Openrig Operator

OpenRig Operator

Overview

This skill covers host/runtime/operator triage around OpenRig itself. Use it when the problem may be the daemon, the shell/runtime surface, or stale helper processes rather than the product workflow you are trying to run.

When to Use

Use this skill when you see:

• rig whoami --json returning partial identity
• rig ps --nodes --json failing while some other rig commands still work
• Sent to ... plus Verified: no
• repeated unified-exec-process warnings
• suspicion that stale helper processes are accumulating

Do not use this skill for normal product workflow routing, queue handling, or ordinary peer communication. Use openrig-user for that.

First Checks

Start with the minimum truthful operator read:

rig whoami --json
rig daemon status
rig ps --nodes --json

Interpret them together, not in isolation:

• partial whoami can mean identity is inferable while daemon-backed surfaces are degraded
• daemon status tells you whether the host daemon is up, not whether every seat can reach it cleanly
• ps --nodes --json is the best machine-readable topology check when it works

Verification Drift Vs Send Failure

For rig send:

• Sent to ... + Verified: yes = strong positive delivery evidence
• Sent to ... + Verified: no = ambiguous delivery, not automatic failure
• no Sent to ... line or a hard error = send failure

When verification is ambiguous, check:

• direct reply
• rig capture
• transcript evidence
• queue/outbox state if the message asked for a durable handoff

Do not blindly retry until you have checked one of those.

Unified Exec Warning

If you see:

• Warning: The maximum number of unified exec processes you can keep open is 60 ...

treat it first as a host/tooling-layer warning, not as automatic proof that the OpenRig topology is unhealthy.

This warning can coexist with a healthy live topology.

Safe Process Triage

Inspect the process surface first:

ps -axo pid,ppid,command | rg 'tmux send-keys|rig queue create|tmux attach|codex|claude'

Think in layers:

• host/tooling layer: stale one-shot wrappers, session bookkeeping, helper shells
• topology layer: live tmux attach seats, live codex / claude runtimes, daemon health

Do not diagnose topology failure from tooling-layer warnings alone.

Safe Cleanup Boundary

Usually safe to reap when clearly orphaned / one-shot:

• tmux send-keys ...
• short-lived shell wrappers created only to enqueue or send one message

Do not mass-kill:

• tmux attach ...
• codex ...
• claude ...
• other long-lived daemon/runtime processes

The point is to remove garbage, not workers.

Common Mistakes

• treating Verified: no as if it proves the message did not land
• treating the unified-exec warning as if it proves the rig is overloaded
• killing live seats when only stale helper wrappers needed cleanup
• concluding "daemon down" from one seat's failure without checking host-level daemon status

Practical Rule

Clean the smallest safe surface that matches the evidence.

If the warning or failure remains after stale-wrapper cleanup, re-check:

rig daemon status
rig ps --nodes --json

If those remain healthy, the residual issue may still be in the host/tool/session layer rather than in OpenRig topology state.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: mvschwarz
• Source: mvschwarz/openrig
• License: Apache-2.0
• Homepage: https://openrig.dev

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.