AIQ://OS · the whole line, flat
Every station, in detail.
AIQ://OS is the operating system AIQ Industries runs on. Work rides one line through six stations. Each station has four steps, a signal only a person can turn green, and a ticket: the one thing that travels up. Everything else stays behind, still retrievable. Steps marked Planned aren’t built yet.
- In daily use at AIQ Industries
- Not yet a product
Under everything · not a station
The Grid
AIQ://OS itself: rules, memory, routing and the harness.
The grid isn’t a stop on the line. It runs under all six stations at once: the rules every agent works inside, the memory every trip draws from, the routing table that matches each job to a model, and the utilities plugged into it. Every trip rides on top of it, starting at Plan.
The four steps, in order
- Step 01→ Next step
Rules
You · Set the boundaries once.
AIQ://OS · Holds the rules, limits and review gates every agent is told to work inside.
- Step 02→ Next step
Memory
You · Never re-explain a decision.
AIQ://OS · Keeps notes and decisions for good, and starts each session with only that workstream’s handoff.
- Step 03→ Next step
Routing
You · Say what you need and which work it’s for.
AIQ://OS · Matches each delegated job to a model and effort level, using a written routing table.
- Step 04↑ To Plan
Utilities
You · Bring the tools you already use.
AIQ://OS · Connects the tools AIQ Industries already runs on: Claude models, GitHub and Vercel hosting.
Always on
No signal at the grid
The grid is always on. It doesn’t approve work; it holds the rules the signals above it follow.
Ticket → Plan
A new trip. Trip addresses are planned.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
Everything: the whole knowledge base and every logged decision. Shared memory is not the same as every agent loading all of it.
Station 01 / 06
Plan
Capture the idea and make it clear.
Plan is cheap on purpose and slow to leave. A badly framed trip costs more at every station above it, so the work here is getting the question right, not the answer. Ideas are captured first so nothing is lost, then checked against what’s already known.
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Capture
You · Drop in an idea, a note or a problem.
AIQ://OS · Logs it with a date and a source, so nothing gets lost.
- Step 02→ Next step
Clarify
You · Answer a few questions about what you actually want.
AIQ://OS · Pulls in related notes and past decisions, so you never start from zero.
- Step 03→ Next step
Structure
PlannedYou · Agree on the goal and what done means.
AIQ://OS · Turns it into a trip with its own address.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Ready to explore
You · Confirm it’s worth exploring.
AIQ://OS · Writes a short handoff with only what Explore needs.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green when it’s worth exploring
You confirm the idea is clear enough to research. The proof: a goal and a definition of done, written down.
Ticket → Explore
The goal and what done means.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
The raw capture and the related notes that were pulled in.
Station 02 / 06
Explore
Research the options before committing.
Explore is where being wrong is cheap. Open questions get researched and options get compared before anything is committed. The options that lose are kept, with the reason they lost, so the same idea isn’t re-explored from scratch later.
Layers doing the most work here
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Questions
You · Name what you don’t know yet.
AIQ://OS · Researches open questions when asked.
- Step 02→ Next step
Research
You · Read the findings that matter.
AIQ://OS · Gathers sources and summarizes them, with links.
- Step 03→ Next step
Compare
PlannedYou · Weigh the options side by side.
AIQ://OS · Lays out the trade-offs. Running several AI models on the same brief, each unseen by the others, is planned.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Select direction
You · Pick one.
AIQ://OS · Records the choice and the reason in the decision log.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green when you pick a direction
You choose which option goes forward. The proof: sources and trade-offs on record. The others stay on record too.
Ticket → Design
The chosen direction and why.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
The sources that mattered and the options not chosen, where the decision log records them.
Station 03 / 06
Design
Decide how it should work.
Design decides how it should work before anything is built: the parts, how they connect, and what else changes when they do. Approval here is a human call, never inferred from activity, and any change after approval is logged as a decision.
Layers doing the most work here
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Map the system
You · See the whole shape before anything is built.
AIQ://OS · Draws the parts and how they connect.
- Step 02→ Next step
Define connections
You · Agree how the pieces talk to each other.
AIQ://OS · Writes down what each part has to deliver.
- Step 03→ Next step
Trace the impact
You · See what else this touches.
AIQ://OS · Checks what depends on what, and what could break.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Approve the design
You · Approve the plan or send it back.
AIQ://OS · Records the approved plan. Later changes are logged as decisions.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green when you approve the design
You sign off before anything gets built. The proof: the map, the connections, and the impact traced.
Ticket → Build
The approved design and what each part has to deliver.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
Drafts and alternatives that weren’t approved. Later changes become logged decisions.
Station 04 / 06
Build
Make the thing.
Build starts with nothing left to decide. The approved design and only the context it needs are loaded, AI agents do the making, and tests run before a person is asked to look. Failures get fixed here, not discovered in review.
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Load the plan
You · Nothing. AIQ://OS gets everything ready.
AIQ://OS · Loads the approved plan and the context it needs.
- Step 02→ Next step
Make it
You · Follow along in short updates.
AIQ://OS · AI agents write the code or the content.
- Step 03→ Next step
Test it
You · Try it yourself.
AIQ://OS · Runs the tests and the build. Failures get fixed before review.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Package it
You · See the finished piece.
AIQ://OS · Bundles it with notes on what changed and why.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green when it works and you’ve seen it
Tests pass and you’ve looked at the finished piece before it goes to review.
Ticket → Review
The finished piece, what changed, and the test results.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
The version history of what was committed, and the pull request that carried it. Attempts that were never committed aren’t kept.
Station 05 / 06
Review
Check it against what was asked.
The builder never marks its own work. A separate reviewer checks it against what was asked, findings get resolved and checked again, and the release call stays with a person. A no isn’t a dead end: it goes back to Build with the reason.
Layers doing the most work here
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Evaluate
You · Read the review.
AIQ://OS · A separate reviewer, not the builder, checks the work.
- Step 02→ Next step
Resolve findings
You · Decide which findings matter.
AIQ://OS · Fixes what you agreed to, then checks again.
- Step 03→ Next step
Check the evidence
You · See proof, not promises.
AIQ://OS · Attaches test results, previews and sources.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Release decision
You · Say yes, or not yet.
AIQ://OS · Ships only on a yes. A no goes back to Build with the reason.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green only on your yes
You make the release call. Nothing goes live or public without it.
Ticket → Maintain
The release decision and the fixes that were made.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
The findings that mattered, and what was decided about them.
Station 06 / 06
Maintain
Keep it healthy, learn from it, go again.
Maintain keeps what shipped healthy and turns what happened into what’s next. Repeated mistakes become fixes in the process itself, and patterns that keep working are packaged as reusable skills, so each trip leaves the line a little better than it found it.
The four steps, in order · the last is the readiness check
- Step 01→ Next step
Observe
You · Get a short status, not a dashboard to babysit.
AIQ://OS · Checks the site’s copy for claims that have gone stale, on request.
- Step 02→ Next step
Find patterns
You · Hear what keeps happening.
AIQ://OS · Logs repeated mistakes, so the fix goes into the process.
- Step 03→ Next step
Reuse what works
You · Approve turning a pattern into a reusable skill.
AIQ://OS · Packages it so every future trip benefits.
- Step 04↑ Signal
Frame the next trip
You · Choose what’s next.
AIQ://OS · Opens a new Plan with what was learned attached.
Signal · green only when a person says go
Green when you choose what’s next
You decide which lesson becomes the next trip. The line loops back to Plan.
Ticket → Next Plan ↺
What was learned, attached to the next Plan.
Only this travels up. The next station opens with a scoped frame, not the whole history.
Stays behind · retrievable
The decisions made along the way, the work-log entry, and the version history. A full log for each trip, at its own address, is planned.
The underground · under all six stations
Slice the tower and you get layers.
Stations are where work happens. Layers are the kinds of engineering that make it work, and all seven run under every station. Improving one layer improves the whole line at once.
- Layer 01PromptThe exact instructions for this station.
- Layer 02ContextThe small slice of knowledge loaded for it. Not everything.
- Layer 03KnowledgeThe long-term library of notes and decisions.
- Layer 04HarnessThe rules, permissions and limits around every agent.
- Layer 05LoopHow the work repeats, checks itself and knows when to stop.
- Layer 06ToolsWhat the agents can actually do: search, write, build.
- Layer 07EvaluationHow we know it worked, before anyone is asked to trust it.
Feedback · Maintain → Plan
The line loops.
Maintain doesn’t close the line. It opens the next Plan with what was learned attached. Two kinds of feedback run backwards: Review can send work back to Build with the reason, and Maintain turns repeated mistakes into fixes in the process itself.
The city · one grid
One grid. Many buildings.
AIQ Industries is the first building on the grid. KYD Base is in design. A client’s business would be another building with its own line. Roads between buildings are planned to open only with both owners’ permission.
In daily use
What runs today.
The parts of AIQ://OS in daily use at AIQ Industries right now.
Knowledge vault
One structured home for business notes, decisions and reference material, organized so both people and agents can find what they need.
Session handoffs
Every working session ends with a written handoff, so the next one picks up cold without re-explaining anything.
Decision logging
Decisions are recorded when they’re made, with the reasoning, so they get built on instead of quietly re-argued.
Skills and agents
Repeatable procedures packaged as skills, and scheduled agents that each do one narrow job.
Research to writing
A daily research briefing is drafted into a post and opened for review. Nothing publishes until a person approves it.
Public work log
A short public record of working sessions: what kind of work happened, written when a session ends.