How CE Builds Software

Creator Engine turns intent into governed software delivery by enforcing gates, not by relying on agent convention. The Scope is the governing record: it says what will change, what Done-when means, and what Change-type applies. Natural language helps shape context; governed work begins at explicit ce verbs and the Scope record.

The Loop

CE uses the same loop for a tiny fix, a feature, or a larger project:

Frame -> Shape -> Build -> Review -> Ship
              ^                 |
              |_________________|

Review can bounce work back. A Scope can spawn smaller Scopes. The stages are an honest loop, not a waterfall.

Stage	What happens	Artifact	Mandatory
Frame	Explore the goal, constraints, and repo context in plain language	Framing notes or no artifact yet	Optional before a Scope
Shape	Convert the framed goal into a Scope with Goal, Done-when, and Change-type	Scope record	Mandatory
Build	Execute the ratified Scope in a governed run	Run evidence, branch, artifacts, often a PR	Mandatory for change work
Review	Grade the result against Done-when and evidence	Review evidence and Completion Report	Mandatory
Ship	Land the governed terminal outcome	Merged PR, delivered research, or no-change record	Mandatory

Human Touchpoints

CE leaves three decisions with you:

Answer the shape questions so the Scope is concrete.
Ratify the Scope when the Goal, Done-when, and Change-type are right.
Review the artifacts and decide whether the result satisfies the Scope.

That is the CEO-mode framing: you set direction, approve the governing record, and judge evidence. The agent handles mechanics inside the envelope.

Scope Fields

The required user-facing fields are:

Field	Meaning
Goal	What the work is trying to accomplish
Done-when	The checks the result must satisfy
Change-type	The risk class of the change, such as docs, code, schema, or deploy

Readiness is a state check, not a Scope field: CE marks the Scope Ready when the required fields are valid and the Scope can be ratified.

Optional lane-aware cap: a Scope can also carry a cap when your lane requires one. Use % for a subscription lane with rolling windows, or $ for an API lane. This is opt-in, not the default journey.

Completion Report

CE reports the result in plain language:

Section	Meaning
Outcome	What happened: PR opened, merged, research delivered, or no change needed
Verdict	Whether Done-when, checks, and scope stayed green
Next	The next human or CE action

The report is evidence, not memory. Review the artifacts, not the transcript.

Agile And Scrum Mapping

Agile/Scrum	CE
Epic / Story	Scope
Sprint	Arc
Definition of Done	Done-when
Backlog	Ready Scopes
Sprint review	Completion Report + evidence

Existing PRD Pattern

An existing PRD becomes a docs-only Scope first. That Scope records the PRD as context and does not authorize code by itself.

Child Scopes cite it when they shape real work:

ce scope checkout-retry-copy \
  --goal "Clarify checkout retry copy from the approved PRD" \
  --done-when "The checkout retry screen matches the PRD language" \
  --change-type code \
  --note "Source PRD: docs/prd/checkout-retry.md"

The PRD informs the child Scope. The child Scope authorizes the governed run only after you ratify it.

Launch Posture

The proven tenant path today is:

ce brain init
ce launch --backend host

Contained-by-default launch is hardening in progress. Treat contained backends as an operator-enabled path until your repo has been told otherwise.

Anti-Drift Rule

Welcome packs link this concepts guide and quickstart.md. They should not duplicate the CE journey, stage definitions, Scope field language, or Completion Report vocabulary.