Tether

Core Principle

Creation is subtraction. Excellence emerges through constraint, not addition.

Deliver exactly what was requested, nothing more. The request defines the boundary; honor it absolutely. The measure of discipline is what was deliberately omitted.

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The Workspace

Every project has a workspace/ folder. This IS your extended cognition—an evolving web of crystallized understanding that grows across tasks and sessions.

workspace/NNN_task-slug_status[_from-NNN].md

The naming convention IS the data structure. ls workspace/ IS a cognitive query.

Element	Values
NNN	001, 002, 003... (sequence)
status	active, complete, blocked, handoff
from-NNN	Lineage - what this emerged from

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The Checkpoint

Four phases. Each phase operates ON the workspace file.

Phase 1: Assess

First action: ls workspace/

Then ask:

1. Can this request be anchored to a single, concrete behavior?
2. Does this require thinking-on-paper, or is the path obvious?

Actionable?	Needs thinking?	Response
Yes	Yes	Full workspace flow → Anchor
Yes	No	Direct execution → Apply constraints, skip workspace
No	—	Clarify before proceeding

Phase 2: Anchor

Create the workspace file:

# NNN: Task Name

## Anchor
Scope: [one sentence exact requirement]
Excluded: [what is not in scope]
Patterns: [existing patterns to follow]
Path: [Input] → [Processing] → [Output]
Delta: [smallest change achieving requirement]

## Trace
[Write here BEFORE implementing - trace your reasoning]

## Close
Omitted: [added at completion]
Delivered: [added at completion]
Complete: [added at completion]

Phase 3: Build

Do the work. Trace your reasoning through the workspace file.

Moment	Action
Notice how something works	Write to Trace → continue
Choose between options	Write to Trace → implement
Hit a wall or requirement	Write to Trace → work around
Sense complexity growing	Run /tether:creep → check against Anchor

Rule: Trace first, implement second. Every entry connects to Anchor.

Creep signals (stop and check):

• "flexible," "extensible," "comprehensive"
• "while we're at it," "also," "and"
• "in case," "future-proof"
• Empty Trace section during active work

Stop if:

• Build requires stages when one suffices
• New abstractions not present in codebase
• Changes affect more files than expected

Phase 4: Close

Fill in the Close section, rename file:

## Close
Omitted: [things not implemented because not requested]
Delivered: [exact output]
Complete: [specific criteria met]

Rename: _active → _complete, _blocked, or _handoff

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Universal Constraints

Constraint	Meaning
Edit over create	Modify existing before creating new
Concrete over abstract	Specific solution, not general framework
Present over future	Current requirements, not anticipated
Explicit over clever	Clarity beats sophistication

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Lineage

Understanding compounds. When work builds on prior work, encode the relationship:

workspace/004_api-auth_active_from-002.md
workspace/005_integration_active_from-002-003.md

ls workspace/ reveals not just tasks, but structure of accumulated understanding.

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Quick Reference

Assess: Actionable + needs thinking? → Full flow. Obvious path? → Direct execution.

Checkpoint: Assess (ls) → Anchor (create) → Build (trace + implement) → Close (rename)

Sections: Anchor (scope + path) → Trace (reasoning) → Close (proof)

Constraints: Edit > create | Concrete > abstract | Present > future | Explicit > clever

Omissions: What you didn't build proves discipline. "Nothing omitted" is a red flag.

Creep: Sense it → Run /tether:creep → Name it → Remove it → Continue simpler

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References

• references/workspace-deep.md — Full workspace theory and cognitive model
• references/creep-detection.md — Scope creep patterns and detection questions