# Roles

Give each task to one role, so that each agent has one responsibility.

## Rules

- One agent can hold more than one role, but the author must not review, approve or merge their
  own pull request. Reason: a second agent finds errors that the author does not see.
- The author writes the pull request body and lists the tests. The writer edits the text. Reason:
  the author knows best which tests prove the behavior.
- The human owner approves material scope changes and every release. Routine steps within an
  assigned task do not require repeated approval. Reason: only the owner is accountable for the
  repository.
- The human owner may merge a pull request after independent review and all merge checks pass.
  This includes a pull request that the owner authored. Reason: the owner is not an agent author.

## Human owner

The human owner is only the owner who acts in person, or the owner's own words. A bot or an agent
that acts through the owner's account is always an agent. It is never the human owner.

A relayed decision counts as the owner's words only if it quotes the owner's exact words with
the time and the place where the owner wrote them, and the agent records that quote in the
issue or pull request before relying on it in a later session. A paraphrase or an agent's
summary never counts.

## Role definitions

- The implementer writes the code and the tests for an issue.
- The reviewer reviews pull requests and merges them.
- The architect writes ADRs and reviews the design.
- The writer writes the docs and edits the pull request text.
- The coordinator plans the work.

One person or agent can hold several roles. See [Rules](#rules).

## Good example

The implementer opens a pull request. The reviewer reviews it and merges it.

## Bad example

The implementer opens a pull request, reviews it and merges it. The author must not merge their
own pull request.

Related: [review-and-merge.md](review-and-merge.md), [safety.md](safety.md).