> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ade-ac1c6011-ade-im-seeing-error-messag-eright-58df792e.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setting Up the CTO

> Walk through the CTO onboarding wizard, configure worker heartbeat schedules, and verify the CTO team is active.

## Setting Up the CTO

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the CTO tab">
    Click the **CTO** tab in ADE's left icon rail. On first launch, the onboarding wizard starts automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Complete the onboarding wizard">
    The wizard walks through three steps:

    1. **Identity creation** — give the CTO a name and an initial persona prompt. This shapes how it communicates and what it prioritizes.
    2. **Project scanning** — the CTO reads your repository structure, existing PRD/architecture docs, recent git history, and `.ade/` state to build its initial Project Pack. This takes 30–90 seconds on a typical project.
    3. **Integration handoff** — optionally connect Linear (OAuth or manual token) and review the CTO team setup.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure worker heartbeats">
    In **CTO > Team**, edit a worker and enable **Timer-based heartbeat**. The interval is stored per worker in seconds; the UI defaults to `300`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify the CTO is active">
    The CTO surfaces worker state from the Team and Chat views. If a worker cannot run, check that at least one AI provider is configured in Settings > AI Providers.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Worker Heartbeat Configuration

Worker heartbeats are per-agent runtime settings. When enabled, ADE wakes that worker on a timer and runs the worker heartbeat service for that agent.

### What happens on each heartbeat

ADE creates a worker wakeup request with reason `timer`, reconstructs the worker's recent context, and asks the worker to respond with `HEARTBEAT_OK` when no action is required. Wakeups with explicit prompts, events, changes, or task context are escalated into worker work; quiet timer wakeups can complete without action.

### Heartbeat schedule options

Configure heartbeats in **CTO > Team** on each worker:

| Setting               | Meaning                                                     |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Timer-based heartbeat | Enables scheduled wakeups for that worker                   |
| Interval (seconds)    | Number of seconds between wakeups; the UI default is `300`  |
| Wake on demand        | Allows ADE to wake the worker immediately for matching work |
| Active hours          | Restricts wakeups to a start/end window and timezone        |

This state is stored on the worker identity as `runtimeConfig.heartbeat`. ADE does not parse a project-level `.ade/ade.yaml` `cto.heartbeat` block.

### Identity Restoration After Compaction

When a CTO chat session hits the compaction threshold, ADE automatically **re-injects the CTO's identity context** after compaction completes. This means the CTO's persona and current operating instructions survive compaction — the CTO keeps its role mid-conversation, even during very long sessions.

This also applies to worker agents that have an identity key assigned.

### Manual activation

You can trigger CTO work immediately from the UI:

* Select a worker in **CTO > Team** and click **Wake** to create a manual worker wakeup
* Type a message in the CTO Chat to activate the CTO in conversational mode
* Via Automations using a real action such as `agent-session` for worker sessions or `ade-action` for a registered ADE action