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Prior Art: Foolery

Prior Art: Foolery

Spike output for gm-mth (2026-04-20). Evaluates Foolery as a host or consumer of Gemba’s UI layer under Path B / Path D of the UI-strategy decision (gm-9h6).

Code examined: local clone at /Users/mikebengtson/gt/foolery/mayor/rig, upstream github.com/acartine/foolery, version 0.10.0 (2026-04-20).

1. License & source access

  • License: MIT (LICENSE, copyright 2026 Andrew Cartine).
  • Upstream: https://github.com/acartine/foolery — public, single repo.
  • Verdict: No license blockers. Fork, embed, contribute, and redistribute are all permitted.

2. Architecture

  • Next.js 16 App Router + React 19 + TypeScript + Tailwind 4. State via Zustand. Server state via TanStack Query. Terminal via xterm.js.
  • Runtime model: Node.js server (via src/instrumentation.ts) alongside the Next client. The server hosts API routes under src/app/api/*.
  • Delivered as a foolery launcher CLI (foolery start / stop / doctor / setup) plus a downloaded runtime artefact. Not Electron, not VS Code. “Local server + browser” is the shipping model.
  • Backend communication is direct CLI shell-out via Bun.spawn() / execFile() against kno (Knots) or bd (Beads). No HTTP or daemon protocol with the backend.

3. Extensibility — BackendPort

This is the load-bearing finding.

  • src/lib/backend-port.ts defines a typed interface every backend implements: list / listReady / search / query / get / listWorkflows / create / update / delete / close / listDependencies / addDependency / removeDependency / buildTakePrompt / buildPollPrompt, plus a BackendResult<T> envelope and a structured BackendError taxonomy.
  • Backends are wired by src/lib/backend-factory.ts + backend-instance.ts, selected by a marker-dir probe (.knots → Knots, .beads → Beads) and overridable via FOOLERY_BACKEND.
  • src/lib/backend-capabilities.ts carries per-backend capability flags (canDelete, canSync, maxConcurrency, …) that UI call sites check with hasCapability() / assertCapability() — the same pattern Gemba’s CapabilityManifest uses.
  • Contract tests exist at src/lib/__tests__/backend-contract.test.ts, and there is an authored docs/backend-extension-guide.md walking through “add a new backend”. This is mature.
  • Limit: adding a new backend today means a PR (or fork) that edits backend-factory.ts and schemas.ts to extend the BackendType union. There is no dynamic plugin loader.

4. Backend coupling to Beads-specific schema

  • The UI does not import Beads types directly. Everything flows through Beat, BeatDependency, and MemoryWorkflowDescriptor in src/lib/types.ts.
  • Beads-specific status mapping (open / in_progress / closed ↔ canonical workflow state) is isolated to src/lib/backends/beads-compat-status.ts. docs/adr-knots-compatibility.md documents the decision to pass workflow-native state through unchanged and keep translation at the edge.
  • Beat has a superset of fields — aliases, nextActionState, requiresHumanAction, isAgentClaimable, invariants, metadata — that map cleanly onto Gemba’s WorkItem plus a few Gemba-native fields that would need capability-flagged UI.

5. Active development

  • Single maintainer (Andrew Cartine). git log --pretty='%an' | sort -u returns one name.
  • Active: latest commit d8c8270 on 2026-04-20 (today). Conventional commits with scope (fix(agents): …). Changesets-driven releases. Current version 0.10.0.
  • Discord community (thecartine), Substack launch post, Mintlify community-tools listing. Public + visible.
  • Test coverage: Vitest unit + Storybook + contract tests + smoke tests (test:smoke:beats:latency, test:smoke:beats:pulldowns). Quality bar is substantial for a solo project.

6. Feature gap vs Phase 12 — see fit-gap matrix

Summary (full matrix in crew/mike/foolery-fit-gap.md):

  • Green (already shipped, ~7/17): App shell, WorkItem grid, WorkItem detail, AgentGroup board, creation flow, cmdk command palette, bulk actions.
  • Yellow (partial, ~4/17): Data layer (TanStack Query yes; SSE-driven invalidation for workitems no — SSE exists only for terminal streams, Beat reads are polled), Agents dashboard, backlog board, agent detail.
  • Red (not shipped, ~6/17): Adaptor capability browser, dependency graph, drift dashboard, insights/OTEL panel, YOLO mode toggle, AgentGroup mode switch (static / pool / graph).

7. Outreach feasibility

Reasonable. Andrew is active, has a Discord, authored a backend-extension guide, and the codebase is structured for third-party backends. The viable shape of an RFC is “Gemba as a third BackendPort implementation” rather than “host Gemba’s SPA inside Foolery”. The latter is a much bigger ask that competes with Foolery’s own UI direction; the former slots into an existing seam.

Recommended outreach (pending human go-ahead): GitHub issue on acartine/foolery titled “RFC: Gemba BackendPort — proposal to list Gemba as a third memory-manager backend”, linking this spike and the foolery-extension-plan.md.

Recommendation

CONDITIONAL viable, with a clear preference for Path D.

  • Path B (Foolery is Gemba’s UI): Viable only if upstream accepts a Gemba backend and we add SSE push for beat-state changes (today’s SSE is terminal-only) plus three red-zone views (capability browser, dependency graph, drift). This is a multi-quarter collaboration with a single maintainer. Risk: our roadmap becomes coupled to Andrew’s bandwidth.
  • Path D (Foolery as optional consumer; Gemba ships its own thin SPA): Low risk, high optionality. We implement a gemba-backend.ts BackendPort against Gemba’s WorkPlaneAdaptor, upstream or fork, and users who want Foolery’s keyboard UX get it. Gemba still ships web/ for its own views (capability browser, dependency graph, drift). Foolery’s strong features (Queues, Active, Retakes, History, hotkeys) become a bonus consumer surface, not a dependency.

Full architectural integration spec for both paths: see crew/mike/foolery-extension-plan.md.

Evidence index

ClaimFile
MIT licensefoolery/mayor/rig/LICENSE
Backend contractsrc/lib/backend-port.ts
Backend factory + routingsrc/lib/backend-factory.ts, src/lib/backend-instance.ts
Capability flagssrc/lib/backend-capabilities.ts
Beat schemasrc/lib/types.ts (Beat, BeatDependency, MemoryWorkflowDescriptor)
Beads status isolationsrc/lib/backends/beads-compat-status.ts
Contract testssrc/lib/__tests__/backend-contract.test.ts
Extension guidedocs/backend-extension-guide.md
Agent dialect switchsrc/lib/agent-adapter.ts (resolveDialect, arg builders, normalizers)
Terminal SSE (scope limit)src/app/api/terminal/[sessionId]/route.ts
Activity signalgit log --oneline — latest d8c8270 2026-04-20