Optimize ruflo-intelligence — surface completeness, 4-step pipeline, IPFS pattern transfer, namespace coordination with ruflo-agentdb

Context

Today's ruflo-intelligence

The plugin (v0.1.0) wraps "intelligence" capabilities loosely. Six files:

• .claude-plugin/plugin.json:4 — version: "0.1.0", keywords intelligence, sona, neural, learning, routing
• README.md:5 — claims wrapping of neural_*, hooks_intelligence_*, hooks_model-* MCP families. No tool inventory or count.
• agents/intelligence-specialist.md:15-19 — names four tool prefixes (neural_*, hooks_intelligence_*, hooks_route/hooks_model-route, ruvllm_sona_*)
• commands/intelligence.md — calls hooks_intelligence_stats, neural_status, hooks_model-stats only
• commands/neural.md — dispatches neural_train/status/patterns/predict/optimize
• skills/intelligence-route/SKILL.md:5 — allowed-tools enumerates 8 tools
• skills/neural-train/SKILL.md:5 — allowed-tools enumerates 13 tools

What the CLI actually exposes (verified on 2026-05-04)

Counted directly from source:

The plugin documents roughly half the intelligence-related surface that the CLI actually exposes. Specifically missing or underspecified:

• hooks_intelligence_attention — attention-mechanism dispatch (the same primitive ruflo-ruvector surfaces via attention list). Plugin makes no mention.
• hooks_intelligence_learn — the "learn from outcomes" tool, the heart of the self-learning loop.
• hooks_intelligence-reset — clears intelligence state. Useful for testing and fresh runs.
• hooks_metrics — metrics dashboard. Plugin's /intelligence command should call it.
• hooks_explain — routing-decision rationale. Critical for trust ("why did the system pick this agent?").
• hooks_build-agents — generates optimized agent configs from learned patterns.
• hooks_transfer — IPFS-based pattern transfer between projects. Genuine differentiator, totally invisible in the plugin.
• ruvllm_microlora_create / ruvllm_microlora_adapt — MicroLoRA adaptation. Plugin only mentions SONA.
• neural_compress — neural-pattern compression for storage efficiency.

What's claimed but unsurfaced

README.md:20 claims "EWC++ consolidation" as a feature. The plugin nowhere says how to invoke it. The actual EWC++ semantic lives in agentdb_consolidate and ruvllm_microlora_adapt --consolidate (per the ruvector adaptive embedder). The plugin should map the feature claim to the tool that delivers it.

agents/intelligence-specialist.md:9 mentions "SONA and MoE". SONA gets two tool calls; MoE gets none. hooks_intelligence accepts enableMoe and mode, but the plugin never tells you the modes (balanced, sona, moe, hnsw).

CLAUDE.md describes the 4-step intelligence pipeline (RETRIEVE → JUDGE → DISTILL → CONSOLIDATE). The plugin never surfaces this pipeline in user-facing form, even though it's the conceptual frame the whole substrate revolves around.

Namespace coordination

ruflo-agentdb ADR-0001 (just landed) introduced a namespace convention with three reserved namespaces: pattern (ReasoningBank fallback), claude-memories (Claude Code bridge), default. The intelligence pipeline writes to pattern (via agentdb_pattern-store and the hooks post-task --train-neural path). The plugin should explicitly cite the convention so consumers don't reinvent it.

There's also a pluralization gotcha worth surfacing here: ruvector's neural/pretrain hooks write to patterns (plural), distinct from ReasoningBank's pattern. ruflo-agentdb documents this; ruflo-intelligence should reference the documentation.

Why now

ruflo-intelligence is the user-facing surface for the self-learning system that the rest of the plugin family relies on. Documentation drift here means:

1. Agents that follow the plugin's instructions miss half the available learning loop.
2. hooks_transfer's IPFS-based cross-project pattern sharing — a genuine differentiator — is invisible.
3. The 4-step pipeline is never operationalized; users invoke neural_train without understanding RETRIEVE/JUDGE/DISTILL/CONSOLIDATE as distinct steps.
4. Downstream plugins (ruflo-browser ADR-0001 references trajectory recording; ruflo-agentdb references pattern namespace writes) lose their anchor doc.

We just fixed analogous drift in ruflo-ruvector (ADR-0001) and ruflo-agentdb (ADR-0001). Same pattern applies here.

Decision

Six changes. Each is plugin-local; no CLI source modifications.

1. Plugin metadata bump and accurate keyword set

plugin.json moves 0.1.0 → 0.3.0 (matches the ruflo-agentdb cadence and reflects that this is a substantial scope expansion, not a patch). Keywords gain microlora, ewc, attention, moe, pattern-transfer, model-routing, mcp. Description rewrites to explicitly enumerate the three families and the IPFS transfer.

2. README rewrite — surface completeness + 4-step pipeline + IPFS transfer

The README becomes the canonical entry point with these new sections:

• Tool inventory (3-family count table: 6 + 10 + 9 + 4 = 29, with source file:line citations).
• The 4-step intelligence pipeline — operationalized as a section that maps each step (RETRIEVE / JUDGE / DISTILL / CONSOLIDATE) to specific tool calls. Aligns with CLAUDE.md but is now verifiable.
• Cross-project pattern transfer — hooks_transfer documented end-to-end (IPFS publish, fetch, apply). This is the single most undersold capability of the plugin family.
• Hook integration — table mapping post-task --train-neural, pretrain, pre-task to which intelligence tools fire. References ruflo-agentdb's reserved namespaces (pattern for ReasoningBank, patterns for neural-train).
• Namespace coordination — explicit deferral to ruflo-agentdb ADR-0001 §"Namespace convention"; reproduces the pluralization gotcha (pattern vs patterns).
• EWC++ explanation — no longer just a feature claim. Maps to agentdb_consolidate and ruvllm_microlora_adapt --consolidate.
• MoE explanation — hooks_intelligence modes (balanced / sona / moe / hnsw) enumerated.
• Compatibility — pinned to @claude-flow/cli v3.6 (matches ruflo-agentdb).

3. Agent rewrite — tool routing matrix

agents/intelligence-specialist.md gains a routing matrix that maps user intent to the specific MCP tool: "user wants routing rationale → hooks_explain"; "user wants pattern compression → neural_compress"; etc. Replaces the bullet list of prefixes with a decision table. Drops the free-form memory store --namespace routing-outcomes line (the tools handle this).

4. Commands fill in the gaps

• /intelligence — calls hooks_intelligence_stats + hooks_metrics + hooks_model-stats + neural_status + hooks_explain (when invoked with a --why <task> arg). Becomes a real dashboard, not a 4-step list.
• /neural — adds neural_compress to the dispatch table.

5. Skills

• intelligence-route/SKILL.md — adds hooks_explain as the post-routing rationale step. Updates the 3-tier routing table to match the actual hooks_model-route output shape.
• neural-train/SKILL.md — adds MicroLoRA section (ruvllm_microlora_create / _adapt) with EWC++ consolidation. Adds neural_compress for pattern compaction.
• NEW skill intelligence-transfer — hooks_transfer IPFS workflow. Covers transfer store, transfer load, transfer from-project. This is the single biggest gap in the current plugin.

6. Smoke contract

scripts/smoke.sh (new file). Structural checks against the documented surface — no live MCP calls. The contract:

1. plugin.json declares 0.3.0 with the new keywords.
2. README has all 4 new sections (tool inventory, 4-step pipeline, IPFS transfer, hook integration, namespace coordination, EWC++ explanation).
3. All 6 neural_* tools referenced somewhere in plugin docs.
4. All 10 hooks_intelligence_*-family tools referenced.
5. All 6 routing/meta hooks (hooks_route, hooks_explain, hooks_pretrain, hooks_build-agents, hooks_metrics, hooks_transfer) referenced.
6. All 3 hooks_model-* tools referenced.
7. All 4 SONA + MicroLoRA tools referenced.
8. The 4-step pipeline section names all four phases.
9. intelligence-transfer skill exists with allowed-tools enumerated and references hooks_transfer.
10. Pluralization gotcha referenced (pattern vs patterns) — defers to ruflo-agentdb.
11. No skill grants wildcard tool access.
12. ADR file exists with status Proposed.
13. Compatibility section pins to @claude-flow/cli v3.6.

Plus three doc invariants checked by single-line greps:

• grep -q "4-step intelligence pipeline" plugins/ruflo-intelligence/README.md
• grep -q "hooks_transfer" plugins/ruflo-intelligence/skills/intelligence-transfer/SKILL.md
• grep -qE "RETRIEVE.+JUDGE.+DISTILL.+CONSOLIDATE" plugins/ruflo-intelligence/README.md

Consequences

Positive:

• Every documented capability claim maps to a verifiable MCP tool. No more "EWC++ consolidation" as a phantom feature.
• The 4-step intelligence pipeline (CLAUDE.md's V3 framing) is now operationalized in a user-facing form.
• IPFS pattern transfer becomes discoverable — agents in different projects can share what they've learned.
• Namespace coordination with ruflo-agentdb is explicit; downstream plugins inherit one consistent story.
• A smoke contract makes future drift catchable in CI.

Negative:

• Three downstream agents may currently call the legacy memory store --namespace routing-outcomes pattern from the agent file. Updating them is a separate cleanup.
• The new intelligence-transfer skill assumes hooks_transfer is wired to a working IPFS endpoint (Pinata or similar). If the endpoint is unconfigured, the skill returns a structured error — but agents reading the skill MD may be surprised. We document the prerequisite.
• Plugin v0.1.0 → v0.3.0 is a two-minor jump. Justified by scope (5 new sections + new skill + smoke + ADR), but consumers tracking strict semver should be aware.

Neutral:

• No new MCP tools introduced. All capability is surfacing of existing tools.
• The agent file's "Memory Learning" section (currently writing to a free-form routing-outcomes namespace) is replaced. Consumers of that namespace should migrate to hooks_model-outcome which is the typed equivalent.

Verification

bash plugins/ruflo-intelligence/scripts/smoke.sh
# Expected: "16 passed, 0 failed" (13 contract checks + 3 doc invariants)

Related

• plugins/ruflo-ruvector/docs/adrs/0001-pin-ruvector-0.2.25.md — pinning + smoke-as-contract precedent
• plugins/ruflo-agentdb/docs/adrs/0001-agentdb-optimization.md — namespace convention + reserved namespaces (pattern/claude-memories/default); pluralization gotcha; hook integration table
• plugins/ruflo-browser/docs/adrs/0001-browser-skills-architecture.md — uses ruvector trajectory hooks (a primary learning input for this plugin)
• v3/@claude-flow/cli/src/mcp-tools/neural-tools.ts — 6 neural tool definitions
• v3/@claude-flow/cli/src/mcp-tools/hooks-tools.ts — 19 hooks-family tools (intelligence, route, model, transfer, metrics, explain, pretrain, build-agents)
• v3/@claude-flow/cli/src/mcp-tools/ruvllm-tools.ts — 4 SONA + MicroLoRA tools
• CLAUDE.md (V3 Performance Targets + 4-step pipeline framing)