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File Ownership Protocol
Purpose: Read this before spawning teammates, when validating writable boundaries, or when resolving output conflicts.
Table of Contents
- Core Principles
- Declaration Format
- Assignment Rules
- Validation Checks
- Runtime Enforcement
- Conflict Resolution
- Templates
Core Principles
exclusive_write: only one teammate may write a given file.shared_read: any teammate may read a file.- Declare ownership before spawning.
- Every file that may be modified must have an owner.
Declaration Format
ownership_map:
[teammate_name]:
exclusive_write:
- [glob pattern 1]
- [glob pattern 2]
shared_read:
- [glob pattern 1]
- [glob pattern 2]
Assignment Rules
| Rule |
Guidance |
| Prefer directory-based ownership |
It is simpler and less error-prone than file-by-file splits |
| Use file-based ownership only when needed |
Split files inside the same directory only when there is no safer partition |
Treat shared contracts as shared_read |
Types, config, constants, and public APIs are usually shared |
| Convert shared reads to a single writer when edits are needed |
One teammate gets exclusive_write, everyone else keeps shared_read |
| No ownership gaps |
Every writable file or glob must appear in exactly one teammate's exclusive_write |
Common shared_read Categories
| Category |
Example |
| Type definitions |
src/types/**, *.d.ts |
| Config files |
tsconfig.json, .eslintrc, package.json |
| Environment reference |
.env.example |
| Shared utilities |
src/utils/**, src/lib/** |
| Constants |
src/constants/** |
Validation Checks
Run these checks before spawning:
| Check |
Failure example |
No exclusive_write overlap |
teammate A owns src/components/** and teammate B owns src/components/Button.tsx |
| Every target file has an owner |
src/middleware/auth.ts appears nowhere |
shared_read and exclusive_write stay consistent |
one explicit writer is allowed, many writers are not |
Runtime Enforcement
- Collect
files_changed from each teammate.
- Compare them against
ownership_map.
- If a teammate changed an unowned or foreign file, warn and roll back or reassign as needed.
- Treat same-file edits as a conflict candidate even when line ranges differ.
Conflict Resolution
| Conflict class |
Detection |
Default response |
| Minor |
same file, no same-line clash |
attempt merge, then re-check ownership |
| Major |
same line or incompatible intent |
trigger ON_RESULT_CONFLICT |
Resolution Options
- Re-partition ownership under one teammate.
- Sequentialize via
blockedBy.
- Define a shared interface first, then separate implementations.
- Escalate for manual merge.
Templates
Web Application
ownership_map:
frontend:
exclusive_write:
- src/components/**
- src/pages/**
- src/styles/**
- src/hooks/**
- public/**
shared_read:
- src/types/**
- src/config/**
backend:
exclusive_write:
- src/api/**
- src/services/**
- src/models/**
- src/middleware/**
- prisma/**
shared_read:
- src/types/**
- src/config/**
Microservices
ownership_map:
auth-service:
exclusive_write:
- services/auth/**
shared_read:
- shared/types/**
- shared/config/**
user-service:
exclusive_write:
- services/user/**
shared_read:
- shared/types/**
- shared/config/**
Monorepo
ownership_map:
pkg-core:
exclusive_write:
- packages/core/**
shared_read:
- packages/types/**
pkg-ui:
exclusive_write:
- packages/ui/**
shared_read:
- packages/types/**
- packages/core/src/index.ts
