Prompt · gates 0 to 6
Standing constraint
Carry it in every prompt that changes code: memory, journal, and where the work stands.
File prompts/standing-constraint.md
The standing constraint
A method by Alexis Boyer · version 4.0 · September 22, 2026
Every gate. Carry this in every prompt that changes code. It is what keeps the memory, the journal, the PRD and the gate position current. It is quoted here exactly as it appears in the core guide.
What you fill in
Nothing. Carry it as it is in every prompt that changes code.
The text to copy
If your work changes product behavior, architecture, a stakeholder decision
or future reasoning, update the project memory, the project journal and the
PRD. Memory holds the decisions and their trade-offs; the journal holds the
chronological record; the PRD describes the product as it now is, so a
change that makes one of its sections wrong is a change that edits that
section. Do not log small cosmetic changes unless they affect product
direction or demo readiness. Before finishing, state whether memory, journal
and PRD were updated, or why no update was needed, and state which gate you
are at, what is missing, and what I must decide before you cross. Saying
what you will do next is not permission to do it: you cross when I answer,
not when you announce.