The 3020-line docs/DESIGN.md is replaced by the design/ ledger:
design/INDEX.md (sole addressable spine, typed Contracts+Models tables,
polymorphic links — prose file OR authoritative source //!), 14
design/contracts/*.md test-linked invariants + 3 source-link-only
contracts (mangling/env-construction/qualified-xref, no prose file —
code is SoT), 5 design/models/*.md whitepapers, and
docs/journals/2026-05-19-design-decision-records.md (the
relitigation-guard archive — every why/rejected/does-not-do/rollback/
empirical ### moved out at ###-granularity). Clean cut: git rm
docs/DESIGN.md, no stub.
RED-first crates/ailang-core/tests/design_index_pin.rs — the 4-clause
anti-regrowth spine (DESIGN.md-gone / every-INDEX-link-resolves /
every-contract-names-a-resolvable-ratifier /
contracts-carry-no-decision-record-prose) — demonstrably RED before,
GREEN after. Build-atomic by task ordering: design_schema_drift.rs's
include_str! (the only compile-time consumer) retargeted to
design/contracts/data-model.md BEFORE the deletion; its
## Data model/## Pipeline slicer dropped (a simplification the split
enables). 2 NoInstance diagnostics + 2 lockstep E2Es retargeted to
design/contracts/{float-semantics,typeclasses}.md. ~12 agent reading
lists + 5 SKILL bodies + CLAUDE.md + skills/README.md + ~25
code/C/.ail/spec comment xrefs retargeted; OQ7 dangling 'Iter 13b'
cite deleted (no forward target — a pointer would be fiction).
honesty-rule.md rewritten so the rule names the new home
(rationale->journals), resolving the recon-found internal
contradiction; the two docs_honesty_pin.rs:70,72 pinned phrases kept
verbatim+contiguous.
Boss-verified independently: cargo test --workspace 646 passed /
0 failed; design_index_pin 4/4; acceptance grep CLEAN of live
DESIGN.md refs (residuals = only the spec-mandated clause-4
deletion-enforcer). 2 DONE_WITH_CONCERNS routed to the mandatory
milestone-close audit: (a) str-abi.md:23 '(iter str-concat,
2026-05-13)' provenance stamp trips advisory architect_sweeps Sweep-1
— Boss-confirmed byte-identical to DESIGN.md@deeffb1:2062-2065, a
faithfully-migrated PRE-EXISTING anchor (regexes verbatim, only path
retargeted), NOT split-introduced — RATIFY-or-tidy at audit; (b) a
now stale-direction intra-prose 'see Str ABI below' cross-ref in
float-semantics.md — audit-adjudication candidate. Plan defect noted:
Task 9 Step 4's verbatim acceptance grep used a ^./ anchor not
matching the system's grep -rIn output; substance re-verified CLEAN.
Spec grounding-check PASS x2. Journals INDEX + decision-records
pointer appended (Boss-only).
CLAUDE.md previously mixed universal facts (agent role boundaries,
commit discipline, design rationale, file roles, TDD-for-bugs) with
mode-specific autonomy rules (direction freedom, notifications,
WhatsNew procedure). Autonomous-by-default conflicted with the user's
intent that a fresh session should be collaborative-interactive unless
explicitly elevated.
Add `skills/boss/` containing only the three genuinely mode-specific
subsections — Direction freedom, Notifications, Done-state notifications:
WhatsNew.md. Trim CLAUDE.md from 343 to 243 lines; extend the skill-
system pointer paragraph with a one-sentence /boss gate. Universal
orchestrator discipline stays in CLAUDE.md because it applies whether
/boss is active or not.
Two cross-references that named the moved subsections by sub-heading
are repointed: skills/implement/SKILL.md and the implement-orchestrator
agent's standing reading list. The other ~11 agent-file references to
"orchestrator framing" still resolve correctly because that framing
stays in CLAUDE.md.
skills/README.md skill table extended with a `boss` row (now eight
skills); pipeline-diagram caption notes /boss wraps the pipeline.
.claude/skills/boss symlink follows the existing relative-path
convention.
Two project-wide rules are now explicit across every skill:
1. Only the Boss commits. No skill agent (implementer,
brainstormer, planner, debugger, fieldtester, docwriter,
architect, bencher) runs `git commit`. Agents write their
artefacts to the working tree as unstaged changes; the Boss
inspects, decides commit shape, and commits.
2. main HEAD is sacrosanct. No actor runs `git reset` or
`git revert` on main. Bad work stays in the working tree
where it is still discardable via `git checkout -- <paths>`.
Implement loses the `iter/<iter_id>` branch mechanic entirely;
Phase 0 of the orchestrator-agent now does a clean-tree check
and refuses to start on a dirty tree. Per-task agent commits
are removed everywhere; reviewers operate against
`git diff HEAD` instead of `pre_task_sha..head_sha`.
Motivation: 2026-05-11 iter 23.4 stranded prep2/prep3 commits on
an iter-branch that never integrated to main, then a corrected
spec falsely claimed those commits had shipped. Branch-per-iter
+ manual-Boss-merge + iter-stacking made the strand structurally
possible. See docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-disc.1.md for the
full per-task notes and motivation.
Claude Code categorically forbids subagents from spawning other
subagents (code.claude.com/docs/en/sub-agents and the Agent SDK
subagents page). The `or.1` architecture (and `pr.1` that ran on
top of it) presumed a named-exception for `ailang-implement-
orchestrator` to dispatch implementer / spec-reviewer / quality-
reviewer / tester per task. That exception never existed at the
platform level; the `Agent` tool was silently dropped from the
orchestrator-agent's tool set at dispatch time.
Architecture revised, doc-only:
- Per-task phases (implementer → spec-compliance check → quality
check) now run as sequential role-switches in the orchestrator-
agent's own context, not as nested subagents.
- The four role-files (implementer / spec-reviewer / quality-
reviewer / tester) become phase reference files the
orchestrator-agent consults at role-switch boundaries.
- Boss-context offload preserved; fresh-per-phase context given
up (the property that drove or.1's nested-dispatch design is
not buildable in Claude Code).
Files touched:
- skills/implement/agents/ailang-implement-orchestrator.md
(frontmatter, Iron Law, Phase 2/3 rewrite, rationalisations,
red flags)
- skills/implement/SKILL.md (frontmatter, Iron Law, sub-status
vocabulary note, cross-references)
- skills/README.md (Conventions: no more named exception; agent
roster: role-files recast as phase references)
- docs/journals/INDEX.md (or.2 entry appended)
- docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-or.2.md (new — full rationale)
- docs/roadmap.md (P1 tool-wiring item removed; resolved as
categorically-not-fixable)
- docs/WhatsNew.md (user-facing correction entry appended)
No code changes; no bench impact; CLAUDE.md untouched (no stale
references to fix there).
The or.1 Iron Law said `git switch -c iter/<iter_id> origin/main`,
which silently presupposed that the plan-commit lives on origin/main.
The Boss commits plan+spec to local main and dispatches immediately
without pushing, so origin/main lags. The first real dispatch (pr.1)
hit this and worked around it by mid-flight ff-merging local main
into the iter branch — clean end-state but pure rationalisation
through a 'branch already exists' clause meant for repair re-dispatch.
The intent of branch-per-iter was iter-isolation from main, not
push-state coupling. Branch from local main; let push remain
orthogonal.
Touches Iron Law (twice — agent + SKILL.md), Phase 0 step
(orchestrator-agent), Boss-merge explanation (SKILL.md). Also drops
the now-obsolete `git fetch origin main` Phase 0 prelude.
Recorded in docs/journals/2026-05-11-iter-pr.1.md Boss-side addendum;
this commit closes the first follow-up item from that addendum.
All six existing agents (implementer, tester, architect, bencher,
docwriter, debugger) restructured into the same superpowers-derived
layout the SKILL.md files use: Iron Law, Carrier contract, Standing
reading list, Status protocol (DONE / DONE_WITH_CONCERNS /
NEEDS_CONTEXT / BLOCKED), Common Rationalisations, Red Flags. Agents
now know about docs/specs/<milestone>.md and docs/plans/<iteration>.md
but do not open them directly — context curation lives at the skill
level (controller hands the agent task_text, hypothesis, etc.).
Implementer carries TDD as an independent discipline layer, mirroring
the superpowers split between subagent-driven-development (outer loop)
and test-driven-development (inner loop). RED-first applies even when
a plan task forgot to script the failing test.
Debugger scope corrected: RED-first only, hands GREEN to implement
mini-mode. Previously the agent self-applied the fix, which
contradicted skills/debug/SKILL.md Phase 4. The skill is the source
of truth; the agent now matches it.
Two new named reviewer agents:
- ailang-spec-reviewer: did the diff match the task text?
- ailang-quality-reviewer: is the diff well-built? (only after spec
is compliant)
Both replace the ad-hoc general-purpose dispatch in skills/implement
Step 2.3 and 2.4. With named agents, AILang quality conventions are
amortised across dispatches instead of being re-stated inline per
prompt.
skills/implement/SKILL.md updated to dispatch the new reviewers.
skills/README.md agent roster expanded; conventions clarified to
state that agents do not open plan/spec files directly.
ailang-implementer/-tester -> skills/implement/agents/
ailang-architect/-bencher/-docwriter -> skills/audit/agents/
ailang-debugger -> skills/debug/agents/
agents/ now contains only README.md (rewritten in next commit as
roster of skill-bound agents).
Brummel