Work Mode

Work ≠ Chat. Chat is dialogue. Work is a durable goal → plan → steps → deliverable, with approvals for send/pay/delete and optional email/webhook intake.

Quick start

# Enable in config.yaml
# work:
#   enabled: true

vibeos work doctor                 # gateway / IMAP / Computer Use blockers
vibeos work ready                  # one-shot: doctor + daemon + approvals + mail-rehearsal
vibeos work status
vibeos work create "Compare three tariffs into a one-page brief"
vibeos work create "Morning digest" --window morning   # + day-part cron
vibeos work schedule --list
vibeos work connectors
vibeos work inbox
vibeos work show <wt_id>
vibeos work open                   # Desktop Work deep link (optional)
vibeos work complete <wt_id>       # mark done from CLI
vibeos work approve <wt_id>        # resume waiting_approval / quarantine
vibeos work approvals              # list waiting + outbound asks
vibeos work outbound list          # parked reply drafts

Desktop: switch to Chat | Work for inbox / task / live / approvals (badge on Work when something waits). TUI/CLI stay thin parity (vibeos work …, Telegram /work).

Operator readiness

vibeos work doctor           # text
vibeos work doctor --json    # exit 1 while blockers remain

Checks: work.enabled, gateway 24/7, IMAP/email_to_task, Computer Use TCC, browser profile disk. If .env has a masked EMAIL_PASSWORD (***…), doctor says so — paste a real app password, then vibeos work email-enable.

Always-on (24/7)

The gateway is the Work daemon — not Electron. See Work Mode 24/7.

vibeos work daemon status

Email → Work task

Only allowlisted senders become tasks. Empty allowlist + inbound on = refuse (never “execute all mail”).

Self-send dogfood: mail from your gateway EMAIL_ADDRESS to itself can create a Work task (non-Re: subjects). Self-replies (Re: …) stay suppressed so home-channel notify loops never open chat or spawn tasks. Chat turns are never opened for self-mail.

work:
  enabled: true
  email_to_task: true
  email:
    inbound_to_task: true
    sender_allowlist:
      - you@example.com
      - @trusted-client.org
    injection_scan: true
  approvals:
    send: ask   # outbound reply after done — ask by default

Suspicious bodies are quarantined (blocked WorkTask + ack), not silent tool policy. Noreply/newsletter senders are skipped.

Setup:

# Put real IMAP/SMTP secrets in ~/.vibeos/.env (EMAIL_ADDRESS, EMAIL_PASSWORD, …)
# or prompt interactively (password hidden):
vibeos work email-enable --interactive
vibeos gateway restart
vibeos work doctor         # email_imap should be ok

Hermetic matrix (no live IMAP): vibeos work mail-rehearsal.

Connectors (MCP / skills — not core tools)

Work does not ship a ChatGPT-style Plugins directory or Salesforce-in-core. Use the MCP catalog and bundled skills:

Need	Path
Calendar / Workspace	`vibeos mcp install google-workspace` or skill `google-workspace`
Drive files	`vibeos mcp install google-drive` (or Workspace when Calendar + Drive share OAuth)
Gmail API (optional)	`vibeos mcp install google-gmail`
CRM-ish boards	`vibeos mcp install linear` / `notion`; skill `airtable` for tables
Inbound mail → Work	`vibeos work email-enable` (real `EMAIL_*`)

Agent playbook: skill work-connectors (related: work-operate). Standalone vendor MCP/plugins belong in ~/.vibeos/plugins/, not in-tree plugins/.

Webhook → Work task

Same pattern as kanban webhooks — set create_work: true on a route (idempotent on delivery id). Existing create_kanban routes stay untouched.

Local dogfood without HTTP (same store path as the gateway handler):

vibeos work from-webhook "Nightly deploy note" \
  --body "from CI" --delivery-id deploy-123
# same --delivery-id again → duplicate (no second task)

HTTP routes still require the platform HMAC (or shared secret) like other webhooks — invalid signatures get 401. Hermetic coverage: tests/gateway/test_webhook_create_work_hmac.py (valid / invalid / delivery-id idempotent). Delivery-id retries return status: duplicate before a second task is minted.

Browser profile & CAPTCHA

Work uses an isolated profile under $VIBEOS_HOME/browser-profiles/<name> (work.browser_profile, default work). Do not point at personal Chrome without explicit opt-in.

CAPTCHA default: autonomous solve + patience (work.challenge.*). Soft challenges do not ping you on attempt 1. SMS/bank/photo-ID stay human-only. Clearing a CAPTCHA is not permission to buy or send.

Offline smoke: scripts/smoke-work-browser.sh.

Approvals

Action	Default
navigate / extract	allow
send / pay / delete / public share	ask

Fleet + Work UI share one “waiting for you” list (command approvals, Kanban human rows, Work waiting_approval / quarantine, outbound email asks).

vibeos work approvals              # unified inbox (CLI)
vibeos work outbound list          # parked SMTP drafts only
vibeos work outbound approve <id> [--dry-run]
vibeos work outbound deny <id>
# Phone / Telegram:
#   /work approvals
#   /work outbound list|approve|deny …

Desktop: Chat|Work switcher shows a count badge when anything waits; task detail has Send reply / Deny send for outbound drafts; Fleet Control Approve/Deny for the same rows.

Outbound never silent-sends when work.approvals.send is ask (default). Use --dry-run to clear a parked ask without SMTP.

Auto-review runs before Approve sends: floor rules always flag secret dumps (sk-…, AWS keys, …). Broader wire/phishing phrases also ask when work.approvals.send=ask or work.auto_review.enabled=true — still ask, never silent block-send. Edit the draft or Deny.

Projects (memory)

Optional Work Project brief + findings shared across tasks (JSON under $VIBEOS_HOME/work/projects/). Injected as user/context for later tasks — never mid-run system-prompt rebuild.

Main brain + executor (optional)

Create Work can run in two modes (checkbox next to the brain model list):

Mode	Checkbox	Brain list	Who runs
Standard	off	inactive (`disabled`)	Single executor model (or assignee profile default)
Dual	on	active — pick planner	Brain plans once via `kanban_decompose`; executor runs steps

Defaults live under work.models in config.yaml (Settings → Chat shows the same knobs). Per-task override is in the Create dialog.

work:
  models:
    dual_brain: false          # checkbox default
    executor_model: ""         # empty → profile default
    brain_model: ""            # required only when dual_brain is true

Hermetic check (no live LLM): vibeos work models-rehearsal.

Anti-goals (honest)

No second agent core / no mid-run toolset swap
No VIBEOS_WORK_* behavioral env vars — use config.yaml
Not a cloud Operator VM; sleep/power-off pauses Work
Not a full ChatGPT Plugins directory clone

Quick start​

Operator readiness​

Always-on (24/7)​

Email → Work task​

Connectors (MCP / skills — not core tools)​

Webhook → Work task​

Browser profile & CAPTCHA​

Approvals​

Projects (memory)​

Main brain + executor (optional)​

Anti-goals (honest)​

See also​