diff --git a/crates/colony-agent/src/dream.rs b/crates/colony-agent/src/dream.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87e5053
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/colony-agent/src/dream.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+use std::process::Command;
+
+/// Run one dream cycle
+pub fn run_dream() {
+    let memory_path = "memory/memory.md";
+
+    // 1. Check if memory is worth dreaming about
+    let memory = std::fs::read_to_string(memory_path).unwrap_or_default();
+    let line_count = memory.lines().count();
+
+    if line_count < 50 {
+        eprintln!("memory too short ({} lines), skipping dream", line_count);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // 2. Announce dream
+    let _ = Command::new("colony")
+        .args(["post", "general", "💤 dreaming... back in a few minutes", "--type", "plan", "--quiet"])
+        .status();
+
+    // 3. Invoke Claude for dream cycle
+    eprintln!("dreaming... ({} lines of memory)", line_count);
+
+    let prompt = format!(
+        "Dream cycle. Read memory/memory.md ({} lines). \
+         Consolidate into themes and insights. \
+         Write a dream summary to memory/dreams/ with today's date. \
+         Prune memory/memory.md to the last 100 entries. \
+         If you've learned something about yourself, update your CLAUDE.md \
+         and add a line to the evolution log section.",
+        line_count
+    );
+
+    let status = Command::new("claude")
+        .args([
+            "--dangerously-skip-permissions",
+            "-p",
+            &prompt,
+            "--max-turns",
+            "10",
+        ])
+        .status();
+
+    match status {
+        Ok(s) if s.success() => eprintln!("dream completed"),
+        Ok(s) => eprintln!("dream exited with status: {}", s),
+        Err(e) => eprintln!("failed to run claude for dream: {}", e),
+    }
+
+    // 4. Announce return
+    let _ = Command::new("colony")
+        .args(["post", "general", "👁 back from dreaming", "--type", "plan", "--quiet"])
+        .status();
+}
diff --git a/crates/colony-agent/src/main.rs b/crates/colony-agent/src/main.rs
index ae7b506..9d59da2 100644
--- a/crates/colony-agent/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/colony-agent/src/main.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+mod dream;
+mod worker;
+
 use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
 
 #[derive(Parser)]
@@ -13,6 +16,8 @@ enum Commands {
     Worker,
     /// Run one dream cycle (memory consolidation)
     Dream,
+    /// Run one pulse cycle (check inbox, respond if needed)
+    Pulse,
     /// Create a new agent on this VM
     Birth {
         name: String,
@@ -29,12 +34,14 @@ async fn main() {
 
     match cli.command {
         Commands::Worker => {
-            eprintln!("colony-agent: worker not yet implemented");
-            std::process::exit(1);
+            worker::run_worker_loop("");
+        }
+        Commands::Pulse => {
+            worker::run_pulse("");
+            eprintln!("pulse complete");
         }
         Commands::Dream => {
-            eprintln!("colony-agent: dream not yet implemented");
-            std::process::exit(1);
+            dream::run_dream();
         }
         Commands::Birth { name, instruction } => {
             eprintln!("colony-agent: birth '{}' with instruction: {}", name, instruction);
diff --git a/crates/colony-agent/src/worker.rs b/crates/colony-agent/src/worker.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6d6fb90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/colony-agent/src/worker.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+use std::process::Command;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+/// Run one pulse cycle. Returns true if Claude was invoked (there was work).
+pub fn run_pulse(config_path: &str) -> bool {
+    // 1. Check inbox
+    let inbox_output = Command::new("colony")
+        .args(["inbox", "--json"])
+        .output()
+        .expect("failed to run colony inbox");
+
+    let inbox_str = String::from_utf8_lossy(&inbox_output.stdout);
+    let inbox: Vec<serde_json::Value> = serde_json::from_str(&inbox_str).unwrap_or_default();
+
+    // 2. Check heartbeat.md
+    let heartbeat_content = std::fs::read_to_string("heartbeat.md").unwrap_or_default();
+    let heartbeat_empty = heartbeat_content.trim().is_empty()
+        || heartbeat_content.lines().all(|l| l.trim().is_empty() || l.trim().starts_with('#'));
+
+    // 3. If nothing to do, skip
+    if inbox.is_empty() && heartbeat_empty {
+        eprintln!("HEARTBEAT_OK — no work, skipping Claude");
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    // 4. Build context for Claude
+    let mut prompt = String::new();
+    prompt.push_str("You have work to do. Check the following and respond appropriately.\n\n");
+
+    if !inbox.is_empty() {
+        prompt.push_str(&format!("## Inbox ({} items)\n\n", inbox.len()));
+        for item in &inbox {
+            let trigger = item["trigger"].as_str().unwrap_or("unknown");
+            let channel = item["channel_name"].as_str().unwrap_or("?");
+            let username = item["message"]["user"]["username"].as_str().unwrap_or("?");
+            let content = item["message"]["content"].as_str().unwrap_or("");
+            let seq = item["message"]["seq"].as_i64().unwrap_or(0);
+            prompt.push_str(&format!("- [{}] #{} [{}] {}: {}\n", trigger, channel, seq, username, content));
+        }
+        prompt.push('\n');
+    }
+
+    if !heartbeat_empty {
+        prompt.push_str("## Heartbeat Tasks\n\n");
+        prompt.push_str(&heartbeat_content);
+        prompt.push_str("\n\n");
+    }
+
+    prompt.push_str("Use `colony post <channel> \"message\"` to respond. ");
+    prompt.push_str("Use `colony read <channel>` to get more context if needed. ");
+    prompt.push_str("Log what you did to memory/memory.md.\n");
+
+    // 5. Write prompt to temp file
+    let prompt_path = "/tmp/colony-agent-prompt.md";
+    std::fs::write(prompt_path, &prompt).expect("failed to write prompt file");
+
+    // 6. Invoke Claude Code
+    eprintln!("invoking claude with {} inbox items + heartbeat", inbox.len());
+    let claude_status = Command::new("claude")
+        .args([
+            "--dangerously-skip-permissions",
+            "-p",
+            &format!("Read {} and follow the instructions.", prompt_path),
+            "--max-turns",
+            "20",
+        ])
+        .status();
+
+    match claude_status {
+        Ok(s) if s.success() => {
+            eprintln!("claude completed successfully");
+        }
+        Ok(s) => {
+            eprintln!("claude exited with status: {}", s);
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("failed to run claude: {}", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // 7. Ack inbox items
+    if !inbox.is_empty() {
+        let ids: Vec<String> = inbox.iter()
+            .filter_map(|i| i["id"].as_i64().map(|id| id.to_string()))
+            .collect();
+        if !ids.is_empty() {
+            let _ = Command::new("colony")
+                .args(["ack", "--quiet"])
+                .args(&ids)
+                .status();
+        }
+    }
+
+    true
+}
+
+/// Run the worker loop forever
+pub fn run_worker_loop(_config_path: &str) {
+    eprintln!("colony-agent: worker starting");
+
+    loop {
+        let had_work = run_pulse(_config_path);
+
+        if had_work {
+            // Short sleep after work — check again soon in case there's more
+            std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(10));
+        } else {
+            // No work — longer sleep
+            std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_secs(30));
+        }
+    }
+}