@design-intelligence/ghost 0.21.0 → 0.22.0

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/adapting-a-starter.md

@@ -13,22 +13,21 @@ handoffs:
 vessel-light`) or the naked skeleton (`ghost init`) — into *your* brand's
 fingerprint without shipping a self-contradicting package.
 
-A starter is factored by rate of change under adaptation. Knowing which stratum a
-file belongs to tells you what to do with it:
+The naked skeleton is factored by what must happen during adaptation:
 
 | Stratum | Files | On adaptation |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| Grammar | `grammar.*` | Keep unchanged — value-free decision logic that survives any adaptation. |
-| Median floor | `anti-goal.median` | Prune, never rewrite — Ghost stamps this measured model truth into every initialized package; you own it after init. |
-| Signature | `signature.*` | Answer — each is a dial; restate it with your brand's answer. |
-| Values | `materials/tokens.css` | Edit — the single injection point for every literal value. |
-| Registers | `register.*` | Re-tune — conditions referencing signature ids; revisit after the dials change. |
-| Derived artifacts | `materials/ref/*.html`, `anti-goal.tells` | Regenerate — they demonstrate the values and near-misses of a *specific* signature. |
+| Cover | `brand.md` | Write it — essence in one paragraph, temperature, and brand-only refusals. Apply the admission test to every line: a violation visible in one element belongs in that element's chapter; visible in one view, in the composition chapter; visible only across the whole body of work, here. Keep a one-screen budget and delete every scaffolding sentence when real. |
+| Foundation | `foundation.*` | Answer each chapter's open section (`Palette`, `Typeface`, `Radius`, `Character`, `Warmth`), restate it as the brand's current answer, and edit misuse lists to the brand's real failure modes. |
+| Context | `context.*` | Add or re-tune after the open questions are answered; context nodes state only what inverts in a matching situation. |
+| Cliche floor | `cliche.*` | Prune — delete entries a foundation misuse list absorbs, delete the paired check flag with it, and replace generic entries with refusals only this brand makes. If a refusal passes the cover admission test, graduate it to `brand.md`. |
+| Materials and refs | `materials/*`, referenced implementations, refs | Add or regenerate so the prose has concrete material to inspect. |
+| Checks | `checks/*` | Keep paired with the nodes they enforce; delete or rewrite flags when their source rule changes. |
 
 Do the steps **in order and in one sitting** where possible. A half-adapted
 package is worse than an unadapted one: stale refs steer harder than any prose
-you rewrote, so stopping after step 4 ships a fingerprint that contradicts
-itself.
+you rewrote, so stopping before refs and checks are current ships a fingerprint
+that contradicts itself.
 
 ## The procedure
 
@@ -36,66 +35,69 @@ itself.
    name. This is deliberately first: it is the explicit act that marks the
    adaptation as begun. Until it changes, the package honestly claims to be the
    starter, and every consuming agent cites it as a starter default.
-2. **Prune `anti-goal.median`.** Each rule is a `###` heading section; delete
-   the whole section for every rule your brand legitimately violates (a brand
-   built on gradients deletes the Gradients section — that is the node working,
-   not failing). Do not rewrite surviving rules; they are the model's measured
-   floor, not your taste. Then run `ghost validate`: every check reference
-   orphaned by a pruned heading surfaces as its own warning — delete the paired
-   flag and its reference from the check.
-3. **Answer the signature dials.** Walk each `signature.*` node as a
-   questionnaire item. Keep the fixed relationship (the part the node marks
-   as worth keeping); replace the starter's answer — or the open question —
-   with your brand's: restate the node as "this brand's current answer is …".
-   Ask the human for any dial they have not decided; never freehand a value
-   and present it as brand-backed.
-4. **Edit `materials/tokens.css`.** Every literal value lives here — radii,
-   palette, type sizes, durations, eases. Change the values; keep the role
-   names. The role names are the grammar's vocabulary and the reason the
-   grammar nodes survive untouched.
-5. **Regenerate the refs.** This is the step that decides whether the adaptation
-   succeeded. Exemplars dominate prose: a prose rule contradicted by a stale
-   ref loses. Rebuild each `materials/ref/*.html` against the new tokens and
-   answered dials, keep the annotation headers (`normative-for` /
-   `incidental`) current, and make each ref demonstrate its closed sets
-   completely. If the starter shipped no refs (the skeleton), generate them
-   now — a fingerprint with no exemplars steers at half strength.
-6. **Rewrite `anti-goal.tells`.** The tells are near-misses of the *starter's*
-   signature; yours are different. For each answered dial, name the failure
-   mode one step away from your answer and its replacement. If the starter
-   shipped no tells node (the skeleton), author one.
-7. **Re-run the checks — including against the refs.** `ghost validate` for
-   package shape, then review the regenerated refs against the median and
-   value checks (stage the ref changes and run `ghost review`). The floor
-   only holds if the refs hold it too: a ref that trips a median flag will
-   teach every future generation the violation. Rewrite the body's
-   `checks/values.md` alongside the dials it references.
+2. **Write the cover.** Replace `brand.md` with the brand's essence in one
+   paragraph, the shared temperature of words and motion, and the refusals only
+   this brand makes. Test every line: a violation visible in one element moves
+   to that element's chapter; visible in one view, to the composition chapter;
+   only what shows solely across the whole body of work stays. Keep the cover
+   to one screen and delete every scaffolding sentence when it is real.
+3. **Answer the foundation chapters.** Walk each `foundation.*` node. Keep the
+   usage rules that describe the closed vocabulary; answer the open section as
+   the brand's current answer. Ask the human for undecided values; never
+   freehand a value and present it as brand-backed. Edit each misuse list to the
+   failures this brand actually needs to avoid.
+4. **Add or edit materials.** Record literal values where the implementation or
+   asset materials live, then add `materials` locators to the nodes that explain
+   them. Role names can stay stable while values change. The point is that a
+   realizing agent can inspect the same concrete source the prose governs.
+5. **Re-tune contexts.** Revisit each `context.*` node after the foundation
+   answers exist. Keep only inversions that apply in that situation; delete
+   generic foundation rules repeated there, and add new contexts only when a
+   task situation truly bends the defaults.
+6. **Prune `cliche.median`.** Each rule is a `###` heading section; delete the
+   whole section for every rule a foundation misuse list now absorbs or your
+   brand legitimately violates. Do not rewrite surviving measured defaults into
+   taste. Then run `ghost validate`: every check reference orphaned by a pruned
+   heading surfaces as its own warning — delete the paired flag and its
+   reference from the check.
+7. **Regenerate refs.** Exemplars dominate prose: a prose rule contradicted by a
+   stale ref loses. Rebuild each ref against the new values and chapter answers,
+   keep any annotation headers current, and make each ref demonstrate its closed
+   sets completely. If the starter shipped no refs, generate them now — a
+   fingerprint with no exemplars steers at half strength.
+8. **Rewrite checks and near-miss nodes.** For each answered foundation chapter,
+   name the failure mode one step away from the answer and its replacement. Put
+   pre-generation guidance in nodes and review assertions in `checks/`; never
+   leave a check that asserts an obligation no node states.
+9. **Re-run the checks, including against refs.** `ghost validate` for package
+   shape, then review the regenerated refs against the median and value checks
+   (stage the ref changes and run `ghost review`). The floor only holds if the
+   refs hold it too: a ref that trips a median flag will teach every future
+   generation the violation.
 
 ## Consuming an unadapted starter
 
-Work does not block on adaptation. Before the procedure runs (or midway
-through it), cite starter content honestly:
+Work does not block on adaptation. Before the procedure runs (or midway through
+it), cite starter content honestly:
 
-- Grammar: **Ghost-backed** — value-free decision logic that holds for any
-  brand.
+- Cover scaffolding and unanswered foundation sections: **provisional** — never
+  plain brand truth.
+- Foundation usage rules: **Ghost-backed starter structure** until the human
+  answers the open sections and edits the misuse lists.
 - Surviving median rules: **owner-backed after init** — Ghost stamps this
   measured model truth into every initialized package; you own the pruning and
   any adaptation thereafter.
-- The starter's signature values (a body) or your provisional choices (the
-  skeleton): **Ghost-backed (starter default, unadapted)** or **provisional**
-  — never plain brand truth. The manifest id tells you which state you are
-  in: a starter id means unadapted.
-- In a brief, `anti-goal.median` sits in the anti-goals slot — after intent,
-  inventory, and composition, never before the brand truths. If a median rule
-  conflicts with an answered signature node, the signature wins and the
-  median line is a prune candidate to report.
+- Context nodes: **conditional** — read only when their situation matches, and
+  revisit them after the foundation answers change.
+- The manifest id tells you which state you are in: a starter id means
+  unadapted.
 
 ## Never
 
-- Never rewrite grammar nodes to taste — if a grammar rule is wrong for your
-  brand, it was never grammar; move it to a signature node and answer it.
-- Never leave the starter's refs alongside your new tokens — regenerate or
-  delete; a stale exemplar outweighs your rewritten prose.
+- Never leave cover scaffolding in a real fingerprint.
+- Never present your provisional value as the brand's answer.
+- Never leave stale refs alongside new values — regenerate or delete; a stale
+  exemplar outweighs rewritten prose.
 - Never prune a median rule without deleting its paired check flag, or keep a
   check that asserts an obligation no node states.
 - Never pre-write the manifest id change into automation — it is the human's

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/authoring-scenarios.md

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ says which.
 
 Counter-exemplars are as valuable as exemplars when they name the replacement.
 "We would never ship this; we would ship that instead" with artifacts attached
-usually yields a sharper guard than an hour of affirmative description. Avoid
+usually yields a sharper anti-goal than an hour of affirmative description. Avoid
 blacklist-only anti-goals: the rejected pattern should be purged from exemplars
 and enforced in review, not repeated as the model's main example.
 
@@ -114,9 +114,7 @@ Two authoring decisions replace any notion of hierarchy:
 
 - **Kind** — declare the kind vocabulary in `glossary.md` and name each node
   `<kind>.<slug>.md` so its normative weight is clear. The glossary defines what
-  each kind means and how strongly it binds. Use `posture: guard` for
-  review-critical replacement nodes, `posture: wild` for opt-in provocations,
-  and the default steady posture for ordinary truths. Kinds are your choice;
+  each kind means and how strongly it binds. Kinds are your choice;
   Ghost ships no fixed vocabulary.
 - **Altitude** — state a truth at the level it is actually true. Universal → state
   it plainly. Narrower → name the situation that activates it, in the prose. Never
@@ -168,10 +166,10 @@ pattern to imitate with the human's real truths.
   expose sensitive third-party details — then show the count only." Models
   imitate reasoning as well as outputs.
 
-State a silence posture somewhere the agent always reads (usually `index.md`):
-when the fingerprint is silent, proceed provisionally from local conventions
-only when safe, and ask before brand-defining, irreversible, legal,
-privacy-sensitive, or high-risk choices.
+State the silence posture on the manifest-declared cover, which `gather`
+inlines for every task: when the fingerprint is silent, proceed provisionally
+from local conventions only when safe, and ask before brand-defining,
+irreversible, legal, privacy-sensitive, or high-risk choices.
 
 ## Never
 

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/brief.md

@@ -9,9 +9,8 @@ A brief is an ephemeral steering packet for the generating pass. It is not a new
 schema and is never written back into `.ghost/`.
 
 1. Run `ghost gather <ask> --format json` and select against descriptions.
-2. Pull a small set: **3–5 nodes is normal; 10 is a bad selection** unless the
-   task is unusually broad. Always include `index` unless already read this
-   session.
+2. The cover is already in context. Pull a small set from the menu: **3–5 nodes
+   is normal; 10 is a bad selection** unless the task is unusually broad.
 3. Prefer concrete nodes: `materials`, substantial fenced examples, or a
    `## Skeleton`. If there is **no concrete material for this surface**, the
    readiness ceiling is **Yellow**.
@@ -42,8 +41,8 @@ Rules:
 
 - Do not add sections for every kind. Sections dilute instruction weight.
 - Treat `ghost pull` ordering as signal: stance first, concrete material next,
-  prose rules, guards late, Skeletons dead last.
+  prose rules, Skeletons dead last.
 - If a pulled Skeleton matches the surface, begin the artifact from it verbatim
   before filling.
-- Guards (`posture: guard`) are review-critical anti-goals: state the positive
-  replacement, not just the rejected pattern.
+- Anti-goals are review-critical: state the positive replacement, not just the
+  rejected pattern.

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/capture.md

@@ -19,14 +19,13 @@ Ghost treats the fingerprint package as canonical.
   glossary.md           # the kind vocabulary + what each kind means
   principle.trust.md    # a brand truth of kind `principle`
   pattern.invoice.md    # a pattern with an optional ## Skeleton
-  anti-goal.generic.md  # a guard when its kind declares posture: guard
+  anti-goal.generic.md  # a review-critical replacement rule
   voice.md              # a brand truth without a kind
 ```
 
 A **node** is a markdown file: a `description`, optional `materials`, and a
 prose body. The package is **flat** — no hierarchy, no inheritance, no edges. A
-node's kind comes from its filename prefix; the glossary declares the kinds and
-may declare consumption posture such as `posture: guard`.
+node's kind comes from its filename prefix; the glossary declares the kinds.
 
 ## Lead with an annotated exemplar over a complete artifact
 
@@ -89,6 +88,21 @@ safe before what to do. One calm next step. No "Oops," no exclamation points,
 no blame on the user or the network.
 ```
 
+## Write patterns as bound and open
+
+A pattern node binds part of a reusable structure and leaves the rest open.
+State both explicitly:
+
+- **Bound** — what the agent should not redecide: the structural moves fixed
+  regardless of task (what renders first, what appears exactly once, what may
+  never compete for attention).
+- **Open** — where the agent may choose, within limits (which evidence shape
+  fits, how tone flexes, where secondary content may go).
+
+If everything is bound, the node is a template, not a pattern. If nothing is
+bound, it is vibes, not steering. A pattern may also `Refines:` a broader
+principle by id; when the two conflict, the principle wins.
+
 ## Add Skeletons when the opening structure matters
 
 A `## Skeleton` section contains the literal opening structure the agent should
@@ -119,18 +133,12 @@ Keep them short, specific, and attached to concrete objects whenever possible:
 Do not turn every observation into a rule. Stale or generic rules average
 against the exemplars and pull the packet back toward the median.
 
-## Write guards as replacement, not as blacklist
+## Write anti-goals as replacement, not as blacklist
 
-A guard is ordinary node prose whose kind declares `posture: guard` in
-`glossary.md`:
+An anti-goal is ordinary node prose whose kind the glossary defines as a
+review-critical replacement rule.
 
-```yaml
-kinds:
-  - name: anti-goal
-    posture: guard
-```
-
-A good guard states **not X; instead Y; recognize the switch by Z**. The
+A good anti-goal states **not X; instead Y; recognize the switch by Z**. The
 replacement matters because negation alone raises the salience of the rejected
 thing.
 
@@ -148,12 +156,12 @@ Instead: flat paper surfaces, one restrained accent, square alignment, and a
 next action backed by the number or source that justifies it.
 
 Recognize the switch: if removing the logo would make the surface look like any
-SaaS template, the guard failed even when every token is technically valid.
+SaaS template, the anti-goal failed even when every token is technically valid.
 ```
 
 The strongest anti-goal is silent: purged from exemplars, absent from starter
-structures, and enforced by a probe-backed check in review. Use guard prose to
-name the replacement; use checks and `probe:` commands to catch regressions.
+structures, and enforced by a probe-backed check in review. Use anti-goal prose
+to name the replacement; use checks and `probe:` commands to catch regressions.
 
 ## The node shape
 
@@ -210,9 +218,9 @@ human sees them.
 
 Two carve-outs come first, because they invert ordinary prose advice:
 
-- **Guards keep their negation.** "Not X; instead Y; recognize the switch by Z"
-  is the required guard form. Naming the rejected thing is the guard's job;
-  never "improve" a guard by stating only the replacement.
+- **Anti-goals keep their negation.** "Not X; instead Y; recognize the switch
+  by Z" is the required anti-goal form. Naming the rejected thing is the
+  anti-goal's job; never "improve" one by stating only the replacement.
 - **Invariants keep their absolutes.** "Never" and "always" are correct in an
   invariant when the hard line is real and human-ratified. Absolutes are lazy
   only when they stand in for an uncurated stance.
@@ -259,15 +267,23 @@ strongest form that fixes the observed failure.
 
 | If the agent keeps... | Author... |
 | --- | --- |
-| missing the truth | sharper `description` / `index` mention |
+| missing the truth | sharper `description`; move universal truth to the cover |
 | inventing values | `asset.*` node with materials and exact names |
-| producing generic output | `anti-goal.*` guard plus annotated `exemplar.*` |
+| producing generic output | `anti-goal.*` replacement plus annotated `exemplar.*` |
 | choosing the wrong structure | `pattern.*` with bound/open and a `## Skeleton` |
 | crossing hard lines | invariant prose plus a check, optionally with `probe:` |
 | applying guidance too broadly | condition in prose |
 | making bad tradeoffs | `decision.*` trace |
 | producing correct but forgettable work | scoped `concept.*` |
 
+A `concept.*` node holds a one-time creative move — a launch hook, a
+campaign idea, a specific non-median leap the corpus would not have produced
+by recombining its other truths. Scope it explicitly to the task or surface
+it was written for, keep it distinct from invariants, and do not generalize
+it into permanent brand law. If it proves reusable later, promote it into an
+exemplar or pattern deliberately; do not let a one-off default into durable
+truth by accumulation.
+
 Ask while authoring:
 
 - What complete artifact shows the brand at its best?
@@ -298,19 +314,16 @@ ghost init            # scaffolds the steering starter
 ghost validate
 ```
 
-`ghost init` seeds the steering starter: the manifest, a starter `glossary.md`
-(with suggested kinds you keep, rename, or replace), the package-root
-`index.md`, and worked demo nodes for stance, composition, anti-goals, patterns,
-exemplars, materials, and decisions. Replace demo claims, paths, examples, and
-decisions with real product truth before using it to steer generation. Use
-`ghost init --template minimal` when you only want the small
-manifest/glossary/index starter.
+`ghost init` seeds the skeleton starter: the manifest, a starter
+`glossary.md`, a `brand.md` cover, foundation chapters with open questions, and
+the model cliche floor. Replace open questions with real product truth before
+using it to steer generation. Use `ghost init --template minimal` for a
+manifest, glossary, cover, and cliche floor.
 
-Write `index.md` as the human-curated front door: non-negotiables that apply to
-every task, what this fingerprint covers, how its kinds organize the corpus, and
-any stricter silence posture. It is an ordinary node mechanically, but by
-convention agents pull it first — anything that must never be missed belongs
-here.
+Write the manifest-declared cover as the human-curated front door:
+non-negotiables that apply to every task, what the fingerprint covers, and any
+stricter silence posture. `ghost gather` inlines it before the menu, so anything
+that must never be missed belongs there.
 
 Nodes may carry a `materials` list in frontmatter: repo-relative paths/globs or
 HTTPS URLs for the concrete materials the prose governs. Put brand-owned
@@ -324,9 +337,7 @@ feed-back only; they are never gathered.
 Declare the kinds you will use in `glossary.md` — the frontmatter `kinds` list
 plus a `#` section per kind explaining its meaning and normative weight. Kinds
 are your choice; Ghost ships no fixed vocabulary. A node's filename prefix must
-match a declared kind (or the node has no kind). Use `posture: guard` for kinds
-whose nodes are review-critical replacements; use `posture: wild` only for
-truths that should stay opt-in.
+match a declared kind (or the node has no kind).
 
 The glossary is a dictionary of every term with defined meaning in the corpus.
 A root `voice.md` with a `voice` glossary entry declares the scope for future

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/concrete-tiers.md

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+---
+name: concrete-tiers
+description: Decide which concrete code tiers a fingerprint carries — tokens, skeletons, components, exemplars — and justify every absence.
+handoffs:
+  - label: Audit what the package carries today
+    command: ghost gather
+    prompt: Which nodes carry concrete material, and which of the four tiers does the package cover?
+---
+
+# Recipe: Choose The Concrete Code Tiers
+
+**Goal:** decide, deliberately, which tiers of concrete code material a
+fingerprint carries — and be able to say why any tier is absent. Absence
+should be a decision, not a default.
+
+Prose states a truth; concrete code makes it the cheapest continuation. A
+package can carry code at four tiers, and each does a different job during
+generation:
+
+| Tier | Form | What it buys |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Tokens | `materials/tokens.css`, linked from nodes | Named values — the agent stops inventing colors, sizes, and durations. |
+| Skeletons | `## Skeleton` HTML blocks inside pattern nodes | The opening structure — layout is committed before the generic default can win the first tokens. |
+| Components | primitive classes or a class vocabulary in `materials/` | Reusable styling decisions — padding, variants, and states compress into names. |
+| Exemplars | a complete surface with load-bearing moves annotated | Cross-node interactions — the constraints no single node states, demonstrated working together. |
+
+Two properties decide whether a tier steers, and they are not the same thing:
+
+- **Scope** — what the tier constrains: a token constrains one value, a
+  skeleton one block, an exemplar one whole surface.
+- **Delivery** — whether the material is guaranteed to reach the agent.
+  Skeleton blocks live in node bodies, so `ghost pull` delivers them with the
+  truth. Files behind `materials:` locators reach only agents that spend a
+  turn reading them. A tier the agent never sees contributes nothing;
+  presence in the package is not presence in context.
+
+## The floor and the earned tiers
+
+**Tokens are the floor.** Every package that steers visual output carries a
+token vocabulary, and every other tier repeats those token names. That
+repetition is the one redundancy worth keeping: the same name appearing in
+prose, skeleton, and exemplar is what stops the agent from inventing
+plausible near-miss values.
+
+The other three tiers are earned by the package's shape:
+
+- **Skeletons** pay when the package specifies few, composition-critical
+  surfaces — where the first structural commitment decides everything
+  downstream — and when consuming agents may read only pulled bodies.
+- **Components** pay when the package covers many diverse surfaces generated
+  often, and the consuming agent reads material files. A class vocabulary
+  amortizes across surfaces; for a single surface shape it is dead weight.
+- **Exemplars** pay almost everywhere: they are the cheapest way to show
+  tiers interacting. One per distinct surface shape; a package with one
+  exemplar and many surface shapes pulls every task toward the demonstrated
+  shape.
+
+## Every tier is a copy that can drift
+
+Each tier repeats the token truth, and a stale copy steers harder than the
+prose that corrects it. A hardcoded value in an exemplar where a token
+exists is a lie waiting for a rename. Before adding a tier, accept its
+maintenance bill; after any token change, sweep every tier for stranded
+literals.
+
+A tier can also fight the package's stance. A package whose truth is
+"compose each surface fresh from the tokens" contradicts itself by shipping
+a component kit; a package whose truth is "compose from the grammar, the
+refs are examples not a framework" hardens toward template convergence if
+every pattern carries a mandatory skeleton. When a tier and the stance
+conflict, the stance wins — that absence is the package expressing itself.
+
+## Annotate whatever code ships
+
+Un-annotated code teaches content along with structure. Whatever tier the
+package carries, split the annotation two ways: name the load-bearing moves
+(what makes it this brand — copy these) and mark the incidental content
+(domain, figures, labels — swap these). An exemplar without this split
+teaches the agent that the example's subject matter is the brand.
+
+## The self-check
+
+For any package, answer four questions:
+
+1. Where does the value vocabulary live? (If not a token file: why?)
+2. What forces the opening structure of the package's most
+   composition-critical surface? (If nothing: is that surface's structure
+   genuinely open?)
+3. What demonstrates the cross-node constraints working together? (If
+   nothing: which interactions is the agent left to infer?)
+4. For every tier present: will the consuming agent actually have it in
+   context when it generates?
+
+Any answer may legitimately be "absent, because" — the recipe's only
+requirement is that the "because" exists.

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/recall.md

@@ -5,14 +5,9 @@ description: Gather and pull the applicable Ghost brand truths for a task.
 
 # Recipe: Recall Ghost Fingerprint
 
-Wild posture is opt-in. Default `ghost gather` excludes kinds whose glossary
-entry declares `posture: wild`; use `--wild` only when the brief names explicit
-open territory where conformance is suspended. Guard posture stays visible by
-default because guards are brand-defining.
-
-1. Run `ghost gather <ask>` for the actual task. Read the coverage line: all
-   prose-only fingerprints are weak steering, and guard count tells you whether
-   review-critical negative space exists.
+1. Run `ghost gather <ask>` for the actual task. The cover is inlined by gather;
+   do not pull it separately. Read the coverage line: all-prose fingerprints are
+   weak steering.
 2. Select against `description`; Ghost never selects for you.
 3. Run `ghost pull <id> [<id>…]`. Prefer `pull` over reading files directly: it
    orders the packet for steering, inlines small local materials, emits
@@ -23,14 +18,13 @@ default because guards are brand-defining.
 
 `ghost pull` emits selected nodes in steering order:
 
-1. `index` / stance first: non-negotiables and silence posture.
+1. Cover first, when explicitly selected; normally it is already inlined by
+   gather and should not be pulled separately.
 2. Concrete-material nodes: `materials`, substantial fenced examples, or
    `## Skeleton` sections, with materials inlined or pointed to inspect.
 3. Prose-only rules: principles, conditions, decisions, and other rules without
    concrete payload.
-4. Guard nodes: `posture: guard`, flagged review-critical; read the replacement
-   carefully.
-5. Skeleton fences dead last: if one matches the surface, start from that
+4. Skeleton fences dead last: if one matches the surface, start from that
    structure verbatim.
 
 Return the selected truths with node ids, how each applies, and where the

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/schema.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 name: schema
-description: The Ghost fingerprint package shape: flat nodes, derived concreteness, Skeletons, guards, probes, and checks.
+description: The Ghost fingerprint package shape: flat nodes, derived concreteness, Skeletons, probes, and checks.
 ---
 
 # Ghost Fingerprint Package Reference
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ Canonical package:
 
 ```text
 .ghost/
-  manifest.yml        ghost.fingerprint-package/v1: schema + id
-  glossary.md         kind vocabulary + meanings + optional posture
+  manifest.yml        ghost.fingerprint-package/v1: schema + id + optional cover
+  glossary.md         kind vocabulary + meanings
   materials/          bundled materials; never a node source
   <kind>.<slug>.md    a brand truth of a declared kind
   <slug>.md           a brand truth without a kind
@@ -20,25 +20,16 @@ Canonical package:
 Reserved at the root: `manifest.yml`, `glossary.md`, `materials/`, and
 `checks/`. Every other `*.md` is a node.
 
-## Glossary posture
+## Manifest
 
-A kind may declare posture. Omitted posture defaults to `steady`.
+`manifest.yml` declares `schema`, `id`, and optionally `cover`. `cover` is a
+node id. When present and resolved, `ghost gather` inlines that node above the
+menu on every invocation. Use it for what selection cannot reliably retrieve:
+essence, temperature, and brand-only refusals.
 
-```yaml
-kinds:
-  - name: principle
-  - name: anti-goal
-    posture: guard
-  - name: provocation
-    posture: wild
-```
-
-- `steady`: default, gathered normally.
-- `guard`: review-critical negative space. Stays in default gather, appears at
-  the tail of `ghost pull`, and is auto-offered by `ghost review` when its
-  materials match touched files.
-- `wild`: deliberate push beyond the fingerprint. Default gather excludes wild
-  kinds unless `--wild` is explicit.
+`ghost validate` enforces the cover contract: a missing referenced cover is an
+error, an undeclared cover is a warning, and a cover body past the one-screen
+budget (1500 bytes) is a warning.
 
 ## Nodes
 
@@ -110,10 +101,10 @@ probes are the same class as npm scripts; Git review is the boundary.
 
 ## Gather / Pull / Review
 
-- `ghost gather` emits the node menu, including coverage counts. Checks are
-  invisible.
+- `ghost gather` emits the cover above the node menu, then coverage counts.
+  Checks are invisible.
 - `ghost pull` emits selected nodes in steering order and inlines small local
   materials. Binary local materials become inspect-pointers.
 - `ghost review` matches diff files to local node materials, offers relevant
-  checks and matched guard nodes, embeds probe evidence, and emits a packet for
-  the host agent to judge.
+  checks, embeds probe evidence, and emits a packet for the host agent to
+  judge.

package/dist/skill-bundle/references/self-check.md

@@ -60,6 +60,6 @@ When you cannot answer the grounding questions:
 
 A genuinely silent fingerprint is an expected state, not a blocker. When it does
 not cover the task, say so plainly and proceed with provisional local reasoning
-when safe; label it non-Ghost-backed. If the fingerprint's `index` node declares
-a stricter silence posture, honor it over this default. Ask a human before
+when safe; label it non-Ghost-backed. If the fingerprint's cover declares a stricter
+silence posture, honor it over this default. Ask a human before
 high-risk or brand-defining choices.