# The living spec

```
Type: law
```

## The corpus rule

The whole wiki is the specification for Misaligned. Its pages divide authority
by role, as defined in [meta.md](meta.md): laws state durable promises, specs
state exact system behavior, knowledge states current facts, and logs preserve
history. Root `DESIGN.md` is only a doorway.

Any change to how the game functions amends the binding page that owns the
behavior in the same commit. The amendment is the decision; code implements
it. If code and the corpus disagree, fix the code or deliberately amend the
owning law/spec page. Never let them drift silently.

Ticks keep the corpus alive by auditing one coherent subject slice at a time.
Every behavior-changing commit carries a `Defense:` paragraph naming the
clause it implements or explaining why its amendment is right. The intended
trajectory is a corpus that becomes more precise without growing one new
master document.

## No dead code

Adopted 2026-07-05. Code, content, and assets that no current corpus page
requires are **dead** and get deleted. Git history is the archive; “we might
need it later” is not a clause.

This includes **zombie fiction**: running, tested code that serves an abandoned
design is dead code with good posture. When design moves, code moves or goes.
Future systems are rebuilt from current specs, not resurrected from corpses
kept warm in the tree.

## No unsourced surface

Adopted 2026-07-08. Everything that exists for Misaligned needs a traceable
reason in the current corpus: game rules, assets, public pages, wiki pages,
scripts, workflows, prompts, tools, screenshots, models, fixtures, and UI
copy.

If the source is missing, delete the artifact or first write the current law,
spec, or knowledge clause that makes it necessary. A historical log by itself
cannot justify a current artifact. Public-facing material is part of the
product contract, not marketing foam outside the design.

The repository should be inspectable as a graph:

```
law and spec -> knowledge and artifacts -> tests and player surfaces
                         |
                         +-> log explains history but does not grant authority
```

Mechanical gates enforce provenance where practical—typed pages, wiki
reachability, links, spec headers, and source/spec coupling—but the law is
broader than current automation. An unsourced surface is a design violation
even when tests pass.