elohim-package-authoring

Elohim Package Authoring

Use .epr-meta/elohim/packages as the canonical authoring surface for Elohim-native skills and agents.

Rules

• Edit package JSON first.
• Treat .claude/* and .codex/* as runtime projections.
• Run the package projection check after changing packages.
• Do not require a Claude source file for packages whose metadata.sourceRuntime is elohim-agent.

Workflow

1. Author or edit the package under .epr-meta/elohim/packages.
2. Regenerate projection fixtures with the package projection CLI.
3. Generate runtime surfaces only when the repo intentionally wants local Claude/Codex files refreshed.
4. Verify projection drift before committing.

Directionality contract

• Import (Claude→package) is certified byte-lossless. The standing fidelity gate (verifySourceFidelity in package-projections.mjs, run by elohim-agent:packages:verify) asserts project(import(source)) === source, byte-for-byte, for every Claude-sourced skill and agent. Everything below stands on that floor.
• For an un-planted Claude-sourced package, .claude/* and .codex/* are the authored source. When such a package (metadata.sourceRuntime: "claude" with no metadata.master) has not been planted, the runtime files under .claude/ are what a human or Claude edits directly. The package under .epr-meta/elohim/packages/ is a certified mirror of that source AND the governance home — it carries an EprRef governance backref (metadata.governance.eprRef) that the Claude/Codex source files do not. Planting (next bullet) flips this.
• The package-master flip is available, per package (2026-07-10). The plant-eprfs-* skill family (plant-eprfs-skill, -agent, -hook, -agentdoc) plants a runtime-authored artifact: the package keeps metadata.sourceRuntime (origin preserved) and gains metadata.master: "package" (authority rooted in the package). Once planted, the package instructions.body is the source of truth and .claude/.codex are generated-and-clobbered projections — editing them directly is drift. The fidelity gate makes planting lossless: because project(import(source)) === source byte-for-byte, planting changes authority, not content. Both disciplines coexist in one tree: edit the package JSON for a planted (master: "package") or native package; edit .claude/.codex for an un-planted Claude-sourced package. Adoption is one-at-a-time and operator-gated — plant one, prove it green, then the next.
• Native packages are package-first. A package with metadata.sourceRuntime: "elohim-agent" (this skill included) has no Claude source file — its package JSON instructions.body IS the source of truth, and .claude/.codex projections are generated from it. Its governance block (metadata.governance) must be set by hand in the package JSON: the governanceFor() helper in package-projections.mjs only threads through the Claude-import path (skillPackageFromClaude/agentPackageFromClaude) and never runs for native packages. Future native-package authors: write the governance.eprRef/policy/gates/ledger block yourself — nothing generates it for you.
• The governance EprRef is the offline floor anchor. It proves local fidelity and existence, gated by epr-meta-resolver + elohim-agent:packages:verify. Its ceiling — deep trust and REA value-flow reconciliation across peers — resolves through the p2p substrate, not this local tooling.