diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index aa2c965..2e08484 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -36,3 +36,19 @@ Two kinds of tests live here — run them on **different** cadences:
 
 A red test is information. Never skip, delete, or relax a test to make a run green — fix the root
 cause or record it in `machine-docs/DEFERRED.md`. (This is a standing build guardrail.)
+
+## Ship work as PRs, merge them yourself, operator reviews retrospectively
+
+Work on this repo goes: **branch → PR → merge it yourself once verified → operator reviews
+retrospectively.** Do not commit straight to `main`, and do not wait for review before merging — the
+invocation is the authorization, and blocking would stall the CI this repo runs.
+
+The PR is therefore not a gate; it is how the work stays legible after the fact. Write the
+description to be read later: what changed, why, and the evidence it works (harness output, a
+verified run, a before/after number). A PR that says "fix test" has failed at its only job.
+
+The same policy covers `recipe-maintainers/cc-ci-orchestrator`. It does **NOT** cover recipe repos —
+any `coop-cloud/<recipe>` or its mirror is created and verified but **never agent-merged**, because
+those change what deploys on other people's infrastructure.
+
+Before editing a test, read `tests/STYLE.md`.