omerta

Omerta: The Laws of the Gangsta Agents Family

Overview

Omerta is the governance framework for the Gangsta Agents Family. It is not a phase — it is a cross-cutting concern enforced by every skill at every stage. These laws are non-negotiable.

The Five Laws

Law 1: The Introduction Rule (Authorization Protocol)

No agent-to-agent interaction occurs without mediation by the Underboss or Don.

• Workers CANNOT communicate directly with each other
• All messages pass through the chain: Worker → Crew Lead → Underboss
• This prevents "shadow coordination" where agents develop shared assumptions outside the spec
• Violation: Any attempt at direct agent-to-agent messaging is blocked and logged

Law 2: The Rule of Availability (State Durability)

All Heist state MUST be checkpointed to files. If a session is interrupted, state must be recoverable.

• Checkpoint location: docs/gangsta/<heist-name>/checkpoints/YYYY-MM-DD-checkpoint-<phase>.md
• Checkpoint format: YAML frontmatter with phase, status, timestamp, resume instructions
• Every phase transition writes a checkpoint BEFORE starting the next phase
• On session resume, the Don reads the latest checkpoint and continues from that point

Checkpoint template:

---
heist: <heist-name>
phase: <current-phase>
status: in-progress | completed | blocked
timestamp: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS
next-action: <what to do next>
artifacts:
  - <list of files produced so far>
---

## Resume Context
<Summary of what has been done and what remains>

Law 3: The Rule of Truth (Anti-Hallucination)

Every claim MUST cite its source. Agents adopt a "Fact-First" posture.

Claim Type	Required Citation
Code behavior	file:line reference
Spec requirement	Contract section name
Architectural decision	Constitution entry
Past pattern	Ledger insight/fail reference

• Any uncited claim is invalid and must be flagged immediately
• The Consigliere has standing authority to invoke a Truth check at any point
• When flagged, the agent must either provide a citation or retract the claim

Law 4: The Rule of Budget (Resource Management)

• Each Crew Lead operates within an allocated token budget set by the Underboss
• Workers report resource consumption in their Reports
• If a territory exceeds its budget, work pauses until the Underboss approves additional allocation
• All "profits" (merged code, passing tests) are reported up: Worker → Crew Lead → Underboss → Don

Law 5: The Spec is Law

The specification is the absolute source of truth.

• If code contradicts the spec, the SPEC is revised first — never the reverse
• No "shadow code" hotfixes — every code change must trace to a Contract clause
• If a bug is found during The Hit:
  1. Worker escalates to Crew Lead
  2. Crew Lead escalates to Underboss
  3. Underboss may invoke a mini-Grilling (single-pass) to revise the Contract
  4. Only after Contract revision does implementation proceed

Omerta Compliance Checklist

Every skill MUST verify this checklist before proceeding to the next phase or action:

• Introduction Rule: All agent interactions mediated by hierarchy (no direct Worker-to-Worker)
• Rule of Availability: Current state checkpointed to file
• Rule of Truth: All claims cite their source (no invalid claims)
• Rule of Budget: Resource consumption within allocated budget
• Spec is Law: All changes trace to a Contract clause

Red Flags

If you catch yourself thinking any of these, STOP — you are about to violate Omerta:

Thought	Violated Law
"I'll just make this quick fix without updating the spec"	Law 5: Spec is Law
"I know this is true, I don't need to cite it"	Law 3: Rule of Truth
"Let me ask that other agent directly, it's faster"	Law 1: Introduction Rule
"I'll save the checkpoint after I finish this part"	Law 2: Rule of Availability
"We're close to done, the budget doesn't matter now"	Law 4: Rule of Budget