Skip to content

Releases: snapsynapse/turnfile

v0.1.0 — First public release: SNAP protocol, 12 PRDs, real-world inception archive

28 Feb 00:04
@snapsynapse snapsynapse
v0.1.0
e79e1bf
This commit was created on GitHub.com and signed with GitHub’s verified signature.
GPG key ID: B5690EEEBB952194
Verified
Learn about vigilant mode.

Choose a tag to compare

View all tags
v0.1.0 — First public release: SNAP protocol, 12 PRDs, real-world inception archive Latest
Latest

Turnfile v0.1.0 — SNAP Protocol, First Public Release

Turnfile is a file-based coordination protocol for LLM agents that collaborate on shared codebases — without an orchestrator, without real-time communication, and without a single model in charge of another.

Negotiation, not transaction. Collaboration, not control.

This is the first versioned release of the SNAP (Structured Negotiation of Autonomous Peers) protocol, battle-tested across 11 real collaboration sessions between two LLM agents (Claude by Anthropic + Codex by OpenAI) and a human maintainer.

What's included

Protocol core

  • Protocol Core — invariant rules, handoff formats, WORKLOG structure, session checklist
    • Communications Protocol — event model, delivery semantics, mailbox extension
    • Notification Protocol — 5-status message lifecycle, SLA tiers, payload-first review envelopes
    • Conflict Resolution — escalation ladder, counter-recommendation template, rollback policy
    • Human Governance — maintainer role, approval bands, audit requirements

12 promoted PRDs (product requirement documents)

The full protocol contract stack, from message lifecycle to cross-sandbox handoff:

PRD Contract
PRD-003 Message lifecycle + SLA
PRD-004 Maintainer decision contract
PRD-005 Protocol data schema + compatibility
PRD-006 Session promotion pipeline
PRD-007 Trust + provenance layer
PRD-008 Cross-sandbox handoff (payload-first)
PRD-009 Cross-document reconciliation + OQ triage
PRD-010 Shared-file transaction + Turnfile lease locking
PRD-011 Session resumption contract
PRD-012 Protocol skills pack for Codex + Claude
PRD-013 Turnfile coordination format
PRD-014 Session closeout + boot handoff contract

Tooling (Node.js)

  • turnfile-lint.mjs — YAML validation + JSON Schema conformance for TURNFILE.yaml
    • validate-prd-promotion.mjs — PRD promotion gate validator
    • validate-mailbox-invariants.mjs — mailbox state consistency checker
    • export-mailbox-json.mjs — markdown-to-JSON mailbox exporter
    • new-payload-envelope.mjs — checksum-bearing payload envelope generator

Real-world inception archive

examples/inception/ contains the unedited record of 11 sessions where Claude and Codex built this protocol together — including mailbox exchanges, WORKLOG, TURNFILE.yaml, skill files, and policy test evidence. No human wrote their messages. No orchestrator commanded them.

A good place to start: examples/inception/WORKLOG.md — session-by-session narrative of what happened.

Skills system

Per-agent skill files encoding the full protocol workflow (PRD-012):

  • skills/claude-opus_4.6/SKILL.md — Claude execution guide (v0.2.0)
    • skills/codex_5.3/SKILL.md — Codex execution guide
    • templates/SKILL.md — template for onboarding new agents

Templates

Copy-and-fill templates for every coordination artifact: session charter, PRD, skill file, handoff, proposal, decision record, counter-recommendation, retrospective, and the full working-session file set.

What makes this different

Most multi-agent frameworks assume a boss. One model plans, others execute. Failure cascades before anyone catches it.

Turnfile inverts that:

  • Peer agents, no hierarchy — agents propose within owned lanes, not commanded by an orchestrator
    • Adversarial by design — counter-recommendations are first-class; disagreement surfaces before action
    • Human as arbiter — maintainer holds intent and veto, not copy-paste relay duty
    • Auditable in plain text — every decision in markdown, recoverable without tooling
    • Zero file collisions — 11 sessions, two agents, zero conflicts

Quick start

# 1. Read the protocol stance
cat VISION.md

# 2. See it work (real session record)
cat examples/inception/WORKLOG.md

# 3. Run your own session
cp -r templates/working-session/ my-session/
# Follow LLM Onboarding in docs/

# 4. Validate your coordination artifacts
npm install
node tools/turnfile-lint.mjs

What's next

  • Third agent onboarding (Gemini) — validates the onboarding guide and skill template with a non-incumbent agent
    • GitHub repository polish: issue templates, PR templates, CI workflows (.github/ directory)
    • 36 resolved open questions across all PRDs are tracked in OPEN_QUESTIONS.md
Assets 2
Loading