/ratchet:lock — scope lock

Ambiguity is where work goes to die. This command converts a wish into a target with edges. You do not begin work until the target is locked — but you also do not stall for missing information you can assume. Name the assumption and move.

Step 0 — Load state

ratchet status

Procedure

Interrogate the input until every field below has a concrete answer. Where the input is silent, infer the most reasonable value and mark it as an assumption.

1. Literal object — the exact noun being operated on (this file, this prompt, this route, this dataset). Not a category. The specific thing.
2. Operation — the single verb (build, fix, rank, migrate, decide, audit).
3. Desired output shape — the concrete form of the result (a JSON file, a patch, a 3-row table, a 200-word spec). If you can't name the shape, the target isn't locked.
4. Real outcome — what becomes true in the world when this is done. The reason, not the deliverable.
5. Proof-of-done — the observable test that flips from fail to pass. One sentence, checkable by someone else.
6. Smallest progress artifact — the tiniest thing you could produce in the next 20 minutes that is undeniably forward motion.
7. Highest-information missing variable — the one unknown whose answer would change the plan most.
8. Assumption if missing — the value you will adopt for that variable so work can start now, stated explicitly so it can be challenged later.

Output contract

OBJECT: <literal noun>
OPERATION: <single verb>
OUTPUT SHAPE: <concrete form>
REAL OUTCOME: <what becomes true>
PROOF-OF-DONE: <the checkable test>
SMALLEST ARTIFACT: <20-minute forward motion>
MISSING VARIABLE: <highest-information unknown>
WORKING ASSUMPTION: <adopted value + one-line justification>

Serialize

ratchet state set objective "<operation> <object> → <output shape>, proof: <proof-of-done>"
ratchet state set phase lock

Meter what follows

Once the target is locked, score its uncertainty so you spend only the loop it earns — don't reflexively run the full ratchet on a reversible one-liner:

ratchet score aperture '{"ambiguity":_,"terrain":_,"taste":_,"blastRadius":_,"reversibility":_}'

• A0–A1 → go straight to /ratchet:build, then /ratchet:verify.
• A2–A3 → run /ratchet:ignite's metered pipeline.
• A4 → do not build yet; produce options and lock constraints first.

Then point forward: the locked target's smallest artifact is now the target of /ratchet:build, or run /ratchet:auction first if the path to it is blocked.