# Directory Engine — Status

**Last updated:** 2026-08-23  
**Owner agent:** Leonard  
**Niche status:** LOCKED — Afterthedemo

## Current State
- 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.

## 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
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 — 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.