Core Concepts
Lattice organizes engineering context into four kinds of assets: specs, tasks, checkpoints and project relations. They live under ~/.lattice as plain files, so they outlive a session, a repository or an agent.
Specs are layered
Section titled “Specs are layered”Lattice resolves specs at three scopes:
- Global — organization-wide conventions, independent of one user.
- User — rules that follow one person across projects.
- Project — architecture, boundaries and conventions for one repository.
The closer scope wins: project over user, user over global. ltc context returns the resolved view with provenance, so an agent can tell which layer a rule came from. Nested projects also inherit specs from their ancestors.
Tasks carry intent
Section titled “Tasks carry intent”A task is the unit of work, not the unit of memory. It keeps three files:
| File | What it answers |
|---|---|
prd.md |
What should be true now |
progress.yaml |
What happened, as typed checkpoints |
design.md |
How the solution was discussed, including rejected options |
Tasks move through planning, in_progress, completed and archived. They can span several projects, carry scope paths outside a registered repository and nest as subtasks.
Archiving is not deletion: it is where a finished task is distilled into reusable memory.
Checkpoints carry decisions
Section titled “Checkpoints carry decisions”Lattice records checkpoints instead of a chat transcript. The eleven types cover three sources:
| Source | Types |
|---|---|
| User input | context, correction, constraint |
| AI judgement | assumption, followup, note |
| Process events | decision, pivot, milestone, issue, summary |
A checkpoint is worth writing when it changes future work. If it only repeats the task title, skip it.
Projects form a graph
Section titled “Projects form a graph”Relations connect projects explicitly:
depends-on— one project consumes another.shares-component— a package or module is used by both.forked-from— a shared first commit or fork.related— same organization, no stronger evidence yet.nested-in— one project lives inside another Git repository.
The graph is what lets a change in one repository pull the right context from another.
Search is local
Section titled “Search is local”Lattice indexes local files and supports keyword and semantic retrieval. The index is a cache, not the source of truth: deleting it must never delete your memory.
Sync is optional
Section titled “Sync is optional”Local files are the primary store. ltc sync shares the same structure across your machines; sync domains share selected experience with other people. There is no required cloud service and no telemetry.
- Quick start — install and initialize Lattice.
- Web workbench — the same model in the browser.
- Architecture — how the layers are built.