Status: implementation specification, 26 September 2026. No Factory software is claimed to exist yet.
Factory is a thin layer for turning a software product brief into independently verifiable work for an existing Pi + Firstmate setup. Its purpose is to minimize the intelligence, context, and human attention required to transform intent into verified software.
- PROJECT.md — purpose, scope, operating principles.
- ARCHITECTURE.md — components, interfaces, persistent state, failure behavior.
- COMPLETION.md — observable V0 and V1 exit criteria.
- BUILD_PLAN.md — build checkpoints and proof gates.
- AGENTS.md — instruction to the implementing agent.
Read docs/CONTRACTS.md when implementing validation, docs/INTEGRATIONS.md when touching CTX/Pi/Firstmate, docs/WORKFLOW.md when designing the Factory skill, and docs/RESEARCH.md for sources and decisions. docs/BOOTSTRAP_PROMPTS.md contains copyable Pi instructions for the initial checkpoints.
Create an empty Git repository for Factory and copy this directory's contents to its root. Do not copy an archived CTX repository or a Firstmate home into it. Review the files, resolve only genuine product decisions, then use your existing /CTX startup workflow to index the authoritative Markdown. Begin CP-00 from BUILD_PLAN.md. The current workspace contains documents only; commands described here are target behavior, not commands that already run.
The baseline interaction is your current research → project truth → checkpoint → worker → independent review process. Once validation and task publication work, use Factory's own backlog to build later checkpoints. Do not assert that dogfooding happened until a real Firstmate worker receives, executes, and closes a Factory task.
| Question | Owner |
|---|---|
| Why and what | PROJECT.md |
| Component and state decisions | ARCHITECTURE.md |
| Completed behavior | COMPLETION.md |
| Build sequence | BUILD_PLAN.md |
| Contract fields and validation | docs/CONTRACTS.md |
| External API boundary | docs/INTEGRATIONS.md |
| Agent methodology | docs/WORKFLOW.md |
If two documents conflict, stop, reconcile the appropriate owner, and record the change in Git before continuing. A CTX excerpt is a pointer to the original Markdown, never a replacement for the original source. External docs listed in docs/RESEARCH.md inform design but do not override these decisions.