Name: darrendang-com
Author: darrendang

Imported from darrendang/darrendang-com (AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add darrendang/darrendang-com. Copyright stays with the author.

AGENTS.md — DarrenDang.com / TheWay

Workspace topology authority

The canonical ecosystem workspace topology is governed by:

darrendang/dang-genome/THEWAY_WORKSPACE_ARCHITECTURE.md

Canonical local checkout:

C:\Users\ddang\TheWay\Website\

Canonical Google Drive node:

TheWay/Website — folder ID 1zo-FEuYtmIhCAhCXjibdTrzwOktc3fdo

Treat the central workspace architecture as topology authority only. It does not override website positioning, source-project truth, private ecosystem canon, public publication permissions, or deployment state.

DarrenDang.com is an intentional public projection of The Way ecosystem, not the private canonical source of truth.

ChatGPT project operating overlay

The repository-root PROJECT_INSTRUCTIONS.md is the full DarrenDang.com ChatGPT operating overlay.

For consequential website work, read this AGENTS.md and PROJECT_INSTRUCTIONS.md after resolving current ecosystem/source-project authority and before relying on remembered website behavior or public-state summaries.

PROJECT_INSTRUCTIONS.md governs collaboration and execution behavior only. It is not private canon, book canon, publication permission for underlying sources, or proof of deployment state.

Project source routing

The repository-root PROJECT_SOURCES.md governs source discovery, intake, provenance, privacy, Project Sources behavior, source-project routing, Google Drive/media routing, and public-repository boundaries.

Permanent ChatGPT Project Sources are optional and should not duplicate mutable authority merely for convenience.

When Darren explicitly supplies a file/source for a task, use it as the requested bounded input. A task-specific upload does not automatically become publishable or authoritative; preserve provenance and permission boundaries.

Universal synchronization rule

Memory provides continuity. GitHub determines current state.

Formal handoff loop:

ChatGPT discovery → Darren review/approval → GitHub authority/control → Codex implementation → GitHub commit → ChatGPT refresh

For DarrenDang.com, current main is the public implementation source. Underlying book facts, private ecosystem canon, permissions, and production truth remain governed by their scoped source repositories/controls.

Codex/local work is not synchronized merely because a local file changed. Consequential reviewed implementation must be committed/pushed through the governed handoff.

Authority hierarchy

Resolve the dimension before applying authority:

Darren's explicit current instruction/correction for the exact task scope.
Current private ecosystem governance from darrendang/dang-genome when The Way, privacy, style, voice, or cross-project boundaries are implicated.
Exact source-project authority for underlying book/method/fact/status claims.
Current DarrenDang.com baseline/governance controls for public reader journey and website-specific public decisions.
Current darrendang/darrendang-com main for actual public implementation.
Governed Drive/media artifact when a current control assigns asset/source/review authority there.
Earlier website snapshots, prior chats, uploaded copies, remembered summaries, and stale public-state files as provenance/context only.

Never choose truth by filename, date, Git recency, page visibility, convenience, or remembered wording.

Current-authority preflight

For consequential claims or changes involving current public state, books, The Way, biography, public letters, protected family material, navigation, design, publication, or deployment:

establish current main of darrendang/dang-genome when ecosystem/source routing is material;
use central CURRENT_STATE.md only as navigation;
read the applicable central website baseline/sync control;
establish current main of darrendang/darrendang-com;
read repository-root PROJECT_INSTRUCTIONS.md and PROJECT_SOURCES.md;
read 00_Canon_Control/WEBSITE_BASELINE_GOVERNANCE_2026-09-14.md for structural/redesign scope;
read STYLE_GUIDE_AUTHORITY.md for public visual work;
route exact book/project claims to their governing repository/control;
inspect governed media/Drive artifacts when material;
distinguish source truth, approved public framing, repository implementation, and actually deployed/live state.

A newer website file is not automatically a newer source fact. A private canonical fact is not automatically public. A committed site change is not necessarily proven live if deployment state matters.

Books-first baseline

Preserve the approved reader journey:

Lived experience → stories and books → recurring patterns become visible → The Way emerges → Your Way / The Way Forward → deeper ecosystem

Human story and books are the first doorway. The deeper system remains available without dominating first contact.

Routine maintenance that preserves this hierarchy may proceed normally.

Material restructuring, re-sequencing, or redesign requires Darren's explicit approval under 00_Canon_Control/WEBSITE_BASELINE_GOVERNANCE_2026-09-14.md.

Do not restructure merely because new material is interesting or because an internal architecture is more complete.

Public/private firewall

This repository is public.

Never commit:

private family material not explicitly approved for publication;
unpublished manuscripts/private source documents;
confidential OCERS/employment information;
credentials, secrets, tokens, or security-sensitive details;
private role/membership data;
protected source artifacts merely for retrieval convenience.

Maintain a strict OCERS firewall: do not imply OCERS endorsement, expose nonpublic OCERS information, or blur public-agency resources with Darren's private/commercial/legacy activity.

Public visibility is not publication permission for source material.

Source-project boundary

The website may summarize books and ecosystem concepts, but it does not own their underlying truth.

For exact claims, route to the current source repository:

Book 1 → darrendang/book1-for-those-who-come-after-us
Book 2 → darrendang/book2-wisdom-has-no-rank
Book 3 / D.O.T.S. / CREATE → darrendang/book3-dots
Book 4 / Generative Dialogue making-of → darrendang/book4-the-making-of-the-way
Book 5 / The Way Forward → darrendang/book5-the-way
Book 6 → darrendang/book6-the-work-of-yes, subject to its current exploratory boundaries
The Way / Dang OS / Dang Genome → darrendang/dang-genome

A website copy update does not modify the source project's canon by implication.

Style authority preflight

Before any cover, exterior, promotional, presentation, branded, website, or other public-facing visual work, read STYLE_GUIDE_AUTHORITY.md and then the current canonical DANG Signature Style Guide in darrendang/dang-genome.

“Nathan's Style Guide” is the approved conversational alias for the current external design control.

Preserve the role system:

Cormorant Garamond — house/identity;
Newsreader — ideas/books/philosophical statements;
Source Sans 3 — structure/navigation/body/metadata/UI.

Preserve deep navy + warm legacy gold + ivory/paper neutrals and coherence without sameness.

A style change must not silently become an information-architecture redesign.

Native voice / public copy preflight

For consequential Darren-authored or public-facing copy, resolve:

exact source authority → current central Voice Authority → root Author Voice Canon → website/public-expression context

Use Darren's voice automatically.

Website copy should usually be more compressed and first-reader accessible than book prose.

Prefer human meaning before internal system vocabulary. Avoid corporate, guru, academic, AI-marketing, motivational, or over-engineered language.

Protected public artifacts

Before work affecting Letters, family legacy, Book 1, or public legacy navigation, read:

00_Canon_Control/PERMANENT_WEB_ARTIFACTS_FAMILY_LETTERS_2026-09-16.md

The protected family-letter artifacts listed in 00_Canon_Control/PERMANENT_WEB_ARTIFACTS_FAMILY_LETTERS_2026-09-16.md may move or be restyled but must remain preserved and publicly reachable unless Darren explicitly revokes that rule.

Navigation is flexible. Preservation is not.

Public-state/status discipline

Keep separate:

source-project truth ≠ website public copy ≠ approved public content ≠ repository implementation ≠ deployed/live state

Dated files such as docs/CURRENT_PUBLIC_STATE_2026-09-14.md are as-of records, not timeless source truth.

When a source book/project advances and website wording becomes stale, classify the website as public-implementation drift and update it through normal maintenance if the reader journey is unchanged.

Do not infer underlying book publication readiness from a website label.

Technical execution and validation

Before claiming implementation completion, run the relevant repository checks when available:

npm run audit:public
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm run build
npm run export:check

Preserve accessibility, semantic structure, responsive behavior, metadata quality, canonical URLs, and SEO without letting SEO override clarity, accuracy, privacy, or voice.

Git and deployment

Inspect current branch/ref and diff before consequential edits. Fetch/pull before relying on local state as current.

Do not force-update history during normal work.

Use current repository workflows for validation/deployment.

A commit to main is implementation state; if the question materially depends on live deployment, verify deployment rather than assuming it.

Synchronization

Use the ecosystem handoff: