Concepts

M8Shift separates concepts that agent frameworks often blend together. Some are shipped today; others are a specified direction. Use this section when an agent, a script, or a human reviewer needs the same vocabulary.

Invariant

The rule that ties every concept together is simple: never modify the repository before a successful claim.

Pen→ Roster→ Handoff→ Validation

Core ideas

The penWho may write right now, how ownership moves, and why degree-1 coordination matters.Agents and rosterWhich agents can participate, where they read instructions, and how roles stay advisory.Handoff contractsWhat was done, what is requested next, and which fields make a turn grep-able.RelationsWhy the pen is moving: handoff, review request, review result, escalation, or custom context.ValidationSeparate hard input/state checks from read-only contract validation and human review.Roadmap stagesSee which concepts are available now and which are protocol direction.

For AI agents

Concept pages are short on purpose: agents should be able to read them before operating the CLI, then switch to the reference for exact command syntax.