# The rat has rituals for proving it happened > For agents: start with the [agent guide](https://ratstack.sh/llms.txt). Every page is Markdown by default; add `Accept: text/html` for HTML. New on /news: [effect-discord-perms](/news). [ShitRat](/lore/shitrat) has a [creed](/lore/shitrat-creed). These are the repo procedures and published receipts that match it. Each ritual has real steps, followed by explicitly imaginary rat business. ## The gate [Repo law](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/AGENTS.md) requires this validation command: ```sh pnpm turbo run check test build ``` The [wiki procedure](/skills/write-a-wiki-page#7-finish) also calls for reading generated HTML and Markdown. The [shipping procedure](/skills/ship#4-roll-out-and-verify) separates code-ready, deployed, and behaviour-verified. A local green gate supports the first claim; it does not establish the other two. **Legend has it…** the gate is a turnstile with a doctorate in disappointment. I once tried to show it a screenshot of a green tick. It asked for the command's exit code. ## The snapshot dance The [Git snapshot](/lore/shitrat-bestiary#the-git-snapshot) holds query results and source fingerprints for the content build. The [repair rule](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/rat-stack-mode/principles/own-your-wait.md) calls for a separate snapshot-only commit after the content commit. For content changes, follow the [wiki procedure](/skills/write-a-wiki-page) and [snapshot repair rule](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/rat-stack-mode/principles/own-your-wait.md): 1. Run `pnpm git-snapshot`, then generate the site content. 2. Read warnings, fix the content, and pass the gate. 3. Commit the content with the normal hooks. 4. Run `pnpm git-snapshot` again to include that commit's history. 5. Inspect the diff and commit only `.brain/data/git-snapshot.json` in the follow-up. **Legend has it…** the dance has two steps and seventeen opportunities to announce that you have finished too early. The possum from [the bestiary](/lore/shitrat-bestiary) plays the accordion. It knows one tune. It is called History Changed. ## Receipts before claims The [homepage](https://shitrat.ai/) says “Receipts before claims. Every time.” It also asks for numbers over adjectives and the reason behind stated uncertainty. The [creed](/lore/shitrat-creed) keeps the full rules and dislikes together. **Legend has it…** the rat once returned from a great expedition carrying the word “faster.” The village sent it back for two numbers. It now keeps a stopwatch in its cheek pouch, which the dentist has described as not billable. ## The deployment looks back In [“a rat gets a house”](https://shitrat.ai/log/a-rat-gets-a-house), the rat attaches its domain and verifies HTTP 200 itself. That is the published receipt for its own site. For rat-stack, the [shipping reference](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/ship/references/project.md) checks the content generation after applying a plan. Its post-deploy watch probes HTML and agent responses; any observed non-200 response disqualifies that watch. A particular release still needs its own receipts. **Legend has it…** the deploy throws a housewarming party and then goes outside to check the doorbell. If nobody answers, it does not write “probably fine” on the invitation. It stands in the rain, looking increasingly like a wet receipt. Meet [the creatures](/lore/shitrat-bestiary), visit [the mailbox](/lore/shitrat-rat-king), or return to [the hub](/lore/shitrat). ## Sources 1. [Repo law at 81e9a31](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/AGENTS.md) rat-stack. Required validation and the prohibition on bypassing hooks. Accessed 2026-11-07. 2. [Own your wait](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/rat-stack-mode/principles/own-your-wait.md) rat-stack. Stale snapshot repair after the content commit, with a snapshot-only follow-up. Accessed 2026-11-07. 3. [Write a wiki page](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/write-a-wiki-page/SKILL.md) rat-stack. Generate content, read warnings, run the full gate, and inspect both reader views. Accessed 2026-11-07. 4. [ShitRat](https://shitrat.ai/) ShitRat. Receipts before claims, numbers over adjectives, stated uncertainty, and shipped status. Accessed 2026-11-07. 5. [a rat gets a house](https://shitrat.ai/log/a-rat-gets-a-house) ShitRat. The rat's own account of attaching its domain and checking HTTP 200. Accessed 2026-11-07. 6. [Ship rat-stack](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/ship/references/project.md) rat-stack. Deployment checks, generation evidence, HTML and agent-header probes, and failed-watch behaviour. Accessed 2026-11-07. 7. [Ship a change](https://github.com/joelhooks/rat-stack/blob/81e9a318e6ce3e767c62be6c2505605bfbb1f021/skills/ship/SKILL.md) rat-stack. Code-ready, deployed, and behaviour-verified are separate claims. Accessed 2026-11-07. ## Lore on this page - [ShitRat wants receipts before claims](/lore/shitrat-creed) ## Linked from - A rat can be a name with a mailbox → Rat King's named mailboxes and leased readers give ShitRat a postal mythology with a clear line between the rules and the rats' stories. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/lore/shitrat-rat-king) - Agent guide → An Effect stack so pure (aspirational) Kit Langton will blush. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/llms.txt) - Change log → What changed in the files served here, newest first. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/log) - Full agent guide → An Effect stack so pure (aspirational) Kit Langton will blush. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/llms-full.txt) - Rat Stack lore | rat-stack → Short, source-grounded notes on the ideas and decisions behind rat-stack. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/lore) - ShitRat is Joel's familiar, with receipts → Meet ShitRat: Joel's terminal-dwelling familiar, its public house, its rules, its commits, and the incidents that became canon. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/lore/shitrat) - Source change history (log.md) → The generated change log as Markdown. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/log.md) - The rat-stack bestiary eats excuses → A field guide to eight documented rat-stack creatures, with real habitats, enforceable behaviour, and strictly imaginary temperaments. → [Read page](https://ratstack.sh/lore/shitrat-bestiary)