  } catch (err) {
+    if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'ENOENT') return [];
+    throw err;
+  }
+}
+
+async function saveExperiments(experiments: Experiment[]): Promise<void> {
+  await fs.mkdir(configDir(), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const tmp = `${EXPERIMENTS_FILE()}.tmp`;
+  await fs.writeFile(tmp, JSON.stringify(experiments, null, 2) + '\n', { mode: 0o600 });
+  await fs.rename(tmp, EXPERIMENTS_FILE());
+}
+
+async function loadGoals(): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
+  try {
+    const raw = await fs.readFile(GOALS_FILE(), 'utf8');
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw);
+    return parsed && typeof parsed === 'object' ? (parsed as Record<string, string>) : {};
+  } catch (err) {
+    if ((err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'ENOENT') return {};
+    throw err;
+  }
+}
+
+async function saveGoals(goals: Record<string, string>): Promise<void> {
+  await fs.mkdir(configDir(), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+  const tmp = `${GOALS_FILE()}.tmp`;
+  await fs.writeFile(tmp, JSON.stringify(goals, null, 2) + '\n', { mode: 0o600 });
+  await fs.rename(tmp, GOALS_FILE());
+}
 
 export const iterateCmd = new Command('iterate')
   .description('Observe metrics, have an agent propose changes, ship, measure. Powered by Claude / Codex / Qwen.')
-  .action(() => { iterateCmd.help(); });
-
-// AI-CLI orchestration lives under iterate (was top-level `sh1pt agents`).
-// sh1pt iterate agents [list|setup|talk|run|generate]
-iterateCmd.addCommand(agentsCmd);
+  .option('--from <input>', 'existing live url, repo, or local path to start observing + iterating on')
+  .action((opts: { from?: string }) => {
+    if (opts.from) {
+      const input = resolveInput(opts.from);
+      console.log(kleur.cyan(`[stub] iterate attach · from=${describeInput(input)}`));
+      // TODO: kind==='url' → uptime/latency/Lighthouse baseline, seed observation loop;
+      // kind==='git' → clone, read last N commits + CI signals, hook up an agent;
+      // kind==='path'/'doc' → read local manifest and attach the metric sources it declares.
+      return;
+    }
+    iterateCmd.help();
+  });
 
+// AI-CLI agents moved to root level — see #235.
 iterateCmd
   .command('run')
   .description('Single-shot cycle: pull metrics → have agent propose changes → apply (with confirmation) → ship')
@@ -32,6 +105,7 @@ iterateCmd
   .command('watch')
   .description('Daemon mode — run a cycle on every significant metric change')
   .option('--agent <id>', 'claude | codex | qwen', 'claude')
+  .option('--cloud', 'schedule and run the watch loop in sh1pt cloud')
   .option('--interval <seconds>', 're-check interval', Number, 3600)
   .option('--quiet-hours <start-end>', 'e.g. 22-08 (24h local) to pause overnight')
   .action((opts) => {
@@ -44,13 +118,58 @@ iterateCmd
   .command('goals')
   .description('Declare the success metrics iterate steers toward')
   .argument('[kv...]', 'e.g. conversion=8% cpi=2.00 churn=5%')
-  .action((kv: string[]) => {
+  .option('--clear', 'remove all saved goals')
+  .option('--unset <key>', 'remove a single goal by key')
+  .option('--json', 'machine-readable output')
+  .action(async (kv: string[], opts: { clear?: boolean; unset?: string; json?: boolean }) => {
+    const goals = await loadGoals();
+
+    if (opts.clear) {
+      await saveGoals({});
+      console.log(kleur.yellow('all goals cleared'));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (opts.unset) {
+      if (opts.unset in goals) {
+        delete goals[opts.unset];
+        await saveGoals(goals);
+        console.log(kleur.yellow(`unset: ${opts.unset}`));
+      } else {
+        console.log(kleur.dim(`goal "${opts.unset}" not set`));
+      }
+      return;
+    }
+
     if (kv.length === 0) {
-      console.log(kleur.dim('[stub] iterate goals — list current goals'));
+      if (Object.keys(goals).length === 0) {
+        console.log(kleur.dim('no goals set — pass key=value pairs to set them'));
+        return;
+      }
+      if (opts.json) {
+        console.log(JSON.stringify(goals, null, 2));
+        return;
+      }
+      console.log(kleur.bold('current goals:'));
+      for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(goals)) {
+        console.log(`  ${kleur.cyan(k)} = ${v}`);
+      }
       return;
     }
-    console.log(kleur.cyan(`[stub] iterate goals set ${kv.join(' ')}`));
-    // TODO: persist goals; iterate run uses these as the optimization target
+
+    for (const pair of kv) {
+      const idx = pair.indexOf('=');
+      if (idx === -1) {
+        console.error(kleur.red(`invalid goal "${pair}" — expected key=value`));
+        continue;
+      }
+      const key = pair.slice(0, idx).trim();
+      const value = pair.slice(idx + 1).trim();
+      if (!key) { console.error(kleur.red(`empty key in "${pair}"`)); continue; }
+      goals[key] = value;
+      console.log(kleur.green(`  set ${key} = ${value}`));
+    }
+    await saveGoals(goals);
   });
 
 iterateCmd
@@ -59,16 +178,112 @@ iterateCmd
   .option('--variant <text...>', 'the B-side change; A is current state')
   .option('--traffic <percent>', 'percentage routed to B', Number, 50)
   .option('--min-sample <n>', 'minimum events before stopping', Number, 1000)
-  .action((hypothesis: string, opts) => {
-    console.log(kleur.cyan(`[stub] iterate test "${hypothesis}" ${JSON.stringify(opts)}`));
-    // TODO: generate two Ship variants, wire feature flag, schedule analysis at min-sample
+  .action(async (hypothesis: string, opts: { variant?: string[]; traffic?: number; minSample?: number }) => {
+    const experiments = await loadExperiments();
+    const now = new Date().toISOString();
+    const id = randomBytes(4).toString('hex');
+    const experiment: Experiment = {
+      id,
+      hypothesis,
+      variants: opts.variant ?? [],
+      traffic: opts.traffic ?? 50,
+      minSample: opts.minSample ?? 1000,
+      createdAt: now,
+      updatedAt: now,
+      status: 'active',
+    };
+    experiments.push(experiment);
+    await saveExperiments(experiments);
+    console.log(kleur.green(`experiment created: ${kleur.bold(id)}`));
+    console.log(`  hypothesis : ${hypothesis}`);
+    if (experiment.variants.length > 0) {
+      console.log(`  variant(s) : ${experiment.variants.join(', ')}`);
+    }
+    console.log(`  traffic    : ${experiment.traffic}% to B`);
+    console.log(`  min-sample : ${experiment.minSample}`);
+    console.log(kleur.dim(`  run \`sh1pt iterate experiments\` to track progress`));
   });
 
-iterateCmd
+const experimentsCmd = iterateCmd
   .command('experiments')
   .description('Active and recently-ended experiments with significance')
-  .option('--json')
-  .action((opts: { json?: boolean }) => {
-    if (opts.json) { console.log(JSON.stringify({ active: [], ended: [] }, null, 2)); return; }
-    console.log(kleur.dim('[stub] iterate experiments — table of active / concluded tests'));
+  .option('--json', 'machine-readable output')
+  .option('--end <id>', 'mark an experiment as ended')
+  .option('--pause <id>', 'pause an active experiment')
+  .option('--resume <id>', 'resume a paused experiment')
+  .option('--winner <result>', 'record outcome when ending (A | B | inconclusive)')
+  .option('--note <text>', 'attach a note when ending')
+  .action(async (opts: {
+    json?: boolean;
+    end?: string;
+    pause?: string;
+    resume?: string;
+    winner?: 'A' | 'B' | 'inconclusive';
+    note?: string;
+  }) => {
+    const experiments = await loadExperiments();
+    const now = new Date().toISOString();
+
+    // Mutating actions
+    if (opts.end) {
+      const exp = experiments.find(e => e.id === opts.end);
+      if (!exp) { console.error(kleur.red(`experiment "${opts.end}" not found`)); process.exit(1); }
+      exp.status = 'ended';
+      exp.updatedAt = now;
+      if (opts.winner) exp.winner = opts.winner;
+      if (opts.note) exp.note = opts.note;
+      await saveExperiments(experiments);
+      console.log(kleur.yellow(`ended: ${opts.end}`) + (opts.winner ? kleur.dim(` · winner=${opts.winner}`) : ''));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (opts.pause) {
+      const exp = experiments.find(e => e.id === opts.pause);
+      if (!exp) { console.error(kleur.red(`experiment "${opts.pause}" not found`)); process.exit(1); }
+      exp.status = 'paused';
+      exp.updatedAt = now;
+      await saveExperiments(experiments);
+      console.log(kleur.yellow(`paused: ${opts.pause}`));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (opts.resume) {
+      const exp = experiments.find(e => e.id === opts.resume);
+      if (!exp) { console.error(kleur.red(`experiment "${opts.resume}" not found`)); process.exit(1); }
+      exp.status = 'active';
+      exp.updatedAt = now;
+      await saveExperiments(experiments);
+      console.log(kleur.green(`resumed: ${opts.resume}`));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // List
+    if (opts.json) {
+      const active = experiments.filter(e => e.status === 'active');
+      const ended = experiments.filter(e => e.status === 'ended');
+      const paused = experiments.filter(e => e.status === 'paused');
+      console.log(JSON.stringify({ active, paused, ended }, null, 2));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (experiments.length === 0) {
+      console.log(kleur.dim('no experiments — run `sh1pt iterate test "<hypothesis>"` to start one'));
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const statusColor = (s: Experiment['status']) =>
+      s === 'active' ? kleur.green(s) : s === 'paused' ? kleur.yellow(s) : kleur.dim(s);
+
+    for (const exp of experiments) {
+      const winner = exp.winner ? kleur.cyan(` winner=${exp.winner}`) : '';
+      const sig = exp.significance != null ? kleur.dim(` sig=${exp.significance}`) : '';
+      const samples = exp.sampleCount != null ? kleur.dim(` n=${exp.sampleCount}`) : '';
+      console.log(`${kleur.bold(exp.id)}  ${statusColor(exp.status)}${winner}${sig}${samples}`);
+      console.log(`  ${exp.hypothesis}`);
+      if (exp.variants.length > 0) console.log(`  ${kleur.dim('variants:')} ${exp.variants.join(', ')}`);
+      if (exp.note) console.log(`  ${kleur.dim('note:')} ${exp.note}`);
+    }
+
+    const active = experiments.filter(e => e.status === 'active').length;
+    console.log(kleur.dim(`\n${active} active / ${experiments.length} total`));
   });