v0.2.0 to v0.2.0

---

name: disciplined-vibe-coding

description: Run any coding task through Intake, Define, Economy gate, Plan, Teardown, Build, Verify, Commit — with Wayfinder tracking riding along. Use at the start of any build, fix, or multi-session project.

phase: Any

version: 0.2.0

---

# Disciplined vibe-coding pipeline — end to end

> Narrative framing adapted from Google's Elephant-Goldfish Model (Apache 2.0) —

> <https://github.com/google/elephant-goldfish-model>.

> Role names (elephant / goldfish), teardown, drift, and the five review-round

> names travel from EGM; all prose here is original. Pipeline mechanics

> (Define/Plan/Build/Verify, gates, friction contract) remain our own.

One loop per small task, or per milestone of a larger project.

Same stages, same words, every time.

```text

Intake --> Define --> Economy gate --> Plan --> Teardown --> Build --> Verify --> Commit

Wayfinder rides along all stages (one-line status plus gate result at each stage exit).

```

## Cast: elephant, goldfish, you

- **Elephant** holds full context — your project, requirements, earlier

decisions — and drafts the spec. That is you plus the builder agent

working from the whole conversation.

- **Goldfish** sees only the spec plus the sources it links to, with no

memory of the earlier chat. That fresh-eyes read is what catches

unstated assumptions. Simulate it by re-reading the spec cold, or hand

the spec alone to a second session.

- **You** resolve trade-offs and approve the spec before any code exists.

Design with the elephant. Review with the goldfish. You decide.

## Friction contract (hard rule)

Every gate below fires as a **fast check plus one-line reason**.

No multi-step friction. No blocking prompts for routine moves.

## Stage map (pipeline stage → skill that owns it)

| Stage | Skill | Artifact |

|---|---|---|

| 0. Intake (brainstorming capture) | `intake` | intake block atop the to-spec, or a one-liner in chat |

| 1. Define (grill-with-docs → to-spec) | `intake`, `brainstorm`, `research` | `.pipeline/to-spec.md` (workdir; vault note only if durable) |

| 2. Economy gate (scope rung) | this file, `references/economy-ladder.md` | one declared sentence in the to-spec |

| 3. Plan (writing-plans format) | `plan` | `.pipeline/plans/NN-<milestone>.md`, or 3 bullets at micro-spec |

| 3.5. Teardown (goldfish pre-build review) | this file §3.5 | round notes in plan/to-spec + wayfinder pass/fail |

| 4. Build (working-tree-only, test-first) | `execute`, `test-first`, `debug` | code + failing-then-passing tests |

| 5. Verify (local proof + drift) | `verify` | fresh evidence, compact report, plan-file table |

| 6. Commit (one feature, one build, one commit) | `version` | narrative commit; changelog at full-spec+, tag at project |

| Rides along: Wayfinder | this file, `templates/wayfinder.md` | `.pipeline/wayfinder.md`, one line plus gate result per stage exit |

## 0. Intake — 5-minute structured capture

Record problem, desired outcome, constraints, non-goals. Raw, no judging.

Trivial asks skip it: a one-liner in chat *is* the intake.

Then hand to `intake` for direction confirmation and stakes tier

(TOY / WORKFLOW / MONEY).

## 1. Define — grill-with-docs, then to-spec

Interrogate the request against the relevant docs and skill references

*first*, then write the spec before any code. The grill is doc-grounded,

not open-ended questioning: check indexed sources, surface contradictions

and missing decisions, record them in the spec.

Cap: docs check plus at most 3 clarifying questions, then proceed with

stated assumptions. Routine moves (obvious fix, single-file change) get a

3-line micro-spec, not the full artifact.

Template: `templates/to-spec.md`.

The elephant drafts here. The goldfish has not entered yet.

## 2. Economy gate — declare the rung, in one sentence

Read `references/economy-ladder.md`. Declare one sentence, for example:

"rung: micro-spec, reversible single-file change."

The rung sets the ceremony for every later stage. This gate removes

friction by downgrading ceremony for small work.

The rung also sets teardown depth (see §3.5): micro-spec gets the

two-pass teardown; full-spec and above get all five rounds.

## 3. Plan — fixed shape, rung-scaled

Full format at full-spec rung and above (`templates/writing-plan.md`):

steps, files touched, test strategy, verify criteria, commit message draft.

At micro-spec rung it collapses to 3 bullets. Never freeform

"I'll figure it out as I go."

## 3.5. Teardown — goldfish review before code counts

Teardown happens here, between Plan and Build: it reviews the spec and plan

before any code is written. Reviewing the spec after the build would only

find problems already cemented in code. Post-build checking belongs to

Verify (local proof) and drift, not to teardown.

Run the teardown with goldfish eyes: spec plus linked sources only,

- **Micro-spec and below (two passes):** consequence pass asks what

happens if we build exactly this and where it breaks; alternatives pass

asks what else solves it and whether this is the strongest option.

- **Full-spec and above (five rounds):** run all five, in order —

1. initial zoom-out (does the whole shape hang together),

2. comprehension (could a stranger follow it cold),

3. design critique (trade-offs, edge cases, weakest points),

4. intermediate zoom-out (does it still fit the codebase after the critique),

5. implementation readiness (is the plan concrete enough to build from).

One line per round in the plan file (full-spec and above) or the to-spec

(micro-spec); one-liners record pass/fail in chat. Fix the spec, not the

code — no code exists yet — when a round fails, then re-run only the

failed round (max one re-run per round at micro-spec; full-spec may re-run

that fired the gate.

## 4. Build — working-tree-only, test-first

Unchanged builder invariants: all edits in the working tree, tests written

before or with the code (`test-first`), local proof before claiming done.

These are builder habits, not gates. Nothing fires, nothing blocks. Build

starts only after Teardown passes (§3.5) — no code exists before review.

## 5. Verify — local proof, then drift

Two jobs, in this order: prove the code works locally, then check you built

what was spec'd. Teardown already ran pre-build (§3.5); Verify trusts the

reviewed spec and checks the code against it.

### 5a. Local proof

Run the real thing locally. Proof is the job, not overhead.

### 5b. Drift — check after the build

After proof, compare the approved spec against what actually shipped and

record divergences only: missing pieces, shortcuts, or a different shape

than planned. If nothing diverged, write "no drift." File it with the

verify report so a later session can spot spec-code drift without

re-reading the whole build.

## 6. Commit — one feature, one build, one commit

Commit convention `type: concise subject`. The to-spec acceptance criteria

with rung-scaled ceremony: one-liner and micro-spec ship as a single

commit with no changelog or tag; full-spec adds a changelog entry

(`write-docs`); only project-rung releases earn a tag. Routine work gets

no release dance because routine work is not a release.

## Wayfinder — one line plus gate result per stage exit

At each stage exit, update `.pipeline/wayfinder.md`: stage, decisions,

next step, and the gate result — pass/fail plus the one-line reason that

fired the gate (`templates/wayfinder.md`). The result line is what makes

each gate checkable after the fact: a later session can see not just where

the run stopped but why each prior gate let it through. Read-on-resume

only. No prompts, no forms. Any session or profile resumes mid-pipeline

with zero re-brief.

## Verify artifacts — where the proof lives

- Evidence table: appended to the plan file (`verify`), chat-only at

one-liner rung (no plan file exists there).

- Teardown round notes: plan file (full-spec+) or to-spec (micro-spec).

- Gate results: one result line per stage exit in `.pipeline/wayfinder.md`.

- Research trail: `.pipeline/read.log` entries (`research`).

## v0.2.0 resolutions

- Teardown runs pre-build (§3.5), between Plan and Build — never post-build.

- Commit ceremony is rung-scaled: changelog at full-spec+, tags for

project-rung releases only; routine work ships as one commit, no release.

- Gates are checkable: Wayfinder records a pass/fail result per stage exit;

Verify artifacts have named homes (see Verify artifacts above).

## v0.1.0 resolutions (adopted from the proposal)

- Rung thresholds: reversibility plus file count plus blast radius

(see `references/economy-ladder.md`).

- To-spec home: workdir file during build; vault note only if durable.

- Wayfinder store: tiny human-readable file in workdir.

- 1.0 bar: three real builds through the full pipeline, zero bypasses.