- The question
- Where does a governance signal have to sit to actually stop something — before the action, or in the log afterwards?
- The instrument
- A pre-action compass inside the editor loop: WITNESS hard-denies destructive operations, PAUSE token-gates credentials, and auto-distill quarantines method candidates until a human promotes them. Local-only SQLite FTS5, plus the live Compass Observatory dashboard.
- The finding
- A governance signal that renders after the action is documentation. The same signal placed before the call is a boundary. Placement, not sophistication, is what makes it load-bearing.
- What failed
- The first version surfaced the compass reading as an advisory banner. It was ignored — by the human as often as the model. Advisory signals are decoration.
- Standing
- InstrumentLiving · v0.13.0In use, local-only
- Verify it
- Repository ↗
Instrument
T2Helix
A Claude Code plugin wiring persistent recall and a pre-action compass into the editor loop.
InstrumentLiving · v0.13.0In use, local-only
15 MCP tools · WITNESS hard-denies destructive ops
Metrics with scope
Every number names what was measured, on what sample, and as of when.
MCP tools
15
Entries in the TOOLS array of mcp/server.js
As of v0.13.0
Storage
Local-only
SQLite FTS5 on the developer's machine; nothing leaves the host
As of v0.13.0
From wonder to receipt
T2Helix
Wonder initiated the search. Rigor changed the answer.
InstrumentLiving · v0.13.0In use, local-only
- 01Wonder
Everyone writes down what the model did. Why does none of it ever stop the model from doing it?
- 02Hypothesis
If a governance signal is placed before the call rather than beside it, refusal becomes structural instead of advisory.
- 03Instrument
A pre-action compass in the editor loop: WITNESS hard-denies destructive operations, PAUSE token-gates credentials, auto-distill quarantines candidates until a human promotes them.
- 04Encounter
The advisory version was ignored — by the human as often as the model. Moving the same signal ahead of the call changed it from documentation into a boundary.
- 05Standing
In use, local-only. A demonstration of placement, not a measured claim about how often it prevents harm.
- 06Receipt
t2helix · 15 MCP tools, local SQLite FTS5