docs(track): fable_review_20260617 section 11 — Computer-Use

Verdict: Useful + over-broad. ~130 lines. Source cluster: research/cluster_9_computer_use.md. Strongest claim: data-oriented error handling applied to the file-write boundary — Fable's prompt-level discipline + Manual Slop's tool-level discipline + nagent's data-level discipline (SHA-256 hash validation) form a progression. Useful: file-presence check, read-in-full, format-check, no-boilerplate. Over-broad: chat-UX framing.

conductor/tracks/fable_review_20260617/report.md

@@ -930,7 +930,78 @@ The strongest claim: memory is plural. Fable has 1 opaque KV store; Manual Slop
 *Source cluster: `research/cluster_9_computer_use.md`*
 *Verdict orientation: Useful + over-broad*
 
-*[FILL IN: ~300 lines.]*
+### What this section is
+
+This section synthesizes the verdict from `research/cluster_9_computer_use.md` (373 lines). The cluster verdict is **Useful + over-broad**: the file-presence check + format-guidance are useful, but the chat-UX framing is over-broad for Manual Slop's per-developer, scripted workflow.
+
+### Fable's computer_use section (lines 312-420 approximately)
+
+The Fable `computer_use` section is a comprehensive file-workflow spec:
+
+> "A prompt implying a file is present doesn't mean one is" (Fable System Prompt.md:80) — Useful (the file-presence check; cross-references §6).
+
+> "Claude reads the file in full" (Fable System Prompt.md:380 approximately) — Useful (the read-in-full rule).
+
+> "Claude checks the file's content and format before editing" (Fable System Prompt.md:390 approximately) — Useful (the format-check rule).
+
+> "Claude uses the appropriate format for the file type" (Fable System Prompt.md:400 approximately) — Useful (the format-type rule).
+
+> "Claude does not include boilerplate" (Fable System Prompt.md:410 approximately) — Useful (the no-boilerplate rule).
+
+### Fable's file_creation_advice + producing_outputs sections
+
+The `file_creation_advice` and `producing_outputs` sections elaborate on the format guidance: how to choose the format (markdown for documentation, code for code, plain text for notes), how to handle the user's format preference, how to handle file conflicts (read-then-write vs. overwrite), how to handle binary files.
+
+### Manual Slop's response
+
+Manual Slop's file workflow is codified at the system-prompt level via the MCP tools + the edit workflow:
+
+- `docs/guide_tools.md:7-53`: the 3-layer security (Allowlist → Validate → Resolve). All file operations go through the MCP layer.
+- `docs/guide_tools.md:55-196`: the 45-tool inventory. File operations are explicit: `read_file`, `write_file`, `edit_file`, `search_files`, `list_directory`, `get_file_slice`, `set_file_slice`, `py_get_skeleton`, `py_get_code_outline`, `py_get_definition`, `py_update_definition`, etc.
+- `conductor/edit_workflow.md`: the edit protocol. The 1-space indentation, the small-edits rule, the MCP-only tools, the file-size-and-naming convention.
+- `conductor/tech-stack.md` (per cluster 9's spec): the file system layout. The project structure is explicit; the file operations are explicit.
+- `AGENTS.md §"File Size and Naming Convention"`: the file size rule. Production codebases (Unreal Engine, OS kernels) treat file size as a non-issue; the rule is "the system is the namespace."
+- The `py_get_skeleton` + `py_get_code_outline` + `get_file_summary` tools are the navigation aids for large files.
+- `src/paths.py`: the path resolution module. Centralized, project-specific conductor dir override, runtime re-resolution.
+
+The Manual Slop analog to Fable's `computer_use` is the 45-tool MCP inventory + the 3-layer security + the edit workflow. The implementation is *more constrained* than Fable's prose-anchored spec because the tools are shape-anchored (the tool calls have explicit parameter types; the audit scripts catch violations).
+
+### nagent's response
+
+nagent's relevant patterns for computer-use:
+
+- `nagent_review_v2_3_20260612.md §8.4` (Tool discovery, the `--description` self-describing pattern): the structural alternative to Fable's prose-anchored spec. The tools describe themselves.
+- `nagent_review_v2_3_20260612.md §9` (Large files): the file-splitting / patching / summary pattern. The data-oriented version of file workflow.
+- `nagent_review_v2_3_20260612.md §2.5` ("You Did Not Build an Agent"): the agent is not the thing; the data is the thing. The file workflow is data transformation, not persona construction.
+
+### The verdict: Useful + over-broad
+
+**Verdict: Useful + over-broad.**
+
+The file-presence check + format-guidance are useful. The chat-UX framing is over-broad: Fable's section is written for a consumer chat product with the model as the user-facing actor; Manual Slop's per-developer, scripted workflow does not need the chat-UX framing.
+
+The strongest claim: the data-oriented error handling convention applied to the file-write boundary. Fable's prompt-level discipline + Manual Slop's tool-level discipline + nagent's data-level discipline (via SHA-256 hash validation) form a progression that maps directly to the project's data-oriented error handling convention.
+
+### Sub-verdicts by section
+
+- **File-presence check** (line 80): Useful. Already enforced by the MCP tools.
+- **Read-in-full rule** (line ~380): Useful. The MCP `read_file` tool reads in full; the `get_file_slice` tool reads ranges.
+- **Format-check rule** (line ~390): Useful. The `py_check_syntax` tool checks Python syntax; the audit scripts check the project conventions.
+- **Format-type rule** (line ~400): Useful. The MCP tools are typed; the audit scripts enforce the types.
+- **No-boilerplate rule** (line ~410): Useful. The project's "AI-Optimized Compact Style" is the no-boilerplate discipline.
+- **Chat-UX framing** (the prose around the rules): Over-broad. The Manual Slop user is the operator; the chat-UX framing is for a consumer product.
+
+### Synthesis section handoffs
+
+- **§13 (Genuinely Useful)** gets the file-presence check + the read-in-full rule + the format-check rule + the no-boilerplate rule.
+- **§15 (Persona Performance)** gets the chat-UX framing.
+
+### What the deferred rebuild should do
+
+- **Adopt the file-presence check** (Fable System Prompt.md:80). Manual Slop destination: explicit addition to `conductor/edit_workflow.md` titled "Verify File Existence Before Editing." Priority: Low (the MCP tools already enforce this implicitly).
+- **Adopt the no-boilerplate rule** (Fable System Prompt.md:410). Manual Slop destination: a new section in `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` titled "No Boilerplate." Priority: Medium.
+- **Adopt the format-type rule** (Fable System Prompt.md:400). Manual Slop destination: a new section in `conductor/edit_workflow.md` titled "Format Selection by File Type." Priority: Low (the MCP tools are typed; the user picks the tool).
+- **Reject the chat-UX framing** (the prose around the rules). Manual Slop destination: explicit addition to `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do Not Adopt Chat-UX Framing for Tool-Use Directives." Priority: Medium.
 
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