Integrate continuous discovery/framing (design thinking) into the rtmx delivery loop. Use this whenever deciding WHAT to build next, before authoring requirements, when reviewing parked work or metrics to reframe, or any time you are tempted to let the loop invent its own work. Pairs with decomposition (the split mechanics) — this owns the framing discipline.
Write code that makes ZERO external network calls — only loopback to the local model endpoint is permitted — and be able to prove it. Use this whenever you add a dependency, touch config, write anything that could open a socket, or wire up CI's egress gate. Trigger it on any import, any URL, any default that could phone home, and any time you need to demonstrate the build is closed.
The core implementation discipline — claim ONE requirement, make the minimal change that satisfies its acceptance test, run the test, verify, release. Use this every time you implement a requirement: it is the inner loop. Trigger it whenever you are about to write code, and especially when you feel the pull to fix a nearby thing, refactor "while you're here", or tweak a test that's in your way.
Keep context lean for a small, CPU-bound local MoE (~4B active) — prefer LSP/grep/symbol lookup over dumping whole files, scope to one requirement, spend tokens like they're metered. Use this whenever you gather context to work a requirement: reading code, searching, deciding what to put in the prompt. Trigger it any time you're about to read a whole file, paste large output, or widen scope beyond the one requirement in hand.
Break a coarse requirement into atomic children — as PROPOSALS a human approves, never as work the machine authors and then grades itself on. Use this whenever a requirement is too big to close in one scoped pass, when splitting work into atomic units, or when running `aegis propose`. Trigger it any time the agent is tempted to invent sub-requirements, write its own acceptance criteria, or decide on its own what "atomic" means.
aegis-cli's Go style — one static air-gappable binary, std-lib-first, vendored deps, no CGO unless a serving probe needs it, and no telemetry ever. Use this whenever you write or review Go in this repo: choosing a dependency, structuring a package, deciding whether logic belongs here at all. Trigger it before reaching for a third-party library, before adding a build tag, and any time a task starts to feel like harness logic.
Run the golden set through the real loop in a network-captured sandbox and compute/interpret the CI metrics — ACR (north star), TCVR, FPVR, MTC, WCR, TCR, ESC — and enforce the hard gates. Use this whenever you measure aegis-cli: a CI run, a model/harness bake-off, investigating a regression, or interpreting a dashboard move. Trigger it before claiming something "works", and any time you swap the model, harness, or prompt.
Talk to rtmx safely — list the next requirement, claim it atomically, do the work, write the verify result back to the CSV, and release. Use this whenever the loop touches rtmx: `rtmx next`, claim/release, `rtmx verify`, status writeback, or recovering claims after an interruption. Trigger it before any step that reads or mutates requirement state, and any time you are tempted to hold more than one claim or skip the writeback.