Vendor OpenClaw source as Adolf fork baseline

Adolf is a fork/vendored clone of github.com/openclaw/openclaw (v2026.6.11),
free to diverge. Tree copied sans upstream .git; upstream remote added for
future syncs. Node pinned to 24 (.nvmrc); engines already require >=22.19.
Preserves docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01LeqyaxJF2nbRXJtae2kNB2

.agents/skills/technical-documentation/references/agent-and-contributing.md

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+# AGENT and CONTRIBUTING Principles
+
+This reference consolidates the core rules for agent-policy and contributor-governance docs.
+
+You must:
+
+1. Discover repo-level and nested instruction files with:
+   `rg --files -g 'AGENTS.md' -g 'CONTRIBUTING.md' -g 'CLAUDE.md' -g 'AGENT.md' -g '.cursor/rules/*' -g '.cursorrules' -g '.agent/**' -g '.agents/**' -g '.pi/**' -g 'AGENTS.*.md'`
+2. Read the root and nearest-scope `AGENTS.md`/`CONTRIBUTING.md` pair before editing.
+3. If alias files exist, normalize to one canonical source (`AGENTS.md` preferred when present; otherwise nearest alias), plus compatibility pointers or explicit symlink notes.
+4. Document conflicting instructions and precedence decisions.
+
+## GitHub + AGENTS baseline
+
+Source: https://docs.github.com/en/communities/setting-up-your-project-for-healthy-contributions/setting-guidelines-for-repository-contributors
+Source: https://agents.md/
+Source: https://github.blog/ai-and-ml/github-copilot/how-to-write-a-great-agents-md-lessons-from-over-2500-repositories/
+Source: https://cobusgreyling.substack.com/p/what-is-agentsmd
+Source: https://www.infoq.com/news/2025/08/agents-md/
+
+Use these as default operating principles:
+
+1. Keep `CONTRIBUTING.md` discoverable and actionable (`.github`, root, or `docs`).
+2. Keep agent instructions concrete: real commands, real paths, clear boundaries.
+3. Use explicit behavior boundaries for agents: `Always`, `Ask first`, `Never`.
+4. Keep contributor and agent rules aligned with actual repository workflows.
+5. Ensure clear guidance is provided to agents on if, when and how to raise issues and pull requests.
+
+## Canonical and alias policy
+
+Source: https://agents.md/
+Source: https://github.blog/ai-and-ml/github-copilot/how-to-write-a-great-agents-md-lessons-from-over-2500-repositories/
+
+1. Treat `AGENTS.md` as canonical when present.
+2. If `AGENTS.md` is absent, treat the nearest alias file as canonical.
+3. Keep compatibility surfaces explicit: `AGENTS.md`, `AGENT.md`, `.cursorrules`, `.cursor/rules/*`, `.agent/`, `.agents/`, `.pi/`.
+4. If aliases are used, document how they map back to canonical policy (or symlink when supported).
+5. When repos use `.agents/` as canonical rule storage, keep `.cursor` as a compatibility symlink to `.agents` for Cursor rule auto-loading.
+6. Keep policy DRY: store one shared policy core and expose it via aliases/symlinks instead of duplicating rule text.
+
+## Context-awareness by agent platform
+
+Source: https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+
+1. For Cursor and Claude-style glob consumers, keep rule files narrow and bounded.
+2. Avoid over-referencing large path sets that inflate context for glob-based agents.
+3. For Codex-style workflows, prefer explicit file references and deterministic commands.
+4. Keep long runbooks outside top-level policy files; link to scoped docs.
+5. Ensure all agents have a happy path regardless so ensuring everything works across Codex, Claude and other coding agents.
+
+## Symlink and compatibility operations
+
+1. Preferred layout for multi-agent compatibility:
+   - canonical rule directory: `.agents/`
+   - Cursor compatibility path: `.cursor -> .agents` symlink
+   - canonical policy doc: `AGENTS.md` pointing to `.agents` paths where relevant
+2. Validate symlink state before finalizing changes:
+   - if `.agents/` exists and `.cursor` is missing, create `.cursor` symlink to `.agents`
+   - if `.cursor` is a symlink to another target, fix target or document why it must differ
+   - if `.cursor` is a real directory/file, treat as migration conflict and ask before replacement
+3. Validate rule payload through the canonical directory:
+   - rules: `.agents/rules/*.mdc` with valid frontmatter (`description`, `globs`, `alwaysApply` as needed)
+   - commands: `.agents/commands/*.md` when command routing is used
+   - MCP config: `.agents/mcp.json` when MCP is in scope
+4. Keep Codex behavior explicit:
+   - `AGENTS.md` is primary for Codex repository instructions
+   - `.cursor` compatibility is for Cursor auto-loading and does not replace canonical AGENTS policy
+5. Record applied symlink fixes and unresolved compatibility gaps in validation notes.
+
+## Dual-mode and deliverable standards
+
+Source: https://github.blog/ai-and-ml/github-copilot/how-to-write-a-great-agents-md-lessons-from-over-2500-repositories/
+Source: https://agents.md/
+Source: https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+
+1. Author one shared policy core (same commands, boundaries, and precedence) for all agents.
+2. For Cursor/Claude-style agents, expose that core through glob-driven and bounded files (small `AGENTS.md`/rule surface).
+3. For Codex, expose that same core through explicit file references with precise scope.
+4. Where styles diverge, prefer the smallest common structure that satisfies both and avoid duplicating policy text.
+5. Treat AGENTS/CONTRIBUTING as first-class deliverables when in scope.
+6. Preserve required structure, constraints, and examples from existing files.
+7. Align wording and commands with active repository instructions.
+
+## Proactive issue discovery and remediation
+
+Source: https://github.blog/ai-and-ml/github-copilot/how-to-write-a-great-agents-md-lessons-from-over-2500-repositories/
+Source: https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+
+1. Run a conflict matrix review across AGENTS/aliases/CONTRIBUTING and related command/rule docs before finalizing.
+2. Treat the following as high-priority defects: missing referenced files, non-existent setup commands, command scope mismatches, and branch/commit policy conflicts.
+3. Do not stop at caveat-only notes when a low-risk fix is clear; apply the fix in the same pass.
+4. If a canonical entry file is missing (for example a directory `README.md` that docs depend on), create a minimal actionable file and update references.
+5. Long-running investigations are acceptable when needed to uncover cross-file drift, especially in agent-instruction ecosystems.
+
+## Discovery
+
+1. Agents prefer simple terminal commands so having a well defined `make *` or `npm run *` is ideal
+2. Agents can discover terminal commands through shell completion so providing shell completion helps
+
+## CONTRIBUTING size and scope control
+
+Source: https://contributing.md/how-to-build-contributing-md/
+Source: https://blog.codacy.com/best-practices-to-manage-an-open-source-project
+Source: https://mozillascience.github.io/working-open-workshop/contributing/
+Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
+
+1. Keep root `CONTRIBUTING.md` focused on setup, issue flow, PR flow, testing, and review gates.
+2. Use issue/PR template links instead of embedding every process detail inline.
+3. When the file grows too large, split by domain and link from root.
+4. Move any large content into docs if avalible (for example Mintlify/Fern/Sphinx workflows) to avoid large contributor guide.
+5. Optimize for agent/machine readability as well as humans.
+
+## Example repos to emulate
+
+Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
+Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/blob/main/VISION.md
+Source: https://github.com/openai/codex/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/processing/p5.js/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/agentsmd/agents.md/blob/main/AGENTS.md
+Source: https://github.com/rails/rails/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
+Source: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
+Source: https://github.com/atom/atom/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md
+Source: https://github.com/github/docs/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
+Source: https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
+
+1. OpenClaw: strong real-world alias policy and AGENTS/CONTRIBUTING/VISION cohesion.
+2. OpenAI Codex: strict command discipline and explicit scope control.
+3. p5.js: explicit AI-policy guardrails in agent instructions.
+4. Vercel + agentsmd spec: compact, context-efficient AGENTS patterns.
+5. Rails/Kubernetes/Atom/GitHub Docs/React: contributor guidance patterns at different project scales.
+
+## Practical merge policy
+
+When these rules conflict:
+
+1. Preserve contributor and reader task success first.
+2. Preserve instruction clarity and unambiguous boundaries second.
+3. Preserve long-term maintainability and context-efficiency third.
+4. Add extra agent optimization only if it does not reduce human clarity or there is explict need.
+5. Use your judgement as the expert.