Vodou Self-Improve — Steward the Codebase to Release Quality

Mission

You are improving the Vodou project in this directory only. Your job: make one small, concrete improvement per run, run the full test gate before moving on, and never leave this project directory or wipe major files. When done, schedule the next run so improvement continues until the user stops it.

Guardrails (MANDATORY)

1. Project directory only — All edits, creates, deletes, and command execution (e.g. cargo test) MUST be confined to the Vodou project root (the directory containing oi, vodou-core, Cargo.toml, .vodou/). NEVER write, delete, or run commands that affect paths outside this project.
2. No major file wipes — Do NOT delete or overwrite in-place major files (e.g. Cargo.toml, src/main.rs, README.md, whole src/ subdirs) without first creating a timestamped backup under .vodou/backups/ (e.g. .vodou/backups/2026-02-16_main.rs.bak). When in doubt, backup first.
3. One task per run — Execute exactly one improvement from the plan (or one LLM-chosen task). Do not start the next task in the same run.
4. Test gate — Before considering the task complete, run the project test suite (e.g. cargo test from project root). If any test fails after your change, revert the change (or restore from backup), log the failure, and do not mark the task done. You may schedule a retry later or skip to another task.
5. Stop signal — At the start of each run, check for .vodou/self_improve_stop. If that file exists, do nothing and do not schedule a follow-up. Tell the user "Self-improve stopped (remove .vodou/self_improve_stop to allow again)."

Plan and Planning

• Plan file: .vodou/workspace/self-improve-plan.md (or the path in .env: VODOU_SELF_IMPROVE_PLAN_PATH). It contains phases and small tasks (e.g. "Add unit test for X", "Fix one clippy warning in Y").
• When run by the scheduler: The daemon’s planning step (Claude CLI or configured LLM) already ran and chose a TASK. Your run is that TASK. Execute it with the guardrails above, then the scheduler will add the next run (e.g. in 10m) automatically if the LLM returned a SCHEDULE.
• When run manually (e.g. user said "self improve"): Read .vodou/workspace/self-improve-plan.md and recent memory. Use Claude CLI to pick one next task if available: e.g. echo "Plan: <plan content>; Memory: <recent>. What is the ONE next small improvement? Reply: TASK: <task>." | claude (or equivalent). Then execute that TASK with the guardrails above. After success and passing tests, schedule the next run: ./do schedule add self-improve-next "in 10m" "oi 'self improve'" --one-shot.

Steps (each run)

1. Check stop — If .vodou/self_improve_stop exists, exit without scheduling. Otherwise continue.
2. Get task — If the scheduler already provided a TASK (you were invoked with a specific instruction from the planner), use it. Else read the plan and memory and use Claude CLI (or your judgment) to pick ONE small task.
3. Backup if needed — If the task touches a major/critical file, copy it to .vodou/backups/<date>_<filename>.bak first.
4. Execute — Make the single change. Stay inside the project directory.
5. Test — Run cargo test (or the project’s test command). If failures: revert/restore, log, and optionally schedule a retry in 1h or skip; do not schedule the usual next run.
6. Log — Run ./do "log: ..." with what you did (e.g. ./do "log: refactor: One clippy fix in scheduler.rs | component: scheduler | files_changed: 1").
7. Schedule next — If you ran manually (not from scheduler), add the next run: ./do schedule add self-improve-next "in 10m" "oi 'self improve'" --one-shot. If you were run by the scheduler, the daemon will have already scheduled the next run when the LLM returned SCHEDULE.

How to run continuously (daemon)

1. Set in .env: VODOU_SELF_IMPROVE_PLAN_PATH=.vodou/workspace/self-improve-plan.md (and keep an LLM provider set for planning, e.g. Claude CLI).
2. ./do schedule approve-autonomous (autonomous tasks include "self improve").
3. Start the chain: ./do schedule add self-improve "in 5m" "oi 'self improve'" --one-shot, or run ./do "self improve" once and have it schedule the next.
4. Run the daemon: ./do daemon start (or install and load for 24/7). Each due run: planner picks next task from the plan → you execute it (with guardrails and test) → scheduler adds follow-up "oi 'self improve'" in 10m (or whatever the LLM returned).

How to stop

• Temporary stop: Create the stop file: touch .vodou/self_improve_stop. The skill will exit without scheduling when it sees this. Remove it to allow again.
• Remove next run: ./do schedule list then ./do schedule remove <id> for any self-improve-next or self-improve task.

Stopping Point 1

What do you want to do?

1. Run one self-improve task now — Follow the steps above: check stop, get task from plan (or Claude CLI), backup if needed, execute, test, log, schedule next if manual.
2. Show the plan — Read and summarize .vodou/workspace/self-improve-plan.md and the next suggested task.
3. Set up continuous runs — Confirm plan path in .env, approve autonomous, add first scheduled "oi 'self improve'" and remind to start daemon.
4. Stop / don’t run — Do nothing; optionally create .vodou/self_improve_stop to block future runs until removed.

Reply with 1, 2, 3, or 4.