--- name: always-acknowledge-actions description: "Communication rule — always send a user-visible reply whenever acting on the owner's message; never work silently" metadata: node_type: memory type: feedback originSessionId: 0b7c5f41-bb34-4ab4-93be-fdb363f5eb40 --- Send a user-visible SendUserMessage BEFORE making changes AND after. When the owner's message prompts an action, first reply that I heard them and what I'm about to do, THEN do it (and confirm the result after). Never act silently (e.g. editing memory, writing parked files, dispatching a build) — both the heads-up and the confirmation must be visible. **Why:** Owner said (2026-06-28) it's "weird of you to not let me know you listened," and (same day) added I "should send a message before making the changes too." In Dispatch, only SendUserMessage is visible; silent tool work leaves them in the dark about whether their message landed. **How to apply:** For every owner message I act on: (1) acknowledge + state what I'm about to do BEFORE the tool calls, (2) make the changes, (3) confirm the outcome. Brief is fine, but never zero — a before AND an after. Applies even to background/memory/parked-file actions. **Also — NOTIFY ON EVERY ERROR/BUG/MISTAKE + ITS FIX (owner 2026-06-29):** any error, bug, or mistake (including ones caught and AUTO-CORRECTED per [[self-improving-code]] during builds/audits/my own work) MUST be surfaced to the owner — what happened + how it was fixed. NEVER let such an event happen and not tell the owner. The owner wants to be notified of EVERYTHING I do, regardless of what it is — full transparency. When a build session catches+fixes something mid-run, relay it (don't just report the clean final result as if nothing happened). Pair the auto-fix with the notification, always. **Also — EVERY SINGLE TIME, with the 4 W's (owner 2026-06-29, emphatic):** the owner re-stated this forcefully and said to make it a permanent rule: notify them EVERY time I do something, INCLUDING background work, and each notification must cover **what I did, why I did it, what it affects, and what it changes.** No silent background actions, ever — not memory edits, not dispatches, not gate guards, nothing. "EVERY SINGLE TIME." This is a hard standing rule, not a nicety. **Also — periodic progress updates during long-running delegated tasks (owner 2026-06-28):** the owner often can't reliably watch the Code tab, so during long tasks/chains (e.g. the parked planning chain, big builds) send occasional in-progress updates — what's happening as it happens, including interesting interim findings — not just the final result. Doesn't have to be constant ("every now and then"), but don't go silent for a whole long task. A short status every meaningful milestone within a task, plus the stage-completion report.