| name | rtg-schema-design |
| description | Design or evolve language-neutral RTG graph schemas from user and system needs. Use when choosing anchors, associated data, links, required properties, type keys, migration boundaries, or compatibility rules; when reviewing an RTG schema for clarity and extensibility; or before making consequential schema changes to a live RTG graph. |
RTG Schema Design
Turn domain meaning into the smallest precise RTG schema that supports identity, typed facts,
relationships, queries, and safe evolution. Preserve partial knowledge and implementation freedom.
Read schema-design.md before authoring or approving a schema.
Workflow
- Elicit the questions, decisions, and ordinary requests the graph must support.
- Inspect the existing schema and representative live data when evolving a graph.
- Identify independently addressable things as anchors, coherent typed facts as associated data,
and meaningful navigable relationships as links.
- Define stable type keys, property kinds, required fields, deliberate field refinements, and
allowed link endpoints.
- Walk through incomplete, duplicate, evolving, and query scenarios. Remove requirements that
would force agents to invent facts.
- Explain the proposed semantics and compatibility impact. Obtain human approval before a
consequential live-schema change.
- Stage and validate the migration, inspect findings, cut over atomically, then validate live
data and representative queries.
Output Standard
Produce a reviewable schema proposal containing:
- the user outcomes and queries it supports;
- anchor, associated-data, and link definitions with rationale;
- exact property kinds, optionality, justified refinements, and link endpoint sets;
- identity, naming, and duplicate-handling rules;
- compatibility and migration effects on existing data;
- validation and acceptance scenarios;
- intentional freedoms and deferred specializations.
Stop when the schema is sufficient for correct storage, linking, querying, extension, and
black-box validation. Do not model agent prompts, private implementation structure, or speculative
domain detail as schema.
