Vocabulary Inventory

Working inventory for the redesign. This is not a proposal yet; it names the current terms, likely pressure points, and candidate decisions to test.

Always-loaded Terms

Term Current role Pressure to test
Context engineering Names the domain: routing, loading, scoping, maintenance under bounded context Broad but probably foundational; check whether it absorbs too much that should be named separately
Distillation Goal-oriented compression for a bounded consumer Strong operator term; test whether "compression" language causes selection-only misunderstandings
Constraining Narrowing interpretation space for reliability/speed/cost Strong operator term; test whether it overlaps too much with validation, convention, and governance
Codification Natural language to symbolic medium; far end of constraining Probably stable; test whether "far end" hides cases where code is not the right endpoint
Register Theoretical/descriptive/prescriptive content mode Useful for collection conventions; test whether it deserves always-loaded status
Workshop Temporal work-in-flight workspace Stable operational term; test whether it needs a paired "library" definition in always-loaded context

Adjacent Terms To Audit

Term Where it appears Redesign question
Artifact Notes, memory design, type system, reviews Does it need a definition, or is ordinary usage enough?
System-definition Memory and learning notes Is this clear enough for always-loaded use, or should it stay in notes?
Memory Agent-memory notes and reviews Does the KB need one governing definition, or does "memory" remain a family resemblance term?
Knowledge KB goals, notes, source/review language Is this overloaded between factual content, operational context, and durable artifacts?
Instruction kb/instructions/, skills, AGENTS.md Does it mean a collection, an artifact class, or any behavior-shaping text?
Skill Skills workflow, instructions, plugin packaging Is the distinction from instruction crisp enough after the skills-vs-instructions work?
Type Frontmatter and type contracts Does "type" mean schema, writing contract, collection-local option, or artifact role?
Trait Frontmatter property Does the term still earn its slot, or should traits be described as checkable properties?
Status Frontmatter lifecycle/commitment state Is status maturity, freshness, processing state, or review confidence?
Source kb/sources/, citations, evidence Does source mean captured external material, any evidence, or provenance root?
Report kb/reports/, review bundles, generated outputs Does report mean generated artifact, reviewer output, or analysis summary?
Index Generated directories, curated indexes, tag hubs Are generated vs curated indexes sufficiently distinguished?
Link label Link vocabulary Should labels be reader-need terms, register-crossing terms, or authoring instructions?

Known Friction Signals

  • Always-loaded vocabulary must be short, but the methodology now uses more terms than the original control-plane section can comfortably teach.
  • Link labels have both local collection rules and a global catalogue; authors need one source of truth at write time.
  • distillation, constraining, and codification are useful together, but the hierarchy between them is easy to blur.
  • register, type, trait, and status are all classification axes; agents may treat them as one taxonomy unless the distinction is explicit.
  • "Memory" in related-system reviews can mean storage backend, learned artifact, activation policy, or whole adaptation loop.
  • Workshop/library language is operationally important but may need a paired definition rather than only a workshop entry.

Candidate Decision Shapes

  • Keep always-loaded: term remains in AGENTS.md with a one-line gloss and definition-note link.
  • Demote: remove from AGENTS.md, keep or improve an on-demand definition note.
  • Split: keep the current term but introduce a sharper subterm or paired contrast.
  • Merge: retire a local term and route writers to an existing term.
  • Rename: choose a clearer word, then add migration notes and update high-traffic references.
  • Codify: add a review gate, validator warning, or authoring checklist when misuse is detectable.

First Pass Tasks

  1. Extract all terms from AGENTS.md, kb/notes/definitions/, kb/reference/link-vocabulary.md, and collection COLLECTION.md files.
  2. Mark each term by load tier: always-loaded, collection-loaded, type-loaded, note-local, or review-local.
  3. For each always-loaded term, write the bad decision that happens when the term is missing or misunderstood.
  4. Identify terms that are synonyms, near-synonyms, or overloaded across collections.
  5. Draft a keep / revise / demote proposal before editing durable docs.