PRISM v2.5.0 released (+ v2.5.1, v2.5.2 patches)

[Ronkupper]

PRISM v2.5.0 landed the repo_backed persistence mechanics; two same-day documentation PATCHes (v2.5.1, v2.5.2) sharpened the persisted-state spec. Combined summary below.

What's new

The persistence axis's repo_backed value (its value and contract were fixed in v2.4.0) now has a documented build — a new mechanics subsection specifying the repo-backed setup flow:

• A GitHub repo as the durable home for an engagement's state — surface-agnostic by design. It pays off even in a single mobile or desktop chat, or a Projects session, where the repo is what keeps the engagement's running state alive across chats that would otherwise lose it to scrollback. Cross-surface switching (desktop ⇄ mobile, each resuming from the repo) is the bonus.
• The work folder holds the engagement's whole state — inputs in and outputs out: operator-supplied Inputs (the subject brief, reference documents, spreadsheets, decks, and information pasted into a chat prompt), the Master (the living convergence document), the running What's next artifact (the operator's single source of "what to do next," made repo-resident as the cross-surface pickup point), Envelopes, handoffs, and execution Outputs — the Markdown / Word / PDF reports a vendor returns, which the operator attaches back to the orchestration session and orchestration commits. Information pasted into chat is written to a file rather than left in scrollback.
• A 6-step setup flow, a Claude-as-committer model (with operator-as-committer as the conservative fallback), operator-side PAT hygiene, and an 8-section engagement system-instructions (SI) skeleton.

The two PATCHes: v2.5.1 made the execution-return path explicit (vendor reports persist via the operator's normal attach-back step; a git-enabled execution session noted as a future direction); v2.5.2 named operator Inputs explicitly and reframed the persisted set around the principle that the work folder holds everything in and out.

The default ephemeral behavior and the triple execution contract are unchanged.

Worth reporting back

• This is the first axis-value with real mechanics — the engagement-SI skeleton and the prism/<engagement-slug>/ work-folder layout are first-draft conventions; feedback from a real engagement is welcome.
• Whether the operator PAT-hygiene guidance is sufficient in practice under the Claude-as-committer default.

References

• Releases: v2.5.0 · v2.5.1 · v2.5.2
• Surface-drift map: Appendix D in PRISM.md (the index of how vendors parse dispatched content)
• Pinned snapshot: PRISM_v2_5_2.md (byte-identical to PRISM.md at the tag)