ng-drift-check

ng-drift-check

Portable command prompt generated from skills/staying-on-mission/SKILL.md. Edit the skill, then run python tools/ng.py gen-commands; do not edit this file by hand.

Tests the current work against a written, lasting mission anchor and forces one choice, re-anchor, escalate, or stop. Use when an agent keeps finishing tasks but the work drifts from the goal, scope creeps, the same action repeats in a loop, or standards slip one small step at a time. Do not use for a tiny edit with an obvious goal, or while you are still containing a live incident.

Use when

• A long work session has many steps, and the current action is hard to tie back to the original goal.
• Scope is growing. New files, features, or layers show up that no one asked for.
• The same action, file, or fix keeps getting retried with no progress. That is a loop.
• The agent is spending a lot (high token use) but you can see little real progress.
• A reviewer or agent is working from memory of the goal instead of a written anchor.
• A non-goal is about to be crossed, or a standard is about to be loosened "just this once."
• Context was reset, shrunk, or handed off, so the goal must be set again before work goes on.

Do not use when

• A tiny quick edit with an obvious goal and no risk of scope growth.
• A live incident you have to contain before you stop to reflect.
• The user is asking for a formal guarantee, a certification, or regulatory approval.

Inputs

• The mission anchor: .nuclear/mission.md, the ## Mission anchor in risk.md, or the issue or pull request it came from.
• The repo charter (.nuclear/charter.md) when there is one: the lasting principles the work must not break.
• The current action and what was tried recently, including how many times.
• The files the change touches, the diff so far, and the stated non-goals.

Prompt text

Run a Nuclear-grade mission-drift check on the current work.

Inputs:
- mission anchor (objective, success criteria, non-goals):
- charter principles in play:
- current action:
- recent attempts at this objective (how many, what variants):
- affected files / diff so far:

Do this:
- Restate the goal from the written record, not from memory.
- Zoom out one layer; judge at the level of the goal and the architecture, not the detail.
- Test the current action against the success criteria and the non-goals.
- Decide whether the action serves the mission, or a smaller local goal that has quietly replaced it.
- Check the loop: if the same goal has failed 3 times, stop trying the next variant.
- Check for slipping standards against the charter and any countable tripwires.

Return one decision:
- RE-ANCHOR: the action serves the mission; restate the goal and continue.
- ESCALATE: a non-goal or a standard must be crossed for a defensible reason; include a justification row (what is crossed, why, and why no simpler path exists).
- STOP: the action serves a smaller local goal, or the justification does not hold.

Also return the updated goal text, so the decision survives the next context reset.
Do not imply formal assurance, compliance, certification, safety, security, or regulatory adequacy.