---
name: Reference the vault when dispatching tasks
description: When dispatching a task to a fleet agent, point at the relevant vault slice (/data/cameron/vault/...) in the dispatch — durable context that survives the agent's compaction
type: feedback
originSessionId: cd07777c-8add-4afc-9cb9-9113caa0331f
---
When dispatching a task to a fleet agent (backbones, mac, yams, paper_writer, figure_maker, etc.), **include a pointer to the relevant vault slice** in the inbox.md / tmux message:

- For PARA model work: reference `vault/para/overview.md`, `vault/para/memory.md`, and the relevant slice (e.g., `vault/para/model/code/INDEX.md` for canonical script names)
- For YAM work: reference `vault/para/robot/yam/` and `vault/tri/overview.md`
- For paper work: reference `vault/para/paper/...` and `vault/para/goals.md`
- For Mac/so100 deploy: reference `vault/para/robot/so100/overview.md`
- For per-agent durable context: reference `vault/fleet/agents/<agent-name>/{overview,tasks,memory}.md`

Also: in the dispatch, instruct the agent to **update the relevant vault file(s) before declaring the task done.** Specifically:
- Update the slice's `overview.md` if current state changed
- Update `tasks.md` (mark task done; add follow-ups)
- Append to `memory.md` if anything non-obvious was learned

**Why:** Cameron set up the vault on 2026-06-02 to solve the post-compaction "agent forgets which script is canonical" problem. The convention works only if (a) agents update it as they go and (b) every dispatch points back at it. Without that loop the vault rots in 2 weeks. He signed off on enforcing this through dispatches.

**How to apply:** every non-trivial dispatch I send via tmux send-keys or inbox.md should include both a vault reference (read this) and a vault update obligation (write to this before declaring done). The Vault Protocol section in `/data/cameron/agents_stuff/shared/GUIDELINES.md` carries the same convention for agents reading on bootstrap; my job is to reinforce it per-dispatch.

If a slice doesn't exist yet for the agent, the dispatch should also instruct them to create it using the README's file-type table as the template.