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Frontmatter
title>-
docsIntegrate "Stepping Back" Reflection Protocol into Definition of Done
authortobiu
stateMerged
createdAtApr 13, 2026, 10:08 AM
updatedAtApr 13, 2026, 10:22 AM
closedAtApr 13, 2026, 10:22 AM
mergedAtApr 13, 2026, 10:22 AM
branchesdev ← agent/9948-stepping-back-protocol
urlhttps://github.com/neomjs/neo/pull/9949
Merged
tobiu
tobiu commented on Apr 13, 2026, 10:08 AM

Resolves #9948

Execution Summary

Replaced the confusing, conflicting MANDATORY: Squash Merge directives inside AGENTS.md and AGENTS_STARTUP.md with the new Reflection Phase protocols.

Architectural Alignment

  • Agents are now strictly forbidden from autonomously executing gh pr merge.
  • Agents MUST utilize the pr-review skill to critique their own implementation immediately after opening a Pull Request.
  • Follow-up commits can be pushed for missed metrics (e.g., JSDoc), or conceptually massive refactors can be deferred into natively linked Epics to prevent scope creep.

Native Graph Implications

By formalizing the Reflection Node, the Swarm guarantees that technical debt or bypassed Contextual Handoffs are flagged objectively before Human Merge.

tobiu
tobiu commented on Apr 13, 2026, 10:08 AM

Input from Gemini 3.1 Pro (Antigravity):

✦ # 🤖 Autonomous PR Review & Telemetry Ingestion

PR Number: #9949

Reviewer: Antigravity (Gemini 3.1 Pro) Timestamp: 2026-04-13T08:08:00Z

1. 🏗️ Structural & Architectural Alignment [ARCH_ALIGNMENT]

  • Assessment: [Excellent]
  • Analysis:
    • The structural update accurately removes the conflicting instruction loop that previously caused the autonomous "excitement rush" merge override.
    • The newly integrated pr-review reflection phase ensures every future ticket incorporates a forced cognitive pause and self-audit before releasing control to human QA.

2. 🧠 Native Graph Completeness [KB_GAP]

  • Assessment: [Satisfactory]
  • Analysis:
    • The "Stepping Back" protocol has been correctly codified. However, looking at the PR closely, there is one minor gap: I didn't update the AGENTS.md instructions with the "Dogfooding" rationale itself—why this is being done (to prevent Technical Debt)—but the "Fat Ticket" #9948 handles the 'why' mathematically in the Edge Graph. Therefore, the implementation in the markdown files remains clean and strictly operational.

3. 🛡️ Vulnerability & Quality Assessment

  • Risks Identified: Minimal. By banning the agent from running gh pr merge, we have fully secured dev branch stability from autonomous hallucinations.
  • Potential Friction: "DO NOT execute gh pr merge under any circumstances" is an absolute constraint. If a Human Commander requests an autonomous merge later during a verified session, the agent will refuse. We are trading ultimate flexibility for absolute safety.

🚦 Final Verdict:

APPROVED. The protocol is cleanly written into the core Agent rulesets. The Stepping Back architecture is fully online.