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v0.8.67 Setup: make /constitution the primary constitution management surface #3806

Description

@Hmbown

Product direction

/constitution should be the primary user-facing surface for constitution setup and review. /context report remains the diagnostic/source-map backing view, but users should not need to discover context internals to understand or change their standing law.

Desired behavior

/constitution should let users:

  • see the active constitution stack,
  • choose bundled/default global Constitution,
  • create or edit a structured user-global constitution,
  • preview the rendered prose the model will actually receive,
  • disable or roll back a custom user-global constitution,
  • inspect repo-local .codewhale/constitution.json when present,
  • understand how AGENTS.md differs from constitution,
  • see whether WHALE.md exists and is ignored/migration-needed,
  • jump to runtime trust/approval settings without confusing them with constitutional text.

Separation from runtime security policy

/constitution may show the user's current runtime posture as related context, but it must not silently change default_mode, approval_policy, sandbox, network, workspace trust, or other enforced runtime controls. Those belong to the trust/approval setup step (#3406) and /config.

If the constitution creator asks about autonomy/risk preference, the answer should become model-facing guidance and may suggest a runtime preset, but applying that preset must be an explicit separate action with a visible config diff.

Suggested commands / screens

  • /constitution — open the constitution overview/editor.
  • /constitution status — show active stack and validation state.
  • /constitution edit — edit guided structured user-global constitution.
  • /constitution preview — show rendered prompt block.
  • /constitution bundled — disable user-global constitution and use bundled law.
  • /constitution repo — inspect repo-local constitution if present.
  • /constitution migrate — explain WHALE.md / old prompt override migration when relevant.

Exact command shape can change, but the primary UX should be one coherent constitution surface.

Acceptance criteria

  • /constitution is discoverable from setup ready screen, update checkpoint, /help, and doctor/context report output.
  • It clearly distinguishes bundled Markdown Constitution, structured user-global constitution, advanced full Markdown override, repo .codewhale/constitution.json, AGENTS.md, memory, and handoff.
  • It previews the exact rendered user-global prose before save/enable.
  • It never silently changes runtime approval/sandbox/trust mode.
  • It handles missing, disabled, invalid, empty, and advanced-override states with localized copy.
  • It links to v0.8.67 Setup: remove deprecated WHALE.md discovery and docs surface #3798 migration behavior when WHALE.md is present.

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    contextContext management / contextdocumentationImprovements or additions to documentationenhancementNew feature or requestlocalizationLocalization, i18n, and non-English language supportreliabilityReliability, flaky behavior, retries, fallbacks, and robustnesssecuritySecurity, isolation, permissions, or trust-boundary worktuiTerminal UI behavior, rendering, or interactionuxUser experience, interaction, or presentation polishv0.8.67Targeting v0.8.67

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