diff --git a/.ciagent/ARCHITECTURE.md b/.ciagent/ARCHITECTURE.md
index 083fde1..7dc2177 100644
--- a/.ciagent/ARCHITECTURE.md
+++ b/.ciagent/ARCHITECTURE.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 ## System Overview
 
-Orca is a single-binary, offline-first orchestration engine. The system consists of three logical components, all compiled into one `orca` binary and selected via subcommands.
+Orca is a single-binary, offline-first orchestration engine. The system consists of six logical components, all compiled into one `orca` binary and selected via subcommands.
 
 ```
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
@@ -22,6 +22,13 @@ Orca is a single-binary, offline-first orchestration engine. The system consists
 │  ├── /v1/nodes/* (node registry API)                        │
 │  └── /v1/tasks/* (task lifecycle API)                       │
 ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+│  Job Spec Parser (hashicorp/hcl/v2)                         │
+│  └── reads .hcl files → validates → hands to engine         │
+├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+│  Domain Model (internal/model)                              │
+│  ├── Node, Job, Task structs (no I/O)                        │
+│  └── shared by store, engine, daemon                        │
+├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
 │  Core Engine                                                │
 │  ├── Node Registry   (in-memory + SQLite persistence)       │
 │  ├── Task Executor   (os/exec with WaitDelay, Go 1.25+)     │
@@ -59,6 +66,16 @@ Orca is a single-binary, offline-first orchestration engine. The system consists
 - **Schema**: `nodes`, `jobs`, `tasks`, `audit_log` tables
 - **Migrations**: Embedded SQL files, applied on startup
 
+### 5. Job Spec Parser (`internal/jobspec`)
+- **Parser**: `hashicorp/hcl/v2` (industry-standard, familiar to Nomad users)
+- **Format**: HCL files (`.hcl`); YAML fallback considered but deferred
+- **Use**: `orca job run <spec.hcl>` reads and validates the spec, hands off to the engine
+
+### 6. Domain Model (`internal/model`)
+- **Types**: `Node`, `Job`, `Task` — pure data structs with no I/O
+- **State machines**: Node (pending/ready/left), Task (pending/running/complete/failed)
+- **Use**: shared by `internal/store`, `internal/engine`, `internal/daemon` to avoid circular dependencies
+
 ## Data Model
 
 ### Node
diff --git a/.ciagent/PLANS.md b/.ciagent/PLANS.md
index a103df7..310b1bf 100644
--- a/.ciagent/PLANS.md
+++ b/.ciagent/PLANS.md
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ All 6 phases with vertical-slice structure, wave ordering, and REQ-ID mapping.
 ## Phase 1: CLI Skeleton (Wave 1)
 
 **Branch**: `phase/01-cli-skeleton`
-**REQ Coverage**: REQ-001, REQ-002, REQ-013, REQ-015, REQ-016, REQ-019, REQ-024
+**REQ Coverage**: REQ-001 (Go 1.25), REQ-002 (CLI-first single binary), REQ-003 (offline-first — no network deps in CLI), REQ-008 (slog structured logging), REQ-010 (`--json` output flag), REQ-013 (pre-push hook), REQ-015 (MIT LICENSE), REQ-016 (README quickstart), REQ-019 (Cobra), REQ-024 (Makefile)
 
 ### Must-Haves
 - [ ] `go.mod` with `go 1.25`
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ All 6 phases with vertical-slice structure, wave ordering, and REQ-ID mapping.
 ## Phase 3: Task Execution Engine (Wave 2)
 
 **Branch**: `phase/03-task-exec`
-**REQ Coverage**: REQ-004, REQ-009, REQ-021, REQ-022
+**REQ Coverage**: REQ-004 (task execution), REQ-009 (HCL/YAML parsing), REQ-020 (hashicorp/hcl parser), REQ-021 (os/exec with WaitDelay), REQ-022 (iter.Seq streaming — deferred)
 
 ### Must-Haves
 - [ ] `internal/store/migrations/0002_jobs_tasks.sql` — jobs + tasks tables
diff --git a/.ciagent/PROJECT.md b/.ciagent/PROJECT.md
index 0f7f216..bb849db 100644
--- a/.ciagent/PROJECT.md
+++ b/.ciagent/PROJECT.md
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # Project: Orca
 
+## What This Is
+A minimalist, offline-first, CLI-first orchestration engine inspired by HashiCorp Nomad, prioritizing stability, security, and simplicity over feature richness. Single-binary distribution, no container runtime, no cloud dependencies, no K8s-level complexity.
+
 ## Vision
 A minimalist, offline-first, CLI-first orchestration engine inspired by HashiCorp Nomad, prioritizing stability, security, and simplicity over feature richness.
 
@@ -44,3 +47,17 @@ Build a lightweight system to manage and execute workloads across a set of nodes
 - Container runtime integration.
 - Service mesh / sidecar injection.
 - Auto-scaling / horizontal pod autoscaler.
+
+## Key Decisions
+- **Single binary** (D-001): one `orca` binary with subcommands — no multi-binary distribution.
+- **modernc/sqlite** (D-002): CGO-free SQLite for state — single file, cross-compile friendly.
+- **Embedded HTTP over loopback** (D-003): net/http for v0.1; mTLS for cross-node (REQ-011, REQ-023 deferred to v0.2).
+- **Single-node only** (D-004): no multi-node scheduling in v0.1 (deferred to v0.2).
+- **Human-readable + `--json`** (D-005): both outputs supported from the start.
+- **HCL/YAML specs** (D-006): familiar to Nomad/HashiCorp users.
+- **mTLS for v0.1, tokens deferred** (D-007): most secure default; tokens if needed later.
+- **Direct process execution** (D-008): no container runtime — pure process management.
+- **`~/.orca/config.hcl` and `/etc/orca/orca.hcl`** (D-009): standard XDG-style paths.
+- **Structured JSON via `log/slog`** (D-010): native Go 1.21+ slog, no external dependency.
+
+See **Clarified Decisions** below for full table with confidence scores.