`/neuroflow:sentinel`¶

Full audit of your project — drift detection, broken references, and consistency checks.

/sentinel is a coherence guard. It audits .neuroflow/ for internal consistency: checks that flow.md files match the actual files on disk, re-checks that a frozen preregistration is unchanged, detects drift between phases, and keeps the project config in line with the installed plugin.

When to use it¶

Before writing a report or paper — make sure everything is consistent
When you suspect something is out of sync
After a git merge or pull — to catch conflict markers and broken logs
Periodically, as a project health check
In plugin development mode — to audit the plugin itself

What it does¶

Claude checks which context it's in and routes to the appropriate agent:

If .claude-plugin/plugin.json exists → plugin repo — invokes the sentinel-dev agent
If .neuroflow/ exists → project repo — invokes the sentinel agent
Otherwise → asks you to run /neuroflow first

Both agents start with a script that makes the mechanical checks the same way every time, then spend their own reading on the checks that need judgement. The scripts never change anything.

Project repo — mechanical checks¶

The sentinel agent first runs nf_check.py from the neuroflow-core skill:

python <neuroflow-core skill base dir>/scripts/nf_check.py --json

Exit 0 = clean, 1 = findings, 2 = the script could not run (the agent then does the same checks by reading). You can run it yourself, or in CI, from anywhere inside the project.

Id	Check	What it verifies
NF1	flow.md index	The root `flow.md` lists every folder; each folder's `flow.md` lists every file in it (`sessions/`, `tasks/`, `wiki/` and `meetings/` have their own structure); nothing listed is missing
NF2	Project config	`project_config.md` frontmatter, schema version, canonical phases, `plugin_version` against the installed plugin, no personal settings in the shared file
NF3	Integrity status	`preregistration/status.md` and `ethics/status.md`; a frozen preregistration is re-hashed by the preregistration skill's `freeze.py verify`; expired or model-set approvals
NF4	Reasoning logs	`reasoning/*.jsonl` holds one valid JSON object per line with `statement`, `source`, `reasoning`; old `.json` logs are flagged for `/neuroflow:migrate`
NF5	Conflict markers	No `<<<<<<<` / `>>>>>>>` lines left over from a merge
NF6	Memory structure	Only the documented files and folders in `.neuroflow/`; flags skill-named folders, legacy files and project-level `flowie/` or `hive/` folders
NF7	Instruction block	`.claude/CLAUDE.md` points at `project_config.md` and holds no `Active phase` line; no stale neuroflow block in `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md` or `AGENTS.md`
NF8	Sensitive data	The phase-output skill's PII scanner over the shared memory files (emails, secrets, configured ID patterns, roster names); values are never printed

Project repo — judgement checks¶

Id	Check
S1	Timestamp drift — stale `flow.md` dates, phases untouched while the project is active
S2	Phase consistency — `active_phase` vs the latest session log vs folder activity
S3	Preregistration vs progress — analyses or decisions that deviate from the plan without a `deviations.md` entry
S4	Ethics gate — human data in `.neuroflow/data/` without a recorded approval (silenced by `ethics: not-applicable`)
S5	Names and institutions in logs (and emails or secrets when the PII scanner is not installed)
S6–S8	Flowie, wiki and hive structure, when they exist
S9	The project registry (`projects.py check`), when a flowie or a hive exists: two cards for one project, pointers that lead nowhere, a local folder in a card's repos, `blocked_by` entries that name no task

Plugin repo (`sentinel-dev`)¶

In the plugin repo the sentinel-dev agent runs python scripts/automation/validate_pr.py — the same checks CI runs on every pull request (V1–V15: manifests, version sync, command frontmatter, docs pages, names, hooks.json, rule markers, name collisions, README / nav propagation, dead references, release notes, sensitive info, path hygiene) — and adds the checks that need judgement. See Maintenance Automation.

Example output¶

/neuroflow:sentinel

Sentinel report — 2026-10-07

Issues found:
────────────
1. [NF1] .neuroflow/data-preprocess/flow.md lists preprocess-config.md,
   but the file does not exist on disk.
   → Fix: remove the row? (y/n)

2. [NF2] project_config.md has plugin_version 0.2.18; the installed
   plugin is 0.2.22.
   → Run /neuroflow:migrate: it brings the project up to date, records
     the version, and checks your flowie and the team hive.

3. [NF7] .claude/CLAUDE.md holds an "Active phase" line — it goes stale.
   → Fix: remove the line? (y/n)

4. [S3] The analysis summary uses a cluster-based permutation test; the
   frozen preregistration planned FDR across electrodes, and
   deviations.md has no entry for the change.

All other checks: ✅ All clear

What sentinel can fix (after you agree)¶

Issue	Fix
Missing file listed in `flow.md`	Remove the row
Existing file not in `flow.md`	Add a row
Skill-named subfolder in `.neuroflow/`	Move its files to the phase folder, delete the skill folder
Missing or stale neuroflow block in `.claude/CLAUDE.md`	Write the static block from `neuroflow-core`
Neuroflow block in `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` or a stale copy	Remove that block, keep the rest of the file

Sentinel never edits a frozen preregistration or its status.md (freezing and unfreezing are your actions; changes go to deviations.md), and never redacts sensitive data on its own. It never changes plugin_version either: an older or missing one points at /migrate, which records the version when it brings the project, your flowie and the team hive up to date.

Files read and written¶

Direction	Files
Reads	`.neuroflow/project_config.md`, `.neuroflow/flow.md`, `.neuroflow/sentinel.md`, `.neuroflow/reasoning/`, `.neuroflow/preregistration/`, `.neuroflow/ethics/`, `.neuroflow/sessions/`, `.claude/CLAUDE.md`
Writes	`.neuroflow/sentinel.md`, `.neuroflow/project_config.md`, `.claude/CLAUDE.md`

/doctor — checks the setup around the project (Python, git, backups, the mod)
/migrate — converts an older project to the current file formats
/phase — check current phase
/write-report — generate a report after sentinel confirms consistency

/neuroflow:sentinel¶