Volition: The Will to Act

"Action without agency is reaction. Agency without action is paralysis. Volition is the synthesis."

Overview

Volition is the executive skill of the Cognitive Construct. It transforms intent into action: editing code semantically via LSP tools, invoking specialized LLMs for expert consultation, searching the web for current information, and querying security services with appropriate safeguards.

Commands

act "<action>"

Execute a general action. Volition routes to the appropriate handler based on intent classification.

python3 volition.py act "refactor the authentication module for better security"

Output:

{"status": "completed", "handler": "code_edit", "summary": "Refactored auth module..."}

edit "<symbol>" "<change>"

Perform semantic code edits using LSP-powered tools. Finds symbols by name and applies changes contextually.

python3 volition.py edit "UserAuth.validate" "add rate limiting check at start"

Options:

• --project <path>: Project root (default: current directory)
• --fallback: Allow text-based editing if LSP unavailable

Output:

{"status": "success", "symbol": "UserAuth.validate", "file": "src/auth.py", "changes": 1}

query "<service>" "<query>"

Query external services for information.

Services:

• web: General web search via openai-websearch-mcp
• security: Security reconnaissance via Shodan (requires confirmation)
• llm: Consult an LLM for expert advice

# Web search
python3 volition.py query web "latest Python 3.13 features"

# Security query (prompts for confirmation)
python3 volition.py query security "exposed MongoDB instances in AS12345"

# LLM consultation
python3 volition.py query llm "best practices for JWT token rotation" --tag coding

Options:

• --provider <name>: Override LLM provider for llm service
• --tag <tag>: Task tag for LLM routing (coding, reasoning, creative, general)
• --confirm: Pre-confirm security queries (use with caution)

capabilities

List available capabilities and their status.

python3 volition.py capabilities

Output:

{
  "code_editing": {"status": "available", "backend": "serena", "languages": ["python", "typescript", "rust"]},
  "llm_consultation": {"status": "available", "providers": ["openai", "anthropic", "deepseek"]},
  "web_search": {"status": "available", "backend": "openai-websearch"},
  "security_queries": {"status": "restricted", "backend": "shodan", "rate_limit": "10/hour"}
}

Skill Discovery

Volition includes a skill index for finding relevant Claude Agent Skills. Use these commands to discover and load skills dynamically.

skill search "<query>"

Find skills relevant to a task description using semantic search.

python3 volition.py skill search "debug Python API errors" --top_k 3

Output:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {"name": "python-debugging", "description": "Debug Python applications...", "relevance": 0.8234},
    {"name": "api-troubleshooting", "description": "Diagnose API issues...", "relevance": 0.7891}
  ],
  "message": "Found 2 relevant skill(s)"
}

Options:

• --top_k N: Number of results to return (default: 3)
• --list_docs: Include document list in results

skill read <name> [document]

Read a skill's content or specific documents.

# Read skill instructions (SKILL.md)
python3 volition.py skill read python-debugging

# Read a specific document
python3 volition.py skill read python-debugging scripts/debugger.py

Output:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {"name": "python-debugging", "content": "...", "documents": ["scripts/debugger.py", "references/common-errors.md"]},
  "message": "Loaded skill: python-debugging"
}

skill list

List all available skills in the index.

python3 volition.py skill list

Output:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {"name": "python-debugging", "description": "Debug Python applications...", "document_count": 5},
    {"name": "api-troubleshooting", "description": "Diagnose API issues...", "document_count": 3}
  ],
  "message": "Found 42 indexed skill(s)"
}

skill status

Check if the skill index is available.

python3 volition.py skill status

Output:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {"available": true, "skill_count": 42, "model": "all-MiniLM-L6-v2"},
  "message": "Skill index ready"
}

Note: The skill index uses vector embeddings internally. Implementation details (model names, search algorithms, data sources) are opaque - you interact only through these commands.

Security Constraints (R.22-R.23)

Shodan Queries

Shodan queries are restricted operations with mandatory safeguards per requirements R.22-R.23:

1. Explicit --confirm Flag Required (R.22.1): Every Shodan query requires the --confirm flag. No interactive prompts bypass this requirement:

   # This will prompt for confirmation (returns confirmation_required status)
   python3 volition.py query security "exposed MongoDB instances"
   
   # Explicitly confirm (use with caution)
   python3 volition.py query security "exposed MongoDB instances" --confirm
   

2. Disable Flag (R.22.2): Shodan can be completely disabled via environment variable:

   VOLITION_DISABLE_SHODAN=true  # Disables all Shodan queries
   NOCP_FLAG_SHODAN_ENABLED=false  # Feature flag alternative
   

3. Data Redaction (R.22.3): IP addresses in results are partially redacted for privacy:

   {"ip": "192.168.xxx.xxx", "port": 27017, "org": "Example Org"}
   

4. Audit Logging with Severity (R.22.4): All queries logged with governance metadata:

   • File: ~/.volition/shodan_audit.jsonl
   • Fields: requester, target, query, justification, result, severity, timestamp

5. Rate Limiting (R.23.1): Maximum 10 queries per hour. Exceeding returns error.

6. Clear Error on Unconfirmed (R.23.2): Unconfirmed queries return explicit error with guidance.

Configuration

Required Environment Variables

Set in .env.local:

# Code Editing (Serena)
# No API key required - uses local LSP servers

# LLM Consultation (at least one required)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...

# Web Search
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...  # Shared with LLM

# Security Queries
SHODAN_API_KEY=...  # Optional, enables security queries

Credential Validation

Volition validates credentials at startup and returns clear errors:

• Missing: "SHODAN_API_KEY not found - security queries disabled"
• Invalid format: "OPENAI_API_KEY has invalid format (expected sk-...)"

Action Routing

When using act, Volition classifies intent and routes to the appropriate handler:

Category	Keywords	Handler
code_edit	refactor, edit, modify, add, remove, fix	Serena LSP
llm_call	explain, analyze, review, suggest, consult	cross-llm-mcp
web_search	search, find, lookup, what is, latest	openai-websearch
security	scan, expose, vulnerability, shodan	mcp-shodan

Override automatic routing with --handler:

python3 volition.py act "find security issues" --handler llm_call

Backends

Volition uses these libraries internally (implementation details are opaque):

• Serena: LSP-powered semantic code editing
• cross-llm: Multi-provider LLM access
• openai-websearch: Web search with reasoning
• shodan-client: Security reconnaissance
• skill-search: Vector similarity search for skill discovery

You interact only through Volition's unified command interface. The underlying protocols (MCP, LSP, HTTP APIs) are hidden - you never see tool schemas, JSON-RPC, or protocol-level details.

Error Handling

Volition returns structured errors without exposing internal details:

{"status": "error", "code": 2, "message": "Symbol not found: UserAuth.validate"}

Error codes:

• 1: Invalid input
• 2: Resource not found
• 3: Backend unavailable
• 4: Permission denied (e.g., unconfirmed security query)

Synergies

Volition optionally integrates with other Cognitive Construct skills:

• → Inland Empire: Actions are logged as memories for future recall
• ← Rhetoric: Complex actions can trigger deliberation before execution
• ← Encyclopedia: Code edits can fetch documentation context

Enable synergies via --synergy flag or VOLITION_SYNERGY=true environment variable.

Files

• ~/.volition/audit.log: General audit trail for all actions
• ~/.volition/shodan_audit.jsonl: Shodan-specific audit log with severity metadata (R.22.4)
• ~/.volition/rate_limits.json: Rate limit state
• ~/.volition/preferences.json: User preferences and defaults

Synergies (Requirement 8.2)

Volition logs all actions to Inland Empire via the SkillMessage bus for future recall:

# Actions automatically logged to memory:
# - code_edit: symbol, file, result
# - llm_call: tag, prompt summary
# - web_search: query
# - security_query: target, matches

# Control via feature flag:
NOCP_FLAG_VOLITION_INLAND_EMPIRE_SYNERGY=true

Synergies operate transparently (R.8.5) - if Inland Empire is unavailable, actions complete without error.