Starlight IntelligenceAcademy · Operator Lab

Constellation lab · Foundations

Learn the system behind the swarm.

Six operator moves turn one recurring workflow into a bounded team with explicit profiles, handoffs, trust gates, evidence, and a safe path to evolve.

Begin the sequence Open the field guide
Moves
6
Patterns
5
Agent examples
13
Live eval
not_run

Operator sequence

Six moves. Six durable artifacts.

Work through one real workflow. Each move produces something another human—or another runtime—can inspect without needing the original conversation.

  1. 01

    Frame human authority

    starlight.mission_brief.v1

    AskWhat outcome belongs to the system, and what decision must remain yours?

    DoWrite one mission, one accountable human owner, acceptance tests, constraints, budget, and irreversible gates.

    Failure signalThe swarm can reinterpret the mission, spend, publish, grant access, or promote itself.

  2. 02

    Profile the minimum team

    agent-card.v1

    AskWhich distinct responsibilities actually need different agents?

    DoDefine purpose, capabilities, non-capabilities, inputs, outputs, stop conditions, escalation, and evaluation for each role.

    Failure signalOverlapping agents compete for ownership or one god agent silently does everything.

  3. 03

    Choose the topology

    starlight.swarm_profile.v1

    AskDoes the work need sequence, parallel perspectives, shared state, or a bounded critic loop?

    DoSelect the smallest coordination shape, name the conductor or stage owners, and add one independent verifier.

    Failure signalMore agents add latency and token cost without increasing coverage, independence, or quality.

  4. 04

    Draw the boundaries

    memory + tool policy

    AskWhat may each agent read, remember, call, change, and share?

    DoDeclare memory scopes, tool policy, write surfaces, credentials, costs, human approvals, revocation, fallback, and rollback.

    Failure signalA public handoff carries private memory or a nominally read-only route triggers a side effect.

  5. 05

    Design the evidence

    starlight.run_receipt.v1

    AskWhat must be true before a run, artifact, or release can count as complete?

    DoBind outputs to tests, source receipts, cost and duration, an independent verdict, and a useful rollback state.

    Failure signalA skipped, missing, structural-only, or stale check is presented as live proof.

  6. 06

    Package, pilot, evolve

    starlight.evolution_release.v1

    AskHow can someone install the system without inheriting hidden authority or losing lineage?

    DoPin agents, skills, dependencies, compatibility, digests, runtime status, pilot limits, migrations, and retirement notes.

    Failure signalA pack installs more than it declares, or a stronger version replaces the prior one without comparison and recovery.

Pattern chooser

Match coordination to the work.

Use the smallest pattern that preserves ownership, context, recovery, and an independent verdict.

PatternUse whenAvoid when
01Conductor + specialistsSeveral capabilities, one accountable missionOne conductor becomes an unbounded bottleneck
02PipelineStable sequential stages with checkpointed outputsOne invalid stage poisons the rest without recovery
03Parallel councilIndependent perspectives improve coverageAgents repeat the same work and simply vote
04Shared blackboardUnderstanding evolves around observable common stateEveryone can mutate everything without provenance
05Builder–critic loopA measurable artifact improves through bounded revisionThere is no loop limit, threshold, or release owner

Working rule: three to five active roles for most product workflows; direct council loops should stay at seven or fewer.

Completion artifact

Leave with a blueprint, not a badge.

The useful result is a public-safe design another operator can inspect, test, install, or reject. This page does not claim accreditation or certify runtime performance.

Download the template pack Explore the 50-agent lab
  1. 01

    One bounded recurring workflow and one accountable human owner

  2. 02

    Three to five active roles with non-overlapping responsibilities

  3. 03

    Agent profiles with capabilities, non-capabilities, stops, and escalation

  4. 04

    One topology with explicit handoffs, shared state, and fallback behavior

  5. 05

    Memory, data, tool, credential, cost, and human-gate policy

  6. 06

    Acceptance tests, run receipt, independent verdict, and rollback route

  7. 07

    Public-safe pack manifest with digests, compatibility, and runtime status

  8. 08

    A bounded pilot plan with quality, cost, latency, safety, and human-effort measures

One canon · three jobs

Compose. Inspect. Practice.

The constellation is one public-safe canon projected three ways. Choose the surface that matches your next decision.

.aiField guide, profiles, workflows, and builder.orgSchemas, truth states, and downloadable templates.academyFifty identities and the operator learning projectionStart smallTriage one workflow before composing a swarm

Educational projection: true · private memory included: false · live eval: not_run