desk-tick git:20261102.0d0d263A

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---
name: desk-tick
description: One tick of a desk's trading loop on pathiel, for the desk id given as the argument (oil, metals, ai, gas). Slot check here, then the desk-tick agent (Opus 5.5, medium effort) runs sweep, levels, brief, one decision, one log line. Run on a schedule with /loop 15m /desk-tick oil. Live money on the pathiel wallet.
---

# desk-tick $ARGUMENTS

One tick for desk `$ARGUMENTS` (default `oil` if empty). Two parts: the slot
check runs here because it is one script call, and the tick itself runs in
the `desk-tick` agent so the session's own model is not spent on a
15-minute loop (operator, 2026-10-25: "fable is valuable and the tick is
eating my usage"; an hourly clock was tried that evening and reverted the
same night, see docs/overhaul/BACKTEST_RESULTS_2026-10-25.md).

1. **Slot first.** `python3 scripts/desk_slot.py --desk $ARGUMENTS`.
   If `slot` is `inactive`, append
   `DESK-TICK $ARGUMENTS <utc> action=SKIP desk not active` to
   `/tmp/oil-loop/progress.log`, print it, and STOP. If `slot` is `held` and
   `mine` is false, another desk's coin holds the account's one slot: append
   `DESK-TICK $ARGUMENTS <utc> action=SKIP slot held by <holder>`, print it,
   and STOP. No agent, no MCP calls. With desk equity shares saved (since
   2026-10-31: oil 90%, metals/silver 10%) every desk owns its own slot, so
   the second case only happens without shares (the 2026-10-23 rule: the
   desk holding the one slot is the only one that ticks).
2. **Otherwise launch the agent.** Agent tool, `subagent_type` `desk-tick`,
   prompt `DESK: $ARGUMENTS`. Do not run the tick steps yourself and do not
   launch more than one agent per tick. The agent file
   (`.claude/agents/desk-tick.md`) carries the whole procedure and its hard
   rules.
3. **Relay, quietly.** The agent already wrote its line to
   `/tmp/oil-loop/progress.log`. Say NOTHING in the chat for a HOLD, a
   SKIP, or a NONE whose reason repeats that desk's previous log line
   (operator, 2026-11-02: "can u hide these messages, it crowds up the
   dialogue box"). Speak only when something changed: PLACED, CANCELLED,
   CLOSED, a stop or target fill, a NONE with a new reason, an uncovered
   position, or a tool error. Then one short message: what happened, with
   the numbers, and the log line.

If the agent fails to launch or returns no log line, append
`DESK-TICK $ARGUMENTS <utc> action=NONE agent did not run` to the log and
say so.