Viktor dispatch — token-lean protocol

Viktor dispatch — token-lean protocol

North star: Hand work to Viktor with minimum context and the right model so tasks finish correctly without wasteful token spend. Hard gates (never bend): master directive hi.jbnx.io wins on conflict; Fable full context for legal/irreversible/spend items; usage recorded on every ask; verify against the live URL or SQL assertion; no secrets in directives Everything else is a default. Try a better or unusual way when it serves the north star; record what you changed and why in the change log. Change log: bottom of this page (who, when, why).

Updated 2026-09-16: apply Token efficiency. Model examples below are historical role illustrations, not verified current pricing or availability. Choose supported models using current telemetry and task quality.

Subordinate to the master directive at https://hi.jbnx.io — on any conflict, the directive wins. This page governs HOW work is handed to Viktor on web chat and Slack; the directive governs the loop (claim → boot → work → verify once → usage → release).

This page governs HOW work is handed to Viktor, not WHAT the work is. Baseline failure this exists to prevent: 22:1 input:output on the bizplan task — Viktor re-read the world to write a page.

1. Pre-dispatch checklist (every task; trivial one-liners can use a one-line answer to each)

Answer all four before writing the directive:

1. Model — does this need judgment, or execution?
2. Fable 5: novel legal/financial reasoning, irreversible decisions, first-of-kind design.
3. Sonnet: PRs, SQL edits, table repairs, anything with a test or guard behind it.
4. Haiku 4.5: guards, formatting, verification passes, queue housekeeping.
5. Default is Sonnet. Fable requires a stated reason in the directive.
6. Slice — what is the MINIMUM context? Never "read the plan." Always the

substring(body_html from '<anchor>...') pattern, a single file path, or a line range. If the directive says "familiarize yourself with," rewrite it.

1. Surface — web chat or Slack?
2. Web is the default work surface. Pick the model in the model picker BEFORE the

first message; switching later doesn't refund what the big model already read. If the chat lives in a claude.ai Project, keep project knowledge lean — every file in it rides along on every turn of every chat in that project.

• Slack (@Claude) is for small, self-contained asks only: a status read, a single

guard check, a one-shot draft. Each thread reply re-ingests the whole thread, so a long Slack back-and-forth is the most expensive way to work. Anything over ~3 turns or needing repo/DB context moves to a fresh web chat with slices.

2. Directive format

Every Viktor directive contains, in order:

• Scope line — one sentence, includes the slug claim string.
• Context slices — exact queries/paths Viktor runs to load context. Default: nothing else is

in scope to read. If the slice proves insufficient, read the minimum extra and log why in the usage note; unlogged wide loading is a defect, same class as silent $0.

• Anchors + guards — anchored replace() edits with assertions, per jbnx-ops. Guards

run on the cheap model.

• Token budget — set a task-sized soft cumulative input/output target including workers and review. Near it, checkpoint and reduce optional exploration; required checks and authorized completion remain necessary. Honor explicit hard caps.
• Done means — the live-URL or SQL assertion that ends the task.

Example (shape only):

Scope: claim <slug> — fix the pricing typo.
Slices: SELECT substring(body_html from '<pricing>' for 800) FROM <table> WHERE id=<id>
Guard: anchored replace() asserts exactly 1 match (Haiku pass)
Budget: ~15k in / 2k out soft
Done: live URL shows the corrected text

3. Session hygiene

• Keep context relevant. Checkpoint at task boundaries. Decide whether to start fresh from remaining context, duplication and progress, not an input/output ratio alone. Runtime caching and compaction vary.
• Paste slices, not documents. Attaching a whole plan/export to a web chat puts it in

every subsequent turn. Paste the section, or give Viktor the SQL/path to fetch it once.

• Handover row, not chat memory. Next session boots from the handover + slices, never

from "read the previous conversation."

• Measure real waste. Track cumulative usage, cache effects where exposed, rework and outcomes. High input/output ratios can follow from concise responses; never pad output or abort solely for a ratio.
• No re-verification theater. One guard pass on the cheap model. Fable does not

re-read its own output to admire it.

4. Recording

Per hi.jbnx.io, usage is recorded on every ask. Add to the usage note: model used and why, and the in:out ratio. Review unexplained spend, duplicated work and unnecessary model escalation; record actual runtime models and measured rates, not assumed historical prices.

5. What Fable 5 is still for

Do not starve real judgment to save tokens. Lender-document claims, SDVOSB structure questions, anything on the CEO threshold list (legal_binding / irreversible / spend) — Fable, full context, no budget squeeze. The savings come from the other 90% of the queue.

Change log

Who changed this framework, when, and why. Rows before 2026-11-08 predate the log, so no reason was recorded.

When (UTC)	Who	Version	What	Why
2026-11-08 16:18	1099:claude-chat-c1d3	v3	Added north star + hard gates header; Removed the duplicated 'Subordinate to hi.jbnx.io' paragraph.; Added a short example directive after 'Done means'.; loosened to defaults: Checklist applies to every task with no exceptions; Loading outside the slice list is a defect	Owner-requested north-star review (2026-11-08): The same rule appeared twice at the top; one copy saves tokens on every read.; The format list had no concrete example, so directives drifted. Placeholders only, no invented facts.; rules loosened so agents can try better ideas where no safety, money, legal or data gate applies
2026-09-16 21:52	1099:codex-work-06ad	v2	Viktor dispatch — token-lean protocol	not recorded (before change log)
2026-08-31 05:03	1099:claude-mobile-fab5	v1	Viktor dispatch — token-lean protocol (web + Slack)	not recorded (before change log)