intent

Sprint 4 composable skill (v8.19.0+). Wraps the new Intent phase that runs between Calibrate and Research when EVOLVE_REQUIRE_INTENT=1. Single-persona, autonomy-preserving — no human checkpoint mid-cycle.

When to invoke

• Autonomous: orchestrator advances to phase=intent when cycle-state.intent_required==true (set at cycle init from EVOLVE_REQUIRE_INTENT=1)
• User-driven: /evolve-loop:intent, before /evolve-loop:loop, to lock in structured intent
• Re-run: re-invoke to replace prior intent.md within the same cycle (kernel accepts latest ledger entry)

When NOT to invoke

• After Scout has already run for this cycle (intent must precede research)
• For pure-execution cycles where the goal is fully specified (e.g., "fix typo at file.md:42") — but in practice, even those benefit from the explicit non_goals and acceptance_checks
• When EVOLVE_REQUIRE_INTENT is unset and the user has not explicitly invoked /evolve-loop:intent — default flow skips this phase

Workflow