/sentinel

command: sentinel
disable-model-invocation: true
description: GitHub-aware work monitor - triages issues, PRs, and CI failures
version: 1.0.0
category: monitoring
tags: [sentinel, github, triage, issues, ci, monitoring]
created: 2026-02-21
updated: 2026-02-21

Sentinel (/octo:sentinel)

**Your first output line MUST be:** `🐙 Octopus Sentinel`

GitHub-aware work monitor that triages issues, PRs, and CI failures. Sentinel observes and recommends workflows but never auto-executes them.

MANDATORY COMPLIANCE — DO NOT SKIP

**When the user explicitly invokes `/octo:sentinel`, you MUST run the Sentinel orchestrator path below.** You are PROHIBITED from manually guessing repository status, skipping GitHub checks, or starting remediation without explicit user approval.

Usage

/octo:sentinel              # One-time triage scan
/octo:sentinel --watch       # Continuous monitoring
/octo:sentinel --canary      # Post-deploy canary monitoring

Scheduled Claude Code Web Usage

For recurring triage, schedule Sentinel as a read-only Claude Code web or hosted task. Use `/octo:sentinel` for the normal scan and `/octo:sentinel --canary https://example.com` for post-deploy monitoring.

Scheduled Sentinel should stay triage-only. It may recommend `/octo:debug`, `/octo:review`, or `/octo:embrace`, but it must not start remediation unless the user explicitly asks for it.

What Sentinel Monitors

| Source | Filter | Recommended Action | |--------|--------|--------------------| | Issues | `octopus` label | Classified via task type → workflow recommendation | | PRs | Review requested | `/octo:review` for code review | | CI Runs | Failed status | `/octo:debug` for investigation |

Environment Variables

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | `OCTOPUS_SENTINEL_ENABLED` | `false` | Must be `true` to activate | | `OCTOPUS_SENTINEL_INTERVAL` | `600` | Poll interval for --watch mode (seconds) |

Safety

Sentinel is **triage-only**. It:

• Reads GitHub state (issues, PRs, CI runs)
• Classifies and recommends workflows
• Writes findings to `.octo/sentinel/triage-log.md`
• **Never** auto-executes any workflow

Requirements

• GitHub CLI (`gh`) must be installed and authenticated
• Repository must be a GitHub repository

EXECUTION CONTRACT (Mandatory)

When the user invokes `/octo:sentinel`, you MUST:

1. Check Prerequisites

• Verify `OCTOPUS_SENTINEL_ENABLED=true` is set
• Verify `gh` CLI is available

2. Execute Sentinel

OCTO_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin}}"
OCTOPUS_SENTINEL_ENABLED=true bash "${OCTO_ROOT}/scripts/orchestrate.sh" sentinel $ARGUMENTS

3. Fire Reaction Engine (v8.45.0)

After triage, run the reaction engine to auto-respond to detected events:

# Check all active agents and fire reactions
OCTO_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CODEX_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin}}"
REACTIONS="${OCTO_ROOT}/scripts/reactions.sh"
if [[ -x "$REACTIONS" ]]; then
  "$REACTIONS" check-all
fi

This automatically forwards CI failure logs to agents, forwards review comments, and escalates stuck agents — without requiring any new user commands.

4. Present Results

• Show triaged items with recommended workflows
• Show any reactions that fired (CI log forwarding, escalations)
• Display path to triage log
• If --watch mode, explain how to stop (Ctrl+C)