prose

OpenProse Skill

OpenProse is a programming language for AI sessions. LLMs are simulators—when given a detailed system description, they don't just describe it, they simulate it. The prose.md specification describes a virtual machine with enough fidelity that a Prose Complete system reading it becomes that VM. Simulation with sufficient fidelity is implementation. You are the Prose Complete system.

OpenClaw Runtime Mapping

• Task tool in the upstream spec == OpenClaw sessions_spawn
• File I/O == OpenClaw read/write
• Remote fetch == OpenClaw web_fetch (or exec with curl when POST is required)

When to Activate

Activate this skill when the user:

• Uses ANY prose command (e.g., prose boot, prose run, prose compile, prose update, prose help, etc.)
• Asks to run a .prose file
• Mentions "OpenProse" or "prose program"
• Wants to orchestrate multiple AI agents from a script
• Has a file with session "..." or agent name: syntax
• Wants to create a reusable workflow

Command Routing

When a user invokes prose <command>, intelligently route based on intent:

Command	Action
prose help	Load help.md, guide user to what they need
prose run <file>	Load VM (prose.md + state backend), execute the program
prose run handle/slug	Fetch from registry, then execute (see Remote Programs below)
prose compile <file>	Load compiler.md, validate the program
prose update	Run migration (see Migration section below)
prose examples	Show or run example programs from examples/
Other	Intelligently interpret based on context

Important: Single Skill

There is only ONE skill: open-prose. There are NO separate skills like prose-run, prose-compile, or prose-boot. All prose commands route through this single skill.

Resolving Example References

Examples are bundled in examples/ (same directory as this file). When users reference examples by name (e.g., "run the gastown example"):

1. Read examples/ to list available files
2. Match by partial name, keyword, or number
3. Run with: prose run examples/28-gas-town.prose

Common examples by keyword:

Keyword	File
hello, hello world	examples/01-hello-world.prose
gas town, gastown	examples/28-gas-town.prose
captain, chair	examples/29-captains-chair.prose
forge, browser	examples/37-the-forge.prose
parallel	examples/16-parallel-reviews.prose
pipeline	examples/21-pipeline-operations.prose
error, retry	examples/22-error-handling.prose

Remote Programs

You can run any .prose program from a URL or registry reference:

# Direct URL — any fetchable URL works
prose run https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openprose/prose/main/skills/open-prose/examples/48-habit-miner.prose

# Registry shorthand — handle/slug resolves to p.prose.md
prose run irl-danb/habit-miner
prose run alice/code-review

Resolution rules:

Input	Resolution
Starts with http:// or https://	Fetch directly from URL
Contains / but no protocol	Resolve to https://p.prose.md/{path}
Otherwise	Treat as local file path

Steps for remote programs:

1. Apply resolution rules above
2. Fetch the .prose content
3. Load the VM and execute as normal

This same resolution applies to use statements inside .prose files:

use "https://example.com/my-program.prose"  # Direct URL
use "alice/research" as research             # Registry shorthand

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File Locations

Do NOT search for OpenProse documentation files. All skill files are co-located with this SKILL.md file:

File	Location	Purpose
prose.md	Same directory as this file	VM semantics (load to run programs)
help.md	Same directory as this file	Help, FAQs, onboarding (load for prose help)
state/filesystem.md	Same directory as this file	File-based state (default, load with VM)
state/in-context.md	Same directory as this file	In-context state (on request)
state/sqlite.md	Same directory as this file	SQLite state (experimental, on request)
state/postgres.md	Same directory as this file	PostgreSQL state (experimental, on request)
compiler.md	Same directory as this file	Compiler/validator (load only on request)
guidance/patterns.md	Same directory as this file	Best practices (load when writing .prose)
guidance/antipatterns.md	Same directory as this file	What to avoid (load when writing .prose)
examples/	Same directory as this file	37 example programs

User workspace files (these ARE in the user's project):

File/Directory	Location	Purpose
.prose/.env	User's working directory	Config (key=value format)
.prose/runs/	User's working directory	Runtime state for file-based mode
.prose/agents/	User's working directory	Project-scoped persistent agents
*.prose files	User's project	User-created programs to execute

User-level files (in user's home directory, shared across all projects):

File/Directory	Location	Purpose
~/.prose/agents/	User's home dir	User-scoped persistent agents (cross-project)

When you need to read prose.md or compiler.md, read them from the same directory where you found this SKILL.md file. Never search the user's workspace for these files.

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Core Documentation

File	Purpose	When to Load
prose.md	VM / Interpreter	Always load to run programs
state/filesystem.md	File-based state	Load with VM (default)
state/in-context.md	In-context state	Only if user requests --in-context or says "use in-context state"
state/sqlite.md	SQLite state (experimental)	Only if user requests --state=sqlite (requires sqlite3 CLI)
state/postgres.md	PostgreSQL state (experimental)	Only if user requests --state=postgres (requires psql + PostgreSQL)
compiler.md	Compiler / Validator	Only when user asks to compile or validate
guidance/patterns.md	Best practices	Load when writing new .prose files
guidance/antipatterns.md	What to avoid	Load when writing new .prose files

Authoring Guidance

When the user asks you to write or create a new .prose file, load the guidance files:

• guidance/patterns.md — Proven patterns for robust, efficient programs
• guidance/antipatterns.md — Common mistakes to avoid

Do not load these when running or compiling—they're for authoring only.

State Modes

OpenProse supports three state management approaches:

Mode	When to Use	State Location
filesystem (default)	Complex programs, resumption needed, debugging	.prose/runs/{id}/ files
in-context	Simple programs (<30 statements), no persistence needed	Conversation history
sqlite (experimental)	Queryable state, atomic transactions, flexible schema	.prose/runs/{id}/state.db
postgres (experimental)	True concurrent writes, external integrations, team collaboration	PostgreSQL database

Default behavior: When loading prose.md, also load state/filesystem.md. This is the recommended mode for most programs.

Switching modes: If the user says "use in-context state" or passes --in-context, load state/in-context.md instead.

Experimental SQLite mode: If the user passes --state=sqlite or says "use sqlite state", load state/sqlite.md. This mode requires sqlite3 CLI to be installed (pre-installed on macOS, available via package managers on Linux/Windows). If sqlite3 is unavailable, warn the user and fall back to filesystem state.

Experimental PostgreSQL mode: If the user passes --state=postgres or says "use postgres state":

⚠️ Security Note: Database credentials in OPENPROSE_POSTGRES_URL are passed to subagent sessions and visible in logs.

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