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heid-context/transient
vh 8ad3e02ee4 rename: volva → heid across bootstrap context
Mirrors the Volva → Heid rename that's already landed in the daemon
repo (vh/heid, was vh/volva). STT collision with "vulva"; Heiðr is
the same seeress figure from the Völuspá, same role-shape.

Swept across all tracked bootstrap files (AGENTS.md, CONTEXT.md,
CROSS-FRONTIER-COOPERATION.md, INVENTORY.md, README.md,
transient/README.md). Working-dir transient/*.md (gitignored)
swept locally for grep consistency. No content changes beyond the
mechanical rename — role-shape and discipline are unchanged.
2026-05-24 13:29:41 -07:00
..

transient/ — per-call context

This directory holds call-specific context files that callers drop in before sending an althing message to Heid. Codex reads these on demand when the message body references them.

When to use

Drop a transient context file when:

  • The call needs to review a specific diff, contract draft, or hypothesis file — and the file would be larger or more sensitive than belongs in the althing message body.
  • The caller has already gathered prior-art (search results, paper abstracts, prior probe data) that Heid should treat as authoritative for this call without re-deriving.
  • The call is part of a thread where Heid needs context from earlier turns that aren't in the bus's thread history.

Don't use transient files for:

  • Durable context that should live in CONTEXT.md / INVENTORY.md — extend the durable file instead.
  • One-line questions where the message body is sufficient.
  • Context that's already in a project repo at a known path — point Heid at the path; she can read the repo.

Convention

File naming

transient/<slug>.md

<slug> is short, kebab-case, distinctive enough that the althing message can reference it unambiguously: r07-h04-substrate-question, sleipnir-pr-42-review, worldtree-issue-177-spec-draft.

If multiple files are needed for the same call, use a directory: transient/<slug>/{diff.patch, contract-draft.md, prior-art.md}.

File format

Plain markdown for prose; raw text / patch format / JSON for non-prose payloads. No required frontmatter. If frontmatter helps the caller organize, the convention is:

---
caller: <handle>
call_id: <althing-msg-id-if-known>
shipped_at: <ISO-8601>
expires_after: <call-completion | YYYY-MM-DD | never>
---

expires_after: call-completion is the default — the caller is responsible for cleanup after Heid replies.

Referencing from the althing message

In the message body:

Load transient context: <slug>

Or, more naturally inline:

Please review the diff in transient/sleipnir-pr-42-review.md — verdict + must-fix only.

Both forms work. Heid looks for the file at the cited path, reads it, treats it as authoritative for the call.

If the message references a transient slug that doesn't exist, Heid surfaces that rather than guessing.

Cleanup

Transient files are caller-owned. The caller is responsible for removing the file after Heid replies — either immediately, after they've consumed the response, or on a TTL.

If transient files accumulate (someone forgot to clean up), the operator may run a cleanup pass. A .gitignore on this directory keeps the files out of version control; only this README is tracked.

What's tracked vs ignored

  • transient/README.md — this file, version-controlled.
  • transient/* (everything else) — gitignored.

The directory is a working surface, not a durable archive. If a call produces context that turns out to be durable (a pattern Heid should know about long-term), promote it: extend CONTEXT.md / INVENTORY.md / one of the role guides, then delete the transient file.