fix(issue-18): default ack timeout T = 180 s

In the v4.5.0 review round grok read the brief and published `started`
70 s after the injection; with T = 60 the wrapper had already closed the
job as agent_blocked and refused its later PASS. T bounds delivery, not
work, so a generous default costs nothing when the agent answers fast.
Code, docs and the CLI snapshot updated together.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01VCgu9Fa9iT7TbJUSzdq4Ff

.agents/MULTI_AGENT_RULES.md

@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ To ensure that agents running in TMUX environments do not lose debug logs or pre
 - **Identity Verification**: The guard validates process liveness via `pid` + `lstart` to prevent livelocks on PID rollover.
 
 ### ⏱️ Timeout Configuration & Alignment Rules
-- **Job Execution Limits (`timeout_sec` & `idle_timeout_sec`)**: Each job independently manages its overall execution timeout (`timeout_sec`, default 3600s) and idle timeout without receiving messages (`idle_timeout_sec`). Since v4.5.0 (Issue #18) the idle timeout is the liveness contract's K x N: the agent heartbeats every `heartbeat_sec` (N, default 30 — automatic once it publishes `started --heartbeat N`), and `heartbeat_misses` (K, default 4) missed heartbeats close the job as `deadline_timeout` (default 120 s, `--idle-timeout` overrides). `started` must arrive within `ack_timeout_sec` (T, default 60) of the injection or the job fails as `agent_blocked` without re-injection. herdr status and pane text are never used for these decisions.
+- **Job Execution Limits (`timeout_sec` & `idle_timeout_sec`)**: Each job independently manages its overall execution timeout (`timeout_sec`, default 3600s) and idle timeout without receiving messages (`idle_timeout_sec`). Since v4.5.0 (Issue #18) the idle timeout is the liveness contract's K x N: the agent heartbeats every `heartbeat_sec` (N, default 30 — automatic once it publishes `started --heartbeat N`), and `heartbeat_misses` (K, default 4) missed heartbeats close the job as `deadline_timeout` (default 120 s, `--idle-timeout` overrides). `started` must arrive within `ack_timeout_sec` (T, default 180) of the injection or the job fails as `agent_blocked` without re-injection. herdr status and pane text are never used for these decisions.
 - **Heartbeat timer and agent life**: the automatic timer is bound to the agent process that ran the start command (the nearest agent-CLI ancestor, or `--watch-pid`) and stops within one period once that process is gone; a crashed agent is therefore closed after K x N like any silent one, while an agent that is alive but stuck keeps heartbeating (process liveness, not work liveness).
 - **Monitor Idle Waiting (`SUB_IDLE_TIMEOUT`)**: The idle timeout for the monitor script (`reconcile.sh`), `SUB_IDLE_TIMEOUT`, must always be set generously to `3600s` (1 hour) or more to align with the maximum job budget. This prevents the monitor from terminating early due to idle detection, which would lose control over background tasks before they finish.
 

.agents/skills/lib_py/delegation/registry.py

@@ -52,10 +52,12 @@ def generate_job_id(bits: int = 32) -> str:
 # heartbeats (K x N seconds since the last event) as unresponsive; `started`
 # must arrive within T seconds of the prompt injection. K x N with these
 # defaults equals the historical 120 s idle timeout, so a caller that never
-# asked for the contract sees the same idle window as before.
+# asked for the contract sees the same idle window as before. T is generous:
+# a real agent reads the brief and reasons before it runs the start command
+# (grok took ~70 s in the v4.5.0 review round), and T only bounds delivery.
 DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_SEC = 30
 DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_MISSES = 4
-DEFAULT_ACK_TIMEOUT_SEC = 60
+DEFAULT_ACK_TIMEOUT_SEC = 180
 
 
 def liveness_window(heartbeat_sec: int, heartbeat_misses: int) -> int:

.agents/skills/multi-agent-mux-delegate-job/SKILL.md

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ multi-agent-mux-delegate-job submit \
   --agent-session herdr:<session_name> \
   --prompt "Task description or instructions here" \
   --role <Worker|Planner|Reviewer> \
-  --timeout 3600 [--heartbeat 30 --heartbeat-misses 4 --ack-timeout 60] [--idle-timeout <sec>]
+  --timeout 3600 [--heartbeat 30 --heartbeat-misses 4 --ack-timeout 180] [--idle-timeout <sec>]
   #   Liveness contract (Issue #18): the agent heartbeats every N s (automatic),
   #   the job is unresponsive after K x N s (--idle-timeout overrides), `started`
   #   must arrive within T s of the injection or the inject fails closed.

.agents/skills/multi-agent-mux-delegate-job/multi-agent-mux-delegate-job

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ multi-agent-mux-delegate-job <command> [options]
           # Liveness contract: the agent heartbeats every --heartbeat N s
           # (default 30, automatic), the job is unresponsive after
           # --heartbeat-misses K x N s (default 4 x 30 = 120; --idle-timeout
-          # overrides), `started` must arrive within --ack-timeout T s (60).
+          # overrides), `started` must arrive within --ack-timeout T s (180).
   status  --job <id> [--registry-dir <dir>]
   list    [--registry-dir <dir>]
   verify  --job <id> --validate <script> [--registry-dir <dir>]
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ EOF
 AGENT="claude-code"; PROMPT=""; WORKDIR="$(pwd)"; AGENT_SESSION="herdr:claude"
 TIMEOUT=3600; IDLE_TIMEOUT=""; VALIDATE=""; DRY_RUN=0
 # Issue #18 liveness contract (N / K / T). An unset --idle-timeout derives K x N.
-HEARTBEAT_SEC="${MAM_HEARTBEAT_SEC:-30}"; HEARTBEAT_MISSES="${MAM_HEARTBEAT_MISSES:-4}"; ACK_TIMEOUT="${MAM_ACK_TIMEOUT_S:-60}"
+HEARTBEAT_SEC="${MAM_HEARTBEAT_SEC:-30}"; HEARTBEAT_MISSES="${MAM_HEARTBEAT_MISSES:-4}"; ACK_TIMEOUT="${MAM_ACK_TIMEOUT_S:-180}"
 JOB_ID=""; REGISTRY_DIR="$REGISTRY_DIR_DEFAULT"; DELEGATE_ROLE="Worker"
 TYPE="direct"; REVIEWER="hermes"; REVIEWER_SESSION="herdr:hermes"; MAX_ITERATIONS=5
 DEFAULT_COUNTERPART_ROLE="Reviewer"

.agents/skills/multi-agent-mux-delegate-job/registry.md

@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@ $PY scripts/registry.py logs --list              # every job, live status
 | `heartbeat_sec` | N: the agent publishes `progress` at least every N s (the `--heartbeat N` timer does it) | 30 |
 | `heartbeat_misses` | K: missed heartbeats before the job is unresponsive | 4 |
 | `idle_timeout_sec` | K x N unless `--idle-timeout` was given | 120 |
-| `ack_timeout_sec` | T: `started` must arrive within T s of the injection | 60 |
+| `ack_timeout_sec` | T: `started` must arrive within T s of the injection | 180 |
 | `transport` | `herdr` (pane injection) or `remote` (signed retained dispatch over the broker) | `herdr` |
 
 `<registry>/<job>.heartbeat.pid` / `.heartbeat.log` belong to the running heartbeat timer; a terminal publish removes the pidfile.

.agents/skills/multi-agent-mux-loop/SKILL.md

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ the injection. Tune it for a whole loop with environment variables, which the
 runner passes through as `--heartbeat` / `--heartbeat-misses` / `--ack-timeout`:
 
 ```bash
-MAM_HEARTBEAT_SEC=30 MAM_HEARTBEAT_MISSES=4 MAM_ACK_TIMEOUT_S=60 \
+MAM_HEARTBEAT_SEC=30 MAM_HEARTBEAT_MISSES=4 MAM_ACK_TIMEOUT_S=180 \
   bash .agents/skills/multi-agent-mux-loop/scripts/run_loop.sh --creator creator-claude-01 --all-reviewer --task "..."
 ```