self-evolution

name	self-evolution
description	Governance lifecycle manager for the Three-Layer Governance OS. Six operations: CLASSIFY, CAPTURE, PROMOTE, REFINE, RETIRE, COMPRESS. Manages principles (SOUL), rules (AGENT/STEERING), and gates (hooks/code). Detects capability gaps, captures corrections with bias tags, auto-promotes recurring patterns (3x threshold), and prevents governance bloat. TRIGGER: "add rule", "steeringify". NOT FOR: for one-off file edits (just edit directly).
tier	always
platform	all

Self-Evolution — Governance Lifecycle Manager

Manages the Three-Layer Governance OS: Principles → Rules → Gates. Read INSTRUCTIONS.md for the full protocol.

Six Operations

Operation	Trigger	What It Does
CLASSIFY	Any governance change proposed	Classify layer, parent principle, check conflict/budget
CAPTURE	User correction detected	Write C-entry with bias tag (A/B/C/D)
PROMOTE	Pattern seen 3x OR user approves	Elevate from EVOLUTION → AGENT/STEERING (absorbs steeringify)
REFINE	Principle not precise enough	Sharpen existing principle/rule wording
RETIRE	Rule covered by gate, or 30d idle	Remove from active rules, record in EVOLUTION
COMPRESS	3+ rules share same root	Merge into single rule with broader coverage

Trigger Detection (unchanged from v1)

🔴 Reactive — Capability gap

🟡 Proactive — Better way exists (deferred)

🟢 Correction Capture — User pushback → C-entry with bias tag

🔵 Stuck — Going in circles

Priority: Stuck > Reactive > Correction > Proactive Limits: Max 3 triggers/session. 60s cooldown.

Bias Classification (on every correction)

Bias	Pattern	Indicator
A	Premature completion	"Good enough", skip review, defer known issue
B	Inference over evidence	Assert without reading, stale memory
C	Productivity over quality	Rush output, shallow analysis
D	Surrender on obstacle	Give up, ask user to compensate

Governance Budget (enforced on PROMOTE/REFINE)

• SOUL.md principles: ≤12
• AGENT.md rules: ≤25
• STEERING.md standing rules: ≤15

At cap → COMPRESS or RETIRE existing before adding.

Intake Classification (on every governance change)

Before writing to SOUL/AGENT/STEERING:

1. Layer: principle / rule / gate?
2. Parent: P1-P7?
3. Conflict: duplicates/contradicts existing?
4. Budget: current count vs cap
5. Source: user / correction / pipeline / self-detect

Output brief → user confirms (user source) or auto-apply (3x agent evidence).

Config

Key	Default	Effect
enabled	true	Kill switch
max_triggers_per_session	3	Per-session cap
promotion_threshold	3	Same-class corrections needed for auto-promote
deprecation_days	30	Days idle before retirement candidate

Writing to EVOLUTION.md

Use Read + Edit tools. Never python3 locked_write.py (PyInstaller crash). JSONL changelog append after every mutation (mandatory).

Verification

• Correction captured with bias tag — C-entry has [Bias A/B/C/D]
• Classification brief output — before any governance file write
• Budget respected — count verified before PROMOTE
• JSONL changelog updated — after every EVOLUTION.md mutation