Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/XxYouDeaDPunKxX/Signal-Rail/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

05_latent_ideas.txt is the place where things matter but have not yet found the right home. It is not a bin for scattered notes, and it is not a buffer for avoiding decisions. It is an active, readable, and recoverable layer for material that genuinely weighs on the project but is not yet stable enough for 03, 04, or 02. Signal Rail calls it an anti-stall buffer: it prevents important material from disappearing into noise, while also preventing premature promotion that could mislead current work or corrupt the decision log.

​
What 05 is for

This file keeps together what matters but has not yet found the right home. Ideas, sparks, tensions, risks, or useful notes can enter here when they have not yet become live work, decision, parking, or archive. It is the place where material stays visible without being forced into a container it is not ready for.

​
The lifecycle

Material in 05 has a direction. It enters, matures, and exits:
1

Enters as new

A spark or idea arrives. You do not fully understand it yet, but you do not want to lose it.
2

Moves to to review

You reread it and it still holds. It matters, but it is not yet ready to move.
3

Rises to to absorb

The direction has tightened and the destination has become clearer. It is almost ready to leave.
4

Exits toward the right container

It is promoted into 01, 02, 03, 04, 08, 98, or 99 — depending on what it turned out to be.

​
Allowed states

StateMeaning
newIt entered here but you do not understand it well yet
to reviewYou know it matters, but not yet enough to move it
to absorbIt is almost ready to leave this file
parkedYou are not handling it now; if it stays out of cycle, move it out
deadIt no longer matters as a live note; if you want to keep a trace, move it out

​
What goes here

ContentWhy it belongs here
Strong ideas not yet closedThey matter but are not ready for another file yet
Short sparks you do not want to loseStill small but may become useful
Still-ambiguous nodesNot yet clear enough to move elsewhere
Useful pieces whose destination is not yet clear05 exists to hold what weighs on the project but does not yet have a home
Things weighing on the project but not yet clear enough to belong elsewhereNot mature enough to be closed yet

​
What does NOT go here

WhatWhere it belongsWhy
Things already truly in current live work03_master_working.txtAlready part of the live present
Decisions already taken and in effect04_decision_log.txtNo longer open
Technical maps already closed enough (repos, entrypoints, deps)08_surface_map.txtAlready has a home
Things out of cycle but still useful98_parking.txtNot weighing now, may matter later
History, discarded, closed, or dead material99_archive.txtNo longer belongs to live work
Whole files dropped in without extractionNowhere appropriate05 is for readable notes, not undifferentiated masses

​
Entry types

05 supports two entry types: Spark for short traces and small intuitions, and Idea for stronger theses with more complete shape. Both use L-xx IDs.

​
Spark template

- id: L-xx
- Title: Short readable name.
- Origin: Where it comes from.
- Why It Matters: Why you do not want to lose it right now.
- Possible Destination: live work, decision, parking, archive, or still here.
- Likely Direction: identity, freeze, live work, decision, or still unclear.
- State: new, to review, to absorb, parked, dead.
- links to: nearby sources or nodes.
- external reference: useful files or references outside the canonical set.
- Next Step: The minimum move that keeps it from staying still.
- Reopening Trigger: When it would become central again.

​
Idea template

- id: L-xx
- Title: Short clear formulation.
- Thesis: The live sentence of the idea.
- Why It Is Strong: What leverage it could give the project.
- Where It Touches the Project: Which parts it really moves.
- What Is Still Missing: What is not yet closed enough.
- Likely Direction: identity, freeze, live work, decision, or still unclear.
- State: new, to review, to absorb, parked, dead.
- links to: connected sources, decisions, or project parts.
- external reference: useful files or references outside the canonical set.
- If It Matures, Where It Would Go: live work, decision, parking, archive, or still unclear.
- Next Step: What to do to make it move forward.
- Reopening Trigger: What would need to happen to make it urgent again.
Local entries in 05 use only L-xx IDs. Cross-file IDs stay references in links to, origin, or body text — they do not become new local IDs here.

​
The ENTRIES START/END zone

All entries must be written inside: 
--- ENTRIES START ---
...
--- ENTRIES END ---
[TEMPLATE ONLY] in the entries zone is scaffolding only. It does not count as a live latent entry. The marker contract must be valid: exactly one start marker, exactly one end marker, correct order.

​
05 gravity

If a unit in 05 shows repeated structural relevance, state its strongest plausible level — 01, 02, 03, or 04 — without treating AI-suggested gravity as authority. AI evaluation of gravity does not count as a promotion decision until the user confirms it.
Do not treat a note as strong just because it is well written. Do not treat an AI evaluation as final without human validation. If you think something trends toward freeze or decision, treat it as a sensitive case and ask for human validation.

​
Typical errors

  • Leaving things here for months without rereading them
  • Keeping here material that has already become live work or decision
  • Using 05 so you never have to decide
  • Treating a note as strong just because it is well written
  • Treating an AI evaluation as final without human validation
It is better to keep a still-alive note in 05 than to promote it too early into the wrong container. Routing errors are easier to correct than premature promotions.

Master Working (03)

Where ideas graduate to when they have truly entered current live work.

Decision Log (04)

Where ideas graduate to when they have won against a real alternative.

Protocol Freeze (02)

Where ideas graduate to when they have proven they are identity constants.

Lateral Files (97 / 98 / 99)

Parking and archive — where out-of-cycle or closed material exits.

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us