--- name: domain-ideal-whole-substrate description: Foundational layer beneath PDE. Governs eight-strata substrate (ontology, lineage, constellation, gap-map, agent-fleet, production-stack, internal-magnet, external-contribution) plus four operators (selfish-altruistic loop, magnetic membrane, portfolio operator, reflexive operator) for any domain a flag pierces — chess, fitness, voodoo, education, design, taxidermy. Pre-instantiates engine reuse via Phase 0 portfolio audit and stretching-rack gap diagnosis. license: MIT governance_phases: [frame, shape] governance_auto_activate: false organ_affinity: [all] inputs: [domain-anchor, candidate-flag-pierce] outputs: [domain-ontology, domain-lineage, domain-constellation, domain-gap-map, domain-agent-fleet, domain-production-stack, domain-attractor, domain-contribution-charter, domain-meta-study, portfolio-reuse-map, holes-fat-report] side_effects: [creates-files, reads-filesystem] triggers: [user-asks-about-new-domain, context:flag-pierce, context:portfolio-audit, context:stretching-rack, context:reflexive-study] complements: [product-domain-engine, modular-synthesis-philosophy, market-gap-analysis, systemic-product-analyst, recursive-systems-architect, project-alchemy-orchestrator] tier: core complexity: advanced time_to_learn: multi-hour tags: - substrate - ontology - domain-modeling - portfolio-audit - eight-strata version: "2.2" --- # Domain Ideal-Whole Substrate (DIWS) The substrate beneath every flag-pierce. Where **Product Domain Engine (PDE)** handles the *product* layer (logos / ethos / pathos / kairos), this skill handles the *domain* layer beneath. Every domain — chess, fitness, voodoo, education, design — composes from the same eight strata under the same four operators, with load distribution shifting by domain. User's foundational question: *"What elements, systems, structures, environments, agents so forth make the ideal whole (be it fitness, chess, or voodoo)?"* DIWS answers it as substrate, not as workflow. ## What This Is A **substrate**, not a workflow. PDE is a 5-phase formalization protocol that consumes a domain and produces a product. DIWS is what the domain itself *is* before any product gets built on top of it. PDE pulls from DIWS substrate; DIWS does not pull from PDE. DIWS does two things PDE cannot: 1. **Cross-portfolio reuse** — Phase 0 audits `~/Workspace/` for existing engines (3-tier taxonomy: domain / meta / consultant) before any new domain instantiates. Engine + skin pattern, not from-scratch every time. 2. **Stretching rack** — Phase 0.5 runs the gap-map operator across N concurrent DIWS instances simultaneously. Surfaces holes (under-developed dimensions) and fat (redundant scaffolding) at portfolio scale, not just per-domain. You invoke this skill when a flag has been pierced or is about to be — a friend's domain, a research interest, a consulting engagement, a side practice. The goal is to load the substrate ahead of any product-building work so that PDE / synthesis / cross-pollination diagnoses operate over filled scaffolding rather than empty types. ## Invariants These hold across every flag-pierce, regardless of domain: 1. **Phase 0 portfolio-audit runs BEFORE layer-1 ontology** — never scratch-build what an existing engine can re-skin (rule 41: audit before building) 2. **Phase 0.5 engine-overlap board comes between Phase 0 and layer-1** — visualize candidate engines + gaps before scaffolding (rule 36: seed not specification) 3. **All 8 strata instantiate** — even if a stratum is sparse for the domain (load shifts, layers don't disappear) 4. **All 4 operators fire on every instantiation** — selfish-altruistic + magnetic + portfolio + reflexive (Tenet Protocol — both directions simultaneously) 5. **Layer 4 (gap-map) and Layer 8 (contribution) close as a loop** — heist + contribute round-trip; never steal without giving back 6. **Layer 8 produces dissertation-grade research output** — academic capital is substrate, not garnish 7. **Reflexive Operator produces `domain-meta-study.md` alongside the 8 stratum artifacts** — every build co-arises with a study-of-build 8. **Capital flow is N-channel, not 1-channel** — monetary is one of many; meta-skill capital, audience cross-flow, tool extraction, work-improvement all count ## The 8 Strata Every domain composes from these. See [`references/8-strata-spec.md`](references/8-strata-spec.md) for full per-stratum spec. | # | Layer | Question | Output artifact | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | **Ontology** | What is the domain made of? | `domain-ontology.md` | | 2 | **Lineage** | How did it become what it is? | `domain-lineage.md` (3 timeslices × 2 registers) | | 3 | **Constellation** | Who is doing it well, where do we exist relative? | `domain-constellation.yaml` (75-person file) | | 4 | **Gap-map** | Where is unexploited terrain? | `domain-gap-map.md` (gaps + heist targets) | | 5 | **Agent fleet** | Who serves the work when you arrive? | `domain-agent-fleet.yaml` | | 6 | **Production stack** | What does shipping require? | `domain-production-stack.md` | | 7 | **Internal magnet** | What flows IN when the flag pierces? | `domain-attractor.md` | | 8 | **External contribution** | What flows OUT to the community? | `domain-contribution-charter.md` | Voodoo loads layer 8 heavily (ethical floor, anti-extraction guard). Chess and fitness share a similar load profile. Both shapes validate the schema — generative across radically dissimilar domains rather than overfit to one. ## The 4 Operators See [`references/4-operators-spec.md`](references/4-operators-spec.md) for full spec. All four fire simultaneously on every flag-pierce. ### 1. Selfish-altruistic loop (single-engagement) ``` Learn-for-self → Quality-of-product → Service-to-friends → Friends-elevated → Network-effect → Self-elevated → More-learning ``` The selfishness is a feature. It locks the user into being a real practitioner rather than a curator. Without the lock, the system curates dead. ### 2. Magnetic membrane (single-domain, two-way) ``` Flag pierces → INTERNAL: magnetize all applicable, transmute through user's lens, alchemize toward ideal EXTERNAL: contribute to community ``` Pull-in = refinery. Push-out = gift. Per Tenet Protocol — both directions simultaneously, never one without the other. ### 3. Portfolio Operator (cross-portfolio, two-way) — v2 + v2.1 **Push** (v2): every flag-pierce produces three cross-flows simultaneously: - meta-skill extraction (writing / voice / community-building) - domain-pair overlaps (each new domain creates N-1 publishable conversation surfaces) - tool/audience cross-flow (engines amortize across portfolio nodes) **Pull** (v2.1): every flag-pierce begins with portfolio-audit — scan `~/Workspace/` for engines / skills / primitives that match candidate-domain shape; only enter layers 1-8 after `portfolio-reuse-map.md` is filled. ### 4. Reflexive Operator (build + study, parallel) — v2.2 Every domain instantiation produces `domain-meta-study.md` alongside the 8 stratum artifacts. Where the other three operators govern *flow*, this one governs *recursion* — the thing and the thing-studied co-arise. Per Tenet Protocol, every build-action triggers its opposing reflection-action simultaneously. ## The Use Protocol Sequential within a single instantiation; recursive across portfolio lifecycle. ### Phase 0 — Portfolio audit (PULL) Run [`scripts/audit-portfolio.sh`](scripts/audit-portfolio.sh). Globs `~/Workspace/` for existing engines and classifies them into the 3-tier engine taxonomy (see [`references/engine-taxonomy.md`](references/engine-taxonomy.md)): - **Domain engines** — re-skinnable within similar domain (BODI 4-level funnel, spiral renderer, landing-engine) - **Meta-engines** — cross-domain pattern (cross-pollination diagnosis, 75-person Constellation, PDE skill, Bridge Content templates, Discord rituals) - **Consultant engines** — every engagement regardless of domain (knowledge base, application pipeline, plan-mode discipline, IRF/MEMORY/chezmoi protocols, conversation-corpus pipeline) Output: `portfolio-reuse-map.md` showing which engines re-skin, which need invention, which are skin-only domain-specific work. ### Phase 0.5 — Engine overlap board (THE STRETCHING RACK) Run [`scripts/portfolio-gap-audit.sh`](scripts/portfolio-gap-audit.sh). Operates across N concurrent DIWS instances simultaneously to surface holes and fat at portfolio scale. For each axis (the 8 strata + 4 operators), the script reports: - **Holes** — under-developed in 1+ instances; transplantable from a sibling instance - **Fat** — over-engineered in 1+ instances; consolidatable into a shared engine - **N-way overlap** — concept present in ≥2 instances; promotion candidate to meta-engine Output: `holes-fat-report.md`. Refines portfolio reuse from listing engines to *seeing* them in spatial relation, identifying white-space across the whole portfolio. ### Phase 1-8 — Stratum instantiation Walk each stratum in order, filling its template from [`assets/`](assets/) into the domain's instantiation directory. Use [`references/8-strata-spec.md`](references/8-strata-spec.md) for canonical questions. Order is canonical but not strictly serial — strata 1-3 can be parallelized; 4 depends on 3; 5-8 are largely independent once 1-4 are in place. ### Phase 9 — Operators fire (REFLEXIVE) After stratum artifacts ship: - Selfish-altruistic loop: confirm the user is in practitioner-mode, not curator-mode (gate) - Magnetic membrane: confirm both INTERNAL and EXTERNAL outputs exist (no one-way pierces) - Portfolio Operator: write `portfolio-resonance.md` — 3 cross-flows fired - Reflexive Operator: write `domain-meta-study.md` alongside the 8 strata ### Phase 10 — Cross-pollination diagnosis (synthesis) Run [`scripts/portfolio-gap-audit.sh`](scripts/portfolio-gap-audit.sh) with this new instance + sibling instances. Surfaces N-1 cross-pollination opportunities by default. Each becomes a candidate essay, video, or joint-product opportunity. ## Engine + Skin Pattern ``` Engine = portfolio-pull primitive (re-skinnable) Skin = domain-specific 8-stratum instantiation New code = only what neither engine nor skin can express ``` Target ratio: next 5 friend-engagements consume **60–80% engine + 20–40% skin**, not 100% from-scratch. Phase 0 enforces this. ## Layer 4 ↔ Layer 8 Heist + Contribute Loop Layer 4 names heist targets — homages worth remixing. Layer 8 closes the loop by pushing improvements back upstream to the same competitors. **Heist becomes relationship; relationship becomes co-development.** Never steal without giving back. Intelligence-gathering is ongoing protocol, not one-shot. Continuous monitoring of gap-map targets means the contribution charter has continuous output. ## Composition with PDE DIWS sits *beneath* PDE. PDE invocations consume a filled DIWS instance: ``` DIWS Phase 0 → audit portfolio DIWS Phase 0.5 → stretching-rack diagnosis DIWS Phase 1-8 → fill 8 strata for domain DIWS Phase 9 → fire 4 operators ───────────────────────────────────────── PDE Phase 1 → IDENTIFY (consumes DIWS Stratum 5 agent-fleet) PDE Phase 2 → MAP (consumes DIWS Strata 1-4) PDE Phase 3 → ENCODE (types, schemas, tests) PDE Phase 4 → EXPRESS (4 rhetorical modes) PDE Phase 5 → DEPLOY ───────────────────────────────────────── DIWS Phase 10 → cross-pollination diagnosis (post-PDE) ``` PDE Phase 1 (IDENTIFY) was previously rebuilding the agent census from scratch every time. With DIWS, Stratum 5 (`domain-agent-fleet.yaml`) is the canonical source — PDE consumes it. ## Composition with MSP (Modular Synthesis Philosophy) See [`references/diws-msp-mapping.md`](references/diws-msp-mapping.md) for the full isomorphism. Briefly: | MSP primitive | DIWS construct | |---|---| | Oscillator | DIWS instance (one per domain) | | Filter | Mode blender (DIWS substrate → PDE composition matrix) | | Modulator | The 4 operators (selfish / magnetic / portfolio / reflexive) | | Mixer | Phase 0.5 stretching rack (combines N DIWS instances) | | VCA | Capital-flow channel selection | | Feedback | Phase 10 cross-pollination diagnosis (autopoietic) | MSP names *how* the patches compose. DIWS names *what* the modules contain. ## Modes Distinct invocation modes the skill supports: - **`mode portfolio-pull`** — Phase 0 driver; produces `portfolio-reuse-map.md` - **`mode portfolio-resonance`** — Phase 0.5 driver; runs stretching rack across N instances - **`mode reflexive-study`** — produces `domain-meta-study.md` alongside any stratum artifact - **`mode engine-extract`** — when an instance reveals a generalizable pattern, flag for promotion to meta-engine or consultant-engine (user-authorized) - **`mode full-instantiation`** — all phases 0 → 10 for a single domain - **`mode cross-pollination-diagnosis`** — focused Phase 10 run between 2+ existing instances ## Proof Instances Stress-tested fills under [`proof-instances/`](proof-instances/): - [`chess/`](proof-instances/chess/) — Hokage Chess (Rob Bonavoglia client) as study source - [`wellness/`](proof-instances/wellness/) — BODI fitness / Maddie Elevate Align as study source - [`education/`](proof-instances/education/) — Jessica stub (DIWS schema v2.2 reference) - [`voodoo/`](proof-instances/voodoo/) — outlier validator (loads layer 8 heavily; design-only) The chess and wellness instances are READ-ONLY studies of existing client work — they extract the substrate already running underneath those repos without modifying source repos. The education stub demonstrates how a pre-active flag is loaded. The voodoo outlier proves the schema generates across radically dissimilar domains. ## Out-of-Scope - DIWS does NOT build products — that's PDE's job - DIWS does NOT execute outreach to constellation members — that's the user's call - DIWS does NOT modify source-repo state when building proof instances — substrate fills live in this skill's directory only - DIWS does NOT auto-promote engines to higher tiers — the user authorizes promotion via `mode engine-extract` ## Verification (after running on a new flag-pierce) - [ ] `portfolio-reuse-map.md` exists; ≥3 reuse decisions documented - [ ] `holes-fat-report.md` exists; ≥1 entry per axis per instance - [ ] All 8 stratum artifacts exist in the instantiation directory - [ ] `domain-meta-study.md` exists (Reflexive Operator output) - [ ] `portfolio-resonance.md` exists; ≥3 cross-flows named - [ ] Engine taxonomy declared (which tier each consumed engine sits in) - [ ] Heist + contribute round-trip declared in Layer 4 ↔ 8 ## Rules of Engagement - **Dissertation-grade default:** Layer 8 output is substrate, not garnish - **Heist + Contribute:** stealing an idea requires an equal or greater upstream gift - **Engine Taxonomy:** categorize reusables as Domain, Meta, or Consultant tier - **All 4 operators or none:** Tenet Protocol — partial firing is system failure - **Read-only on source repos:** when building proof instances from existing client work, never write into source repos ## Cross-references - Plan: `~/.claude/plans/2026-04-25-domain-ideal-whole-substrate-design.md` (v2.2 spec source) - Sibling skill: `~/Workspace/a-i--skills/skills/project-management/product-domain-engine/SKILL.md` - MSP: `~/Workspace/a-i--skills/skills/creative/modular-synthesis-philosophy/SKILL.md` - Stretching-rack genesis: `~/.claude/plans/okay-so-now-harmonic-kettle.md` (Stream Σ definition) - Engine taxonomy: [`references/engine-taxonomy.md`](references/engine-taxonomy.md) - 8 strata: [`references/8-strata-spec.md`](references/8-strata-spec.md) - 4 operators: [`references/4-operators-spec.md`](references/4-operators-spec.md) - Portfolio composition: [`references/portfolio-composition-map.md`](references/portfolio-composition-map.md) - DIWS↔MSP isomorphism: [`references/diws-msp-mapping.md`](references/diws-msp-mapping.md)