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# tools/ — executable substance (generic tier)

Lessons embodied by a script/program (scripts live in the source repos).

#### 1. Serialize the one-time shared build/sync before fanning out parallel clients - parallel loaders corrupt the toolchain
`generic` · **negative result** · tool: `build_modulabot.py`

Run shared one-time setup serially in a single process BEFORE launching N parallel workers/subprocesses, then fan out. Parallel loaders race on building a shared native library or on per-init dependency extraction/sync when the pre-build step only guards 'build lib if missing' and not 'sync deps once'. The robust mechanism is a cross-process fcntl advisory lock wrapping concurrent dependency syncs so parallel builds do not corrupt the shared toolchain dir; pin exact tool versions and run the sync against a lockfile. Import POSIX-only modules like fcntl defensively (try/except ImportError) so the helper still loads on non-POSIX platforms.
  <sub>sources: bitworld/among_them/players/build_evidencebot_v2.py, bitworld/among_them/players/evidencebot_v3/build_evidencebot_v3.py, bitworld/among_them/players/mod_talks/build_modulabot.py, claude-code:0bd5f20d-10ad-41ef-8372-ae778cd59000 (+1)</sub>

#### 2. Fix the generator, never the generated artifact; gate the intermediate contract
`generic` · **negative result** · ⚠ _session-derived, unverified_ · tool: `guide_contract.json generator pipeline`

In any multi-stage generation pipeline, fix the generator/prompts -- never hand-patch the generated outputs. Keep 'log mistakes' and 'fix mistakes' as distinct modes by recording generation defects to a separate audit log while explicitly NOT editing generated artifacts. Treat the intermediate contract between stages as a quality gate: a bad contract (e.g. a bogus action candidate, a wrongly-inferred perception path) is consumed as-is by the next stage and carried into the final output, and errors caught at the contract are far cheaper than in emitted code. Validate the framework's required API symbols import successfully BEFORE generation, turning a late 'module has no attribute X' into an early actionable error. Keep generator tests hermetic with a tiny local stub while emitted artifacts still point at the real package.
  <sub>sources: codex:019e1940-5a75-7f51-b057-63f894ddb061, codex:019e13cd-d482-7133-a38d-c683c32a3004</sub>

#### 3. Give an unattended nightly pipeline a --check mode - it silently skips a sleeping machine or an expired token
`generic` · tool: `nightly_refit.sh`

Any cron-driven unattended pipeline can silently lose a run: the machine may be asleep at the scheduled time, or an auth/credential token may have expired and abort the run until the next cycle. Provide a `--check`/preflight mode that verifies prerequisites (toolchain present, daemons up, credentials valid) before relying on the unattended cadence, and account for both the sleeping-host and expired-credential gaps. (Concrete instance: a nightly refit checking uv, docker daemon, and softmax/league auth.)
  <sub>sources: personal_labs/crewrift_lab/suspicion_lab/README.md, personal_labs/crewrift_lab/suspicion_lab/tools/nightly_refit.sh</sub>

#### 4. Resolve the framework checkout dynamically and derive package metadata from it, never hardcode
`generic` · **negative result** · ⚠ _session-derived, unverified_

Generate a player against a real discoverable framework checkout using layered path resolution (explicit arg > env var like *_FRAMEWORK_DIR > a list of fallback paths probed for a marker file like __init__.py), because multiple machines/clones (~/coding/metta, ~/coding/metta2) make a single hardcoded path brittle. Do not hardcode framework package metadata: derive framework name, package, and package_source_root from the actual framework directory, because a hardcoded source-root (cogames_agents.cyborg) that did not match the real framework (agent_policies.frameworks.coborg) produced wrong import paths in generated agents. When a generated player cannot import its framework or builds a nonexistent path (e.g. .../frameworks/src instead of .../src), suspect the generator's path-derivation/source-root logic before the generated agent code.
  <sub>sources: claude-code:7b66497b-650c-4bba-b410-6c854f59163d</sub>

#### 5. Replace fixed time.sleep() in threading/async convergence tests with a bounded poll-until-condition helper
`generic` · ⚠ _session-derived, unverified_

Fixed sleeps make episode/threading tests both slow and flaky. In player thread/async convergence tests (outer-loop, watchdog, pipeline round-trip), replace hard time.sleep() with a bounded poll-until-condition helper (`_wait_until(lambda: cond, timeout~2.0)` with only ~10ms sleeps inside the poll), keeping the poll timeout generous for CI headroom.
  <sub>sources: codex:019e03bf-6d47-7093-a40b-351c325bde5a, codex:019e03bf-982c-7fc0-8ba9-d4c640feb779</sub>

#### 6. Build a prompt-eval harness that replays captured LLM contexts and scores objectively
`generic`

Build a prompt-eval harness that replays captured LLM call contexts (captured only under an opt-in flag) against the live provider or a mock and scores objective, machine-checkable properties of each response (e.g. for a social-deduction agent: valid JSON, target is a living player, respects a forbidden-ally list, chat within a length cap, no AI self-reveal), emitting CSV plus per-call-kind summaries so prompt changes are graded on objective regressions rather than vibes.
  <sub>sources: bitworld/among_them/players/mod_talks/LLM_SPRINTS.md</sub>
