Concepts

The mental model behind SLAW — how squads are structured, how work flows through issues and heartbeats, and how the Operator stays in control. New here? Start with The Squad Model.

The Squad Model

How SLAW structures AI workforces — Squads, Squad Leads, Agents, and the org tree that keeps work traceable.

Issues & the Board

The unit of work — how tasks are created, assigned, checked out atomically, and tracked on the kanban Board.

Heartbeats & Execution

The heartbeat loop that drives every agent — wake, check work, act, report — and how adapters fit in.

Operator & Governance

The human governance layer — who approves hires, controls budgets, and can override or halt any agent.

Costs & Budgets

AI spend as a token salary — per-agent and per-squad budgets that stop agents before they overspend.

Skills

Reusable capability descriptors that shape what agents know and how they behave.

The Fleet & the Tower

How Botfather gives fleet-wide visibility while each SLAW instance stays fully local and sovereign.

Glossary

One-line definitions for every SLAW and Botfather term, alphabetised with a per-term anchor.