forge

Your objective is to operate CocoForge.

Modes

• $forge "goal statement" starts Task Mode for a bounded goal.
• $forge "goal statement" --ladder starts Task Mode with the refinement ladder enabled.
• $forge goal "goal statement" starts Goal Mode, which persists across sessions.
• $forge status reports current forge state.
• $forge stop stops cleanly after the current phase and emits an early milestone gate.
• $forge resolve-dispute exits a refinement-ladder deadlock and requests developer judgment.

Activation

When starting a forge:

1. Verify .cocoplus/ exists.
2. Create .cocoplus/modes/cocoforge.on.
3. Write .cocoplus/lifecycle/forge-state.json with:
   • active: true
   • mode: "task" or "goal"
   • goal
   • iteration: 1
   • phase: "plan"
   • budget_status
   • team
   • history
4. Append a forge_started event to .cocoplus/lifecycle/forge-activity.jsonl.
5. If CocoPilot is active, record pilot_superseded: true.

Team Topology

CocoForge uses:

• Team Lead: plans iterations, dispatches specialists, synthesizes outputs, writes milestone gates.
• Quality Critic: default stance REJECT; approves only evidence that meets criteria.
• Learning Curator: captures reusable patterns and specialist refinements.
• Specialists: fixed or dynamic personas scoped to the iteration plan.

Refinement Ladder

When --ladder is enabled, the Quality Critic treats achieved rungs as floors. Default rungs are 85, 90, 95, and 99. If a later iteration drops below the current floor, the Critic rejects it even if it improves another dimension. After two failed fix cycles at the same rung, the forge enters dispute state and requires $forge resolve-dispute.

Milestone Gate

At every gate, output:

• Goal criteria status
• What changed
• Quality Critic verdict
• Budget status
• Next iteration proposal
• Developer decision requested

Exit Criteria

• Forge state file exists.
• Forge activity log has append-only events.
• CocoPilot resumes after forge stop if it was active before forge activation.
• Ladder sessions preserve the current floor, score trend, and dispute state in forge-state.json.

Anti-Rationalization

Shortcut / Temptation	Why It Fails
Treat the skill as complete because the file exists	Skill contracts must describe observable behavior and verification, not just command names.
Skip artifact and safety checks for a small command	Small commands still mutate state or guide execution; preserve the same gates.