🌱 Why sprig and prose exist
Modern systems are hard to understand — not because they are poorly built, but because they are alive.
They grow. They accumulate history. They reflect decisions made by different people, under different constraints, at different moments in time.
Most tooling assumes the opposite.
Most tooling assumes:
- there is a single source of truth
- that truth is owned
- and the primary goal is to enforce it
sprig and prose start from a different premise.
This philosophy is reflected directly in how sprig is introduced — slowly, concretely, and without pressure to act.
Understanding comes before control
sprig exists to help people understand systems as they are.
It is not an ORM. It is not a schema language. It is not a framework that asks to be “in charge.”
Instead, sprig is an ecosystem for describing, grounding, and gently interacting with real systems over time.
It is designed to be useful:
- before execution
- before adoption is complete
- before certainty exists
Sometimes even before intent exists.
Understanding is not a precursor to action. Understanding is valuable on its own.
Description has intrinsic value
A core belief of sprig is that description matters, even when nothing else follows.
Even without validation. Even without execution. Even without enforcement.
The Universe layer exists to support this:
- human-first modeling
- narrative structure
- orientation and exploration
- shared language across experience levels
New engineers learn faster. Experienced engineers continue learning safely.
sprig helps systems be read.
Nouns before verbs
sprig favors nouns over verbs.
You begin by describing:
- what exists
- how things relate
- what shape reality seems to have
- what identifiers appear to matter
You do not begin by declaring:
- how things must change
- who owns enforcement
- or what actions are allowed
Verbs — migrations, transformations, ownership — are optional. They are explicit. They are unlocked slowly, when they are earned.
This keeps sprig readable, calm, and safe to approach.
Fuzzy first, precise later
Real systems are rarely known all at once.
sprig is designed for:
- partial knowledge
- evolving understanding
- incremental refinement
You can begin with:
- rough shapes
- optional fields
- multiple perspectives
- incomplete grounding
And move toward:
- clearer identities
- tighter validation
- stronger guarantees
Without losing information along the way.
sprig is lossless by design.
Grounding, not ownership
When sprig touches reality, it does so gently.
Scenes describe how abstract ideas appear in the real world:
- files
- databases
- tables
- shapes
- identifiers
Validation observes reality and reports back — calmly.
It does not punish. It does not assume ownership. It does not demand compliance.
sprig doesn’t say “this is wrong.” It says “this is what I see.”
Sensing before changing
sprig’s natural progression is:
description → grounding → sensing → care
Before systems change, they should be felt:
- row counts
- file counts
- freshness
- drift
- validation status
Observability is not a bolt-on feature. It is a continuation of grounding.
Only after sensing does it make sense to talk about:
- evolution helpers
- migrations
- safety analysis
- carefully unlocked verbs
Even then, everything remains optional.
Places and ideas are different things
In sprig:
- concepts name ideas
- containers provide places
A name does not imply a location. A place does not change what something is.
This separation allows systems to stay flexible:
- ideas can move
- structures can evolve
- meaning remains intact
Structure is made explicit only when it helps.
Local-first, non-invasive
sprig runs where your systems live.
It reads files. It connects locally. It links to repositories without owning them.
You can adopt sprig:
- per directory
- per entity
- per scene
- per moment in time
There is no cliff. There is no rewrite. There is no lock-in.
sprig should touch systems — not dominate them.
The goal
sprig exists to make systems:
- more legible
- more humane
- easier to learn
- safer to evolve
It is a companion, not a commander. A field guide, not a rulebook.
Calm by design. 🌱