Three gates, always in this order. Everything clears Gate 1 before Gate 2 before Gate 3.
Binary pass/fail. Clears first. Two sides: Safety (authorized agents acting wrong) and Security (unauthorized access). Nothing else matters until this gate passes.
Threshold — must work before you optimize. The thing has to actually do what it's supposed to do. No point making something fast if it doesn't work yet.
Continuous improvement — the reward for clearing Gates 1 and 2. Now make it fast, cheap, and elegant. This is where optimization lives.
The shared language for how you and Claude change any plan, roadmap, or knowledge structure. Every operation is a clarification of shared understanding.
| Operation Pair | Type | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Promote / Demote | Vertical movement | Move something up or down in priority or scope level |
| Merge / Split | Structural | Combine two things into one, or break one thing apart. Original identity is destroyed. |
| Rename / Alias | Identity | Replace a name (Rename) or add an additional name (Alias) without replacing the original |
| Group / Ungroup | Containment | Add or remove a boundary around items. Items inside are preserved. Can be ordered or unordered. |
| Add / Remove | Existence | Create a new thing or delete an existing thing |
| Reorder | Sequence (independent) | Change the order. Logics: Priority, Sequential, Dependency, Scope, Specificity, Arbitrary. |
Move (reparent) · Defer / Activate (horizon boundary) · Tag (metadata) · Refine (semantic precision) · Weight (magnitude/intensity) · Correct (fix signal distortion) · Elevate (promote across categorical boundary)
Watching for these to surface naturally in sessions. When one appears, Claude names it.
Every session declares its type. Type determines what tools, protocol, and model to use.
| Code | Name | Model | When You Use It |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXP | Explore | Opus | Research, investigate, discover. "What's out there?" |
| DES | Design | Opus | Architect, plan, make structural decisions. "How should this work?" |
| BLD | Build | Sonnet | Implement from a spec. Mechanical, well-defined. "Make it." |
| VER | Verify | Sonnet | Test, check, validate. "Does it actually work?" |
| CAP | Capture | Opus | Record ideas, process inbox, classify and route. "Remember this." |
| ORG | Organize | Opus | Triage, sequence, cluster, prioritize. "Put this in order." |
| REV | Review | Opus | Evaluate health, find patterns, check for drift. "How are we doing?" |
Type these at the start of any session. Claude knows what to do.
| Say This | What Happens | Also Works |
|---|---|---|
next |
Shows the "What's Next" menu with options | what's next, continue |
inbox |
Process pending files in the inbox — classify, stress test, route | process inbox |
CAP |
Open a Capture session — inbox files + anything you want to say | capture |
orient |
Quick status read — where things stand, what's active | status, where are we |
auto |
Full autopilot — picks next autonomous item and runs immediately | — |
close |
Run the full session close checklist | finish, wrap up |
horizon |
Show the near-term map at requested scope | what's on the horizon |
plot |
Open roadmap for editing — apply Hermes' Toolkit moves | update the map |
Kurt + Claude design together (Opus). Then Claude builds autonomously after the handoff.
Kurt and Claude working interactively. Kurt provides Gates 1+2 in real time.
Well-specified tasks. Claude runs solo. Mechanical, fully defined scope.
Reserved for personal/passion views as the display system evolves.