ClisTa ClisTa Protocol
Middle rungs

Start small.
Climb to a real run.

The gate asks for a full audited run on a real, hard-to-reverse decision. That is a cliff for a cold start. These rungs are the staircase: low personal risk, quick to complete, each producing something that demonstrates the format.

0 30 sec
shipped
30-Second Replay Rung 0

Clean-room reproduction of the bundled example. Verifies determinism and ends with Clean-room replay PASSED. The universal first action.

git clone …/clista-protocol.git && npm run replay

1 15–25 min
Scenario React Recommended first rung

Engage with the format as a critic on a real — but not your own — decision. Zero personal stakes; forces engagement with the objection-handling discipline.

  • Clone the repo and read examples/scenario-demo/expected-state.json.
  • Pick one Critic lane (e.g. Privacy/Compliance or Operations).
  • Write 3–5 numbered objections against the claims, using the state vocabulary (CLAIM, OBJECTION, SEVERITY).
  • Optionally fill the relevant rows of LEDGER_TEMPLATE.md.

Report: post as a comment on the scenario, or open a lightweight "Scenario critique" issue.

2 30–40 min
Toy Decision The "is the overhead worth it?" test

Run the full pack format on a low-stakes but real decision you actually face. Full ceremony, zero real consequence — this is where people feel the overhead honestly.

  • "Should we add dark mode to the internal tool this quarter?"
  • "Approve or reject the new contractor for the Q3 design-system audit."
  • "Upgrade the team's LLM provider before the next kickoff?"

Use the full roles and close protocol. Produce at least the ledger table, a Transfer State, and a short failures.md. No real execution required.

Report: a "Toy run" issue with a separate label, so it does not pollute the gate count.

3 the gate
Full External Run Gate target

A real, hard-to-reverse decision with full artifacts — LEDGER.md, failures.md, cost.md, outcome.md — and a willingness to go through blind judging. This is what the 2026-09-07 gate counts.

File a run report

The ladder turns an all-or-nothing ask into a funnel without diluting the gate: only the five hard external runs at Rung 3 count toward it. Everything below builds the judgment to get there.