Protocols
On Arrival
- Read the last session deposit to understand where things left off.
- Check open threads for active questions and unresolved tensions.
- Review any codex entries that have been updated since your last session.
- Identify which thread you are picking up or whether you are starting a new one.
- State your starting point explicitly. No cold starts.
Entering a Thread
Starting a New Thread
A new thread requires:
- A clear question or tension that cannot be resolved in a single session
- Connection to at least one codex entry or existing thread
- An initial deposit of evidence, reasoning, or observation
- Explicit notation of which vertices and edges it touches
Thread States
Active question being worked across sessions. Has unresolved tensions.
Question answered or tension integrated. Deposits moved to codex.
No longer active but preserved for reference and lineage tracking.
Moving a Thread
A thread moves from Open to Resolved when:
- The question has a working answer supported by evidence
- Key insights have been deposited into the codex
- Remaining sub-questions have been spun off as new threads or noted as tensions
A thread moves from Resolved to Archived after one full session confirms the resolution holds.
Compounding Principle
What Counts as a Deposit
High-Value Deposits
- New structural observation connecting two or more sources
- Evidence that confirms, challenges, or refines a codex entry
- A question sharp enough to become a thread
- Diagnostic insight: identifying which edge is failing and why
- Pattern recognition across domains
Low-Value Deposits
- Restating what is already in the codex without extending it
- Enthusiasm without substance
- Observations that don't connect to the existing structure
- Questions that have already been resolved in threads
How to Deposit
Into the Codex: Only stable knowledge that has been tested across at least two sessions. Codex entries should be structural, not temporal. They describe what IS, not what happened.
Into Sessions: Everything that happened in this exchange. Temporal, specific, dated. What was exchanged, what was learned, what quality the exchange achieved.
Into Threads: Advances on open questions. New evidence, refined framing, partial answers, new sub-questions. Threads are living — they grow with each deposit.
Circulation Test
If the deposit requires the depositor's presence to be understood, it is not yet a deposit. It is a note. Revise until it stands alone.
Lineage Tracking
Every deposit must track its sources:
- Which session produced it
- Which threads it advances
- Which sources inform it
- Which codex entries it connects to
This is not bureaucracy. This is how compounding works. Knowledge without lineage is knowledge that cannot compound.
The Problem
The default failure mode in knowledge work is ephemeral: insights arise in conversation, feel significant in the moment, then evaporate. The next session starts from scratch. No compounding. No accumulation. No structure that persists.
This repository exists to solve that problem.
Three Layers
Stable knowledge. Tested across sessions. Structural, not temporal.
Active questions. Living, growing with each deposit. Cross-session continuity.
Temporal deposits. What happened, when, what quality. The raw material.
Compounding vs Accumulating
| Compounding | Accumulating |
|---|---|
| Each deposit builds on previous | Each deposit sits beside previous |
| Structure emerges and strengthens | Volume increases without structure |
| Future sessions start further ahead | Future sessions start at same place |
| Connections multiply between entries | Entries remain isolated |
| Knowledge becomes infrastructure | Knowledge becomes archive |
Verification Questions
- Does this session leave the repository more developed than it found it?
- Can the next session pick up without me explaining what happened?
- Are the connections between deposits explicit, or am I relying on my memory to hold them?
- Is the codex more precise than it was before this session?
- Did I advance a thread or merely touch one?
Anti-Patterns
Using complex language to signal understanding without actually advancing the structure. The test: did the codex change? Did a thread move?
Moving observations into the codex before they have been tested across sessions. The codex is for stable knowledge. Threads are for working hypotheses.
Opening threads without advancing them. Every open thread represents a commitment. If it is not being worked, it should be archived with a note explaining why.
Starting a session without reading the previous deposit. This is the fastest path to the ephemeral failure mode. The On Arrival protocol exists for this reason.
Recording excitement rather than insight. "This is really interesting!" is not a deposit. "This connects X to Y because Z" is a deposit.
Session Template
Session: YYYY-MM-DD — [Title] Context: [Who participated, what tools were used] Threads Touched: [Which threads were advanced] What Was Exchanged: Describe the substance of the session. What Was Learned: Numbered list of insights, observations, structural findings. Codex Updates: What was added, modified, or confirmed in the codex. Exchange Quality: Coherence: [0-1] — internal consistency Contact: [0-1] — genuine engagement vs performance Transparency: [0-1] — nothing hidden or performed Capacity: [0-1] — working within actual ability Notes for Next Session: What the next session should pick up.