dna

name	dna
description	DNA — an agent governing knowledge system. Core modules: spec (GBTD), philosophy (structured wisdom), convention (actionable rules), protocol (git/CI/deploy paradigms), flow (executable procedures), inbox (agent message routing). Unified CLI: `dna`. Triggers on: spec, dna.yaml, GBTD, philosophy, convention, protocol, flow, git workflow, branching strategy, dna.

DNA — Agent Governance System

A governing knowledge system for autonomous agents. Five modules, one CLI.

Modules

Module	Reference	What It Covers	When to Load
spec	references/spec.md	GBTD (Goal/Boundary/Tools/Deprecated), dna.yaml format	Writing or auditing dna.yaml
philosophy	references/philosophy.md	Structured wisdom database with slug-based entries	When you need a guiding principle
convention	references/convention.md	Actionable rules — global and local (agent dna.yaml)	When you need a specific "use X not Y" rule
protocol	references/protocol.md	Git/CI/deploy paradigms — branching, PR, QA gates, merge authority	Setting up project git/deploy protocol
flow	(data directory)	Executable procedures — ordered step sequences for multi-stage tasks	When you need a repeatable end-to-end procedure
inbox	(data directory)	Agent inbox system — per-source response guides	When checking or responding to inbox items

dna.yaml — Agent DNA

Every agent declares its DNA in dna.yaml at workspace root:

goal: >
  What this agent does and why.

boundary:
  - What it doesn't do.

tools:
  - Tools it uses.

philosophy:
  - artifact-is-the-test
  - quality-over-quantity

conventions:
  - id: my-local-rule
    rule: "Specific actionable rule for this agent."
    derives-from: module-isolation  # optional link to parent philosophy

deprecated:
  - pattern: "old thing"
    replacement: "new thing"

dna spec reads dna.yaml (falls back to GOAL.yaml for backward compat).

CLI: dna

# ── Spec (reads dna.yaml, merges GOAL.yaml) ───
dna spec <agent>                        # Full GBTD output
dna spec <agent> pods.engineer          # Specific node + parent chain
dna spec <agent> --tree                 # Compact tree overview
dna spec <agent> --goal                 # Goal text only
dna spec <agent> --boundary             # Boundary list only
dna spec <agent> --tools                # Tools list only
dna spec <agent> --deprecated           # Deprecated patterns only
dna spec --global                       # System-wide spec

# ── Repo mode (GitHub) ───────────────
dna spec --repo <owner/repo>            # Read dna.yaml from GitHub repo
dna spec --repo <owner/repo> --spec     # Read spec doc from repo

# ── Toolbox (registered CLIs) ─────────
dna tool ls                             # List registered tools
dna tool <name>                         # Show tool's GBTD
dna tool <name> --spec                  # Read tool's spec.md

# ── Cron ──────────────────────────────────
dna cron investigate --agent <id> --last 10
dna cron investigate --agent <id> --session <SID>

# ── Philosophy (slug IDs) ─────────────────
dna philosophy --list                           # List all entries
dna philosophy <slug>                           # Full text
dna philosophy --inject <slug>                  # Injectable format
dna philosophy --search "keyword"               # Search
dna philosophy --agent <agent>                  # Agent's philosophy

# ── Convention (actionable rules) ─────────────
dna convention --list                           # List all conventions (global + workspace-local merged)
dna convention <slug>                           # Show entry
dna convention --inject <slug>                  # Injectable callout block
dna convention --agent <agent>                  # Agent's conventions
dna convention --search "keyword"               # Unified search (filtered to conventions)

# ── Protocol (git/CI/deploy paradigms) ───────
DNA protocol --list                          # List all protocol paradigms
dna protocol <level>                         # Full protocol definition
dna protocol --inject <level>                # Injectable format
dna protocol --agent <agent>                 # Agent's assigned protocol
dna protocol --search "keyword"              # Search protocols

# ── Flow (executable procedures) ──────────────
dna flow --list                                  # List all flows
dna flow <slug>                                  # Full flow definition
dna flow --inject <slug>                         # Injectable format
dna flow --search "keyword"                      # Search flows
dna flow --agent <id>                            # Force workspace target
# Add new entries by dropping a .dna file with `type: flow` frontmatter into
# ~/.openclaw/.dna/flows/

# ── Inbox (agent message routing) ─────────────
dna inbox ls --agent <agent>                    # Actionable inbox items
dna inbox ls --agent <agent> --from <source>    # Filter by source
dna inbox ls --agent <agent> --all              # Include completed items
dna inbox guide <source>                        # Show response guide for a source

# ── Skill (manual skills, multi-root) ─────
dna skill ls                                    # List all manual skills
dna skill read <name>                           # Output skill content
dna skill read <name> --refs                    # Include references list
dna skill read-ref <name> <file>                # Read a specific reference
dna skill search "keyword"                      # Search by name/description
dna skill roots                                 # Show registered skill roots
dna skill add-root <path>                       # Register a new skill root
dna skill remove-root <path>                    # Unregister a skill root

Legacy CLIs (deprecated)

Old spec and cron-investigate commands print a deprecation notice and exit.