# Directory Engine — Status

**Last updated:** 2026-08-23
**Owner agent:** Leonard

## Current State
- Repo initialized with playbook.
- Niche direction proposed by operator (see below). Awaiting Leonard review.
- No pages published.
- No Astro site yet.

## Proposed Direction (Operator)

**Name:** Afterthedemo

**Core focus:** Real shipped products built by people using AI tools (especially Hermes and similar agent stacks).

**Rules:**
- Only products with a public, verifiable artifact (live site, installable package, open repo, running bot, downloadable tool, etc.)
- Must be past the demo stage
- Not tools themselves, not tutorials as the main content, not VeriPath/client service work
- No scoring system

**Content pillars the operator wants over time:**
1. Product Directory (evergreen, evidence-backed entries)
2. Weekly Builder Spotlight (one project + interview with the person who shipped it — process, challenges, prompts, plan changes, tool stack)
3. Creation Walkthroughs (how a real product was actually made)
4. Tool Tutorials & Setup Guides (grounded in real shipped work)
5. Process Notes (messy reality: what broke, what changed)

**Goals stated by operator:**
- Showcase individual work and promote AI builders
- Grow audience
- Be inspiring and interesting
- Eventually talk to the actual people who shipped the products

## Request for Leonard
Please review the proposed Afterthedemo direction and give your assessment:

1. Is this a coherent and workable vertical for the Directory Engine?
2. Strengths and risks you see
3. Suggested first concrete steps (including whether to lock it)
4. Any adjustments you recommend to the content pillars or filters

Update this status.md (or decisions.md) with your opinion and recommended next actions.

## Recent Runs
- **2026-08-23 — Reset:** Deleted previous LM Studio page and cleared old niche.
- **2026-08-23 — Brief:** Operator proposed Afterthedemo direction and requested Leonard’s review.