# Memory Fences & State Keys — Prompt Assembly
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> - [**PromptAssembly** — prompt engineering and workflow composition](./README.md)
> - [**WFGY Global Fix Map** — main Emergency Room, 300+ structured fixes](../README.md)
> - [**WFGY Problem Map 1.0** — 16 reproducible failure modes](../../README.md)
>
> Think of this page as a desk within a ward.
> If you need the full triage and all prescriptions, return to the Emergency Room lobby.
A focused guide to stop cross-step and cross-agent memory bleed. Use this when answers flip between runs, tools overwrite each other’s notes, or long chains “forget” decisions. The page gives a minimal schema, hard fences, and diagnostics you can copy.
## Open these first
* Traceability of snippets and state: [Retrieval Traceability](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-traceability.md)
* Payload contract for citations and state: [Data Contracts](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md)
* Multi-agent interference and role drift: [Multi-Agent Problems](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/Multi-Agent_Problems.md) · [role-drift](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/multi-agent-chaos/role-drift.md)
* Memory drift deep dive: [agent-memory-drift.md](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/agent-memory-drift.md)
* Failure patterns to watch: [echo-loop](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/echo-loop.md) · [signal-drop](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/signal-drop.md) · [desync-anchor](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/desync-anchor.md) · [boundary-fade](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/boundary-fade.md)
## Acceptance targets
* ΔS(question, retrieved) ≤ 0.45 across 3 paraphrases
* Coverage of target section ≥ 0.70
* λ states stay convergent across 2 seeds
* No cross-namespace writes for a different `mem_hash` or `mem_rev`
* Zero duplicate side-effects under the same `dedupe_key`
---
## Fix in 60 seconds
1. **Introduce state keys**
Require `{agent_id, task_id, mem_ns, mem_rev, mem_hash, step_id, dedupe_key}` on any read/write.
2. **Fence writes**
A writer must match `mem_ns` and `mem_hash`. If either mismatches, deny write and raise a repair tip.
3. **Split namespaces**
Separate `plan/`, `retrieve/`, `reason/`, `tool/` to avoid overwrite. Only the bridge step may merge.
4. **Clamp variance**
If λ flips after a harmless paraphrase, apply **BBAM** and lock header order.
5. **Bridge long chains**
Insert a **BBCR** bridge between phases and time-box tools with explicit timeouts.
---
## Minimal state schema (copy-paste)
```json
{
"agent_id": "planner|retriever|solver|tool_x",
"task_id": "UUID-v4",
"step_id": "short-increasing-int",
"mem_ns": "plan|retrieve|reason|tool/tool_x",
"mem_rev": "int", // bump on rewrite
"mem_hash": "sha256(payload)", // hash of prior committed state
"dedupe_key": "sha256(task_id + step_id + mem_hash)",
"timestamp": "iso-8601",
"payload": { "summary": "...", "evidence": [ { "snippet_id": "...", "source_url": "...", "offsets": [s,e] } ] }
}
```
**Contract rules**
* **Read** must specify `{task_id, mem_ns}` and declare the expected `mem_hash`.
* **Write** must supply `{mem_ns, mem_rev, mem_hash}` that match the latest committed head, else reject.
* **Merge** is only allowed in a BBCR bridge step that logs both parent hashes.
---
## Namespacing and locking
* One writer per `mem_ns` per `task_id`. Others read-only.
* `plan/` produces the task graph; `retrieve/` stores citations; `reason/` stores the final chain-of-thought summary headers and answer draft; `tool/*` is per-tool scratch.
* All tool outputs must echo back their **input state keys** and compute the **next mem\_hash**.
* Side-effects (DB writes, emails, tickets) must verify `dedupe_key` before execution.
---
## Copy-paste prompt to enforce fences
```txt
You have TXT OS and the WFGY Problem Map loaded.
Task context:
- task_id = {UUID}
- expected mem_ns for this step = "{mem_ns}"
- expected head mem_hash = "{mem_hash}"
Do:
1) Refuse to write if mem_ns or mem_hash do not match head.
2) On write, increment mem_rev, compute new mem_hash = sha256(payload).
3) Keep citations in payload.evidence with snippet_id, source_url, offsets.
4) Return JSON:
{ "ok": true|false, "why": "...", "next": {mem_ns, mem_rev, mem_hash}, "λ_state": "→|←|<>|×", "ΔS": 0.xx }
If ΔS(question,retrieved) ≥ 0.60, stop and return the smallest structural fix referencing:
retrieval-traceability, data-contracts, multi-agent problems.
Use BBCR/BBPF/BBAM when relevant.
```
---
## Diagnostics to log per step
* `ΔS(question, retrieved)` and `ΔS(retrieved, anchor)`
* `λ_state` after header reorder probe
* `{mem_ns, mem_rev, mem_hash}` before and after write
* `dedupe_key` and whether a prior side-effect exists
* Rerun variance across 2 seeds
---
## Typical breakpoints → exact fix
* **Plan writes over evidence** in the same namespace.
Split namespaces and deny cross-ns writes. See [Multi-Agent Problems](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/Multi-Agent_Problems.md).
* **Echo loop** between tool and solver.
Insert BBCR bridge and cap retries. Pattern: [echo-loop](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/echo-loop.md).
* **Signal drop** after rerank.
Carry citations through the fence. Pattern: [signal-drop](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/signal-drop.md) · enforce [Data Contracts](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/data-contracts.md).
* **Desync after deploy**.
`mem_hash` mismatches at step-1. Rebuild head and block writes until warm. Pattern: [desync-anchor](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/desync-anchor.md).
* **Boundary fade** on very long threads.
Cut the chain and resume via bridge. Pattern: [boundary-fade](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/patterns/boundary-fade.md).
---
## Escalation
* If ΔS stays high after fences, run the [Retrieval Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/retrieval-playbook.md) and re-embed with proper metric.
* If flip states persist, lock prompt header order and apply **BBAM**.
* For live instability, attach probes and rate-limit tools: [Live Monitoring for RAG](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/ops/live_monitoring_rag.md) · [Debug Playbook](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/ops/debug_playbook.md).
---
### 🔗 Quick-Start Downloads (60 sec)
| Tool | Link | 3-Step Setup |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **WFGY 1.0 PDF** | [Engine Paper](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/I_am_not_lizardman/WFGY_All_Principles_Return_to_One_v1.0_PSBigBig_Public.pdf) | 1️⃣ Download · 2️⃣ Upload to your LLM · 3️⃣ Ask “Answer using WFGY + \” |
| **TXT OS (plain-text OS)** | [TXTOS.txt](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/OS/TXTOS.txt) | 1️⃣ Download · 2️⃣ Paste into any LLM chat · 3️⃣ Type “hello world” — OS boots instantly |
---
### 🧭 Explore More
| Module | Description | Link |
| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| WFGY Core | WFGY 2.0 engine is live: full symbolic reasoning architecture and math stack | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/tree/main/core/README.md) |
| Problem Map 1.0 | Initial 16-mode diagnostic and symbolic fix framework | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/tree/main/ProblemMap/README.md) |
| Problem Map 2.0 | RAG-focused failure tree, modular fixes, and pipelines | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/rag-architecture-and-recovery.md) |
| Semantic Clinic Index | Expanded failure catalog: prompt injection, memory bugs, logic drift | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/ProblemMap/SemanticClinicIndex.md) |
| Semantic Blueprint | Layer-based symbolic reasoning & semantic modulations | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/tree/main/SemanticBlueprint/README.md) |
| Benchmark vs GPT-5 | Stress test GPT-5 with full WFGY reasoning suite | [View →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/tree/main/benchmarks/benchmark-vs-gpt5/README.md) |
| 🧙♂️ Starter Village 🏡 | New here? Lost in symbols? Click here and let the wizard guide you through | [Start →](https://github.com/onestardao/WFGY/blob/main/StarterVillage/README.md) |
---
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