plan: add observability layer and chat-assent approval to gated-execution plan

Operator directives: (1) the UI must show what's executing, its risk
classification, live status, and what knowledge the session created — the
system's growth should be visible, not just trusted. (2) approval should be
granted by chat assent ("go ahead"), not a separate button; destructive
actions still require a typed confirmation phrase.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

plans/2026-07-10-general-gated-execution.md

@@ -19,6 +19,19 @@ Chosen autonomy posture for v1: **approve-most (cautious)** — only genuinely
 read-only commands auto-run; anything that changes state requires operator
 approval. We can relax later once the classifier and ledger have earned trust.
 
+Operator directive #2 (2026-07-10): **"I want to see the system come alive and
+learn and get better."** Observability is a first-class deliverable, not a
+side-effect. As a user I must be able to see, in real time: what is being
+executed, on what, and why; how it was classified and routed; what the outcome
+was; and — crucially — **what knowledge the session created** (new runbooks,
+patterns, resolved signals, ledger entries) so the system's growth is visible.
+
+Operator directive #3 (2026-07-10): **approval is granted by chat assent, not a
+button.** When Nomos proposes a plan/action and the operator replies "go ahead"
+/ "yes" / "do it" in the chat, that assent *is* the approval. No separate
+Approve button for the normal case. (Destructive actions still require an
+explicit typed confirmation phrase — see Safety.)
+
 ## This is a realignment, not a new idea
 
 [.agents/OIKOS.md](../.agents/OIKOS.md) already specifies this exact model:
@@ -85,13 +98,36 @@ Every call flows through:
    (mirrors "can only lower autonomy, never raise").
 2. **Route** (approve-most posture):
    - `read_only` → auto-run + ledger, no approval.
-   - `reversible_low` / `config_mutation` → **operator approval** (v1 gates all
-     state changes; a later posture can auto-run `reversible_low`).
+   - `reversible_low` / `config_mutation` → **operator approval via chat assent**
+     (v1 gates all state changes; a later posture can auto-run `reversible_low`).
    - `destructive` → approval **+ typed confirmation phrase**.
 3. **Execute** (existing SSH/`pct exec`), **verify** (optional check command),
    **ledger** (`executions` + `audit_log`), **stream feedback to chat** (reuse
    the `GET /executions/{id}` polling + `InlineApproval` phases already built).
 
+### Approval by chat assent (replaces the Approve button)
+
+The operator is already authenticated in the chat session, so their words are
+the authorization — a separate button is redundant friction. Flow:
+
+- Nomos proposes an action/plan; the gated `run` calls sit in `pending_approval`
+  (created in the same turn, tied to that turn's `correlation_id`).
+- The operator's next message is checked for **assent** ("go ahead", "yes",
+  "do it", "proceed", "ship it") scoped to *that* proposal. On assent, the
+  pending approvals from that turn are granted and execute.
+- Mechanism: Nomos detects assent and calls an `approve_pending(correlation_id)`
+  action; the backend flips the linked approvals → the existing
+  `executeApprovedAction` path runs. The **grant is recorded with the exact
+  operator message** that constituted assent (audit).
+- Guards: assent only applies to approvals from the immediately-preceding turn
+  (no stale "yes" approving something old); ambiguous replies ("maybe",
+  "later", a follow-up question) do **not** grant — Nomos re-confirms;
+  **destructive** actions ignore loose assent and still require the typed
+  confirmation phrase.
+- The inline UI still *shows* the pending action and its classification (so the
+  operator sees what they're assenting to) and reflects the grant — but the
+  primary path is "say yes," with the button demoted to an optional affordance.
+
 Layer 0 alone delivers "the agent can attempt anything; state changes are gated."
 
 ### Layer 1 — runbooks as executable data (reliability without rigidity)
@@ -119,6 +155,41 @@ Successful ad-hoc `run` sequences get promoted into runbooks/patterns (the
 `learning` engine + `skills` table already exist for this); the failure ledger
 informs retries. The system grows more capable **as data**, not as code.
 
+## Layer 3 — Observability: watch the system come alive
+
+The user must *see* the OODA loop working, not just trust it. Four surfaces,
+built on data the loop already produces (`executions`, `audit_log`, `signals`,
+`skills`, `knowledge_entities`) — the job is to make it visible, live, and
+legible, not to invent new telemetry.
+
+**1. Live action feed (in the chat turn).** Every `run` renders a card as it
+happens: `target` · `purpose` · **risk badge** (green read-only / amber
+config / red destructive) · status (queued → running → ok/failed) · collapsible
+output. Streams in real time (SSE, extend the existing execution-status feed).
+The operator watches Nomos *work*, step by step, with the reasoning (`purpose`)
+and the classifier's verdict on every step.
+
+**2. "What this session did" digest.** At the end of a task/turn, a summary
+card: N commands (X auto / Y assented / Z denied), entities changed (linked),
+signals resolved, and **knowledge created** — new/updated runbooks, patterns
+promoted, notes written — each linked to its record. This is the "what did the
+agent actually change and learn" answer in one glance.
+
+**3. The learning view — "the system is getting better."** A dedicated page:
+runbooks and their **success-rate trend**, newly promoted skills, pattern
+confidence (Wilson bounds already computed by the learning engine), recent
+auto-acts that succeeded unattended, and a **capability timeline** ("2026-07-11:
+learned to deploy Compose stacks; success 4/4"). Growth made tangible.
+
+**4. Global activity/ledger stream.** A live feed of every action across the
+fleet — command, target, classification, decision (auto / assented-by-whom),
+outcome — the audit log rendered as a heartbeat. Filterable by entity, risk,
+outcome.
+
+These reuse existing tables; the work is API endpoints + SSE fan-out + Svelte
+views, plus writing knowledge-creation events into the ledger so the digest has
+something to show.
+
 ## Safety model (the whole point of the gate)
 
 - **Default-escalate.** Nothing is *forbidden*; risky things need the operator's
@@ -154,15 +225,25 @@ informs retries. The system grows more capable **as data**, not as code.
    mutating / catastrophic commands.
 2. **`run` tool** — new MCP tool routing classify → gate → execute → the
    existing feedback path. Ship alongside the current tools (no removal yet).
-3. **Approval context** — surface risk class + blast radius + purpose on the
-   approval (chat `InlineApproval` + Ops page); typed-confirmation for
-   destructive.
-4. **Runbook execution** — a "provision LXC" runbook (ports the current
+3. **Live action feed (UI)** — render each `run` as a streaming card in chat:
+   purpose, target, risk badge, status, output. This is the first "come alive"
+   win and validates the SSE fan-out.
+4. **Chat-assent approval** — assent detection scoped to the last turn's
+   `correlation_id` → `approve_pending`; grant records the operator's message;
+   destructive still needs the typed phrase. Demote the Approve button.
+5. **Approval context** — surface risk class + blast radius + purpose inline so
+   the operator sees what they're assenting to.
+6. **Session digest + activity stream (UI)** — "what this session did / created"
+   card and the global ledger feed; write knowledge-creation events to the
+   ledger so there's something to show.
+7. **Runbook execution** — a "provision LXC" runbook (ports the current
    `pct_create` logic) executed via `run`; validate parity with today's handler.
-5. **Retire the enum** — convert remaining hard-coded actions to runbooks; make
+8. **Learning view (UI)** — runbook success-rate trends, promoted skills,
+   capability timeline.
+9. **Retire the enum** — convert remaining hard-coded actions to runbooks; make
    `request_execution` a thin deprecated alias or remove it.
-6. **Revive auto-act** — replace the actuator stub, reusing the *same* classifier
-   for the Observe→Act direction (signals), still approve-most.
+10. **Revive auto-act** — replace the actuator stub, reusing the *same*
+    classifier for the Observe→Act direction (signals), still approve-most.
 
 ## Verification
 
@@ -171,8 +252,11 @@ informs retries. The system grows more capable **as data**, not as code.
   commands escalate. No command auto-runs that mutates state.
 - End-to-end: operator asks Nomos a novel task **not** in the old enum (e.g.
   "tail caddy's error log and restart it if it's flapping"); Nomos composes
-  `run` calls; read-only steps auto-run, the restart gates for approval; chat
-  shows live status; ledger records each command + classification.
+  `run` calls; read-only steps auto-run and **stream as live cards**; the restart
+  gates; the operator types "go ahead" and the restart executes (no button);
+  ledger records each command + classification + the assent message.
+- Observability: the session ends with a digest listing what ran, what changed,
+  and any knowledge created; the learning view shows the run's contribution.
 - Parity: "provision an LXC with a service" via the runbook path matches the
   reliability proven for the `pct_create` handler (free VMID, DNS, install,
   verify), then destroy.
@@ -182,7 +266,10 @@ informs retries. The system grows more capable **as data**, not as code.
 - **Reversible-low posture:** keep gating restarts/syncs in v1 (chosen), or
   auto-run them once the classifier is trusted?
 - **Confirmation phrase:** per-action typed phrase for destructive, or a global
-  one?
+  one? (Assent covers non-destructive; destructive keeps the typed phrase.)
+- **Assent detection:** rule/keyword match, or let the model judge assent (with
+  a re-confirm on ambiguity)? How strict — does "yeah do the restart but not the
+  upgrade" partially grant?
 - **Runbook authorship:** operator-authored only, or may Nomos propose new
   runbooks (subject to approval) from successful ad-hoc sequences?
 - **Blast-radius threshold:** should a large blast radius force approval even for