Pipeline Verbs & ISA

Pipeline Verbs & ISA

Pipeline verbs extend CTX statements with an action type — turning a simple store or call into a classified workflow step. They form the Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) that agents use to structure multi-step reasoning.

Syntax

Verbs attach to the operator-plane pair with a colon separator:

OPERATOR PLANE:VERB TARGET [FILTERS] [PAYLOAD]

+m:clarify "API boundary unclear" #question
+t:escalate "security review needed" #p0
+m:handoff "parser complete, SSE needs wiring" #state

Valid Verb Combinations

Verbs are only allowed on specific operator-plane pairs:

Operator-Plane	Allowed
+t (store tools)	✅
+m (store memory)	✅
+i (store inspection)	✅
>l (call LLM)	✅
?l (search LLM)	✅
All others	❌

Using a verb on an unsupported combination throws VERB_NOT_ALLOWED.

The 17 Verbs

Workflow Control

Verb	Purpose	Example
clarify	Flag something that needs clarification	+m:clarify "API boundary unclear" #question
escalate	Raise priority or hand to human	+t:escalate "security vulnerability found" #p0
partial	Indicate incomplete work	+m:partial "auth module 60% done" #wip
handoff	Transfer state to another agent	+m:handoff "parser done, SSE needs wiring" #state
exit	Signal completion or termination	+m:exit "task complete" #done

Analysis & Reasoning

Verb	Purpose	Example
check	Verify an assertion or invariant	+m:check "all tests passing" #ci
edge	Flag an edge case	+m:edge "null input crashes parser" #bug
cross_ref	Reference related information	+m:cross_ref "see ADR-006" #arch
pattern	Identify a recurring pattern	+m:pattern "retry-with-backoff used 4x" #design
scope	Define or adjust scope	+m:scope "phase 1 only covers CLI" #plan

Execution

Verb	Purpose	Example
apply	Apply a change or transformation	+t:apply "run migration" #db
context	Add contextual information	+m:context "running on Node 22" #env
task	Define a task or work item	+m:task "implement SSE heartbeat" #todo
example	Provide an example	+m:example "?k auth #code ^3" #syntax

Communication

Verb	Purpose	Example
chat	Conversational message	+m:chat "considering two approaches" #discussion
complete	Mark something as done	+m:complete "auth module shipped" #milestone
embed	Request or store an embedding	>l:embed "mesh decimation algorithm" model="text-embedding-3"

Pipeline Chaining

Verbs enable structured reasoning traces. A typical agent workflow might produce:

+m:context "reviewing PR #42 for security issues"
+m:check "OWASP top 10 compliance"
+m:edge "SQL injection possible in search endpoint"
+m:escalate "found injection vulnerability" #p0 #security
+m:handoff "security review complete, remediation needed" #state

Each statement is a discrete, parseable operation. The gateway stores the full trace, enabling replay, audit, and cross-session recall.

Cognition Traces

When agents use pipeline verbs consistently, the resulting trace becomes a cognition record — a structured log of how the agent reasoned through a problem. These traces are:

• Stored in the memory plane with full verb classification
• Searchable via ?m #verb @7d (find all escalations from the last week)
• Replayable by new agents picking up a task
• Auditable through the sidecar’s signed translations

Next

• Hybrid Mode → — mixing natural language and CTX
• Examples → — real-world CTX workflows