Reconcile llm_pilot.py with MCP-only control mandate

[Coldaine]

Problem

CLAUDE.md states:

Never run llm_pilot.py or any autonomous loop as the controller. The agent IS the controller.

Yet agent_orchestrator/llm_pilot.py (370 lines) exists, is fully functional, and is the only thing that reliably runs ALAS tasks today. It has:

• PID-file-based single-instance guard
• Process lifecycle management (--kill, --restart)
• Cooldown-based task scheduling
• Recovery-to-main on failure
• Startup grace period for state detection
• Skip flags (--skip-mail, --skip-tool)

This script exists because the MCP path isn't robust enough to actually drive things. That's the real signal.

The Contradiction

Aspect	What CLAUDE.md says	What llm_pilot.py does
Controller	"LLM is the scheduler"	Python while-loop is the scheduler
Tool calls	"Call ONE MCP tool at a time"	Calls tool.execute() directly, no MCP
Recovery	"Use adb_screenshot + vision"	recover_to_main() via state machine, no vision
Decision making	"LLM decides what to do next"	Hardcoded TASKS list with cooldowns

Options

Option A: Delete it

If the MCP path (Issue #35) is fixed to be robust enough, llm_pilot.py becomes unnecessary. Delete it and rely on the LLM agent driving MCP tools.

Risk: Until #35 is done, there's no reliable way to run the bot.

Option B: Keep as fallback, deprecate

Mark it as a temporary fallback for when MCP isn't available. Document that it's not the intended control path. Remove it once MCP is robust.

Option C: Absorb useful patterns into MCP

The cooldown logic, startup grace period, and skip-tool patterns are useful. Extract them into MCP tools or config rather than a standalone script:

• Cooldown tracking could be a config/state query
• Startup grace could be part of adb_health
• Skip flags are agent-level decisions

Recommendation

Option C (absorb then delete), gated on Issue #35 completion:

1. Fix MCP server (MCP server v2: non-blocking primitives, health probe, CLI mode #35) so it's robust enough for LLM control
2. Extract useful patterns from llm_pilot.py into MCP tools
3. Delete llm_pilot.py
4. Update CLAUDE.md to remove references to it

Related

• Issue MCP server v2: non-blocking primitives, health probe, CLI mode #35: MCP server v2 (prerequisite)
• CLAUDE.md "Non-Negotiables" section
• docs/plans/operationalize_llm_piloting.md (Phase 3: Scheduler Augmentation)

[vbhavh]

/assign