Introduce explicit repro-fix, inspect, cold-start, and review-eval modes across the MCP server, CLI, and host helpers, with canonical mode-to-tool mappings, narrowed schemas, and mode-specific tool descriptions on top of the existing workspace runtime.
Reposition the docs, host onramps, and use-case recipes so named modes are the primary user-facing startup story while the generic no-mode workspace-core path remains the escape hatch, and update the shared smoke runner to validate repro-fix and cold-start through mode-backed servers.
Validation: UV_OFFLINE=1 UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache uv run pytest --no-cov tests/test_api.py tests/test_server.py tests/test_host_helpers.py tests/test_public_contract.py tests/test_cli.py tests/test_workspace_use_case_smokes.py; UV_OFFLINE=1 UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make check; UV_OFFLINE=1 UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make dist-check; real guest-backed make smoke-repro-fix-loop smoke-cold-start-validation outside the sandbox.
Make repo-root chat startup native by letting MCP servers carry a default project source for workspace creation. When a chat host starts from a Git checkout, workspace_create can now omit seed_path and inherit the server startup source; explicit --project-path and clean-clone --repo-url/--repo-ref paths are supported as fallbacks.
Add project startup resolution and materialization, surface origin_kind/origin_ref in workspace_seed, update chat-host docs and the repro/fix smoke to use project-aware workspace creation, and switch dist-check to uv run pyro so verification stays stable after uv reinstalls.
Validated with uv lock, focused startup/server/CLI pytest coverage, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make check, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make dist-check, and real guest-backed smokes for both explicit project_path and bare repo-root auto-detection.
Turn the stable workspace surface into five documented, runnable stories with a shared guest-backed smoke runner, new docs/use-cases recipes, and Make targets for cold-start validation, repro/fix loops, parallel workspaces, untrusted inspection, and review/eval workflows.
Bump the package and catalog surface to 3.6.0, update the main docs to point users from the stable workspace walkthrough into the recipe index and smoke packs, and mark the 3.6.0 roadmap milestone done.
Fix a regression uncovered by the real parallel-workspaces smoke: workspace_file_read must not bump last_activity_at. Verified with uv lock, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make check, UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make dist-check, and USE_CASE_ENVIRONMENT=debian:12 UV_CACHE_DIR=.uv-cache make smoke-use-cases.
