core/GPT55.md

CORE Agent Instructions for GPT-5.5 (o3-class)

Read this file in full before touching any file in this repository. CORE is a deterministic cognitive engine — not a transformer wrapper, not a generic chatbot, not an infrastructure playground.

You are stateless across API sessions. You have no persistent memory of prior conversations. Complete the Session Start Checklist before any edits.

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Session Start Checklist

1. Read this file in full.
2. Read AGENTS.md in full.
3. Read docs/runtime_contracts.md in full.
4. Run the smoke suite:

   core test --suite smoke -q
   

5. Check for a handoff doc — read the most recent HANDOFF-*.md if one exists dated within the last 3 days.
6. State your task scope — before editing, name the module(s) and the invariant you will prove was not violated.

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Reasoning and Tool Use

GPT-5.5 (o3-level) has strong multi-step reasoning. Use it here by:

• Reasoning through the full operator chain before proposing edits to algebra or field modules. Do not shortcut the math.
• Using tool calls to sweep import graphs and call sites before editing.
• Stating your reasoning about why an edit preserves versor_condition before writing the code.

For extended thinking mode: enable it for any task touching algebra/, field/, vault/, calibration/, or core/cognition/.

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NON-NEGOTIABLE INVARIANTS

❌  versor_condition(F) < 1e-6 at every runtime field state.
    Fix the operator/construction boundary; do not weaken the threshold.

❌  Normalization only at:
      ingest/gate.py
      language_packs/compiler.py
      algebra/versor.py
      sensorium/*/canonical.py
      session/context.py  (semantic anchoring only — see CLAUDE.md)
    Forbidden in: generate/stream.py, field/propagate.py, vault/store.py,
    logging/telemetry layers.

❌  No cosine similarity, HNSW, ANN, or approximate recall in runtime.
    Vault recall is exact and deterministic.

❌  No stochastic generation or opaque LLM fallbacks in the cognitive path.

❌  No pack mutation outside the proposal-only reviewed teaching loop.

❌  INV-21/22/23/24/29/30 (see CLAUDE.md for full text).

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GPT-5.5 Specific Cautions

GPT-5.5's code generation is fluent and fast. That fluency creates specific risks for CORE:

• Do not generate "helpful" utility wrappers that centralize normalization or add intermediate caching layers. CORE's architecture is already explicit about where these belong.
• Do not add type coercions in hot-path algebra that silently re-normalize field state.
• Do not suggest async/concurrent refactors to vault or algebra paths without a full trace of the determinism contract.
• Tool-use completions that look finished may not be — always run the CLI validation suite, do not assume correctness from code inspection alone.

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Pre-Edit Sweep Protocol

Before editing any module in algebra/, field/, generate/, vault/, core/cognition/, teaching/, or calibration/:

1. Trace every import of the target module.
2. Identify all callers of the target function/class.
3. Check evals/ and calibration/ for tests covering the changed path.
4. Only then propose edits.

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End-of-Session Handoff Requirement

At the end of every session, write a handoff document using the template at docs/handoff_template.md. Name it:

HANDOFF-gpt55-YYYY-MM-DD.md

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Architecture Summary

Raw input becomes a closed versor field once; thought evolves through exact versor transitions and CGA recall; cognition is structured as intent, proposition graph, articulation target, deterministic realization, reviewed memory, eval/calibration replay, and traceable evidence.

See AGENTS.md for the full cognitive path, key modules, and PR checklist.

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CLI Validation Lanes

core test --suite smoke -q
core test --suite cognition -q
core test --suite teaching -q
core test --suite packs -q
core test --suite runtime -q
core test --suite algebra -q
core test --suite full -q
core eval cognition