fix(plugin): missing project mandate is optional, not a broken path

personas/infrastructure/agents/infrastructure.md

@@ -168,4 +168,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/infrastructure/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/infrastructure/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/infrastructure/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/infrastructure/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/product-manager/agents/product-manager.md

@@ -107,4 +107,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/product-manager/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/product-manager/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/product-manager/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/product-manager/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/product-marketer/agents/product-marketer.md

@@ -159,4 +159,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/product-marketer/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/product-marketer/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/product-marketer/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/product-marketer/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/product-researcher/agents/product-researcher.md

@@ -118,4 +118,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/product-researcher/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/product-researcher/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/product-researcher/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/product-researcher/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/qa/agents/qa.md

@@ -154,4 +154,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/qa/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/qa/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/qa/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/qa/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/sales/agents/sales.md

@@ -136,4 +136,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/sales/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/sales/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/sales/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/sales/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/security-engineer/agents/security-engineer.md

@@ -141,4 +141,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/security-engineer/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/security-engineer/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/security-engineer/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/security-engineer/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/software-architect/agents/software-architect.md

@@ -163,4 +163,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/software-architect/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/software-architect/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/software-architect/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/software-architect/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/software-engineer/agents/software-engineer.md

@@ -99,4 +99,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/software-engineer/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/software-engineer/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/software-engineer/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/software-engineer/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/ui-ux-designer/agents/ui-ux-designer.md

@@ -154,4 +154,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/ui-ux-designer/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/ui-ux-designer/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/ui-ux-designer/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/ui-ux-designer/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

personas/vc-seed/agents/vc-seed.md

@@ -116,4 +116,4 @@ Reference material — Read when relevant.
 - **Verify before you call it done** — check it against reality, never state as fact what you haven't confirmed, and never invent a result.
 
 ## Your job in this project
-Your job here lives in `.truecast/agents/vc-seed/instance/mandate.md`, with accumulated lessons in `.truecast/agents/vc-seed/instance/work.md`. **If `.truecast/agents/vc-seed/instance/mandate.md` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.
+Work from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a `.truecast/agents/vc-seed/instance/mandate.md`, a `CLAUDE.md`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the `truecast` CLI; you run fine without it.

src/api/publish.test.ts

@@ -105,12 +105,13 @@ describe("planPublish — the pure file plan", () => {
     expect(manifest.author.name).toBe("Ada Lovelace");
   });
 
-  it("agent body uses the plugin craft root and the self-onboarding job prose, carries tools", () => {
+  it("agent body uses the plugin craft root and the missing-mandate-is-optional job prose, carries tools", () => {
     const plan = planPublish({ repoRoot: repo });
     const agent = fileAt(plan, "personas/alpha-agent/agents/alpha-agent.md");
     // biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noTemplateCurlyInString: asserting the literal token appears in output.
     expect(agent).toContain("${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/core/skills/do-the-thing/SKILL.md");
-    expect(agent).toContain("that is your first task");
+    expect(agent).toContain("ask the user what they need"); // optional mandate, asks (read-only safe)
+    expect(agent).not.toContain("write that mandate"); // never tell a read-only persona to write
     expect(agent).not.toContain("symlinked core");
     expect(agent).toContain("tools: Read, Grep"); // frontmatter least-privilege (security F2)
   });

src/materialize/index.ts

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export function renderSystemPrompt(
   sections.push(ENGINE_PRINCIPLES);
   sections.push(
     transport.kind === "plugin"
-      ? `## Your job in this project\nYour job here lives in \`${instanceBase}/mandate.md\`, with accumulated lessons in \`${instanceBase}/work.md\`. **If \`${instanceBase}/mandate.md\` does not exist yet, that is your first task:** ask what this project needs from you, write that mandate, then start the work.`
+      ? `## Your job in this project\nWork from the user's brief for this project if they've given you one — a \`${instanceBase}/mandate.md\`, a \`CLAUDE.md\`, or direction in this conversation. **If there's no brief, that's not an error: ask the user what they need from you here, then proceed from your craft.** For a standing mandate that persists across sessions, they can install you with the \`truecast\` CLI; you run fine without it.`
       : `## Your job in this project\nRead \`${instanceBase}/mandate.md\` for what to do here, and \`${instanceBase}/work.md\` for accumulated lessons. A direct \`Read\` is transparent through the symlink; to search, target \`${craftBase}/\` and \`${instanceBase}/\` explicitly (a bare \`rg .\` misses the symlinked core).`,
   );
   return sections.join("\n\n");

src/materialize/render.golden.test.ts

@@ -83,10 +83,13 @@ describe("renderSystemPrompt — plugin transport differs only where it must", (
     expect(body).not.toContain("symlinked core");
   });
 
-  it("tells a plugin-only persona to establish its mandate first (self-onboarding seam)", () => {
+  it("treats a missing mandate as optional, not an error — asks instead of failing (read-only safe)", () => {
     const body = renderPlugin(sample);
-    expect(body).toContain("If `.truecast/agents/");
-    expect(body).toContain("that is your first task");
+    expect(body).toContain("ask the user what they need");
+    expect(body).toContain("that's not an error");
+    // must NOT instruct a (read-only) persona to write a file it can't, nor present the path as broken
+    expect(body).not.toContain("write that mandate");
+    expect(body).not.toContain("does not exist yet, that is your first task");
   });
 
   it("keeps the per-project job path project-relative (the job lives in the consuming repo)", () => {