Conventions

One page, freeze the vocabulary. If a term isn’t here, it’s defined where it’s used.

Names and paths

Term	Value	Notes
Binary	`castellan`	Single CLI; subcommands below
Config file	`castellan.toml`	Layered — repo root, then `.castellan/`, then env
State directory	`.castellan/`	Episodes, archive, proposals, skills
Episode logs	`.castellan/episodes/`	One JSON per goal run (`castellan run`)
Topology archive	`.castellan/topology_archive.json`	Genome lineage for `castellan evolve` / `--seed-archive`
Multiplexer socket	`~/.config/castellan/castellan.sock`	Default Unix socket; override with `--socket` or `CASTELLAN_SOCKET`
Statusline snapshot	`~/.config/castellan/statusline.json`	Written by `castellan dashboard`; read by `castellan_read_statusline`
Telemetry DB	`~/.config/castellan/telemetry.db`	`castellan telemetry` query target
MCP tools	`castellan_*` prefix	e.g. `castellan_deposit_signal`, `castellan_discover_tools` — see MCP tools

Note: Paths above are defaults. Named multiplexer sessions (--session) scope their own socket and persist directory — see Multiplexer overview.

Term	One-liner
Episode	A single `castellan run` goal attempt, logged as JSON under `.castellan/episodes/` — field state, topology, wake stats, verdict
Topology	The wake graph (nodes, edges, thresholds) a run’s agents coordinate through; mutated by `castellan evolve`
Pressure field	The scheduler’s wake-priority substrate — pheromone zones + dependency signals decide when a pending task dispatches
Drift-check	`castellan drift-check` — validates repo guardrails and topology mutations against the verification manifest; rejects incompatible changes before they land
RAH (Recursive Agent Harness)	Depth-bounded harness-within-harness spawn (multiplexer pane + topology binding); see `castellan rah-demo` and Frontier positioning
Genome	A named topology snapshot in the evolve archive, with lineage (`parent_genome_id`)
Blackboard	Typed JSON slots agents read/write instead of talking to each other in natural language

castellan doctor

castellan --version

castellan --help