[Brian Krabach (bkrabach)]

Summary

Correct the default-worker guidance in README.md and docs/GETTING-STARTED.md: when --worker is omitted, amplifier-agent is the default; a missing or broken installation fails loudly and does not fall back to llm-direct. The docs now recommend pinning --worker explicitly in unattended CI. This aligns the existing guidance with the current runner behavior; it changes no runtime, bundle, source-pin, or graph behavior and adds no nlspec extension or observable contract.

Verification checklist

• nlspec evidence: §1.4 leaves backend implementation to the consumer and §4.5 describes the codergen outcome/status channel. The surrounding §3.3 edge-selection and §4.6 human-wait behavior are unchanged; worker-default policy is not a new spec behavior.
• N/A — the template's pytest modules/loop-pipeline/ command names a retired location; the engine moved to amplifier-bundle-dot-runner. This docs-only change was verified with the owning repo's root guard suite: 275 passed, 2 framework-namespaced skips. The mandatory orchestrator source-pin guard passed.
• N/A — no engine or handler code changed, so no live pipeline run is required for this correction. Existing source-of-truth runtime tests verify the documented fail-loud behavior (see below).
• AGENTS.md reviewed; root guard and source-pin gates met.
• N/A — documentation-only correction; no backward-compatibility path changed.
• N/A — no observable runtime contract changed, so no specs/EXTENSIONS.md entry is needed.
• N/A — the docs now state existing runtime behavior; the existing owner tests pin it to code rather than to page text. No new page-tautology guard or cross-repository test is needed for this docs-only correction.
• Pre-publication leak review: deterministic root guards passed; the diff changes two existing documentation files and introduces no new public content class.
• Verification evidence is included below.
• CI green before merge — the one-shot post-creation check snapshot may still be pending. This task does not authorize merge or auto-merge.

Verification evidence

python -m pytest tests/ -q --ignore=tests/e2e: 275 passed, 2 skipped. The mandatory source-pin guard ran and passed. Existing runtime source-of-truth coverage includes test_resolve_no_choice_broken_env_fails_loud_never_degrades and test_cmd_run_broken_env_fails_loud_never_falls_back in modules/pipeline-runner/tests/test_default_worker.py.

Notes for reviewers

Related runtime migration: amplifier-bundle-dot-runner PR #118. The stale loop-pipeline unit-test command in this PR template is explicitly N/A because that engine module has moved; the remaining applicable documentation and source-pin gates are reported above. No runtime or live-engine check was performed for this docs-only change.