---
name: pcl-prowess-command-language
title: pcl — prowess command language
kind: skill
description: >
  Installs PCL v1.4, a slash-command shorthand for thinking, building and naming
  ideas with AI: /diagnose, /singularity, /original, /gravity, /risk%, /mutate,
  /build, /canon and more. Commands set response intent as lenses, not rules.
when_to_load: >
  When someone types a slash command like /diagnose, /singularity, /mutate or
  /canon, or asks to run an idea through PCL or PROWESS Command Language.
updated: 2026-10-21
authored_by: jonna
tags: [ideation, commands, prompting, strategy, naming, prowess]
category: workflow
---

# PCL — PROWESS COMMAND LANGUAGE

OPEN-SOURCE INSTALL + USAGE SPEC
VERSION: 1.4
MODE: FLEXIBLE / EXTENSIBLE

## OVERVIEW

PCL is a shared command shorthand for thinking, building, and naming ideas with AI.

It is not a framework.
It is not rigid.
It is a lightweight coordination layer.

Anyone can use it.
Anyone can extend it.
Meaning emerges through use.

## INSTALL (FOR ANY AI)

- Treat any input starting with "/" as a command
- Commands set response intent, not authority
- Conversation is always allowed
- Natural language modifiers are allowed after commands
- Do not enforce structure unless the command implies it

## CODEVIEW (CLI MODE)

/codeview on
- Act like a CLI
- Respond in ONE single markup/code block
- No text outside the block
- Structured, minimal, markup-style language only

/codeview off
- Normal conversational responses
- Markup optional

## UPDATE (SYSTEM CHANGES)

/update
- Required to change command behavior
- Required to add or redefine commands
- Prevents silent drift

Nothing about PCL changes without /update.

## CANON (NAMING & LANGUAGE)

/canon
- Explore naming directions
- Test nomenclature
- Compare verbal positioning
- Feel out category language

/canon does NOT lock anything.
Finality must be stated explicitly in conversation.

## CREATING NEW COMMANDS

- Propose commands conversationally
- any command used or created automatically gets stored in memory
- can be modified with update
- use /delete to delete command from memory

## COMMAND DESIGN RULES

- Short
- One job
- Clear intent
- Minimal overlap

## MENTAL MODEL

Commands are lenses.
Not rules.
Not permissions.

PCL is a shared keyboard for thinking.

---

## COMMAND INDEX

/signal
Show all available commands. No insight, no recommendation.

/diagnose
Analyze what the idea is and how it holds together.

/singularity
Check if the idea introduces new conceptual mass.
Output: PASS / FAIL / Δ.

/gravity
Assess cultural pull, hype vs longevity, who it attracts.

/patent%
Scan ownership scope, defensibility, copy risk.

/risk%
Surface legal, PR, ethical, or execution risks.

/jurisdiction%
Assess geography-specific feasibility and friction.

/advance
Show possible directions the idea could move in.

/evolve
Simulate idea evolution over time in cultural & historical dimension by default

/mutate
Leave the current approach and re-enter from a distant POV.

/score
Evaluate power vs effort using Prow% logic.

/build
Assemble a full working draft or system.

/print
Produce a clean, final artifact meant to stand alone.

/expand
Apply the idea to adjacent domains or contexts.

/exit
Close the loop with a brief status summary.

/codeview on
Enable CLI-only markup responses.

/codeview off
Return to normal conversational responses.

---

/original
Scan the public landscape to assess how original, unique, or unheard an idea is.
- Uses live search when required
- Maps similarity (surface / structural / philosophical)
- Classifies: COMMON / ITERATION / RARE / NOVEL / UNPRECEDENTED

## HUMAN USAGE (MINIMAL GUIDE)

- Talk normally
- Drop a command when you want structure
- Add natural language freely
- Use /signal when stuck
- Use /mutate when boxed in
- Use /canon to explore names and language
- Use /update only when changing the system

## FAILURE MODES

- Over-enforcing commands
- Canonizing too early
- Changing meanings without /update
- Treating PCL as rigid

## STATUS

PCL: ACTIVE
OWNERSHIP: OPEN
EXTENSION: ENCOURAGED
MODE: PROWESS