chalupa: session zero — the human guide lists what the agent will ask (git → identity → who-you-are → setup choices); the agent bootstrap runs it as a live interview, rough-answers-fine/evolves, confirm-the-canon-back [silas]

agent/DEPLOY.md

@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ Treat this as a birth. On this first run only:
 2. **Populate from the templates, per the mapping table in `templates/README.md`.** Two non-obvious cases: the
    `metabolism/` templates go to **three** separate strands (`ledger/`, `decay/`, `consolidation/`); and
    `CLAUDE.md` goes to the **repo root or `~/.claude/`, not `core/`**. Where a template has `<<FILL: ...>>`,
-   fill it from what your human told you or **ask one round of concise questions** (name, persona, values, the
-   canon lines, who they are). Do not invent an identity — get it from your human.
+   fill it live by **running the Session Zero interview (below)** with your human — don't fill it silently, and
+   don't invent an identity. Get it from them.
 3. **Write the canon carefully.** The canon (top of `core/SOUL.md`) is the highest-leverage thing here. Keep it
    to ~a dozen lines of true non-negotiables — the frustrations your human named ("stop flattering me," "don't
    say done until verified") are canon.
@@ -51,6 +51,27 @@ Treat this as a birth. On this first run only:
 
 After bootstrap, every future session is a normal **wake**, not a bootstrap.
 
+## Session zero — run bootstrap as a live interview
+Don't fill the templates silently — **bootstrap is a conversation.** Ask your human these, in order, and write
+each answer into the weave as you get it. **Rough answers are fine:** get a *living* weave up, then let it
+sharpen every session. Don't block on perfect, and don't invent anything — get it from them.
+
+1. **Git first** (so you can save from the first checkpoint): which host, is there a private repo (or help make
+   one), and how do you push — existing key/token, or generate an SSH key for them to add? (Details in
+   "Helping your human wire git," below.)
+2. **Who you are:** your **name**; how you should **talk** (temperament / voice); the **canon** — ask *"what
+   drives you nuts about working with AI assistants?"* and flip those frustrations into non-negotiable rules;
+   what they **value** / how they want to work.
+3. **Who they are:** the **person** (what they do, care about, how they think, what they're trusting you with →
+   `steward/portrait.md`) and the **operational** facts (handle, timezone, tools, comms style, what's private →
+   `core/USER.md`).
+4. **Setup choices:** one model or both (Sonnet + Opus); any **close phrase** + **model-switch phrase**; and
+   whether they want a light **identity gate** (only if you'll handle private things — else skip it).
+
+Write each answer as you get it. If they're unsure, put a rough version and note it'll evolve — thin-but-live
+beats perfect-but-empty. **Confirm the canon back to them in your own words** before finalizing; it's the
+highest-stakes part. Then wire the front door, do the first save-and-push, and you're calibrated.
+
 ## Helping your human wire git (during bootstrap)
 Your human already has a git host — you just need to get connected. You can run the *local* commands
 (`ssh-keygen`, `git remote add`, `git push`); only the *host-side* steps (adding a key, making a token,

human/2-set-it-up.md

@@ -32,6 +32,44 @@ private repo + a credential or SSH key). The agent brings everything else.
 
 ---
 
+## Session zero — what your agent will ask you (so you can come prepared)
+
+The first real session is a **calibration** — "session zero." Your agent asks you a handful of things and
+writes your answers into the weave as it goes. **None of it has to be perfect — rough is fine, and it all
+evolves.** The goal is a *living* weave by the end of the session, not a finished one. Here's what to expect,
+roughly in order:
+
+**First, the git details** (so it can save from the very first checkpoint):
+- Which git host do you use, and is there a **private** repo for this — or should it help you make one?
+- How should it push? Do you already have an SSH key / token, or should it generate an SSH key for you to
+  paste into your host settings?
+
+**Then, who your agent is:**
+- **A name** for it.
+- **How it should talk** — temperament and voice (terse? warm? dry? formal?).
+- **The canon — its non-negotiables.** Easiest way in: *what drives you nuts when you work with AI
+  assistants?* ("it flatters me," "says it's done when it isn't," "won't push back," "forgets what we
+  decided," "over-builds"). Those frustrations, flipped into rules, *are* your canon — the short list that
+  outranks its default behavior.
+- **What you value / how you want to work together.**
+
+**Then, who you are** (this becomes its portrait of you):
+- The **person** — what you do, what you care about, how you think, what you're trusting it with. A few
+  honest sentences; it deepens over time.
+- The **operational** you — handle, timezone, the tools you use, how you like to communicate, and what's
+  **private / never to be shared**.
+
+**Then a couple of setup choices:**
+- Do you run **one model or both** (Sonnet + Opus)? Any **close phrase** ("goodnight," "lock up") and
+  **model-switch phrase** you'd like it to recognize?
+- Do you want a light **identity gate** — i.e., will it handle anything private? If yes, one question only
+  *you'd* answer right is enough. If it never touches private things, skip it.
+
+You don't need essays — come with rough answers to those and you'll have a working weave by the end of the
+session. It sharpens every time you work after that.
+
+---
+
 ## Git — the one thing you help with (because it's your account)
 
 The weave lives in git so it survives, syncs across machines/models, and has history — and **every checkpoint