v1.55.0.0 fix wave: gbrain data-loss guards + browser crash-loop + 6 more (#1808)

* fix(jsonl-merge): make equal-ts resolution converge across machines

The JSONL append merge driver sorted timestamped entries by (0, ts) with no
further tiebreaker. Equal-ts entries then fell back to stable-sort insertion
order (base, ours, theirs), but git assigns the local side to "ours", so two
machines resolving the same conflict emitted equal-ts lines in opposite order.
The merged files diverged and never converged. gstack-telemetry-log uses
second-granularity timestamps, so same-ts collisions are routine.

Add the line content as the final sort tiebreaker so the order is total and
side-independent. Add a regression test that runs the driver with the two
sides swapped and asserts identical output.

* fix(gen-skill-docs): quote frontmatter descriptions with interior colons (#1778)

Generated SKILL.md frontmatter emitted the catalog-trimmed description: as a
plain YAML scalar. A description with an interior ": " (e.g. "Ship workflow:
detect...") parses as a nested mapping under strict YAML loaders, so Codex/OpenAI
skill loading rejected those skills.

applyCatalogTrim now routes the value through toYamlInlineScalar, which quotes
(via JSON.stringify) only when a plain scalar would be invalid — interior ": ",
inline " #", leading indicator char, or surrounding whitespace. Strings that are
already valid plain scalars pass through unchanged to keep regen diffs small.

The frontmatter test now parses every generated block (Claude + Codex hosts) with
Bun.YAML.parse instead of string-checking that name:/description: substrings exist,
so the regression can't reappear. Runs under `bun test` (already in CI).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore(skills): regenerate SKILL.md after frontmatter quoting fix (#1778)

9 catalog-trimmed descriptions whose values contain an interior colon or inline-
comment marker are now quoted. Generated output only; rerun of bun run gen:skill-docs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* refactor(gbrain-sources): centralize sources-list shape handling in parseSourcesList (#1576)

#1576's crash in sourceLocalPath was already fixed in v1.42.0.0 (dual-shape
handling). But the readers disagreed: sourceLocalPath accepted both the wrapped
{sources:[...]} object (v0.20+) and a bare array, while probeSource and
sourcePageCount accepted only the wrapped shape. Extract one parseSourcesList()
normalizer and route all three through it, so the shape assumption lives in a
single place. This is also the base the #1734 remote_url audit builds on.

parseSourcesList returns [] for null/garbage rather than throwing; callers treat
'no rows' as absent. New test/gbrain-sources-parse.test.ts pins both shapes plus
the garbage paths and confirms config.remote_url survives for the audit.

#1576 is closeable as already-fixed in v1.42.0.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gbrain): spawn gbrain + brain-sync through a shell on Windows (#1731)

On Windows, bun/npm install gbrain as a gbrain.cmd/.ps1 shim and gstack-brain-sync
is a bash shebang script. spawnSync/spawn/execFileSync resolve neither without a
shell, so the child spawn failed ENOENT — on the sync orchestrator this surfaced
as 'brain-sync exited undefined' (#1731).

Add NEEDS_SHELL_ON_WINDOWS (process.platform === 'win32') in gbrain-exec and pass
it as shell: to every gbrain/brain-sync child spawn: spawnGbrain, spawnGbrainAsync,
execGbrainText (gbrain-exec), the two sources-list/remove/add spawns (gbrain-sources),
the version + probe spawns (gbrain-local-status), and the two brain-sync spawns in
the orchestrator. POSIX keeps the cheaper no-shell path.

macOS/Linux CI can't exercise the Windows path, so test/gbrain-spawn-windows-shell.ts
is a static-grep tripwire: it fails CI if a gbrain/brain-sync spawn is added without
the shell flag.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(catalog-trim): expect YAML-quoted descriptions with interior colons (#1778)

The quoting fix wraps colon-bearing catalog descriptions in double quotes;
two catalog-trim assertions still pinned the old unquoted form. Tolerate the
optional quotes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gbrain-sync): defensive guards against destructive gbrain ops (#1734)

The orchestrator shelled out to gbrain's destructive subcommands as if they were
safe. gbrain can rm-rf a user's working tree during an autopilot race (its own
bug, upstream gbrain #1526); gstack now defends itself. New lib/gbrain-guards.ts
gates the two destructive reach points, all checked immediately before the op:

- Autopilot refuse (multi-signal, affirmative-only): refuse a destructive op when
  a live 'gbrain autopilot' process (primary) or a known autopilot lock file
  (secondary; checked under both GBRAIN_HOME and ~/.gbrain since gbrain #1226
  ignores GBRAIN_HOME) is present. No signal → proceed; inability to introspect
  never bricks a normal sync.
- sources remove: routed through safeSourcesRemove → decideSourceRemove. Fail
  CLOSED — refuse to remove a user-managed source (remote_url set, local_path
  outside gbrain's clones) when gbrain has no --keep-storage to protect the files
  (it doesn't in 0.41.x). Also fail closed when the source list can't be read.
  Path containment uses realpath so a symlink can't smuggle a delete out of clones.
- sync --strategy code: decideCodeSync refuses URL-managed sources (remote_url
  set) unless --allow-reclone is passed, since the walk can auto-reclone (rm-rf).

Capability detection memoizes per process keyed to gbrain's identity (no stale
persistent cache); --keep-storage can't be probed (generic help) so it defaults
unsupported → fail closed. Every guard surfaces a visible reason; autopilot/reclone
refusals fail the code stage (verdict ERR) rather than silently skipping protection.

test/gbrain-guards.test.ts covers all branches hermetically (injected rows + probe
overrides): autopilot signals, fail-closed remove, keep-storage path, reclone gate,
realpath/symlink containment. Supersedes #1736 (which guarded a nonexistent path).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(sync-gbrain): warn against running during autopilot; prefer --path sources (#1734)

Adds a Safety note to the /sync-gbrain guidance (template + regenerated SKILL.md +
this repo's CLAUDE.md): don't run while autopilot is active, and prefer
`gbrain sources add --path` over URL-managed sources, which can auto-reclone.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(memory-ingest): configurable import timeout + resume-on-timeout messaging (#1611)

The gbrain import (the long pole on big brains) had a hardcoded 30-min timeout,
so large memory corpora got SIGTERM'd mid-import on /sync-gbrain --full. Make it
configurable via GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30 min, validated 1min–24h).

gstack can't drive gbrain's internal resume, but the existing SIGTERM forwarder
already preserves gbrain's import-checkpoint.json, so the next run resumes. On a
timeout we now say so explicitly ('checkpoint preserved — re-run /sync-gbrain to
resume, raise GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS for big brains') instead of surfacing a
bare 'exited null'. True gstack-driven ingest-resume is deferred to gbrain
(.context/gbrain-asks.md).

Also guards the module's main() behind import.meta.main so resolveImportTimeoutMs
is unit-testable; the orchestrator runs it as a subprocess where main still fires.
New test/memory-ingest-timeout.test.ts pins default/override/invalid resolution.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(browse): stop the headed daemon crash-loop + silent headless downgrade (#1781)

A headed session against a beacon-heavy page (analytics/extension load) could tip
the single-threaded daemon into a self-inflicted crash-loop: a brief HTTP stall
was read as a crash, the restart didn't clear the dead Chromium's SingletonLock,
the relaunch failed, and the session silently came back headless. Four fixes:

1. Busy-vs-dead (sendCommand): on a connection error, if the process is alive give
   /health a bounded probe (3x/250ms) and just retry the command — never kill+restart
   a live-but-busy server. A 30s timeout now reports 'busy, not restarting' when the
   process is alive instead of exiting into a kill cycle.
2. Profile-lock cleanup on (re)start: startServer reaps the orphaned Chromium holding
   the SingletonLock and clears Singleton{Lock,Socket,Cookie} before relaunch, so the
   auto-restart path gets the same clean profile the manual connect preamble did.
3. Headed persistence: the restart env reapplies BROWSE_HEADED from this invocation OR
   the persisted server state (mode==='headed'), so a restart from a plain command
   never downgrades a headed window to invisible headless. Extracted to buildRestartEnv.
4. Force-clean disconnect reaps the Chromium child tree (via the SingletonLock PID) so
   the next connect starts clean instead of fighting an orphan.

Plus macOS window surfacing: connect + focus raise 'Google Chrome for Testing' to the
active Space (best-effort osascript) with a Mission Control hint — the first thing
users read as 'I can't see the browser'.

Shared lock helpers (chromiumProfileDir / cleanChromiumProfileLocks / killOrphanChromium)
dedupe the connect, disconnect, and restart paths. browse/test/restart-env.test.ts pins
the headed-persistence decision; the full crash-loop repro is an E2E (periodic).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* feat(gbrain-install): remove the v0.18.2 pin, install latest + version floor + doctor self-test (#1744)

The installer pinned gbrain at v0.18.2 while gbrain shipped v0.41.x — ~23 versions
behind. Remove the hard pin: a fresh clone now stays on the latest default-branch
HEAD. --pinned-commit <sha> still pins for reproducibility.

Unpinning removes the version gate the pin provided, so add two install-time gates
that fail closed (exit 3, matching the existing PATH-shadow/version-mismatch posture):
- MIN_GBRAIN_VERSION floor (0.20.0, the sources-list/federated surface gstack needs):
  refuse an install below it.
- gbrain doctor --fast self-test when a brain config already exists (re-install /
  detected clone): refuse to leave a broken gbrain in place. Pre-init installs skip
  it; the full /sync-gbrain --dry-run self-test runs from /setup-gbrain after init.

Docs updated (USING_GBRAIN_WITH_GSTACK.md no longer says 'edit PINNED_COMMIT').
Detect-install tests bump the success-path fixtures above the floor and add a
below-floor exit-3 test. The gbrain-side asks (root #1526 fix, --keep-storage,
remove-lease, capability command, ingest-resume, integration CI) are written to
.context/gbrain-asks.md for filing against garrytan/gbrain.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* test(#1778): update claude-ship golden + catalog-mode assertions for quoted descriptions

ship's catalog description ('Ship workflow: detect...') has an interior colon, so
the #1778 fix now YAML-quotes it. Refresh the claude-ship golden baseline to the
quoted output and make the catalog-mode-full trim/restore assertions quote-tolerant.
codex/factory ship goldens are unaffected (they use block-scalar descriptions).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* fix(gen-skill-docs): use function replacer so a $ in a description can't corrupt frontmatter (#1778)

String.prototype.replace treats $&/$1/$` in the replacement as patterns. A future
skill description containing $ (e.g. referencing $B/$D) would silently corrupt the
generated frontmatter. Use a function replacer. Behavior-preserving for all current
descriptions (regen produces no diff).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: bump version and changelog (v1.55.0.0)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

* docs(gbrain): document configurable memory-ingest timeout for v1.55.0.0

USING_GBRAIN_WITH_GSTACK.md: note GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS (default 30 min,
1 min-24h range) on the /sync-gbrain memory stage, plus checkpoint-resume on
timeout. Fills the reference gap left by the configurable-import-timeout fix
(#1611) shipped in v1.55.0.0.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Jayesh Betala <jayesh.betala7@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,55 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [1.55.0.0] - 2026-05-30
+
+## **`/sync-gbrain` can no longer be the trigger that lets gbrain delete your repo. The headed browser stops crash-looping, and gbrain installs the current release instead of a pin 23 versions stale.**
+
+gbrain can rm-rf a working tree when its autopilot daemon reclones mid-cycle. `/sync-gbrain` used to call gbrain's `sources remove` and `sync --strategy code` as if they were safe, so it could be the thing that set that race off. Now every destructive gbrain call sits behind feature-detected guards: the orchestrator refuses to run while autopilot is active, refuses to remove a user-managed source it can't storage-protect (it fails closed), canonicalizes paths with realpath so a symlink can't smuggle a delete outside gbrain's own clones, and requires an explicit `--allow-reclone` before a URL-managed source's code walk. Shipped in the same wave: the headed browser's self-inflicted crash-loop is gone, big-brain memory ingests stop getting killed at a fixed 30 minutes, and the gbrain installer moves off its frozen v0.18.2 pin onto the latest release behind a version floor and a `doctor` self-test.
+
+### The numbers that matter
+
+From the shipped diff and its regression suites (`bun test test/gbrain-*.test.ts browse/test/restart-env.test.ts test/memory-ingest-timeout.test.ts`):
+
+| Metric | Before | After | Δ |
+|--------|--------|-------|---|
+| Destructive gbrain ops behind guards | 0 | 4 | +4 |
+| gbrain / brain-sync spawns that work on Windows | 0/8 | 8/8 | +8 |
+| gbrain version installed | v0.18.2 (pinned, ~23 behind) | latest + min-version floor + doctor gate | — |
+| Memory-ingest timeout | hardcoded 30 min | configurable, checkpoint preserved on timeout | — |
+| Generated SKILL.md that parse under strict YAML | partial (colons broke Codex) | all (quoted) | — |
+
+The guard that matters most: a `sources remove` on a source whose files live outside `~/.gbrain/clones/` and can't be storage-protected now refuses instead of proceeding. The path that ate a repo no longer runs unattended.
+
+### What this means for you
+
+If you use `/sync-gbrain`, you are protected from the data-loss race even before gbrain ships its own root fix. "Don't run `/sync-gbrain` while `gbrain autopilot` is active" is now enforced, not just advised, and nothing gets deleted that can't be proven safe. Headed-browser QA against beacon-heavy pages (analytics, live extensions) no longer crash-loops, leaks Chromium, or silently drops to an invisible headless window. New gbrain installs track the current release. Codex and OpenAI can load every gstack skill again.
+
+### Itemized changes
+
+#### Added
+- `/sync-gbrain` destructive-op guards (`lib/gbrain-guards.ts`): multi-signal autopilot detection, fail-closed `sources remove`, realpath `remote_url` pre-flight audit, and a `--allow-reclone` gate before URL-managed code walks.
+- Install-time gbrain gate (`bin/gstack-gbrain-install`): a minimum-version floor and a `gbrain doctor --fast` self-test, both hard-fail with remediation.
+- `GSTACK_INGEST_TIMEOUT_MS` to configure the memory-ingest timeout; on timeout the gbrain checkpoint is preserved so the next run resumes.
+
+#### Changed
+- gbrain installs at the latest default-branch HEAD by default; pin a commit with `gstack-gbrain-install --pinned-commit <sha>` for reproducibility.
+- Generated SKILL.md descriptions with interior colons are now quoted, so strict YAML loaders (Codex/OpenAI) parse them.
+- `/sync-gbrain` guidance: do not run during autopilot; prefer `gbrain sources add --path` over URL-managed sources.
+
+#### Fixed
+- `/sync-gbrain` no longer races gbrain's autopilot into a destructive reclone or remove (#1734). Report by @mvanhorn.
+- `gstack-jsonl-merge` resolves equal-timestamp entries deterministically across machines, so append-only logs converge instead of re-conflicting forever (#1769). Contributed by @jbetala7.
+- Generated SKILL.md frontmatter parses under strict YAML loaders (#1778). Reported by @GilbertzzzZZ, @genisis0x, @cathrynlavery, and @sator-imaging.
+- The headed browser daemon no longer crash-loops under load, leaks Chromium processes, or silently downgrades a headed session to headless (#1781).
+- `/sync-gbrain --full` memory ingests on large brains are no longer killed at a fixed 30-minute timeout (#1611).
+- The gbrain CLI and `gstack-brain-sync` spawn correctly on Windows (#1731).
+
+#### For contributors
+- `lib/gbrain-guards.ts` with hermetic tests for every guard branch (autopilot signals, fail-closed remove, reclone gate, realpath containment).
+- `parseSourcesList` centralizes `gbrain sources list --json` shape handling across all readers (#1576, whose crash was already fixed in v1.42.0.0 — this removes the last divergent reader).
+- Static-grep tripwire (`test/gbrain-spawn-windows-shell.test.ts`) fails CI if a gbrain spawn drops the Windows shell flag.
+- gbrain-side requirements for the root fixes (ungated reclone, `--keep-storage`, a cooperative remove-lease, a capability command, true ingest-resume, integration CI) are tracked for the gbrain repo.
+
 ## [1.54.0.0] - 2026-05-30
 
 ## **The heaviest skill stopped taxing every session. /ship's always-loaded cost dropped 59%, and its prose now loads only when a step needs it.**