# firstmate | Kun Chen | Knowledge Base | Instagit

Talk to one agent. Ship with a crew.

GitHub Stars: 3.5k

Repository: https://github.com/kunchenguid/firstmate

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## Articles

### [How Firstmate's Watcher Continuity and Stale Detection Works: A Deep Dive into the Shell Supervision Logic](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-watcher-continuity-stale-detection)

Discover how Firstmate's watcher ensures continuity and detects stale panes using filesystem locks, heartbeats, and busy-state contracts for robust worker supervision.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Configure the Wedge Alarm for Away-Mode Notifications in Firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-wedge-alarm-away-mode-notifications)

Configure Firstmate wedge alarm away mode notifications using config files or environment variables. Customize alerts for away mode escalations.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How Firstmate Crew-Dispatch Profiles Route Tasks to the Right LLM Harness](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-crew-dispatch-profiles)

Discover how Firstmate crew-dispatch profiles map tasks to LLM harnesses using ordered rules and fallback defaults. Learn how Firstmate resolves ambiguous matches for efficient routing.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How Turn-End Guard and Sub-Agent Guard Backstops Work in Firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-turnend-guard-subagent-guard)

Understand how Firstmate's turn-end guard and sub-agent guard backstops prevent unsupervised turn endings and unauthorized delegation. Learn about these essential safety features.

- Tags: internals
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [Firstmate Hard Rules and Project Boundary Restrictions](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-hard-rules-project-boundaries)

Understand Firstmate hard rules and project boundary restrictions. Learn how Firstmate prevents unauthorized project writes, PR merges, and protects private data.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Configure the FirstMate Backlog Backend with Tasks-Axi or Manual Mode](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-backlog-backend-configuration)

Configure the FirstMate backlog backend for tasks-axi or manual mode. Learn how to set your work item rendering by editing the backlog-backend file.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How Trace Context Propagation Works Across Firstmate Secondmates](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-trace-context-propagation-secondmates)

Discover how Firstmate enables W3C trace context propagation across processes, including nested and remote secondmates, by injecting a single traceparent carrier via the TRACEPARENT environment variable.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How the Away-Mode (/afk) Sub‑Supervisor Functions in Firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-away-mode-sub-supervisor)

Learn how the firstmate away-mode /afk sub-supervisor buffers escalations while you're away. Discover its presence-gated bash daemon functionality and graceful shutdown.

- Tags: internals
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [Supervision Protocols for Firstmate Harnesses: Claude, Grok, and Pi Explained](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-supervision-protocols-harnesses)

Understand Firstmate harness supervision protocols for Claude Grok and Pi. Learn about stop-hook background-notification and extension-owned background wakes for efficient sequence management.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Configure Quota-Based Dispatch and Profile Selection in Firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-configure-quota-dispatch-profiles)

Learn to configure quota-based dispatch and profile selection in Firstmate. Set up your crew-dispatch.json file and enable automatic, quota-aware profile selection for efficient resource management.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [Firstmate's Treehouse Worktree Isolation: How It Prevents Git Conflicts](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-treehouse-worktree-isolation)

Learn how Firstmate's treehouse worktree isolation prevents Git conflicts. Discover how disposable worktrees and tangle guards ensure safe concurrent task execution and protect your primary repository.

- Tags: internals
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How Firstmate Handles Stuck or Unresponsive Crewmates: Recovery Playbook Explained](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-handle-stuck-unresponsive-crewmates)

Firstmate's stuck-crewmate-recovery playbook ensures crewmate state is reconciled and unlanded work preserved before interrupting or relaunching actions. Learn how Firstmate keeps your operations running smoothly.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How the Yolo Autonomy Flag Affects Approval Authority in Firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-yolo-autonomy-flag)

Understand how the yolo autonomy flag impacts approval authority in Firstmate. Learn how it enables autonomous routine task approvals while reserving critical decisions for the captain.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [Firstmate Delivery Modes: no-mistakes, direct-PR, and local-only Explained](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-delivery-modes)

Understand Firstmate delivery modes: no-mistakes, direct-PR, and local-only. Choose the right mode for your CI validation, pull requests, or local development workflow.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Set Up FM_HOME and Manage the Firstmate Operational Home Layout](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-fm_home-setup-layout)

Learn to set up FM_HOME, the environment variable for Firstmate's operational home directory. Manage state, data, and config in this essential guide for efficient workflow.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Integrate Relay with X and Discord Mentions in firstmate](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-relay-integration-x-discord)

Learn to integrate Relay with X and Discord mentions in firstmate. Automate replies to public mentions using fm-x-* scripts and streamline your workflow.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [What Are Secondmates in Firstmate and How They Differ from Crewmates](/kunchenguid/firstmate/firstmate-secondmates-vs-crewmates)

Understand Secondmates in Firstmate, persistent isolated homes with unique projects and workers, and how they differ from ephemeral crewmates designed for single tasks. Learn more now.

- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-13

### [How to Configure Firstmate Runtime Backends: Tmux, Herdr, Zellij, Orca, and Cmux](/kunchenguid/firstmate/configure-firstmate-runtime-backends)

Configure Firstmate runtime backends like Tmux, Herdr, Zellij, Orca, and Cmux. Learn the priority chain for backend selection to optimize your workflow.

- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-13