feat(kanban): add initial-status for human-ops cards

Salvages #27526 by @shunsuke-hikiyama. Adds an --initial-status flag
(running|blocked, default running) to 'kanban create', threaded through
kanban_db.create_task() and the kanban_create tool schema. 'blocked'
parks the task directly in the blocked column for R3 human-ops review,
skipping the brief running-to-blocked transition.

Dropped the unrelated 'add' alias, WIFEXITED Windows compat, and
slash-handler error formatting changes that were bundled in the
original PR — those should ship as their own focused changes if still
wanted.

hermes_cli/kanban.py

@@ -305,6 +305,12 @@ def build_parser(parent_subparsers: argparse._SubParsersAction) -> argparse.Argu
                                "two retries. Omit to use the dispatcher's "
                                "kanban.failure_limit config "
                                f"(default {kb.DEFAULT_FAILURE_LIMIT}).")
+    p_create.add_argument("--initial-status",
+                          choices=sorted(kb.VALID_INITIAL_STATUSES),
+                          default="running",
+                          help="Initial card status. Use 'blocked' for cards "
+                               "that require immediate human ops (R3 gate) "
+                               "to skip the brief running-to-blocked transition.")
     p_create.add_argument("--json", action="store_true", help="Emit JSON output")
 
     # --- list ---
@@ -1173,6 +1179,7 @@ def _cmd_create(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
             max_runtime_seconds=max_runtime,
             skills=getattr(args, "skills", None) or None,
             max_retries=max_retries,
+            initial_status=getattr(args, "initial_status", "running"),
         )
         task = kb.get_task(conn, task_id)
     if getattr(args, "json", False):

hermes_cli/kanban_db.py

@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ from toolsets import get_toolset_names
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 VALID_STATUSES = {"triage", "todo", "scheduled", "ready", "running", "blocked", "done", "archived"}
+VALID_INITIAL_STATUSES = {"running", "blocked"}
 VALID_WORKSPACE_KINDS = {"scratch", "worktree", "dir"}
 KNOWN_TOOLSET_NAMES = frozenset(name.casefold() for name in get_toolset_names())
 _IS_WINDOWS = sys.platform == "win32"
@@ -1307,6 +1308,7 @@ def create_task(
     max_runtime_seconds: Optional[int] = None,
     skills: Optional[Iterable[str]] = None,
     max_retries: Optional[int] = None,
+    initial_status: str = "running",
     board: Optional[str] = None,
 ) -> str:
     """Create a new task and optionally link it under parent tasks.
@@ -1336,6 +1338,10 @@ def create_task(
     assignee = _canonical_assignee(assignee)
     if not title or not title.strip():
         raise ValueError("title is required")
+    if initial_status not in VALID_INITIAL_STATUSES:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"initial_status must be one of {sorted(VALID_INITIAL_STATUSES)}"
+        )
     if workspace_kind not in VALID_WORKSPACE_KINDS:
         raise ValueError(
             f"workspace_kind must be one of {sorted(VALID_WORKSPACE_KINDS)}, "
@@ -1419,12 +1425,19 @@ def create_task(
         task_id = _new_task_id()
         try:
             with write_txn(conn):
-                # Determine initial status from parent status, unless the
-                # caller is parking this task in triage for a specifier.
-                if triage:
-                    initial_status = "triage"
+                # Determine task status from parent status, unless the caller
+                # parks it directly in blocked for human-ops review or in
+                # triage for a specifier.
+                if initial_status == "blocked":
+                    task_status = "blocked"
+                    if parents:
+                        missing = _find_missing_parents(conn, parents)
+                        if missing:
+                            raise ValueError(f"unknown parent task(s): {', '.join(missing)}")
+                elif triage:
+                    task_status = "triage"
                 else:
-                    initial_status = "ready"
+                    task_status = "ready"
                     if parents:
                         missing = _find_missing_parents(conn, parents)
                         if missing:
@@ -1436,7 +1449,7 @@ def create_task(
                             parents,
                         ).fetchall()
                         if any(r["status"] != "done" for r in rows):
-                            initial_status = "todo"
+                            task_status = "todo"
                 # Even in triage mode we still need to validate parent ids
                 # so the eventual link rows don't dangle.
                 if triage and parents:
@@ -1458,7 +1471,7 @@ def create_task(
                         title.strip(),
                         body,
                         assignee,
-                        initial_status,
+                        task_status,
                         priority,
                         created_by,
                         now,
@@ -1482,7 +1495,7 @@ def create_task(
                     "created",
                     {
                         "assignee": assignee,
-                        "status": initial_status,
+                        "status": task_status,
                         "parents": list(parents),
                         "tenant": tenant,
                         "skills": list(skills_list) if skills_list else None,

tools/kanban_tools.py

@@ -632,6 +632,7 @@ def _handle_create(args: dict, **kw) -> str:
         return tool_error(bool_error)
     idempotency_key = args.get("idempotency_key")
     max_runtime_seconds = args.get("max_runtime_seconds")
+    initial_status = args.get("initial_status") or "running"
     skills = args.get("skills")
     if isinstance(skills, str):
         # Accept a single skill name as a string for convenience.
@@ -666,6 +667,7 @@ def _handle_create(args: dict, **kw) -> str:
                     if max_runtime_seconds is not None else None
                 ),
                 skills=skills,
+                initial_status=str(initial_status),
                 created_by=os.environ.get("HERMES_PROFILE") or "worker",
             )
             new_task = kb.get_task(conn, new_tid)
@@ -1077,6 +1079,16 @@ KANBAN_CREATE_SCHEMA = {
                     "task with outcome='timed_out'."
                 ),
             },
+            "initial_status": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "enum": ["running", "blocked"],
+                "description": (
+                    "Initial card status. Use 'blocked' for tasks that "
+                    "require immediate human ops (R3 gate) to skip the "
+                    "brief running-to-blocked transition. Defaults to "
+                    "'running', which preserves the usual dispatch path."
+                ),
+            },
             "skills": {
                 "type": "array",
                 "items": {"type": "string"},