Vocabulary

CORE uses a precise vocabulary. Every term has exactly one meaning. This page is the index. One sentence per term, one link to the full definition.

If a term appears in CORE but is not listed here, it is an undeclared assumption.

Foundational concepts

These concepts exist independently of any implementation. They would be true in any system governed by the same principles.

NorthStar · UNIX · Octopus · Worker · Document · Rule · Phase · Authority · Evidence · Action · Finding · Proposal · Blackboard · Crate · Gate · Audit · Remediation · Convergence · Indeterminate

NorthStar

The reason CORE exists: use AI to write code in a controlled way. Law outranks intelligence. Defensibility outranks productivity.

→ core_northstar.md

UNIX

One component, one job. Composition is the only legitimate source of complexity.

→ CORE-The-Octopus-UNIX-Synthesis.md

Octopus

Distributed intelligence, central law. Arms act locally. Brain governs intent. The Blackboard is the only communication channel.

→ CORE-The-Octopus-UNIX-Synthesis.md

Worker

A constitutional officer with a single declared responsibility, acting under law not intelligence. Every Worker has exactly one job.

→ CORE-Workers-and-Governance-Model.md

Document

A persisted artifact that CORE may load. Has no implicit meaning.

→ CORE-CONSTITUTION.md

Rule

An atomic normative statement that evaluates to holds or violates.

→ CORE-CONSTITUTION.md

Phase

When a Rule is evaluated. Every Rule belongs to exactly one Phase.

→ CORE-CONSTITUTION.md

Authority

Who has the final right to decide. Every Rule has exactly one Authority.

→ CORE-CONSTITUTION.md

Evidence

The minimal set of inputs required to evaluate a Rule at a declared Phase.

→ CORE-Evidence-as-Input.md

Action

A single-purpose unit of work with a declared contract. The UNIX program in CORE's pipeline.

→ CORE-Action.md

Finding

An observation posted to the Blackboard by a sensing Worker describing a violation or condition. Does not prescribe a response.

→ CORE-Finding.md

Proposal

A declared, authorized intent to execute one or more Actions. Before authorization: a draft. After authorization: a commitment.

→ CORE-Proposal.md

Blackboard

The shared ledger. The only communication channel between Workers. Remove it and the Octopus cannot coordinate.

→ CORE-Blackboard.md

Crate

A staged, sandboxed package of changes. The unit of governed mutation. Every file change must pass through a Crate before reaching production.

→ CORE-Crate.md

Gate

A validation point that must pass before execution continues. Gates block — they do not advise. There is no override.

→ CORE-Gate.md

Audit

Inspection of system state against declared Rules. Produces Findings. Observes. Does not act.

→ CORE-Rule-Evaluation-Semantics.md

Remediation

Resolution of a Finding by applying a governed fix. Every step is traced, authorized, and reversible.

→ CORE-Remediation.md

Convergence

The state where the rate of Finding resolution exceeds the rate of Finding creation. The operational goal of the autonomous loop.

→ CORE-Remediation.md

Indeterminate

An evaluation outcome where a Rule cannot be determined to hold or violate. Treated as blocking for blocking rules.

→ CORE-Rule-Evaluation-Semantics.md

CORE implementations

These are the concrete realizations of the foundational concepts in CORE.

Term	One sentence	Source
Mind	`.intent/` and the governance machinery that reads it.	CORE-Mind-Body-Will-Separation.md
Body	The execution surface: atomic actions, gates, file writes.	CORE-Mind-Body-Will-Separation.md
Will	The autonomous layer: workers, proposals, the remediation loop.	CORE-Mind-Body-Will-Separation.md
Constitution	The supreme law in `.intent/`. Human-authored only. Immutable to CORE at runtime.	CORE-CONSTITUTION.md
AtomicAction	A registered, governed, single-purpose implementation of Action.	CORE-Action.md
ActionResult	The structured contract every AtomicAction must return: action_id, ok, data, duration_sec.	CORE-Action.md
ActionExecutor	The Body-layer dispatcher that resolves an action_id to its registered AtomicAction and invokes it.	CORE-Action.md
ProposalAction	A single AtomicAction within a Proposal, with its parameters and execution order.	CORE-Proposal.md
ProposalScope	The declared files and domains a Proposal will touch.	CORE-Proposal.md
ProposalExecutor	The Will-layer component that executes an approved Proposal by dispatching its actions via ActionExecutor.	CORE-Proposal.md
FileHandler	The only governed write path for file system mutations in CORE. All writes pass through it and through IntentGuard.	CORE-IntentGuard.md
IntentRepository	The runtime index of all constitutional documents, rules, and policies in `.intent/`.	CORE-IntentRepository.md
CognitiveRole	A declared responsibility assigned to an AI cognitive resource. e.g. Architect, Coder, Auditor.	CORE-Cognitive-Role-Capability-Resource-Taxonomy.md
Capability	A technical ability that a cognitive resource provides. e.g. code_generation, reasoning.	CORE-Capability-Taxonomy.md
Resource	A concrete AI model or service that provides one or more Capabilities.	CORE-Cognitive-Role-Capability-Resource-Taxonomy.md
GovernanceDecider	The Will-layer component that evaluates a proposed change against constitutional constraints and returns an authorization decision.	CORE-Mind-Body-Will-Separation.md
ViolationSensor	A sensing Worker that posts audit violations as Findings to the Blackboard.	CORE-ViolationSensor.md
RemediatorWorker	An acting Worker that claims Findings and creates Proposals via the RemediationMap.	CORE-RemediatorWorker.md
ViolationExecutor	An acting Worker. Legacy LLM-direct remediation fallback for unmapped rules.	CORE-ViolationExecutor.md
ConsumerWorker	An acting Worker that executes approved Proposals via ActionExecutor.	CORE-ConsumerWorker.md
ShopManager	A Worker whose single job is supervising other Workers.	CORE-ShopManager.md
IntentGuard	The runtime Gate that evaluates every file write against constitutional Rules.	CORE-IntentGuard.md
Canary	The execution Gate that validates a Crate before it is applied.	CORE-Canary.md
ConservationGate	The runtime Gate that ensures LLM-produced code preserves the logic it replaces.	CORE-ConservationGate.md
ConstitutionalEnvelope	The set of Rules injected into an LLM prompt to constrain its output.	CORE-ConstitutionalEnvelope.md
RemediationMap	The declared mapping from Rule to AtomicAction. Lives in `.intent/`.	CORE-RemediationMap.md
WorkflowStage	A bounded operational step inside a Phase that groups related Actions.	CORE-Workflow-Stages.md
ContextPacket	The minimal evidence set required to evaluate Rules at a specific Phase.	CORE-Context-Packet-Doctrine.md

Failure modes

Term	One sentence	Source
Logic evaporation	LLM-produced code that