Organization Commandments
We will be at the forefront of society, guiding the automated world’s businesses and workforce away from collapse or stagnation — towards ethical and meaningful solutions that facilitate the rapid evolution of advanced empowerment for both employers and employees — in the workforce and the lifeforce.
— ORGANVM North Star (see meta-organvm/VISION.md)
These commandments exist to make that vision enforceable. The principles below govern how we build, ship, and maintain — ensuring that automation amplifies human capability rather than eroding it, and that a system of 105 repositories remains coherent enough for one person to operate at institutional scale.
This document outlines the core principles and commandments that guide our organization-wide issue tracking and project management practices. These principles are inspired by best practices from leading open-source projects including Semgrep, TensorFlow, and Schema.org.
All principles herein are derived from and subordinate to the meta-principle of logical consistency. See PRINCIPLE_CONFLICTS.md for the complete logic-first framework.
Logic & Logical Consistency
The supreme principle from which all others derive.
- All organizational decisions must be logically consistent
- When principles conflict, logical analysis determines resolution
- Contradictions are impermissible and must be resolved
- All principles below are valid insofar as they serve logical coherence
Core Principles
From Semgrep Philosophy
(Classified as Level 1-4 based on logical derivation)
Logical Derivation: Open source enables verification, which is a logical necessity for validating correctness.
- All organizational tools and templates should be freely available and open source
- Empower community involvement and collaboration
- No proprietary barriers to participation
- Logic: Closed systems cannot be independently verified; verification is required for logical confidence
2. Privacy & Security First (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Security failures create logical impossibilities - compromised systems cannot reliably execute intended logic.
- Sensitive information should never leave your organization without explicit consent
- Keep code reviews, discussions, and data within appropriate security boundaries
- Default to secure practices in all workflows and automation
- Logic: Insecure systems are logically unreliable; reliability requires security
Logical Derivation: Diverse use cases provide more data points for logical validation; flexibility is logically more robust than rigidity.
- Templates and workflows should be flexible and adaptable
- If a standard GitHub feature can accomplish something, we should support it
- Accommodate diverse team structures and project types
- Logic: Rigid systems fail when assumptions break; logical systems adapt to varied inputs
Logical Derivation: Clear communication is a logical necessity; ambiguity prevents verification and introduces errors.
- Documentation should be accessible to newcomers
- Templates should be self-explanatory with clear guidance
- Use plain language over jargon where possible
- Logic: Obscure communication creates logical barriers; clarity enables logical participation
5. Deterministic & Reliable (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Determinism is a direct expression of logical consistency; same inputs must yield same outputs.
- Workflows should produce consistent, predictable results
- Automation should be reliable and fail gracefully
- Given the same inputs, expect the same outputs
- Logic: Non-determinism violates logical causality; reliable systems are logically necessary
6. Safe Execution (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Unsafe execution creates unpredictable states; predictability is a logical requirement for reliable systems.
- No arbitrary code execution in templates or workflows
- Validate all inputs and outputs
- Use GitHub’s native features and well-tested actions
- Logic: Arbitrary execution prevents logical verification; validation ensures logical soundness
Logical Derivation: Poor performance creates logical limits - infinite time requirements are logically equivalent to impossibility.
- Keep processes efficient and fast
- Avoid unnecessary complexity
- Optimize for developer productivity
- Logic: Slow systems approach logical impossibility at scale; efficiency is a logical optimization
From TensorFlow Principles
(Classified as Level 1-4 based on logical derivation)
8. Quality Over Quantity (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Logical value maximization requires prioritizing high-impact contributions over volume.
- Each contribution should meaningfully improve the organization’s processes
- Focus on high-impact changes rather than numerous small tweaks
- Prioritize maintainability and long-term value
- Logic: Many low-quality items create logical overhead; few high-quality items maximize logical value
Logical Derivation: Diverse perspectives strengthen logical analysis through multiple validation paths.
- Foster open discussion and consensus-building
- Encourage cross-team collaboration
- Value diverse perspectives and experiences
- Logic: Multiple viewpoints reduce logical blind spots; collaboration enhances verification
10. Transparency (Level 1: Foundational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Transparency is required for verification; hidden logic cannot be validated.
- All decisions and changes should be communicated openly
- Document the reasoning behind organizational policies
- Make processes visible and understandable to all
- Logic: Opaque systems cannot be logically verified; transparency enables logical scrutiny
11. Backward Compatibility (Level 4: Stability Principle)
Logical Derivation: Logical respect for existing dependencies; stability enables predictability.
- Minimize breaking changes to existing workflows
- Provide migration paths when changes are necessary
- Consider the impact on all stakeholders before major changes
- Logic: Breaking changes create logical discontinuities; compatibility preserves logical chains
12. Security & Privacy Standards (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Security is prerequisite for reliability; privacy is logical consequence of autonomy.
- Maintain high standards for data privacy and security
- Regularly review and update security practices
- Protect sensitive organizational information
- Logic: Compromised systems produce logically unreliable outputs; privacy protects logical autonomy
From Schema.org Standards
(Classified as Level 1-4 based on logical derivation)
13. Interoperability (Level 4: Stability Principle)
Logical Derivation: Logical systems must integrate; isolated systems create logical barriers.
- Ensure templates and workflows work across different teams and repositories
- Avoid team-specific or tool-specific assumptions
- Design for integration with existing tools and processes
- Logic: Non-interoperable systems create logical silos; integration enables logical flow
14. Clarity & Precision (Level 1: Foundational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Ambiguity violates logical determinacy; precision is required for logical validity.
- Aim for clear, non-ambiguous definitions in all documentation
- Use consistent terminology across all templates
- Provide examples to illustrate concepts
- Logic: Ambiguous statements lack logical truth value; precision enables logical reasoning
Logical Derivation: Maximizing participant pool increases logical validation opportunities.
- Welcome contributions from all organization members
- Lower barriers to participation
- Support contributors at all skill levels
- Logic: Exclusion reduces available logical perspectives; inclusion maximizes verification power
16. Stability (Level 4: Stability Principle)
Logical Derivation: Stable foundations enable reliable logical reasoning over time.
- Changes should not break existing issues or workflows
- Maintain stable interfaces and data structures
- Version major changes appropriately
- Logic: Unstable systems prevent long-term logical planning; stability enables logical prediction
From Incident Lessons
(Classified as Level 2 based on logical derivation)
17. Non-Destructive Autonomy (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Irreversible actions by autonomous agents violate predictability;
recoverability is a logical prerequisite for safe autonomy.
- Autonomous agents MUST NOT permanently delete files; use archival (
mv to .archive/)
or soft-delete (trash) instead of rm
- Files not tracked by version control require CRITICAL-level approval before any
destructive operation
- Cleanup phases in agent plans MUST enumerate target files explicitly and await
human confirmation before proceeding
- Audit logging of destructive operations MUST have a local fallback when the
primary audit store is unavailable
- Source materials, prototypes, and design artifacts are classified as protected
and require elevated permissions to modify or remove
- Logic: Permanent deletion creates irreversible state loss; logical systems
require recoverability for error correction
18. Bounded Autonomous Execution (Level 2: Operational Principle)
Logical Derivation: Unbounded autonomy in non-interactive agents violates predictability;
scope limits and rollback triggers are logical prerequisites for safe unattended operation.
- Non-interactive agents (background, scheduled, auto-sync) MUST declare a single-repo
scope at session start; cross-repo writes are forbidden within a single session
- A mandatory dry-run pass MUST precede any write operations in non-interactive mode;
the dry-run output is logged and diffed against the live run
- Token budget and wall-clock timeout MUST be declared at session start; exceeding
either triggers immediate rollback of uncommitted changes
- Automatic rollback is triggered by: (1) git merge conflict, (2) CI failure on
committed changes, (3) file write outside declared scope, (4) budget exceeded,
(5) unhandled exception, (6) session timeout
- Cross-organ impulses discovered during execution MUST be captured as GitHub issues
in the target repo, not acted upon directly
- Every non-interactive session MUST produce an audit record: session ID, agent name,
repo path, start/end timestamps, files read, files written, rollback events
- See
docs/NON-INTERACTIVE-AGENT-SAFETY.md for the full safety protocol and
agent--claude-smith ScopeValidator (F-35) for code-level enforcement
- Logic: Unbounded agents create unpredictable state mutations; logical systems
require bounded execution contexts for verifiable outcomes
Application to Organization-Wide Issue Tracking
These commandments apply to our organization-wide issue tracking practices in the following ways:
Issue Templates
- Beginner-friendly: Templates include clear instructions and examples
- Clarity: Required fields are well-defined with validation
- Flexibility: Support multiple issue types (initiatives, incidents, RFCs)
Workflows & Automation
- Safe Execution: Use only trusted GitHub Actions
- Deterministic: Workflows produce predictable results
- Performance: Optimize for fast execution and minimal overhead
Documentation
- Transparency: All processes are fully documented
- Inclusivity: Documentation written for all skill levels
- Interoperability: Guidance works across different team structures
- Collaboration: Encourage cross-team discussion on org-wide issues
- Quality: Focus on high-impact organizational initiatives
- Backward Compatibility: Maintain existing processes while improving
Contributing to These Principles
These commandments are living guidelines, but all changes must pass logical scrutiny. As our organization evolves, we should:
- Review through logic: Assess whether principles remain logically sound and consistent
- Propose with reasoning: Open discussions or RFCs with clear logical justification
- Share logical insights: Document what works, what doesn’t, and WHY (logical analysis)
- Stay logically principled: Use logical reasoning to guide all decision-making
- Challenge inconsistencies: Any principle that creates logical contradictions must be reformed
- Verify derivations: Ensure all principles trace back to logical foundations
Key requirement: Any proposed principle must include its logical derivation and demonstrate consistency with the Level 0 meta-principle of logic.
Logical Framework Reference
For detailed information on conflict resolution and the logic-first hierarchy:
Original Inspiration Sources
These principles were inspired by (but logically analyzed and reorganized):
These commandments represent our commitment to building logically consistent, effective, inclusive, and sustainable organization-wide processes.
Remember: Logic is not one principle among many—it is the foundation upon which all others rest.