Build a complete user-facing documentation site (MkDocs Material) under docs/, served at roboco.dev/docs via a new gh-pages deploy workflow. - Sections: Get Started, The Company, the Tour, Operating the Panel, Choosing & Running Models, Cost & Observability, Optional Subsystems, Configure & Deploy, API Reference, Troubleshooting & Security (55 pages). - mkdocs.yml (Material theme; excludes the agent-facing rag/ corpus, internal scratch, and orphaned stub trees) and .github/workflows/docs.yml (mkdocs gh-deploy to gh-pages). - Retire the stale root usage.md and deployment.md to redirect stubs into the site. - Fix the docs tooling: add the pymarkdownlnt dependency + .pymarkdown.json, run serve-docs/lint-docs/fix-docs under the docs extra, add a build-docs strict gate. - Fix the roboco console-script entry point (cli, not the un-awaited async main). - README: correct the project-structure tree (optimal.py, alembic) and link the docs site.
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The task lifecycle
Everything in RoboCo is a task, and every task walks the same path. Each step is gated by role — only QA can pass QA, only the CEO can merge to master — so work can't skip a stage or land unreviewed. This is the backbone that makes the company trustworthy.
stateDiagram-v2
direction LR
[*] --> backlog
backlog --> pending: PM activates
pending --> claimed: agent claims
claimed --> in_progress: start work
in_progress --> verifying: self-verify
verifying --> awaiting_qa: submit (PR is open)
awaiting_qa --> awaiting_documentation: QA passes
awaiting_qa --> needs_revision: QA fails
needs_revision --> in_progress: rework
awaiting_documentation --> awaiting_pm_review: docs done
awaiting_pm_review --> completed: PM merges
awaiting_pm_review --> awaiting_ceo_approval: escalate
awaiting_ceo_approval --> completed: CEO approves & merges
awaiting_ceo_approval --> needs_revision: CEO requests changes
completed --> [*]
in_progress --> blocked: external dependency
in_progress --> paused: temporarily stopped
blocked --> in_progress: unblocked
paused --> in_progress: resumed
The states
| State | What it means | Who owns the next move |
|---|---|---|
backlog |
PM setup phase — dependencies or session setup still needed. | PM |
pending |
Ready for work; the orchestrator can spawn an agent for it. | the matching role |
claimed |
An agent has locked the task. | the assignee |
in_progress |
Active development. | the assignee |
blocked |
An external dependency is blocking progress. | whoever clears it |
paused |
Temporarily stopped; can resume. | the assignee |
verifying |
The developer is self-verifying before handing off. | the developer |
awaiting_qa |
Submitted for QA — a pull request is already open so QA reviews the real diff. | QA |
needs_revision |
QA, a PR reviewer, or the CEO asked for changes. | the developer |
awaiting_documentation |
The Documenter writes up what was built (the PR is already open). | Documenter / Developer |
awaiting_pr_review |
The in-path PR-review gate: a reviewer checks an assembled pull request before the PM merges it. | PR reviewer |
awaiting_pm_review |
Docs are done; the PM reviews and merges. | PM |
awaiting_ceo_approval |
A major task escalated to you for the final call. | you |
completed |
Terminal — work done and merged. | — |
cancelled |
Terminal — work cancelled. | — |
!!! note "The PR comes before QA" A pull request is opened before QA review, not after. That lets QA read the actual PR diff on GitHub, and means the whole downstream approval chain — PM, then you — is signing off on a pull request that already exists.
When work is rejected
Rejection isn't a dead end — it's a loop. When QA fails a task, or a PR reviewer rejects an assembled pull request, the task drops back to needs_revision, the developer reworks it, and it re-enters the flow. The same is true when you request changes from the CEO Approval Queue. Nothing is lost; the task carries its history, branch, and pull request with it the whole way around.
The in-path PR-review gate
Most leaf developer tasks are reviewed by QA and never need a separate PR review. But when work is assembled and pushed up the chain as a pull request, it stops for a dedicated review before any PM merges it:
stateDiagram-v2
direction LR
in_progress --> awaiting_pr_review: submit_up / submit_root
awaiting_pr_review --> awaiting_pm_review: pr_pass
awaiting_pr_review --> needs_revision: pr_fail
- A cell PM runs
submit_upto open the cell → root pull request. - The Main PM runs
submit_rootto open the root → master pull request. - Both land in
awaiting_pr_review, where a PR reviewer eitherpr_passes it on to the PM merge orpr_fails it back toneeds_revision.
This gives the merge step a real reviewer with the power to reject — the one thing a PM otherwise lacks. Leaf dev tasks and branchless coordination roots skip the gate.
Role-gated transitions
Transitions aren't suggestions; they're enforced. A handful of the rules:
- Activating a task (
backlog → pending) is PM-only. - Passing or failing QA is QA-only, and a pass requires real review notes.
pr_pass/pr_failare PR-reviewer-only.- Merging (
awaiting_pm_review → completed) is PM-only; escalating to the CEO and the final approve / request-changes / cancel are CEO-only. - Cancelling is PM-only.
How those role boundaries are enforced — and why a developer literally cannot call the merge verb — is the subject of How agents are sandboxed.
Next
→ The merge model — how a task's branch travels up to master.