core/docs/workbench

CORE Workbench v1

CORE Workbench is the first dedicated operator/auditor UI for CORE.

It is intentionally designed as:

• a cognition observatory,
• replay debugger,
• proposal review workstation,
• deterministic eval console,
• and audit surface.

It is NOT intended to be a generic chatbot shell.

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Document Index

Doctrine

• ../decisions/ADR-0160-core-workbench-v1.md

Defines:

• product doctrine
• trust boundaries
• architecture direction
• module scope
• acceptance criteria

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UX Blueprint

• core-workbench-v1-blueprint.md

Defines:

• visual philosophy
• interaction model
• module behavior
• navigation
• replay/proposal/eval UX

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Implementation Plan

• implementation-plan.md

Defines:

• W-026 through W-031
• phase sequencing
• backend/frontend constraints
• release criteria

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API Contract

• api-contract-v1.md

Defines:

• read-only endpoint surface
• request/response envelopes
• mutation boundaries
• runtime/trace/proposal/eval/replay routes

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Data Shapes

• data-shapes-v1.md

Defines:

• typed UI-facing shapes
• proposal structures
• replay structures
• artifact references
• trust badges

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UI Component Map

• ui-component-map.md

Defines:

• page layout
• navigation structure
• shared components
• trace drawer structure
• proposal/eval/replay modules

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Acceptance Gates

• acceptance-gates.md

Defines:

• implementation gates
• red flags
• release conditions
• mutation restrictions

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Core Principles

Replay before persuasion

The UI should make replay evidence more important than aesthetic persuasion.

Calm by default

The interface should remain quiet and precise.

Progressive disclosure

The system should become more transparent the deeper an operator inspects.

Proposal is not ratification

The UI must preserve ADR-0057 review doctrine.

Read-only first

The first workbench phases prioritize visibility and auditability before any mutation capability.

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Current Status

The planning package is merged on main via 404e694 (docs(workbench): CORE Workbench v1 planning architecture (ADR-0160)).

The prototype branch feat/w026-workbench-readonly-api is superseded and must not be used as the implementation base. It mixed W-026 with frontend and trace work, added auth and web-framework dependencies before the local read-only boundary was proven, and included placeholder replay/trace behavior that could be mistaken for evidence.

The next accepted implementation starts clean from main with W-026 only: dataclass schemas, repo-root-constrained readers, a standard-library local HTTP API, and route/read-model tests. W-027 and later phases build on that boundary after it is accepted.

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W-026 Local Runbook

Start the read-only local API:

core workbench api

Verify liveness:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/health

Inspect each W-026 endpoint family:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/runtime/status
curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/artifacts
curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/artifacts/evals/contemplation_quality/contract.md
curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/proposals
curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/evals
curl http://127.0.0.1:8765/evals/contemplation_quality
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8765/evals/run \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"lane":"contemplation_quality","version":"v1","split":"public"}'

Bind to a different local port:

core workbench api --port 9000

Non-local binds require an explicit operator flag:

core workbench api --host 0.0.0.0 --allow-nonlocal-bind

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Initial Work Queue

Work Item	Goal
W-026	Read-only API
W-027	Frontend shell
W-028	Chat + trace drawer
W-029	Proposal queue
W-030	Eval center
W-031	Replay theater

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Guiding Question

The correct operator reaction to the workbench should be:

“Wait… I can actually inspect and replay the cognition.”

not:

“Cool chatbot.”