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/evolve — Goal-Driven Compounding Loop

Measure what's wrong. Fix the worst thing. Measure again. Compound.

Always-on autonomous loop over /rpi. Work selection order:

1. Harvested.agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl work (freshest concrete follow-up)
2. Open ready beads work (bd ready)
3. Failing goals and directive gaps (ao goals measure)
4. Testing improvements (missing/thin coverage, missing regression tests)
5. Validation tightening and bug-hunt passes (gates, audits, bug sweeps)
6. Complexity / TODO / FIXME / drift / dead code / stale docs / stale research mining
7. Concrete feature suggestions derived from repo purpose when no sharper work exists

Dormancy is last resort. Empty current queues mean "run the generator layers", not "stop". Only go dormant after the queue layers and generator layers come up empty across multiple consecutive passes.

/evolve                      # Run until kill switch, max-cycles, or real dormancy
/evolve --max-cycles=5       # Cap at 5 cycles
/evolve --dry-run            # Show what would be worked on, don't execute
/evolve --beads-only         # Skip goals measurement, work beads backlog only
/evolve --quality            # Quality-first mode: prioritize post-mortem findings
/evolve --quality --max-cycles=10  # Quality mode with cycle cap
/evolve --athena             # Mine → Defrag warmup before first cycle
/evolve --athena --max-cycles=5  # Warm knowledge base then run 5 cycles
/evolve --test-first         # Default strict-quality /rpi execution path
/evolve --no-test-first      # Explicit opt-out from test-first mode

Flags

Execution Steps

YOU MUST EXECUTE THIS WORKFLOW. Do not just describe it.

Step 0: Setup

mkdir -p .agents/evolve
ao lookup --query "autonomous improvement cycle" --limit 5 2>/dev/null || true

Before cycle recovery, load the repo execution profile contract when it exists. The repo execution profile is the source for repo policy; the user prompt should mostly supply mission/objective, not restate startup reads, validation bundle, tracker wrapper rules, or definition_of_done.

• Locate docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.md and docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.schema.json.
• Read the ordered startup_reads and bootstrap from those repo paths before selecting work.
• Cache repo validation_commands, tracker_commands, and definition_of_done into session state.
• If the repo execution profile is present but missing required fields, stop or downgrade with an explicit warning before cycle 1. Do not silently invent repo policy.

Recover cycle number, queue/generator streaks, and the last claimed work item from disk (survives context compaction):

if [ -f .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl ]; then
  CYCLE=$(( $(tail -1 .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl | jq -r '.cycle // 0') + 1 ))
else
  CYCLE=1
fi
SESSION_START_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

# Recover idle streak from disk (not in-memory — survives compaction)
# Portable: forward-scanning awk counts trailing idle run without tac (unavailable on stock macOS)
IDLE_STREAK=$(awk '/"result"\s*:\s*"(idle|unchanged)"/{streak++; next} {streak=0} END{print streak+0}' \
  .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl 2>/dev/null)

PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION=0

# Recover generator state and queue claim state
if [ -f .agents/evolve/session-state.json ]; then
  GENERATOR_EMPTY_STREAK=$(jq -r '.generator_empty_streak // 0' .agents/evolve/session-state.json 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
  LAST_SELECTED_SOURCE=$(jq -r '.last_selected_source // empty' .agents/evolve/session-state.json 2>/dev/null || true)
  CLAIMED_WORK_REF=$(jq -r '.claimed_work.ref // empty' .agents/evolve/session-state.json 2>/dev/null || true)
else
  GENERATOR_EMPTY_STREAK=0
  LAST_SELECTED_SOURCE=""
  CLAIMED_WORK_REF=""
fi

# Circuit breaker: stop if last productive cycle was >60 minutes ago
LAST_PRODUCTIVE_TS=$(grep -v '"idle"\|"unchanged"' .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl 2>/dev/null \
  | tail -1 | jq -r '.timestamp // empty')
if [ -n "$LAST_PRODUCTIVE_TS" ]; then
  NOW_EPOCH=$(date +%s)
  LAST_EPOCH=$(date -j -f "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%z" "$LAST_PRODUCTIVE_TS" +%s 2>/dev/null \
    || date -d "$LAST_PRODUCTIVE_TS" +%s 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
  if [ "$LAST_EPOCH" -gt 1000000000 ] && [ $((NOW_EPOCH - LAST_EPOCH)) -ge 3600 ]; then
    echo "CIRCUIT BREAKER: No productive work in 60+ minutes. Stopping."
    # go to Teardown
  fi
fi

# Track oscillating goals (improved→fail→improved→fail) to avoid burning cycles
declare -A QUARANTINED_GOALS  # goal_id → true if oscillation count >= 3

# Pre-populate quarantine list from cycle history (lightweight local scan)
if [ -f .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl ]; then
  while IFS= read -r goal; do
    QUARANTINED_GOALS[$goal]=true
    echo "Quarantined oscillating goal: $goal"
  done < <(
    jq -r '.target' .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl 2>/dev/null \
    | awk '{
        if (prev != "" && prev != $0) transitions[$0]++
        prev = $0
      }
      END {
        for (g in transitions) if (transitions[g] >= 3) print g
      }'
  )
fi

Parse flags: --max-cycles=N (default unlimited), --dry-run, --beads-only, --skip-baseline, --quality, --athena.

Track cycle-level execution state:

evolve_state = {
  cycle: <current cycle number>,
  mode: <standard|quality|beads-only>,
  test_first: <true by default; false only when --no-test-first>,
  repo_profile_path: <docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.md or null>,
  startup_reads: <ordered repo bootstrap paths>,
  validation_commands: <ordered repo validation bundle>,
  tracker_commands: <repo tracker shell wrappers>,
  definition_of_done: <repo stop predicates>,
  generator_empty_streak: <consecutive passes where all generator layers returned nothing>,
  last_selected_source: <harvested|beads|goal|directive|testing|validation|bug-hunt|drift|feature>,
  claimed_work: <null or queue reference being worked>,
  queue_refresh_count: <incremented after every /rpi cycle>
}

Persist evolve_state to .agents/evolve/session-state.json at each cycle boundary, after queue claims, after queue release/finalize, and during teardown. cycle-history.jsonl remains the canonical cycle ledger; session-state.json carries resume-only state that has not yet earned a committed cycle entry.

Step 0.2: Athena Warmup (--athena only)

Skip if --athena was not passed or if --dry-run.

Run the mechanical half of the Athena cycle to surface fresh signal before the first evolve cycle:

mkdir -p .agents/mine .agents/defrag
echo "Athena warmup: mining signal..."
ao mine --since 26h --quiet 2>/dev/null || echo "(ao mine unavailable — skipping)"

echo "Athena warmup: defrag sweep..."
ao defrag --prune --dedup --quiet 2>/dev/null || echo "(ao defrag unavailable — skipping)"

Then read .agents/mine/latest.json and .agents/defrag/latest.json and note (in 1-2 sentences each):

• Any orphaned research files that look relevant to current goals
• Any code hotspots (high-CC functions with recent edits) that may be the root cause of failing goals
• Any duplicate learnings merged by defrag — context on what's been cleaned up

These notes inform work selection throughout the evolve session. Store them in a session variable (in-memory), not a file.

Step 0.5: Baseline (first run only)

Skip if --skip-baseline or --beads-only or baseline already exists.

if [ ! -f .agents/evolve/fitness-0-baseline.json ]; then
  bash scripts/evolve-capture-baseline.sh \
    --label "era-$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)" \
    --timeout 60
fi

Step 1: Kill Switch Check

Run at the TOP of every cycle:

CYCLE_START_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
[ -f ~/.config/evolve/KILL ] && echo "KILL: $(cat ~/.config/evolve/KILL)" && exit 0
[ -f .agents/evolve/STOP ] && echo "STOP: $(cat .agents/evolve/STOP 2>/dev/null)" && exit 0

Step 2: Measure Fitness

Skip if --beads-only.

bash scripts/evolve-measure-fitness.sh \
  --output .agents/evolve/fitness-latest.json \
  --timeout 60 \
  --total-timeout 75

Do NOT write per-cyclefitness-{N}-pre.json files. The rolling file is sufficient for work selection and regression detection.

This writes a fitness snapshot to .agents/evolve/ atomically via a temp file plus JSON validation. The AgentOps CLI is required for fitness measurement because the wrapper shells out to ao goals measure. If measurement exceeds the whole-command bound or returns invalid JSON, the wrapper fails without clobbering the previous rolling snapshot.

Step 3: Select Work

Selection is a ladder, not a one-shot check. After every productive cycle, return to the TOP of this step and re-read the queue before considering dormancy.

Step 3.1: Harvested work first

Read .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl and pick the highest-value unconsumed item for this repo. Prefer:

• exact repo match before *, then legacy unscoped entries
• already-harvested concrete implementation work before process work
• higher severity before lower severity

When evolve picks a queue item, claim it first :

• set claim_status: "in_progress"
• set claimed_by: "evolve:cycle-N"
• set claimed_at: "<timestamp>"
• keep consumed: false until the /rpi cycle and regression gate both succeed

If the cycle fails, regresses, or is interrupted before success, release the claim and leave the item available for the next cycle.

Step 3.2: Open ready beads

If no harvested item is ready, check bd ready. Pick the highest-priority unblocked issue.

Step 3.3: Failing goals and directive gaps (skip if --beads-only)

First assess directives, then goals:

• top-priority directive gap from ao goals measure --directives
• highest-weight failing goals (skip quarantined oscillators)
• lower-weight failing goals

This step exists even when all queued work is empty. Goals are the third source, not the stop condition.

DIRECTIVES=$(ao goals measure --directives 2>/dev/null)
FAILING=$(jq -r '.goals[] | select(.result=="fail") | .id' .agents/evolve/fitness-latest.json | head -1)

Oscillation check: Before working a failing goal, check if it has oscillated (improved→fail transitions ≥ 3 times in cycle-history.jsonl). If so, quarantine it and try the next failing goal. See references/oscillation.md.

# Count improved→fail transitions for this goal
OSC_COUNT=$(jq -r "select(.target==\"$FAILING\") | .result" .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl \
  | awk 'prev=="improved" && $0=="fail" {count++} {prev=$0} END {print count+0}')
if [ "$OSC_COUNT" -ge 3 ]; then
  QUARANTINED_GOALS[$FAILING]=true
  echo "{\"cycle\":${CYCLE},\"target\":\"${FAILING}\",\"result\":\"quarantined\",\"oscillations\":${OSC_COUNT},\"timestamp\":\"$(date -Iseconds)\"}" >> .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl
fi

Step 3.4: Testing improvements

When queues and goals are empty, generate concrete testing work instead of idling:

• find packages/files with thin or missing tests
• look for missing regression tests around recent bug-fix paths
• identify flaky or absent headless/runtime smokes

Convert any real finding into durable work:

• add a bead when the work needs tracked backlog ownership, or
• append a queue item under the shared next-work contract when it should flow directly back into /rpi

Step 3.5: Validation tightening and bug-hunt passes

If testing improvement generation returns nothing, run bug-hunt and validation sweeps:

• missing validation gates
• weak lint/contract coverage
• bug-hunt style audits for risky areas
• stale assumptions between docs, contracts, and runtime truth

Again: convert findings into beads or queue items, then immediately select the highest-priority result and continue.

Step 3.6: Drift / hotspot / dead-code mining

If the prior generators are empty, mine for:

• complexity hotspots
• stale TODO/FIXME markers
• dead code
• stale docs
• stale research
• drift between generated artifacts and source-of-truth files

Do not stop here. Normalize findings into tracked work and continue.

Step 3.7: Feature suggestions

If all concrete remediation layers are empty, propose one or more specific feature ideas grounded in the repo purpose, write them as durable work, and continue:

• create a bead when the feature needs review/backlog treatment
• or append a queue item with source: "feature-suggestion" when it is ready for the next /rpi cycle

Quality mode (--quality) — inverted cascade (findings before directives):

Step 3.0q: Unconsumed high-severity post-mortem findings:

HIGH=$(jq -r 'select(.consumed==false) | .items[] | select(.severity=="high") | .title' \
  .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Step 3.1q: Unconsumed medium-severity findings.

Step 3.2q: Open ready beads.

Step 3.3q: Emergency gates (weight >= 5) and top directive gaps.

Step 3.4q: Testing improvements.

Step 3.5q: Validation tightening / bug-hunt / drift mining.

Step 3.6q: Feature suggestions.

This inverts the standard cascade only at the top of the ladder: findings BEFORE goals and directives. It does NOT skip the generator layers.

When evolve picks a finding, claim it first in next-work.jsonl:

• Set claim_status: "in_progress", claimed_by: "evolve-quality:cycle-N", claimed_at: "<timestamp>"
• Set consumed: true only after the /rpi cycle and regression gate succeed
• If the /rpi cycle fails (regression), clear the claim and leave consumed: false

See references/quality-mode.md for scoring and full details.

Nothing found? HARD GATE — only consider dormancy after the generator layers also came up empty:

# Count trailing idle/unchanged entries in cycle-history.jsonl (portable, no tac)
IDLE_STREAK=$(awk '/"result"\s*:\s*"(idle|unchanged)"/{streak++; next} {streak=0} END{print streak+0}' \
  .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl 2>/dev/null)

if [ "$GENERATOR_EMPTY_STREAK" -ge 2 ] && [ "$IDLE_STREAK" -ge 2 ]; then
  # Queue layers are empty AND producer layers were empty for the 3rd consecutive pass — STOP
  echo "Stagnation reached after repeated empty queue + generator passes. Dormancy is the last-resort outcome."
  # go to Teardown — do NOT log another idle entry
fi

If the queue layers were empty but a generator pass has not been exhausted 3 times yet, persist the new generator streak in session-state.json and loop back to Step 1. Empty pre-cycle queues are not a stop reason by themselves.

A cycle is idle only if NO work source returned actionable work and every generator layer also came up empty. A cycle that targeted an oscillating goal and skipped it counts as idle only after the remaining ladder was exhausted.

If --dry-run: report what would be worked on and go to Teardown.

Step 4: Execute

Primary engine: use /rpi for any implementation-quality work. /implement and /crank are allowed only when a bead already contains execution-ready scope and skipping discovery is clearly the better path.

For a harvested item, failing goal, directive gap, testing improvement, validation tightening task, bug-hunt result, drift finding, or feature suggestion :

Invoke /rpi "{normalized work title}" --auto --max-cycles=1

For a beads issue :

Prefer: /rpi "Land {issue_id}: {title}" --auto --max-cycles=1
Fallback: /implement {issue_id}

Or for an epic with children: Invoke /crank {epic_id}.

If Step 3 created durable work instead of executing it immediately, re-enter Step 3 and let the newly-created queue/bead item win through the normal selection order.

Step 5: Regression Gate

After execution, verify nothing broke:

# Detect and run project build+test
if [ -f Makefile ]; then make test
elif [ -f package.json ]; then npm test
elif [ -f go.mod ]; then go build ./... && go vet ./... && go test ./... -count=1 -timeout 120s
elif [ -f Cargo.toml ]; then cargo build && cargo test
elif [ -f pyproject.toml ] || [ -f setup.py ]; then python -m pytest
else echo "No recognized build system found"; fi

# Cross-cutting constraint check (catches wiring regressions)
if [ -f scripts/check-wiring-closure.sh ]; then
  bash scripts/check-wiring-closure.sh
else
  echo "WARNING: scripts/check-wiring-closure.sh not found — skipping wiring check"
fi

If not --beads-only, also re-measure to produce a post-cycle snapshot:

bash scripts/evolve-measure-fitness.sh \
  --output .agents/evolve/fitness-latest-post.json \
  --timeout 60 \
  --total-timeout 75 \
  --goal "$GOAL_ID"

# Extract goal counts for cycle history entry
PASSING=$(jq '[.goals[] | select(.result=="pass")] | length' .agents/evolve/fitness-latest-post.json 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
TOTAL=$(jq '.goals | length' .agents/evolve/fitness-latest-post.json 2>/dev/null || echo 0)

If regression detected (previously-passing goal now fails):

git revert HEAD --no-edit  # single commit
# or for multiple commits:
git revert --no-commit ${CYCLE_START_SHA}..HEAD && git commit -m "revert: evolve cycle ${CYCLE} regression"

Set outcome to "regressed".

Queue finalization after the regression gate:

• success: finalize any claimed queue item with consumed: true, consumed_by, and consumed_at; clear transient claim fields
• failure/regression: clear claim_status, claimed_by, and claimed_at; keep consumed: false; record the release in session-state.json

After the cycle's /post-mortem finishes, immediately re-read .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl before selecting the next item. Never assume the queue state from before the cycle.

Step 6: Log Cycle + Commit

Two paths: productive cycles get committed, idle cycles are local-only.

PRODUCTIVE cycles (result is improved, regressed, or harvested):

# Quality mode: compute quality_score BEFORE writing the JSONL entry
QUALITY_SCORE_ARGS=()
if [ "$QUALITY_MODE" = "true" ]; then
  REMAINING_HIGH=$(jq -r 'select(.consumed==false) | .items[] | select(.severity=="high")' \
    .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
  REMAINING_MEDIUM=$(jq -r 'select(.consumed==false) | .items[] | select(.severity=="medium")' \
    .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
  QUALITY_SCORE=$((100 - (REMAINING_HIGH * 10) - (REMAINING_MEDIUM * 3)))
  [ "$QUALITY_SCORE" -lt 0 ] && QUALITY_SCORE=0
  QUALITY_SCORE_ARGS=(--quality-score "$QUALITY_SCORE")
fi

ENTRY_JSON="$(
  bash scripts/evolve-log-cycle.sh \
    --cycle "$CYCLE" \
    --target "$TARGET" \
    --result "$OUTCOME" \
    --canonical-sha "$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" \
    --cycle-start-sha "$CYCLE_START_SHA" \
    --goals-passing "$PASSING" \
    --goals-total "$TOTAL" \
    "${QUALITY_SCORE_ARGS[@]}"
)"
OUTCOME="$(printf '%s\n' "$ENTRY_JSON" | jq -r '.result')"
REAL_CHANGES=$(git diff --name-only "${CYCLE_START_SHA}..HEAD" -- ':!.agents/**' ':!GOALS.yaml' ':!GOALS.md' \
  2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')

# Telemetry
bash scripts/log-telemetry.sh evolve cycle-complete cycle=${CYCLE} goal=${TARGET} outcome=${OUTCOME} 2>/dev/null || true

if [ "$OUTCOME" = "unchanged" ]; then
  # No-delta cycle: leave local-only so history stays honest and stagnation logic can see it.
  :
elif [ "$REAL_CHANGES" -gt 0 ]; then
  # Full commit: real code was changed
  git add .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl
  git commit -m "evolve: cycle ${CYCLE} -- ${TARGET} ${OUTCOME}"
else
  # Productive cycle with non-agent repo delta already committed by a sub-skill:
  # stage the ledger but do not create a standalone follow-up commit.
  git add .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl
fi

PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION=$((PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION + 1))

IDLE cycles (nothing found even after generator layers):

bash scripts/evolve-log-cycle.sh \
  --cycle "$CYCLE" \
  --target "idle" \
  --result "unchanged" >/dev/null
# No git add, no git commit, no fitness snapshot write

Step 7: Loop or Stop

while true; do
  # Step 1 .. Step 6
  # Stop if kill switch, max-cycles, or a real safety breaker triggers
  # Otherwise increment cycle and re-enter selection
  CYCLE=$((CYCLE + 1))
done

Push only when productive work has accumulated:

if [ $((PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION % 5)) -eq 0 ] && [ "$PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION" -gt 0 ]; then
  git push
fi

Teardown

1. Commit any staged but uncommitted cycle-history.jsonl (from artifact-only cycles):

if git diff --cached --name-only | grep -q cycle-history.jsonl; then

  git commit -m "evolve: session teardown -- artifact-only cycles logged"
fi

2. Run /post-mortem "evolve session: ${CYCLE} cycles" to harvest learnings. 3. Push only if unpushed commits exist:

UNPUSHED=$(git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
[ "$UNPUSHED" -gt 0 ] && git push

4. Report summary:

## /evolve Complete
Cycles: N | Productive: X | Regressed: Y (reverted) | Idle: Z
Stop reason: stagnation | circuit-breaker | max-cycles | kill-switch

In quality mode, the report includes additional fields:

## /evolve Complete (quality mode)
Cycles: N | Findings resolved: X | Goals fixed: Y | Idle: Z
Quality score: start → end (delta)
Remaining unconsumed: H high, M medium
Stop reason: stagnation | circuit-breaker | max-cycles | kill-switch

Examples

User says: /evolve --max-cycles=5 What happens: Evolve re-enters the full selection ladder after every /rpi cycle and runs producer layers instead of idling on empty queues.

User says: /evolve --beads-only What happens: Evolve skips goals measurement and works through bd ready backlog.

User says: /evolve --dry-run What happens: Evolve shows what would be worked on without executing.

User says: /evolve --athena What happens: Evolve runs ao mine + ao defrag at session start to surface fresh signal (orphaned research, code hotspots, oscillating goals) before the first evolve cycle. Use before a long autonomous run or after a burst of development activity.

User says: /evolve What happens: See references/examples.md for a worked overnight flow that moves through beads -> harvested work -> goals -> testing -> bug hunt -> feature suggestion before dormancy is considered.

See references/examples.md for detailed walkthroughs.

Troubleshooting

See references/cycle-history.md for advanced troubleshooting.

References

• references/cycle-history.md — JSONL format, recovery protocol, kill switch
• references/compounding.md — Knowledge flywheel and work harvesting
• references/goals-schema.md — GOALS.yaml format and continuous metrics
• references/parallel-execution.md — Parallel /swarm architecture
• references/teardown.md — Trajectory computation and session summary
• references/examples.md — Detailed usage examples
• references/artifacts.md — Generated files registry
• references/oscillation.md — Oscillation detection and quarantine
• references/quality-mode.md — Quality-first mode: scoring, priority cascade, artifacts

See Also

• skills/rpi/SKILL.md — Full lifecycle orchestrator (called per cycle)
• skills/crank/SKILL.md — Epic execution (called for beads epics)
• GOALS.yaml — Fitness goals for this repo

Reference Documents

• references/artifacts.md
• references/compounding.md
• references/cycle-history.md
• references/examples.md
• references/goals-schema.md
• references/oscillation.md
• references/parallel-execution.md
• references/quality-mode.md
• references/teardown.md

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