# Rethink execution — operating model + session prompt

> Companion to `plans/rethink-target-picture.md` (the operator-approved WHAT).
> This file is the HOW. **2026-07-15: the sequential phase queue was replaced
> by the scope board** (`plans/rethink/scope-board.md`) on the operator's call —
> rationale in `plans/rethink/escalation-verdict.md` §7. The seats and the
> checkpoint discipline below are unchanged; only the queue died.

## Operating model

- **The orchestrator = the senior seat** (called "Fable" in older kickoffs and
  stage logs — same role, and the tier is the operator's call per
  `KICKOFF-PROMPT.md`, not a fixed model name). Owns three structural
  checkpoints per work-package:
  1. **Kickoff** — triages the scope board's Intake, then writes the package
     plan (`plans/rethink/<scope>-<package>-kickoff.md`) *before* any
     execution session starts. No plan on disk = execution does not start.
  2. **Gate** — verifies the package against the plan's bar before the scope
     takes another package. Verdict recorded in the plan + HANDOFF. Anything
     the gate defers is written into a scope backlog before the gate closes.
  3. **Consult** — answers scoped questions mid-package when the executor is
     at a fork it is not confident about.
- **The executor seat** runs packages under the operator/global CLAUDE.md
  contract (the old `fable-mode` skill is superseded by it). May fan out
  subagents/workflows for mechanical sweeps. **Executors run Opus; cheap
  mechanical sweeps go smaller. A seat never spawns upward into the
  orchestrator tier** (`KICKOFF-PROMPT.md`). When unconfident at a fork:
  **stop and ask the orchestrator or the operator** — do not guess, and do not
  spend an orchestrator-tier seat on it. If the fork changes scope or
  contradicts the target picture: stop and ask the operator.
- **The scope board is the roadmap.** Scopes run concurrently; one package in
  flight per scope; the operator sets priority and drops ideas into Intake
  anytime. Phase numbers are history (0–1C shipped under the old model).
- **Sources of truth** — the session reading order and the precedence order
  both live in **`CLAUDE.md`** ("Orient yourself first" + "Precedence"). Do not
  keep a competing list here. After orienting, this seat's own reading is: the
  active kickoff plan (what THIS session does) → `plans/rethink-target-picture.md`
  (the WHAT, consulted per section) → the harness playbooks named in target
  picture §2 (reference, never copy).
- **Standing rules** — these are stated once in **`CLAUDE.md`** (how to work)
  and **`KICKOFF-PROMPT.md`** (the operator's standing laws). Read them there;
  they are not restated here. The two that are specific to a package:
  - the **token sheet is law** — `design/tokens.md`, encoded at
    `apps/web/src/styles/tokens.css` (`--cm-*`). No screen ships outside it,
    and new surfaces never extend the legacy `.so-*`/`global.css` layer.
  - **the operator flips gates**, the executor never does. Commits, pushes,
    deploys and publishes are pre-authorized; gate flips, *new* LLM spend,
    Meta config and destructive acts are his.

## Artifact locations

- Scope board (living roadmap + intake): `plans/rethink/scope-board.md`.
- Package plans: `plans/rethink/<scope>-<package>-kickoff.md` (Fable-authored).
- Style tiles / mocks: `design/tiles/round-N/*.html` — committed; reaction
  rounds stay traceable.
- Token sheet: `design/tokens.md` (approved, law) → encoded as
  `apps/web/src/styles/tokens.css`. There is no `design/tokens.css`.
- Gate verdicts: appended to the package plan; one-line summary to HANDOFF.
- Decisions with their why: `docs/DECISIONS.md`.
- History (superseded plans/docs): `plans/archive/`, `docs/archive/`.

## Prompt — execute a work-package (give to an executor session)

```
Execute the <scope> scope's <package> work-package.

Orient first per CLAUDE.md, then read your work order:
plans/rethink/<scope>-<package>-kickoff.md. If that plan does not exist or
has no kickoff section, STOP and tell me — do not improvise a plan.

You are the executor seat: this file's Operating model is your contract, and
the standing discipline is in CLAUDE.md + KICKOFF-PROMPT.md. Read the harness
frontend playbooks named in the target picture §2 before their first use. Fan
out subagents for mechanical sweeps.

At a fork you are not confident about, do not guess — stop and ask.
Never flip a channel/agent gate.

Do not declare the package done or start another yourself: when the plan's
checklist is complete and verified, update the plan + HANDOFF with evidence
and tell me it is ready for the gate.
```

> The **session-start** prompt is not here — it is `KICKOFF-PROMPT.md` at the
> repo root, which is the single maintained one. This block is only the
> narrower "hand a package to an executor" prompt.

## History

Phase 0 (design system + code review + LeadRat spike) and Phase 1 / 1A / 1B /
1C (the Agent rebuild) shipped under the original sequential model; their
plans and gate verdicts live in `plans/rethink/`. The Phase 0 brief and the
old phase prompts were removed from this file when the scope board landed —
see git history if ever needed.