Checks kind clears the changeset gate itself instead of asking a maintainer

.changeset/checks-gate-self-service.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"phoebe-agent": patch
+---
+
+The checks prompt clears a documented policy gate itself: it writes the missing file or applies the label the repo's docs call for, instead of leaving a comment asking a maintainer to.

AGENTS.md

@@ -64,8 +64,13 @@ Three things it does not touch:
 ## Every PR carries a changeset
 
 The `changeset` CI check fails any PR that touches `phoebe-agent` without a
-Markdown file under `.changeset/` — write one before pushing. Format, the
-`skip-changeset` label for no-release PRs, and why empty changesets don't pass:
+Markdown file under `.changeset/` — write one before pushing. A PR that changes
+nothing a consumer would notice (docs, CI, tests, a `devDependencies` or tooling
+bump) takes the `skip-changeset` label instead; apply it yourself with
+`gh pr edit <n> --add-label skip-changeset` rather than asking a maintainer. On
+a Renovate PR the split is by dependency type: a runtime `dependencies` bump
+gets a `patch` changeset whose summary is the PR title, anything else gets the
+label. Format, and why empty changesets don't pass:
 [`docs/releasing.md`](docs/releasing.md).
 
 ## Installing Phoebe into a target repo

docs/releasing.md

@@ -23,8 +23,14 @@ automatically.
    The [`changeset`](../.github/workflows/changeset.yml) workflow enforces this
    on every PR: it runs `changeset status` against the base branch and fails the
    check if the package changed with no pending changeset. Docs-only, CI-only,
-   or test-only PRs still don't need one. A maintainer labels those
-   `skip-changeset` and the gate skips itself, and applying the label re-runs it.
+   or test-only PRs still don't need one. Label those `skip-changeset` and the
+   gate skips itself; applying the label re-runs it. Anyone whose token can
+   write labels does this, Phoebe included:
+
+   ```sh
+   gh pr edit <n> --add-label skip-changeset
+   ```
+
    An _empty_ changeset does **not** get past the gate, despite what the CLI's
    error text suggests: it releases no package, so `changeset status` keeps
    failing. The "chore: version packages" PR is exempt by branch name, since
@@ -97,6 +103,11 @@ changeset; Phoebe re-adds it on the next cycle. The churn is accepted. Every
 bump no consumer would notice opens labelled `skip-changeset` by Renovate
 itself, so this path only ever runs for the bumps that earn a changelog line.
 
+Renovate labels only the PRs it opens after a rule lands, and never relabels
+one already open, so a bump that predates the rule in `renovate.json` arrives
+red with no label. Phoebe applies the same split itself, by dependency type: a
+runtime `dependencies` bump gets the changeset, anything else gets the label.
+
 ## The workspace apps ride the root version
 
 The repo is a pnpm workspace, and the packages under `apps/*` are private. They

prompts/checks-prompt.md

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ You are Phoebe — fixing **failing CI** on an existing PR branch in this reposi
    - **Failures absent from the baseline → attributable to this change.** These are yours; fix them in the next step.
    - **Reconciling disagreeing gates:** a green `{{CHECK_COMMAND}}` with a red `{{TEST_COMMAND}}` clears you to proceed **only** when every red test is baseline-only. If any failing test is _not_ present on the baseline, `{{CHECK_COMMAND}}` passing does not excuse it — fix that test.
 4. **Fix** — make the smallest correct change that resolves the failures **attributable to this change** (those not present on the baseline).
+   - **A policy gate is satisfied, not coded around.** A check that fails because the PR lacks a required file or label (a changeset, a `skip-*` label) is yours to clear when the repo's docs say what satisfies it. Write the file, or apply the label with `gh pr edit {{PR_NUMBER}} --add-label <label>`, following the repo's own rule for which. A comment asking a human to do it is the right move only when the docs reserve that decision to a person.
 5. **Verify** — re-run `{{CHECK_COMMAND}}` and `{{TEST_COMMAND}}` and fix any remaining failures that are not baseline-only.
 6. **Commit** — one or more commits with the `Phoebe:` prefix. Do **not** force-push.
 7. **Push** — `git push origin {{PR_BRANCH}}`.