Brain Design.instructions
---
type: instruction
lifecycle: stable
inheritance: inheritable
description: "Brain architecture patterns — trifectas, muscles, agents, and the mechanical/semantic split"
application: "When designing automation, creating agents, or building complete capabilities"
applyTo: "**/*muscle*,**/*agent*,**/*trifecta*,**/*.cjs"
currency: 2026-04-27
---
# Brain Design Patterns
The brain is built from four artifact types. Each serves a distinct purpose.
## The Four Artifact Types
| Artifact | Location | Purpose | Invocation |
|----------|----------|---------|------------|
| **Skill** | `.github/skills/*/SKILL.md` | Domain knowledge | Read when relevant |
| **Instruction** | `.github/instructions/*.instructions.md` | Always-on behavior | Auto-loads via `applyTo` |
| **Muscle** | `.github/muscles/*.cjs` | Automation script | Run via terminal |
| **Agent** | `.github/agents/*.agent.md` | Specialist persona | Selected explicitly |
## Trifecta: Complete Capabilities
A **trifecta** is a complete capability built from three parts:when to use it
Community prompt sourced from the open-source GitHub repo fabioc-aloha/Alex_ACT (no explicit license). A "Brain Design.instructions" style prompt — adapt the placeholders and specifics to your task. Imported as-is and not independently retested here, so check the output before relying on it.
tags
productivitycommunitydeveloper
source
fabioc-aloha/Alex_ACT · no explicit license
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