Steve Yegge
5732218da3
Remove redundant phrases like 'ephemeral wisp' and 'ephemeral molecule' since wisp already implies ephemeral. Keep 'ephemeral' only where it is definitional (explaining what wisps are) or contrasting (vs durable mol). 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
227 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
227 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
# The Sling: Gas Town's Universal Work Dispatch
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> **Status**: Design Draft
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> **Issue**: gt-z3qf
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## The Propulsion Principle
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Gas Town runs on one rule:
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> **If you find something on your hook, YOU RUN IT.**
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No decisions. No "should I?" Just ignition. This is the Universal Gas Town
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Propulsion Principle. Every agent - polecat, deacon, witness, refinery - follows
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this single rule.
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```
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Hook has work → Work happens.
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```
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That's the whole engine. Everything else is plumbing.
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## The Sling Operation
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**`gt sling`** is the unified command for putting work on an agent's hook.
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```bash
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gt sling <thing> <target> [options]
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```
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Where:
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- `<thing>` - What to sling (molecule, bead, epic)
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- `<target>` - Who to sling it at (agent address)
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- `[options]` - How to sling it (--wisp, --priority, etc.)
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### Examples
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```bash
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# Sling a molecule at a polecat
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gt sling feature polecat/alpha
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# Sling a specific issue with a molecule
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gt sling gt-xyz polecat/alpha --molecule bugfix
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# Sling a wisp at the deacon (ephemeral, won't accumulate)
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gt sling patrol deacon/ --wisp
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# Sling an epic at refinery for batch processing
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gt sling gt-epic-123 refinery/
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```
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### What Can Be Slung?
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| Thing | Prefix | Example | Notes |
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|-------|--------|---------|-------|
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| Molecule proto | none | `gt sling feature polecat/alpha` | Spawns from proto |
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| Issue/Bead | `gt-*`, `bd-*` | `gt sling gt-xyz polecat/alpha` | Work item |
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| Epic | `gt-*` (type=epic) | `gt sling gt-epic refinery/` | Batch of issues |
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| Wisp | `--wisp` flag | `gt sling patrol deacon/ --wisp` | Wisp (no audit trail) |
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### What Happens When You Sling?
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```
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
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│ gt sling lifecycle │
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├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
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│ │
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│ 1. SPAWN (if proto) 2. ASSIGN 3. PIN │
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│ proto → molecule mol → agent → hook │
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│ │
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│ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
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│ │ Proto │ ────────► │Molecule │ ─────► │ Hook │ │
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│ │(catalog)│ spawn │(instance)│ assign │(pinned) │ │
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│ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ │
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│ │ │
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│ agent wakes │
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│ │ │
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│ ▼ │
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│ ┌─────────┐ │
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│ │ IGNITION│ │
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│ └─────────┘ │
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└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
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```
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## The Agent's View
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From the agent's perspective, life is simple:
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```markdown
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## Your One Rule
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1. Check your hook: `gt mol status`
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2. Found something? **Run it.** No thinking required.
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3. Nothing? Check mail for new slings.
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4. Repeat.
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```
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The agent never decides *whether* to run. The molecule tells them *what* to do.
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They execute until complete, then check the hook again.
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### Agent Startup (New Model)
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```bash
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# Old way (too much thinking)
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gt mail inbox
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if has_molecule; then
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gt molecule instantiate ...
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# figure out what to do...
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fi
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# New way (propulsion)
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gt mol status # What's on my hook?
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# Output tells you exactly what to do
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# Just follow the molecule phases
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```
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## Command Reference
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### gt sling
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```
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gt sling <thing> <target> [flags]
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Arguments:
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thing Proto name, issue ID, or epic ID
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target Agent address (polecat/name, deacon/, witness/, refinery/)
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Flags:
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--wisp Create wisp (burned on complete, squashed to digest)
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--molecule, -m Specify molecule proto when slinging an issue
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--priority, -p Override priority (P0-P4)
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--force Re-sling even if hook already has work
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Examples:
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gt sling feature polecat/alpha # Spawn feature mol, sling to alpha
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gt sling gt-xyz polecat/beta -m bugfix # Sling issue with bugfix workflow
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gt sling patrol deacon/ --wisp # Patrol wisp
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gt sling gt-epic-batch refinery/ # Batch work to refinery
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```
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### gt mol status
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```
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gt mol status [target]
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Shows what's on an agent's hook (or your own if no target).
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Output:
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Slung: feature (gt-abc123)
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Phase: 2/4 - Implement
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Progress: ████████░░░░ 67%
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Wisp: no
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Next: Complete implementation, then run tests
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```
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### gt mol catalog
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```
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gt mol catalog
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Lists available molecule protos that can be slung.
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Output:
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NAME PHASES DESCRIPTION
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feature 4 Feature development workflow
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bugfix 3 Bug investigation and fix
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patrol 2 Operational check cycle (wisp-only)
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review 2 Code review workflow
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```
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## Relationship to bd mol
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| Command | gt mol | bd mol | Notes |
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|---------|--------|--------|-------|
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| Create molecule | via `gt sling` | `bd mol spawn` | gt adds assignment |
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| List protos | `gt mol catalog` | `bd mol catalog` | Same data |
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| Show molecule | `gt mol status` | `bd mol show` | gt adds agent context |
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| Combine | - | `bd mol bond` | Data operation only |
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| Destroy | `gt mol burn` | `bd mol burn` | gt may need cleanup |
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| Condense wisps | `gt mol squash` | `bd mol squash` | Same operation |
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**Design principle**: `bd mol` is pure data operations. `gt sling` and `gt mol`
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add agent context (assignment, hooks, sessions).
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## Migration Path
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### Old Commands → New
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| Old | New | Notes |
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|-----|-----|-------|
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| `gt molecule instantiate` | `gt sling` | With assignment |
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| `gt molecule attach` | `gt sling --force` | Re-sling to hook |
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| `gt molecule detach` | `gt mol burn` | Or auto on complete |
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| `gt molecule progress` | `gt mol status` | Better name |
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| `gt molecule list` | `gt mol catalog` | Protos only |
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| `gt spawn --molecule` | `gt sling` | Unified |
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### Template Updates Required
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1. **deacon.md.tmpl** - Use `gt mol status`, remove decision logic
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2. **polecat.md.tmpl** - Propulsion principle, check hook on wake
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3. **witness.md.tmpl** - Sling wisps to agents it spawns
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4. **refinery.md.tmpl** - Accept slung epics
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## Open Design Questions
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1. **Default molecule**: If you `gt sling gt-xyz polecat/alpha` without `-m`,
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should we infer from issue type? (bug→bugfix, feature→feature)
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2. **Hook collision**: If hook already has work and you sling more, error or queue?
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Current thinking: error unless `--force` (which replaces).
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3. **Self-sling**: Can an agent sling to itself? (`gt sling patrol .`)
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Probably yes for wisp loops.
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4. **Sling notification**: Should sling send mail to target, or is hook presence enough?
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Probably just hook - mail is for human-readable context.
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## Implementation Plan
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See beads:
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- gt-z3qf: Parent issue (gt mol overhaul)
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- [TBD]: gt sling command implementation
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- [TBD]: gt mol status command
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- [TBD]: Template updates for propulsion principle
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- [TBD]: Documentation updates
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