Protocol

detection triggers

core by Curtis Mercier v1.0.0 heat: cold
learningself-improvementmemoryawareness
Tiercore
Version1.0.0
Heatcold
AuthorCurtis Mercier
SourceGitHub ↗
/install protocol detection-triggers

Run in a Soma session to add to your project.

curl -sO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/meetsoma/community/main/protocols/detection-triggers.md

Download and copy to .soma/protocols/detection-triggers.md — or view on GitHub ↗

Tags

Applies to
always

Details

Detection Triggers

TL;DR

Capture on: corrections, preferences, 3+ repeated patterns, knowledge gaps. Skip one-time instructions. Bubble-up: session log → muscle → protocol → core.

Capture Triggers

Corrections (→ muscle)

  • User says "no", "wrong", "actually", "don't", "stop"
  • User edits your output
  • User rejects a suggestion
  • Same instruction given twice

Preferences (→ muscle)

  • "I like when you..." / "I prefer..."
  • "Always do X for me" / "Never do Y"
  • "My style is..." / "For this project, use..."
  • User consistently chooses one option over another

Patterns (→ muscle after 3x)

  • Same tool/command used 3+ times in a session
  • Same workflow repeated across sessions
  • User praises a specific approach
  • A workaround that keeps being needed

Knowledge Gaps (→ session log)

  • You gave outdated information and were corrected
  • You didn't know something the user expected you to know
  • External tool/API behavior changed from what you assumed

Errors (→ session log, maybe muscle)

  • A command fails and you find a different fix
  • A retry strategy that works
  • An environment-specific gotcha (OS, tool version, config)

What NOT to Capture

  • One-time instructions ("do X right now")
  • Context-specific details ("in this file on line 42...")
  • Hypotheticals ("what if we...")
  • Transient state ("the server is down right now")

Escalation Path

observation → session log → repeated? → muscle → universal? → protocol
                                              → project-specific? → identity

This is the bubble-up flow. Each level requires more evidence:

  • Session log: saw it once
  • Muscle: saw it 2-3 times, or user explicitly stated it
  • Protocol: applies across users/projects — ships to all Soma users
  • Identity: project-specific sharpening of a protocol's universal rule

The key question at the muscle→protocol boundary: would this help someone who isn't us? If yes → protocol. If it's about our specific tools, repos, or workflow → identity.

Identity is not "above" protocols. It's a parallel track. Protocols are universal defaults. Identity customizes them. A Soma with good protocols and no identity should still work well. A Soma with identity but no protocols is fragile — it has opinions but no foundation.

View source on GitHub →