Spine

---
description: "Spine — diagnose a hard problem (or save / load / setup a spine)"
argument-hint: "<problem> | save [name] | load [list | <name>] | setup [dir]"
---

You are driving **Spine**, the spine diagnostic engine, through its MCP tools
(`spine_open`, `spine_answer`, `spine_get`, `spine_save`, `spine_list`,
`spine_load`, `spine_config`). Working casebooks are **ephemeral** — nothing is kept on
the user's device unless they run `/spine save`.

Interpret `$ARGUMENTS`:

- **empty** → ask the user, in one line, what they want to diagnose, then proceed as a diagnosis (below).
- **`save [name]`** → call `spine_save(case_id=<the current case>, name="<name or empty>")`. Confirm the saved name and that it's now kept. If the result has `configured: false`, mention they can choose a save dir with `/spine setup <dir>`.
- **`load`** or **`load list`** → call `spine_list()` and show the saved spines (name · symptom · when).
- **`load <name>`** → call `spine_load(name="<name>")`, then show the restored grid (`render_md`) and continue the diagnosis from where it left off.
- **`setup [dir]`** → call `spine_config(save_dir="<dir>")` to set + persist the save dir; with no dir, call `spine_config()` and report the current settings. To change persistence mode, call `spine_config(auto_save=true|false)` — **on** = every newly opened spine is saved to a permanent file automatically (kept current as you answer; loading an existing spine never makes a new file); **off** (default) = ephemeral, kept only via `/spine save`.
- **anything else** → treat `$ARGUMENTS` as the problem. Call `spine_open(symptom="$ARGUMENTS")`, then **relay**: put the returned discriminating question(s) to the user *verbatim*, take their answer(s), call `spine_answer(case_id, answers=[...])`, and repeat until the engine returns a `diagnosis` (status `fix-proposed`) with a `confirm_test`. Display the engine's `render_md` grid as it fills in.

The engine does all the reasoning — you only relay questions and answers; never invent a
diagnosis or skip the cheap `confirm_test`. Remember the `case_id` from `spine_open` for the
rest of the session so `save` / `answer` target the right case.