| name | instrument-the-truth |
| description | Wire minimal, consent-first instrumentation into a codebase — an event schema for the keystone path, cohort queries, and experiment scaffolding on whatever stack exists. Use when GROWTH.md has an Aha but no verified instrumentation, when find-the-keystone stalls for lack of data, when a team is flying on vibes, or when an analytics setup has grown into an unusable event swamp and needs cutting back to the path that matters. |
| metadata | {"pack":"2026-07-growth-circle","forged-by":"claude-fable-5","forged-from":"session-2026-07-02-growth-circle — the Growth Circle protocol (github.com/zakelfassi/growth-circle)","forged-reason":"The circle replaces lore with instruments, and instruments are code. This is the skill that does the wiring — with taste (≤10 events) and a consent posture that treats tracking a user like borrowing from them.","usage-count":"0"} |
Instrument the Truth
Instrument the keystone path — and almost nothing else. Verify with your
own eyes that one real event flows end-to-end before calling it done.
Gate
Requires gate: aha = open in GROWTH.md. A keystone spec is ideal but
not required — this skill often runs before find-the-keystone to give
it data. Without even an aha, there is no path to instrument; run
name-the-aha first.
Inputs
- The codebase,
GROWTH.md, and whatever analytics/experimentation stack
already exists (PostHog, GrowthBook, Statsig, Amplitude, plain SQL + a
table — all fine). Prefer what's installed; never add a paid dependency
uninvited.
Steps
-
Draw the path first. From ## Aha (and ## Keystone if present),
list the signup → aha → repeat-value sequence as concrete user actions.
The event schema is this list and nothing else. Taste target: ≤10 events.
-
Design the schema. Per event: name (verb-first, keystone-path
vocabulary), properties (minimum viable — cohort keys, timing, context),
and an explicit no-PII check per property. Distinguish agent traffic
by declared user-agent, never by fingerprinting.
-
Check the consent posture. Read the app's existing consent
framework, privacy policy, and applicable defaults. Instrumentation must
fit inside what users have actually agreed to. Collect under the stated
basis or don't collect. Refuse dark patterns (consent walls, pre-checked
boxes, tracking disguised as functionality) in writing, in the PR.
-
Wire it. Implement events in code, matching the repo's conventions.
Add the cohort queries the keystone derivation needs (engaged
cross-section, first-N-days paths, matched dead cohort) wherever queries
live in this project.
-
Verify first light. Run the product, perform the aha path yourself,
and watch the events arrive end-to-end — dashboard, table, or log. "The
code merged" is not done; "I watched the event land" is done.
-
Record. Write to GROWTH.md ## Instrumentation: schema, query
locations, consent posture, first-light date. Set
gate: instrumented = open.
Conventions
- Every event traces to a ring; if you can't say which growth question an
event answers, delete it.
- Experiment scaffolding (flags, assignment, exposure logging) counts as
instrumentation — add the minimal version if
run-the-loop is next.
- When cutting an event swamp: keep the keystone path, archive the rest,
and log the cut in the lore ledger (swamps encode dead beliefs).
Edge Cases
- No analytics stack at all. Plain append-only table + three SQL
queries beats installing a platform mid-skill. Note the upgrade path.
- Consent posture is undefined. Stop at step 3, draft the posture, and
flag it for human decision — consent posture is non-delegable to agents.
- Client-side only, privacy-sensitive product. Count events without
identifying users (anonymous aggregates, local-first counters). A cruder
honest instrument beats a sharper invasive one.
- First light won't verify. Do not open the gate. A broken pipeline
recorded as working poisons every downstream verdict.
