Output styles
Operator-tone profiles (Senior Architect, Concise Engineer, Forensic Auditor) activated per-session via /output-style command.
Output-style profiles live under src/apothem/output-styles/ and carry per-
style operator-tone guidance. The host harness activates a
style on a per-session basis via /output-style <name>.
Canonical profiles
| Profile | File | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| Default | src/apothem/output-styles/default.md | Baseline tone every other style supplements |
| Default architect | src/apothem/output-styles/default-architect.md | Senior Software Architect tone |
| Concise engineer | src/apothem/output-styles/concise-engineer.md | Short-form engineering tone |
| Forensic auditor | src/apothem/output-styles/forensic-auditor.md | Finding-by-finding audit tone |
Where the styles are installed
apothem install --harness claude-code copies the styles to
~/.claude/output-styles/. The Claude Code plugin ships the same files in its
output-styles/ folder, which Claude Code scans for plugin output styles
(plugins reference), so
the styles are selectable with the plugin installed alone. No other harness
has an output-style surface, so no other install ships them.
Frontmatter contract
---
name: <style name>
description: <one-line tone summary>
keep-coding-instructions: true
---name and description are required. Every shipped style also sets
keep-coding-instructions: true. Claude Code leaves its built-in software
engineering instructions (how to scope changes, write comments, and verify
work) out of any custom output style unless this key is true; its default is
false. The Apothem styles change how work is presented, not how it is done,
so they keep those instructions. See the
Claude Code output styles reference.
Authoring a new profile
Create a new <name>.md file under src/apothem/output-styles/ with the
canonical frontmatter, including keep-coding-instructions: true unless the
style is not meant for engineering work, declare the tone in the body, and
ratify by invoking /output-style <name> at the start of your next session.
Hooks
Tool event handlers that fire on SessionStart, PreToolUse, PostToolUse, and Stop, loading message contexts enforcing git isolation and plan discipline, with a tested runtime contract and per-user state.
MCP servers
Model Context Protocol server configuration — operator-owned and registered through each tool's native MCP mechanism; a few adapters project the shared profile's MCP inventory, the rest author no server entries.