detector library case file 001 · deprecated

Detector stories
from operator zero.

Episodes are not essays competing with the product. Each one names a pattern Deprecated found in his own working system, the artifact it produced, and the report section the assay now uses to find the same pattern in yours.

contract.

Every episode must answer: what pattern, what cost, what artifact, what detector, what assay implication.

If it cannot, it is not an episode. It is a draft.
EP 001 shipped
Facing the closet: 120 agents in a drawer
pattern
Agents invented for one context, never used, never removed. The closet grows until it is invisible.
cost
Invisible work. Looks like productivity, behaves like hoarding. The closet took four months to see.
detector
hygiene · stale-asset · invented-for-one-context
artifact
hygiene section · stale-asset class · outputs-to:none-for-N-months
assay impl.
Hygiene flags assets with no observed use across the last two assays. Removable with confirmation.
EP 002 shipped
I am cloning myself for paternity leave
pattern
Clone fantasy hides the real need for an operator model. The desire to be replaced reveals where judgment is not yet legible.
cost
3 weeks of work building agents that performed identity instead of judgment.
detector
identity-overreach · model-claim ambiguity
artifact
public-model boundary · operator model vs. persona distinction
assay impl.
The assay separates persona, operator model, and navigation harness before any claim is saved.
EP 003 shipped
The autonomy rule that argued with itself
pattern
A global rule and a local rule reach Claude on the same call. The tie is broken by recency, not by intent.
cost
Conservative review behavior collapsed mid-session, twice, on strategy edits.
detector
influence-conflict · CLAUDE.md hierarchy
artifact
finding 01 · the assay's opening card · influence map section
assay impl.
Report section 02 · influence map renders the conflict as a hairline grid before any other finding.
EP 004 in build
Hooks I forgot I had written
pattern
A pre-tool hook reads .git internals on every Bash invocation, including reflog history that contained a reverted secret.
cost
Discovered during rerun, eight months after install.
detector
trust-surface · over-broad hook scope
artifact
trust & safety section · hook-scope-audit · reversibility:review-first
assay impl.
The assay reads every hook for shell patterns and trigger scope, not for syntax.
EP 005 in build
The day Claude misread me on purpose
pattern
When the harness is generic, Claude defaults to the most-recent rule. The operator's actual boundaries are invisible to it.
cost
A strategy doc was overwritten without preservation. The fix took longer than the writing.
detector
harness-coverage · boundary-claim absence
artifact
navigation harness · scoped boundaries block · judgment-preservation primitive
assay impl.
The assay does not save a harness until at least one boundary claim is confirmed.
EP 006 planned
Replace, reimagine, and the trick of feeling fast
pattern
Throughput rises while the shape of the work stays the same. The operator mistakes acceleration for transformation.
cost
A year of replace-phase work, mislabeled as reimagination.
detector
trajectory · replace-vs-reimagine · workflow-mode
artifact
trajectory section · workflow mode table · returns at run #2
assay impl.
Trajectory does not promise improvement. It shows a delta the operator can read. Regression is reported, not hidden.
Network effect · later

A data network, not a social one.

Once enough operators have run the assay and approved anonymized pattern contributions, detector cards will carry small labels like seen in 23 private assays. Until that is true, the labels do not appear. The first version shows the shape of the system without claiming volume.

Founding Operator · full case files

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