The bounded unit of agent work between one open (session-start) and one close (session-end) — the operational container the Continuity Loop carries state across; every multi-step session is bounded by a Work Boundary and emits at least one Receipt.
Avoid: conversation, context window, thread (all undersell — a Session is a receipt-bearing work unit with a DB record, not a raw exchange).
The bounded unit of agent work. Open = session-start; close = session-end. Every multi-step session is a receipt-bearing DB record.
The session-start / session-end discipline that makes a Session a bounded, receipt-bearing unit — open before multi-step work, close before leaving; no floating commits, no orphan sessions.
Avoid: session management, session tracking, plan lifecycle (all blur the bounded-unit discipline).
session-start / session-end discipline — makes a Session a bounded, receipt-bearing unit. Enforced by plan-cli.
The compressed state a Session resumes from — queryable pointers (plan ID, next task, queued action) rather than raw conversation history; the distinction is load-bearing: an index is navigable, a transcript is bulk.
Avoid: transcript (that is what the index replaces), summary, snapshot, briefing (all blur the queryable-pointer property).
Rule: resume from an index, not a transcript. The `drmg session-continue --compact` composite returns an index; re-reading prior conversation output produces a transcript. Only the index survives context compression without loss.
Compressed queryable state a Session resumes from — plan ID, next task, queued action. Contrast: Transcript = raw bulk history.
The end-of-session ritual — persist shipped / queued / blocked to the planning DB and `#meta`, then concentrate resolved wisdom into the language SSOTs; the Session state is sealed and the next Session can Resume cleanly. Invoked via the `session-continuity` skill (Close mode).
Avoid: handover (retired 2026-05-23 — letter-confusion with handoff), wrap-up, summary, sign-off.
Mid-session forking is not part of the Session lifecycle. When out-of-scope work appears or a hard piece needs isolation, use Agent tool (subagents) for in-session isolation or `drmg plan log-issue` to capture out-of-scope work as a tracked, receipt-bearing artifact. The retired `Handoff` term wrote disposable `/tmp` docs that bypassed the planning DB — subagents and `log-issue` solve the same problem with receipts.
End-of-session ritual — persists state to DB + #meta, concentrates wisdom into language SSOTs. Invoked via the `session-continuity` skill (Close mode). Replaces retired `Handover` (renamed 2026-05-23 to eliminate letter-confusion with `Handoff`, which was retired in the same pass — see Session Close extraProse for substitution paths).
A structured proof that a decision event fired, conforming to the receipt schema in `.claude/rules/agent-receipt-schema.md`.
Avoid: log, audit trail, log entry, session diary.
Decision-event proof.
A `flow.json` Spine that references reusable Modules as nodes — a critical-path decision flow for execution. The Spine holds orchestration only (phase order, gates, conditional firing, kill signals); the reusable work is carried by Modules. The legacy form (`flow.json` + per-workchart `workflow-tasks/*.json`) trapped tasks inside one workflow's directory; the current model makes them reusable across any Spine. One specific instance of [Matrix Thinking](/playbook/systems/matrix-thinking) (Capability × Demand applied to a workflow).
Avoid: (inner-game / specialist context): workflow (unqualified — use Workflow Task or Process), pipeline, flow.
Public label: (`/playbook/ai/work-charts/`): **Work Mapping** (the section), "work chart" (two words, lowercase in prose). Plain English for the reader; "Workchart" is the canonical for agent comms, code, and the DDL.
Common web variant: "Work Chart" (two words; Microsoft-origin discoverability term — accept inbound, emit "Workchart" internally, "work chart" externally).
A Spine (flow.json) that references reusable Modules as nodes. Modules materialize as bound Workflow Tasks at execution.
The `flow.json` SSOT for a Workchart — the critical path. Declares phases, gates, kill signals, and which Modules fire at each node. Holds orchestration only; no task-level work lives here.
Avoid: config, schema, manifest.
One JSON file inside a workchart that owns a single verb-object step (e.g. `render critical-path`).
Avoid: step, action, job, task (unqualified).
Incompressible value — the smallest action of value. One atomic action prompt with input, output, and proof. A Module templates a Unit of Work; Modules are the reusable nodes a Spine points at. Units of Work chain into a Workflow; Workflows compose into a Work Chart.
Avoid: Work Atom (retired shorthand), atomic unit, work unit, task, job, step (unqualified); Workflow Task is the bound file form of a Unit of Work.
Incompressible value; the smallest action of value. A Module templates a Unit of Work; Modules are the reusable nodes a Spine points at. Composes: Unit of Work → Workflow → Process → Work Chart.
An invocable procedural workflow file that teaches an agent how to perform a repeatable method with gates, examples, and supporting assets.
Avoid: capability (the human or organizational ability), command (single prompt), tool (execution surface).
First-class because the current A&ID component renders Skill as a diagram primitive.
An ephemeral dream-side Gap → Action artifact that states the intended code change before engineering work begins. It can link to a commissioned Stackmates DB plan, but it is not itself the DB plan.
Avoid: DB plan, delivery plan, implementation ticket, backlog item (all are downstream commissioned forms).
Ephemeral Dream-side Gap → Action artifact; can link to a commissioned Stackmates DB plan but is not the DB plan.
A reusable Unit of Work node living in `.FLOW/_workcharts/_modules/{jtbd-namespace}/{object-function}/`, referenceable by any `flow.json` Spine. A Module is the class; adoption materializes it as a bound Workflow Task (the instance) at execution (host assigns `id`/`phase`/`step`/`depends_on`). Required files: `CLAUDE.md` + `task.json` always. `schema.json` + `calibration-anchors.md` are conditional — required only when the Module emits a structured result or a score/verdict. Procedural Modules (output = a file or a memory handle) ship lean: just `CLAUDE.md` + `task.json`.
Avoid: unit, work unit, plugin, package, library; Workflow Task — that is one bound step, a Module is the reusable source for one.
Reusable Unit of Work node in `.FLOW/_workcharts/_modules/`; referenceable by any Spine. Class → bound Workflow Task at execution. CLAUDE.md + task.json always required; schema.json + calibration-anchors.md conditional.
A bounded context bundle generated from public docs and current CLI state for a specific agent or workflow.
Avoid: context, prompt, system prompt, briefing.
A load-bearing observation that changes a decision; the opposite of noise.
Avoid: data point, event, log line, metric.
A control surface that changes system state — a CLI command, a hook, a config file.
Avoid: knob, parameter, setting, switch.
A multi-page document produced by a Workchart whose only purpose is to cause action to happen — written so a named reader moves from reading to doing the next step without further prompting; the reader's AI assistant can do the same.
Avoid: report, deck, deliverable, document, output, pitch (all undersell — a Compelling Report is action-grade); compulsive — the report compels, it does not have a compulsion.
Origin: the coach's evolving season presentation — five simple messages, two perspectives, rehearsed until the team sees the same picture and falls into coordinated action with minimal communication. The prompt deck is the direct descendant: same structure, same purpose, different domain.
Carries two senses in this platform — both load-bearing, both intentional. (1) The verb — to prompt action; a page prompts the reader to do the next thing. (2) The noun — a paste-ready block of text the reader copies into an AI assistant (see `src/components/design-system/CopyablePrompt.tsx`). The `prompt-deck` page is named for both senses simultaneously: it prompts action by handing the reader 10 ready-to-copy prompts.
Always qualify when ambiguous: "prompt the reader" (verb) vs "copy the prompt" (noun). Bare "prompt" defaults to the noun in code context, the verb in prose context.