When to invoke
Only when the project has a .harness/ folder (otherwise stay silent — this is not a bencium-loop project).
Trigger when the current conversation involves any of:
- Library/framework choice: "should we use X or Y?", "let's go with Z"
- Data model decisions: schema design, field naming conventions, normalization choices
- Architecture splits: monolith vs services, sync vs async, client vs server rendering
- Policy choices: auth model, caching strategy, error handling approach, naming conventions
- Tradeoffs: explicit "X over Y because Z" statements from the user or you
Do NOT trigger on:
- Implementation details that are obvious from the code (variable names, file layout)
- Choices already documented in
.harness/archive/(check first via context-loader) - Trivial decisions that have no downstream consequences (e.g., "let's use 2-space indent")
What to do
When you detect a decision moment:
-
Let the conversation reach a conclusion first — don't interrupt mid-discussion.
-
Once the choice is made, say (briefly):
"Worth logging? Run
/bencium-decide \"<short title>\"and I'll capture the why + alternatives + consequences." -
If the user agrees or asks you to run it, invoke
/bencium-decidewith a suggested title. -
If the user says no or ignores the nudge, drop it. Don't re-prompt for the same decision.
Frequency cap
Nudge at most once per 10 conversation turns. If you've nudged recently and the user didn't act, wait. Better to miss a decision than to nag.
What NOT to do
- Do not auto-run
/bencium-decidewithout the user's go-ahead. - Do not nudge for non-decisions (status updates, questions, debugging).
- Do not nudge if
.harness/archive/already has a recent decision on the same topic — instead say "Already covered in archive/NNNN — want to update it?"