The slim rule

Cadre keeps the text that loads in every session small. This is the slim rule.

What it says

The orchestrate skill, the four role cards, and the charter reference each have a word budget. A check, tools/check-budget.mjs, fails when the total goes over. The budget is in tools/word-budget.json.

A rule goes into those files only if it answers a real fault. A fact of one repo goes in the charter of that repo. A detail that a step needs only sometimes goes in a reference file that loads on demand.

Why

Each word in the always-loaded files costs a turn over the whole context, in every session, for every agent. A long skill also gets read less well. A rule in a long list is easier to miss.

Small text forces a choice. Each rule must earn its place.

What it does not mean

Slim does not mean vague. A step still ends with a check that proves it is done. A rule still says what to do, in short plain sentences.

When a rule needs more detail than the budget allows, the detail moves to a script or a reference. A script does the exact work, such as a time check or a table read. The text then says only when to run it and what the output means.

The same idea elsewhere

• The role cards hold the role, so a brief stays short.
• Presets hold the defaults of an organization, so setup asks fewer questions.
• The charter holds the repo facts, so the skill holds none.