build: containerize the control layer and publish it to GHCR

Add a second image for the handler control CLI (spawn/list/kill, approve/
reject, forge-init, CI poller) alongside the existing API image. It shares
the package, database, and /var/lib/handler volume but runs the control
process instead of uvicorn.

- Dockerfile.control: git + tmux baked in for live spawning; default CMD is
  the `poll-ci --watch` loop; RUN_MIGRATIONS toggle reuses docker-entrypoint.sh.
- docker-control.yml: builds/pushes ghcr.io/<repo>/control (multi-arch),
  scoped gha cache so it doesn't clobber the API build.
- docker-compose.yml: new `control` service, RUN_MIGRATIONS=false, depends on
  the API (which owns migrations) being healthy.
- README: Containers section documenting both images and compose usage.

.dockerignore

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ docs
 !.env.example
 *.db
 Dockerfile
+Dockerfile.control
 docker-compose.yml
 .dockerignore
 .mise.toml

.github/workflows/docker-control.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+name: docker-control
+
+# Builds the control-layer image (the `handler` CLI / CI poller) from Dockerfile.control
+# and publishes it to GHCR alongside the API image built by docker.yml.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+    tags: ["v*"]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [main]
+
+env:
+  IMAGE: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}/control
+
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      packages: write
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up QEMU
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+      - name: Log in to GHCR
+        if: github.event_name != 'pull_request'
+        uses: docker/login-action@v3
+        with:
+          registry: ghcr.io
+          username: ${{ github.actor }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+
+      # Tags: branch name on branch pushes, semver on v* tags, short SHA always,
+      # `latest` only on the default branch. metadata-action lowercases the repo
+      # name (GHCR requires lowercase).
+      - name: Docker metadata
+        id: meta
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+        with:
+          images: ${{ env.IMAGE }}
+          tags: |
+            type=ref,event=branch
+            type=ref,event=pr
+            type=semver,pattern={{version}}
+            type=semver,pattern={{major}}.{{minor}}
+            type=sha
+            type=raw,value=latest,enable={{is_default_branch}}
+
+      - name: Build and push
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
+        with:
+          context: .
+          file: Dockerfile.control
+          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
+          # PRs build (to catch Dockerfile breakage) but never push.
+          push: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
+          tags: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.tags }}
+          labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
+          cache-from: type=gha,scope=control
+          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max,scope=control

Dockerfile.control

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
+
+# Control-layer image: the `handler` CLI (the write side — spawn/list/kill agents,
+# approve/reject branches, forge-init, and the CI poller). It shares the package, the
+# database, and the /var/lib/handler data volume with the API image (see Dockerfile),
+# but runs the control process instead of uvicorn.
+
+# ---- build stage: install the package + deps into an isolated venv ----
+FROM python:3.11-slim AS builder
+
+ENV PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK=1 \
+    PIP_NO_CACHE_DIR=1
+
+RUN python -m venv /opt/venv
+ENV PATH="/opt/venv/bin:$PATH"
+
+WORKDIR /build
+COPY pyproject.toml README.md ./
+COPY src ./src
+RUN pip install .
+
+# ---- runtime stage ----
+FROM python:3.11-slim
+
+# git + tmux are the live-spawning dependencies the control layer shells out to
+# (README "Requirements"); openssh-client covers git-over-ssh remotes. The `claude`
+# and `forge` binaries are bring-your-own — layer or mount them in for live agent
+# spawning and CI resolution; the poller degrades gracefully when forge is absent.
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git tmux openssh-client \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+ENV PATH="/opt/venv/bin:$PATH" \
+    PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
+    # SQLite fallback lives on the /var/lib/handler volume; point DATABASE_URL at the
+    # same Postgres the API uses for a shared, real deploy (see docker-compose.yml).
+    DATABASE_URL="sqlite:////var/lib/handler/handler.db" \
+    PROJECTS_ROOT="/var/lib/handler/projects"
+
+COPY --from=builder /opt/venv /opt/venv
+
+# Ship alembic alongside the package so the image can migrate standalone if asked
+# (RUN_MIGRATIONS=true). In the compose stack the API owns migrations and the control
+# service runs with RUN_MIGRATIONS=false to avoid a startup race.
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY alembic.ini ./
+COPY src/handler/migrations ./src/handler/migrations
+COPY docker-entrypoint.sh /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
+
+RUN useradd --system --home-dir /var/lib/handler --create-home handler \
+    && mkdir -p /var/lib/handler/projects \
+    && chown -R handler:handler /var/lib/handler \
+    && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
+
+USER handler
+VOLUME /var/lib/handler
+
+# Liveness: exercises the CLI end-to-end and confirms the database is reachable.
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=5s --start-period=10s --retries=3 \
+    CMD handler list >/dev/null 2>&1 || exit 1
+
+# Default to the CI poller — the one long-running control process. Override the command
+# for one-shot control operations, e.g. `docker compose run --rm control handler list`.
+ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]
+CMD ["handler", "poll-ci", "--watch"]

README.md

@@ -143,6 +143,32 @@ curl -s -X POST $BASE/projects/leeworks-api/agents/api/resume -H "$TOKEN" \
   -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{}'
 ```
 
+## Containers
+
+Two images are published to GHCR, one per process, sharing the package, the database, and
+the `/var/lib/handler` data volume:
+
+| Image | Dockerfile | Runs | Workflow |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `ghcr.io/0xwheatyz/handler` | [`Dockerfile`](Dockerfile) | the API (`uvicorn`) — also applies migrations on start | [`docker.yml`](.github/workflows/docker.yml) |
+| `ghcr.io/0xwheatyz/handler/control` | [`Dockerfile.control`](Dockerfile.control) | the control layer (`handler poll-ci --watch`) | [`docker-control.yml`](.github/workflows/docker-control.yml) |
+
+The control image bakes in `git` + `tmux`; the `claude` and `forge` binaries are
+bring-your-own (layer or mount them in for live agent spawning — the CI poller degrades
+gracefully without `forge`).
+
+[`docker-compose.yml`](docker-compose.yml) wires both up with Postgres. The API owns
+migrations, so the control service runs with `RUN_MIGRATIONS=false` and waits for the API:
+
+```bash
+export AUTH_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
+docker compose up -d                       # db + api + control (CI poller)
+
+# One-shot control commands run against the same image:
+docker compose run --rm control handler list
+docker compose run --rm control handler spawn --project leeworks-api --name junior --task "…"
+```
+
 ## Control CLI
 
 The `handler` command manages agent processes (the write side):

docker-compose.yml

@@ -22,6 +22,33 @@ services:
         condition: service_healthy
     restart: unless-stopped
 
+  # Control layer: the `handler` CLI running the CI poller loop. Shares the database and
+  # the handler-data volume with the API. It waits for the API (which owns migrations),
+  # so RUN_MIGRATIONS is off here to avoid a startup race. Run one-shot control commands
+  # against the same image with, e.g., `docker compose run --rm control handler list`.
+  # Live agent spawning also needs `git`/`tmux` (baked in) plus bring-your-own
+  # `claude`/`forge` binaries — layer or mount those in.
+  control:
+    image: ghcr.io/0xwheatyz/handler/control:latest
+    build:
+      context: .
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile.control
+    environment:
+      DATABASE_URL: postgresql+psycopg://handler:handler@db:5432/handler
+      RUN_MIGRATIONS: "false"
+      PROJECTS_ROOT: /var/lib/handler/projects
+      # Per-project forge credentials are resolved from credential_ref pointers at spawn;
+      # export the referenced vars here when spawning agents from this container.
+      FORGE_VERSION: ${FORGE_VERSION:-}
+    volumes:
+      - handler-data:/var/lib/handler
+    depends_on:
+      db:
+        condition: service_healthy
+      api:
+        condition: service_healthy
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
   db:
     image: postgres:16-alpine
     environment: