First Run

First Run

What happens the first time

Four things are created, all git-ignored, all per-install:

Created	What it is
backend/skynerclaw.db	the institutional memory — see Institutional Memory
backend/governance_config.json	the constitution in force, with defaults
backend/SELF.md	the system's generated description of itself
backend/skills_index.json	the skill registry index

None of these are committed. Deleting the database resets the House's memory entirely.

What you should see

[VolitionEngine] L1 drive/tone/urgency extractor loaded
[LLMAdapter] universal cloud adapter loaded
[Governance] GPS-2 gate armed — deny-by-default · human gate on irreversible tools
[Kernel] PRE_ACT armed — governance.gps2, shadow.fabrication, approvals.prior_deny, run.tool_allow
[Kernel] PRE_VALIDATE armed — cvl.quality_gate
[Kernel] PRE_COMMIT armed — guidance.g1, warrant.cee_c1
[Council] L5 six specialists loaded
[CompoundMind] L3 decomposition + L6 cosmic loaded
[InstitutionalMemory] Council Intelligence API + Constitution + Briefing + House Mind loaded
[BUILTIN_TOOLS] extended with 4 obsidian tools (total 56)
[Prompts] full: 22,054 chars · compact: 12,672 chars (auto-select per task)
[CSA] capability-skill registry armed — 22 skill(s) indexed
INFO:     Uvicorn running on http://127.0.0.1:8766

Every one of those lines is a subsystem reporting that it loaded. If one is missing, the corresponding capability is unavailable — /api/system/health will say which.

The four surfaces

Surface	Where	What it is
The chamber	open THE CONTINENTAL DIVISION.html	where you talk to the council
Council Intelligence	http://127.0.0.1:8766/api/council/dashboard	House Mind, reputation, governance, outcomes
Health	http://127.0.0.1:8766/api/system/health	14 checks — YELLOW until a model runtime is up
Bridge console	http://127.0.0.1:8766/bridge	the runtime bridge

Your first directive

Ask the chamber something that requires judgement rather than lookup — "should we migrate this service to X?" — and watch what happens:

1. Recall — prior justified memories are retrieved (Recall Quality)
2. Briefing — a synthesis of the House's own graded history is assembled
3. House Mind — the shared current understanding is read (House Mind)
4. Council — members deliberate in parallel, then converge (The Council)
5. Governance — the verdict is checked against the constitution (Governance Engine)
6. Record — memory, predictions, and reputation are updated

On a fresh install steps 1–3 have nothing to work with. That is expected: the House has no history yet. Its value compounds; the tenth deliberation is better informed than the first.

Tell it who you are (optional)

cp backend/prompts/USER.example.md backend/prompts/USER.md

Edit it. The file is git-ignored, and the system runs fine without it — it simply knows nothing about you. See Configuration.

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