Design Principles
Six constraints that are non-negotiable. Every architecture decision is measured against them.
1 · Evidence Before Action
No planning step may proceed without a confidence-scored ECO. If the knowledge layer cannot produce sufficient evidence, the system stops and says so explicitly.
2 · Determinism Over Magic
Every score, every classification, every gate result must be reproducible from stored inputs. No probabilistic or LLM-gated decisions in the control path.
3 · Explicit Limits
The system must communicate what it does not know. Unknown is a valid, first-class answer. Silent failure is not tolerated.
4 · Minimal Footprint
Lane A tasks (80% of all commits) produce zero LLM calls. The system's default mode is hooks, not inference.
5 · Human Authority Preserved
The system recommends. Humans decide. Below confidence 60 the system is restricted to suggesting human actions only.
6 · Reversibility
Every decision is recorded in the Decision Ledger. Any task can be replayed from its stored ECO snapshot to debug or calibrate.