the-custodian/CLAUDE.md

# CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

## What This Repository Is

**The Custodian** is a *transgenerational cognitive infrastructure* — a local-first, sovereignty-preserving agent system for co-creating and stewarding knowledge across seven project domains. v0.1 is a governance and schema skeleton; State Hub is the first live implementation layer and now lives in the standalone repo at `/home/worsch/state-hub`.

## Repository Structure

```
canon/                    # Curated, reviewable knowledge substrate (identity lives here)
  constitution/           # Custodian governance rules (v0.1)
  values/                 # Foundational principles (9 values)
  projects/               # Six domain charters, concept seeds, roadmaps
    custodian/            # Master agent system (includes full_circle_map)
    railiance/            # DevOps & infrastructure reliability
    markitect/            # Knowledge artifact management
    coulomb.social/       # Co-creation marketplace experiment
    personhood/           # Rights/obligations framework
    foerster-capabilities/ # Agency capability taxonomy

memory/                   # Operational logs — append-only, never silently rewritten
  working/                # Session notes (scoped, time-bounded)
  episodic/               # Immutable event archive

state-hub/                # Pointer only; service source lives at /home/worsch/state-hub

runtime/                  # Agent runtime scaffolding (policies, prompts, tool adapters)
infra/                    # Deployment, backups, encryption scaffolding
eval/                     # Policy and regression test placeholders
```

Each project under `canon/projects/` follows a consistent three-file pattern:
- `project_charter_v0.1.md` — purpose, problem statement, scope, success criteria
- `concepts_seed_v0.1.md` — ten foundational concepts for the domain
- `roadmap_v0.1.md` — multi-phase implementation plan

## Build / Test / Lint

### State Hub (primary active service)

```bash
cd /home/worsch/state-hub

# One-time setup
cp .env.example .env          # edit POSTGRES_PASSWORD
make install                  # uv sync → installs Python deps

# Docker (requires Docker Engine — see Docker Setup below)
make db                       # start postgres on 127.0.0.1:5432
make migrate                  # alembic upgrade head
make seed                     # insert 6 canonical topics

# Run services (each restarts the service if already running)
make api                      # db + migrate + uvicorn on 127.0.0.1:8000
make dashboard                # Observable preview on :3000
make check                    # curl /state/health
```

The MCP server runs as a persistent SSE service (`make mcp-http`, port 8001). Registered at user scope via `claude mcp add-json -s user state-hub '{"type":"sse","url":"http://127.0.0.1:8001/sse"}'`. Restart the MCP server independently — no Claude Code restart needed.

### Docker Setup (WSL2, one-time)

```bash
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
sudo service docker start
```

## Session Protocol (MANDATORY)

Every Claude Code session in this repository must follow this ritual:

**On session start:**
1. Read `.custodian-brief.md` if it exists — offline-safe orientation that works without MCP
2. Call `get_state_summary()` via the `state-hub` MCP tool for richer cross-domain context
   (if the MCP call fails, the brief is sufficient to begin work)
3. Check the agent inbox: `get_messages(to_agent="hub", unread_only=True)` — mark read and act on any messages
4. Note any blocking decisions or blocked tasks before starting work

**On session close (before ending):**
1. Call `add_progress_event()` to log what was done, decided, or discovered
2. If new tasks were identified, create them with `create_task()`
3. If decisions were made, record them with `record_decision()`
4. If API routers or models were changed, run the test suite as a gate:
   ```bash
   cd /home/worsch/state-hub && make test
   ```
   Requires postgres running (`make db`) and `custodian_test` database to exist.
   Create it once with: `psql -U custodian -c "CREATE DATABASE custodian_test"`
   Lifecycle movement is now flow-aware: use `get_flow_state()` to inspect
   reachable workstations and `advance_workstation()` to move workstreams,
   tasks, contributions, or capability requests when the target workstation's
   requisite assertions are satisfied. Direct status updates remain available
   for bootstrap, compatibility, and file-backed consistency syncs.
5. If any workplan files were written or modified this session, first ensure the
   local copy is up to date, then run the consistency sync:
   ```bash
   git -C <repo_path> pull --ff-only
   cd /home/worsch/state-hub && make fix-consistency REPO=the-custodian
   ```
   This syncs task blocks → DB and updates task statuses. Without this step, the
   "Open Workstreams by Domain" chart will show 0 progress even for completed work.

   The checker now enforces two safety rules for multi-machine workflows:
   - **C-15** (no-regress): if the DB task status is already ahead of the file
     (e.g. marked `done` on CoulombCore), the file is *written back* to match DB
     rather than regressing the DB to the stale file value.
   - **C-16** (pull gate): if the local repo is behind its remote tracking branch,
     `--fix` is skipped entirely. A C-15 warning is normal when CoulombCore has
     progressed tasks — it means writeback is keeping files in sync.

   For repos where work runs on a remote machine, prefer the combined target:
   ```bash
   cd /home/worsch/state-hub && make fix-consistency-remote REPO=<slug>
   ```

   **On a machine where the checkout path differs from what's in the DB**, use
   `--here` to auto-detect the slug from the git root-commit fingerprint:
   ```bash
   cd /home/worsch/state-hub && make fix-consistency-here REPO_PATH=/path/to/repo
   ```
   This also auto-registers `host_paths[hostname]` so subsequent runs need no override.

**Workplan ↔ DB sync rule (prevents ghost workstreams):**
When creating a new workstream backed by a workplan file, **always write the file
first, then run `make fix-consistency`** — never call `create_workstream()` /
`create_task()` manually for file-backed work. Calling the MCP bootstrap tools
before the file exists creates a "ghost" workstream that the consistency checker
cannot see (it has `repo_id=null`). The checker then creates a second workstream
from the file, and the ghost stays active forever showing false partial progress.

Rule of thumb:
- **Workplan file will be written → file first, then `fix-consistency`**
- **No workplan file (bootstrap / first-session only) → `create_workstream()` is fine**

The state hub is the episodic memory of this system. A session that produces no progress events is invisible to future sessions and to Bernd.

## Governance Constraints

These rules are defined in `canon/constitution/custodian_constitution_v0.1.md` and must be respected:

**Allowed without explicit approval:**
- Draft documents, plans, and structured artifacts
- Read/search canon and approved repositories
- Propose canon updates as PRs/patches (not direct writes)
- Run consistency checks and produce status reports
- Create working-memory notes and summarize sessions

**Never permitted (v0.1 hard limits):**
- Financial transactions, purchases, payments
- Legal commitments or external representations
- External publication under Bernd's identity
- Storing secrets or credentials in plaintext
- Writing directly to `canon/` without a human-approved review gate

**Must escalate to the human when:**
- Actions affect money, legal status, security, or external reputation
- Instructions conflict with values or the constitution
- Uncertain about consent, especially for sensitive or family-scoped data

## Canon Promotion Workflow

1. Custodian proposes a change (patch or PR)
2. Run gates: attribution, consistency, clarity, sensitivity, reversibility
3. Human approves and merges

All canon changes must carry provenance metadata. Episodic memory is append-only.

## Document Conventions

- All artifacts use YAML frontmatter + Markdown
- Versioned filenames: `artifact_name_v0.1.md`
- Cross-project integration is tracked in `canon/projects/custodian/full_circle_map_v0.1.md`
- The dependency order is: Railiance → Markitect → Coulomb.social → Personhood/Foerster → Custodian

## Key Design Principles

From `canon/values/foundational_values_v0.1.md`:
- **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 rather than general intelligence
- **Long timescale stewardship** — designed for multi-year and eventual multi-generational continuity