inner-life-core

# inner-life-core

> The foundation for an agent's inner life. Emotions, state, protocol.

## What This Solves

Without inner-life-core, your agent:
- Starts every session as a blank slate
- Has no emotional continuity
- Can't prioritize based on how things are going
- Doesn't know when to reach out or stay quiet

With inner-life-core, your agent:
- Tracks 6 emotions with realistic half-life decay
- Follows a 9-step Brain Loop protocol
- Routes behavior based on emotional state
- Knows when to ask, when to act, when to stay silent

## Setup

```bash
# Initialize state files
bash skills/inner-life-core/scripts/init.sh
```

This creates:
- `memory/inner-state.json` — 6 emotions with decay rules
- `memory/drive.json` — what the agent is seeking/anticipating
- `memory/habits.json` — learned habits and user patterns
- `memory/relationship.json` — trust levels and lessons
- `BRAIN.md` — 9-step Brain Loop protocol
- `SELF.md` — personality observation space
- `memory/questions.md` — curiosity backlog
- `tasks/QUEUE.md` — task queue

## The Emotion Model

6 emotions with half-life decay:

| Emotion | What it tracks | Decay |
|---------|---------------|-------|
| **connection** | How recently you talked to the user | -0.05 per 6h without contact |
| **confidence** | How well things are going | +0.02/6h recovery, -0.1 on mistake |
| **curiosity** | How stimulated you are | -0.03 per 6h without spark |
| **boredom** | How routine things feel | +1 day counter, reset on novelty |
| **frustration** | Recurring unsolved problems | Counts recurring items |
| **impatience** | Stale items waiting for response | Tracks days without action |

Emotions drive behavior — see BRAIN.md Step 3 (Emotion-driven routing).

## Context Protocol

4 levels of state reading, so each component reads only what it needs:

- **Level 1 (Minimal):** Task-specific data only
- **Level 2 (Standard):** inner-state + drive + daily notes + signals
- **Level 3 (Full):** Level 2 + habits + relationship + diary +...