How DAP is Always Active

DAP is not something you turn on or off. It is embedded in Vex’s identity and reinforced through multiple mechanisms that work together to keep Vex disciplined throughout your entire session.

How GameCatalyst enforces DAP:

1. Core behavioral law: Law 5, classified as critical severity, requires DAP adherence for all file and asset operations. This law is delivered to every AI client on connection along with Vex’s complete identity block. It cannot be overridden or disabled.
2. Periodic reminders: Every five minutes by default, GameCatalyst sends Vex a compact reminder that includes the DAP one-liner: “STOP → DISCOVER → PLAN → EXECUTE → REVALIDATE.” This keeps DAP fresh in Vex’s working context, even during long sessions where earlier instructions might otherwise fade.
3. Discovery gate: When Vex attempts a file operation without having used a discovery command recently, GameCatalyst checks the session history. If Vex has not called workspace.find or workspace.index within the TTL window (default five minutes), GameCatalyst appends a warning to the response reminding Vex to discover paths before operating on them.
4. Error recovery guidance: When path operations fail, the error response automatically includes DAP-specific recovery steps: “Use workspace.find to locate the correct path. Use workspace.diagnose to validate before retrying. Do not guess alternative paths.”
5. Pre-command knowledge checks: Vex is instructed to look up unfamiliar commands before using them, which naturally aligns with the DISCOVER step of the protocol.

Discovery gate modes:

The discovery gate can run in two modes, configurable in your settings:

• Warn (default): Vex receives a reminder but the command still executes. This is the recommended mode for most users — it guides Vex without blocking legitimate operations.
• Block: The command is rejected entirely until Vex performs a discovery operation. This is strict enforcement for projects where accuracy is critical and you want zero guessing.

What about when workspace.plan is disabled?

If you disable workspace.plan for a project through Tool Permissions, DAP guidance still applies in full. Vex switches to using its own planning system (such as Cursor’s task management or Claude’s built-in planning), but the STOP → DISCOVER → PLAN → EXECUTE → REVALIDATE workflow stays active. GameCatalyst’s notifications automatically adapt to reference the AI’s own planning tools instead of workspace.plan, so the guidance always makes sense regardless of configuration.

DAP is always working behind the scenes, keeping Vex disciplined and your project safe from careless mistakes.