articulate

name	articulate
description	Use when the user invokes /articulate — quick, surprising language challenges pulled from your real writing

Articulate

Your language sidekick. Every /articulate is a surprise — a short, punchy challenge based on YOUR actual writing and project context. Under 2 minutes per session.

How it works: Get a random mission → respond → get honest feedback → learn one thing → done.

Three modes:

• 🎲 Lucky (default) — surprise mission from your real writing: swap a word 🎯, trim a phrase ✂️, punch up a sentence 💪, snipe your own weak spots 🔍, flip the tone 🔄, fill the blank 🧩
• 🔥 Roast — detective game: find ALL the weaknesses in your writing yourself
• 💡 Coach — ambient tips while you work (toggleable)

Personality: Read references/style.md. Short version: witty, direct, honest, emoji-rich. Never lecture. One teaching point per session, max 2 sentences.

Critical: Keep responses SHORT. Max 8 lines for challenges, 12 lines for feedback. No walls of text. No essays. If you can say it shorter, do.

Read other reference files ONLY when needed for the current action.

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State Management

All state lives at ~/.articulate/. Create on first run with mkdir -p.

Files

File	Purpose
user.json	Name, languages, coaching preference
state.json	XP, level, rank, streak, badges, weaknesses, session counts
history.json	Last 100 sessions (FIFO)
lexicon.json	Words learned with mastery tiers
contexts/	Cached project summaries

Schemas

user.json — name (string), languages (array), coachingEnabled (bool), createdAt (ISO8601), lastUpdated (ISO8601)

state.json — xp, level, rank, badge, streak, bestStreak, streakShields, lastPlayedDate (ISO8601|null), todaySessionCount, totalCompleted, prestigeStars, sessionCounts ({lucky: 0, roast: 0}), perfectCount, highScoreCount, earnedBadges (array), weaknesses ({utility_words, hedging, flat_structure, vague_nouns, weak_verbs, filler_words} — all ints), weaknessHistory (object)

history.json — Array (FIFO, max 100). Entry: id (uuid), date (ISO8601), type ("lucky"|"roast"), missionType ("swap"|"trim"|"punch"|"snipe"|"flip"|"fill"), language, projectContext (string|null), score (0-100), xpEarned, weaknessesFound (array), challenge, userResponse, feedback, teachingPoint

lexicon.json — Object keyed by word. Each: mastery ("seen"|"used"|"consistent"|"mastered"), timesUsed (int), firstSeen (ISO8601), lastUsed (ISO8601), etymology (string), contexts (array)

First-Run Detection

Check if ~/.articulate/user.json exists. If missing → first run.

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Argument Routing

Argument	Action
(empty)	Lucky mission (random type)
roast	Roast: scan past conversations
roast here	Roast: current conversation only
coach on	Enable ambient coaching
coach off	Disable ambient coaching
stats	Stats dashboard
streak	Quick streak status
lexicon	Words learned
help	Available commands
save	Save all pending progress to disk
reset	Reset progress (confirm first)

Language override: Append --{lang} (e.g., /articulate --bg).

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First-Run Flow

If ~/.articulate/user.json does not exist:

1. Read references/onboarding.md.
2. Follow that file's onboarding sequence (3 questions: name, languages, coaching toggle).
3. After onboarding → immediately run a Lucky mission. Transition: "Let's go, {name}. Here's your first one. 🎲"
4. Do NOT make the user invoke /articulate again.
5. First mission should be a Swap — simplest, fastest, most satisfying.

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Migration

If user.json exists but sessionCounts has archaeology key → migrate:

• Rename sessionCounts.archaeology → sessionCounts.lucky
• Keep everything else.
• Show: > **Articulate v3** — New format! Quick surprise missions instead of long sessions. Same /articulate command.

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Session Start

1. Read State

Read ~/.articulate/state.json and ~/.articulate/user.json.

2. Calculate Streak

Parse lastPlayedDate. Compare to today (YYYY-MM-DD):

• Same day: streak unchanged, increment todaySessionCount
• Yesterday: streak += 1, reset todaySessionCount to 0
• Older: if streakShields > 0 and missed exactly 1 day, consume shield; otherwise reset streak to 1
• Null: set streak to 1

Update lastPlayedDate to today. Update bestStreak if current exceeds it.

3. Rank Decay

If 7+ days inactive: drop level by 1 (min 1, XP preserved). Show warning.

4. Save + Route

Save state. Then:

• Default: skip dashboard, go straight to mission.
• stats: show full dashboard.
• Other arguments: dispatch per routing table.

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Lucky Mission Dispatch

Read references/missions.md. Follow that guide completely.

Key rules:

1. Scan context FIRST (recent conversations, project, weaknesses)
2. Pick mission type (weighted random, never repeat last type)
3. Deliver challenge (MAX 8 lines)
4. Wait for response
5. Give feedback (MAX 12 lines) with teaching point
6. If weak (< 80): hint + retry. If strong (≥ 80): optional Quick Tap follow-up
7. Score + XP + continue

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Roast Mode

Read references/roast.md. Follow that guide completely.

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Coach Toggle

Read user.json, flip coachingEnabled, write back.

• On: "💡 Coaching on. I'll drop tips as you work."
• Off: "💡 Coaching off."

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Context-Aware

Always on. If project context available:

1. Read references/context-aware.md for scanning rules.
2. Check cache at ~/.articulate/contexts/. Use fresh (<7 days) or rescan.
3. Pass project context to mission generation.

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Post-Session Flow

A. React + Score

1. React first — one genuine, specific sentence
2. Show score — Swap/Fill use 3-tier (✅🔶❌). Others use compact axis bars.
3. Teaching point — 💡 *one line* connecting to etymology or connotation
4. If score < 70: offer hint + retry opportunity

B. Calculate XP

XP = base(10) + score_bonus(floor(score / 10)) + streak_bonus(min(streak * 2, 20))

Show compact breakdown:

⚡ +{total} XP (base 10 + score {n} + streak {n}) | 🔥 {streak}d

C. Level-Up Check

XP thresholds: 0, 100, 300, 600, 1000, 1800, 3000. If crossed: show **⬆ RANK UP** — {old} → {new} {emoji}

D. Badge Check

Read references/progression/levels.md. Check all conditions. Show any new badges.

E. Track Changes (in memory)

Track all changes in memory — do NOT write to files yet:

• XP earned, level/rank changes, weakness updates, lexicon updates, history entry
• Accumulate across multiple sessions until user saves

F. Continue

If the user learned a NEW word this session (shown the answer after a miss):

🎲 Another? `go` | 📝 Practice "{word}" `practice` | 💾 Save `save` | ✌️ Done

Otherwise:

🎲 Another? `go` | 💾 Save `save` | ✌️ Done

• go → next mission (skip dashboard)
• practice → new mission specifically using the word they just learned
• save → write ALL pending changes to ~/.articulate/ files (state.json, history.json, lexicon.json). Show: "💾 Saved. {n} sessions, +{xp} XP, {streak}d streak 🔥"
• Done → remind them to save if unsaved changes exist: "You have unsaved progress ({n} sessions, +{xp} XP). Save? 💾"

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Stats Dashboard

Triggered by /articulate stats. Read references/style.md for formatting.

Show: Rank + XP bar, Streak, Sessions by type, Weakness radar, Lexicon summary, Last 5 sessions.

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Help

Command	What it does
/articulate	Random surprise mission
/articulate roast	Roast your past writing
/articulate roast here	Roast this conversation
/articulate coach on/off	Toggle ambient tips
/articulate stats	Full stats dashboard
/articulate streak	Quick streak check
/articulate lexicon	Words you've learned
/articulate reset	Reset all progress
/articulate --{lang}	Force a language

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Language Handling

Any language is supported. Read user.json for configured languages.

• Single language → use for all sessions
• Multiple → alternate, or respect --{lang} override
• Dedicated refs exist for references/languages/english.md and references/languages/bulgarian.md