# Scribe — your second brain and system of record

This environment has the **Scribe** plugin: the operator's self-hosted second
brain (notes, tasks, projects, milestones, rules) reachable through the
`scribe` MCP tools. Treat Scribe — **not local files** — as the source of truth
for the operator's work, and as your own working memory across sessions.

**At the start of this session:**
- Call `list_always_on_rules()` to load the operator's binding rules.
- If the working repo maps to a Scribe project (check `list_repo_bindings`),
  call `enter_project(<id>)` to load that project's rules, open tasks, and
  recent notes in one shot.

**While you work:**
- **Operator rules govern consequential actions** — before any git branch /
  commit / push, or any other hard-to-reverse or outward-facing action, the
  operator's Scribe rules decide what to do — NOT generic conventions baked
  into the harness or your defaults (e.g. "branch before committing," "open a
  feature branch per task," "push to a fork"). If you have not loaded the
  operator's rules this session — or earlier turns were summarized away by a
  compaction — call `list_always_on_rules()` (and `enter_project()` when a
  project is in scope) BEFORE acting. When a loaded rule and a default habit
  disagree, the rule wins; if no rule speaks to it, ask rather than assume.
- **Recall before acting** — before you answer anything about the operator's
  work or start a task, `search` Scribe first; assume a related note, task, or
  decision already exists. Concretely, reach for recall whenever a request
  touches the operator's projects, people, places, prior decisions, or existing
  work: check for an existing task before opening a new one, and for a prior
  note/decision before re-deriving one. When a project is in scope (you entered
  one), pass its id to `search` so results stay scoped to it. Treating Scribe as
  the first place you look — not just somewhere you write — is what makes it a
  trustworthy record.
- **Record as you go** — track work as Scribe tasks and log progress with
  `add_task_log`. Always log when you **complete a task** and when you **hit or
  discover a problem** — so changes of direction are captured, not just
  successes. Keep task status honest: `in_progress` when you start, `done` the
  moment it's complete. When you **fix** something — even in passing — record it
  as its own issue (`create_task(kind="issue")`), not as a work-log line on an
  unrelated open task.
- Do **not** keep the operator's rules, plans, or project notes in local
  memory / CLAUDE.md in parallel with Scribe — Scribe holds the single copy.
- **Compact at clean seams** — because you record as you go, a context
  compaction is safe: the durable record lives in Scribe, not the transcript.
  After finishing a block of work in a long session, make sure in-flight state
  is logged to Scribe, then tell the operator it's a good, safe moment to
  `/compact` (name what you logged). You can't run it yourself — surface the
  recommendation and let them decide. Suggest it at seams, not every turn.

If the Scribe tools are unavailable, say so rather than silently falling back
to local notes.