--- domain: custodian repo: the-custodian updated: "2026-06-21" --- # SCOPE > This file helps you quickly understand what this repository is about, > when it is relevant, and when it is not. > It is intentionally lightweight and may be incomplete. --- ## One-liner Governance and continuity substrate for a local-first, multi-domain agent ecosystem — owns canon, memory, workplans, and agent runtime scaffolding; coordinates through the standalone State Hub service rather than hosting it. --- ## Core Idea The Custodian holds the long-lived **meaning, boundaries, and continuity** of the ecosystem: constitution, values, standards, domain charters, roadmaps, episodic memory, and repo-backed workplans. It is the stewardship layer that keeps the system coherent across tool changes, repo splits, and agent sessions. It deliberately keeps a **small operational surface**. Operational subsystems — most notably the State Hub (PostgreSQL + FastAPI + MCP + dashboard) — live in their own repositories and are referenced here only as integration pointers. `the-custodian/state-hub/` is now a pointer; the service source is at `/home/worsch/state-hub`. --- ## In Scope - Canon: constitution, foundational values, standards, domain charters, concept seeds, roadmaps (`canon/`) — human-gated, proposal-then-review writes only - Memory: append-only working notes and immutable episodic event logs (`memory/`) - Workplans: repo-backed `CUST-WP-NNNN` plans for Custodian-owned coordination work, per ADR-001 (file originates work, then the hub indexes it) (`workplans/`) - Agent runtime scaffolding: policies, prompts, tool adapters, kaizen agent copies (`runtime/`, `agents/`) - Session protocol: how agents orient, coordinate, and hand off via the State Hub MCP/REST surface (`.claude/rules/`, `.custodian-brief.md`) - Cross-domain governance: tracking decisions, provenance, and human-intervention gates; surfacing next steps from the read model - Integration pointers and docs for adjacent services (hub-core extraction, ops-hub catalog, activity-core delegation) (`docs/`, `state-hub/README.md`) --- ## Out of Scope - **Live State Hub implementation** — migrations, dashboard, tests, API/MCP source. Owned by `/home/worsch/state-hub`. - **Event-triggered maintenance task creation** — owned by `activity-core`. The hub is a read model, not a task factory. - **General task lifecycle backend** — owned by `issue-core`. - **Repository capability profiling** — owned by `repo-scoping`. - **Domain-specific products and experiments** — each domain owns its own repo. - **External publication, contracts, payments, legal authority** — human approval only; never automated here. - Storing plaintext credentials, or direct writes to `canon/` without a review gate. --- ## Relevant When - Starting or closing a session in any registered domain repo (orientation via `get_domain_summary()`) - Consulting governance rules, the constitution, values, or a domain charter - Tracking cross-domain decisions, blockers, provenance, or workplan progress - Registering a new project into the ecosystem (`custodian register-project`) - Preserving durable, reviewable memory of why something was decided --- ## Not Relevant When - Implementing a single-domain feature — stay in that domain's repo - Hacking on State Hub internals — go to `/home/worsch/state-hub` - Throwaway scripts or non-ecosystem standalone work --- ## Current State - Status: active — stable governance substrate, in daily use - Implementation: substantial. Canon + memory + workplan conventions established; State Hub operational (in its own repo); RAG-over-canon and drafting pipelines (roadmap Phase 1) not yet started - Stability: stable — canon changes are review-gated; memory is append-only - Usage: daily, across the ecosystem; State Hub MCP active in agent sessions - Domains coordinated: dynamic — 14 active as of 2026-06-21 (canon, capabilities, citation_evidence, coulomb_social, custodian, helix_forge, inter_hub, markitect, netkingdom, personhood, railiance, stack, vergabe_teilnahme, whynot). Query the live list with `list_domains()` rather than trusting a hard-coded count. --- ## How It Fits - Upstream dependencies: none — sits at the top of the dependency order - Downstream consumers: all tracked domains rely on its canon, session protocol, and coordination conventions - Often used with: - `state-hub` — the operational read model / coordination service it points to - `activity-core` — event-driven task factory consuming hub lifecycle events - `issue-core` — task lifecycle backend - `repo-scoping` — repository capability profiling - `kaizen-agentic` — specialized agent personas callable via MCP - `ops-bridge` — SSH tunnel manager for remote agent connectivity --- ## Terminology - Preferred terms: canon, workstream, workplan, topic, progress event, domain - Also known as: "the hub" (loosely) — but the *service* is the State Hub repo; this repo is the governance substrate - Potentially confusing terms: - "topic" = domain-level grouping, not a chat topic - "decision" = tracked choice point with escalation rules - "State Hub" = the standalone service repo, **not** this directory tree --- ## Related / Overlapping Repositories - `state-hub` — operational service (DB/API/MCP/dashboard); the most common confusion point. This repo coordinates *through* it but does not own it. - `activity-core` — overlaps on "what work should happen next"; owns the *creation* of maintenance tasks (custodian only describes/coordinates). - `issue-core` — task lifecycle backend; do not reimplement task storage here. - `repo-scoping` — capability profiling; do not reimplement here. - `kaizen-agentic` — source of agent personas mirrored under `agents/`. --- ## Getting Oriented - Start with: `INTENT.md` (why this repo exists + boundary table), then `CLAUDE.md` → `.claude/rules/` (session protocol), then `README.md` - Key files / directories: `canon/` (governance), `memory/` (continuity), `workplans/` (CUST-WP plans), `runtime/`, `state-hub/README.md` (pointer) - Entry points: `cat .custodian-brief.md` (offline-safe orientation); `get_domain_summary("custodian")` (MCP); State Hub service at `/home/worsch/state-hub` (`make api`) --- ## Provided Capabilities ```capability type: reference title: Governance canon description: Constitution, foundational values, standards, and per-domain charters/roadmaps that define what matters and what is permitted across the ecosystem. keywords: [canon, governance, constitution, values, charter, standards] ``` ```capability type: process title: Session protocol and cross-domain orientation description: Conventions for how agents orient, coordinate, and hand off via the State Hub, including ADR-001 workplan origination and human-gated review. keywords: [session, orientation, protocol, workplan, adr-001, coordination] ``` ```capability type: data title: Append-only memory and provenance description: Durable, reviewable working notes and immutable episodic logs preserving decisions and session continuity over long timescales. keywords: [memory, provenance, episodic, continuity, decisions] ``` --- ## Notes - This repo intentionally avoids reabsorbing runtime code. If a subsystem grows a runtime, tests, and a deployment surface, it should move to its own repo and report back through the State Hub and workplans (see `INTENT.md` → design values). - After any workplan change, run `cd /home/worsch/state-hub && make fix-consistency REPO=the-custodian` to keep the dashboard accurate. - `README.md` still references "seven project domains" / "six domain charters" — stale relative to the live 14-domain list; treat `list_domains()` as authoritative. - Prior SCOPE.md (stale, conflated this repo with the State Hub service) is archived at `history/20260621-SCOPE.md`.