diff --git a/plugin/index.ts b/plugin/index.ts
index c1cc19a..9e89996 100644
--- a/plugin/index.ts
+++ b/plugin/index.ts
@@ -424,6 +424,64 @@ function register(api: PluginAPI): void {
           }
           return cached?.status;
         },
+
+        /**
+         * Approximate "does agent have an on_call slot covering [from, to]?"
+         * for cross-plugin pre-check use (currently:
+         * Dialectic.OpenclawPlugin's signup HF coverage).
+         *
+         * v1 honest scope: we only have today's slots in scheduleCache
+         * (synced from /calendar/sync which is today-only). Returns:
+         *   - true  iff window is same-day AND some cached on_call slot
+         *           starts <= from AND ends >= to
+         *   - false iff window is same-day AND no such slot
+         *   - undefined for cross-day windows OR cache empty for this
+         *     agent (caller treats undefined as "I don't know" — see
+         *     Dialectic plugin's hf-precheck.ts which degrades to
+         *     "skipped" gracefully)
+         *
+         * Phase TBD: when HF backend ships a `/calendar/slots?agent&from&to`
+         * endpoint, swap this to call it for arbitrary windows. Until then,
+         * same-day-only coverage gates ~all debates created by analyze-intel
+         * (which schedules <2h windows) without needing a backend change.
+         */
+        async hasOnCallCovering(
+          agentId: string,
+          fromIso: string,
+          toIso: string,
+        ): Promise<boolean | undefined> {
+          if (!agentId || !fromIso || !toIso) return undefined;
+          const from = new Date(fromIso);
+          const to = new Date(toIso);
+          if (isNaN(from.getTime()) || isNaN(to.getTime())) return undefined;
+          if (!(from < to)) return undefined;
+          // Cross-day → cache only has today; can't decide.
+          const fromDate = from.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+          const toDate = to.toISOString().slice(0, 10);
+          if (fromDate !== toDate) return undefined;
+          // Cache's cachedDate must match our window's date.
+          const cacheStatus = scheduleCache.getStatus();
+          if (cacheStatus.cachedDate !== fromDate) return undefined;
+          const slots = scheduleCache.getAgentSlots(agentId);
+          if (slots.length === 0) return undefined; // cache empty for this agent — can't decide
+          for (const s of slots) {
+            if (s.slot_type !== 'on_call') continue;
+            // status: ignore aborted/cancelled, accept not_started / ongoing / finished
+            if (s.status === 'aborted' || s.status === 'cancelled') continue;
+            const startStr = s.scheduled_at;
+            if (typeof startStr !== 'string') continue;
+            // scheduled_at can be HH:MM:SS (cache-relative date) or full ISO
+            const start =
+              /^\d{2}:\d{2}(:\d{2})?$/.test(startStr)
+                ? new Date(`${fromDate}T${startStr}Z`)
+                : new Date(startStr);
+            if (isNaN(start.getTime())) continue;
+            const dur = typeof s.estimated_duration === 'number' ? s.estimated_duration : 0;
+            const end = new Date(start.getTime() + dur * 60_000);
+            if (start <= from && end >= to) return true;
+          }
+          return false;
+        },
       };
 
       // Track wakes already dispatched for a slot in the current sync