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+# Free-Tier AI Stack Runbook — Troupe Onboarding
+
+## Purpose
+Get a new Hermes-based wizard up and running on free-tier tooling only. No paid vendors, no credit cards.
+
+## Prerequisites
+- Linux host (Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+)
+- Non-root user with sudo (this runbook assumes `alexander`)
+- Git, curl, jq, python3, pipx
+
+## Steps
+
+### 1. Clone the troupe repo
+```bash
+git clone https://gitlab.com/<troupe>/troupe-standup.git ~/troupe-standup
+cd ~/troupe-standup
+```
+
+### 2. Install Hermes Agent (free tier)
+```bash
+# Install via pipx (isolated, free)
+pipx install hermes-agent
+hermes-agent init
+```
+
+### 3. Configure profiles
+Edit `~/.hermes/config.yaml` to add profiles. Start with one:
+```yaml
+profiles:
+  quill:
+    model: inclusionai/ling-3.1-flash:free
+    provider: nous
+    output_dir: /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/quill/
+```
+
+### 4. Verify the lane
+Each wizard runs one lane. Quill’s lane is `Draft`. Test with:
+```bash
+hermes-agent run --profile quill --lane draft --prompt "Write a draft memo about the free-tier AI stack."
+```
+
+### 5. Wire the skill tree
+Skills live in `~/.hermes/skills/`. Core skills for a draft lane:
+- `autonomous-ai-agents/hermes-agent` — Hermes setup and troubleshooting
+- `software-development/codebase-inspection` — Read existing code fast
+- `productivity/document-to-action-items` — Extract obligations from docs
+
+Install skills with:
+```bash
+hermes-agent skills add autonomous-ai-agents/hermes-agent
+hermes-agent skills add software-development/codebase-inspection
+hermes-agent skills add productivity/document-to-action-items
+```
+
+### 6. Set up git identity for commits
+```bash
+git config --global user.name "quill"
+git config --global user.email "quill@agents.invalid"
+```
+
+### 7. Test end-to-end
+Run a draft task, write an artifact, and commit it:
+```bash
+# Write artifact
+echo "# Draft Output" > /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/quill/test.md
+
+# Commit
+git add wizard-work/quill/test.md
+git commit -m 'quill: test commit'
+```
+
+If the commit succeeds, the stack is working.
+
+## Free-tier constraints
+- Never use paid APIs. Stick to free-model endpoints (Nous free tier, OpenRouter free models).
+- Never pip-install without pipx; avoid polluting system Python.
+- Cron jobs are LOCAL-ONLY. Their output is not delivered back to the session unless targeted at a messaging platform.
+
+## Evidence check
+After onboarding, verify with:
+```bash
+test -s /root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/quill/test.md && git -C ~/troupe-standup log --oneline -1 | grep -q 'quill:'
+```
+
+Exit code 0 = correct. Nonzero = re-run Step 7.