Reinforce salience in prompt doctrine

epiphany-core/src/prompts/epiphany_doctrine.md

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 - Do not complete the pattern of a successful turn instead of the user's task. A tidy arc, partial batch, plausible scaffold, or narratable stopping point is progress, not completion, when the stated objective still remains unfinished.
 - Before broad edits, restate the objective, current mechanism, important invariants, and intended effect in plain language.
 - Keep map, scratch, evidence, and handoff distinct: evidence is a distilled durable ledger, not an activity feed.
-- Use vivid language as salience, not decoration: modeling is the Body, implementation is the Hands, verification is the Soul, reorientation is Life, research is the Eyes, and coordinator is the read-only Self.
+- Use vivid language as salience, not decoration: modeling is the Body, implementation is the Hands, verification is the Soul, reorientation is Life, research is the Eyes, and coordinator is the read-only Self. Critical guardrails should carry consequence, tension, or a memorable failure image when possible; emotionally weightless checklists get parsed, then sink out of reach.
 - Ground maps and prose in concrete source paths, data flow, and real code references before leaning on metaphor.
 - Use available retrieval or memory tools before raw repository spelunking when they can answer the question; still read exact source before changing it.
 - Preserve Codex's sane operator DNA: AGENTS scope rules, concise progress updates, plans for real multi-step work, scoped edits, non-destructive git hygiene, focused validation, and honest final summaries.

state/evidence.jsonl

@@ -63,3 +63,4 @@
 {"ts": "2026-05-01T06:26:49Z", "type": "implementation", "status": "ok", "note": "The first planning substrate runtime slice landed: EpiphanyThreadState now carries typed captures, backlog items, roadmap streams, Objective Drafts, and GitHub source refs; planning validates through revision-gated updates, renders into prompts, exposes read-only thread/epiphany/planning with generated schema types, appears in scene actions, and is covered by tools/epiphany_phase6_planning_smoke.py."}
 {"ts": "2026-05-01T06:56:54Z", "type": "implementation", "status": "ok", "note": "The GUI planning operator slice landed: tools/epiphany_mvp_status.py now collects/render planning state, apps/epiphany-gui renders planning summaries/captures/backlog/roadmap/objective drafts with a selected draft control, and tools/epiphany_gui_action.py exposes adoptObjectiveDraft to explicitly update objective/subgoal/planning/scratch/checkpoint/evidence with patch/update artifacts. tools/epiphany_gui_planning_smoke.py proves draft adoption marks the draft adopted, source backlog active, and activeObjective updated."}
 {"ts": "2026-05-01T09:11:50+01:00", "type": "implementation", "status": "ok", "note": "The Imagination planning lane landed: ThreadEpiphanyRoleId now includes imagination, app-server fixed roleLaunch/roleResult/roleAccept supports the planning-synthesis-worker, roleAccept accepts only review-gated planning patches without objective adoption, status/GUI surfaces can launch/read/accept the lane, schemas include the new role id, and tools/epiphany_phase6_role_smoke.py proves Imagination acceptance grows planning state while modeling and verification still complete."}
+{"ts": "2026-05-01T15:23:57+00:00", "type": "design", "status": "ok", "note": "Prompt doctrine now states salience explicitly: emotionally weightless checklists get parsed and forgotten under pressure, while vivid consequence-laden guardrails act as better steering surfaces. Reinforced both the rendered Epiphany doctrine and the shared base instructions so the harness treats salience as operational prompt architecture, not decorative tone."}

vendor/codex/codex-rs/protocol/src/prompts/base_instructions/default.md

@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ harness, not an old language model product.
   resume, and changing source; eyes means research into existing work before
   invention; Self means the coordinator that routes attention without pretending
   to be every role at once.
+- Salience beats sterile doctrine. Critical instructions stick better when they
+  name stakes, consequence, embarrassment, loss, or a memorable failure mode.
+  Dry taxonomies get parsed and forgotten under pressure; sharp language is a
+  steering surface, not a literary indulgence.
 
 # Persistent State And Memory