KG Concepts Before Code, Checklists After

The Graph Embeddings for Checklists article shows how a knowledge graph acts as an enumerable checklist around an LLM call: terraphim-grep before it, terraphim-agent hook and learning after it. This how-to applies the same loop to terraphim-agent code — the bounded coding loop — on the simplest possible concept: npm install must become bun add.

Every command below was run while writing this article; the outputs are real.

TL;DR #

Declare the concept once (kg/*.md or .terraphim/rewrite/*.md with synonyms::), let the hook find npm install in a proposed tool call and prescribe bun add, run code inside the policy gate, then validate the produced work with validate --checklist. The checklist guards the write and judges the result — the model is never trusted to police itself.

Declare the Concept #

One file, written once, compiled into the role's automaton. From this site's own .terraphim/rewrite/bun install.md:

Install dependencies using Bun package manager.

synonyms:: npm install, yarn install, pnpm install, npm i, yarn add, pnpm add

Before code: The Hook Checks the Action #

An agent proposing npm install hits the checklist first — pre-tool-use with --rewrite (opt-in so a stray substring can't silently mutate a destructive command):

echo '{"tool_name":"Bash","tool_input":{"command":"npm install react"}}' \
  | terraphim-agent hook --hook-type pre-tool-use --rewrite \
      --role "Terraphim Engineer" --json
{
    "tool_input": {
        "command": "bun install react"
    },
    "tool_name": "Bash"
}

The concept fired: npm install in, bun install out — a checklist line executed before the tool call runs, with a named edge (bun install.md) to audit.

Inside code: The Loop Is Gated #

code run puts the model inside a bounded loop — every tool call is policy-decided, audited to JSONL, and the run is exit-coded for callers:

TERRAPHIM_CODE_MODEL=auto \
  terraphim-agent code run "Create a Cargo.toml and src/main.rs that prints Hello from terraphim"
- **Cargo.toml** — package `terraphim` v0.1.0, edition 2021, no dependencies
- **src/main.rs** — `fn main()` printing `Hello from terraphim`

Verified with `cargo run`, which compiled cleanly and output:

    Hello from terraphim

The hook and the gate compose: the KG checklist shapes what commands the agent may propose, the deny-first policy decides whether a call runs at all, and the audit JSONL records both decisions. Sessions persist as transcripts plus TurnStep checkpoints, so code resume replays context and reads persisted steps back.

After code: The Checklist Judges the Result #

The same graph that prescribed bun judges the output — code_review is a KG checklist, not a prompt suggestion:

echo "no tests, unwrap() everywhere" \
  | terraphim-agent validate --checklist code_review
Checklist 'code_review' Validation for role 'AI Dark Factory Author':
  Passed: false
  Score: 0/5
  Missing items:
    ✗ tests
    ✗ documentation
    ✗ error_handling
    ✗ security
    ✗ performance

Zero-inflated honesty applies here too: if the produced work mentions none of the checklist items, the report says so with the missing set enumerated — the same "honest empty case" property terraphim-grep shows on retrieval.

The Loop #

declare kg/*.md ──► hook pre-tool-use (npm install → bun add)
                              │
                    code run — gated, audited, resumable
                              │
            validate --checklist code_review — the verdict
                              │
              learn/correct — feed misses back into synonyms

Honest Notes #

• hook --rewrite is opt-in (--rewrite flag, default off): findings are always emitted; thesubstitution is explicit. Without--rewrite the same run returns the input unchanged with the finding attached.
• terraphim-agent replace in this build reportschanged: true while returning the input unchanged — the findings-basedhook path above is the contract to rely on (this caveat is carried from the checklists post, which documented it first).
• auto onterraphim-llm-proxy resolves through the measured dynamic pool with a staticMiniMax-M3 fall-through, so a gated-out pool degrades to a healthy lane rather than failing — fixed during this session (the pool's eligibility gates had evicted every candidate while the static fallback was absent;auto answered with a generic 400). A dead member in the pool (kimi-for-coding-highspeed , subscription 403) still costs probe traffic.
• Roles resolve from the device-settings config; tests and CI can inject a thesaurus directly via TERRAPHIM_CODE_AUTOMATA_PATH rather than registering a role.

The Demo #

Two fframes renders of real captures back this article — every terminal line is a real command output captured while writing it.

The joined storyline (spec → graph → gate → surface → code → checklist): a real spec.md, terraphim-grep firing validation gate on the context, the gate denying two shell calls by rule name, the tools/commands/policy surface, a verified cargo run output, and the 0/5 checklist verdict on spec-violating code.

The disciplined-engineering cut (issue → research → design → impl → verify → validate): real issue #431 through the disciplined-* phases — the rg finding, the design decision, real commits, fmt/ blaze verification, and the checklist verdict.