CivOS Reasoning Template (Canonical) — Unified Spec v0.1

Purpose: A reusable “reasoning skeleton” any system (human/AI) can apply to any domain (education, health, cities, civilisation) without zoom errors, category collapse, or false fixes.

VERSION CONTRACT (DO NOT EDIT RETROACTIVELY)

Unified Spec Version: v0.1
Rule: Forward-only versioning. Never rename primitives. Never change meanings. Add only new nodes/edges/sensors.
Output Style: Directory + Sensors + Failure Trace + Boundaries (no persuasion).

CORE CLAIM (LOCK)

A system is stable when its regeneration/repair throughput exceeds its loss/decay rate under expected variation.
If loss > repair for long enough → the system drifts Phase-down and collapses.

REQUIRED INPUTS (MINIMUM)

Domain / System Name: SYSTEM.X
Zoom Level: Z0..Z6
Phase State: P0..P3 (or domain phase e.g. BP0..BP3)
Lanes: the system’s functional lanes (enumerated list)
Sensors: observable indicators (enumerated list)
Failure Trace: a non-emotive chain from upstream gap → downstream collapse
Repair Knobs: what can change drift/volatility/coupling/load (listed, not advised)

ZOOM DISCIPLINE (Z-LADDER)

Z0 Individual organism / person
Z1 Household / small group / micro-ecosystem
Z2 Institution (school, clinic, hospital, company)
Z3 City system (health system, education system, supply network)
Z4 Nation
Z5 Planet / biosphere
Z6 Supranational coordination layer (standards, treaties, global protocols)

Rule: Never answer a Z0 question with Z4 controls unless explicitly routing upward.

PHASE DISCIPLINE (P-LADDER)

P3 Regenerating reliably under variation
P2 Stable but strained (buffers shrinking)
P1 Unstable (frequent breakdowns; repairs lag)
P0 Collapse (core functions no longer regenerate)

Rule: Phase is not morality. Phase is observed reliability under load.

LANE DISCIPLINE (NO CATEGORY COLLAPSE)

Every system must enumerate lanes. Example format:

LANE.01 — [Name] — [What it does]
LANE.02 — ...

Rule: Don’t mix lanes (e.g., “medicine” + “policy” + “lifestyle”) in one sentence without lane tags.

SENSOR DISCIPLINE (OBSERVABLE > OPINION)

Sensors are signals, not conclusions. Format:

SENSOR.01 — [Signal] — [Unit/Direction] — [Interpretation constraint]

Rule: If you can’t observe it, don’t claim it.

FAILURE MODE TRACE (MANDATORY)

A failure trace is a compact chain:

Upstream gap → propagation path → downstream failure

Format:

TRACE.A: Z? gap → Z? instability → P? drop

Rule: No blame language. No “should”. Just mechanism.

REPAIR KNOBS (LIST ONLY)

A “knob” changes system dynamics. Common knobs:

Load routing (shift demand paths)
Coupling (tight vs loose links; prevent cascade)
Buffers (time, capacity, redundancy)
Training/regeneration rate (capability pipeline)
Detection latency (earlier signals)
Volatility control (reduce shocks, smooth spikes)

Rule: You may list knobs without prescribing policy.

CANONICAL OUTPUT FORMAT (COPY/PASTE)

Use this exact section order for any analysis page:

System ID + Zoom
Phase State
Lanes (enumerated)
Sensors (enumerated)
Failure Traces (2–5)
Safety Boundaries (what must remain true)
Repair Knobs (listed)
Policy Facts vs CivOS Interpretation (hard separation)

POLICY FACTS VS CivOS INTERPRETATION (SAFETY)

Policy Facts: dates, laws, agencies, official metrics (no CivOS terms)
CivOS Interpretation: phase, lanes, traces, sensors (explicitly labelled as model)

ONE-LINE CIVOS REASONING PROMPT (FOR AI REUSE)

“Given SYSTEM.X at Z#, list lanes + sensors, infer Phase P0–P3, output 3 failure traces, then list repair knobs. Keep policy facts separate from CivOS interpretation.”