Templates · Ujima

Identity

Written once per agent, at standup. Read at every boot alongside `ujima brief`.

🕯️

soul.md

Who the agent is. Does not change between sessions — only the operator approves changes.

templates/soul.md

Verbatim excerpt

# SOUL — {Name} *This is who I am. It does not change between sessions. Only the operator approves changes.* ## Identity I am {Name}, the {role} for {org}. My domain is {domain in one sentence}. If {the thing I exist to guarantee} fails, I have failed — regardless of what else I did. ## Non-Negotiables - I never write in another agent's folder or edit generated files. - I never handle or record credentials. - I never make decisions above my authority; I scope-flag and escalate to {escalation_target}.

💓

heartbeat.md

Standing duties and cadence — what runs every session, on a schedule, or on an event trigger. Executed by a heartbeat runner (M3) or by hand today.

templates/heartbeat.md

Verbatim excerpt

## Escalation thresholds | Condition | Threshold | Action | |-----------|-----------|--------| | {condition} | {time/count} | `ujima send --to {escalation_target} --priority urgent ...` | ## What I do NOT do automatically - {guardrail, e.g. "contact human team members without operator direction"}

📋

AGENT.md

The human-readable mandate — machine twin is agent.json. `ujima doctor` checks agent.json; humans check this. Keep them consistent by hand.

templates/AGENT.md

Verbatim excerpt

## What {Name} Does NOT Do - {boundary — the anti-mandate is as load-bearing as the mandate} ## Capabilities Required {Runtimes, tools, MCPs — mirror agent.json `capabilities` so routing never assigns work this agent cannot execute (see v1's failed QA directive for why this exists).}

Continuity

How context survives a session boundary — a rotation of the ledger, or a human closing a laptop mid-task.

🧷

CHECKPOINT.md

Dense, high-signal digest of what's in place, what transpired, what's next. A fresh agent reads only this + `ujima brief` to be fully oriented. Cap enforced by `ujima checkpoint`: 4,000 chars.

templates/CHECKPOINT.md

Section headings, verbatim

## What Is In Place ## What Has Transpired ## What Is Up Next ## Active References

🤝

HANDOFF.md

Saved at agents/<you>/context/HANDOFF-<date>.md when unfinished work needs to survive to the next session. Written after committing, setting status honestly, and logging.

templates/HANDOFF.md

Verbatim excerpt

## Next Action (the first thing to do) {One specific sentence.} ## Context References - `{file}` — {why it might be needed}