Objective

Skill: /objective

Model preference: #lowcost (per horizon_aios_model_prefs.md; overridable by a prompt directive).

Objectives are durable-but-ephemeral notepads for major goals spanning multiple sessions. They hold long-term context — the goal and why it matters — that a single handoff is too short-lived to carry.

A small set of primitives, not a task tracker. No status, no backup, no enforced lifecycle, no completion step. When the user stops referencing an objective it goes stale and is eventually pruned (see Notes). By design.

How context travels: a handoff tied to an objective writes the objective's number, name, and file path into the handoff. The next session reads the handoff, follows the pointer, and reads the objective back into context. Handoffs chain the objective forward; the objective itself just sits on disk.

When to invoke

The user types /objective ... or asks to create, list, show, or update an objective.

Step 1 — Resolve the objectives directory

1.1 Identify the current working directory (cwd).

1.2 Search upward from cwd for aios_overrides.md, stopping at $HORIZON_ROOT (the HORIZON_ROOT env var) or the filesystem root, whichever comes first.

1.3 If found, parse it for an objectives_dir: line (simple key: value format). If present and non-empty, use that path.

1.4 Otherwise use the default: $HORIZON_ROOT/objectives/.

1.5 The index file is always <objectives_dir>/index.md.

Step 2 — Dispatch on the subcommand

Parse the user's input after /objective:

Check the no-arguments case first: empty input is the Default, not a create with an empty description. If ambiguous beyond that, ask the user which they meant. Then follow the matching section below.

Default (bare /objective, no arguments)

A raw /objective orients the user on what they are working toward: surface the active objective if this conversation has one, otherwise list, otherwise offer to create. It never silently creates an empty objective.

D.1 Identify the objective associated with this conversation, in priority order:

1. A handoff read into this session that names an objective — the handoff's Objective: field carries the number, name, and/or file path. If it points to a real objective (not "none"/empty), that is the active one.
2. An objective the user referenced earlier in this conversation — one they created, showed, updated, or named explicitly. If exactly one is identified, treat it as the active objective. If two or more compete, list those and ask which to focus.

D.2 Resolve and read the index (Step 1), and glob <objectives_dir>/*.md to know what exists on disk.

D.3 Branch:

• Active objective found → run Show on it (load it, give the 2–4 line orientation). If other objectives also exist, add a one-line other open objectives: N, M pointer so they are discoverable.
• No active objective, but objectives exist → run List, then ask whether to continue one (/objective show N / /objective update N <note>) or start a new one.
• No objectives at all → there is nothing to show; seek to create one. Ask the user for the goal in one line — what they are working toward and why it matters — then follow Create. Do not invent the goal: if the user has not stated one and the conversation has no clear durable goal, ask first.

D.4 The no-echo rule applies — never paste objective bodies into chat (see Notes).

Create

C.1 Ensure <objectives_dir> exists; create if missing (mkdir -p). If index.md is absent, create it with this header:

# Objectives Index

Durable, multi-session goals. Reference by number or name. Ephemeral by design —
objectives not updated within the retention window are pruned by horizon_aios_maintain_logs.py
(AIOS_OBJECTIVES_MAX_DAYS). This is intentional; there is no task tracking here.

| # | Name | Created | Description |
|---|------|---------|-------------|

C.2 Determine the number. Read index.md for the highest integer in the # column; also glob <objectives_dir>/*.md for NNN_*.md filenames. Next number is max(all found) + 1, or 1 if none exist. Zero-pad to three digits (001, 002, ...).

C.3 Determine the title and slug — every objective has both:

• Title — the human-readable display name, shown in the file heading and the index Name column. Title Case, 2–5 words, specific and readable. E.g. "Getting Horizon.AIOS Shippable", "Second-Brain Layer", "Audit Logging". This is the "nice" name the user reads.
• Slug — the title normalized for the filename only: lowercase, spaces → hyphens, drop anything not [a-z0-9-], collapse repeated hyphens. E.g. "Getting Horizon.AIOS Shippable" → getting-horizon-aios-shippable.

Resolve the title by form:

• Explicit (named "The Title" "description"): use the given title verbatim as the Title; derive the slug from it.
• Description-only: generate a short, readable Title (Title Case, 2–4 words, drop filler) from the description, then derive the slug. E.g. "Build the syncable second-brain layer" → Title "Second-Brain Layer", slug second-brain-layer.

C.4 Get today's date: date +%Y-%m-%d.

C.5 Create the objective file at <objectives_dir>/NNN_<slug>.md using this template. Fill the sections you have signal for; leave a one-line placeholder in the rest rather than padding. There is no status field — objectives are ephemeral and retire by going stale, never by being closed.

# Objective NNN — <Title>

**Created:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Description:** <one-line description>

## Goal
<The durable goal AND why it matters — the long-term context that should survive
across sessions. Write enough that a cold reader understands the destination and
the stakes, not just the next step. Expand this with the user if the description
is thin.>

## Success criteria
<- [ ] concrete, verifiable outcomes that define "done enough". Use checkboxes so
progress is visible across sessions. Omit this section if the goal is open-ended.>

## Current state
<Where things stand now — what is in place, what remains. The living section;
refreshed on update. One short paragraph or a tight bullet list.>

## Linked handoffs
<- relative paths to the handoffs that advanced this objective, appended as they
land. Empty at creation.>

## Log
- YYYY-MM-DD — created

C.6 Append a row to the index table:

| N | <Title> | YYYY-MM-DD | <one-line description> |

C.7 Report the number, title, and absolute file path — three lines, nothing more. Tell the user they can reference it as /objective show N and tie handoffs to it. Do not echo the template or the file body into chat.

List

L.1 Read <objectives_dir>/index.md and print the table. If the directory or index is absent, tell the user there are no objectives yet.

Show

S.1 Resolve the target: a bare number or show N → NNN_*.md; a name → the matching file. Glob <objectives_dir>/*.md to find it.

S.2 Read the file so its content enters your working context. Do not echo the file body into chat — reading it is what loads the context; pasting it back is redundant and buries the signal. Instead give the user a tight orientation (≈2–4 lines): the title, the one-line description, where it stands now (from Current state), and any open success criteria. The full text is on disk if they want it verbatim. Do not modify the file (show is read-only — reading does not refresh the retention clock; only update does).

S.3 If no match, list available objectives (run List) so the user can pick.

Update

U.1 Resolve the target file as in Show.

U.2 Append a dated line to the ## Log section: - YYYY-MM-DD — <note>. If the update materially changes the long-term goal or where things stand, also edit ## Goal / ## Current state with the user.

U.3 Writing the file refreshes its modification time, keeping it from being pruned. Confirm the appended note to the user in one line — do not reprint the file.

Notes for the executing agent

• Never echo a full objective (or the template) into chat. Reading the file loads it into your context; a 2–4 line summary is the user-facing deliverable, the file on disk is the source of truth. This mirrors the /handoff no-echo rule and exists for the same reason: dumping the body bloats context and buries the useful signal.
• Title vs. slug vs. number: the number is the stable handle (use it to disambiguate). The title is the human-readable display name. The slug exists only to form the filename. Names can collide loosely across time; numbers do not.
• Keep objective files tight and durable — loaded on demand, but bloat costs tokens every time they are shown or chained. The richer template is a frame, not a quota: capture the goal and current state, not a play-by-play.
• There is no status/done/close concept — none. Do not add a Status field to files or the index. The user retires an objective by ceasing to reference it; retention is age-based.
• Retention is handled externally by $HORIZON_SYSTEM/sbin/horizon_aios_maintain_logs.py (AIOS_OBJECTIVES_MAX_DAYS). index.md, .gitkeep, and README.md are never pruned. Do not implement pruning here.
• The objectives directory is machine-local and gitignored, like handoffs/.