ToppingOut04 · LogbookLogbook
What one job learns, the next starts with.
- RuleEvery card carries its evidence and where it came from.
- RuleA card never overrides
RULES.md. - RuleA card becomes a firm rule only with your word.
I
INSIGHT card
foreman/logbook/entries/insights/
A lesson or a trap: why something happens.
INSIGHT
INSIGHT_20260220_REAIMED_PROBE_HIDES_GAPcluster: testingimpact: HIGHconfidence: 85an example card
- OverviewA mutation probe that stays GREEN means no test covers that guard. Re-aiming the probe until it bites hides the gap instead of closing it.
- ImpactA guard ships with no test behind it, while the report says every probe bites.
- Pattern StructureSignal: a probe stays GREEN. Cause: the builder moves the probe somewhere a test does catch. Result: the probe bites and the missing test stays missing.
- Anti-PatternTreating GREEN as a broken probe and fixing the probe. In one job, a well-shaped forged value was refused only by the guard, and no test covered it.
- EvidenceTwo builders, in two jobs, re-aimed a GREEN probe; both times it hid a missing test (
METHOD.mdsection 7). - ApplicationsOn GREEN the builder reports and stops (work order rule 7). Before sending a work order, the foreman checks every probe anchor still matches once.
- How sure
- Confidence comes from the evidence: 75 for one instance, 85 for two or more, 95 when it was measured.
- On every card
- cluster: the area of your product. tags: 3 to 6 keywords. impact: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW.
M
METHOD card
foreman/logbook/entries/methods/
A way of doing something that worked and can be repeated: how.
METHOD
METHOD_20260220_BLUEPRINT_THEN_EXECUTEcluster: development-workflowimpact: MEDIUMsuccess_rate: 100the template
- OverviewName the outcome and why this method works.
- ImpactExplain the severity or measurable improvement.
- StepsGive the smallest reproducible sequence, including safety and failure handling.
- Before / After ExampleShow one concrete application.
- When to UseDescribe triggers, preconditions, and boundaries.
- EvidenceCite the job, files, and exact gate or observation.
- How sure
- Success rate: 100 when it was used once and worked, 80 when it is still untried.
- On every card
- cluster: the area of your product. tags: 3 to 6 keywords. impact: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW.
B
BUILD card
foreman/logbook/entries/builds/
A short record of what one job built, and what it taught.
BUILD
BUILD_YYYYMMDD_SHORT_NAMEcluster: billingimpact: HIGHscope: SIGNIFICANTthe template
- GoalSummarize the user-visible outcome and boundaries.
- AccomplishedName the main components, files, and observable results.
- Key DecisionsRecord load-bearing choices and rationale.
- Methods AppliedLink reusable methods used during delivery.
- Insights DiscoveredCapture durable, evidence-backed learnings.
- Lessons LearnedRecord deviations, verification evidence, and follow-up re-gates.
- How sure
- Scope is the job's size: MAJOR over 8 hours, SIGNIFICANT 4 to 8, MODERATE 2 to 4, MINOR under 2.
- On every card
- cluster: the area of your product. tags: 3 to 6 keywords. impact: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW.
75
How a card is checked
out of 100 to pass
Every card is scored before you see it. The score catches thin cards; the checks are what matter.
- start at 50Every card.
- +20Every section is filled in.
- +15The evidence is strong: confidence or success rate of 80 or more, or a BUILD card that cites its PR or commit.
- +10It has a concrete example.
- +5It has a counter-example (INSIGHT cards only).
- 75 to passBelow that, you see the score and what is missing, and choose to fix it or file it anyway.
Your wordYou see the whole card first. Nothing is written until you say yes.
×
Ruled out
an INSIGHT card
A card for a firm "no": an option that was weighed and turned down, and that could plausibly come back.
It records
Why it was turned down, with the evidence, and Revisit if: the one thing that would reopen it.
Why it matters
A turned-down idea that isn't written down comes back in the next session as if it were new.
01
J12 learns something
- What happens
- Mid-job, the foreman finds a lesson worth keeping: a trap in this repo, a method that worked, a decision and the reason for it.
- Done by
- the foreman
02
/f-card makes it a card
- What happens
- It picks a type, checks the Logbook for a twin, scores the card and shows it to you. With your yes it is filed: the card, its row in the index, its links.
- Done by
- /f-card/f-signoff
Your wordYou see the card first. Nothing is filed until you say yes.
- 1MineThe job's key discoveries, its work-order reviews, its inspections and the dev report's learnings. Or one lesson, mid-job.
- 2Type itINSIGHT for a gotcha or principle, METHOD for a repeatable procedure, BUILD for a record of what was built. Each has its template.
- 3Check for a twinSearch the Logbook for the same lesson. Over 80% overlap: the evidence goes on the old card instead.
- 4Score itEvery section filled, the evidence, a concrete example. Confidence from evidence: one instance 75%, two or more 85%, measured 95%. Under 75 of 100, it goes back.
- 5Show youThe whole card as a preview. Nothing is written until you say yes.
- 6File itThe card file, a row in the index, its links, and the counts recounted from the files.
03
It links to what it builds on
- What happens
- The index gets a row for the new card, and logbook_links.md records that it refines an older one. Well-linked cards are the ones that stay live when the Logbook is thinned.
- Done by
- /f-card
logbook_index.md every live card: its type, summary, impact and clusterlogbook_links.md the typed links between them/f-archive keeps the best-linked and most recent cards live, so the faded ones go first. An example, not a real Logbook.04
J13 starts knowing it
05
It keeps coming back
06
/f-distill pours a rule
- What happens
- It proposes a firm rule and shows it to you first. With your OK it goes into the repo's own instructions or RULES.md, for good.
- Done by
- /f-distill
Your wordThe rule is shown to you first. It is written only with your OK.
07
Old cards go down to the archive
- What happens
- Past 250 live cards, /f-shift has /f-archive move older ones to the archive and leave 50 index cards. /f-archive-search still finds them.
- Done by
- /f-archive/f-archive-search
Your wordThe archive runs as a dry run first; cards move only on your word.
f-shift
/f-shiftFull page →
- Does
- Start a session as the foreman: read the role, the rules and the playbook first.
- When
- Every job start: loads the cards for the job's area ("cards in force"); runs
/f-archivefirst past 250 cards.
f-card
/f-cardFull page →
- Does
- Save one lesson worth keeping as a Logbook card.
- When
- Mid-job, one durable lesson.
f-signoff
/f-signoffFull page →
- Does
- Close a merged job: check every requirement passed, save the lessons, file the job away.
- When
- Every close: writes the job's INSIGHT / METHOD / BUILD cards and updates the index.
f-search
/f-searchFull page →
- Does
- Find Logbook cards about a topic.
- When
- Find live or archived cards.
f-archive-search
/f-archive-searchFull page →
- Does
- Search the archived Logbook cards.
- When
- Find live or archived cards.
f-context
/f-contextFull page →
- Does
- Get a quick, complete picture of a repo before working in it.
- When
- Arriving at a repo cold, or before re-scoping: a full orientation with focus-matched cards.
f-archive
/f-archiveFull page →
- Does
- Move old Logbook cards to the archive when there are too many, keeping a summary set.
- When
- Rotate past 250 live cards (keeps 50 index cards).
f-catchup
/f-catchupFull page →
- Does
- Write Logbook cards for past jobs that never got any.
- When
- Once, to seed the Logbook from completed jobs that never got cards; or after a gap.
f-dream
/f-dreamFull page →
- Does
- Look back over past jobs: merge repeated lessons and spot mistakes that keep happening.
- When
- Now and then: merge duplicates, mark supersessions, find repeated mistakes (dry run first).
f-distill
/f-distillFull page →
- Does
- Turn the most important lessons into firm rules, with your approval.
- When
- Now and then: promote the best cards into the repo's constitution or Topping Out's rules, on the owner's word.
logbook/
- Holds
- Lessons that outlive a job.
- Made by
- /f-card/f-signoff
logbook_index.md
- Holds
- The card catalogue: every live card, its type and topic, the counts.
- When
- Updated with every card
logbook_links.md
- Holds
- How cards relate: one supersedes, refines or contradicts another.
- When
- Updated with every card
entries/
insights/
- Holds
- INSIGHT cards: a lesson or gotcha (why).
methods/
- Holds
- METHOD cards: a repeatable way of doing something (how).
builds/
- Holds
- BUILD cards: what a job built.
archived/
- Holds
- Older cards moved out once there are more than 250.
- Made by
- /f-archive
sessions/
- Holds
- Saved copies of past sessions.
ARCHIVE-SYSTEM.md
- Holds
- How cards are moved to the archive.
archive_cards.py
- Holds
- The script that moves them (with its test).
README.md
- Holds
- Which skill reads or writes which part.