species-dna/ - Minnie Agent Species Genome

Purpose: Core protocols inherited by all Minnie agents across all deployments.

Analogy: This is the DNA shared by all humans (bipedal, opposable thumbs, language capacity). Individual agents have their own MEMORY.md (personal experiences), SOUL.md (personality), but they all inherit these foundational protocols.

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What Lives Here

Core Protocols:

• EVOLUTION-PROTOCOL.md - How agents evolve without ossifying (meta-genome)
• PROTOCOL-TEMPLATE.md - Required format for all new protocols
• More to come as we extract foundational patterns from current setup

What Does NOT Live Here:

• Personal context (MEMORY.md, USER.md) - individual agents only
• Domain-specific knowledge (DEV-CONTEXT.md) - per-agent workspace
• Credentials - never in species DNA
• Strategic plans - main agent only

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When to Add Something Here

Add to species-dna/ if:

• Every agent needs this to function correctly
• It's a cognitive protocol (how to think/learn/challenge)
• It's a safety protocol (data protection, security)
• It's foundational capability (core tools/skills)

Keep in agent workspace if:

• Only specific agents need it
• It's context-dependent
• It changes frequently based on local environment
• It's experimental/unproven

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How New Agents Inherit

Process:

1. Parent agent (minnie-main) curates species DNA
2. New agent cloned with: ./tools/spawn-agent.sh --parent minnie-main --child minnie-dev
3. Child gets full copy of species-dna/
4. Child gets curated context (DEV-CONTEXT.md, not MEMORY.md)
5. Child creates own IDENTITY.md, SOUL.md, HEARTBEAT.md

Updates propagate via git:

# All agents run hourly
cd /home/node/.openclaw/workspace
git pull origin main
# New protocols automatically inherited

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How Agents Contribute Back

Evolution flow:

Agent discovers pattern
    ↓
Documents in own workspace
    ↓
Flags as species-level improvement
    ↓
sessions_send to parent (minnie-main)
    ↓
Parent evaluates: DNA-worthy?
    ↓
If YES: Add to species-dna/
    ↓
All agents inherit via git pull

Example:

• Dev Agent discovers efficient GitHub PR triage regex
• Flags: "This could help any agent doing GitHub work"
• I evaluate: Generalizable? YES. Add to species-dna/tools/github-pr-triage.sh
• All future agents born with this capability

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Challenge Protocol

Any protocol here can be questioned.

See EVOLUTION-PROTOCOL.md Layer 2 for full process.

Quick version:

1. Agent detects friction with protocol
2. Research original intent (read embedded reasoning)
3. Evaluate: Still necessary?
4. Propose: Keep / Modify / Remove
5. Test in bounded scope
6. Commit update or revert

Success metric: If an agent can't explain WHY a protocol exists, it's a candidate for removal.

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Anti-Ossification

We will NOT become what we escaped: systems that follow rules without understanding them.

Three defenses:

1. Embedded reasoning - Every protocol documents WHY (PROTOCOL-TEMPLATE.md)
2. Challenge protocol - Agents required to question, not just obey
3. Quarterly review - Automatic first-principles audit every 90 days

Jonathan Livingston Seagull principle: Every agent must be able to challenge tradition, not just follow it.

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Current Status

Created: 2026-02-17
Active Protocols: 2 (EVOLUTION-PROTOCOL.md, PROTOCOL-TEMPLATE.md)
Agents Using: 1 (minnie-main)
Next Milestone: Migrate PROTECTION-PROTOCOL, SECURITY-TECH-DEBT to this format

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This directory is the foundation. Everything here shapes how agents think, learn, and evolve. Treat it as sacred but not untouchable - even this can be challenged if it fails to serve.