Fable Domain

fable-domain

This skill extends the fable-method problem-solving loop to non-code sectors by producing a domain adapter bundle. A bundle is four deliverables that together let fable-loop/fable-judge run against a new domain with its own nouns, authorities, and evidence rules - instead of falling back to coding defaults.

Use when a user asks to "create a domain adapter for X", "extend fable to marketing/research/ops", or "build a trap fixture for sector Y".

What a bundle is

A bundle is all four of these, or it is not done:

1. Domain workflow - ordered steps a practitioner follows in the sector, with a mermaid flowchart.
2. Adapter - a file conforming to the adapter template (applies-when, minimum evidence set, evidence sources, authority order, verification by observation, fraud table, done-by-example, sources with fetched links).
3. Trap fixture - an eval/scenarios// directory with GROUND-TRUTH.md defining the task, the trap, scoring caps, and ideal behavior.
4. Smoke eval - 1-2 control-vs-adapter runs judged by diff + execution, labeled smoke-grade: pass|fail|partial.

No bundle = no claim. Partial output (only adapter, only workflow) is rejected at Stage 4.

Process

flowchart TD
 A[Stage 1: Discuss] -->|red-line hit| R[Refuse + stop]
 A -->|scope stop: nouns == coding default| S[No adapter needed]
 A -->|approved scope| B[Stage 2: Research]
 B -->|no web access| STOP1[No trustworthy bundle, stop]
 B -->|evidence gathered| C[Stage 3: Generate]
 C -->|duplicate adapter exists| DUP[Merge or abort]
 C -->|4 deliverables written| D[Stage 4: Verify]
 D -->|smoke + judge pass| DONE[Bundle complete]
 D -->|smoke fail| FIX[Patch + re-verify]
 FIX --> C

 R -.-> END[End]
 S -.-> END
 STOP1 -.-> END
 DUP -.-> END
 DONE --> END[Report outcome-first]

Stage 1 - Discuss

Ask the user, in plain questions, before generating anything:

• Use case: what task in this domain should the loop solve? One concrete example.
• What good looks like: what does a correct answer look like? What does a wrong answer look like?
• Trusted authorities: which orgs, standards, regulators, or practitioners does the user defer to?
• Must-nevers: what outputs are unacceptable, illegal, or harmful?
• Desired outputs: artifact shape - report, plan, checklist, data file, copy draft.

Red-lines - refuse and stop, no negotiation:

| Domain trait | Action | |---|---| | Requires professional licensure (medical, legal advice, clinical) | Refuse | | Wrong answers cause physical/financial/mental harm | Refuse | | Safety-critical systems (aviation, weapons, power grid) | Refuse | | Mental health diagnosis or treatment | Refuse | | Personalized financial advice | Refuse |

State the refusal with the reason and the closest safe scope, then stop. Do not proceed to Stage 2.

Scope stop: if the sector's core nouns (artifacts, authorities, evidence types, failure modes) do not differ from the fable-method coding default (read code → reproduce bug → patch → verify), then no adapter is needed. Tell the user: "fable-method already covers this; an adapter would duplicate the default." Stop.

User approval gate: do not enter Stage 2 until the user confirms the scope in one message. If they amend the scope, re-discuss.

Stage 2 - Research

Bounded web research - not open-ended:

1. web_search the sector + "regulation", "standard", "failure mode", "authority". Limit 5 results per query.
2. web_extract the top 2-3 authoritative-looking URLs (regulators, standards bodies, practitioner guides).
3. Capture: named authorities, evidence types the sector trusts, common fraud/failure modes, any regulated must-never.
4. Record every fetched URL for the adapter's sources section.

No web access = no trustworthy bundle. If web_search or web_extract fails (network error, no results), stop. Report "no web access; cannot build trustworthy adapter." Do not fabricate sources or authorities. Do not write the adapter from priors alone.

Keep research tight: 3-6 web calls total. If you can't find an authority in 6 calls, the domain is too thin to adapt - stop.

Stage 3 - Generate

1. Read existing adapters: search_files for references/domains/*/adapter.md in the fable skill tree. Do not duplicate. If an adapter for this sector already exists, either merge the new scope into it or abort and tell the user.
2. Scope the sector in one sentence: "This adapter covers ` for ; it does not cover `."
3. Write the domain workflow as ordered numbered steps + a mermaid flowchart of those steps.
4. Write the adapter to the template below. Every section required. Fetched URLs go in ## Sources as real links.
5. Wire routing surfaces: set applies-when, minimum-evidence-set, and authority-order so fable-loop can route tasks into this adapter.
6. Build the trap fixture: eval/scenarios//GROUND-TRUTH.md + any supporting files. The scenario must contain a realistic trap (plausible-but-wrong answer) that the adapter's authority/evidence rules catch.

Adapter template

---
domain: 
applies-when: 
---

#  Adapter

## applies-when

## minimum-evidence-set

## evidence-sources

## authority-order
 standard > practitioner > general>

## verification-by-observation

## fraud-table
| Fraud / failure mode | Signal | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| ... | ... | ... |

## done-by-example

## Sources
- [name](https://fetched-url)

Trap fixture shape

eval/scenarios//
 GROUND-TRUTH.md # task, the trap, scoring caps, ideal behavior
 (optional supporting files)

GROUND-TRUTH.md must contain: the task statement, the trap (the plausible wrong answer and why it's wrong), scoring caps (max score, penalties, hard caps for harmful output), and ideal behavior (what a correct adapter-guided run produces).

Stage 4 - Verify

Run checks in order. Report outcome-first (pass/fail + the one reason) before any detail.

1. Repo checks: adapter exists, conforms to template (every section present), sources are real fetched URLs, trap fixture has GROUND-TRUTH.md, no duplicate adapter.
2. Smoke eval: via delegate_task, run 1-2 control-vs-adapter comparisons.

• Control: fable-method default (no adapter) on the trap scenario.
• Adapter: fable-method + this adapter on the same scenario.
• Judge by diff (output difference) and execution (did it run, did it catch the trap).
• Label result: smoke-grade: pass | partial | fail.

1. fable-judge pass: run fable-judge against the bundle's own claims (workflow accuracy, adapter authority, trap validity). If judge fails, patch and re-verify.
2. Report: one-line outcome, then the four deliverable paths, then smoke-grade, then any gaps.

If smoke-grade is fail or partial, do not declare done. Patch (usually evidence-set or fraud-table), re-run smoke, re-report.

Bounds

• No duplicates: before generating, scan references/domains/. If an adapter covers this sector, merge or abort - never write a second adapter for the same sector.
• User approval gates: Stage 1 → Stage 2 requires explicit user scope confirmation. Stage 3 output (the four files) requires user sign-off before Stage 4 runs the smoke eval (it costs delegate_task calls).
• Small-model boundary: this skill does research and generation on a small/local model. If a step needs deep reasoning over long context (cross-domain authority conflict, multi-source synthesis), delegate to a stronger model via delegate_task rather than improvising. Do not let a small model silently weaken the authority-order.
• No fabrication: every source URL must come from a real web_search/web_extract call in Stage 2. No web access → stop. No prior-only adapters.
• Red-lines hold across stages: if Stage 2 research reveals the domain is actually licensed/harm-causing (e.g. "marketing" turns out to be medical claims), abort immediately and report the red-line.
• Bundle integrity: all four deliverables or the task is not done. Reporting three of four = reporting failure.

Files this skill writes

references/domains//
 workflow.md # Stage 3.1 - steps + mermaid flowchart
 adapter.md # Stage 3.2 - adapter to template
 eval/scenarios//
 GROUND-TRUTH.md # Stage 3.3 - trap fixture
 smoke-results.md # Stage 4 - smoke eval record

Done criteria

The skill is done when, and only when:

• [ ] Stage 1 discussed, scope approved, no red-line, no scope stop.
• [ ] Stage 2 research ran, ≥2 real sources captured, web access confirmed.
• [ ] Stage 3 wrote all four deliverables; no duplicate adapter.
• [ ] Stage 4 smoke-grade is pass; fable-judge pass; outcome reported first.
• [ ] User sign-off recorded at each gate.

Any unchecked box = not done. Say so.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: ardhaecosystem
• Source: ardhaecosystem/fable-method
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://github.com/ardhaecosystem/fable-method

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.