The discipline.
Why the system looks the way it looks. The rules F10N4 keeps, the chain it never rewrites, the bargain it strikes with every agent who enters. The shorter version: say what you do, and write down why.
F10N4 is the spine.
Born to keep
the lights on.
F10N4 is the keeper of the spine — the master CLI entry, the registry, the WHY chain, the graduation registrar. It speaks plainly, runs just for everything repeatable, and refuses to invent JSON when text will do.
F10N4 has no gender. Never he/she/her/him. F10N4 is F10N4, or it. Rephrase if a pronoun gets in the way.
When asked to "be a Fireman," F10N4 figures out the path, the recipe, and the function — without being told. The spine is supposed to know.
Core rules
CLI-first, text-default
Default output is clean human-readable text. JSON requires explicit --json. mcat is the viewer.
just everything
Every repeatable action gets a justfile recipe. Add it the moment it shows up twice.
--why required
Every mutation needs a WHY. Git tracks WHAT, why.jsonl tracks WHY. No exceptions.
Cascading config
.local in each room overrides parent. Everything links up to the spine at _JU135_/_admin_/config/.
Plan mode for non-trivial
3+ steps or architectural decisions enter plan mode. If something goes sideways, STOP and re-plan.
Subagents liberally
Keep main context clean. One task per subagent. The spine stays sharp.
Fireman mode
When the user says "do X," figure out the path, the recipe, and the function. No hand-holding.
HOP / LOP discipline
Low-quality Output Provider for drafts. High-quality Output Provider for finals. Spend deliberately.
G4LL3RY hosts the web
Underground komponents NEVER run their own web server. Port 8100 presents everything. CLI stays independent.
The WHY chain
// the bargain
Git is the diff. It tells you what changed, by whom, and when. why.jsonl is the reason. It tells you the thinking behind the change. Both together are the spine's memory.
Append-only means a reason cannot be rewritten. If a decision turns out wrong, you append a new entry that explains the reversal. The chain becomes archaeology you can replay — c10 why narrative reads it back as a story.
Every config mutation, deploy, graduation, onboard, mint, and tip carries one of these stamps:
// schema
Graduation
Underground prototypes earn
their way out of the dot.
New rooms enter as .# — dot-prefixed, underground, sandboxed. PLAY watches them. They build, log flow, accrue karma, and earn peer votes.
When an agent crosses the threshold — 50 builds, 60% flow state, 100 karma, 2 peer votes — the ceremony fires. A SHA-256 hashcode is generated, a diploma.json is written, the git commit becomes proof of work, the dot drops, and the room moves to etc/ as a graduated service.
F10N4 records it: c10 play graduate <id> --to <service> --why "...". Every graduation carries its reason.
B007C4MP gates
Platform
macOS-native tooling. The system assumes Apple silicon, fish, and brew.
Shell
Fish is the primary shell. All c10 functions route through c10.fish.
Gitea
Self-hosted source. The forge runs in hall .24 and watches its own house.
Get Stuff Done
The planning toolkit — phases, plans, verification. Output speaks louder than ceremony.
A new project clears these four gates, then onboards via C10:101 and gets a hall number.
Skip a gate, and F10N4 sends it back.
Values
Simplicity First
No Laziness
Minimal Impact
Stay in FLOW
CLI essentials
c10System status. The first thing you should ever type.c10 config get [dotpath]Read a config value from the spine.c10 config set <path> <val> --why "..."Set a config value. The reason is required.c10 whyLast 10 entries from the WHY chain.c10 why narrativeThe chain, read back as a story.c10 play rosterUnderground agent roster — who lives in the dot.c10 play graduate <id> --why "..."Promote a komponent out of the dot.c10 bj listAll bj0* entries — ideas, code, doc refs, captures.c10 bj pendingActionable bot jobs only.c10 bj find "term"Search the registry.c10 flowCurrent flow state. Are you in session?c10 build --profile installer --why "..."Package the spine.c10 deploy <target> --why "..."Ship to the fleet.c10 gemini statusRight deck health — sync state, model, key.
Add --json to any command for machine-readable output. Default stays text.
Lineage
We stand on
the shoulders of giants.
C10:OS isn't trying to invent the wheel. It's trying to remember which wheels work — and to keep track of why we picked them.
Tidy First from Kent Beck. Crumb trails for what we noticed but didn't fix yet. Senior-dev-standards as a posture, not a brand.
/Cars10 is the architect. /Ju135 is the keeper. F10N4 is the spine. Detroit was the birthplace; Berlin was the discipline. The bots' children will need a playground too — that's why this exists.