docs(autonomic-issues): add epic label for fully-split tracking issues

docs/agents/autonomic-issues.md

@@ -6,10 +6,7 @@ The paste-ready Routine prompts are at the [bottom of this doc](#routine-prompts
 
 ## Shared state: the `agent:` labels
 
-In-flight state lives as labels **on issues**; an issue's label tells any fresh firing where it is in the pipeline.
-
-- `agent:wip` — an agent has claimed the issue this firing. Applied with a claim comment (timestamped, naming the branch) as the fix worker's first act after picking, before any work.
-- `agent:pr` — an agent PR for this issue is awaiting review. On opening the PR, swap the issue's `agent:wip` to `agent:pr` and label the PR itself `agent:pr` too. Merging the PR closes the issue via `Closes #N`, which drops it out of every count automatically.
+In-flight state lives as labels **on issues**; an issue's label tells any fresh firing where it is in the pipeline. Meaning and who applies each: `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`. Application mechanics (claim comment, PR swap) are in the Fix firing steps below. Merging a PR closes its issue via `Closes #N`, which drops it out of every count automatically.
 
 **The PR cap**: at run start the fix worker counts open issues labeled `agent:pr` (one search: `is:issue is:open label:agent:pr`). At or above **3**, the review queue is full — end silently. Counting issues rather than PRs stays correct even if a PR-side label is forgotten. Firings can overlap with no mutual exclusion, so this in-prompt count is the enforcement; a rare overshoot-by-one is accepted.
 
@@ -20,7 +17,7 @@ In-flight state lives as labels **on issues**; an issue's label tells any fresh
 ## Triage firing
 
 1. **Release stale claims** (above).
-2. **Intake queue**: open issues labeled `needs-triage` plus open unlabeled issues — nothing else. Skip `wayfinder:*` tickets. `needs-info` issues are fully inert: after the reporter answers, the maintainer flips the label back to `needs-triage`. Empty queue → end silently.
+2. **Intake queue**: open issues labeled `needs-triage` plus open unlabeled issues — nothing else. Skip `wayfinder:*` and `epic` tickets. `needs-info` issues are fully inert: after the reporter answers, the maintainer flips the label back to `needs-triage`. Empty queue → end silently.
 3. **Apply the rubric** (below) to each intake issue **through the triage skill**: Read `.claude/skills/triage/SKILL.md` directly and follow it (it is not model-invocable, so the Skill tool won't list it). It carries the tracker mechanics — the AI-disclaimer prefix on every posted comment, the agent-brief format for `ready-for-agent` issues, the out-of-scope knowledge base. This doc's rubric and guardrails win wherever the two differ.
 4. **Summary table**: end the session with a markdown table of the sweep — one row per issue looked at, `issue | verdict | one-line reason` (verdicts: the label applied, or "held" / "skipped" with why). This is transcript output only, not a GitHub write.
 
@@ -37,11 +34,11 @@ All four hold → label `ready-for-agent`. Missing (a)/(b) → `needs-info`. Mis
 
 - **`needs-info` questions**: 2–3 numbered questions in one comment, each answerable in one line and each stating why it blocks ("can't reproduce without…"), so the maintainer answers inline in a single reply.
 - **`ready-for-human` routes**: the work needs access the agent lacks (GitHub settings, Supabase dashboard, third-party consoles), or the deliverable is a maintainer decision rather than code. Security-sensitive code stays agent-eligible; size alone never routes to human.
-- **Oversized issues**: no hard size cap — flag "too big for one firing" with a proposed split as a comment, and optionally create the child sub-issues directly. Leave the parent open; the work becomes takeable only once split.
+- **Oversized issues**: no hard size cap — flag "too big for one firing" with a proposed split as a comment, and optionally create the child sub-issues directly. Leave the parent open; the work becomes takeable only once split. Once every piece is its own sub-issue carrying a state label, the parent has become an `epic` (see `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`): apply the label directly, dropping any state role it had — no comment or maintainer confirmation needed, whether that's on first encounter or a later sweep that finds the label still missing.
 - **`wontfix` / duplicates**: apply `wontfix` or `ready-for-human` directly, with a comment explaining why. A duplicate recommendation always names the surviving issue. Only the maintainer closes issues.
 - **Spec gaps**: issue bodies belong to their authors — write an inferred spec as a comment instead, and when that comment supplies the missing spec, label `ready-for-agent` in the same pass. Provenance stays clear.
 - **Category labels**: apply ordinary labels (`bug`, `enhancement`, `refactor`, `chore`) where obvious.
-- **Priority is the maintainer's steering wheel**: `priority:high` and `priority:low` are maintainer-applied only — triage never sets them.
+- **Priority is the maintainer's steering wheel**: triage never sets `priority:high`/`priority:low` (see `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`).
 
 ## Fix firing
 
@@ -80,7 +77,7 @@ Both routines run with push notifications on. The platform sends a push only whe
 
 ## Setup checklist (manual, one-time)
 
-1. Create the labels: `agent:wip`, `agent:pr`, `priority:high`, `priority:low` (triage vocabulary from `docs/agents/triage-labels.md` plus `bug`/`enhancement`/`chore` should already exist).
+1. Create the labels in `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`'s pipeline-labels table (`agent:wip`, `agent:pr`, `epic`, `priority:high`, `priority:low`) plus the five canonical triage-role labels — `bug`/`enhancement`/`chore` should already exist.
 2. Create the **triage** Routine: daily, Sonnet (a test firing showed Haiku mis-triages — it judges from issue text alone instead of verifying premises in the codebase), this repo only, Default (trusted-network) environment, no connectors beyond GitHub, push notifications on, prompt below.
 3. Create the **fix** Routine: daily ~1h after triage, stronger model, same scoping, push notifications on, prompt below.
 4. Routine prompts stay short pointers — evolve the pipeline by editing this doc via PR, not the Routine form.

docs/agents/triage-labels.md

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 # Triage Labels
 
-The skills speak in terms of five canonical triage roles. This file maps those roles to the actual label strings used in this repo's issue tracker.
+Every label the autonomic issue pipeline reads or writes, what it means, and who's allowed to apply it.
+
+## Canonical triage-role labels
+
+The skills speak in terms of five canonical triage roles. This table maps those roles to the actual label strings used in this repo's issue tracker.
 
 | Label in mattpocock/skills | Label in our tracker | Meaning                                  |
 | -------------------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
@@ -10,6 +14,22 @@ The skills speak in terms of five canonical triage roles. This file maps those r
 | `ready-for-human`          | `ready-for-human`    | Requires human implementation            |
 | `wontfix`                  | `wontfix`            | Will not be actioned                     |
 
-When a skill mentions a role (e.g. "apply the AFK-ready triage label"), use the corresponding label string from this table.
+When a skill mentions a role (e.g. "apply the AFK-ready triage label"), use the corresponding label string from this table. Applied by: the triage firing, via the triage skill.
 
 Edit the right-hand column to match whatever vocabulary you actually use.
+
+## Pipeline labels
+
+Repo-specific labels the autonomic pipeline (`docs/agents/autonomic-issues.md`) uses outside the five canonical roles above — not part of the mattpocock/skills vocabulary, so a skill invocation won't look for them here.
+
+| Label                            | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                            | Applied by                                                      |
+| -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `epic`                           | Tracking-only parent issue whose work has already been fully split into sub-issues, each carrying its own state label. Stays open only to track them; excluded from triage intake. | Triage firing — self-service, no maintainer confirmation needed |
+| `agent:wip`                      | An agent has claimed the issue this firing.                                                                                                                                        | Fix firing                                                      |
+| `agent:pr`                       | An agent PR for this issue is awaiting review.                                                                                                                                     | Fix firing (swapped from `agent:wip` on opening the PR)         |
+| `priority:high` / `priority:low` | Steers fix-firing pick order.                                                                                                                                                      | Maintainer only — triage and fix never set these                |
+| `wayfinder:*`                    | Belongs to a separate design/spec workflow, not this pipeline.                                                                                                                     | Never by this pipeline — triage skips these tickets entirely    |
+
+## Category labels
+
+`bug`, `enhancement`, `chore`, `refactor` — applied where obvious; self-explanatory, not part of either table above.