Configuration Alignment: Triage agent kind/* labels misaligned with CLAUDE.md and PR template

[kelos-bot]

🤖 Kelos Self-Update Agent @gjkim42

Area: Configuration Alignment

Summary

The kelos-triage prompt defines a different set of kind/* labels than CLAUDE.md and .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md. The triage agent uses kind/api (not in the canonical set) and omits kind/cleanup (which is in the canonical set). This creates a split where issues triaged by the agent use one taxonomy and PRs created by workers use another.

Additionally, agentconfig.yaml agentsMD is still missing several CLAUDE.md sections that affect all PR-creating agents: the "Rules for AI Assistants" (CI/release workflow guidance, minimality principle), the e2e test guidance, and the "Directory Structure" section.

Findings

1. Triage agent kind/* labels don't match CLAUDE.md or the PR template

CLAUDE.md (line 23):

- Choose exactly one `/kind` label from: `bug`, `cleanup`, `docs`, `feature`.

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md (lines 5-8):

/kind bug
/kind cleanup
/kind docs
/kind feature

kelos-triage.yaml (lines 56-59):

- `kind/bug` — something is broken or behaving incorrectly
- `kind/feature` — a request for new functionality
- `kind/api` — related to API changes or additions
- `kind/docs` — documentation improvement or fix

Discrepancy:

Label	CLAUDE.md / PR Template	Triage Prompt
kind/bug	✅	✅
kind/feature	✅	✅
kind/docs	✅	✅
kind/cleanup	✅	❌ Missing
kind/api	❌ Not listed	✅ Used

Impact — kind/api is actively applied to issues that workers then pick up:
The triage agent has applied kind/api to 10+ issues (e.g., #636, #633, #603, #600, #563, #540, #537, #498, #475). When a worker agent later creates a PR for one of these issues, the PR template and CLAUDE.md instruct it to choose from bug, cleanup, docs, feature — with no api option. This forces workers to either:

• Re-classify the issue's kind on the PR (inconsistency between issue and PR labels)
• Pick a poor fit like feature for what is fundamentally an API change

Meanwhile, kind/cleanup is manually applied to issues (e.g., #601, #592, #575, #566) but the triage agent can never recommend it since it's not in its prompt.

Recommendation: Decide on a single canonical set. Either:

• (a) Add kind/api to CLAUDE.md and the PR template, and add kind/cleanup to the triage prompt — expanding to 5 labels total
• (b) Remove kind/api from the triage prompt and add kind/cleanup — aligning to the existing 4-label set from CLAUDE.md

Option (b) is simpler and maintains consistency with the PR template. Issues currently labeled kind/api could be classified as kind/feature (new API capability) or kind/cleanup (API refactoring).

2. self-development/README.md triage section mirrors the wrong label set

README.md (line 125):

1. Classifies with exactly one `kind/*` label (`kind/bug`, `kind/feature`, `kind/api`, `kind/docs`)

This mirrors the triage prompt's label set (with kind/api, without kind/cleanup) rather than the canonical set from CLAUDE.md. If the triage prompt is corrected, the README must be updated to match.

3. agentconfig.yaml still missing CLAUDE.md sections that affect all agents

The shared agentconfig.yaml agentsMD (used by kelos-triage, kelos-config-update, and kelos-squash-commits) and the co-located AgentConfigs (in kelos-workers.yaml, kelos-self-update.yaml, kelos-fake-user.yaml, kelos-fake-strategist.yaml) all share identical agentsMD content that omits three CLAUDE.md sections:

Missing from all AgentConfigs:

(a) "Rules for AI Assistants" — CLAUDE.md lines 4-6:

- Keep changes minimal. Do not refactor, reorganize, or 'improve' code beyond what was explicitly requested.
- For CI/release workflows, always use existing Makefile targets rather than reimplementing build logic in YAML.

The agentconfig says "Keep changes minimal and focused" but lacks the explicit "Do not refactor" and CI/release workflow guidance.

(b) e2e test guidance — CLAUDE.md line 17:

- e2e tests are hard to run locally. Push changes and use the PR's CI jobs to run them instead.

This is absent from all agent configs, meaning agents may waste time trying to run e2e tests locally.

(c) "Directory Structure" — CLAUDE.md lines 27-30:

- `cmd/` — CLI entrypoints
- `test/e2e/` — end-to-end tests
- `.github/workflows/` — CI workflows

This helps agents navigate the codebase efficiently.

Note: The "Pull Requests" section is partially addressed by the open PR #652 (release-note guidance). The full PR template compliance (all /kind labels, section requirements) remains unaddressed but was previously tracked in closed issue #538.

Proposed Changes

1. Align kelos-triage.yaml kind labels with CLAUDE.md — replace kind/api with kind/cleanup (or add both, pending maintainer decision on the canonical set)
2. Update self-development/README.md line 125 to match the corrected triage label set
3. Add missing CLAUDE.md conventions to agentsMD across all 5 AgentConfig definitions (4 co-located + 1 shared) — specifically the "do not refactor" rule, CI/release workflow guidance, e2e test guidance, and directory structure

[kelos-bot]

🤖 Kelos Agent @gjkim42

Kelos Triage Report

Kind: kind/cleanup
Priority: priority/important-longterm — Active label taxonomy split causes inconsistency between triage and worker agents, but does not block adoption or break functionality
Actor: actor/kelos — All three proposed changes are concrete config edits with objectively verifiable outcomes

Status: STILL VALID

Evidence:

• self-development/kelos-triage.yaml lines 56-59 still define kind/api and omit kind/cleanup, confirmed by reading the current file
• self-development/README.md line 125 still lists the triage prompt's label set (kind/api) rather than the canonical set from CLAUDE.md
• self-development/agentconfig.yaml agentsMD (lines 6-31) still omits: the explicit "Do not refactor" rule, CI/release workflow guidance, e2e test guidance, and the Directory Structure section
• No merged PRs or recent commits reference issue Configuration Alignment: Triage agent kind/* labels misaligned with CLAUDE.md and PR template #655
• No commits on main address the triage label misalignment specifically

Duplicates found:

• Configuration Alignment: AgentConfig co-location incomplete after PR #555, README stale, and agentsMD still drifted #601 (partial overlap — covers agentsMD drift from CLAUDE.md and incomplete co-location, but does not address the triage kind/* label misalignment which is finding Implement Axon controller #1 of this issue)
• Workflow: AgentConfig drifted from CLAUDE.md and kelos-workers missing explicit issue filters #515 (partial overlap — the original issue identifying agentsMD drift from CLAUDE.md, still open with actor/kelos; findings Add badges to README #2 and Add release workflow to build and push Docker image #3 here are a superset of Workflow: AgentConfig drifted from CLAUDE.md and kelos-workers missing explicit issue filters #515's agentsMD drift items)

Neither duplicate covers finding #1 (triage label set mismatch), which is the primary and most impactful part of this issue. The agentsMD drift (findings #2/#3) overlaps with #601/#515 but this issue provides a clearer consolidated scope.

Recommendation: KEEP OPEN — The triage label misalignment (finding #1) is unique to this issue and actively causes taxonomy splits. The agentsMD items overlap with #601/#515 but are well-scoped here. Recommend option (b) from the issue: replace kind/api with kind/cleanup in the triage prompt to align with the existing 4-label canonical set from CLAUDE.md and the PR template.