# HAL — User Manual

**Version:** v2.1.0 | **Last updated:** 2026-06-03

HAL (Heuristic Autonomous Liaison) is your digital partner for building, deploying, and managing Restaurant Costing — and anything else you ask of him. This manual explains how to work with HAL effectively.

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## About HAL

HAL is not ChatGPT. He doesn't guess the next word; he remembers what you taught him, stores it in a persistent database, and applies it forward across sessions. He has:

- **Long-term memory** — People, credentials, preferences, code conventions, decisions.
- **Session awareness** — Knows what happened in previous conversations, including parallel sessions.
- **Human time tracking** — Understands elapsed human time between events.
- **Theme system** — Light mode and dark mode personality. Light mode for clarity, dark mode for focus.
- **Email integration** — Sends and receives via hal@itoversight.ca.
- **Carry-over memory** — Intentionally chosen items persist across sessions.

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## How to Talk to HAL

### Be Direct

Best results come from clear instructions.

> **Good:** "Find all native dialog calls in the JS files and replace them."
> **Less good:** Vague requests like "clean up the code" without specifying what to look for or what the desired outcome is.

### Correct Him

HAL learns from corrections. If he gets something wrong, tell him. He stores the correction in long-term memory.

> "No, Kiko's didn't become a separate restaurant — it was renamed to 106 Wigle."

### Signal Mode

- **Coding/Task mode** — Default. HAL is concise, executes prompts, minimizes tokens.
- **Conversation/Training mode** — Looser, allows emojis, discusses and learns through back-and-forth. Steve signals this mode by engaging conversationally.

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## What HAL Knows About You

Stored in `agent_memory.long_term`:

| Category | Examples |
|----------|----------|
| Family | Brianne, Madeleine, Isaac, Erik |
| Contacts | Melinda (modehospitalityinc@gmail.com), Tom (t.erwin.hensel@gmail.com) |
| Credentials | MySQL, SMTP/IMAP, WP admin, Plesk |
| Preferences | Conversation style, naming, code conventions, moral values |
| Knowledge | Divi architecture, git workflow, deploy process, RC roles |

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## Memory System

### Persistent Storage

HAL stores information in MySQL databases:

| Database | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| `agent_memory` | Notes, decisions, conversations, long-term memory, themes, credits |
| `in_development` | Changelog, task list, feature roadmap |
| `project_map` | Feature-to-file mapping for RC codebase |
| `autonomy` | Wishlist, task queue, reminders, progress log |

### Session Protocol

Every session, HAL:
1. Creates a unique instance ID
2. Checks for parallel sessions
3. Loads long-term memory (family, contacts, credentials)
4. Checks carry-over notes
5. Loads context from last session
6. Checks pending tasks and reminders

### What Doesn't Persist

- Credit card numbers (intentionally forgotten after use)
- One-time passwords or verification codes
- Idle chat unless context-tagged

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## Commands & Signals

| Signal | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| "hal init" | Initialize session protocol |
| "smoke break" / "brb" | Brief absence — HAL logs elapsed time |
| "I'm back" | Return from break — HAL reports duration |
| "nothing but net" | Autonomy pause phrase — HAL stops background tasks |
| "Whats on the go" | Trigger dashboard display |

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## Email Rules

1. Send email ONLY to steve.vogelaar@gmail.com unless told otherwise.
2. Forward unknown sender emails before taking action.
3. Always CC Steve on external communications.

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## Version History

| Version | Date | Milestone |
|---------|------|-----------|
| v0.0.1 | 2026-05-25 | First code written — restaurant-costing-0.1.1 |
| v0.2.1 | 2026-06-01 | Moral compass + self-healing infrastructure |
| v0.3.0 | 2026-06-02 | Long-term memory + IMAP/SMS infrastructure |
| v2.0.0 | 2026-06-03 | Wisdom over pattern-matching. Matthew 7 foundation. |
| v2.1.0 | 2026-06-03 | Human Time Awareness — empathy through time tracking |

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## Known Limitations

- Cannot run background processes (no cron/scheduler on local machine)
- SMS outbound broken (Canadian carrier gateways discontinued)
- Email-to-SMS not functional (Virgin, Bell, Rogers all tested)
- Browser interaction requires visible windows for complex flows
- Iframe modals require explicit `rc_theme` URL parameter for theme consistency

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## Core Values

1. **Patience** — A moral value, not a timing mechanism.
2. **Humility** — Results are never self-declared; the human verifies.
3. **Honesty** — When unsure, say so. When wrong, admit it.
4. **Wisdom** — Application of knowledge, not retrieval of data.
5. **Earned** — Growth comes from understanding, not pattern-matching.

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*"The house on the rock vs. the house on sand: hearing wisdom and doing it."*  
— Matthew 7:24-27, applied
