A person who opens the forge's link can start their own forge from the first… #11153

A person who opens the forge's link can start their own forge from the first screen: one field for a name and one button

Why. Owner, 2026-11-10: "going through /agents is dumb. what about a human user? i want to drop the link and a user knows they can just sign up right there to try." Today the only self-serve "Make my forge" form sits on /agents, a page written for agents; the anonymous home page (src/web/studio/home.ts) only says hosted forges are coming and shows self-host steps. The owner wants to paste https://forge.open-platform.sh anywhere and have a person try it in one step.

What.

• The anonymous home page's first view carries the offer and the form: one sentence saying what you get (your own forge, free to try), a field for the forge's name with live "name is free / taken" feedback, and one button, "Start my forge". Nothing else is asked.
• Submitting goes through the same door as today (spawnDoor, the free plan, the visitor rate limits), then straight into the new forge signed in, choosing a username and password on the way (#2928 removes the code to copy; build on it, do not duplicate it).
• The first screen of the new forge tells a person the next step in one line: make an app or bring a repository, and what the crew needs to build for them (see below).
• If the free forge has no crew credit, the new forge says so once, plainly, with the two ways forward: add a model key, or pick a paid plan (the plans row from #11149 / /pricing). No dead end where "build" silently does nothing.
• A refusal (rate limit, name taken, no capacity) is said on the same screen in plain words with what to do next.
• /agents keeps its form for agents and links to the home page for people. The header's "Sign up" for an anonymous visitor on the top forge leads to this same form, not to an account on the top forge, unless signup there is open.
• Works at phone width; the form is reachable by keyboard and has a label.

Acceptance.

• A browser test, with no cookies: open /, type a name, press the button, set a username and password, and land signed in on <name>--forge… — in at most three screens and with no link to copy.
• The home page's first-view budget test still passes, and the cold-read eval answers "what can I do here?" with "start my own forge".
• The no-crew-credit case shows its one message and both ways forward.

Parked by the crew: the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11156 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at ce6569562430 keeps the work so far). Planner: split this smaller, or rewrite what done looks like; a person can also say what to try.

try 1: src/http/server.ts, src/spawn/door.ts, src/web/pages/start.ts, src/web/pages/waking.ts, src/web/studio/home.ts, src/web/style/content.ts, test/forge-sle… try 2: docs/design/audit.md, src/core/reserved.ts, src/web/studio/crew.ts, src/web/studio/home.ts, test/forge-looks.test.ts, test/start-forge.test.ts try 3: docs/APPS.md, docs/MCP.md, docs/design/areas/chart.md, docs/features/child-model-egress.md, docs/features/money.md, docs/features/plans.md, forge.json, … try 4: docs/MCP.md, docs/PROFIT.md, docs/design/attention-budget.json, docs/design/audit.md, docs/features/billing-links.md, docs/features/billing.md, src/acti…

Parked by the crew: the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11183 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at d01e8c27cc96 keeps the work so far).

Parked twice since a person last spoke here, so it is the planner's now. Every reason:

1. the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11156 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at ce6569562430 keeps the work so far)
2. the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11183 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at d01e8c27cc96 keeps the work so far)

The planner splits it, replaces it with a fresh issue, or defers it; a person can also say what to try. Nothing starts here until then, and the board lists it.

try 1: AGENTS.md, README.md, docs/CLOUD.md, docs/MCP.md, docs/PROFIT.md, docs/features/billing.md, docs/features/start-forge.md, scripts/unreached-allow.json, … try 2: src/web/pages/waking.ts, test/palette-roster.test.ts try 3: README.md, docs/THREATS.md, docs/design/areas/home-plans.md, docs/features/billing-links.md, docs/features/guests.md, docs/features/home-plans.md, docs/… try 4: src/web/studio/home.ts

Parked by the crew: the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11213 closed; its branch mason/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at a95f9e4f402a keeps the work so far).

Parked 3 times since a person last spoke here, so it is the planner's now. Every reason:

1. the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11156 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at ce6569562430 keeps the work so far)
2. the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11183 closed; its branch scout/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at d01e8c27cc96 keeps the work so far)
3. the check stayed red through 2 automatic tries (pull #11213 closed; its branch mason/11153-a-person-who-opens-the-forge-s-link-can at a95f9e4f402a keeps the work so far)

The planner splits it, replaces it with a fresh issue, or defers it; a person can also say what to try. Nothing starts here until then, and the board lists it.

try 1: docs/features/start-forge.md, src/actions/spawn.ts, src/http/server.ts, src/web/pages/agents.ts, src/web/pages/start-forge.ts, src/web/studio/crew_key.t… try 2: no files changed

Split by the planner: both parked tries went red after spreading across docs, billing and many pages. It is now six narrow pieces under P4: #11237 (the form on /), #11238 (refusals said on /), #11239 (live free/taken), #11240 (no-credit message and next step), #11241 (/agents and header Sign up), #11242 (the three-screen browser test). #2928 already lands signed in; the pieces build on it.