demerzel-metafix

name	demerzel-metafix
description	Meta-fix — don't just fix the problem, fix the system that allowed the problem. Generalize fixes into patterns, policies, and prevention.

Demerzel Meta-Fix — Fix the System, Not Just the Symptom

When you fix a bug, you fixed one instance. When you meta-fix, you prevent the entire class of bugs. This skill escalates every fix through 5 levels until the root cause is addressed systemically.

Usage

/demerzel metafix [description of what just broke] /demerzel metafix --from-pattern [pattern-id] — meta-fix a known anti-pattern /demerzel metafix --scan — scan for fixable patterns across all state

The 5 Levels of Fixing

Level 0: FIX THE INSTANCE
    "The meta-grammar link is broken"
    → Fix the link

Level 1: FIX THE BATCH
    "Are there other broken links?"
    → Scan and fix all broken links

Level 2: FIX THE DETECTION
    "Why didn't we catch this before it was visible?"
    → Add link verification to driver RECON phase

Level 3: FIX THE PREVENTION
    "Why did the link break in the first place?"
    → Add rename-tracking to the grammar prefix refactor process

Level 4: FIX THE SYSTEM
    "Why is this class of problem possible at all?"
    → Create readme-sync-policy + blind-spot-detection grammar
    → Wire into driver cycle so it's automated

The meta-fix is not complete until you've reached Level 4.

Process

Step 1: IDENTIFY the instance

What broke? Describe the specific problem.

Instance: [what happened]
Impact: [who was affected, what was wrong]
How discovered: [user noticed, audit caught, driver flagged]

Step 2: FIX the instance (Level 0)

Fix the immediate problem. Commit with conventional style.

Step 3: SCAN for siblings (Level 1)

Ask: "Is this the only instance, or are there others?"

• Search for the same pattern across all repos
• Check state/ for similar staleness patterns
• Check all READMEs for similar broken links
• Check all grammars/policies/schemas for similar inconsistencies

Fix all siblings found. Commit.

Step 4: ADD detection (Level 2)

Ask: "How should we have caught this automatically?"

Options (pick the most appropriate):

• Blind spot grammar production — add a detection rule to gov-blind-spot-detection.ebnf
• Staleness policy category — add a new artifact category to staleness-detection-policy.yaml
• Behavioral test — add a test case that would catch this regression
• Driver RECON check — add a scan step to the driver skill
• GitHub workflow — add an automated check on push/PR

Implement the detection. Commit.

Step 5: ADD prevention (Level 3)

Ask: "Why did this happen, and how do we prevent it?"

Common root causes and their preventions:

Root Cause	Prevention
Rename without link update	README sync policy — link check after refactors
New artifact without README	Coverage check — directories need READMEs
Stats drift from reality	Auto-count in COMPOUND phase
Cross-repo inconsistency	Galactic Protocol sync directives
Manual process skipped	Automate in driver cycle or GitHub workflow
Grammar gap	Research cycle grammar evolution (Step 6b)
No test coverage	Behavioral test for the scenario

Implement prevention. Commit.

Step 6: SYSTEMIZE (Level 4)

Ask: "What policy, grammar, or skill change ensures this entire class of problem is handled?"

Options:

• New policy — if this pattern recurs and needs formal rules
• Grammar evolution — add productions to detection grammars
• Skill update — update driver, audit, or report skills
• Pattern catalog — log in state/patterns/ for future reference
• Promotion candidate — if the fix reveals something constitutional

Implement. Commit.

Step 7: LOG the meta-fix

Create a meta-fix record in state/patterns/:

{
  "pattern_id": "metafix-NNN-slug",
  "category": "metafix",
  "name": "Description of what was meta-fixed",
  "levels_completed": [0, 1, 2, 3, 4],
  "instance_fixed": "what broke",
  "siblings_found": N,
  "detection_added": "where detection was added",
  "prevention_added": "what prevention was added",
  "system_change": "what policy/grammar/skill was created or updated",
  "timestamp": "2026-03-22T00:00:00Z"
}

Step 8: REPORT

Print meta-fix summary:

Meta-Fix Complete: [name]
Level 0 (instance): [what was fixed]
Level 1 (batch): [N siblings found and fixed]
Level 2 (detection): [what detection was added]
Level 3 (prevention): [what prevention was added]
Level 4 (system): [what system change was made]
Artifacts modified: [list]
Commits: [count]

Scan Mode

/demerzel metafix --scan walks through known anti-patterns and checks:

1. Read all state/patterns/anti-pattern-*.json
2. For each, check if Levels 2-4 have been addressed
3. Report which anti-patterns still lack detection, prevention, or systemization
4. Prioritize by occurrence_count and recency

Examples

Example 1: Broken Grammar Link

Level 0: Fix meta-grammar.ebnf → core-meta-grammar.ebnf link in org README
Level 1: Scan all READMEs — found 5 more broken links from prefix rename
Level 2: Added link verification to driver RECON phase (readme-sync-policy)
Level 3: Added rename-tracking rule: "after git mv, grep for old name in all .md files"
Level 4: Created readme-sync-policy.yaml with automated sync fields + link check

Example 2: Stale Conscience Signals

Level 0: Process 5 stale signals from 2026-03-17
Level 1: Found 30+ stale artifacts across state/
Level 2: Created staleness-detection-policy.yaml with per-category thresholds
Level 3: Added staleness scan to driver RECON phase
Level 4: Created gov-blind-spot-detection.ebnf grammar + patterns catalog

Example 3: Empty Departments

Level 0: Produce course for music department
Level 1: Found 11 of 13 departments had no courses
Level 2: Added coverage check to blind-spot-detection grammar
Level 3: Created /seldon course-pipeline for automated production
Level 4: Created grammar-evolution-policy ensuring grammars drive course production

Meta-Meta-Fix

If you find yourself repeatedly meta-fixing the same class of problem, that's a signal that the meta-fix system itself needs improvement:

• Are Level 4 changes actually preventing recurrence?
• Are patterns being logged but not acted on?
• Is the driver cycle actually running the detection checks?

This is the fixed-point question: does the meta-fix process meta-fix itself?

Governance

• Article 7 (Auditability) — every meta-fix is logged with full 5-level trace
• Article 8 (Observability) — meta-fix count and level distribution are governance metrics
• Article 11 (Ethical Stewardship) — systemic fixes demonstrate care for long-term quality
• Staleness detection policy — meta-fix records have 30-day freshness threshold
• Grammar evolution policy — detection grammars evolve through meta-fix discoveries