mica.wtf restore runbook

This runbook restores mica.wtf automation on a clean box without depending on the personal vault.

Ownership model

micawtf repo: source of truth for site content, freshness checkers, editorial automation, prompts, Hermes launcher templates, cron manifest, and operating docs.
Hermes: runtime scheduler and Telegram delivery only.
Personal vault / Brain: historical notes and private thinking. It must not be required to run mica.wtf.
Secrets and runtime state: local only, never committed.

Required local dependencies

git
node matching the runtime used by existing jobs, currently available at /home/hermes/.nvm/versions/node/v23.11.1/bin/node
bash, awk, sed, find
hermes CLI with Telegram delivery configured
grok CLI if Grok-backed triage jobs are enabled
GitHub SSH key or token with push access to jakesenfti/micawtf

Secrets and state that must be supplied locally

Do not commit these:

GitHub credentials, such as ~/.hermes/gh-token or SSH keys
Hermes Telegram credentials/config
Grok/X credentials or session state, if required by the local Grok setup
.freshness/ manifests, logs, diffs, dead letters, and generated output
~/.hermes/cache/micawtf-content/review.state
/tmp/micawtf-* logs

A clean restore may start with empty .freshness/ state. Expect first runs to baseline sources according to checker first-run rules.

Restore steps

Clone the repo:

git clone git@github.com:jakesenfti/micawtf.git /home/hermes/micawtf
cd /home/hermes/micawtf

Verify the repo scripts parse and the prompt/cron manifest is sane:
Terminal window
```
scripts/verify-ops-runtime.sh
```
On a brand-new box this may report missing Hermes scripts or cron jobs before step 3. That is expected. Re-run it after install.
Install Hermes launchers and create missing active cron jobs:
Terminal window
```
ops/hermes/install.sh
```

Verify runtime install:

scripts/verify-ops-runtime.sh
hermes cron list

Smoke-test read-only/status commands and generated-reference rebuilds:
Terminal window
```
node scripts/update-checkers/run-all.js --list
node scripts/editorial-status.js
node scripts/build-definitions.js
```
Structured ESMA/EBA freshness, including guideline and technical-standard detection, is restored through the active micawtf-esma and micawtf-eba cron jobs. Those launchers run scripts/update-checkers/run-group.sh esma and scripts/update-checkers/run-group.sh eba; manual smoke tests may create .freshness/ review artifacts on first run. EUR-Lex/OJ legal-text freshness is restored through micawtf-cellar-legislation. Definitions are derived content: scripts/build-definitions.js rebuilds spaces/definitions/ and syncs generated source families into live definitions/ without owning DORA definitions.

Smoke-test reminder logic without touching production state:

MICAWTF_NUDGE_STATE=/tmp/micawtf-review-nudge-test.state \
MICAWTF_NUDGE_SKIP_GIT=1 \
MICAWTF_NUDGE_NOW=2026-06-15T09:10:00Z \
bash scripts/editorial-review-nudge.sh

Run one low-risk cron launcher manually only after credentials are ready:
Terminal window
```
bash ~/.hermes/scripts/micawtf-docling-sweeper.sh
```

Prompt and instruction infrastructure

Canonical mica.wtf prompts now live in prompts/ and repo conventions live in _conventions/.

Current required prompt files:

prompts/freshness-triage.md
prompts/x-signals-run.md
prompts/article-writer.md

Agent dispatch/failover instructions live in docs/operations/cross-agent-failover.md. The installed dispatcher is ~/.hermes/scripts/micawtf-agent-dispatch.sh, sourced from ops/hermes/scripts/micawtf-agent-dispatch.sh.

The vault copies under ~/.hermes/vault/Brain/mica-wtf/ and ~/.hermes/vault/_system/dispatch-prompts/ are historical context unless explicitly copied into this repo. When a prompt or instruction affects mica.wtf runtime, restore, publishing, or agent work, move it into prompts/, _conventions/, or docs/ first, then deploy with ops/hermes/install.sh.

What not to restore from the vault

Do not make the following required for mica.wtf operation:

personal Brain notes
old dispatch prompts that describe one-off backfills
private project notes
raw output archives

If one of those files contains still-valid operating knowledge, extract the rule into this repo and leave the vault file as archive.

Verification checklist

git status --short is clean after install.
scripts/verify-ops-runtime.sh passes.
ops/hermes/install.sh --check reports all active scripts and cron jobs OK.
hermes cron list shows the active jobs in ops/hermes/cron-jobs.json.
node scripts/editorial-status.js prints the current editorial lane.
Telegram receives cron stdout for no-agent jobs, or Grok sends its own Telegram message for triaged jobs.
No secrets or .freshness/ artifacts are staged in Git.