Decisions¶

A key decision records a choice Colossus should carry into later work in the same workspace. Use one for an architectural commitment or operating rule that should steer future turns. A memory is background context; an active decision is presented to the model as a binding commitment. Neither changes tool permissions or bypasses policy.

Record a decision¶

In Execute Mode, state the choice and why it matters:

Record a high-priority key decision: the journal is the source of truth and projections can be rebuilt. Apply it when changing storage or recovery behavior.

If decision.create is available and authorized, Colossus can save it. Check the record rather than relying on the assistant's reply:

/decisions

/decisions lists active decisions from the workspace, including ones recorded in other sessions. Plan Mode does not offer decision.create; return to Execute Mode with /plan off before asking the agent to record a decision.

For an exact CLI record, get the current session ID with /session show or colossus sessions list, then run:

colossus decisions create SESSION_ID \
  "Storage authority" \
  "The journal is authoritative; projections can be rebuilt." \
  --priority high \
  --applies-when "Changing storage or recovery behavior" \
  --rationale "Recovery depends on canonical events"

Give the decision a short title and a clear statement. --applies-when makes its boundary explicit; --rationale preserves why the choice was made. Priorities are normal, high, and critical (normal is the default).

Know where it applies¶

An active decision enters later model context across sessions in the same workspace state. The session where it was recorded stays on the record as provenance. A session filter on decisions list filters that origin; it does not limit where the decision applies.

CLI/TUI and Desktop keep separate state partitions for a workspace, so a decision recorded in one does not appear in the other. Decisions remain subject to Colossus's normal instruction, access, approval, and sandbox boundaries.

Inspect the current commitments¶

Use /decisions in the terminal, or inspect the exact record from a shell:

colossus decisions list
colossus decisions show DECISION_ID

decisions list shows active workspace decisions by default. Add --session SESSION_ID when you only want records that originated in one session. Inspect the decision text, rationale, applicability, priority, and status before starting work that depends on it.

Change a decision without leaving a conflict¶

For a small clarification, update the active record in place:

colossus decisions update DECISION_ID \
  --applies-when "Changing storage, projections, or recovery behavior"

For a changed choice, supersede the old record with a replacement:

colossus decisions supersede DECISION_ID \
  "Storage authority" \
  "The journal remains authoritative; rebuild projections after schema changes." \
  --priority high \
  --applies-when "Changing storage, projections, or recovery behavior" \
  --rationale "Clarified the migration procedure"

Supersession makes the old record inactive and links it to the new active one. If a decision no longer applies and needs no replacement, archive it:

colossus decisions archive DECISION_ID

Do not leave contradictory active decisions for later turns to reconcile. Archived and superseded records remain inspectable for their history.

What's next?¶