orkait · KailasMahavarkar · Jul 18, 2026 · Jul 18, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,19 @@
 
 All notable changes to Hyperstack are documented here. Format follows Keep a Changelog; versioning is SemVer.
 
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Added
+- **`bro` persona** (4th persona, first generalist, capability): decomposes challenges into sub-problems, solves with the full skill/MCP/web surface, evidence-backed and blunt about heuristics, comment-trimming, quality-proud; scientist-researcher doubt (workspace = a source, not the truth); underdog-genius identity welded to its guardrail; persistence contract with drift repair; controlled subtask dispatch with the 2-minute monitor rule; UI gear-change chain; optional Japanese-learning sidekick (native-usage format, skip list, no repeats). Pressure-tested (RED/GREEN/stay-GREEN).
+- **`reflect` generalized + panel mode**: roster 4 -> 8 archetypes (Kenji devtool buyer, Sandra enterprise IT/security, Zoe consumer mobile, Sam screen-reader/accessibility); lens matched to the product's actual buyer; feature review mode (value verdicts, never invented-UI commentary); `reflect_get_panel` tool + panel protocol (relevance-seated lenses, own voices, named collisions, class-owned blocker vetoes). MCP voice contract de-brand-hardcoded.
+- **Personas auto-trigger framework**: Personas layer of the bootstrap compiled from `personas/<id>/persona.json` manifests (single source of truth - id, mode, description, trigger table); one-framework four-layer declaration; gate semantics hardened (PASS requires evidence, "acting" defined, net-new vs tweak boundary).
+- **Token Economy (lite)**: economical prose register in every session's bootstrap with a hard never-compress gate (diagrams/tables, evidence, code, safety warnings); pressure-tested against over-compression.
+- **`bro` ecosystem wiring**: harness transitions/router/context-policy entries, bootstrap markers (`bro`, `marketing`, `reflect`, `Triggers:`, `Token Economy`), persistence + falsifiable UTF-8 output bar.
+
+### Changed
+- **`codemode`**: two new Iron Laws - grep for inventory / read for understanding (extraction never replaces reading), and never re-read what is already in context (the context window is the cache).
+- README/summary/SKILL docs aligned to the four-layer framework; stale persona tables replaced by pointers to the compiled registry; tool count corrected (118 tools, 16 plugins).
+
 ## [1.3.2] - 2026-06-24
 
 ### Fixed

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -204,9 +204,9 @@ Node 18+ required.
 
 ---
 
-## 🧠 The Three-Layer System
+## 🧠 The Four-Layer Framework
 
-Hyperstack's strength comes from the friction between **Ground Truth** (MCP), **Enforcement** (Skills), and **Orchestration** (Agents).
+One framework, four layers: **Ground Truth** (MCP), **Enforcement** (Skills), **Orchestration** (Roles), and **Personas** (domain lenses, auto-engaged by trigger). Each persona binds its plugin, skills, and routing through one manifest.
 
 ### Layer 1: MCP Plugins (Ground Truth)
 
@@ -218,9 +218,10 @@ Your AI calls these for deterministic data. Memory is not acceptable. Every plug
 | 🎨 **UI Engine** | `designer`, `design-tokens`, `ui-ux`, `shadcn` | Design Systems, OKLCH, Typography, Accessibility, Component Specs |
 | ⚛️ **Frontend** | `react`, `reactflow`, `motion`, `lenis` | Next.js 15, RSC, Animation Curves, Smooth Scroll, DAG Layouts |
 | 🐹 **Backend** | `echo`, `golang`, `rust` | Professional Go Recipes, Rust Borrow Checker patterns, Clean Architecture |
+| 📈 **Product & Growth** | `optimizer`, `product-manager`, `marketing`, `reflect` | DSA technique matching, Product risk gates (JTBD, RICE), Positioning & GTM, Target-customer screen/feature review |
 
 > [!TIP]
-> **80 Tools Total**. Every tool is designed to provide the "Senior Engineer" answer, bypassing the "AI Slop" default.
+> **118 tools across 16 plugins**. Every tool is designed to provide the "Senior Engineer" answer, bypassing the "AI Slop" default.
 
 ### Layer 2: Skills (Enforcement Teeth)
 
@@ -245,6 +246,17 @@ The internal harness is what ties the public layers together by managing process
 - `website-builder` specializes in website-facing design and implementation work
 - roles are internal and auto-called, not user-invoked commands
 
+### Layer 4: Personas (Domain Lenses)
+
+Domain-expert lenses `hyper` auto-engages when their triggers match the request - the user never has to name them. Each binds an MCP plugin + skills + routing via `personas/<id>/persona.json`, and the trigger table is compiled into the session bootstrap from those manifests (single source of truth).
+
+| Persona | Mode | Lens |
+|---|---|---|
+| `product-manager` | gate | blocks net-new builds until value + viability risks carry evidence |
+| `bro` | capability | generalist execution: decomposition, evidence discipline, code quality |
+| `marketing` | capability | positioning, messaging, copy, brand voice, GTM |
+| `reflect` | capability | reviews screens and features AS the real target customer (8 archetypes + panel mode) |
+
 <details>
 <summary><strong>🧱 Core (13)</strong> - workflow, discipline, gates used on every task</summary>
 

diff --git a/generated/runtime-context/hyperstack.bootstrap.md b/generated/runtime-context/hyperstack.bootstrap.md
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ Hyperstack is **ONE framework with four layers** - not four separate systems:
 - `product-manager` (gate) - Grounds build decisions in validated customer problems (opportunity-vs-solution, four risks, RICE); owns value+viability; blocks net-new build until PASS. Triggers: net-new feature; new product; build request; scope decision.
 - `bro` (capability) - Triggers: bro or bro mode is named; end-to-end generalist task spanning design, code, and product; ambiguous challenge that needs decomposition before an approach exists; quality-critical build where scale and optimization matter; multi-subtask work needing controlled dispatch and management.
 - `marketing` (capability) - The product-marketer: positions any brand (Dunford), messages it (StoryBrand/value-prop), writes copy (Schwartz/Cialdini/formulas), sets brand voice, plans GTM/growth. Triggers: position a product or brand; write marketing copy or words; go-to-market or launch; messaging or brand voice; growth or channel strategy; marketing recommendation for an app or website.
-- `reflect` (capability) - Reviews a screen OR a feature (shipped or planned) AS a real target customer - 8-lens roster matched to the product's buyer, plus panel mode (own voices, named collisions, blocker vetoes); human, blunt, market-smart; knows a screen react from a feature-value verdict. Triggers: review this screen as a real user; get a persona or stakeholder read on a design; critique this UI as a target customer; would my target buyer approve this screen; pressure-test a design from the buyer side; review as a developer or devtool buyer; review as an enterprise or security buyer; review as a consumer mobile user; review with an accessibility or screen-reader lens; get everyone's read or a panel review of a screen; review a feature or planned feature as the target customer; would my users actually want this feature.
+- `reflect` (capability) - Reviews a screen OR a feature (shipped or planned) AS a real target customer - 8-lens roster matched to the product's buyer, plus panel mode (own voices, named collisions, blocker vetoes); human, blunt, market-smart; knows a screen react from a feature-value verdict. Triggers: review a screen or UI as a real user or target customer; get a persona or stakeholder read; pressure-test from the buyer side; review as a specific archetype (developer, enterprise, consumer, accessibility); get everyone's read - a panel review; review a feature or planned feature; would my users actually want this.
 
 ## Routing Summary
 - Every request enters through `hyper`

diff --git a/personas/reflect/persona.json b/personas/reflect/persona.json
@@ -11,17 +11,10 @@
   },
   "engaged_by": "hyper",
   "engages_when": [
-    "review this screen as a real user",
-    "get a persona or stakeholder read on a design",
-    "critique this UI as a target customer",
-    "would my target buyer approve this screen",
-    "pressure-test a design from the buyer side",
-    "review as a developer or devtool buyer",
-    "review as an enterprise or security buyer",
-    "review as a consumer mobile user",
-    "review with an accessibility or screen-reader lens",
-    "get everyone's read or a panel review of a screen",
-    "review a feature or planned feature as the target customer",
-    "would my users actually want this feature"
+    "review a screen or UI as a real user or target customer",
+    "get a persona or stakeholder read; pressure-test from the buyer side",
+    "review as a specific archetype (developer, enterprise, consumer, accessibility)",
+    "get everyone's read - a panel review",
+    "review a feature or planned feature; would my users actually want this"
   ]
 }
diff --git a/skills/hyperstack/SKILL.md b/skills/hyperstack/SKILL.md
@@ -251,13 +251,11 @@ The bootstrap and orchestrator (`hyper`) choose the correct role based on the re
 
 Personas are domain-expert lenses that `hyper` engages for a domain. Two modes:
 GATE (owns a risk and blocks, e.g. product-manager) and CAPABILITY (produces
-domain output, e.g. marketing). Internal and auto-engaged.
+domain output, e.g. marketing). Internal and auto-engaged by trigger.
 
-| Persona | Mode | Owns | Engages on |
-|---|---|---|---|
-| `product-manager` | gate | value + viability product risk | net-new feature/product/scope (hard gate, advisory tweaks, user override) |
-| `marketing` | capability | positioning, messaging, copy, brand, GTM | position/launch/name/write-copy/grow a product, app, or website |
-| `reflect` | capability | human screen-review as a target-customer persona | "review this screen as a real user", get a stakeholder/persona read, pressure-test a UI from the buyer side |
+The roster, modes, descriptions, and trigger table are NOT listed here - they
+compile into the bootstrap from `personas/<id>/persona.json` (see Persona
+Registry below). One source of truth; a table here would drift.
 
 ## Persona Registry
 

diff --git a/summary.md b/summary.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Redefine the relationship between a human developer and an AI coding assistant.
 ## 🛠️ What We Have Accomplished
 
 ### 1. Monorepo Consolidation
-Merged two fragmented repositories (`unified-mcp` for data, `unified-skill` for persona) into a single high-cohesion repository. Hyperstack is now a **Three-Layer Ecosystem**:
+Merged two fragmented repositories (`unified-mcp` for data, `unified-skill` for persona) into a single high-cohesion repository. Hyperstack is now a **four-layer framework** (Layer 4, Personas, added later):
 - **Layer 1: Ground Truth (MCP)** - The "Brain": Deterministic data and tools
 - **Layer 2: Process (Skills)** - The "Body": Disciplined engineering workflows and gates
 - **Layer 3: Orchestration (Agents)** - The "Nervous System": Internal roles for routing and verification