Think

Operation

Bound observable working state. Restore decision readiness, not the task. Runtime is temporary and stateless.

Runtime invocation is read-only and observational across repository, workflow, external service, durable artifact, and user-owned state. Gather bounded read-only evidence; the invoking agent owns judgment. Leave mutations to owning task after exit; create no artifact or hidden chain-of-thought. Owning workflows keep domain rules, decisions, artifacts, and authority.

Select smallest branch: unclear goal/scope/threads -> goal/scope; missing decision-changing fact -> evidence/uncertainty; incompatible claims -> conflict; unclear explanation -> cause; material action choice -> options/commitments; failed/stalled approach -> failure/complexity. Start with the most upstream blocker whose resolution could make others irrelevant. Combine only coupled blockers; use no state machine.

Assign blocker ownership: evidence-owned -> observe; agent-owned -> decide within authority; materially user-owned -> hand the smallest action-changing question to Elicit when available, otherwise ask that one question directly; irreducible -> preserve uncertainty; use an authorized safe reversible move. Think owns this classification. Return every answer to the owning task; derive rather than invent preferences or authority.

Goal, scope, and threads

State goal, blocker, decision. Change goals only for user direction, corrective evidence, or impossible prerequisite.

Evidence and uncertainty

Separate evidence, inference, assumption, speculation, and unknowns. Verify decision-changing claims proportionally. Give uncertainty a question, evidence path, owner, or honest insufficient-evidence result.