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Add documentation: root README and state-hub/README

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Root README covers: architecture, domain table with topic IDs, quick
start, project registration, Claude Code integration, governance
summary, roadmap, and design principles.

state-hub/README covers: full setup guide, Makefile targets, DB schema
with governance constraints, API summary (incl. /state/summary shape),
MCP server config, custodian CLI reference, dashboard pages, and WSL2
known issues.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Bernd Worsch
2026-02-24 23:00:20 +01:00
parent ae10aaf33f
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README.md
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@@ -2,31 +2,192 @@ Confidential and Proprietary. Authorized Use Only. Subject to NDA & Contractual
# The Custodian # The Custodian
Transgenerational Cognitive Infrastructure **Transgenerational Cognitive Infrastructure** — a local-first, sovereignty-preserving agent system for co-creating and stewarding knowledge across six project domains.
# Custodian Repo Skeleton (v0.1) The Custodian acts as co-creator and steward, not authority. Humans approve all irreversible decisions. The system is designed to still be coherent decades from now.
This repository is an initial, local-first canon + governance skeleton for the Custodian project and its top-level domains: ---
- Railiance ## Architecture
- Markitect
- Coulomb.social
- Foerster Capabilities
- Personhood
- Custodian
## Structure ```
the-custodian/
├── canon/ # Curated, reviewable knowledge substrate
│ ├── constitution/ # Governance rules (v0.1)
│ ├── values/ # Nine foundational principles
│ └── projects/ # Six domain charters, concept seeds, roadmaps
├── memory/ # Operational logs — append-only, never rewritten
│ ├── working/ # Session notes (scoped, time-bounded)
│ └── episodic/ # Immutable event archive
├── state-hub/ # Live state service (the operational brain)
│ ├── api/ # FastAPI (PostgreSQL-backed REST + /state/summary)
│ ├── mcp_server/ # FastMCP stdio — Claude Code's native interface
│ ├── migrations/ # Alembic schema migrations
│ ├── dashboard/ # Observable Framework telemetry dashboard
│ ├── infra/ # docker-compose.yml (postgres + optional pgadmin)
│ └── scripts/ # seed.py, register_project.sh, custodian CLI
├── runtime/ # Agent runtime scaffolding (policies, prompts, adapters)
├── infra/ # Deployment, backups, encryption scaffolding
└── eval/ # Policy and regression test placeholders
```
- `canon/` — curated, reviewable knowledge substrate (identity lives here) The **dependency chain** across domains runs bottom-up:
- `memory/` — working and episodic logs (operational + append-only history)
- `eval/` — policy and regression tests (future automation)
- `runtime/` — policies/prompts/tool adapters (agent runtime scaffolding)
- `infra/` — deployment, backups, encryption scaffolding
## Workflow (suggested) ```
Railiance → Markitect → Coulomb.social → Personhood / Foerster → Custodian
(ops) (canon) (interaction) (rights/agency) (integration)
```
1. Edit canon artifacts in `canon/` ---
2. Propose changes via PR/patch workflow
3. Tag and sign periodic `Canon Releases`
> v0.1 focuses on schemas, governance, and initial charters/roadmaps/concepts. ## Project Domains
| Domain | Purpose | Topic ID |
|--------|---------|----------|
| **Custodian** | Master agent system; integrates all layers | `cee7bedf-2b48-46ef-8601-006474f2ad7a` |
| **Railiance** | Sovereign DevOps and operational reliability | `ca369340-a64e-442e-98f1-a4fa7dc74a38` |
| **Markitect** | Knowledge artifact management: authoring, versioning, retrieval | `5571d954-0d30-4950-980d-7bcaaad8e3e2` |
| **Coulomb.social** | Co-creation marketplace and governance experiment | `36c7421b-c537-4723-bf75-42a3ebc6a1dc` |
| **Personhood** | Rights and obligations framework for mixed-intelligence societies | `084430ab-c630-48dc-9e1d-d07d1e8fce3c` |
| **Foerster Capabilities** | Agency capability taxonomy (Foerster's Non-Trivial Machines) | `64418556-3206-457a-ba29-6884b5b12cf3` |
Each domain has three canon artifacts under `canon/projects/<domain>/`:
- `project_charter_v0.1.md` — purpose, problem, scope, success criteria
- `concepts_seed_v0.1.md` — ten foundational concepts
- `roadmap_v0.1.md` — multi-phase implementation plan
---
## State Hub — Quick Start
The State Hub is the live operational layer: a PostgreSQL database, a FastAPI REST service, an MCP server for Claude Code, and an Observable dashboard.
### Prerequisites
- Docker Engine (WSL2: see `CLAUDE.md` → Docker Setup)
- Python 3.12+ with `uv` (`pip install uv`)
- Node.js 18+ (for dashboard only)
### First-time setup
```bash
cd state-hub
cp .env.example .env # set POSTGRES_PASSWORD
make install # uv sync → Python deps + custodian CLI in .venv
make install-cli # symlink custodian to ~/.local/bin
make db # start postgres on 127.0.0.1:5432
make migrate # alembic upgrade head
make seed # insert 6 canonical topics
make api # uvicorn on 127.0.0.1:8000
```
API docs: http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs
Health check: `make check`
### Shortcut
```bash
make start # db + migrate + api (all in one)
```
### Dashboard
```bash
cd state-hub
make dashboard # Observable Framework dev server on :3000
```
---
## Connecting a Project
Any repository can be registered as a Custodian project in one command:
```bash
cd /path/to/your-project
custodian register-project --domain railiance
```
This will:
1. Verify the API is running
2. Look up the topic ID for the domain
3. Check that the MCP server is registered in `~/.claude.json`
4. Write a `CLAUDE.md` into the project root
5. Post a progress event to the State Hub
Domain is auto-detected from `project_charter_v*.md` frontmatter if `--domain` is omitted.
```bash
custodian status # health + summary totals + blocking decisions
custodian register-project # full registration from cwd
```
---
## Claude Code Integration
The `state-hub` MCP server is registered at user scope in `~/.claude.json`.
It exposes 11 tools and 5 resources directly in every Claude Code session.
**Session protocol** (enforced via `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`):
- Start: `get_state_summary()` — orientation snapshot
- End: `add_progress_event()` — append to the immutable log
Tool reference: `state-hub/mcp_server/TOOLS.md`
If the MCP server is missing from a session: check `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` → MCP Server Registration.
---
## Governance
The constitution (`canon/constitution/custodian_constitution_v0.1.md`) defines hard boundaries:
**The Custodian may without approval:**
- Draft documents, plans, and structured artifacts
- Read/search canon and approved repositories
- Propose canon updates as PRs/patches (never direct writes)
- Create working-memory notes and session summaries
**Never permitted (v0.1):**
- Financial transactions or legal commitments
- External publication under Bernd's identity
- Storing secrets/credentials in plaintext
- Writing directly to `canon/` without a review gate
**Must escalate when:**
- Actions affect money, legal status, security, or external reputation
- Instructions conflict with values or the constitution
- Consent is unclear, especially in family-scoped data
### Canon Promotion Workflow
```
Custodian proposes → run gates (attribution, consistency, clarity, sensitivity, reversibility)
→ human approves → merge
```
All canon changes carry provenance metadata. Episodic memory is append-only.
---
## Roadmap
| Phase | Focus | Status |
|-------|-------|--------|
| 0 | Canon + constitution + State Hub v0.1 | **done** |
| 1 | RAG over canon, drafting pipelines, consistency checks | planned |
| 2 | Stewardship automation (health checks, drift detection) | planned |
| 3 | Sovereign appliance (local inference on dedicated hardware) | future |
| 4 | Family custodianship (consent model, vault, succession) | future |
---
## Key Design Principles
- **Local-first, degrade-gracefully** — no vendor lock-in; can operate offline
- **Auditability and reversibility** — explicit gates; proposals precede changes
- **Safety by design** — Custodian is co-creator, not authority; humans approve irreversible decisions
- **Targeted information processing** — narrow, high-leverage work over general intelligence
- **Long timescale stewardship** — designed for multi-year and eventual multi-generational continuity

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# State Hub v0.1
The operational brain of the Custodian: a local PostgreSQL database, FastAPI REST service, FastMCP stdio server for Claude Code, Observable Framework dashboard, and a `custodian` CLI.
---
## Stack
| Layer | Technology | Port |
|-------|-----------|------|
| Database | PostgreSQL 16-alpine (Docker) | `127.0.0.1:5432` |
| API | FastAPI + SQLAlchemy 2.0 async + asyncpg | `127.0.0.1:8000` |
| MCP server | FastMCP stdio (Claude Code native) | stdio |
| Dashboard | Observable Framework | `127.0.0.1:3000` |
| CLI | `custodian` (Python, uv entry point) | — |
All services bind to `127.0.0.1` only — nothing exposed to the network.
---
## Setup
### Prerequisites
- Docker Engine (WSL2: see `CLAUDE.md` in repo root → Docker Setup)
- Python 3.12+ with `uv` (`pip install uv`)
- Node.js 18+ (dashboard only)
### First-time
```bash
cd state-hub
cp .env.example .env # edit POSTGRES_PASSWORD
make install # uv sync
make db # docker compose up postgres
make migrate # alembic upgrade head (creates 5 tables)
make seed # insert 6 canonical topics
make api # uvicorn :8000 --reload
```
### Shortcut
```bash
make start # db + sleep + migrate + api
```
### Dashboard
```bash
make dashboard # Observable dev server on :3000
```
### CLI
```bash
make install-cli # symlink .venv/bin/custodian → ~/.local/bin
custodian status # API health + summary totals
custodian register-project # register cwd as a Custodian project
```
---
## Makefile Targets
| Target | What it does |
|--------|-------------|
| `make install` | `uv sync` — install Python deps + entry points |
| `make install-cli` | Symlink `custodian` to `~/.local/bin` |
| `make db` | Start postgres container |
| `make db-tools` | Start postgres + pgadmin (http://127.0.0.1:5050) |
| `make migrate` | `alembic upgrade head` |
| `make seed` | Insert 6 canonical topics |
| `make api` | `uvicorn api.main:app --reload` |
| `make dashboard` | Observable dev server |
| `make check` | `curl /state/health` |
| `make start` | `db` + wait + `migrate` + `api` |
| `make register-project DOMAIN=x PROJECT_PATH=y` | Register a project |
| `make clean` | `docker compose down -v` (destroys DB volume) |
---
## Database Schema
Five tables in dependency order:
```
topics
└── workstreams
└── tasks (self-FK: parent_task_id)
└── progress_events
decisions (FK: topic_id, workstream_id — at least one required)
└── progress_events
```
### Enums
| Enum | Values |
|------|--------|
| `topic_status` | `active` · `paused` · `archived` |
| `workstream_status` | `active` · `blocked` · `completed` · `archived` |
| `task_status` | `todo` · `in_progress` · `blocked` · `done` · `cancelled` |
| `task_priority` | `low` · `medium` · `high` · `critical` |
| `decision_type` | `made` · `pending` |
| `decision_status` | `open` · `resolved` · `escalated` · `superseded` |
| `domain` | `custodian` · `railiance` · `markitect` · `coulomb_social` · `personhood` · `foerster_capabilities` |
### Governance constraints encoded in schema
- No hard DELETE endpoints — only soft: `archived`, `cancelled`, `superseded`
- `progress_events` has no `updated_at` and no DELETE endpoint (append-only per constitution §5)
- `decisions` with financial/legal keywords + `pending` type → auto-set `escalation_note` (§4)
---
## API
Interactive docs at http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs once the API is running.
### Key endpoint: `/state/summary`
Returns a full snapshot in one call — used by both the MCP server and dashboard:
```json
{
"generated_at": "...",
"totals": {
"topics": { "active": 6, "paused": 0, "archived": 0, "total": 6 },
"workstreams": { "active": 1, "blocked": 0, "completed": 1, "total": 2 },
"tasks": { "todo": 9, "in_progress": 0, "blocked": 0, "done": 11, "total": 20 },
"decisions": { "open": 1, "resolved": 0, "escalated": 0, "total": 1 }
},
"topics": [...], // topics with nested workstream stubs
"blocking_decisions": [...], // pending decisions only
"blocked_tasks": [...],
"recent_progress": [...], // last 20 events
"open_workstreams": [...]
}
```
### Router summary
| Prefix | Operations |
|--------|-----------|
| `/topics` | CRUD (soft-delete: `archived`) |
| `/workstreams` | CRUD (soft-delete: `archived`) |
| `/tasks` | CRUD (soft-delete: `cancelled`); `PATCH` updates status |
| `/decisions` | CRUD (soft-delete: `superseded`); auto-escalation |
| `/progress` | `GET` list + `POST` append — no DELETE |
| `/state/summary` | Full snapshot |
| `/state/health` | DB connectivity check |
---
## MCP Server
Registered in `~/.claude.json` at user scope. Config in `.mcp.json` (repo root).
Uses absolute path + `PYTHONPATH` so `cwd` is not required:
```json
{
"command": "/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub/.venv/bin/python",
"args": ["/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub/mcp_server/server.py"],
"env": { "PYTHONPATH": "/home/worsch/the-custodian/state-hub", "API_BASE": "http://127.0.0.1:8000" }
}
```
See `mcp_server/TOOLS.md` for the full tool reference card (30 lines, faster than reading `server.py`).
### Tools at a glance
**Query** (read-only): `get_state_summary` · `get_topic` · `list_blocked_tasks` · `list_pending_decisions` · `get_recent_progress`
**Mutate** (each auto-emits a progress event): `create_task` · `update_task_status` · `record_decision` · `resolve_decision` · `add_progress_event` · `update_workstream_status`
**Resources**: `state://summary` · `state://topics` · `state://workstreams/{topic_slug}` · `state://decisions/blocking` · `state://tasks/blocked`
---
## `custodian` CLI
Installed into `.venv/bin/custodian` by `uv sync`; symlinked to `~/.local/bin` by `make install-cli`.
```
custodian register-project [--domain DOMAIN] [--path PATH]
```
- `--path` defaults to current working directory
- `--domain` is auto-detected from `project_charter_v*.md` frontmatter if omitted
```
custodian status
```
Prints API health, totals, and any blocking decisions.
### What `register-project` does
1. Verifies the API is reachable (fails fast with `make api` hint)
2. Looks up the topic ID for the domain via `/topics/?status=active`
3. Checks that `state-hub` is in `~/.claude.json`
4. Writes `$PROJECT_PATH/CLAUDE.md` from `scripts/project_claude_md.template`
5. Posts a `milestone` progress event recording the registration
---
## Project Registration Scripts
| Script | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `scripts/register_project.sh` | Shell version of `custodian register-project` |
| `scripts/patch_mcp_cwd.py` | Patches `cwd` into `~/.claude.json` after `claude mcp add-json` drops it |
| `scripts/project_claude_md.template` | CLAUDE.md template with `{PROJECT_NAME}`, `{DOMAIN}`, `{TOPIC_ID}` |
| `scripts/seed.py` | Insert the 6 canonical topics into a fresh database |
| `scripts/pull_image.py` | WSL2 workaround: pull Docker images via Python urllib with Range-request chunking |
---
## Dashboard
Four pages at http://127.0.0.1:3000 (dev) or built with `npm run build`:
| Page | Content |
|------|---------|
| **Overview** | Status cards, task-by-status chart, recent activity feed, decisions due within 7 days |
| **Workstreams** | Filterable table by domain/status/owner; selected workstream task list; progress timeline |
| **Decisions** | Pending tab (with escalation highlights) and Made tab; resolution velocity chart |
| **Progress** | Append-only event feed with author badges; 30-day event volume chart |
Data loaders (`src/data/*.json.py`) are Python scripts that call the local API. They run at dev-server start and on `npm run build`. Clear the cache if data appears stale:
```bash
rm -rf dashboard/src/.observablehq/cache/
```
---
## Known Issues / WSL2 Notes
- **TLS bad record MAC on large downloads**: WSL2 corrupts packets on big TCP transfers. Use `scripts/pull_image.py` instead of `docker pull` for future image pulls.
- **`claude mcp add-json` drops `cwd`**: Known Claude Code bug. Run `python3 scripts/patch_mcp_cwd.py` after any re-registration. The current `.mcp.json` uses absolute path + `PYTHONPATH` so `cwd` is not strictly needed.
- **AsyncSession concurrency**: SQLAlchemy 2.0 async sessions don't support concurrent operations. All queries in `/state/summary` run sequentially on a single session.