Research package

Own one user-owned Package working state through execution, advisory reconciliation, and the explicit terminal decision.

Authority

Management authority is .research/state/research.sqlite3. Draft documents are content-addressed NoteRefs. Runs and evidence live under .research/experiments/. The Control Panel is read-only.

Lifecycle

Project -> Package working state -> execute current Experiment
  -> Run/Evidence -> advisory reconciliation -> user outcome

A Package, Direction, and ExperimentSpec are current working records. Typed transactions may revise them and create new versions without rewriting earlier Runs or Evidence. Draft, phase, reopen, and Scope labels are compatibility or advisory metadata; they do not create a second execution gate. A legacy readiness or activation ceremony is not a prerequisite for each later Run.

The existing activation command remains a compatibility/bootstrap path that atomically writes:

• the existing Package as ACTIVE;
• one versioned ACTIVE Direction;
• the initial versioned ExperimentSpecs;
• execution_mode: USER_GUIDED or AUTONOMOUS.

There is no intermediate approval aggregate or execution lease.

User-First Reconcile-After

The user owns the current working state. Execute that state, finalize the Run Evidence, and then offer a reconciliation that explains what the evidence may suggest changing. The user may accept, reject, or revise the suggestion through research-op. The suggestion is advisory and never rewrites a frozen Run, finalized Evidence, resource allocation, or terminal Package outcome.

Only a proven missing launch or terminal callback may be repaired mechanically. That repair is not plan approval, a verifier verdict, or a terminal decision.

Convert a Brainstorm

python3 skills/research-package/scripts/draft_package.py \
  --workspace <workspace> convert \
  --brainstorm-id <id> \
  --title "<title>" \
  --title-rationale "<why this identity is stable>" \
  --actor-id <agent-id>

This preserves Brainstorm provenance and creates the initial working state. Any Draft label is advisory compatibility metadata.

Revise working state

Read one compact context packet, then let the user revise only the changed record fields or document body:

python3 skills/research-package/scripts/draft_package.py \
  --workspace <workspace> revise \
  --package-id <id> \
  --patch '{"problem":"...","objective":"..."}' \
  --body-file <proposal-fragment.html> \
  --actor-id <agent-id>

The proposal document is for human review. Direction and ExperimentSpec JSON are the executable working intent. A phase or reopen record does not block a user-authorized execution. The user still owns any resulting working-state transaction.

Bootstrap or confirm the working state

When a new workspace needs an initial state, the user may accept the exact Direction, ExperimentSpecs, and execution mode in one command:

python3 skills/research-package/scripts/draft_package.py \
  --workspace <workspace> activate \
  --package-id <id> \
  --direction <direction.json> \
  --experiments <experiments.json> \
  --execution-mode USER_GUIDED \
  --actor-id <user-id>

Each ExperimentSpec requires:

{
  "id": "experiment/example/p1",
  "local_id": "P1",
  "spec": {
    "purpose": "Test the claim.",
    "config_ref": "configs/p1.yaml",
    "gate": {
      "metric": "accuracy",
      "operator": ">=",
      "threshold": 0.8
    }
  }
}

Reject missing, textual, or ambiguous gates. Verify the resulting Package, Direction, and ExperimentSpecs through structured state. Later execution does not require another activation, phase, reopen, readiness, or reconciliation approval. The launcher's current identity, version, numeric-gate, authorization, and resource checks remain in force.

Edit the working state

Use the research-plan target through research-op after explicit user acceptance. Include only changed Direction fields, new or revised ExperimentSpecs, explicit retirements, and a reason. The transaction versions current intent atomically and preserves prior Runs and Evidence. Reconciliation is advisory until the user accepts an update. Never copy a measured value into the gate, mutate a frozen Run, or release a resource from this path.

Changing the display title keeps the technical Package id and route slug stable and records the prior title. Changing the technical identity before any Run is allowed only through the dedicated identity transaction. Once evidence exists, keep that technical identity stable. Switching to AUTONOMOUS likewise requires an explicit user transaction.

Record the outcome

Prepare a hash-bound review:

python3 skills/research-package/scripts/draft_package.py \
  --workspace <workspace> review-outcome \
  --package-id <id> \
  --outcome SUCCESS \
  --reason "<evidence-backed reason>" \
  --evidence '["run:<id>","result:<sha256>"]' \
  --actor-id <agent-id>

Only the user commits SUCCESS or FAIL with the returned review hash:

python3 skills/research-package/scripts/draft_package.py \
  --workspace <workspace> commit-outcome \
  --package-id <id> \
  --outcome SUCCESS \
  --reason "<same reason>" \
  --evidence '["run:<id>","result:<sha256>"]' \
  --review-sha256 <sha256> \
  --review-id <conversation-review-id> \
  --actor-id <user-id>

Never treat process exit, a checkpoint, or an unverified metric as the terminal decision. SUCCESS also requires an accepted VERIFIER_VERDICT that still matches the current ExperimentSpec version, finalized Run event, result hash, and gate.

Stop conditions

Stop when the Project charter would change, evidence is missing, a destructive or external action lacks authority, or the user has not made the terminal decision. A pending Draft, phase, readiness, reopen, Scope, or advisory record is not by itself a stop condition. A missing mechanical callback is repaired through research-op; it is not used to manufacture evidence or a terminal outcome.