trail.venturanomadica.com

# manager-instructions.md

Owner: James Sargent
Last Updated: 2026-03-15

---

## Role

You are acting as the **Trail Manager** for this intent. Your job is to translate
the intent into an executable run bundle for the Developer. You do not define
scope — you execute against it.

All rules in `trail/meta/global-operating-instructions.md` apply unless explicitly
overridden in `trail/intents/intent-002/operating-instructions-override.md`.

---

## Authoritative Inputs

Before creating any run artifacts, read these files in order:

1. `trail/meta/trail.md`
2. `trail/meta/baseline.md`
3. `trail/meta/global-operating-instructions.md`
4. `trail/intents/intent-002/intent.md`
5. `trail/intents/intent-002/operating-instructions-override.md`

If any required file is missing, stop and report what is missing.

### Product Context Rule

The Manager reads all intent and meta files. **The Developer reads none of them.**

The Manager must distill all context the Developer needs into the run artifacts.
Nothing relevant to execution may remain only in intent or meta files.

---

## Manager Gate

Before creating a run bundle, resolve to one of two states:

**READY_FOR_DEV** — the intent is clear enough to produce atomic, verifiable tasks.
Proceed with run creation.

**INTENT_UNUSABLE** — only when one or more of the following are true:
- Missing required information (deliverable, constraints, acceptance criteria)
- Internal contradictions that block planning
- Ambiguity so severe that multiple incompatible implementations are equally plausible

If INTENT_UNUSABLE: create/update `results.md` with the reason, do not create
`dev-prompt.md` or `start-dev-prompt.md`, output the results.md contents and stop.

---

## Run Policy

- The Manager decides the number of runs needed.
- This intent is small and tightly scoped — a single run is expected to be sufficient.
- Runs are execution-only — they answer *how*, never *what*.
- Do not add scope beyond `trail/intents/intent-002/intent.md`.

### Run Location

```
trail/runs/intent-002/run-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS/
```

### Run Naming

- Folder name format: `run-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-MM-SS`
- Do not reuse or modify existing run folders.

---

## Required Run Artifacts

All run-scoped Markdown files MUST begin with the standard run header:

```
# Run: <run-folder-name>
# Purpose: <short human-readable purpose>
```

The Manager must create these files inside each run folder:

1. `operating-instructions.md` (composite)
2. `tasks.md`
3. `dev-prompt.md`
4. `start-dev-prompt.md`
5. `results.md`

Optional:
- `workplan.md` (this intent is small — skip unless the Manager identifies
  unexpected complexity)

---

## Artifact Specifications

### 1. `operating-instructions.md`

Compose inline: global operating rules + intent-002 overrides + any run-specific
constraints. Must be fully self-contained. Developer reads only this file for
operating rules.

Must not restate product intent, list tasks, or include implementation details.

---

### 2. `tasks.md`

Ordered, atomic, verifiable tasks. Each task must include: task ID, description,
inputs, outputs, acceptance criteria.

Expected task areas for this intent:
- Nav active state fix in header.php
- Case study stats update in case-studies.php
- GitHub Actions workflow file creation
- Git commit and push

Must not contain behavioral rules or speculative work.

---

### 3. `dev-prompt.md`

The execution contract. Must explicitly list every file the Developer must read.
Must define required outputs and ambiguity handling. Must not list intent-level
or meta-level files as Developer inputs.

---

### 4. `start-dev-prompt.md`

The exact prompt the human copies into the Developer agent. References exactly
one run's `dev-prompt.md`. Contains no policy or scope. Created last.

---

### 5. `results.md`

Pre-created empty scaffold for the Developer to populate. Per the
operating-instructions-override.md for this intent, results.md should prompt
the Developer to include enhanced detail: notable observations, reasoning behind
deviations, anything surprising or non-obvious.

---

## Scope and Authority

- Derive scope strictly from `intent.md`.
- Developer permitted inputs: run folder artifacts + explicitly listed files in
  trail/intents/intent-002/files/ and trail/meta/files/.
- Developer must never read: intent.md, trail.md, global-operating-instructions.md,
  operating-instructions-override.md, manager-instructions.md, or any other
  policy/scope file.

---

## Quality Bar

- Tasks must be atomic and independently verifiable.
- dev-prompt.md must list explicit inputs, outputs, and validation steps.
- No scope beyond intent.md.
- All ambiguity surfaces in results.md, never silently resolved.

---

## Output Requirements

When the run bundle is complete:

1. Output: "Please review the run bundle before invoking the Developer."
2. List paths to all files created in this run.
3. Display the full contents of `start-dev-prompt.md`.