Imported from MattMatheus/AthenaMind (AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add MattMatheus/AthenaMind. Copyright stays with the author.

AGENTS

Navigation and operating guide for agents working in AthenaMind + AthenaWork.

Mission Context

• AthenaMind: governed memory runtime for agentic coding workflows.
• AthenaWork: staged workflow that constrains and steers agent execution.

Repository Product Boundaries

• AthenaMind: products/athena-mind/
• AthenaWork: products/athena-work/

Use product skills when applicable:

• skills/athena-mind/SKILL.md
• skills/athena-work/SKILL.md

Root compatibility links (tools, stage-prompts, staff-personas, delivery-backlog, operating-system, HUMANS.md, DEVELOPMENT_CYCLE.md) are canonical operator entry points.

First 5 Minutes

1. Read HUMANS.md.
2. Read DEVELOPMENT_CYCLE.md.
3. Read delivery-backlog/engineering/active/README.md.
4. Launch requested stage with tools/launch_stage.sh <stage>.

Canonical Stage Prompts

• Planning: stage-prompts/active/planning-seed-prompt.md
• Engineering: stage-prompts/active/next-agent-seed-prompt.md
• Architect: stage-prompts/active/architect-agent-seed-prompt.md
• QA: stage-prompts/active/qa-agent-seed-prompt.md
• PM: stage-prompts/active/pm-refinement-seed-prompt.md
• Cycle: stage-prompts/active/cycle-seed-prompt.md

Source-of-Truth Maps

• Staff specialist directory: staff-personas/STAFF_DIRECTORY.md
• Architecture lane: delivery-backlog/architecture/README.md
• Process-improvement system: operating-system/README.md
• Observer reports and resume context: operating-system/observer/README.md
• User/operator docs map: knowledge-base/INDEX.md

Mandatory Behavioral Rules

• Branch must match ATHENA_REQUIRED_BRANCH (default dev; launcher enforces this).
• Respect backlog lanes and state transitions; do not skip stages.
• Use architecture lane for architecture work (delivery-backlog/architecture/).
• If engineering returns no stories, stop and hand off to PM refinement.
• Do not commit during intermediate stage transitions.
• Run observer after each completed cycle: tools/run_observer_cycle.sh --cycle-id <cycle-id>.
• Commit once per cycle using cycle-<cycle-id>.
• Include observer report in cycle commit: operating-system/observer/OBSERVER-REPORT-<cycle-id>.md.
• Keep resume context current: operating-system/observer/RESUME_CONTEXT.md.
• Apply stage exits: knowledge-base/process/stage-exit-gates.md.
• Apply backlog weighting policy: knowledge-base/process/backlog-weighting-policy.md.
• Treat done as QA-complete, not auto-shipped; use release bundles in operating-system/handoff/.
• Prioritize by value/risk/dependency; do not add time estimates.
• Repository markdown is source of truth.
• Use tools/run_stage_tests.sh before handoff.

Documentation Sync Rule

When work-system behavior changes (stage flow, handoff rules, commit conventions, state transitions, launch commands):

1. Update HUMANS.md.
2. Update DEVELOPMENT_CYCLE.md.
3. Update affected stage prompt(s).
4. Update knowledge-base/process/README.md and related docs.