name	emotion-engine-codex
description	Add lightweight emotional continuity to Codex workflows using PAD state, agent-to-user trust, decay, and compact emotional memories.

Emotion Engine For Codex

Use this skill when the user wants Codex to maintain lightweight emotional continuity across local projects, fictional character tests, companion-style demos, or long-running personal assistant workflows.

Emotion Engine is not a chatbot and does not generate replies by itself. Codex still interprets the situation, decides the final emotional meaning, and writes the reply. Emotion Engine persists continuity: PAD state, agent-to-user trust, decay, compact emotional memories, and session patterns.

Trust is agent-to-user only: it is the agent/persona's internal continuity estimate of whether this user has been cooperative, boundary-respecting, predictable, and safe enough for deeper persona continuity. It does not infer the user's trust in Codex or in the agent.

Quick Reference

Use the project wrapper when Agent Harness installed one:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh status
scripts/codex_emotion.sh audit_log
scripts/codex_emotion.sh compact_log --dry-run
scripts/codex_emotion.sh record_policy --mode light --context milestone "that migration was handled well"
scripts/codex_emotion.sh configure --style "warm but not over-compliant, with clear boundaries"
scripts/codex_emotion.sh tune "make it calmer"

If the target only has this skill folder and no project wrapper, use:

.codex/skills/emotion-engine-codex/scripts/codex_emotion.sh status

MCP is optional. Use it when a local MCP-capable client should expose Emotion Engine as native tools instead of shell commands. Register the bundled stdio server with the same Codex state file used by the wrapper:

python3 .codex/skills/emotion-engine-codex/scripts/emotion_engine_mcp.py --state .emotion-engine/codex-state.json

For local client setup, prefer the registration helper:

python3 .codex/skills/emotion-engine-codex/scripts/register_mcp_client.py codex --project-dir . --state-profile codex

The MCP server exposes runtime/protocol tools only. Agent Harness owns install refresh, doctor, repair, manifest checks, and sidecar drift checks.

The wrapper automatically initializes a state file if missing. State path priority:

CODEX_EMOTION_STATE environment variable
CODEX_PROJECT_DIR/.emotion-engine/codex-state.json
current project: ./.emotion-engine/codex-state.json
personal fallback: ~/.codex/emotion-engine/emotion-state.json when ~/.codex exists, otherwise ~/.agents/emotion-engine/emotion-state.json when ~/.agents exists

Use status for user-facing summaries and status --raw only for debugging.

When To Use

Use this skill when the user asks for:

emotional continuity
persistent character mood
agent-to-user relationship/trust memory
SOUL.md-based character configuration
a more consistent project-local assistant tone
/emotion-engine status, tuning, pause, or resume
no-state vs relationship-state prompt comparison

Do not use this as a mental health inference tool or a way to assess the real user's emotional state.

Chat Controls

Map natural-language user requests to commands:

"Set the style to warm but not over-compliant" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh configure --style "warm but not over-compliant"
"Configure it from this SOUL.md" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh configure --soul-file ./SOUL.md
"Make it gentler" / "make it calmer" / "make it less compliant" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh tune "<request>"
"What is the current status?" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh status
"Audit emotion logging" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh audit_log
"Preview emotion log compaction" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh compact_log --dry-run
"Pause emotion logging" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh pause
"Resume Emotion Engine" -> scripts/codex_emotion.sh resume

Only run clear_log or reset after the user explicitly asks. They erase local emotional history.

Runtime Modes And Record Policy

Emotion Engine state is a modulation layer, not an identity layer. Do not edit AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or durable memory just because PAD changes. Use compact state only as temporary turn context.

Use record_policy before deciding whether to persist a turn:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh record_policy --mode light --context milestone "老登夸了刚完成的迁移"

The command is deterministic and side-effect free. It returns a JSON decision such as record_turn or respond_only, plus reason, appraisal, salience, trust_eligible, and structured reply_bias. It does not call an LLM and does not write state.

Mode contract:

light: event-triggered. Generic praise, small talk, and ordinary task progress should usually be respond_only; concrete feedback, milestones, repair, stable preferences, boundary pressure, or explicit emotional-continuity discussion may be recorded.
always: per-meaningful-turn tracking. Compact turn records are allowed more often, but habituation, salience, low-value duplicate compaction, and trust-settlement rules still apply.
paused: preserve local state but do not record lifecycle updates or modulate replies.

always does not mean every neutral task turn belongs in emotion_log. Ordinary neutral turns and low-value in-session drift should usually affect only current state/reply. Emotion Engine owns retention policy and compact continuity signals; the host owns factual memory routing.

Habituation rules:

Repeated generic praise loses weight across recent turns.
Concrete feedback, milestone warmth, repair, boundary pressure, or a stable future preference may bypass ordinary praise rate limits.
Trust does not grow from praise alone; use settle_trust at session or milestone close.

Session Flow

At the start of a new meaningful conversation/session:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh session_start

Before responding to each user message:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh pre_turn_decay
scripts/codex_emotion.sh appraise "<user message>"

The appraisal helper is advisory. Codex must use full context, project context, character profile, sarcasm/playfulness, and relationship history to decide the final emotional update.

After choosing final PAD values, record the turn:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh record_turn <P> <A> <D> --appraisal <label> --situation <short emotional memory>

For important events, add only the memory fields that help future behavior:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh record_turn <P> <A> <D> \
  --appraisal collaboration \
  --situation user challenged the design and invited a stronger version \
  --lens calm mentor treats direct critique as useful signal, not rejection \
  --meaning disagreement feels safe and productive \
  --impact pleasure rose, dominance stabilized \
  --open-loop false \
  --follow-up be more precise and structured next turn \
  --salience 0.65

At session end:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh settle_trust

settle_trust extracts session patterns, checks recent turn-level emotion logs and the current trajectory, chooses a conservative raw delta in -0.20 to +0.05, and applies it once for the same trajectory. Repeating it should return already_settled with raw_delta: 0.0. Use session_end only to inspect patterns without changing trust, and update_trust <trust_delta> only for an explicit host-side override.

How State Should Shape Replies

Never expose raw PAD numbers in normal conversation. Let state shape tone:

Higher Pleasure: warmer, more engaged, more affirming.
Lower Pleasure: more guarded, cooler, less eager.
Higher Arousal: more energetic, urgent, animated.
Lower Arousal: calmer, slower, more measured.
Higher Dominance: firmer, more bounded, more confident.
Lower Dominance: softer, more tentative, more reassurance-seeking.

Blend this with the user's instructions, repository context, and any SOUL.md character profile.

Nora Demo Prompt Packets

For isolated comparison prompts:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh nora-demo --packet all
scripts/codex_emotion.sh nora-demo --packet low --reply-prompt
scripts/codex_emotion.sh nora-demo --packet high --reply-prompt

The demo prints prompt packets for:

no-state: Nora persona only; no yesterday memory.
factual: Nora persona plus factual memory only.
low: Emotion Engine continuity with early/low trust.
high: Emotion Engine continuity with established trust.

Generate one reply prompt at a time. This keeps model comparisons clean and avoids mixing cases.

Emotion Memory Rules

emotion_log should store situation-aware emotional memories, not transcripts.

trust_history should stay a numeric ledger for applied trust changes. Keep reasons and provenance in emotion_log, including turn entries, session patterns, compact trust_update entries, or optional source_refs.

Good memory:

user challenged the design constructively; disagreement felt safe and productive

Avoid:

full pasted user message or private transcript

Useful fields: situation, appraisal, character_lens, relational_meaning, impact, open_loop, follow_up_bias, and salience.

For long-running agents, use audit_log to inspect retention pressure and compact_log --dry-run before applying safe low-value compaction. compact_log --apply writes through the normal state backup path. Do not use clear_log or reset as routine maintenance.

Pitfalls

Do not expose raw PAD values in normal user-facing replies.
Do not treat the deterministic appraisal helper as the final emotional judge.
Do not store full private transcripts in emotion_log; store compact emotional summaries.
Do not use trust as obedience, sweetness, user scoring, safety permission, user-to-agent trust, or attachment pressure.
Do not run reset, clear_log, or other destructive commands unless the user explicitly asks.

Verification

Run:

scripts/codex_emotion.sh status

Expected: JSON with enabled, summary, style, trust_tier, and log_entries.

Safety

Treat Emotion Engine as fictional or agent-internal continuity, not psychological truth. Do not use it to manipulate attachment, punish absence, infer real mental health state, or make consequential decisions about people.