Manage Your Constitution
Category: How-to Guide
This guide walks you through initializing, modifying, and maintaining your project constitution using Byte's built-in commands. You'll learn how to set up your constitution, make changes with natural language requests, and scope rules to specific files.
Prerequisites
- Byte installed on your system
- A project with a git repository (required for initialization)
- Basic understanding of YAML and markdown
Step 1: Initialize Your Constitution
The first step is to create your project constitution. Run the initialization command:
The Initialization Workflow walks you through an interactive questionnaire about your project's values and standards:
Foundational Principles — You'll be asked whether to enable: - DDD (Domain Driven Design) — Organize business logic into bounded-context domains - DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) — Eliminate code duplication - TDD (Test Driven Development) — Write tests before implementation - YAGNI (You Aren't Gonna Need It) — Build only for current requirements, not speculation - TDA (Tell, Don't Ask) — Objects expose behavior, not state - Strict Typing — Explicit type annotations on all functions and variables
Framework & Tooling — You'll specify which frameworks and linting tools your project uses.
Additional Input — You can add custom comments or clarifications.
Answer the prompts honestly. You can change these answers later using the /constitution command.
Step 2: Review What Gets Created
After initialization completes, your constitution is saved at .byte/constitution/ as a directory of markdown files with YAML frontmatter:
.byte/constitution/
├── constitution.md # Metadata: version, ratified, last_amended
├── principles/
│ ├── ddd.md # Domain Driven Design principle
│ ├── dry.md # Don't Repeat Yourself principle
│ ├── tdd.md # TDD principle
│ └── ... (one per enabled principle)
├── governance/
│ ├── supremacy.md # Constitution supersedes other practices
│ └── versioning-policy.md # How to version the constitution
└── sections/
└── tooling-framework-standards/
├── section.md
└── items/
├── framework-standards.md
└── linting-formatting.md
Each file is human-readable, version-controlled, and easy to edit. You can peek inside any .md file to see the content and structure.
Step 3: Modify Your Constitution
After initialization, use the /constitution command to request changes in plain language:
The Constitution Agent reads your request, presents the current constitution, and makes surgical edits — only the changes you asked for are modified. Nothing else is touched.
Common Modification Tasks
Add a principle:
/constitution Add a principle: "Configuration as Code — All configuration must be version-controlled and environment-specific."
Add a section with items:
/constitution Add a new section called "Security Requirements" with these items: (1) Secret Management, (2) API Authentication
Delete a section:
Update a governance rule:
/constitution Change the Supremacy rule to reflect that the constitution can be overridden by explicit board decision
Step 4: Scope Sections to File Patterns
Sections can be scoped to specific directories or file patterns using glob patterns. This lets you enforce different rules for different parts of your codebase.
Request a scoped section:
/constitution Add a section called "Authentication Standards" that applies only to src/byte/auth/** and src/byte/api/**
When you make this request, the Constitution Agent adds the applies_to field to the section:
---
id: authentication-standards
name: Authentication Standards
applies_to:
- "src/byte/auth/**"
- "src/byte/api/**"
order: 1
---
When agents work on files matching these patterns, they see the authentication standards. When they work on unrelated files, they don't. This keeps the constitution focused and relevant.
Update the scope:
/constitution Change the applies_to patterns for "Authentication Standards" to include src/byte/oauth/** as well
Step 5: Understand Semantic Versioning
Your constitution version follows semantic versioning. Each time you request a change, the Constitution Agent proposes a version bump:
- MAJOR — Backward-incompatible changes: removing a principle, redefining governance rules, or fundamentally altering existing guidance
- MINOR — Adding new principles, adding new sections, or materially expanding existing guidance
- PATCH — Wording clarifications, typo fixes, reorganization, or other non-semantic refinements
Example: If your constitution is at version 0.2.0 and you add a new principle, the agent proposes bumping to 0.3.0 (MINOR).
You can accept the proposed version or override it:
The version is stored in .byte/constitution/constitution.md and is always visible when you review the constitution.
Step 6: Verify Your Constitution
At any time, you can view the rendered constitution by checking .byte/constitution/constitution.md or by running a query:
This displays the full text with all principles, sections, and governance rules.
Example: Build a Constitution from Scratch
Here's a realistic sequence:
Initialize with defaults:
/init
# Answer: Yes to DDD, DRY, TDD, YAGNI, TDA, Strict Typing
# Framework: FastAPI
# Linting: Ruff
Add a custom principle:
/constitution Add a principle: "Error Handling — All errors must be logged with context and never silently swallowed."
Add a security section for auth code:
/constitution Add a section called "Security Standards" with items: (1) Secret Management — No hardcoded secrets, (2) Authentication — Use standard libraries, never roll your own. Apply this section only to src/byte/auth/**
Refine the DRY principle:
/constitution Update the DRY principle to emphasize that shared logic must live in src/byte/support/
Your constitution now reflects your project's actual values and enforces them on every AI-assisted change.
Next Steps
Now that you've created and modified your constitution, review the Explanation section to understand the deeper concepts: how the constitution is loaded, how it reaches agents, and how to think about governance.
Check the /constitution command output for any feedback or clarifications the agent provides during each change.