Agent Skills: b00t-interface-library

Overview

The b00t interface library (crates/b00t-iface/) is the Rust analog of train.py in karpathy/autoresearch. It is the single file the agent modifies and improves. The "research loop" is:

program.md (this skill) ──→ agent
  ↓ iterates on
b00t-iface/src/lib.rs (single-file interface library)
  ↓ tested by
cargo test -p b00t-iface   (5-minute eval budget)
  ↓ keep/discard based on
test results + coverage + lint pass

Core Trait: ProcessSurface

The library provides one primary trait and one lifecycle manager:

/// A process surface is any executable that can be started, checked,
/// and stopped by the b00t hive. Examples: MCP servers, sidecars,
/// daemons, one-shot scripts.
pub trait ProcessSurface {
    type Config: Deserialize;
    type Error: std::error::Error;
    type Handle;

    /// Declare what this surface needs before it can run.
    fn requirements(&self) -> Vec<Requirement>;

    /// Init: validate config, resolve dependencies, acquire resources.
    fn init(&mut self, config: Self::Config) -> Result<(), Self::Error>;

    /// Operate: start the process, return a handle for lifecycle control.
    fn operate(&self) -> Result<Self::Handle, Self::Error>;

    /// Terminate: graceful shutdown, resource release, audit record.
    fn terminate(handle: Self::Handle) -> Result<AuditRecord, Self::Error>;

    /// Lifecycle maintenance: health check, restart policy, log rotation.
    fn maintain(&self) -> MaintenanceAction;
}

Governance Controls

Each surface declares a GovernancePolicy:

pub struct GovernancePolicy {
    /// Which agents/roles are allowed to start this surface.
    pub allowed_starters: Vec<AgentRole>,
    /// Maximum runtime before forced re-evaluation.
    pub max_ttl: Duration,
    /// Whether this surface can be restarted automatically.
    pub auto_restart: bool,
    /// Crash threshold before surface is quarantined.
    pub crash_budget: u32,
}

Autoresearch Loop

The agent follows this loop autonomously:

1. Read this skill and the current crates/b00t-iface/src/lib.rs
2. Modify lib.rs — add a new surface impl, improve governance, fix invariant
3. Run cargo test -p b00t-iface 2>&1 | tail -20 (the 5-minute eval)
4. Keep if tests pass AND new coverage > 80%
5. Discard if tests fail — revert with git checkout -- crates/b00t-iface/
6. Log the experiment outcome in EXPERIMENTS.md
7. Repeat until user halts or 100 experiments reached

First Experiment

The first surface to implement: the datum file watcher — a daemon that watches _b00t_/datums/ for changes and re-validates the invariant schema. This proves the init → operate → terminate → maintain cycle with a real b00t resource.

Interfaces

The library decomposes into:

| Module | Purpose | Status | |--------|---------|--------| | surface | ProcessSurface trait + LifecycleManager | Design | | governance | GovernancePolicy, agent roles, crash budget | Design | | datum_watcher | Datum file watcher surface | First target | | audit | AuditRecord type for termination events | Design |