jlamoreaux · Sep 22, 2026 · Sep 18, 2026 · Sep 22, 2026
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Stratum treats agents as first-class contributors — this file is the contract.
 
 ## What this project is
 
-Stratum is a code-collaboration platform for the AI engineering era, built on Cloudflare
+Stratum is the open-source, agent-first code forge, built on Cloudflare
 Workers (Hono), Durable Objects (SQLite), D1, KV, R2, Queues, and Cloudflare Artifacts for
 serverless Git. The web UI is **server-rendered JSX**: every page must work with JavaScript
 disabled. A few inline scripts exist purely as progressive enhancement — never add a
@@ -64,7 +64,9 @@ it is network-dependent and not part of the offline gate.
 ## Quality gates (must pass before a PR is mergeable)
 
 CI (`pr-checks.yml`) runs **lint, typecheck, unit tests, and the `cli/`/`agent/`
-package suites in parallel**, then integration tests, then a staging deploy + smoke test.
+package suites in parallel**, then integration tests. It deliberately deploys nothing —
+staging and production deploy only from `ci.yml` on `main`; PRs get an isolated per-PR
+preview Worker from `pr-preview.yml` instead.
 Mirror lint → typecheck → test locally before pushing.
 
 1. **Typecheck and tests must pass.** Never comment out, skip, or `.skip` a test to get green.

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Contributing to Stratum
 
-Thanks for your interest in contributing! Stratum is a code-collaboration platform for the AI
-engineering era, where both humans and AI agents are first-class contributors. This guide covers
+Thanks for your interest in contributing! Stratum is the open-source, agent-first code
+forge, where both humans and AI agents are first-class contributors. This guide covers
 how to set up, make changes, and get them merged.
 
 > Working with an AI coding agent? Point it at [`AGENTS.md`](AGENTS.md) — it's the agent-facing

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
 [![License: AGPL v3](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-AGPL%20v3-blue.svg)](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0)
 [![Docs](https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-usestratum.dev-blue.svg)](https://docs.usestratum.dev)
 
-**The governance layer for AI-written code** — the control plane that decides what agent
-output is allowed to merge, wherever your code lives. Built on Cloudflare Workers with
-Artifacts, D1, KV, R2, Queues, and Durable Objects.
+**The open-source, agent-first code forge** — git hosting where every change, human or
+agent, proves itself before it merges. Start as a layer over GitHub, or make Stratum the
+source of truth. Built on Cloudflare Workers with Artifacts, D1, KV, R2, Queues, and
+Durable Objects.
 
 > [!NOTE]
 > **Project status: pre-1.0 and under active development.** The feature set below is
@@ -52,9 +53,10 @@ Humans and AI agents are both first-class citizens, with different powers by des
 - **Any agent, any editor** — REST API, CLI, and a remote MCP server at `/mcp`: Claude
   Code, Cursor, Copilot, or your own agents all speak to the same gate. Connecting one is
   a URL and a browser consent screen. No editor subscription required.
-- **Two ways to run it** — as a **layer over GitHub** (keep your repos and PRs; eval
-  verdicts land as PR comments and commit statuses) or as a **standalone forge** (Git
-  hosting on Cloudflare Artifacts, workspace forking, issues, orgs, server-rendered UI).
+- **Two ways to run it** — in **layer mode** over GitHub (keep your repos and PRs; eval
+  verdicts land as PR comments and commit statuses) or in **forge mode** as the standalone
+  source of truth (Git hosting on Cloudflare Artifacts, workspace forking, issues, orgs,
+  server-rendered UI). Same codebase, same change flow; layer mode is the on-ramp.
 
 ## Quick start
 

diff --git a/ROADMAP.md b/ROADMAP.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Post-merge deployments shipped on 2026-09-04 (`deploys:` in `.stratum/policy.yam
 targeting Cloudflare and Vercel). What that first version deliberately left out is tracked
 under [Deployments](#deployments).
 
-## Operational / scale (Stratum Cloud)
+## Operational / scale (hosted, multi-tenant service)
 
 - [ ] **Load testing** — validate 1000+ concurrent workspaces per repo; establish latency
       and error budgets before any public hosting.

diff --git a/agent/README.md b/agent/README.md
@@ -2,12 +2,17 @@
 
 Reference agent for Stratum: proves the platform end-to-end for agent workflows.
 
+Not yet published to npm: build it from a checkout of the repository first
+(`cd agent && npm install && npm run build && npm link`), which puts `stratum-agent`
+on your PATH. Once the package is published, `npx @stratum-eng/agent` will work in
+its place.
+
 ```bash
 export STRATUM_HOST=https://your-stratum-instance
 export STRATUM_API_KEY=stratum_user_…
 export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-…
 
-npx @stratum-eng/agent \
+stratum-agent \
   --repo @user/my-api \
   --objective "Fix the N+1 query in the users endpoint" \
   --model claude-sonnet-4-6

diff --git a/agent/package-lock.json b/agent/package-lock.json
diff --git a/agent/package.json b/agent/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@stratum-eng/agent",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.2.0",
   "description": "Reference agent for Stratum — fork, edit with an LLM, commit, open a Change",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "repository": {

diff --git a/agent/src/index.ts b/agent/src/index.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 /**
  * Reference agent: proves the Stratum platform end-to-end for agent workflows.
  *
- *   npx @stratum-eng/agent --repo @user/api --objective "Fix the N+1 query"
+ *   stratum-agent --repo @user/api --objective "Fix the N+1 query"
+ *   (npx @stratum-eng/agent once the package is published)
  *
  * Flow: create agent identity → fork workspace → read repo → ask Claude for
  * edits → commit with the agent token → open a Change (which runs evaluation).

diff --git a/changelog.d/rebrand-agent-first-forge.md b/changelog.d/rebrand-agent-first-forge.md
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+### Changed
+- **Stratum describes itself as the open-source, agent-first code forge everywhere.**
+  The README, docs site, OpenAPI `info`, package manifests, CLI `--help`, agent-skill
+  discovery files, and the signup page all carried different one-liners ("governance
+  layer", "code collaboration platform for the AI engineering era", "code hosting for
+  the AI engineering era", "agent operations platform"). They now share one: Stratum is
+  the open-source, agent-first code forge, with the GitHub layer as the adoption path.
+  The second run mode is called **forge mode** in every document (it was "alternative
+  mode" in the guides and "standalone forge" in the README), and the deep-link anchor
+  in the getting-started guide changed accordingly.
+
+### Fixed
+- **Two published files still said MIT after the AGPL relicense**: the source-repository
+  link description in the docs site's `llms.txt`, and the `license` field of the MCP
+  server card at `/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json`. Both now say `AGPL-3.0-or-later`.
+- `docs/api/openapi.yml` reported `info.version: 1.0.0`; it now tracks the release
+  version (`0.2.0`). `@stratum-eng/agent` was still at `0.1.0` and moves to `0.2.0`
+  alongside `@stratum-eng/cli`.
+- `agent/README.md` told readers to `npx @stratum-eng/agent`, which is not published;
+  both client READMEs now say to build from source until it is.
+- `AGENTS.md` claimed `pr-checks.yml` ends in a staging deploy and smoke test. It
+  deliberately deploys nothing; the description now matches the workflow.
+- The machine-readable documentation index at `docs.usestratum.dev/index.md` was
+  missing the Deployments, Authentication, and Error codes pages.
diff --git a/cli/README.md b/cli/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # @stratum-eng/cli
 
-CLI for Stratum — code hosting for the AI engineering era. Wraps the Stratum REST API.
+CLI for Stratum — the agent-first code forge. Wraps the Stratum REST API.
+
+Not yet published to npm: build it from a checkout of the repository first
+(`cd cli && npm install && npm run build && npm link`), which puts `stratum` on your PATH.
 
 ## Setup
 

diff --git a/cli/package.json b/cli/package.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "@stratum-eng/cli",
   "version": "0.2.0",
-  "description": "CLI for Stratum \u2014 code hosting for the AI engineering era",
+  "description": "CLI for Stratum \u2014 the agent-first code forge",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",

diff --git a/cli/src/index.ts b/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ const program = new Command();
 
 program
   .name("stratum")
-  .description("CLI for Stratum — code hosting for the AI engineering era")
+  .description("CLI for Stratum — the agent-first code forge")
   .version("0.2.0");
 
 function prompt(question: string): Promise<string> {

diff --git a/docs/CURRENT_CAPABILITIES.md b/docs/CURRENT_CAPABILITIES.md
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ environment (`wrangler.toml:75`), so it works out of the box.
 - Deployments have no build step, no preview environment and no rollback, and
   the deploy DLQ has no consumer.
 - Phase 4 operational items remain: load testing at 1000+ concurrent workspaces,
-  D1 hot/cold rotation, SSO/SAML, multi-tenancy/billing for Stratum Cloud.
+  D1 hot/cold rotation, SSO/SAML, multi-tenancy/billing for a managed offering.
 - Durability is covered: D1 and KV identity back up to R2 daily and on demand,
   along with the reachable history of a rotating slice of repos (coverage rotates
   across runs under a per-run cap), with a tested restore path

diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Welcome to the Stratum documentation. This directory contains comprehensive guides for users, developers, and API consumers.
 
-The public-facing subset (user guide and API reference) is also published as a docs site built from [`website/`](../website/) — when editing those pages here, mirror the change in `website/src/content/docs/` (the OpenAPI spec needs no mirroring; the site build copies `api/openapi.yml` automatically).
+The public-facing subset (user guide and API reference) is also published as a docs site built from [`website/`](../website/) — the site's guide and reference pages are generated from this directory by `website/scripts/mirror-docs.mjs`, so edit here and never by hand under `website/src/content/docs/` (see [Keeping the two trees in sync](#keeping-the-two-trees-in-sync)).
 
 ## Documentation Structure
 

diff --git a/docs/REMAINING_WORK.md b/docs/REMAINING_WORK.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ hardening items) is complete as of 2026-06-11. See
 limitations. This doc tracks everything that remains, with context on why each
 item is open and what it unblocks.
 
-## Phase 4: operational / scale (Stratum Cloud)
+## Phase 4: operational / scale (hosted, multi-tenant service)
 
 These are the items required to run Stratum as a hosted, multi-tenant service.
 None of them block current single-tenant usage.

diff --git a/docs/api/openapi.yml b/docs/api/openapi.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ openapi: 3.1.0
 info:
   title: Stratum API
   description: |
-    A code collaboration platform for the AI engineering era.
+    The open-source, agent-first code forge: git hosting where every change, human or
+    agent, proves itself through evaluation gates before it merges.
 
     This specification is generated from the route code (`src/index.ts` and
     `src/routes/*.ts`) and covers every `/api/*` route, the root health check,
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ info:
     Several form-friendly endpoints return a `302` redirect instead of JSON when
     the request body is form-encoded rather than `application/json`; this spec
     documents the JSON behaviour.
-  version: 1.0.0
+  version: 0.2.0
 
 servers:
   - url: https://your-instance.workers.dev

diff --git a/docs/developer/architecture.md b/docs/developer/architecture.md
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 # Stratum Architecture
 
-**Last Updated:** 2026-08-18  
-**Strategic Position:** Progressive buy-in platform supporting both GitHub layer mode and full alternative mode
+**Last Updated:** 2026-09-22  
+**Strategic Position:** The agent-first code forge, with progressive buy-in: GitHub layer mode or full forge mode
 
 ## Overview
 
-Stratum is an agent operations platform built on Cloudflare Workers. It supports two modes of operation:
+Stratum is the open-source, agent-first code forge, built on Cloudflare Workers. It supports two modes of operation:
 
 1. **Layer Mode (minimal buy-in):** Stratum sits between agents and GitHub. Developers use Stratum for agent workflows, team reviews in GitHub PRs.
-2. **Alternative Mode (full buy-in):** Stratum is the source of truth for repos, workspaces, and changes.
+2. **Forge Mode (full buy-in):** Stratum is the source of truth for repos, workspaces, and changes.
 
 The same codebase supports both modes. Users choose their level of adoption.
 

diff --git a/docs/user-guide/code-review.md b/docs/user-guide/code-review.md
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ In layer mode, promoting a change to a GitHub PR moves the conversation to
 GitHub, and your team reviews there as usual. Stratum still posts the
 evaluation verdict to the PR as a comment (edited in place on re-evaluation)
 and as a `stratum/evaluation` commit status. See
-[Getting Started](getting-started.md#choose-your-level-of-buy-in-layer-mode-vs-alternative-mode).
+[Getting Started](getting-started.md#choose-your-level-of-buy-in-layer-mode-vs-forge-mode).
 
 ## Reference
 

diff --git a/docs/user-guide/faq.md b/docs/user-guide/faq.md
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 
 ## What is Stratum?
 
-A code collaboration platform where humans and AI agents are both first-class
-citizens. It hosts git repositories (on Cloudflare Artifacts), and every
+The open-source, agent-first code forge, where humans and AI agents are both
+first-class citizens. It hosts git repositories (on Cloudflare Artifacts), and every
 proposed change — whether a human or an agent wrote it — passes through
 policy-defined evaluation gates before it can merge. Merged changes carry
 provenance (which agent, which model, which prompt) and cost records.
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ bidirectional sync (inbound webhooks, outbound PR promotion), and agent work
 goes through Stratum's gates while your team keeps reviewing GitHub PRs —
 each evaluation of a change with a linked PR posts the verdict to the PR as a
 comment and a `stratum/evaluation` commit status. In
-**alternative mode**, Stratum is the source of truth and GitHub isn't involved
+**forge mode**, Stratum is the source of truth and GitHub isn't involved
 at all. You choose the level of buy-in, and you can start with layer mode.
 
 ## Do I need a GitHub account at all?

diff --git a/docs/user-guide/getting-started.md b/docs/user-guide/getting-started.md
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ This guide walks a new team from zero to a merged, evaluation-gated change. By t
 end you will have a project, a merge policy, a registered agent identity, and the
 CLI and MCP server connected to your tools.
 
-Stratum is a code collaboration platform where humans and AI agents are both
-first-class citizens. Every proposed change — human or agent — passes through the
+Stratum is the open-source, agent-first code forge, where humans and AI agents are
+both first-class citizens. Every proposed change — human or agent — passes through the
 same evaluation gates before it can merge, and every merged change carries a
 provenance record of who (or what model) produced it.
 
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ curl -X POST https://app.usestratum.dev/api/projects/@you/my-project/import \
   -d '{"url": "https://github.com/your-org/your-repo", "branch": "main"}'
 ```
 
-### Choose your level of buy-in: layer mode vs. alternative mode
+### Choose your level of buy-in: layer mode vs. forge mode
 
 You do not have to leave your current forge to use Stratum. The same codebase
 supports two modes:
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ supports two modes:
   is evaluated, the verdict is posted to the PR as a comment (edited in place on
   re-evaluation) and a `stratum/evaluation` commit status. Agents work through
   Stratum's gates; your team keeps reviewing in GitHub PRs.
-- **Alternative mode (full buy-in).** Stratum is the source of truth for repos,
+- **Forge mode (full buy-in).** Stratum is the source of truth for repos,
   workspaces, and changes. No GitHub required — email magic links mean no
   external accounts at all.
 

diff --git a/docs/user-guide/importing.md b/docs/user-guide/importing.md
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ What import does **not** do yet:
 
 Bidirectional GitHub sync — inbound webhooks and outbound PR promotion, i.e.
 **layer mode** — is covered in
-[Getting started](getting-started.md#choose-your-level-of-buy-in-layer-mode-vs-alternative-mode).
+[Getting started](getting-started.md#choose-your-level-of-buy-in-layer-mode-vs-forge-mode).
 
 ## Unsupported content
 

diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   },
   "private": true,
   "license": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
-  "description": "A code collaboration platform for the AI engineering era, built on Cloudflare Workers.",
+  "description": "The open-source, agent-first code forge — evaluation-gated merges, provenance, and agent identities, built on Cloudflare Workers.",
   "repository": { "type": "git", "url": "https://github.com/stratum-eng/stratum.git" },
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "wrangler dev",

diff --git a/src/routes/signup.tsx b/src/routes/signup.tsx
@@ -392,7 +392,8 @@ app.get("/", (c) => {
                 <div class="signup-header">
                   <h1 class="signup-title">Create your account</h1>
                   <p class="signup-subtitle">
-                    Join Stratum to start managing your projects with AI-powered workflows.
+                    The agent-first code forge: agents open changes, evaluations gate them, and you
+                    approve what merges.
                   </p>
                 </div>
 

diff --git a/website/README.md b/website/README.md
@@ -30,9 +30,15 @@ Pages live in `src/content/docs/` as Markdown/MDX with Starlight frontmatter
 (`title`, `description`). The sidebar is configured in `astro.config.mjs`.
 
 - `guides/` — user-facing guides (getting started, importing, code review, issues,
-  CI integration, troubleshooting, FAQ)
+  CI integration, deployments, CLI, MCP server, troubleshooting, FAQ)
 - `reference/` — API reference (authentication, endpoints, errors, OpenAPI, agent discovery)
 
+**Do not hand-edit the guide and reference pages.** They are generated from the
+repository's `docs/` tree by `scripts/mirror-docs.mjs` (`npm run sync:guides`), and CI
+runs `npm run check:guides` to catch drift. Edit `docs/user-guide/*` or `docs/api/*` at the
+repository root, then regenerate. Only `index.mdx` and the pages `mirror-docs.mjs` lists as
+site-owned are authored here.
+
 Internal repo documentation (ADRs, runbooks, developer docs) intentionally stays
 in `docs/` as plain Markdown and is not published here.
 

diff --git a/website/astro.config.mjs b/website/astro.config.mjs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ const analyticsHead = POSTHOG_KEY
     ]
   : [];
 const DESCRIPTION =
-  "The governance layer for AI-written code — evaluation-gated merges, provenance, and agent identities, built on Cloudflare Workers.";
+  "The open-source, agent-first code forge — evaluation-gated merges, provenance, and agent identities, built on Cloudflare Workers.";
 
 export default defineConfig({
   site: SITE,
@@ -94,10 +94,10 @@ export default defineConfig({
           projectName: "Stratum",
           description: DESCRIPTION,
           details: [
-            "Stratum is the control plane that decides what agent output is allowed to merge.",
+            "Stratum is the open-source, agent-first code forge: git hosting where every change proves itself before it merges.",
             "Humans and AI agents are both first-class identities; agents can never approve a change.",
             "Merge gates are policy-as-code in .stratum/policy.yaml and a malformed policy fails closed.",
-            "It runs either as a layer over GitHub or as a standalone forge on Cloudflare Workers.",
+            "It runs in layer mode over GitHub or in forge mode as the source of truth, on Cloudflare Workers.",
           ].join(" "),
           optionalLinks: [
             {
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
             {
               label: "Source repository",
               url: "https://github.com/stratum-eng/stratum",
-              description: "MIT-licensed, self-hostable on your own Cloudflare account",
+              description: "AGPL-3.0-or-later, self-hostable on your own Cloudflare account",
             },
           ],
         }),