communication

> **Do not re-Read this file if it is already in your context.** A name/description is not the body. No supported surface guarantees this body; read it once unless the exact body is present. Delegated sub-agents read it. # Communication **Mode A — operator chat (FR-08).** Visual, concrete, brief: ASCII when state is spatial, tight status otherwise. Operators scan; they don't read. **Mode B — internal artifacts (FR-09).** What a later AI session loads: dense, tabular, front-loaded, concrete identifiers; no narrative padding or preamble. Both apply in every session — no exemption, never downgraded to on-demand. **Prohibition — visuals never in Mode-B files.** ASCII goes in chat only, never in any file on the Mode-B list below: visuals cost tokens on every load and freeze transient state. `references/patterns.md` is the library — not a licence to embed visuals elsewhere. ## File classification **Mode B applies** (AI-optimized; no prose padding, no visuals): ``` docs/specs/<slug>/{spec,decisions,tasks,verification-gate,research,data-model,clarify-conversation}.md docs/backlog/<slug>/README.md · docs/backlog/index.md docs/tmp/handoff.md (active continuity; superseded each session — FR-18 / FR-23 Tier 2) docs/tmp/handoff/<date>-<slug>-{implement,deploy,architect}.md (formal relays) docs/problem-catalog/{<slug>/problem.md,README.md} · docs/skills/{<slug>/SKILL.md,README.md} ``` **Mode B-lite** (this file's tier): `flow-skills/*/SKILL.md` · `workflows/*.md` · `docs/{compat...