mold

/mold

Ceremony scales to the job. The Bounds pass picks one of three tiers from references/tiers.md: Quick writes a validated mini-spec, Light runs only the dialogue modes the open forks need, and Full runs the whole Flow below. Saving a spec needs no extraction approval. Cook still needs an explicit user request. /cheese's tier-1 escalation enters mini-spec mode; see ## Agent-invoked mini-spec mode.

Flow

1. Bounds pass — open the Goal / Decided / Asking / [AGENT-DECIDED] ledger with the goal pinned as one sentence; only an explicit user fork changes it. Split it into G-n clauses (references/handshake.md § Goal coverage). Map every input's goals and non-goals as one [AGENT-DECIDED] line; ask the user only when the goal is genuinely unknown or a leverage trigger fires. Run the shape check, then announce the tier with its reason (references/tiers.md). Quick exits here to ## Agent-invoked mini-spec mode without a write-approval turn. Upgrade the tier whenever the evidence changes; never downgrade silently.
2. Route — choose the secondary mode from references/modes.md, announce it, and correct false premises first.
3. Dialogue — consequential forks are the user's to pick. A fork is consequential per the leverage line in ../age/references/voice.md. Every other fork is [AGENT-DECIDED]. Supply options, trade-offs, and evidence before you ask. Ground each critical claim through code, the Validate Cycle, or a Prototype Cycle. Resolve every contradiction. Render the decision map after three consecutive fork questions, or on request.
4. Sketch — For work across modules or with a new public interface, run references/shape-check.md. Bind identity and role nouns to code referents. Record the Placement block; no bodies.
5. Plan and validate — run the fresh-context fork-coherence taste test with python3 skills/mold/scripts/mold.pyz taste-test; a failure reopens only named forks, and the third failed verdict stops. The taste review guides the spec but is not a Cook execution reference. For bound curd work, dispatch a typed PlannerRequest, validate its PlannerResultWriterView (one retry, then save without runnable inputs), and normalize on the host. A clear single-curd task can instead use standalone Cook without a planner. Show semantic curds and waves before any Cook choice. See references/curdle.md § "Typed planner dispatch".
6. Readiness check — Before saving, run the coherence self-check and strict spec validation. Save a draft when unresolved parent work remains; record each hold in execution_holds:. Finalization refuses ready while an entry remains. User approval is not a prerequisite for writing. Before Cook, require an explicit user selection of scope and route. See references/handshake.md and references/early-curds.md.
7. Curdle — Resolve the durable spec path with python3 skills/mold/scripts/mold.pyz artifact-path specs <slug> and read path from its JSON reply. Write the validated draft and read it back. Retain typed plan evidence and unresolved holds. Write local issue drafts and durable decisions; publish follow-ups only after their own approval. A concrete bounded curd may use references/early-curds.md while Mold continues shaping its parent. The selected spec path can enter standalone Cook; bound curd execution also receives validated direct refs, never a pointer.
8. Offer Cook or keep shaping — after reconciliation, run python3 skills/mold/scripts/mold.pyz curd-count. A saved draft is not an execution request. If the user selects bound curd execution, run scripts/mold.pyz finalize and pass only ready direct inputs. A standalone clear task can enter Cook by spec path without machine finalization. Otherwise keep shaping or stop without a Cook command.

Portability: rules. Slash commands are host renderings, not the control model.

Follow-up candidates