How it works

The model behind AIR.

AIR — short for AI Resource — turns a chatbot session into a structured, auditable environment, with a teammate's discipline rather than an agent's autonomy. Here is the machinery, from the first question to the final handoff.

01

Start a session

Every project begins with one question — what are you doing? AIR never guesses the branch. From there a short, deterministic set of questions configures the session before any work starts.

Start AIR projectQ1 — what are you doing?branch selector · never inferredC — continuerestore from cardD — explain firstorientation → Q1Q2–Q6 questionsdeterministic · asked in orderActivate projectinit brief + execution mapA / B
02

Fix the scope and the agreement

Two questions do the heavy lifting: what you are building — goal, constraints, sources — and how you and AIR will work together. This is where responsibilities get divided — what is yours, what is AIR's — alongside files, diffs, review, and pace.

Q5 — the projectwhat you are buildingScopegoal · constraints · sourcesQ6 — working agreementhow AIR works with youDelivery modefiles · diffs · review · steps
03

Layer on capability

A default profile governs by default. On top of it AIR binds reusable capability — a Specialist (a capability profile), a Domain pack (a standards overlay), a Method pack (a procedure with its own gates), and Executors (bounded, callable operations, not agents). Each stays subordinate to the contract and the gates, and nothing binds until it clears the capability gate. Full specs in the repo →

Default Starter Profilenormal starting point · governs by defaultSpecialist profilestricter judgmentDomain packageterminology + evidenceMethod layerprocedure + gatesCapability gaterecommend → approve to generate → validate to bind
04

Keep context in orbit

The active task sits at Orbit 0. Supporting and background context orbit around it and inform inward, so focus stays on what is live without losing the surroundings.

Orbit 2 · background contextOrbit 1 · supporting contextOrbit 0active taskinforms inward
05

Govern with gates

Procedures track their own live state, and gates decide when work advances. When two gates disagree, the stricter one governs.

AIR_ARTIFACT.methodthe procedure.method_execution_statelive progress + gatesAIR_GATEexecution · closure · rescopeMethod-step gateadvance within methodStricter gate governson conflicttracked as
06

Continue across sessions

Each session ends with a strict-JSON handoff card. The next session boots from it — so a project survives context limits and resumes exactly where it left off.

New projectboot bundle · 3 filesContinue projectcard + core runtimeAIR sessionactive projectHandoff cardstrict JSONnext session
07

Structure, not slop

Vibe coding generates first and cleans up later. AIR binds a contract, surfaces blockers, benchmarks the work, and only delivers when it clears its own state.

Vibe codingAIR executionRequestGenerate outputClean up the slopShipreview often skippedRequestBind contracttask-operation scopeSurface blockersmissing vectors · readinessInfer benchmarktask-fitted standardGenerateunder the contractDecision postureapprove · review · rejectDeliveronly when state allows

See it in a session.

The fastest way to understand AIR is to run it. Grab the boot bundle and start a project.