Dreaming

Dreaming

Creative, exploratory thinking during quiet hours. Not task-oriented work — freeform associative exploration that gets captured for later review.

Environment Variables

VariableRequiredDefaultDescriptionWORKSPACENoSkill's parent directory (scripts/..)Root directory where data/ and memory/ live. Optional — defaults to the skill's parent directory, which is correct for standard workspace layouts.

Directories Written

The skill writes to these directories (relative to WORKSPACE): data/dream-state.json — Tracks nightly dream count and last dream date data/dream-config.json — Optional custom topic configuration (user-created) memory/dreams/YYYY-MM-DD.md — Dream output files (written by the agent, not the script)

1. Configure quiet hours and topics

Edit skills/dreaming/scripts/should-dream.sh to customize: QUIET_START / QUIET_END — when dreaming can happen (default: 11 PM - 7 AM) TOPICS array — categories of exploration (see defaults for examples)

2. Create state and output directories

mkdir -p data memory/dreams

3. Add to HEARTBEAT.md

Add this section to your heartbeat routine (during quiet hours): ## Dream Mode (Quiet Hours Only) Check if it's time to dream: \`\`\`bash DREAM_TOPIC=$(./skills/dreaming/scripts/should-dream.sh 2>/dev/null) && echo "DREAM:$DREAM_TOPIC" || echo "NO_DREAM" \`\`\` **If DREAM_TOPIC is set:** 1. Parse the topic (format: `category:prompt`) 2. Write a thoughtful exploration to `memory/dreams/YYYY-MM-DD.md` 3. Keep it genuine — not filler. If the well is dry, skip it. 4. Append to the file if multiple dreams that night

How It Works

The skills/dreaming/scripts/should-dream.sh script acts as a gate: Checks if current time is within quiet hours Checks if we've already hit the nightly dream limit Rolls dice based on configured probability If all pass: returns a random topic and updates state If any fail: exits non-zero (no dream this heartbeat) State tracked in data/dream-state.json: { "lastDreamDate": "2026-02-03", "dreamsTonight": 1, "maxDreamsPerNight": 1, "dreamChance": 1.0 }

Writing Dreams

When the script returns a topic, write to memory/dreams/YYYY-MM-DD.md: # Dreams — 2026-02-04 ## 01:23 — The Future of X (category-name) [Your exploration here. Be genuine. Think freely. Make connections. This isn't a report — it's thinking out loud, captured.] Guidelines: One dream = one topic, explored thoughtfully Timestamp each entry Append if multiple dreams in one night Skip if you have nothing worth saying — forced dreams are worthless This is for your human to review later, like reading a journal

Customizing Topics

• Option A: Config file (recommended) — Create data/dream-config.json:
• {
• "topics": [
• "future:What could this project become?",
• "creative:A wild idea worth exploring",
• "reflection:Looking back at recent work"
• ]
• }
• This keeps your customizations outside the skill directory (safe for skill updates).
• **Option B: Edit script directly** — Modify the `DEFAULT_TOPICS` array in `should-dream.sh`. Format: `category:prompt`
• Default categories:
• `future` — What could [thing] become?
• `tangent` — Interesting technology or concepts worth exploring
• `strategy` — Long-term thinking
• `creative` — Wild ideas that might be crazy or brilliant
• `reflection` — Looking back at recent work
• `hypothetical` — What-if scenarios
• `connection` — Unexpected links between domains
• Add domain-specific topics relevant to your work. The prompt should spark genuine exploration, not busywork.
• ## Tuning
• In `data/dream-state.json`:
• Add domain-specific topics relevant to your work. The prompt should spark genuine exploration, not busywork.
• ## Tuning
• In `data/dream-state.json`:
• **maxDreamsPerNight** — cap on dreams per night (default: 1)
• **dreamChance** — probability per check (default: 1.0 = guaranteed if under limit)
• Lower `dreamChance` for more sporadic dreaming. Raise `maxDreamsPerNight` for more prolific nights.