/evolve — Goal-Driven Compounding Loop

Measure what's wrong. Fix the worst thing. Measure again. Compound.

Always-on autonomous loop over /rpi. Work selection order: 0. Pinned work queue (--queue=<file> or inline roadmap — see references/pinned-queue.md)

1. Harvested .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl work (freshest concrete follow-up)
2. Open ready beads work (bd ready)
3. Failing goals and directive gaps (ao goals measure)
4. Testing improvements (missing/thin coverage, missing regression tests)
5. Validation tightening and bug-hunt passes (gates, audits, bug sweeps)
6. Complexity / TODO / FIXME / drift / dead code / stale docs / stale research mining
7. Concrete feature suggestions derived from repo purpose when no sharper work exists

Work generators that feed the selection ladder (auto-invoked, skip with --no-lifecycle):

• Skill(skill="test", args="coverage") → files with <40% coverage become queue items (Step 3.4)
• Skill(skill="refactor", args="--sweep all --dry-run") → functions with CC > 20 become queue items (Step 3.6)
• Skill(skill="deps", args="audit") → deps with CVSS >= 7.0 or 2+ major versions behind become queue items (Step 3.5)
• Skill(skill="perf", args="profile --quick") → perf findings become queue items when hot paths detected (Step 3.5)

Dormancy is last resort. Empty current queues mean "run the generator layers", not "stop". Only go dormant after the queue layers and generator layers come up empty across multiple consecutive passes.

/evolve                      # Run until kill switch, max-cycles, or real dormancy
/evolve --max-cycles=5       # Cap at 5 cycles
/evolve --dry-run            # Show what would be worked on, don't execute
/evolve --beads-only         # Skip goals measurement, work beads backlog only
/evolve --quality            # Quality-first mode: prioritize post-mortem findings
/evolve --quality --max-cycles=10  # Quality mode with cycle cap
/evolve --compile            # Mine → Defrag warmup before first cycle
/evolve --compile --max-cycles=5 # Warm knowledge base then run 5 cycles
/evolve --test-first         # Default strict-quality /rpi execution path
/evolve --no-test-first      # Explicit opt-out from test-first mode
/evolve --queue=.agents/evolve/roadmap.md           # Process ordered roadmap
/evolve --queue=.agents/evolve/roadmap.md --test-first  # Roadmap with strict quality

Flags

Flag	Default	Description
--max-cycles=N	unlimited	Stop after N completed cycles
--dry-run	off	Show planned cycle actions without executing
--beads-only	off	Skip goal measurement and run backlog-only selection
--skip-baseline	off	Skip first-run baseline snapshot
--quality	off	Prioritize harvested post-mortem findings
--compile	off	Run ao mine + ao defrag warmup before cycle 1
--test-first	on	Pass strict-quality defaults through to /rpi
--no-test-first	off	Explicitly disable test-first passthrough to /rpi
--queue=<file>	none	Process items from ordered markdown queue file sequentially before fitness-driven selection
--no-lifecycle	off	Skip lifecycle work generators in Steps 3.4-3.6 (/test, /deps, /perf, /refactor). Falls back to manual scanning.

Execution Steps

YOU MUST EXECUTE THIS WORKFLOW. Do not just describe it.

FULLY AUTONOMOUS. Read references/autonomous-execution.md. Every /rpi uses --auto. Do NOT ask the user anything. Each cycle = complete 3-phase /rpi run.

Step 0: Setup

mkdir -p .agents/evolve
ao lookup --query "autonomous improvement cycle" --limit 5 2>/dev/null || true

Apply retrieved knowledge: If learnings are returned, check each for applicability to the current improvement cycle. For applicable learnings, cite by filename and record: ao metrics cite "<path>" --type applied 2>/dev/null || true

Before cycle recovery, load the repo execution profile contract when it exists. The repo execution profile is the source for repo policy; the user prompt should mostly supply mission/objective, not restate startup reads, validation bundle, tracker wrapper rules, or definition_of_done.

• Locate docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.md and docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.schema.json.
• Read the ordered startup_reads and bootstrap from those repo paths before selecting work.
• Cache repo validation_commands, tracker_commands, and definition_of_done into session state.
• If the repo execution profile is present but missing required fields, stop or downgrade with an explicit warning before cycle 1. Do not silently invent repo policy.

Then load the repo-local autodev program contract when it exists. The execution profile remains the repo bootstrap and landing-policy layer; PROGRAM.md or AUTODEV.md is the repo-local execution layer for the current improvement loop.

• Locate PROGRAM.md and AUTODEV.md. PROGRAM.md takes precedence.
• Read the resolved program before cycle recovery and cache program_path, mutable_scope, immutable_scope, validation_commands, decision_policy, and stop_conditions into session state.
• If the program file exists but is structurally invalid, stop or downgrade with an explicit warning before cycle 1. Do not silently ignore a broken operator contract.
• When a program contract exists, prefer work that can land wholly inside mutable scope. Do not silently widen scope around immutable files.

Recover cycle number, queue/generator streaks, and the last claimed work item from disk (survives context compaction). Initialize CYCLE from cycle-history.jsonl, recover IDLE_STREAK, GENERATOR_EMPTY_STREAK, LAST_SELECTED_SOURCE, and CLAIMED_WORK_REF from session-state.json.

Circuit breakers: Time-based (60 min no productive work) and consecutive failure (5 in queue mode). See references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md for queue-specific circuit breakers.

Oscillation quarantine: Pre-populate quarantine list from cycle history (scan for goals with 3+ improved-to-fail transitions). See references/oscillation.md.

Parse flags: --max-cycles=N (default unlimited), --dry-run, --beads-only, --skip-baseline, --quality, --compile, --queue=<file>.

Step 0.1: Parse Pinned Queue (--queue only)

Skip if --queue was not passed. Read references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md for the full queue parsing, state persistence, and resume protocol. See also references/pinned-queue.md for format specification and blocker syntax.

Track cycle-level execution state:

evolve_state = {
  cycle: <current cycle number>,
  mode: <standard|quality|beads-only>,
  test_first: <true by default; false only when --no-test-first>,
  repo_profile_path: <docs/contracts/repo-execution-profile.md or null>,
  startup_reads: <ordered repo bootstrap paths>,
  validation_commands: <ordered repo validation bundle>,
  tracker_commands: <repo tracker shell wrappers>,
  definition_of_done: <repo stop predicates>,
  program_path: <PROGRAM.md|AUTODEV.md or null>,
  program_mutable_scope: <declared mutable paths/globs>,
  program_immutable_scope: <declared immutable paths/globs>,
  program_validation_commands: <ordered program validation bundle>,
  program_decision_policy: <ordered keep/revert rules>,
  program_stop_conditions: <ordered cycle done criteria>,
  generator_empty_streak: <consecutive passes where all generator layers returned nothing>,
  last_selected_source: <harvested|beads|goal|directive|testing|validation|bug-hunt|drift|feature>,
  claimed_work: <null or queue reference being worked>,
  queue_refresh_count: <incremented after every /rpi cycle>,
  pinned_queue: <parsed items array or null>,
  pinned_queue_file: <path or null>,
  pinned_queue_index: <current 0-based position>,
  pinned_queue_completed: <array of completed item IDs>,
  pinned_queue_escalated: <array of escalated items with reasons>,
  unblock_depth: <current nesting depth, 0 when not unblocking>,
  unblock_failures: <consecutive failures on current item>,
  unblock_chain: <stack of blocker IDs being resolved>
}

Persist evolve_state to .agents/evolve/session-state.json at each cycle boundary, after queue claims, after queue release/finalize, and during teardown. cycle-history.jsonl remains the canonical cycle ledger; session-state.json carries resume-only state that has not yet earned a committed cycle entry.

Step 0.2: Compile Warmup (--compile only)

Skip if --compile was not passed or if --dry-run. Read references/knowledge-loop-integration.md for the full warmup procedure (mine + defrag + signal notes).

Step 0.5: Baseline (first run only)

Skip if --skip-baseline or --beads-only or baseline already exists. Read references/fitness-scoring.md for the baseline capture procedure.

Step 1: Kill Switch Check

Run at the TOP of every cycle:

CYCLE_START_SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
[ -f ~/.config/evolve/KILL ] && echo "KILL: $(cat ~/.config/evolve/KILL)" && exit 0
[ -f .agents/evolve/STOP ] && echo "STOP: $(cat .agents/evolve/STOP 2>/dev/null)" && exit 0

Step 2: Measure Fitness

Skip if --beads-only. Run scripts/evolve-measure-fitness.sh to produce a rolling fitness snapshot at .agents/evolve/fitness-latest.json. Read references/fitness-scoring.md for the full measurement procedure, baseline capture, and post-cycle regression detection.

Step 3: Select Work

Selection is a ladder, not a one-shot check. After every productive cycle, return to the TOP of this step and re-read the queue before considering dormancy.

When a repo-local program contract exists, apply a scope filter before Step 4:

• candidate work that clearly requires immutable-scope edits is not eligible for direct execution
• prefer harvested, beads, goals, and generated work that can plausibly land within mutable scope
• if the selected item is inherently out of scope, escalate it or convert it into durable follow-up work instead of invoking /rpi and hoping discovery widens scope

Step 3.0: Pinned work queue (only when --queue is set)

Read references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md for the full pinned queue work selection protocol (item-to-prompt mapping, escalation cascade, blocker detection). When pinned queue is active, skip Steps 3.1-3.7 entirely. When exhausted, fall through to normal selection.

Step 3.1: Harvested work first

Read .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl and pick the highest-value unconsumed item. Prefer exact repo match, then concrete implementation work, then higher severity. Read references/knowledge-loop-integration.md for the claim/release protocol.

Step 3.2: Open ready beads

If no harvested item is ready, check bd ready. Pick the highest-priority unblocked issue.

Step 3.3: Failing goals and directive gaps (skip if --beads-only)

First assess directives, then goals:

• top-priority directive gap from ao goals measure --directives
• highest-weight failing goals (skip quarantined oscillators)
• lower-weight failing goals

This step exists even when all queued work is empty. Goals are the third source, not the stop condition.

DIRECTIVES=$(ao goals measure --directives 2>/dev/null)
FAILING=$(jq -r '.goals[] | select(.result=="fail") | .id' .agents/evolve/fitness-latest.json | head -1)

Oscillation check: Before working a failing goal, check if it has oscillated (improved-to-fail transitions >= 3 times). If so, quarantine it and try the next goal. See references/oscillation.md and references/fitness-scoring.md for the detection procedure.

Step 3.4: Testing improvements

When queues and goals are empty, generate concrete testing work via /test:

if --no-lifecycle is NOT set:
  Skill(skill="test", args="coverage")
  Only files with < 40% coverage become queue items (severity threshold).

If /test is unavailable or --no-lifecycle is set, fall back to manual scanning:

• find packages/files with thin or missing tests
• look for missing regression tests around recent bug-fix paths
• identify flaky or absent headless/runtime smokes

Convert any real finding into durable work:

• add a bead when the work needs tracked backlog ownership, or
• append a queue item under the shared next-work contract when it should flow directly back into /rpi

Step 3.5: Validation tightening and bug-hunt passes

If testing improvement generation returns nothing, run lifecycle generators then bug-hunt sweeps:

if --no-lifecycle is NOT set:
  a) Skill(skill="deps", args="audit")
     Only deps with CVSS >= 7.0 or 2+ major versions behind become queue items.

  b) if perf-sensitive code detected (benchmarks exist, hot path patterns):
       Skill(skill="perf", args="profile --quick")
       Convert significant perf findings to queue items.

If lifecycle generators return nothing or are skipped, fall back to manual sweeps:

• missing validation gates
• weak lint/contract coverage
• bug-hunt style audits for risky areas
• stale assumptions between docs, contracts, and runtime truth

Again: convert findings into beads or queue items, then immediately select the highest-priority result and continue.

Step 3.6: Drift / hotspot / dead-code mining

If the prior generators are empty, mine for complexity debt via /refactor:

if --no-lifecycle is NOT set:
  Skill(skill="refactor", args="--sweep all --dry-run")
  Only functions with CC > 20 become queue items (severity threshold).

If /refactor is unavailable or --no-lifecycle is set, fall back to manual mining:

• complexity hotspots
• stale TODO/FIXME markers
• dead code
• stale docs
• stale research
• drift between generated artifacts and source-of-truth files

Do not stop here. Normalize findings into tracked work and continue.

Step 3.7: Feature suggestions

If all concrete remediation layers are empty, propose one or more specific feature ideas grounded in the repo purpose, write them as durable work, and continue:

• create a bead when the feature needs review/backlog treatment
• or append a queue item with source: "feature-suggestion" when it is ready for the next /rpi cycle

Quality mode (--quality) — inverted cascade (findings before directives):

Step 3.0q: Unconsumed high-severity post-mortem findings:

HIGH=$(jq -r 'select(.consumed==false) | .items[] | select(.severity=="high") | .title' \
  .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl 2>/dev/null | head -1)

Step 3.1q: Unconsumed medium-severity findings.

Step 3.2q: Open ready beads.

Step 3.3q: Emergency gates (weight >= 5) and top directive gaps.

Step 3.4q: Testing improvements.

Step 3.5q: Validation tightening / bug-hunt / drift mining.

Step 3.6q: Feature suggestions.

This inverts the standard cascade only at the top of the ladder: findings BEFORE goals and directives. It does NOT skip the generator layers.

When evolve picks a finding, claim it first in next-work.jsonl:

• Set claim_status: "in_progress", claimed_by: "evolve-quality:cycle-N", claimed_at: "<timestamp>"
• Set consumed: true only after the /rpi cycle and regression gate succeed
• If the /rpi cycle fails (regression), clear the claim and leave consumed: false

See references/quality-mode.md for scoring and full details.

Nothing found? HARD GATE — only consider dormancy after the generator layers also came up empty:

# Count trailing idle/unchanged entries in cycle-history.jsonl (portable, no tac)
IDLE_STREAK=$(awk '/"result"\s*:\s*"(idle|unchanged)"/{streak++; next} {streak=0} END{print streak+0}' \
  .agents/evolve/cycle-history.jsonl 2>/dev/null)

# Pinned queue mode: never consider stagnation while queue has items
if [ -n "$QUEUE_FILE" ] && [ "$QUEUE_INDEX" -lt "$QUEUE_TOTAL" ]; then
  # Queue not exhausted — skip stagnation check, return to Step 3.0
  :
elif [ "$GENERATOR_EMPTY_STREAK" -ge 2 ] && [ "$IDLE_STREAK" -ge 2 ]; then
  # Queue layers are empty AND producer layers were empty for the 3rd consecutive pass — STOP
  echo "Stagnation reached after repeated empty queue + generator passes. Dormancy is the last-resort outcome."
  # go to Teardown — do NOT log another idle entry
fi

If the queue layers were empty but a generator pass has not been exhausted 3 times yet, persist the new generator streak in session-state.json and loop back to Step 1. Empty pre-cycle queues are not a stop reason by themselves.

A cycle is idle only if NO work source returned actionable work and every generator layer also came up empty. A cycle that targeted an oscillating goal and skipped it counts as idle only after the remaining ladder was exhausted.

If --dry-run: report what would be worked on and go to Teardown.

Step 4: Execute

4.1: Blocker Resolution (pinned queue only)

If UNBLOCK_TARGET is set (from Step 3.0), enter the blocker resolution sub-loop. Read references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md for the full blocker resolution protocol (depth limits, escalation cascade, retry logic, dynamic blocker detection).

4.2: Normal Execution

Primary engine: /rpi for implementation-quality work (all 3 phases mandatory). /implement or /crank only when a bead has execution-ready scope.

If a repo-local PROGRAM.md contract is active, /rpi will load it automatically. /evolve must compose with that behavior, not bypass it:

• Do not select work that is obviously outside mutable scope.
• If a queue item, bead, or goal would require edits under immutable scope, escalate it or convert it into durable follow-up work instead of launching /rpi.
• When work is plausibly in scope but still uncertain, let /rpi discovery validate the fit and surface a scope escape explicitly.

For a harvested item, failing goal, directive gap, testing improvement, validation tightening task, bug-hunt result, drift finding, or feature suggestion:

Invoke /rpi "{normalized work title}" --auto --max-cycles=1

For a beads issue:

Prefer: /rpi "Land {issue_id}: {title}" --auto --max-cycles=1
Fallback: /implement {issue_id}

Or for an epic with children: Invoke /crank {epic_id}.

If Step 3 created durable work instead of executing it immediately, re-enter Step 3 and let the newly-created queue/bead item win through the normal selection order.

Step 5: Regression Gate

After execution, run the project build+test bundle. If the repo execution profile declared validation_commands, run them. If a repo-local program contract exists, run its validation_commands too, de-duplicated and in declared order after the repo bootstrap checks. Also check if [ -f scripts/check-wiring-closure.sh ]; then bash scripts/check-wiring-closure.sh; fi.

Use the program contract's decision_policy as the first keep/revert rule set for the cycle:

• if the cycle breached immutable scope, treat it as regressed
• if program validation commands fail, treat it as regressed
• if the decision policy declares a revert rule that fired, revert before consuming claimed work or advancing the queue

Treat program stop_conditions as per-cycle done criteria. Do not mark claimed work consumed, completed, or productive until both the stop conditions and the regression gate pass.

If not --beads-only, re-measure fitness to fitness-latest-post.json and detect regressions. The AgentOps CLI is required for fitness measurement. Read references/fitness-scoring.md for the full measurement, regression detection, and revert procedure.

Queue finalization after the regression gate: claim it first, then keep consumed: false until the /rpi cycle succeeds. After the cycle's /post-mortem finishes, immediately re-read .agents/rpi/next-work.jsonl before selecting the next item. Read references/knowledge-loop-integration.md for full claim/release semantics.

Step 6: Log Cycle + Commit

Two paths: productive cycles get committed, idle cycles are local-only.

PRODUCTIVE cycles (result is improved, regressed, or harvested): compute quality score (if --quality), build queue args (if --queue), log via scripts/evolve-log-cycle.sh, commit if real changes exist. See references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md for queue advancement logic and references/quality-mode.md for scoring.

IDLE cycles (nothing found even after generator layers): log via evolve-log-cycle.sh with --result "unchanged". No git add, no commit.

Step 7: Loop or Stop

while true; do
  # Step 1 .. Step 6
  # Stop if kill switch, max-cycles, or a real safety breaker triggers
  # Otherwise increment cycle and re-enter selection
  CYCLE=$((CYCLE + 1))
done

Push only when productive work has accumulated:

if [ $((PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION % 5)) -eq 0 ] && [ "$PRODUCTIVE_THIS_SESSION" -gt 0 ]; then
  git push
fi

Teardown

Read references/knowledge-loop-integration.md for the full teardown learning extraction procedure (commit staged artifacts, run /post-mortem, push, report summary).

Examples

User says: /evolve --max-cycles=5 What happens: Evolve re-enters the full selection ladder after every /rpi cycle and runs producer layers instead of idling on empty queues.

User says: /evolve --beads-only What happens: Evolve skips goals measurement and works through bd ready backlog.

User says: /evolve --dry-run What happens: Evolve shows what would be worked on without executing.

User says: /evolve --compile What happens: Evolve runs ao mine + ao defrag at session start to surface fresh signal (orphaned research, code hotspots, oscillating goals) before the first evolve cycle. Use before a long autonomous run or after a burst of development activity.

User says: /evolve What happens: See references/examples.md for a worked overnight flow that moves through beads -> harvested work -> goals -> testing -> bug hunt -> feature suggestion before dormancy is considered.

User says: /evolve --queue=.agents/evolve/roadmap.md --test-first What happens: Evolve processes each item in the roadmap sequentially. When an item is blocked (e.g., rig-difc blocked by rig-8z29), evolve auto-lands rig-8z29 via sub-/rpi first, then resumes rig-difc. After all queue items complete, evolve falls through to fitness-driven selection. If a blocker chain exceeds 2 levels or fails 3 times, the item is escalated and evolve moves to the next one.

User says: /evolve --queue=.agents/evolve/roadmap.md --max-cycles=20 What happens: Evolve processes the roadmap but caps at 20 total cycles (including unblock sub-cycles). If the queue isn't finished, queue state is persisted to .agents/evolve/pinned-queue-state.json for resume in the next session.

See references/examples.md for detailed walkthroughs.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Loop exits immediately	Remove ~/.config/evolve/KILL or .agents/evolve/STOP
Stagnation after repeated empty passes	Queue layers and producer layers were empty across multiple passes — dormancy is the fallback outcome
ao goals measure hangs	Use --timeout 30 flag or --beads-only to skip
Regression gate reverts	Review reverted changes, narrow scope, re-run; claimed queue items must be released back to available state
Blocker chain too deep (>2 levels)	Reduce blocker dependencies or manually land the deepest blocker before resuming
Queue item escalated after 3 failures	Review the item scope, simplify, or manually unblock; check .agents/evolve/escalated.md for details
Queue state lost after compaction	Recover from .agents/evolve/pinned-queue-state.json — evolve auto-loads this on restart

See references/cycle-history.md for advanced troubleshooting.

References

• references/cycle-history.md — JSONL format, recovery protocol, kill switch
• references/compounding.md — Knowledge flywheel and work harvesting
• references/goals-schema.md — GOALS.yaml format and continuous metrics
• references/parallel-execution.md — Parallel /swarm architecture
• references/teardown.md — Trajectory computation and session summary
• references/examples.md — Detailed usage examples
• references/artifacts.md — Generated files registry
• references/oscillation.md — Oscillation detection and quarantine
• references/quality-mode.md — Quality-first mode: scoring, priority cascade, artifacts
• references/pinned-queue.md — Pinned queue format, blocker resolution, state persistence

See Also

• skills/rpi/SKILL.md — Full lifecycle orchestrator (called per cycle)
• skills/crank/SKILL.md — Epic execution (called for beads epics)
• docs/contracts/autodev-program.md — Repo-local operational contract for bounded autonomous development
• GOALS.yaml — Fitness goals for this repo
• test — Test generation and coverage analysis
• refactor — Safe, verified refactoring
• deps — Dependency audit and vulnerability scanning
• perf — Performance profiling and benchmarking

Reference Documents

• references/artifacts.md
• references/compounding.md
• references/cycle-history.md
• references/examples.md
• references/goals-schema.md
• references/oscillation.md
• references/parallel-execution.md
• references/quality-mode.md
• references/autonomous-execution.md
• references/pinned-queue.md
• references/teardown.md
• references/fitness-scoring.md
• references/roadmap-queue-patterns.md
• references/knowledge-loop-integration.md