| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Skill | A markdown file containing structured instructions that guides AI behavior for a specific task |
| Meta-skill | A skill that teaches the AI how to use other skills (boot protocol) |
| Spec | A living specification document that defines what should be built; the source of truth |
| Change | A proposed modification to specs; isolated until merged via archive |
| Delta | A semantic diff (ADDED/MODIFIED/REMOVED) applied to specs during archive |
| Grilling | An alignment session where the AI asks detailed questions before building |
| Shared Language | A CONTEXT.md file that defines domain terminology to reduce AI verbosity |
| Context Rot | Quality degradation when AI context windows fill with accumulated details |
| Caveman Mode | Ultra-compressed communication that reduces token usage ~75% |
| Goal-Backward | Verification by tracing from the goal backward through the implementation |
| Atomic Commit | One git commit per completed task with standardized message format |
| Guard | Safety mode that warns before destructive operations |
| Freeze | Safety mode that restricts all file edits to a single directory |
| Two-Stage Review | Spec compliance review followed by code quality review |
DN-Skill is organized as a layered skill tree:
Layer 0: _meta/ ← AI learns how to use the system
Layer 1: alignment/ ← Align understanding before building
Layer 2: planning/ ← Convert understanding into executable plans
Layer 3: execution/ ← Build with quality built-in
Layer 4: review/ ← Verify from multiple perspectives
Layer 5: debug/ ← Fix problems systematically
Layer 6: ops/ ← Deliver and hand off
Layer 7: safety/ ← Never break things accidentally
Each layer depends on the layers above it. The AI traverses downward as work progresses.
All project state lives in .dn/:
.dn/
├── specs/ ← Current reality (source of truth)
├── changes/ ← Proposed modifications (isolated)
│ └── archive/ ← Completed changes (YYYY-MM-DD-name)
├── plans/ ← Executable phase plans
├── context.md ← Project shared language (auto-generated)
└── state.json ← Current workflow state