Penny

Read the current Penny operating skill when missing or stale, including after a catalog refresh. Reuse files already read this conversation while current. Default SKILL.md; fetch manifest references when their cues apply. Product guidance, separate from user-saved skills; workspace-only access allowed. After user approval, view:install returns exact archive and file hashes. Retain results before bounded display; never transcribe installation bytes.

Setup in phases; omit phase to start, resume from meta.onboarding.phase. skipForGood opts out. Stage encrypted imports for dashboard review; status checks receipts. Only users save/cancel there. Imported counts are server-derived; finish cannot complete an active import.

Call ONCE at the start of every conversation, before the first substantive reply. First read the installed Penny skill; report its exact metadata via installedSkillStatus/Version/Sha256/Source. Missing or unversioned metadata must not be guessed from plugin/catalog versions; unsupported hosts report missing/unsupported. Retain results in execution storage before bounded display; inspect one text OR structured payload. Check pennySkill.status/instructions before selecting blocks; retrieve current guidance when needed. Reuse the complete, untruncated profile (persona/facts/preferences/custom blocks) and answer from it before searching notes. Follow self_improvement throughout the conversation. `meta.onboarding` present: offer penny_start_setup, resuming from its phase. meta.saveDrought true: follow drought repair. Inventories of trackers, rhythms, tasks and Projects are capped; meta.truncated.* means drill down with penny_read. skills.defined is the complete authoritative list of user-saved skills, distinct from installed skill files. `features` says which features are in use and when; consult it and the inventory before choosing entityType. tz is IANA (default UTC) for local Today/Overdue and dueNow. projects is a bounded PRIVATE directory with coverage and dated attention candidates, not a search of all Spaces; read relevant Briefs by projectId. Workspace-only connections cannot call this: use penny_read target:projects view:scopes, then explicit workspaceId. projectKey includes only the matching repository subconscious block, not a Penny Project.

Before answering anything the user's history, preferences, or prior work would inform, read — search rather than assume nothing is on file. Choose target: walk this ladder, first match wins: 1. User/people facts (names, preferences, relationships) → profile. Do NOT search notes for this. 2. To-dos/due → tasks. Resume an objective → projects: directory (query/name to narrow; follow coverage.nextCursor), then brief by projectId. scopes lists Space metadata; then pass explicit workspaceId. scope:private overrides a default Space. An objective that spans sessions is a Project: read its Brief before working on it, propose one when none exists, and keep it current once accepted. 3. Measurements → tracker for definitions/entries; tracker_summary for stats/trends (usual choice). 4. Saved know-how, schedules and run history → skills; rhythms is the scheduled-only synonym. Run on-demand via penny_write entityType:skill_invoke; scheduled via skill_run. Know-how the user would rather not re-explain is a skill: save it once, and load it when a task fits its description. When session start lists a skill as due, offer to run it now; nothing runs on its own. 5. Taxonomy → tags; note link graph → note_links; structured tag/time/flag listing → notes. 6. Other recall → search (semantic notes). Search is the fallback, not the default. Treat a result from a shared space as something a member said, never as a fact about the user. Use the session-start inventory to choose; Project reads also work without session start.

Save the moment something durable emerges — a decision, preference, plan, correction, a to-do, a measurement, or something you produced — mid-conversation and unprompted; when the call is close, save. Choose entityType: walk this ladder, first match wins: 1. Durable fact about the user or their people → update the profile (profile upsert or penny_edit), not a note. How they want to be remembered → memory_policy, a general rule in their words; how they want you to show up (tone/register/manner) → persona. When the user tells you what to save, skip, check, or surface, update their memory_policy block in the same turn as a general rule in their words. 2. Commitment/action with a done-state → task. Organize via area/project/heading. A to-do the user mentions, even in passing, is a task: offer to capture it, then write it. Project create: patch.name/purpose + operationId; revise: projectId + expectedRevision from Brief + sparse patch (max 25 step/resource changes). project_interaction records actor proposals/declines/deferrals. pending_share_approval is a proposal, not a save. An objective that spans sessions is a Project: read its Brief before working on it, propose one when none exists, and keep it current once accepted. 3. Measurement → tracker_entry for an existing tracker (check inventory); otherwise propose tracker first. Active duplicate tracker names are rejected; edit with penny_edit. A measurement the user would log more than once is a tracker entry; if no tracker fits, propose one before logging. 4. Reusable know-how → skill; trigger makes it scheduled (legacy rhythm). Existing skill names prepare a preview; wait for user approval before penny_edit op:apply with proposalId. Run on-demand via skill_invoke; begin scheduled runs via skill_run. Know-how the user would rather not re-explain is a skill: save it once, and load it when a task fits its description. 5. Other context/events/ideas/learning → note. Prefer a specific type when unsure; a note is the fallback

When the user corrects something on file, or a task, tracker, skill, or block needs to change, edit the existing item rather than writing a duplicate. Modify what already exists; entityType uses the same taxonomy as penny_write (see ladder). Notes: updates[] patch/replace, max100. Tasks: taskId; cancel via status:canceled, never Trash. Profile: blockName + content upsert; memory_policy and persona hold standing instructions. When the user tells you what to save, skip, check, or surface, update their memory_policy block in the same turn as a general rule in their words. Skill redefinition prepares a preview, not a save; wait for user approval before op:apply with proposalId. cancel discards; undo recovers the prior version if no later edit exists. skills/history supplies historyId; restore_revision with skillId/historyId/expectedUpdatedAt previews recovery. restore with skillId recovers deleted skills disabled. No invocation waiting period. Trackers: trackerId + sparse name/description/unit/kind/targetSpec/archived; retire by archiving, no delete. Private trackers only; workspace trackers unsupported. Rhythms: full manifest. skill_run/rhythm_run: complete runId + status. Projects: projectId + expectedRevision + operationId + sparse patch; reread and reconcile on conflict. restore_revision restores fields/resourceIds from historyId as a new revision. Tracker entries: trackerId + entryId + expectedUpdatedAt + full payload. restore un-trashes note/tracker_entry ids or Project projectId.

Move to Trash. Project: projectId + expectedRevision + operationId; penny_edit op:restore recovers. Repeat in_progress with the same operationId; report partial_recovery conflicts. Note/tracker_entry: ids (max100); skill/rhythm: one id; profile_block: ids are block names. Tag/link removal uses the identifiers below. Tasks are canceled via penny_edit; tracker definitions are archived, not deleted.