Source
14-day usage_log.md + research_log.md analysis (2026-04-18 CLI session).
Pattern
Across all 4 evolve postures, yield is zero issues in the window:
| Posture |
Runs |
Issues created |
Cost |
$/issue |
| PATTERN_HUNT |
5 |
0 |
$8.43 |
∞ |
| HORIZON_SCAN |
4 |
0 |
$7.72 |
∞ |
| PIPELINE_WATCH |
6 |
0 |
$11.76 |
∞ |
| SYNTHESIS |
6 |
0 |
$12.89 |
∞ |
project_state.md reports "23 consecutive PATTERN_HUNT 0-yield" — the research plateau the scaffold keeps self-reporting is empirically real: 152 research_log entries over the window produced 7 actionable issues (4.6% yield), and most of those came from pipeline-health / cost-trend sources, not posture research.
Why suspend PATTERN_HUNT specifically
PATTERN_HUNT is the most expensive posture per run ($1.69 avg) and has produced nothing for 23 consecutive runs. It's designed for cross-ecosystem pattern discovery, which is structurally low-frequency — after 14 days of scanning the same ecosystems, the priors are exhausted until an external event (new project, new Anthropic feature) creates a signal.
HORIZON_SCAN and SYNTHESIS also 0-yield but they do produce observation entries that feed future PIPELINE_WATCH decisions. PATTERN_HUNT entries rarely do.
Proposed change
Modify evolve.yml posture rotation:
- Drop PATTERN_HUNT from cron rotation — remove from
choose posture logic
- Re-enable manually via
workflow_dispatch with a posture=PATTERN_HUNT input when new ecosystem signals warrant it (e.g. Anthropic releases new SDK, new curated-list source is discovered)
- Redistribute PATTERN_HUNT's slots: PIPELINE_WATCH +2, SYNTHESIS +1, HORIZON_SCAN +1 per rotation cycle
Alternatively (lower risk): gate PATTERN_HUNT on a consecutive-0-yield counter — if the counter exceeds 15, skip the posture for that run and emit a log line.
Acceptance criteria
Risk
Low — worst case we miss a pattern discovery for a week. The missed-pattern cost over 14d is demonstrably zero.
Related
Surfaced from 14-day retrospective CLI session 2026-04-18.
Source
14-day usage_log.md + research_log.md analysis (2026-04-18 CLI session).
Pattern
Across all 4 evolve postures, yield is zero issues in the window:
project_state.md reports "23 consecutive PATTERN_HUNT 0-yield" — the research plateau the scaffold keeps self-reporting is empirically real: 152 research_log entries over the window produced 7 actionable issues (4.6% yield), and most of those came from pipeline-health / cost-trend sources, not posture research.
Why suspend PATTERN_HUNT specifically
PATTERN_HUNT is the most expensive posture per run ($1.69 avg) and has produced nothing for 23 consecutive runs. It's designed for cross-ecosystem pattern discovery, which is structurally low-frequency — after 14 days of scanning the same ecosystems, the priors are exhausted until an external event (new project, new Anthropic feature) creates a signal.
HORIZON_SCAN and SYNTHESIS also 0-yield but they do produce
observationentries that feed future PIPELINE_WATCH decisions. PATTERN_HUNT entries rarely do.Proposed change
Modify evolve.yml posture rotation:
choose posturelogicworkflow_dispatchwith aposture=PATTERN_HUNTinput when new ecosystem signals warrant it (e.g. Anthropic releases new SDK, new curated-list source is discovered)Alternatively (lower risk): gate PATTERN_HUNT on a consecutive-0-yield counter — if the counter exceeds 15, skip the posture for that run and emit a log line.
Acceptance criteria
workflow_dispatchoverride preservedRisk
Low — worst case we miss a pattern discovery for a week. The missed-pattern cost over 14d is demonstrably zero.
Related
Surfaced from 14-day retrospective CLI session 2026-04-18.