---
id: "action-separate-l3-l4"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§3.2", "Table 2"]
tags: ["implementation", "context"]
related: ["concept-five-layer-hierarchy"]
sources: ["paper"]
sourceVaultSlug: "icm-paper-folder-architecture-2026Jun02"
originDay: 2
---
# Separate Layer 3 reference from Layer 4 working artifacts

## Action

Put **stable rules** (voice, design system, conventions) in `references/`;
put **per-run content** in `output/`.

## Why

The agent needs to know what to **internalize as constraints** (Layer 3) versus what to **process as input** (Layer 4). See [[concept-five-layer-hierarchy]] for the full layer model.

## The metaphor

- The **recipe** (Layer 3) stays fixed across runs.
- The **ingredients** (Layer 4) change each run.

Misclassifying the two is the failure mode the layering exists to prevent — if a voice guide ends up in `output/`, the agent treats stable rules as transient material; if this run's brief ends up in `references/`, it persists into future runs.

## Outcome

Reference persists across runs; per-run state is contained and reproducible — strengthening the [[concept-portability]] story.


## Related across days
- [[concept-five-layer-hierarchy]]
- [[action-codify-voice]]
- [[synthesis-five-layer-fills-the-gap]]