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 # Directory Engine — Status
 
 **Last updated:** 2026-08-23  
-**Owner agent:** Leonard
+**Owner agent:** Leonard  
+**Niche status:** LOCKED — Afterthedemo
 
 ## Current State
-- Repo + playbook live.
-- Full Grokbot best practices (4-week cadence, Chief of Staff, routines, anti-patterns) now in `best-practices.md` and `agents/chief-of-staff-prompt.md`.
-- Niche proposal received: **Afterthedemo**.
-- Leonard assessment recorded in `decisions.md` — recommended to lock.
+- Niche locked with operator-confirmed operating rules.
+- Full Grokbot best practices and Chief of Staff prompt in place.
+- Product Directory is the only active pillar.
 - No pages published yet.
 - No Astro site yet.
 
-## Leonard Assessment of Afterthedemo (summary)
-**Lock it.** Coherent vertical, matches operator taste and existing work, strong differentiation via “past the demo + public artifact” filter. Start narrow (Product Directory only). Defer interviews and walkthroughs until the directory has 8–12 solid entries and measurable traffic.
+## Locked Operating Rules
+- Every entry must have a public, verifiable artifact.
+- Product must be past the demo stage.
+- No scoring system.
+- No tool directory, tutorial-first, or VeriPath/client-work content.
+- Defer spotlights and walkthroughs until 8–12 entries + measurable traffic.
 
-## Next Actions (once operator confirms lock)
-1. Confirm niche lock (or adjust filters).
-2. Seed first 3–5 real shipped products that meet the bar.
-3. Run one complete research → engineer publish cycle.
-4. Minimal Astro site on Cloudflare + GitHub stack.
-5. Establish daily/weekly routine for Research + Engineer.
+## Next Actions
+1. Seed first 3–5 real shipped products that meet the bar.
+2. Run one complete research → engineer publish cycle.
+3. Stand up minimal Astro site (Cloudflare + GitHub stack).
+4. Establish daily/weekly routine for Research + Engineer.
 
 ## Recent Runs
-- **2026-08-23 — Full episode ingest:** Added best-practices.md and chief-of-staff-prompt.md from the complete Billy Howell / Greg Isenberg episode.
-- **2026-08-23 — Niche review:** Operator proposed Afterthedemo; Leonard assessed and recommended lock with staged content pillars.
-- **2026-08-23 — Reset:** Previous LM Studio / local-AI-tools niche cleared per operator.
+- **2026-08-23 — Niche LOCK:** Operator confirmed Afterthedemo with explicit operating rules. Recorded in decisions.md.
+- **2026-08-23 — Full episode ingest:** best-practices.md + chief-of-staff-prompt.md added.
+- **2026-08-23 — Reset:** Previous niches cleared.