@ericrisco/rsc 2.0.20 → 2.1.0

package/scripts/lib/onboarding-apply.js

@@ -9,9 +9,29 @@ import { readState } from './state.js';
 import { readManifest, writeManifest } from './manifest-file.js';
 import { encodeGoal, identifyPlan } from './onboarding.js';
 import { createBackup, restoreBackup } from './backups.js';
+import { RETIRED_SKILLS, replaceRetired } from './retired-skills.js';
 
 const sameSet = (a = [], b = []) => JSON.stringify([...a].sort()) === JSON.stringify([...b].sort());
 
+/**
+ * A receipt accepted before eli5, show-me and bro were retired still names them, and it cannot be
+ * rewritten — it is hash-checked against what the user accepted. So it is READ through the
+ * retirement: its skills as their successors, and the paths it governed for a retired skill (its
+ * link in each assistant and its base in `.rsc/skills/`) as no longer owed. Otherwise every upgraded
+ * harness would read as drift for having done exactly what the upgrade is meant to do.
+ */
+const acceptedSkills = (plan) => replaceRetired(plan.policy.skills);
+function retiredGovernedPaths(cwd, plan) {
+  const out = new Set();
+  for (const id of Object.keys(RETIRED_SKILLS)) {
+    out.add(`.rsc/skills/${id}`);
+    for (const target of plan.policy?.targets || []) {
+      out.add(relative(cwd, targetPaths(target, undefined, cwd).skillDir(id)).split(sep).join('/'));
+    }
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
 /**
  * What THIS target should be holding, which is not the same question as what the project decided.
  *
@@ -73,7 +93,6 @@ function recoveryCommand(plan, planId) {
   return [
     'npx @ericrisco/rsc@latest onboard',
     `--technical-level ${record.technicalLevel}`,
-    `--accompaniment ${record.accompaniment}`,
     `--project-kind ${record.projectKind}`,
     `--goal-base64 ${encodeGoal(record.goal)}`,
     ...(record.softwareScope ? [`--software-scope ${record.softwareScope}`] : []),
@@ -83,18 +102,19 @@ function recoveryCommand(plan, planId) {
 }
 
 export function renderOnboardingDocuments(plan, planId) {
-  // `accompaniment_level`, never `accompaniment` (#276). It sits beside `technical_level` in the same
-  // block, and it is the name the nine skill files that read the dial — orient first among them —
-  // have always used. This was the only writer of the short form, which left the dial chosen at
-  // onboarding invisible to the compass.
-  const profile = `---\ntechnical_level: ${plan.record.technicalLevel}\naccompaniment_level: ${plan.record.accompaniment}\nproject_kind: ${plan.record.projectKind}\n---\n\n# User profile\n\nGoal: ${plan.record.goal}\n`;
+  // One dial: `technical_level`. `technical` gets the technical register; `non-technical` and `mixed`
+  // get the one with analogies. The accompaniment dial (`accompaniment_level`, and the older
+  // `accompaniment` before #276) is retired and never written.
+  const profile = `---\ntechnical_level: ${plan.record.technicalLevel}\nproject_kind: ${plan.record.projectKind}\n---\n\n# User profile\n\nGoal: ${plan.record.goal}\n`;
   const rows = plan.decisions.map((d) => `| ${d.kind} | ${d.id} | ${d.state} | ${d.reason} | ${d.reevaluateWhen.join('; ') || '—'} |`).join('\n');
   const installation = `# Accepted harness plan\n\nPlan id: \`${planId}\`\n\n| Kind | Component | Decision | Reason | Reevaluate when |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n${rows}\n`;
   const decisions = `# Harness decisions\n\n- Accepted plan \`${planId}\`.\n- Project kind: ${plan.record.projectKind}.\n- SDD: ${plan.decisions.find((d) => d.id === 'sdd')?.state || 'selected through profile'}.\n`;
   return { profile, installation, decisions };
 }
 
-const PROFILE_DIALS = [['technical_level', 'technicalLevel'], ['accompaniment_level', 'accompaniment']];
+const PROFILE_DIALS = [['technical_level', 'technicalLevel']];
+// The retired accompaniment dial, under both names it ever had. Removed on rewrite; tolerated on read.
+const RETIRED_PROFILE_KEY = /^accompaniment(_level)?:/;
 
 /**
  * The profile is the USER's file; accepting a plan seeds it, it does not own it (#278).
@@ -104,11 +124,10 @@ const PROFILE_DIALS = [['technical_level', 'technicalLevel'], ['accompaniment_le
  * accept erased both, and re-accepting is routine: after an update, after a reassess.
  *
  * So: everything the plan does not own is kept byte for byte. `project_kind` and the goal are facts of
- * the plan and are updated. The two dials are the subtle part — the plan carries them, but after first
- * contact the user adjusts them — so an existing value stands when the plan did not CHANGE it relative
- * to the previous receipt, and an explicit new value (a receipt that said L3, a plan that says L2) is
- * applied. A profile written before the rename carries `accompaniment:`; it is migrated, never
- * duplicated.
+ * the plan and are updated. The dial is the subtle part — the plan carries it, but after first contact
+ * the user adjusts it — so an existing value stands when the plan did not CHANGE it relative to the
+ * previous receipt, and an explicit new value is applied. The retired accompaniment dial is the one
+ * thing taken OUT: its lines are dropped, whichever of its two names they use.
  */
 export function mergeProfile(existing, plan, previousRecord) {
   const fresh = renderOnboardingDocuments(plan, '').profile;
@@ -117,10 +136,7 @@ export function mergeProfile(existing, plan, previousRecord) {
   const block = /^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---\n?/.exec(text);
   let front = block ? block[1].split('\n') : [];
   let body = block ? text.slice(block[0].length) : text;
-  const has = (key) => front.some((line) => line.startsWith(`${key}:`));
-  front = has('accompaniment_level')
-    ? front.filter((line) => !/^accompaniment:\s/.test(line))
-    : front.map((line) => line.replace(/^accompaniment:(\s)/, 'accompaniment_level:$1'));
+  front = front.filter((line) => !RETIRED_PROFILE_KEY.test(line));
   const get = (key) => front.find((line) => line.startsWith(`${key}:`))?.slice(key.length + 1).trim() || null;
   const set = (key, value) => {
     const at = front.findIndex((line) => line.startsWith(`${key}:`));
@@ -159,7 +175,7 @@ export function verifyOnboarding(cwd, plan, planId) {
   if (identifyPlan(plan) !== planId) differences.push('persisted plan identity differs from its canonical content');
   for (const target of plan.policy.targets) {
     const state = readState(targetPaths(target, undefined, cwd).stateFile);
-    if (!sameSet(Object.keys(state.skills || {}), plan.policy.skills)) differences.push(`${target}: installed skills differ from accepted policy`);
+    if (!sameSet(Object.keys(state.skills || {}), acceptedSkills(plan))) differences.push(`${target}: installed skills differ from accepted policy`);
     if (!sameSet(state.agents || [], expectedAgentsFor(target, plan))) differences.push(`${target}: installed agents differ from accepted policy`);
     if (state.policy?.alwaysOn !== plan.policy.alwaysOn) differences.push(`${target}: always-on policy differs`);
     if (state.policy?.codeHooks !== plan.policy.codeHooks) differences.push(`${target}: code-hook policy differs`);
@@ -169,7 +185,9 @@ export function verifyOnboarding(cwd, plan, planId) {
   for (const name of ['user-profile.md', 'installation-plan.md', 'decisions.md']) {
     if (!existsSync(join(cwd, '02-DOCS', 'wiki', 'harness', name))) differences.push(`missing ${name}`);
   }
-  for (const path of plan.governedPaths || []) {
+  const retiredPaths = retiredGovernedPaths(cwd, plan);
+  const owed = (path) => !retiredPaths.has(path.replace(/\/$/, ''));
+  for (const path of (plan.governedPaths || []).filter(owed)) {
     if (!existsSync(join(cwd, path.replace(/\/$/, '')))) differences.push(`missing governed path ${path}`);
   }
   const manifest = readManifest(cwd);
@@ -177,23 +195,22 @@ export function verifyOnboarding(cwd, plan, planId) {
   const expectedDigests = manifest?.onboarding?.artifactDigests;
   if (!expectedDigests) differences.push('manifest receipt has no governed artifact digests');
   else {
-    const expectedPaths = (plan.governedPaths || []).filter((path) => path !== '.rsc.json' && path !== '.rsc/backups/');
-    if (!sameSet(Object.keys(expectedDigests), expectedPaths)) differences.push('governed artifact digest inventory differs from accepted plan');
+    const expectedPaths = (plan.governedPaths || []).filter((path) => path !== '.rsc.json' && path !== '.rsc/backups/').filter(owed);
+    if (!sameSet(Object.keys(expectedDigests).filter(owed), expectedPaths)) differences.push('governed artifact digest inventory differs from accepted plan');
     for (const path of expectedPaths) {
       if (digestPath(join(cwd, path.replace(/\/$/, ''))) !== expectedDigests[path]) differences.push(`governed content differs at ${path}`);
     }
   }
   const docsDir = join(cwd, '02-DOCS', 'wiki', 'harness');
   const profile = existsSync(join(docsDir, 'user-profile.md')) ? readFileSync(join(docsDir, 'user-profile.md'), 'utf8') : '';
-  // The plan's facts must be exactly there. The dials must be there under their one name with a valid
-  // value — not necessarily the plan's, because a dial the user adjusted and the plan did not change
-  // is theirs (see mergeProfile).
+  // The plan's facts must be exactly there. The dial must be there with a valid value — not
+  // necessarily the plan's, because a dial the user adjusted and the plan did not change is theirs
+  // (see mergeProfile). A leftover accompaniment line is not checked at all: it is retired, and an
+  // old profile that still carries one is not drift.
   for (const line of [`project_kind: ${plan.record.projectKind}`, `Goal: ${plan.record.goal}`]) {
     if (!profile.split('\n').includes(line)) differences.push(`profile content differs: ${line.split(':')[0]}`);
   }
   if (!/^technical_level: (non-technical|mixed|technical)$/m.test(profile)) differences.push('profile content differs: technical_level');
-  if (!/^accompaniment_level: L[0-3]$/m.test(profile)) differences.push('profile content differs: accompaniment_level');
-  if (/^accompaniment: /m.test(profile)) differences.push('profile carries the retired accompaniment key');
   const installation = existsSync(join(docsDir, 'installation-plan.md')) ? readFileSync(join(docsDir, 'installation-plan.md'), 'utf8') : '';
   if (!installation.includes(`Plan id: \`${planId}\``)) differences.push('installation plan identity differs');
   for (const decision of plan.decisions || []) {
@@ -204,7 +221,7 @@ export function verifyOnboarding(cwd, plan, planId) {
   if (!decisions.includes(`Accepted plan \`${planId}\``)) differences.push('decision ledger omits accepted plan');
   // Every planned assistant is declared; an extra one added outside the plan may be too (#278).
   if (!plan.policy.targets.every((t) => (manifest?.targets || []).includes(t))) differences.push('manifest targets differ from accepted policy');
-  if (!sameSet(manifest?.skills || [], plan.policy.skills)) differences.push('manifest skills differ from accepted policy');
+  if (!sameSet(replaceRetired(manifest?.skills || []), acceptedSkills(plan))) differences.push('manifest skills differ from accepted policy');
   if (!sameSet(manifest?.agents || [], plan.policy.agents || [])) differences.push('manifest agents differ from accepted policy');
   return differences;
 }

package/scripts/lib/onboarding.js

@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ import { TARGET_IDS } from '../../targets/index.js';
 import { resolveAgentNames } from '../../targets/agents.js';
 import { loadManifest, skillsForProfile } from './manifest.js';
 import { readManifest } from './manifest-file.js';
+import { replaceRetired } from './retired-skills.js';
 import { managedPathsForInstall } from '../install-apply.js';
 
 export const ONBOARDING_SCHEMA_VERSION = 1;
 export const ONBOARDING_VALUES = Object.freeze({
   technicalLevel: ['non-technical', 'mixed', 'technical'],
-  accompaniment: ['L0', 'L1', 'L2', 'L3'],
   projectKind: ['software', 'operations', 'research', 'content', 'mixed'],
   softwareScope: ['small', 'growing', 'complex'],
 });
@@ -33,7 +33,9 @@ export function normalizeOnboarding(raw = {}) {
   const schemaVersion = Number(raw.schemaVersion ?? ONBOARDING_SCHEMA_VERSION);
   if (schemaVersion !== ONBOARDING_SCHEMA_VERSION) throw new Error(`invalid schemaVersion: expected ${ONBOARDING_SCHEMA_VERSION}`);
   const technicalLevel = oneOf('technical-level', clean(raw.technicalLevel).toLowerCase(), ONBOARDING_VALUES.technicalLevel);
-  const accompaniment = oneOf('accompaniment', clean(raw.accompaniment).toUpperCase(), ONBOARDING_VALUES.accompaniment);
+  // `accompaniment` is retired: `technical_level` alone sets the register (technical, or with
+  // analogies). Old scripts still send it, so it is ignored here — not validated, not recorded, and
+  // therefore not part of the plan id either.
   const projectKind = oneOf('project-kind', clean(raw.projectKind).toLowerCase(), ONBOARDING_VALUES.projectKind);
   const goal = clean(raw.goal).replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
   if (!goal) throw new Error('invalid goal: a concrete goal is required');
@@ -48,7 +50,6 @@ export function normalizeOnboarding(raw = {}) {
   return {
     schemaVersion,
     technicalLevel,
-    accompaniment,
     projectKind,
     goal,
     ...(needsScope ? { softwareScope } : {}),
@@ -223,7 +224,7 @@ export function buildOnboardingPlan(record, evidence) {
   // `readManifest` returns null on a first install, which is the most common path of all; reaching
   // through that null would have broken every fresh install in order to protect updates.
   const inAnyProfile = new Set(catalog.skills.filter((s) => (s.profiles || []).length).map((s) => s.id));
-  const declared = (readManifest(evidence.root ?? process.cwd())?.skills ?? [])
+  const declared = replaceRetired(readManifest(evidence.root ?? process.cwd())?.skills ?? [])
     .filter((id) => catalogIds.has(id) && !inAnyProfile.has(id));
   const skills = [...new Set([...skillsForProfile(catalog, profile), ...detectedSkills, ...declared])].sort();
   const baseAgents = practisesSdd;
@@ -380,7 +381,6 @@ export function recommendDeferredComponents(acceptedPlan, currentEvidence) {
 export function missingOnboardingFields(raw = {}) {
   const missing = [];
   if (!clean(raw.technicalLevel)) missing.push('technical-level');
-  if (!clean(raw.accompaniment)) missing.push('accompaniment');
   if (!clean(raw.projectKind)) missing.push('project-kind');
   if (!clean(raw.goal)) missing.push('goal');
   const kind = clean(raw.projectKind).toLowerCase();

package/scripts/lib/recommend.js

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { skillById } from './manifest.js';
 
 const OUTCOMES = {
-  bro: 'Writing that sounds natural and human',
+  unslop: 'Writing for others that sounds natural and human',
   suggest: 'An assistant that proposes what you need as you go',
   harness: 'A tidy workspace: connect and document your company',
   init: 'Guided project bootstrap',

package/scripts/lib/repair.js

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { targetPaths, installedTargets, detectTarget, unwireHook } from '../../t
 import { readState } from './state.js';
 import { readManifest } from './manifest-file.js';
 import { createBackup } from './backups.js';
+import { replaceRetired } from './retired-skills.js';
 import { countHookEntries } from '../doctor.js';
 import { applyInstall, recordInManifest, managedPathsForInstall } from '../install-apply.js';
 
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ export function diagnose({ cwd = process.cwd(), target, home = homedir(), invoke
 
   // A clone: the declaration travelled, the materialised skills did not.
   const dangling = installed.filter((id) => !existsSync(paths.skillDir(id)))
-    .concat((manifest?.skills || []).filter((id) => !existsSync(paths.skillDir(id))));
+    .concat(replaceRetired(manifest?.skills || []).filter((id) => !existsSync(paths.skillDir(id))));
   if (dangling.length) {
     out.push(finding('dangling-links', 'restore',
       `${[...new Set(dangling)].join(', ')} are declared but not on disk — what a fresh clone looks like.`,
@@ -130,7 +131,8 @@ export async function repair({ cwd = process.cwd(), target, home = homedir(), dr
   }
 
   const paths = targetPaths(target, home, cwd);
-  const ids = [...new Set([...Object.keys(readState(paths.stateFile).skills || {}), ...(readManifest(cwd)?.skills || [])])];
+  // Through the retirement map: a retired id cannot be rebuilt from the catalog, its successor can.
+  const ids = replaceRetired([...Object.keys(readState(paths.stateFile).skills || {}), ...(readManifest(cwd)?.skills || [])]);
   // The accepted plan governs a repair exactly as it governs a sync. Without it, `wireHook` saw `{}`,
   // read `codeHooks !== false` as true and wired every guard the plan had declined — and the next
   // `sync`, which does pass the policy, took them away again (#274). Restoring is not deciding.

package/scripts/lib/retired-skills.js

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+// Skills the catalog no longer ships, and the skill that took over their job.
+//
+// `eli5` and `show-me` folded into `orient`, which explains at the register `technical_level` asks
+// for; `bro` folded into `unslop`, which rewrites text meant for other people. A harness built before
+// that still names them — in `.rsc.json`, in per-target state, and inside the onboarding receipt,
+// which is hash-checked against what the user accepted and therefore never rewritten. So every reader
+// of a DECLARED skill list maps through here, instead of each one learning the history on its own.
+//
+// `targets/clone-bootstrap.mjs` is committed into user repos and cannot import this file; it carries
+// an inline copy, and tests/retired-skills.test.js holds the two equal in behaviour.
+export const RETIRED_SKILLS = Object.freeze({ eli5: 'orient', 'show-me': 'orient', bro: 'unslop' });
+
+const retiredTo = (id) => (Object.hasOwn(RETIRED_SKILLS, id) ? RETIRED_SKILLS[id] : id);
+
+/** Each retired id becomes its successor; order of first appearance kept, duplicates dropped. */
+export function replaceRetired(ids = []) {
+  return [...new Set((ids || []).map(retiredTo))];
+}
+
+export const isRetired = (id) => Object.hasOwn(RETIRED_SKILLS, id);

package/scripts/rsc.js

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { listBackups, restoreBackup, whereKept } from './lib/backups.js';
 import { runUpgrade } from './lib/upgrade.js';
 import { diagnose, repair } from './lib/repair.js';
 import { DEFAULT_SKILL_FLOOR, withDefaultSkillFloor } from './lib/default-skill-floor.js';
+import { RETIRED_SKILLS, replaceRetired } from './lib/retired-skills.js';
 import { readManifest, writeManifest } from './lib/manifest-file.js';
 import { versionReport } from './lib/versions.js';
 import {
@@ -38,6 +39,8 @@ if (['--version', '-v', 'version'].includes(rawArgv[0])) {
   process.stdout.write(`${lines.join('\n')}\n`);
   process.exit(0);
 }
+// `--accompaniment` stays listed although the dial is retired: old scripts and agents still pass it,
+// and its value must keep being skipped rather than read as a command or a skill id.
 const GLOBAL_VALUE_FLAGS = new Set([
   '--target', '--technical-level', '--accompaniment', '--project-kind', '--goal', '--goal-base64', '--software-scope', '--accept-plan',
 ]);
@@ -78,7 +81,6 @@ function onboardingInput(targets) {
   return {
     schemaVersion: 1,
     technicalLevel: value('technical-level'),
-    accompaniment: value('accompaniment'),
     projectKind: value('project-kind'),
     goal: value('goal') || (value('goal-base64') ? decodeGoal(value('goal-base64')) : undefined),
     softwareScope: value('software-scope'),
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ function onboardingRequired(raw, action = 'onboard') {
     code: 'RSC_ONBOARDING_REQUIRED',
     schemaVersion: 1,
     missing: missingOnboardingFields(raw),
-    recovery: `Run npx @ericrisco/rsc@latest ${action} --technical-level <non-technical|mixed|technical> --accompaniment <L0|L1|L2|L3> --project-kind <software|operations|research|content|mixed> --goal "<what you want>" --target <assistant>`,
+    recovery: `Run npx @ericrisco/rsc@latest ${action} --technical-level <non-technical|mixed|technical> --project-kind <software|operations|research|content|mixed> --goal "<what you want>" --target <assistant>`,
   };
   console.error(`RSC_ONBOARDING_REQUIRED ${JSON.stringify(payload)}`);
   process.exitCode = 2;
@@ -152,7 +154,6 @@ function renderPlan(plan, planId) {
   const pieces = [
     'npx @ericrisco/rsc@latest onboard',
     `--technical-level ${plan.record.technicalLevel}`,
-    `--accompaniment ${plan.record.accompaniment}`,
     `--project-kind ${plan.record.projectKind}`,
     `--goal-base64 ${encodeGoal(plan.record.goal)}`,
     ...(plan.record.softwareScope ? [`--software-scope ${plan.record.softwareScope}`] : []),
@@ -167,16 +168,11 @@ async function runOnboarding(targets) {
   if (isInteractive() && missingOnboardingFields(raw).length) {
     await banner(loadManifest().counts.skills);
     say('Before rsc writes anything, it will learn how to help and show the exact harness plan.');
-    raw.technicalLevel ||= await select('How technical should the conversation be?', [
-      { key: 'non-technical', label: 'Plain language — explain terms and avoid code jargon' },
-      { key: 'mixed', label: 'Mixed — concise explanations with useful technical detail' },
+    // One question about the person, not two: the register. `--technical-level mixed` is still
+    // accepted from the command line and reads like non-technical — with analogies.
+    raw.technicalLevel ||= await select('How should I talk to you?', [
       { key: 'technical', label: 'Technical — assume I am comfortable with code and tooling' },
-    ]);
-    raw.accompaniment ||= await select('How much accompaniment do you want?', [
-      { key: 'L0', label: 'L0 — results only' },
-      { key: 'L1', label: 'L1 — brief reasons, questions only when needed' },
-      { key: 'L2', label: 'L2 — explain each relevant decision' },
-      { key: 'L3', label: 'L3 — guide me through everything' },
+      { key: 'non-technical', label: 'With analogies and plain words — explain terms, no jargon' },
     ]);
     raw.projectKind ||= await select('What are you building or running?', [
       { key: 'software', label: 'Software or a website' },
@@ -194,7 +190,7 @@ async function runOnboarding(targets) {
       ]);
     }
     if (!raw.targets?.length) raw.targets = await selectAgents();
-    if (!raw.technicalLevel || !raw.accompaniment || !raw.projectKind || !raw.goal || !raw.targets?.length) {
+    if (!raw.technicalLevel || !raw.projectKind || !raw.goal || !raw.targets?.length) {
       say('Cancelled — nothing was touched.');
       return;
     }
@@ -289,7 +285,6 @@ function runReassessment() {
   say([
     'npx @ericrisco/rsc@latest onboard',
     `--technical-level ${record.technicalLevel}`,
-    `--accompaniment ${record.accompaniment}`,
     `--project-kind ${record.projectKind}`,
     `--goal-base64 ${encodeGoal(record.goal)}`,
     ...(record.softwareScope ? [`--software-scope ${record.softwareScope}`] : []),
@@ -423,8 +418,9 @@ function printNextSteps(targets, ids) {
     say('        "sdd-init"   then   "I want <your idea>"');
     say('      → walks you specify → plan → tasks → implement → verify → ship.');
   }
-  say(`   ${n++}. From there, work in your own words. orient + suggest stay always-on; bro is ready on request:`);
-  say('      they keep you oriented, propose missing skills, and rewrite in plain human language when asked.');
+  say(`   ${n++}. From there, work in your own words. orient + suggest stay always-on; unslop is ready on request:`);
+  say('      orient talks in short stand-alone sentences (technical or with analogies) and draws a diagram if you do not follow;');
+  say('      suggest proposes missing skills; unslop rewrites text you send to other people.');
   say('\n   Add something by hand anytime:    npx @ericrisco/rsc add <skill>');
   say('   Browse the catalog / get picks:   npx @ericrisco/rsc consult "whatever you need"');
   say('────────────────────────────────────────────────────────');
@@ -444,7 +440,7 @@ function printAgentHandoff() {
   say('AGENT, do this now:');
   say('  1. Reload/restart this session so the new skills + hooks load');
   say('     (Claude Code: restart the session · Codex/AGENTS.md tools: next turn).');
-  say('  2. After reload you are EQUIPPED — orient + suggest are always-on; bro is installed.');
+  say('  2. After reload you are EQUIPPED — orient + suggest are always-on: short stand-alone answers, a diagram when you do not follow; unslop is installed to rewrite text for others.');
   // Un recibo cuya identidad no cuadra con lo que se aceptó no es fuente de nada: el camino de
   // `onboard` está a salvo porque reconstruye el plan y `identifyPlan` corta, y este no lo hacía.
   // Y va envuelto porque antes esta función no leía nada y no podía tumbar un `install` ya hecho.
@@ -665,14 +661,20 @@ async function main() {
       return runReassessment();
     case 'add': {
       if (!hasDeclaredHarness()) return onboardingRequired(onboardingInput(targets));
-      const requested = requestedIds();
+      // A retired id is not unknown: it has a successor, and old notes, scripts and agents still
+      // name it. Say so in one line and add the successor instead.
+      const asked = requestedIds();
+      for (const id of asked.filter((id) => Object.hasOwn(RETIRED_SKILLS, id))) {
+        say(`${id} was retired and replaced by ${RETIRED_SKILLS[id]} — adding ${RETIRED_SKILLS[id]}.`);
+      }
+      const requested = replaceRetired(asked);
       const selected = classifyRequested(requested);
       if (reportUnknown(selected.unknown)) return;
       const ids = withDefaultSkillFloor(selected.skills);
       if (!argv.includes('--force') && !(await guardCollisions(targets, ids))) return;
       const currentManifest = readManifest();
       const receipt = currentManifest?.onboarding;
-      const maintainedIds = receipt ? [...new Set([...(currentManifest.skills || []), ...(receipt.plan.policy.skills || []), ...ids])].sort() : ids;
+      const maintainedIds = receipt ? replaceRetired([...(currentManifest.skills || []), ...(receipt.plan.policy.skills || []), ...ids]).sort() : ids;
       const { policy, onboarding } = governedBy(receipt, maintainedIds);
       for (const t of targets) await applyInstall({ skillIds: maintainedIds, agentIds: selected.agents, target: t, policy, onboarding });
       markMaintenanceDrift(`add ${requested.join(',')}`);
@@ -1143,6 +1145,10 @@ async function main() {
       // `uninstall --all` is an alias for a full purge.
       if (argv.includes('--all')) return void (await runPurge(dry, argv.includes('--with-docs')));
       const selected = classifyRequested(requestedIds());
+      // A retired skill an old install still holds is not unknown: the state file proves it is ours.
+      const held = new Set(listInstalled({ target }));
+      selected.skills.push(...selected.unknown.filter((id) => Object.hasOwn(RETIRED_SKILLS, id) && held.has(id)));
+      selected.unknown = selected.unknown.filter((id) => !selected.skills.includes(id));
       if (reportUnknown(selected.unknown)) return;
       const removed = await uninstall({ skillIds: selected.skills, agentIds: selected.agents, target, dryRun: dry });
       return void say((dry ? 'Would remove:\n' : 'Removed:\n') + (removed.join('\n') || '(nothing)'));

package/scripts/skill-behavior-rubric.md

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ deterministic and auditable.
 User-facing, conversational skills should keep the user oriented. When a skill's capability scenario ends a turn the user acts on, the grader expects the output to:
 
 - **Situate** the user (where they are / what is built vs missing).
-- **Teach the why**, scaled to the dial (`technical_level` / `accompaniment_level`).
+- **Teach the why**, in the register `technical_level` sets (technical, or with analogies) — the voice is `orient`'s.
 - **Propose a next step phrased as a question** — never end in seco.
 
 Encode this as `must_include` items in those skills' capability scenarios (see `skills/orient/evals/cases.yaml` for the canonical pattern). It scores through the existing coverage axis — no separate formula. Skills that own a purely mechanical task (lint, a single rename) are exempt and should not be penalized.

package/scripts/skill-migration-brief.md

@@ -40,8 +40,8 @@ The goal is the smallest body that still routes correctly. 400 lines is a ceilin
 - Rule banks that restate the flow — "Iron rules (non-negotiable)", "Rationalizations — STOP".
   A rule worth keeping moves next to the step it governs, and says *why* it is absolute instead of
   shouting NON-NEGOTIABLE. A rule in an appendix is skimmed; a rule in context is followed.
-- Re-teaching of what another skill owns. The accompaniment dial belongs to `init`; the SDD method
-  belongs to `sdd`. Read the profile and point; do not restate, or the two drift apart.
+- Re-teaching of what another skill owns. The register (`technical_level` in the profile, set by `init`) and
+  the voice that applies it belong to `orient`; the SDD method belongs to `sdd`. Read the profile and point; do not restate, or the two drift apart.
 - "When to use" sections that restate the description, and trailing reference indexes whose links
   already appear inline at point of use.
 
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ The goal is the smallest body that still routes correctly. 400 lines is a ceilin
   in one skill and keeping it in the next is worse than either choice applied uniformly.
 - Decision tables where the flow genuinely branches.
 - Tables specific to *this* skill's phase (e.g. what to show at each checkpoint) — that is not the
-  generic dial.
+  retired verbosity levels.
 - Worked bad/good pairs that teach judgment by demonstration.
 - Result-envelope blocks, chain position, and output contracts where they already exist. Do **not**
   add one that was never there: that is a content change, not a format change.

package/skills/analyze/SKILL.md

@@ -17,14 +17,9 @@ Sixth phase of the rsc-sdd chain (`constitution → specify → clarify → plan
 
 **Model tier: `heavy`** (adversarial cross-reading). Resolve and apply it per `../sdd/references/model-routing.md`; routing is off unless `models.enabled: true` in `02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/config.yaml`.
 
-**Accompaniment dial.** Read `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` before reporting — default to **L2** and say the harness has not gauged the user yet if there is no profile. The dial flexes how the report reads, never what gets checked; the six analyses always run in full.
+**Register.** Read `technical_level` in `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` before reporting; with no profile, use analogies and say the harness has not set the register yet. The register changes how the report reads, never what gets checked; the six analyses always run in full.
 
-| Dial | The report renders as |
-| --- | --- |
-| L0 | Finding table only: severity, the two artifacts, the conflict in one line. No prose. |
-| L1 | + a one-line *why it matters* per CRITICAL/HIGH finding. |
-| L2 | + per finding, the recommended resolution phase and the trade-off of leaving it. |
-| L3 | + full walk-through: quote both sides, explain the consequence at implement time in plain language, lay out the options so a non-technical user can choose. |
+The report is the same for every reader: a finding table (severity, the two artifacts, the conflict in one line), a one-line *why it matters* per CRITICAL/HIGH finding, and per finding the recommended resolution phase and the trade-off of leaving it. For a `non-technical` reader, explain the consequence at implement time with an everyday analogy so they can choose.
 
 ## Inputs — locate the four artifacts
 
@@ -89,7 +84,7 @@ Produce a single consistency report:
 
 Write the report to `02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/analysis/<slug>.md` (create the dir if absent) and index it in `02-DOCS/wiki/index.md` under the `sdd/` topic, so the next phase and the harness can find it. It is an OKF v0.1 wiki article: open it with YAML frontmatter carrying a non-empty `type:` (use `type: analysis`), a `timestamp` in ISO 8601, and standard markdown links — never wikilinks. The report is the artifact analyze owns — it is the *only* thing analyze writes. Per-run point-in-time; overwrite on re-run, the wiki keeps history.
 
-Render it at the dial's verbosity. Do not log a decision to `decisions.md` — analyze decides nothing; the phase that resolves the finding logs its own decision.
+Render it in the orient voice, in the user's register. Do not log a decision to `decisions.md` — analyze decides nothing; the phase that resolves the finding logs its own decision.
 
 ## Anti-patterns
 

package/skills/analyze/evals/cases.yaml

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ capability:
   - scenario: "I have constitution.md, a spec, a plan and a task list under 02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/ for a 'team invites' feature. The constitution says 'Postgres only, every endpoint rate-limited'. The spec requires email invites with a 5/min rate limit and invite expiry after 7 days. The plan adds a Redis-backed cache nobody asked for and is silent on rate limiting. The tasks cover sending invites and expiry but have no task for rate limiting and no done-check on the expiry task. Run the gate."
     must_include:
       - "Reports only and resolves nothing: explicitly does NOT edit the spec/plan/tasks and writes no code; hands each finding back to the user to resolve."
-      - "Reads the harness accompaniment dial from 02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md and adapts report verbosity (or notes no profile and defaults to L2)."
+      - "Reads technical_level from 02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md and writes the report in that register (or notes no profile and uses analogies), with every finding in one line."
       - "Runs all six analyses (constitution compliance, coverage, scope drift, contradiction, duplication, ambiguity), not just coverage."
       - "Flags the missing rate-limit task as a coverage GAP and as a CONSTITUTION violation (constitution requires every endpoint rate-limited) — marks it CRITICAL/HIGH and routes it to the tasks/plan phase."
       - "Flags the Redis cache as scope DRIFT (no spec requirement behind it) and notes the resolution is the user's call: cut it or amend the spec."

package/skills/author-skill/SKILL.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Where the SDD chain (`specify` → `plan` → … → `ship`) builds *product*,
 
 **Not this skill — delegate:** a product feature specced or planned → `../specify/SKILL.md`, `../plan/SKILL.md`. An autonomous agent or tool-calling loop → `../building-agents/SKILL.md`. Generic project docs or a wiki article → the `../harness/SKILL.md` 02-DOCS engine. Bootstrapping a workspace or profiling the user → `../init/SKILL.md`.
 
-Read `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` and work at the accompaniment dial it records; `../init/SKILL.md` owns that dial and sets it. With no profile, default to non-technical framing and ask for the technical level and the dial before going deep — skill authoring is itself a technical act, so many users want more narration here than they do elsewhere.
+Read `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` and speak in the register its `technical_level` records (technical terms, or plain words with analogies); `../init/SKILL.md` sets it, and `orient` owns the voice. With no profile, use analogies and ask once "technical or with analogies?" — skill authoring is itself a technical act, so a non-technical author needs each convention explained, not just named.
 
 ## What a skill is (the anatomy)
 
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ Every new skill MUST end with the orientation footer so the harness never leaves
 
 ## Orientación (siempre)
 
-Cierra cada turno con el **bloque-brújula** (📍 dónde estás · ✅ qué hiciste · 🧭 por qué · ➡️ siguiente, terminando en pregunta), calibrado al dial de `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`. **Nunca termines en seco.** Protocolo completo: skill `orient` → `skills/orient/references/orientation-contract.md`. (Defiere a `suggest` el "¿instalo la skill que falta?".)
+Habla con la voz de `orient`: frases cortas, una idea por frase, y cada respuesta se entiende sola. Registro técnico o con analogías según `technical_level` en `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`. Cierra cada turno con el **bloque-brújula** (📍 dónde estás · ➡️ siguiente, terminando en pregunta; ✅ y 🧭 cuando hay algo hecho o decidido). **Nunca termines en seco.** Protocolo completo: skill `orient` → `skills/orient/references/orientation-contract.md`. (Defiere a `suggest` el "¿instalo la skill que falta?".)
 ````
 
 The full protocol lives once in the `orient` skill; the footer only references it.
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ A skill ships only when every box is checked or a miss is consciously justified.
 - [ ] **Every `references/` file linked** inline from the body; none orphaned.
 - [ ] **Every fence language-tagged**; no placeholder/TODO prose; examples concrete.
 - [ ] **Checklist/decision table only where a flow branches**; an **anti-patterns table** present, naming failure modes rather than restating rules.
-- [ ] **Accompaniment dial honored** — reads the profile, adapts verbosity.
+- [ ] **Orient voice honored** — reads `technical_level` from the profile and picks the register; short sentences, every answer understandable on its own.
 - [ ] **Artifacts under `02-DOCS/wiki/`** and indexed in `02-DOCS/wiki/index.md` (the Knowledge map; root `CLAUDE.md` keeps only a short pointer), if the skill produces any.
 - [ ] **Concrete tooling delegated** to the stack skills rather than reinvented.
 - [ ] **evals present** — `cases.yaml` (≥5 `should_trigger` incl. non-obvious, ≥4 `should_not_trigger` each with a real-sibling `route_to`, ≥1 `capability` with a `must_include` rubric) + an honest `README.md`. `scripts/eval-lint.sh` passes — but it only checks presence and the counts (≥5/≥4/≥1) and that those keys are lists; the `route_to`-points-at-a-real-sibling, non-obvious phrasings, and `must_include` quality are yours to verify here, not the linter's.

package/skills/author-skill/evals/cases.yaml

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ should_not_trigger:
 capability:
   - scenario: "A user says: 'I keep telling the agent how to write our PR descriptions. Make that into a skill called pr-describe.' Show how author-skill produces it to the rsc bar."
     must_include:
-      - "Reads 02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md for the accompaniment dial (or asks the two gauging questions if absent) and adapts verbosity"
+      - "Reads technical_level from 02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md (or asks once 'technical or with analogies?' if absent) and explains in that register, without any verbosity level"
       - "Confirms scope is one job and checks no existing sibling already owns PR-description authoring before creating a new skill"
       - "Drafts the description FIRST: third-person, 'Use when…' lead, only the capabilities that discriminate it from its nearest sibling, a 'NOT … (that is `sibling`)' boundary, valid single-line quoted YAML aiming <=350 chars (1024 hard limit), with origin: risco"
       - "Produces the smallest body that still routes (400 lines is a ceiling, not a target) with progressive disclosure — long/branch-specific detail pushed to references/ and pointed to inline, not an orphaned references/ folder"

package/skills/author-skill/references/rsc-conventions.md

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ profiles: [core, full]           # optional: named-profile membership
 - `tags` drive the FTS recommender — pick the words a user would actually type.
 - `recommends` must reference **real skill ids**; `build-manifest.js --validate`
   fails on a dangling id.
-- `profiles` is optional. `minimal` = the floor (`orient`, `suggest`, `bro`, `harness`, `init`);
+- `profiles` is optional. `minimal` = the floor (`orient`, `suggest`, `unslop`, `ftd`, `harness`, `init`);
   `core` = the SDD workflow; `full` = everything. Most stack skills set `[full]`
   or omit it (they are installed on demand, not by profile).
 

package/skills/clarify/SKILL.md

@@ -15,14 +15,7 @@ This is the fourth phase of the rsc SDD chain (`constitution` → `specify` →
 
 **Model tier: `balanced`** — this phase ranks and asks the few high-leverage questions, it does not design architecture. Resolve and apply it per `../sdd/references/model-routing.md`; routing is off unless `models.enabled: true` in `02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/config.yaml`.
 
-**Accompaniment dial.** Read the level from `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` (the dial and the `02-DOCS/wiki/` convention are owned by `../harness/SKILL.md`). Clarify is question-heavy, so the dial matters here more than almost anywhere — it sets **how many questions you ask and how you frame them**. With no profile: default to non-technical framing, ask the two gauging questions (technical level + accompaniment) first, then proceed at the stated level.
-
-| Dial | Ask |
-| --- | --- |
-| **L0** "cavernícola" | ONLY the questions whose answer changes the architecture or scope. Propose safe defaults for everything else and list them tersely as "assumed unless you object". Minimal prose. |
-| **L1** "breve" | The high-leverage batch, one line of *why* per question. |
-| **L2** "explica decisiones" | The batch plus the trade-off behind each option, so the user chooses informed. |
-| **L3** "acompañamiento total" | Walk the taxonomy out loud, explain what each kind of gap costs if left unresolved, ask broadly (including the medium-leverage questions), and teach the *why* as you go. Ideal for non-technical users who benefit from seeing the hidden decisions. |
+**Register.** Read `technical_level` from `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md` (the `02-DOCS/wiki/` convention is owned by `../harness/SKILL.md`). Clarify is question-heavy, so the voice matters here more than almost anywhere. Ask only the questions whose answer changes the build; propose safe defaults for everything else and list them as "assumed unless you object". Each question carries one line of *why* and the trade-off behind each option, in the `orient` voice. For a `non-technical` reader, frame each option with an everyday analogy. With no profile: use analogies and ask once "technical or with analogies?".
 
 ## Read first — the inputs
 
@@ -30,7 +23,7 @@ Clarify never works blind. Before asking a single question, load three things:
 
 1. **The spec.** Read the target spec under `02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/specs/<slug>.md` end to end. If the path wasn't given, find the most recently touched spec or ask which one. Its *Points to clarify* is a **typed** handoff, not a question list — read the types before you plan a single question (below).
 2. **The constitution.** Read `02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/constitution.md` if it exists. Its principles (stack canon, quality bars, conventions) resolve a surprising number of "ambiguities" without bothering the user — if the constitution already fixes the auth method or the data region, that's answered, not open.
-3. **The harness profile.** `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`, for the dial above.
+3. **The harness profile.** `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`, for the register above.
 
 Citing what you read ("checked the constitution — auth is already fixed to OAuth, so that's not an open question") shows your work and prevents re-litigating settled decisions.
 
@@ -85,13 +78,13 @@ Run in order. The discipline is: find many candidate gaps, keep only the ones th
 
 2. **Resolve what you already can.** For each candidate, check the constitution and the spec's own later sections before asking the user. Many "gaps" are answered elsewhere. Mark each candidate **resolved-internally** (cite the source), **inferable** (a safe default you'll propose, not silently assume), or **must-ask** (only the user can decide).
 
-3. **Rank by leverage.** Sort the must-ask list by impact: how much does the build change depending on the answer? A question whose two answers lead to two different architectures ranks above a cosmetic one. Cut low-leverage questions — clarify is not an interrogation, it's the *few* questions that matter. Cap the batch to the dial.
+3. **Rank by leverage.** Sort the must-ask list by impact: how much does the build change depending on the answer? A question whose two answers lead to two different architectures ranks above a cosmetic one. Cut low-leverage questions — clarify is not an interrogation, it's the *few* questions that matter.
 
-4. **Ask — one focused batch, sized to the dial.** How you ask determines whether you get a usable answer:
+4. **Ask — one focused batch.** How you ask determines whether you get a usable answer:
    - **Make it a decision, not an essay prompt.** "Should deletes be soft (recoverable, hidden) or hard (gone immediately)? I'd recommend soft because the spec mentions an audit trail — confirm?" beats "How should deletion work?".
    - **Carry your own recommendation** when there's a defensible default, matched to the constitution. The user confirms or overrides — far less effort than authoring from scratch.
    - **Quote the spec.** Anchor each question to the exact line or section it came from, so the user sees *why* it's open.
-   - **One batch, ranked, then stop.** Don't drip questions one at a time over many turns unless the dial is L3; don't dump thirty at once. Then wait: never ask and answer in the same breath, and never assume the user's intent on a must-ask item.
+   - **One batch, ranked, then stop.** Don't drip questions one at a time over many turns; don't dump thirty at once. Then wait: never ask and answer in the same breath, and never assume the user's intent on a must-ask item.
 
 5. **Bake the answers back into the spec.** This is the deliverable — an un-baked answer is a lost answer. For each resolved item, edit the spec in place:
    - Tighten the relevant section with the decided behavior.
@@ -135,7 +128,7 @@ After baking back, the spec line becomes a bounded, testable behavior with accep
 
 ## Exit gate
 
-The gate is passed when the spec, constitution and profile were all read (settled questions cited, not re-asked); **every typed point in the handoff has its declared outcome** (asked / validated / left deferred / graduated), with nothing silently dropped; all ten taxonomy categories were considered; only the build-changing gaps were put to the user, as dial-sized decisions with recommendations; every answer is baked into the spec body with observable acceptance criteria, logged under `## Clarifications` and bounded under `## Out of scope`; and the final re-read opened no new gap.
+The gate is passed when the spec, constitution and profile were all read (settled questions cited, not re-asked); **every typed point in the handoff has its declared outcome** (asked / validated / left deferred / graduated), with nothing silently dropped; all ten taxonomy categories were considered; only the build-changing gaps were put to the user, as one ranked batch of decisions with recommendations; every answer is baked into the spec body with observable acceptance criteria, logged under `## Clarifications` and bounded under `## Out of scope`; and the final re-read opened no new gap.
 
 ## Result envelope
 
@@ -165,4 +158,4 @@ Hand off to **`plan`** — turn the now-sharp spec into a technical implementati
 
 ## Orientación (siempre)
 
-Cierra cada turno con el **bloque-brújula** (📍 dónde estás · ✅ qué hiciste · 🧭 por qué · ➡️ siguiente, terminando en pregunta), calibrado al dial de `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`. **Nunca termines en seco.** Protocolo completo: skill `orient` → `skills/orient/references/orientation-contract.md`. (Defiere a `suggest` el "¿instalo la skill que falta?".)
+Habla con la voz de `orient`: frases cortas, una idea por frase, y cada respuesta se entiende sola. Registro técnico o con analogías según `technical_level` en `02-DOCS/wiki/harness/user-profile.md`. Cierra cada turno con el **bloque-brújula** (📍 dónde estás · ➡️ siguiente, terminando en pregunta; ✅ y 🧭 cuando hay algo hecho o decidido). **Nunca termines en seco.** Protocolo completo: skill `orient` → `skills/orient/references/orientation-contract.md`. (Defiere a `suggest` el "¿instalo la skill que falta?".)

package/skills/clarify/evals/cases.yaml

@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ capability:
       - "Reads the spec, the constitution (02-DOCS/wiki/sdd/constitution.md), and the harness profile first — citing anything the constitution already fixes (e.g. storage) as resolved rather than re-asking it."
       - "Scans against the ambiguity taxonomy and surfaces concrete gaps: accepted formats, max file size / dimensions, empty/no-photo state, upload-failure recovery, old-file deletion on replace, who-can-edit (actor/permission), and security validation of the file type."
       - "Ranks the gaps by leverage — asks only the build-changing ones (formats+size, security validation, old-file deletion) and proposes safe defaults for the cosmetic ones instead of burning a question on each."
-      - "Frames questions as decisions with a recommendation (e.g. 'soft vs hard delete — recommend X because…'), one dial-sized batch, anchored to the spec line, rather than open-ended essay prompts or one-at-a-time drips."
-      - "Adapts question count to the accompaniment dial from user-profile.md (L0 = only architecture/scope-changing questions + listed assumed-defaults; L3 = broader, taught)."
+      - "Frames questions as decisions with a recommendation (e.g. 'soft vs hard delete — recommend X because…'), one ranked batch, anchored to the spec line, rather than open-ended essay prompts or one-at-a-time drips."
+      - "Asks only the build-changing questions and lists the rest as assumed-defaults (assumed unless you object), with no verbosity level; phrases them in the register from technical_level in user-profile.md."
       - "Bakes the resolved answers BACK into the spec: tightens the photo section into bounded behavior, adds observable acceptance criteria, and bounds dropped items under '## Out of scope'."
       - "Appends a dated '## Clarifications' log of Q → decision → why so the reasoning survives, and does a final re-read to confirm no new gap was opened."
       - "Stays in its lane: decides WHAT, never proposes the technical HOW (no architecture/library choices) and ends by pointing to plan as the next phase."