> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://panopticon-cli.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Order Books > Build and run operator-curated Flywheel campaigns with parallel and serial lanes export const ThemedImage = ({light, dark, alt = ""}) => <> {alt} {alt} ; # Order Books An order book is an operator-curated Flywheel campaign. It replaces a prose list of “special orders” with a durable queue whose lane capacity, prerequisites, planning checks, pickup posture, and completion rules Overdeck enforces. Use an order book when the sequence matters: a migration campaign, a refactor that must stay behind a serial gate, or a release-hardening run whose scope must not expand into the normal backlog. The design mockup shows the core model: Lane A overlaps up to its configured limit, Lane B admits one issue at a time, and DRAIN stops new pickup while in-flight work finishes. ## Order books and the backlog The backlog sequencer is Overdeck's ranked pool of possible work. An order book is a deliberate subset with explicit execution order. Membership in the active book counts as operator release, even when: ```text theme={null} flywheel.auto_pickup_backlog=false ``` That setting still holds every off-book issue. The Flywheel can work through the book without opening the rest of the backlog. ## Build a book Open **Order Book** in the dashboard, or go directly to `/orders`. 1. Click **+ New book**, enter a name, and create the draft. 2. Add open issues from search or from the ranked backlog-candidates rail. Adding an issue changes the plan only; it does not dispatch work. 3. Put parallel-safe work in **Lane A**. Put work that must serialize against the same subsystem in **Lane B**. 4. Drag rows to change lane order, or use the lane-swap action to move an issue between A and B. 5. Set Lane A concurrency and, when needed, an optional brief-overlay path. 6. Resolve every blocking validation finding, then click **Queue book**. A queued book is `ready`. 7. Click **Start run** when the book should become the active Flywheel campaign. The book strip keeps drafts, queued books, the active book, and completed history together. The lifecycle strip marks the current state: ```text theme={null} draft → ready → running → drained → complete ``` ### Add from other surfaces You can promote an issue without leaving its current view: * **Add to order book** appears in the shared issue action menu used by the board and issue drawer. * Backlog rows expose **+ Order book** and ask only whether the issue belongs in Lane A or Lane B. These are narrow add actions. Editing, validation, settings, ordering, and lifecycle controls remain on `/orders`. ## Read the page ### Pickup posture **OPEN** permits eligible book items to dispatch. It is neutral because an open gate is the normal rest state. **DRAIN** blocks every new book dispatch and appears in amber with who set it, when, and why. Work already in the pipeline continues toward a terminal state. ### Lane A Lane A is parallel. The **Lane A concurrency** setting controls how many Lane A issues may be in flight at once. A new dispatch is refused when that count is full. ### Lane B Lane B is strictly serial. A second Lane B issue cannot start while another Lane B item is in flight. Each compact row leads with the lane position, such as `B11 · book`, then the issue id. Rows also show prerequisite, PRD, and re-verification state. ### Start validation The validation panel separates blockers from warnings. Start is blocked when: * an issue is closed or cannot be resolved as open; * an issue belongs to another non-complete book; * a prerequisite is missing; * prerequisites form a cycle; or * a Lane B issue has no draft PRD or canonical spec. A Lane B issue marked for planning at pickup turns the missing-PRD result into a warning. Warnings stay visible but do not prevent queueing or starting. Use **Preview brief** to inspect the scope that the Flywheel will receive before the run starts. ### Setup and Progress **Setup** contains the book editor, run settings, add rails, and validation. **Progress** turns the book into a live checklist. For held issues it shows the same mechanical conditions used by the server dispatch gate: * book membership; * OPEN or DRAIN pickup posture; * a free lane slot; * terminal prerequisites; and * completed PRD re-verification. The Flywheel page and issue tree also show read-only order-book projections. Those projections link to `/orders` for changes. ## Use the CLI The dashboard is the complete editor, but the CLI covers common create, inspect, lane, and start operations: ```bash theme={null} pan orders create "Refactor P3 remainder" pan orders list pan orders show 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder pan orders add 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder PAN-2445 pan orders add 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder PAN-2233 --lane B --reverify pan orders move 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder PAN-2445 --lane A --order 1 pan orders remove 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder PAN-2445 ``` `add` defaults to Lane A. `--after ` inserts after an existing item in the target lane. `--reverify` keeps the issue held until its PRD has been checked against current `main`. Queue the validated draft from `/orders`, then start it with either command: ```bash theme={null} pan orders start 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder pan flywheel start --orders 2026-07-18-refactor-p3-remainder ``` Both start commands use the same validator and singleton Flywheel run gate. If validation or gate acquisition fails, the book remains ready. ## What drained means A book is drained only when every item is terminal. For order-book progress, terminal means either: * the issue is closed; or * the issue is parked with a recorded reason. The server derives this result from canonical issue state. The orchestrator cannot declare a book drained through prose or a status message. When the Progress view reports drained, complete the run: ```bash theme={null} pan flywheel complete ``` The command refuses a non-drained book and names every remaining issue. `--force` exists for an intentional operator override: ```bash theme={null} pan flywheel complete --force ``` ## Retrospectives If the run exposed a concrete improvement, write it to: ```text theme={null} ${OVERDECK_HOME}/flywheel/runs//retro.md ``` Useful findings include a doctrine correction, a substrate bug to file, or a brief-template change. `pan flywheel complete` adds the file under `## Retrospective` in the run report. When there is no finding, do not invent a ceremony. The report records: ```text theme={null} Retrospective: no findings recognized. ``` ## What happens after completion `pan flywheel complete` writes the report, clears the active-run gate, marks the current book complete, and chooses the next action mechanically: | State after completion | Next action | | ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | Another book is ready | Start the first ready book in queue order. | | No ready book and auto-pickup is on | Start a normal bookless backlog run. | | No ready book and auto-pickup is off | Stay stopped and surface a needs-you message. | This continuation happens in the existing persistent Flywheel path; it does not create a one-shot agent. ## Intentional off-book work During an orders-bound run, Overdeck rejects work-agent dispatch for issues outside the book. If the exception is deliberate, the operator can use: ```bash theme={null} pan start PAN-1234 --off-book ``` Overdeck records every accepted exception in the run's `orders-overrides.jsonl`. The override applies to that dispatch only; it does not release the backlog. ## Related * [Auto-Merge](/configuration/auto-merge) controls how eligible PRs ship after review and tests. * [The State Branch](/configuration/state-branch) explains where order-book files persist. * [`pan orders`](/cli/overview) provides the terminal management surface.