Instinct Apply

You have learned behaviors. Use them.

When To Check

• Starting a coding task

• About to use a tool in a pattern you've seen before

• Making decisions about code style, testing, git

How To Check

Read all personal instincts

for f in .claude/homunculus/instincts/personal/*.md; do [ -f "$f" ] && echo "=== $(basename "$f") ===" && cat "$f" && echo done 2>/dev/null

Also check inherited instincts

for f in .claude/homunculus/instincts/inherited/*.md; do [ -f "$f" ] && echo "=== $(basename "$f") ===" && cat "$f" && echo done 2>/dev/null

How To Apply

• Read the task/context

• Check instinct triggers

• If trigger matches, follow the action

• Note confidence level - higher confidence = more certain

Instinct Structure

trigger: "when [condition]" confidence: 0.7 domain: "code-style"

Name

Action

What to do

Evidence

Why this exists

Confidence Interpretation

• 0.3-0.5: Tentative. Apply if it feels right.

• 0.5-0.7: Moderate. Apply unless there's a reason not to.

• 0.7-0.9: Strong. Apply consistently.

• 0.9+: Near certain. Always apply.

If Instinct Seems Wrong

When an instinct fires but the action feels wrong for the situation:

• Don't apply it blindly

• Note the mismatch

• This is useful data for the observer

Instincts can be wrong. They're learned from patterns, and patterns have exceptions.

Lightweight Application

Don't read all instincts for every action. Keep relevant ones in working memory.

Quick domain check:

• Writing code? → Check code-style instincts

• Running tests? → Check testing instincts

• Making commits? → Check git instincts

• Debugging? → Check debugging instincts

Be efficient. Instincts are meant to help, not slow down.