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## ELI5
Orca ships eight skill guides that agents read before running the CLI. Seven of them (everything except `orchestration`, which #16904 rewrites) were command catalogs that had drifted from the binary. This PR rewrites them so an agent reads the outcome, the done bar, and the safe-failure rule first, loads reference material only at the step that needs it, and never sees a command or flag the installed CLI does not define.
## What changed
- **Seven guides rewritten** to one standard: outcome spine first (Result / Done / Safe failure), conditions instead of case lists, one done bar, one autonomy envelope, references loaded at the point of use via `skills get <topic> --full`, every runnable invocation spelled `ORCA`. `orca-cli` is 424→260 always-loaded lines with three references (browser, automations, publishing); `orca-per-workspace-env` is 794→397 with five (provider-vercel, ssh-host, docker-ssh, windows-scripts, failure-modes).
- **Defects fixed in shipped guides:** `emulator camera` (no such command), iOS `permissions` (backend refuses it), Android pane described as "in development" (shipped in June), `relayGracePeriodSeconds: 0` documented as immediate teardown (it is unbounded), doctor `ok: true` hiding `warn`, an SSH exemplar setting both `jumpHost` and `proxyCommand`, a provisioned-root fetch from `origin`, the Linear unconfirmed-write rule keyed on four verbs when ten emit it. Linear and emulator descriptions dropped embedded commands and angle-bracket placeholders (651→329, 732→404 chars).
- **Generator bundles references.** `skill-guides/<name>/references/*.md` is appended to `--full`; `skills get` help says compact by default, full with references.
- **Stubs single-authored.** The resolver ladder, placeholder rule, and older-binary fallback shared by all eight installable `SKILL.md` files come from one `skill-stubs/_shared/cli-resolution.md` fragment composed by the generator. Projections were byte-identical before the content fixes.
- **Guards:** every `ORCA <cmd>` and flag in every guide and reference resolves against `COMMAND_SPECS` (this found the camera defect); descriptions ≤1024 chars with no angle-bracket tokens; reference routing checked both directions; an always-loaded size ratchet (300 lines) that guides may leave but never join. `orchestration` (440 lines on main) is recorded as an exception until #16904 lands its kernel.
## Relationship to #16904
Split out of #16904 so that PR carries only the orchestration guide. On main, `terminal send` has no `--wait-submit` / `--retry-request` and the orchestration kernel still carries the resolver ladder and worktree-selector rule, so this branch pins `accepted: true` for handoff receipts and leaves the orchestration pins where main has them. The merge in either direction is mechanical: #16904 rebased on this becomes a one-file `orchestration.md` change plus dropping the two exceptions.
## Standard
Compound Engineering's portable skill-authoring guidance (outcome spine, conditions not cases, pinned fragile commands with an ordered hatch, references at point of use). NVIDIA SkillEvaluator Tier 1 (`schema,pii,license,quality,unicode,lint`) was run on every guide; its deterministic checks pass, its template nudges (Instructions/Examples sections, 50–150 char descriptions) do not apply to Orca's stub architecture and were not applied.
## Testing
- `pnpm typecheck:tsc:cli` clean; `check:code-quality:changed` and `check:react-doctor:changed` 0 findings
- `pnpm verify:bundled-skill-guides` and skill-bundle manifest verify clean
- vitest over `config/scripts`, `src/cli/skill-guide-cli-parity.test.ts`, `src/cli/skills.test.ts`, `src/cli/specs/skills.test.ts`, `src/cli/help.test.ts`, `src/main/skills`: 240 files / 2,019 pass
- Live smoke on the built CLI of every `skills get <topic>` and `--full`, every emulator, linear, and vm verb named in the guides, and every projection's resolver, GNOME warning, and bounded fallback (done on the #16904 branch before the split; the guide bodies are identical here except the send-receipt vocabulary noted above)
## Deferred product decisions
Merging `orca-emulator` and `orca-emulator-android` into one skill with a platform branch; collapsing `linear-tickets` to a guide alias; a `skills get --reference <name>` selector so a gate table can load one file; a fresh-agent routing eval before trimming the `orca-cli` (1,015 chars) and `orchestration` descriptions, whose quoted triggers each fixed a routing misroute.
1.3 KiB
Orca CLI
This file is a discovery stub, not the usage guide. The full, version-matched Orca CLI
reference is served by the orca binary itself — kept out of this file on purpose so it
can never drift from the binary that will actually run your commands.
Engage Orca whenever its running editor/runtime is the source of truth: Orca-managed worktrees, folder contexts, terminals, repos, automations, worktree comments, and the browser embedded inside the Orca app. Triggers include "$orca-cli", "Orca worktree", "child worktree", "spawn codex/claude in a worktree", "read/wait/send Orca terminal", "full handoff" / "handover" / "give this to another agent", and "control the browser inside Orca". Use plain shell tools when Orca state does not matter.
Load the full guide before running Orca commands
ORCA skills get orca-cli
That prints the complete, version-matched guide for the exact binary that will handle your next commands — worktrees, handoffs, terminals, automations, and the built-in browser. Read it first, then run the specific command you need.
ORCA status --json
ORCA worktree ps --json
ORCA terminal list --json