Namecraft

Namecraft

Name new projects and renames for the Agent Bench portfolio.

Read before every run:

• references/portfolio-matrix.md — slot map, backfilled projects, story script
• references/naming-sessions.md — prior decisions (Barrow, merge-scout, HiClaw)
• references/reject-lexicon.md — hard rejects
• references/audit-checklist.md — collision audit commands

Worldview (non-negotiable)

The Agent Bench — tools that let coding agents work like senior engineers.

Two materials coexist in one story:

• Workshop — shaping, parallel runs, signals at the bench (lathe, gmc, mote)
• Strata — what the bench produces sinks underground: layered, excavated, dreamed (barrow)

CLI name = brand name. No separate marketing alias.

English only. No Chinese brand names.

Lane selection (Step 2)

* lathe is workshop craft but short enough to be a proper noun tool — treat as Bench craft slot, not Strata.

Decision tree:

1. Is this a flagship / narrative anchor / memory layer? → Lane A
2. Is this a CLI the user types 20× per day? → Lane B
3. If both (embeddable crate + CLI): pick ONE word ≤6 letters; prefer matrix slot over lane purity

Hard constraints

• Length: ≤6 letters for repo, crate, npm, and CLI binary. No hyphens in the primary name.
• Collision: Full audit before recommending (see references/audit-checklist.md). One RED = drop.
• Implementation leak: Name must not encode internal algorithms (e.g. merge for merge-probability).
• Normal words ban: See references/reject-lexicon.md for default rejects; add project-specific bans in intake.
• Matrix fit: Name must occupy a clear slot in portfolio-matrix.md or justify a new slot.

Workflow

Step 1 — Intake

Ask or infer:

Product one-liner:
User action (verb):
Stack (rust/go/ts/...):
Lane A or B (or unsure):
Matrix slot (Shaping / Parallel / Strata / Discovery / Signal / Craft / Peripheral):
Flagship or utility:
Prior names considered:
Rename or greenfield:

If intake is incomplete, ask at most 3 targeted questions, then proceed.

Step 2 — Diverge (15–20 candidates)

Generate across these angles (not all required):

• Strata: earth, burial, inscription, amber, palimpsest, dream-consolidation
• Workshop: lathe, forge, bench, chisel, tap, die
• Bench verbs: pick, recall, sift, glean, tap, cast
• Short fusions: ≤6 letters only (aletir, barve, steir — only if natural to pronounce)

Tag each candidate: lane, letters, matrix slot, one-line metaphor.

Step 3 — Reject pass

Drop any candidate that:

• Exceeds 6 letters
• Hits reject-lexicon.md
• Duplicates an existing portfolio name or confusable sibling
• Fails pronunciation as CLI (barve OK; aletve borderline — note in output)

Step 4 — Full audit (mandatory)

Run checks in references/audit-checklist.md for top 8–10 survivors. Record GREEN/YELLOW/RED.

Steipete pass (Lane B or borderline): Would Peter name it this? One syllable verb beats two-word compound.

Step 5 — Matrix fit score

For each audited survivor, score 1–5:

Recommend the highest total. Tie-break: fewer YELLOW, better matrix narrative.

Step 6 — Deliver

Output this structure:

## Namecraft verdict: <recommended>

### Intake summary
...

### Top 5 (audited)
| Rank | Name | Lane | Letters | Matrix slot | Audit | Score | Story hook |
...

### Recommended: **<name>**
- Why this name
- Matrix sentence (where it sits in Agent Bench)
- CLI examples: `<name> <subcommand> ...`
- Collision summary

### Runners-up
...

### If rename: touch list estimate
(package.json, bin/, skills/, cache path, docs — enumerate)

### Portfolio pitch snippet
(2–3 sentences placing this project in the Bench story)

Step 7 — Update references (when user confirms a name)

After user picks a winner:

1. Append decision to references/naming-sessions.md (date, name, lane, runners-up, audit notes)
2. Update references/portfolio-matrix.md (new row or rename old → new)
3. Do not commit unless user asks

Subcommands (user may say)

Anti-patterns (learned from prior sessions)

• merge-scout — activity word + leaks merge implementation; user rejected
• Oneira — beautiful but RED on GitHub (dreaming AI agent) + oneira.dev
• pick — perfect steipete but npm taken
• oss-scout — GREEN npm but semantic collision with OSS health tools
• Hyphen compounds (issue-pick) — acceptable only if ≤6 letters total impossible; user prefers single word
• Long fusions (Alethebarrow, Oneirstele) — user explicitly dislikes

Related skills

• Renaming an existing repo: namecraft deliverable includes touch list; implementation uses normal agent edit flow
• Shipping renamed project: /ship after rename commit