feat(booth): asks — a multiple-choice question a session poses in a booth, answered by the operator as a radio form + notes, written back as an answer sidecar

- booth/asks.py (stdlib): <stem>.ask.json question / <stem>.answer.json answer; normalise+validate, atomic write, list with answer folded in, broken asks surfaced not hidden
- POST /b/<name>/answer: validates choice against the ask (400), unknown stem 404, re-answer overwrites
- booth.html asks panel above the gallery; amber open / green answered; JS-off form POST; index card + booth header badge for open asks
- CLI: booth ask / asks / answer [--wait [SECS]]; remote sessions poll <stem>.answer.json over HTTP
- ask/answer files excluded from gallery items and item counts; 23 tests; v0.1.9

services/booth/scripts/booth

@@ -15,6 +15,22 @@
 #   booth links                         list the board, numbered, with entry ids
 #   booth unlink <id|index>             remove ONE link from the board
 #
+#   booth ask    <name> <stem> <prompt> <option>... [--no-notes]
+#                                       pose a multiple-choice question in a booth
+#   booth asks   <name>                 list a booth's asks and whether each is answered
+#   booth answer <name> <stem> [--wait [SECS]]
+#                                       print the answer JSON (exit 1 if unanswered);
+#                                       --wait polls until it lands (default 3600 s)
+#
+# ASKS. A session needs the operator to pick one of N things — which render,
+# which plan, go/no-go — and act on the pick. `ask` writes <stem>.ask.json into
+# a booth; the page renders it as a radio form with a notes field; submitting
+# writes <stem>.answer.json next to it. `answer --wait` blocks until that file
+# exists and prints it, so a session can `booth ask … && booth answer --wait …`
+# and carry on. Re-answering overwrites: the sidecar is the CURRENT answer.
+# Remote sessions: rsync the ask in, then poll
+#   http://10.100.10.50:8090/b/<name>/<stem>.answer.json   (404 until answered).
+#
 # THE 24h RULE AND ITS ONE EXCEPTION. Every booth is wiped 24h after its last
 # activity — that is the contract, and it is why nobody has to clean up after
 # themselves. `keep` drops a `.forever` sentinel that exempts one booth from the
@@ -47,7 +63,7 @@ KEEP=".forever"                                    # must match KEEP_MARKER in b
 LINKS_BOARD="${BOOTH_LINKS_BOARD:-links}"
 
 usage() {
-  echo "usage: booth {new <name>|add <name> <file>...|url <name>|ls|rm <name>|keep <name>|unkeep <name>|link <url> [description]|links|unlink <id|index>}" >&2
+  echo "usage: booth {new <name>|add <name> <file>...|url <name>|ls|rm <name>|keep <name>|unkeep <name>|link <url> [description]|links|unlink <id|index>|ask <name> <stem> <prompt> <option>... [--no-notes]|asks <name>|answer <name> <stem> [--wait [SECS]]}" >&2
   exit 2
 }
 
@@ -175,5 +191,65 @@ if removed is None:
 print("removed: %s  %s" % (removed["desc"], removed["url"]))
 ' "$board" "$target"
     ;;
+  ask)
+    # booth ask <name> <stem> <prompt> <opt>... [--no-notes]
+    [ $# -ge 5 ] || usage
+    name="$1"; stem="$2"; prompt="$3"; shift 3
+    notes=1; opts=()
+    for a in "$@"; do
+      case "$a" in --no-notes) notes=0 ;; *) opts+=("$a") ;; esac
+    done
+    [ "${#opts[@]}" -ge 2 ] || { echo "an ask needs at least 2 options" >&2; exit 1; }
+    # Validated through the SAME normaliser the page uses, so a session cannot
+    # post a question the renderer would refuse. stdlib only — no venv needed.
+    BOOTH_SRC="$(cd "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)" ASK_NOTES="$notes" python3 -c '
+import os, pathlib, sys
+sys.path.insert(0, os.environ["BOOTH_SRC"])
+from booth.asks import AskError, write_ask
+booth, stem, prompt, *opts = sys.argv[1:]
+try:
+    write_ask(pathlib.Path(booth), stem, prompt, opts, notes=os.environ["ASK_NOTES"] == "1")
+except AskError as exc:
+    sys.exit("bad ask: %s" % exc)
+' "$DATA/$name" "$stem" "$prompt" "${opts[@]}"
+    echo "$URL/b/$name/#ask-$stem"
+    ;;
+  asks)
+    [ $# -ge 1 ] || usage
+    BOOTH_SRC="$(cd "$(dirname -- "$0")/.." && pwd)" python3 -c '
+import os, pathlib, sys
+sys.path.insert(0, os.environ["BOOTH_SRC"])
+from booth.asks import list_asks
+asks = list_asks(pathlib.Path(sys.argv[1]))
+if not asks:
+    print("no asks in this booth")
+for a in asks:
+    if a["error"]:
+        state = "BROKEN  " + a["error"]
+    elif a["answer"]:
+        state = "answered  %s  (%s)" % (a["answer"]["label"], a["answer"]["answered_at"])
+    else:
+        state = "open"
+    print("%-24s %s" % (a["stem"], state))
+' "$DATA/$1"
+    ;;
+  answer)
+    # booth answer <name> <stem> [--wait [SECS]]
+    [ $# -ge 2 ] || usage
+    name="$1"; stem="$2"; shift 2
+    wait_s=0
+    if [ "${1:-}" = "--wait" ]; then wait_s="${2:-3600}"; fi
+    f="$DATA/$name/$stem.answer.json"
+    [ -f "$DATA/$name/$stem.ask.json" ] || { echo "no such ask: $name/$stem" >&2; exit 1; }
+    # Poll, do not inotify: the answer is written by a different process via
+    # os.replace, and a 2 s cadence is plenty for a human clicking a radio.
+    deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + wait_s ))
+    while [ ! -f "$f" ]; do
+      if [ "$wait_s" -eq 0 ]; then echo "unanswered: $URL/b/$name/#ask-$stem" >&2; exit 1; fi
+      if [ "$(date +%s)" -ge "$deadline" ]; then echo "timed out after ${wait_s}s waiting on $name/$stem" >&2; exit 1; fi
+      sleep 2
+    done
+    cat -- "$f"
+    ;;
   *) usage ;;
 esac