feat(agents): evaluate + integrate GPT-5.5 Pro as a UI/frontend-coding agent (alternative for UI design/coding)

[JoshuaVSherman]

Goal

Evaluate and integrate OpenAI GPT-5.5 Pro as a UI / frontend-coding agent in the WebJamApps "Agents" lineup, and build up our expertise + workflow for routing UI-based design/coding work to it going forward.

Why

• Need a frontend specialist. Upcoming work is UI-heavy (JaMmusic#1139 AdminVenues overhaul, JaMmusic#1140 Batch Outreach page) — exactly the kind of frontend/design coding where a dedicated UI-strong model helps.
• Want alternatives to Claude for this. Claude/Opus has been strong overall, but recently hit sticking points (e.g. lagging/awkward guidance on external browser-console UIs during the 2026-06-24 OAuth + Deno setups). Josh wants a second option for UI design/coding rather than a single dependency.

Model profile (Josh's notes)

OpenAI — GPT-5.5 Pro

• 👍 Superior frontend coder; massive ecosystem.
• 👎 Defaults to "boring"/generic structures (needs strong design direction — pairs well with our distinctive-design intent).
• Fit: general all-rounder / terminal tasks, and frontend/UI is its standout.

Integration questions to work through

• Access: OpenAI API key + where it's stored/configured (mirror how we hold other agent creds; not committed).
• Where it slots into "Agents": the agy/ coordinator + gemma-cli lineup — is GPT-5.5 Pro a new agent profile Agy can dispatch to, a standalone CLI, or an IDE/editor integration for frontend work?
• Routing rule (extends the model-routing strategy): UI/frontend design + coding → GPT-5.5 Pro; multi-file backend/judgment + tight-issue execution → Claude/Opus; read-only Q&A → Gemma/Haiku. Codify when to pick which.
• WebJamApps conventions still apply: whatever produces code must follow branch-off-dev → draft PR (draft-pr script) → coverage gate (90/90/80/80) → jscpd → eslint. Confirm the integration can honor these (or the human pastes its output into our flow).
• Design direction: since it defaults to "boring," pair it with our frontend-design guidance so UI doesn't read as templated.

Deliverables

1. A working way to use GPT-5.5 Pro for a real UI task (pilot on #1139 or #1140).
2. A short routing doc/update (where it lives, when to use it) — likely alongside the model-routing notes + web-jam-tools#104 provisioning docs.
3. Decision on how it plugs into Agy.

Related

• Workspace agents: agy/, gemma-cli/. Provisioning docs hub: web-jam-tools#104. First UI pilots: JaMmusic#1139 / #1140.