stems

name	stems
description	Reconstruct Dazzle/HM judgement from stems before inventing structure

Skill: stems (epistemic entry)

Use when starting non-trivial work on the monorepo, HaTchi-MaXchi, or an example app — architecture, new Hyperparts, DSL domain expansion, RBAC, or “should we build X like Y?”

Practice note: docs/architecture/epistemic-engineering-practice.md Paper: Epistemic Engineering (Barlow, 2026)

Do this first (agent didactics)

1. Framework: open stems/INDEX.md, then the stem that matches the task.
2. This package (HM): packages/hatchi-maxchi/stems/INDEX.md if UI/Hyperparts.
3. This app: examples/<app>/stems/INDEX.md or project stems/INDEX.md.
4. Then AGENTS.md (repo or package) for commands and playbooks.
5. Constitutional? → docs/adr/.
6. Parked residual / future issue? → docs/decisions/ (rg '^status: PARKED'). Do not implement a PARKED DD without moving it to FORCED with a named consumer.
7. Design smells like a corpus pathology? → docs/counter-priors/ or dazzle prove representation / MCP knowledge counter_prior.
8. Then code / DSL / unit packs / examples.

Authority (do not invert)

stems → AGENTS → ADRs → DDs → counter-priors → package/app stems
  → maps/tests/dual-locks/ship-surface → guides → gallery mocks

Class	Is a stem?	Role
stems/*.md	yes	Enduring judgement
ADR	no (expression)	Why we chose
DD	no	When residual work may proceed
Counter-prior	no	Negative space
Dual-lock / gate	no	Assessment

Stop if

• You are about to invent a parallel domain model, SPA, or fourth picker without a matching stem (or an explicit new stem + INDEX entry).
• Example work overrides a framework stem on a framework question.
• You are about to implement a future issue that links a PARKED DD “to make progress.”
• You are about to treat every Markdown file as equal weight in context.

Related

• Stem: stems/epistemic-layout.md
• Deferred Decisions: docs/decisions/INDEX.md
• Counter-priors: docs/counter-priors/INDEX.md
• HM playbooks: packages/hatchi-maxchi/docs/agent/