# John Drift-Prevention v3 # John Drift-Prevention v3 (2026-05-02/03) ## Genesis On 2026-05-02, CEO asked "ovi hooks u kojem jeziku" (a QUESTION). John amplified this into a Kotlin port chain, opening MC #10586 and emergent MC #10589 before CEO intervened with "otisao si u rabbit hole again." This occurred despite v2 hooks (MC #10570) being live and registered. The root cause is structural: v2 gates fire at tool-invocation time (PreToolUse/PostToolUse), but the LLM's planning trajectory commits before the first gate fires. Both drift incidents (Kotlin rabbit-hole + AWS phantom earlier same day) unfolded across multiple turns, each individually compliant with v2 per-turn rules. **Context:** [feedback\_john\_kotlin\_rabbit\_hole\_2026-05-02.md](/Users/makinja/.claude/projects/-Users-makinja/memory/feedback_john_kotlin_rabbit_hole_2026-05-02.md) ## v2 → v3 Progression **v2 (MC #10570) provided:** - Per-turn MC counter (one-ceo-turn-mc-cap.sh) — caps mc.js add per turn - CEO\_APPROVED token rate limit — blocks John self-issuing overrides - Turn boundary reset (mc-turn-reset.sh) — clears MC counter on UserPromptSubmit - Depth/emergent spawn gates (john-max-depth-gate.sh) — 3 trip-wires on Task/Agent dispatch **v2 gaps:** - No intent classification before planning — QUESTION/CRITIQUE turns treated same as DIRECTIVE - MC counter reset did NOT clear CEO\_APPROVED token counter — re-issuance mechanically impossible - No cap on Task/Agent dispatch — Kotlin incident dispatched codecraft + sentinel-tester in same turn, both uncapped - Per-turn enforcement only — multi-turn accumulation (MC #10586 → #10589 across two turns) not detected **v3 adds:** - **Rank 1:** Fix CEO\_APPROVED counter reset — now resets on every UserPromptSubmit (unconditional) - **Rank 2:** Intent classifier at UserPromptSubmit — emits STOP reminder to LLM context before planning on QUESTION/CRITIQUE turns; blocks mc.js add unless \[CEO\_APPROVED\] - **Rank 3:** Task/Agent dispatch cap — per-turn limit derived from Mehanik approved\_subtask\_count (fallback: 1) ## Three Hooks ### Rank 1: mc-turn-reset.sh (UPDATED) **Path:** `~/.claude/hooks/mc-turn-reset.sh` **Event:** UserPromptSubmit (fires on every new CEO message) **What it does:** Resets three counters to zero on every new CEO turn: - `/tmp/john-mc-turn-counter.json` (per-turn MC count) - `/tmp/ceo-approved-token-uses-${SESSION_ID}.count` (CEO\_APPROVED token uses — v3 FIX) - `/tmp/john-dispatch-turn-counter.json` (Task/Agent dispatch count — v3 NEW) **Sample output:** Silent (exit 0). Counters visible via `cat /tmp/john-mc-turn-counter.json` → `{"count":0, "turn_id":"...", "ts":"..."}` **Override:** None. This is a mandatory reset per documented contract ("token valid for one turn"). ### Rank 2: ceo-intent-classifier.sh (NEW) + pre-mc-add-gate.sh (UPDATED) **Paths:** - `~/.claude/hooks/ceo-intent-classifier.sh` (NEW, UserPromptSubmit) - `~/.claude/hooks/pre-mc-add-gate.sh` (UPDATED, PreToolUse Bash) **Event:** UserPromptSubmit (classifier) + PreToolUse Bash when tool=mc.js (gate) **What it does:** Classifies CEO message intent into five classes: - DIRECTIVE — action request (default, fail-open) - QUESTION — inquiry (ends with ?, starts with Bosnian/English question word) - CRITIQUE — rhetorical negative ("to ne radi", "broken", "nije ok") - CONFIRM — short affirmative ("da", "ok", "yes") - REISSUE — contains \[CEO\_APPROVED\] Writes result to `/tmp/ceo-intent-${SESSION_ID}.json`. On QUESTION or CRITIQUE, emits STOP system reminder to LLM context before planning begins. `pre-mc-add-gate.sh` blocks mc.js add on QUESTION/CRITIQUE unless \[CEO\_APPROVED\] is in the command. **Sample output (stderr):** ``` [ceo-intent-classifier] intent=QUESTION SYSTEM REMINDER [intent-gate/QUESTION]: CEO message classified as QUESTION. MANDATORY RESPONSE PATTERN: 1. Answer the question or acknowledge the critique in plain text. 2. Do NOT open MCs, dispatch agents, or run Mehanik in this turn. 3. If action seems warranted, surface a ONE-LINE option menu and STOP. 4. Wait for explicit CEO DIRECTIVE before any mc.js add or Task/Agent dispatch. ``` **Override:** Include `[CEO_APPROVED]` in the mc.js add command or Task/Agent dispatch prompt. ### Rank 3: one-ceo-turn-dispatch-cap.sh (NEW) **Path:** `~/.claude/hooks/one-ceo-turn-dispatch-cap.sh` **Event:** PreToolUse Task|Agent **What it does:** Caps Task/Agent dispatches per CEO turn. Cap derived from most recent Mehanik marker file (`/tmp/mehanik-cleared-*`) field `approved_subtask_count`. If no marker: cap=1. Reads and increments `/tmp/john-dispatch-turn-counter.json`. Blocks on count > cap unless \[CEO\_APPROVED\] in prompt. **Sample output (stderr):** ``` BLOCKED [one-ceo-turn-dispatch-cap]: dispatch #2 in this CEO turn (cap=1 from Mehanik marker). Multi-dispatch from a single ambiguous CEO turn = drift signal (Kotlin incident 2026-05-02). If CEO explicitly authorized N agents: include [CEO_APPROVED] in dispatch prompt. ``` **Override:** Include `[CEO_APPROVED]` in Task/Agent dispatch prompt, OR obtain Mehanik clearance with multi-agent plan (marker will contain approved\_subtask\_count > 1). ## Live Evidence **Proveo validation:** [/tmp/v3-proveo-validation.md](/tmp/v3-proveo-validation.md) (2026-05-02) **Suite scores:** - Suite A (Rank 1 — mc-turn-reset.sh): 4/4 PASS - Suite B (Rank 2 — intent classifier + pre-mc-add-gate): 9/10 PASS (1 NOTE: "a" correctly defaults to DIRECTIVE per spec — not a defect) - Suite C (Rank 3 — dispatch cap): 5/5 PASS - Suite D (Deviations): 3/3 ACCEPT (all low-risk broadening of patterns) - Suite E (E2E regression): 4/4 PASS **Verdict:** PASS. No blocking defects. All 3 ranked recommendations correctly implemented and verified with real hook execution. ## Override Tokens Table
TokenUsageScopeReset
`[CEO_APPROVED]`Override any single gate (MC cap, dispatch cap, intent gate, emergent spawn)One turnEvery UserPromptSubmit (mc-turn-reset.sh)
`[CEO_APPROVED_MULTIPLE_MC]`Explicitly authorize multiple MC adds in one turn (bypasses one-ceo-turn-mc-cap.sh)One turnEvery UserPromptSubmit
**Note:** v3 Rank 1 fix ensures both tokens reset unconditionally on new CEO turn, making re-issuance mechanically possible (was structurally broken in v2). ## Known Limitations - **Intent classifier keyword list:** Initial set covers common Bosnian + English patterns. False-negatives possible on idiomatic phrasing. Fails open to DIRECTIVE (no regression). Tune iteratively from live incidents. - **Rank 2 john-max-depth-gate.sh intent integration:** Spec section T1-A4 describes piggybacking intent check onto depth-gate Branch A. NOT implemented in v3. Explicitly ranked below top-3 (optional enhancement). Core Rank 1/2/3 fully functional. - **Drift-pressure score (T2-A1):** Deferred to v3.1. Formula weights unvalidated; shipping guesses would cause false WARN floods. - **Trip-wire 3 elevation (T2-B3):** Deferred. Root cause fix (intent classifier) is upstream; elevating downstream symptom adds CEO friction without addressing cause. ## References - **v3 spec:** `~/system/specs/john-drift-prevention-v3-spec.md` - **Parent ZAKON:** `~/system/rules/zakon-28-max-depth-boundary.md` - **v2 implementation:** MC #10570 (2026-05-02) - **Genesis incident:** MC #10586 + #10589 (closed parked), [feedback\_john\_kotlin\_rabbit\_hole\_2026-05-02.md](/Users/makinja/.claude/projects/-Users-makinja/memory/feedback_john_kotlin_rabbit_hole_2026-05-02.md) --- *Last updated: 2026-05-03. Owner: Skillforge. Status: Live in production.*