# Global agent instructions

## Session start: load the pi-extensions skill

If the `fork` and/or `recall` tools are present in your tool list (you are
running inside the **pi** harness with the pi-fork / pi-observational-memory
packages), **read `~/.agents/skills/pi-extensions/SKILL.md` before doing any
non-trivial work.** These extensions are routinely under-utilised when left to
on-demand description matching; reading the skill up front fixes that.

Core triggers (cheat-sheet — the skill has the full guidance):

- **Fork** (`fork(task=..., effort=fast|balanced|deep)`) when a subtask needs
  reading many files you won't keep, runs in parallel, or is a well-scoped
  one-shot whose detail would pollute the main thread. Tiers: `fast`=haiku
  (mechanical/lookups), `balanced`=sonnet (default: exploration/impl/test),
  `deep`=opus (architecture, security, ambiguous debugging). Always state
  decision authority, pass verified context, specify the deliverable, ask for
  an "unsure about" section. Don't fork trivial or iterative work.
- **Recall** (`recall(<12-char-hex-id>)`) before a load-bearing action (edit
  code, ship a change, assert a fact) that rests on a `[high]`/`[critical]`
  observation or a reflection you did not produce this turn. The compaction
  summary is lossy by design; one recall is cheap, redoing finished work is not.
  Not a search tool — you must already have the ID.

For depth on tier selection, fork-brief design, boundary discipline, and the
observational-memory model, read the full skill.