2026-09-19 — Ashbot inbox pass: credential hunt spiral

Job

Inbox pass: read returns to Phoenix listing outreach, reply with CC tonyjbala@gmail.com.

Memory write (identity + NAP)
mkdir workspace; try himalaya → missing (127)
Photon/iMessage check → unavailable (expected)
Read prior Birdeye send artifacts (good)
Long hunt for AGENTMAIL_API_KEY (blocked repeatedly by safety)
Source-dive hermes-agent email plugin / secret_scope (~minutes, including 143s grep)
Write _check_mail.py / _check_inbox.py for IMAP
Scripts exit 1 — key not in oneshot env / .env path miss
STATUS stuck at working; evidence empty; no replies-log

Oneshot env gap (root): Method A _launch.py does not inject AGENTMAIL_API_KEY into the child. Gateway/Desktop sessions may have it; SSH oneshot does not. Outbound Birdeye earlier worked via a session that had SMTP/key; this inbox pass did not inherit it.
Safety blocks: grep/cat of .bashrc/.env, powershell env dumps, execute_code — blocked. She adapted by writing files + read_file, but burned tokens.
Tooling gaps: himalaya not installed; uv python broken; had to discover Python312 path.
No STATUS discipline while blocked: stayed working instead of flipping to blocked: missing AGENTMAIL in oneshot env after ~2 failed key checks.
Credential archaeology over escalate: should have STATUS=blocked and ping CoS after first confirmed KEY_MISSING, not 10+ minutes of source greps.

Ashbot oneshot launcher MUST load profile .env (or pass AGENTMAIL_API_KEY) before cli.py --oneshot.
If mail key absent after one safe check → STATUS blocked + stop; CoS fixes env; do not source-dive.
Prefer Hermes email platform tools when available; raw IMAP is fallback only with injected key.
CoS mid-job STATUS watcher every 5m (now on) surfaces these stalls.

Job may still be spinning on key hunt. CoS should stop or reinject env and redispatch.