The pure technical and conceptual description of the architecture.
This repository contains the essence of ESRA: vision, principles, levels, skill contracts, control flow, and the Loop Execution Protocol.
It is deliberately free of any specific runtime implementation (Hermes, Python engine, etc.).
Official name: ESRA — Evolutionary Self-Recursive Architecture
ESRA is a modular, meta-reflective architecture that enables autonomous agents (and human-AI teams) to perform deliberate, long-term, value-aligned, and antifragile self-development.
It turns ad-hoc improvement into a structured, observable, auditable, and self-improving evolutionary process.
Core promise:
The more the system is used and stressed in controlled, value-aligned ways, the stronger and more capable it becomes at self-development.
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| ESRA_Technical_Specification.md | Vision, principles, 8-level architecture, skill contracts, control flow, observability, safety |
| ESRA_Loop_Execution_Protocol.md | Detailed 8-stage cycle, types of cycles, rules, and constraints |
| Level | Name | Key Skill(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Runtime | Runtime Agent | Execution |
| 1 | Reflective | Self-Observer | Observation |
| 2 | Value-oriented | Value-Clarifier | Alignment |
| 3 | Deep Analysis | Optimizer-Philosopher + System-Dynamics-Thinker | Consequences |
| 4 | Experimental | Experimenter | Safe testing |
| 5 | Integrative | Mental-Model-Updater | Integration |
| 6 | Antifragile | Antifragility-Builder | Strength from stress |
| 7 | Meta | Loop-Auditor | Evolution of the architecture itself |
The architecture executes a principled cycle of observation, improvement, value alignment, deep analysis, safe experimentation, integration, and antifragility extraction. The Loop-Auditor operates at the meta-level, reviewing the evolutionary process itself every few cycles or on anomaly.
Full stage definitions, inputs/outputs, cycle variants and rules are specified in the Loop Execution Protocol.
- Modularity — every skill is an independent, versionable component
- Meta-level — the system can observe and improve its own improvement process
- Value Alignment — non-negotiable gate before significant actions
- Antifragility — the system must gain from controlled stress and failure
- Observability & Auditability — everything is loggable and inspectable
- Recursivity — the architecture improves itself through its own loops
This repository (esra) describes what the architecture is.
Concrete implementations live in separate repositories:
- hermes-esra — production-grade implementation as Hermes skills + orchestrator
- (Future) Standalone Python engine, other runtimes, etc.
- Read the Technical Specification for the full conceptual model.
- Read the Loop Execution Protocol to understand how a single cycle actually runs.
- Use these documents as the source of truth when implementing or auditing any runtime.
ESRA is a living architecture.
This repository evolves together with the system it describes.