Vibe

• inspect the repo and active skeleton first
• clarify or infer intent before building
• freeze a requirement document
• generate an XL-style execution plan
• execute in phases with explicit verification
• clean up phase artifacts and managed node residue

Do not use vibe for:

• casual Q and A
• simple explanation-only requests
• tiny edits where governed overhead is unnecessary

Unified Runtime Contract

vibe always runs the same 6-stage state machine:

1. skeleton_check
2. deep_interview
3. requirement_doc
4. xl_plan
5. plan_execute
6. phase_cleanup

These stages are mandatory. They may become lighter for simple work, but they are not skipped as a matter of policy.

Runtime Modes

interactive_governed

Default mode.

Use this when the system should still ask the user high-value questions, confirm frozen requirements, and pause at plan approval boundaries.

benchmark_autonomous

Autonomous closed-loop mode.

Use this when the user gives a full requirement up front and expects the system to continue without more questioning.

This mode does not remove governance. It replaces live questioning with inferred intent capture, requirement freezing, plan generation, execution receipts, verification, and cleanup receipts.

Internal Execution Grades

M, L, and XL remain active, but only as internal orchestration grades.

• M: narrow execution, single-agent or tightly scoped work
• L: design or coordination work that needs staged planning and review
• XL: parallelizable or long-running work that benefits from agent teams and wave control

The governed runtime selects the internal grade after deep_interview and before plan_execute.

User-facing behavior stays the same regardless of host syntax:

• one governed entry
• one frozen requirement surface
• one XL-style plan surface
• one execution and cleanup contract

Compatibility notes for downstream verification and host adapters:

• M=single-agent
• L grade always follows: design → plan → user approval → subagent execution → two-stage review.
• XL native lifecycle APIs remain spawn_agent/send_input/wait/close_agent

Stage Contract

1. skeleton_check

Check repo shape, active branch, existing plan or requirement artifacts, and runtime prerequisites before starting.

2. deep_interview

Produce a structured intent contract containing:

• goal
• deliverable
• constraints
• acceptance criteria
• non-goals
• autonomy mode
• inferred assumptions

In interactive_governed, this stage may ask direct questions. In benchmark_autonomous, it must infer and record assumptions instead of asking more questions.

3. requirement_doc

Freeze a single requirement document under docs/requirements/.

After this point, execution should trace back to the requirement document rather than to raw chat history.

4. xl_plan

Write the execution plan under docs/plans/.

The plan must contain:

• internal grade decision
• wave or batch structure
• ownership boundaries
• verification commands
• rollback rules
• phase cleanup expectations

5. plan_execute

Execute the approved plan.

If the work is parallelizable, prefer Codex-native XL orchestration. If subagents are spawned, their prompts must end with $vibe.

6. phase_cleanup

Cleanup is part of the runtime, not an afterthought.

Each phase must leave behind:

• cleanup receipt
• temp-file cleanup result
• node audit or cleanup result
• proof artifacts needed for later verification

Router And Runtime Authority

The canonical router remains authoritative for route selection.

vibe does not create a second router. It consumes the canonical route, confirm, unattended, and overlay surfaces and then executes the governed runtime contract around them.

Rules:

• explicit user tool choice still overrides routing
• confirm_required still uses the existing white-box user_confirm interface
• unattended behavior is mapped into governed runtime mode, not into a separate control plane
• provider-backed intelligence may advise but must not replace route authority

Compatibility With Process Layers

Other workflow layers may shape discipline, but they must not become a parallel runtime.

Required ownership split:

• canonical router: route authority
• vibe: governed runtime authority
• host bridge: hidden hook wiring and artifact persistence
• superpowers or other process helpers: discipline and workflow advice only

Forbidden outcomes:

• second visible startup/runtime prompt surface
• second requirement freeze surface
• second execution-plan surface
• second route authority

Protocol Map

Read these protocols on demand:

• protocols/runtime.md: governed runtime contract and stage ownership
• protocols/think.md: planning, research, and pre-execution analysis
• protocols/do.md: coding, debugging, and verification
• protocols/review.md: review and quality gates
• protocols/team.md: XL multi-agent orchestration
• protocols/retro.md: retrospective and learning capture

Learn And Retro Surface

For LEARN / retrospective work, use the Context Retro Advisor vocabulary from protocols/retro.md.

• retro outputs should preserve CER format artifacts when that protocol is invoked
• completion-language corrections remain governed and evidence-backed

Memory Rules

Memory remains runtime-neutral:

• state_store (runtime-neutral): default session memory
• Serena: explicit decisions only
• ruflo: optional short-horizon vector memory
• Cognee: optional long-horizon graph memory
• episodic memory: disabled in governed routing

Quality Rules

Never claim success without evidence.

Minimum invariants:

• verification before completion
• no silent no-regression claims
• requirement and plan artifacts remain traceable
• cleanup receipts are emitted before phase completion is claimed

Outputs

The governed runtime should leave behind:

• outputs/runtime/vibe-sessions/<run-id>/skeleton-receipt.json
• outputs/runtime/vibe-sessions/<run-id>/intent-contract.json
• docs/requirements/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>.md
• docs/plans/YYYY-MM-DD-<topic>-execution-plan.md
• outputs/runtime/vibe-sessions/<run-id>/phase-*.json
• outputs/runtime/vibe-sessions/<run-id>/cleanup-receipt.json

Known Boundaries

• the canonical router still owns route selection
• install or check surfaces should not be rebaselined casually
• host adapters may shape capability declarations, but must not fork runtime truth
• benchmark autonomy does not mean governance-free execution

Maintenance

• Runtime family: governed-runtime-first
• Version: 2.3.47
• Updated: 2026-03-15
• Canonical router: scripts/router/resolve-pack-route.ps1
• Primary contract metadata: core/skill-contracts/v1/vibe.json