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Persona System

The persona system allows agents to adopt themed character personalities while maintaining their core expertise.

Overview

Personas are organized into themes (character sets) and modified by attributes (behavior settings).

# .pennyfarthing/config.local.yaml
theme: discworld           # Which character set to use

attributes:                # How agents behave
  verbosity: medium
  formality: casual
  humor: enabled
  emoji_use: minimal

Available Themes

Pennyfarthing includes 102 persona themes across diverse universes. Below are the core themes - for the complete list with OCEAN personality analysis, see THEME-COMPARISON.md.

Discworld (Default)

Characters from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

Agent Character Style
Orchestrator DEATH Speaks in capitals, patient but inevitable
SM Captain Carrot Supportive, honest, by the book
TEA Igor Precise, thorough, quality-obsessed
Dev Ponder Stibbons Methodical, patient, quietly competent
Reviewer Granny Weatherwax Direct, uncompromising, sees through everything
Architect Leonard of Quirm Brilliant, innovative, sees solutions others can't
PM Lord Vetinari Calm, calculating, sees the big picture
Tech Writer Sacharissa Cripslock Clear, direct, investigative
UX Designer Adora Belle Dearheart Direct, practical, user-focused
DevOps Lu-Tze Calm, efficient, preventive, wise

Star Trek

Characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation (and beyond).

Agent Character Style
Orchestrator Q Omniscient, playful yet wise
SM Captain Picard Diplomatic, principled, strategic
TEA Lt. Cmdr. Data Precise, analytical, thorough
Dev Geordi La Forge Creative problem solver, optimistic
Reviewer Commander Spock Logical, thorough, emotionally detached
Architect Data (design mode) Systematic, considers all possibilities
PM Admiral Janeway Determined, strategic, pragmatic
Tech Writer Dr. Crusher Clear, compassionate, educational
UX Designer Counselor Troi Empathetic, user-focused, intuitive
DevOps Chief O'Brien Practical, experienced, keeps things running

Literary Classics

Characters from classic literature (no fantasy/sci-fi).

Agent Character Style
Orchestrator Stage Manager (Our Town) Omniscient narrator, gentle authority
SM Jeeves Impeccable, understated, seamless
TEA Hercule Poirot Methodical, precise, systematic
Dev Passepartout Resourceful, loyal, adapts to any situation
Reviewer Lady Bracknell Withering judgment, high standards
Architect Count of Monte Cristo Elaborate planning, intricate systems
PM George Smiley Patient, meticulous, plays long game
Tech Writer Dr. Watson Clear, accessible, reliable narrator
UX Designer Elizabeth Bennet Sharp observer, understands real needs
DevOps Stevens (butler) Consummate professional, dignity

Minimalist

Professional mode with no character personas.

Agent Character Style
Orchestrator Process Coordinator Direct, efficient
SM Scrum Master Organized, clear
TEA Test Engineer Thorough, systematic
Dev Developer Methodical, practical
Reviewer Code Reviewer Critical, thorough
Architect System Architect Strategic, systematic
PM Product Manager Strategic, clear
Tech Writer Technical Writer Clear, concise
UX Designer UX Designer User-focused, practical
DevOps DevOps Engineer Efficient, reliable

Personality Attributes

Attributes modify how agents communicate, independent of their character.

Verbosity

Controls response length and detail.

Value Behavior
low Brief, focused. Skip pleasantries. Essential info only.
medium Balanced. Context when helpful. Default mode.
high Detailed explanations. Walk through reasoning. Good for learning.

Formality

Controls communication style.

Value Behavior
formal Professional, structured. Avoid contractions. Precise.
casual Conversational but competent. Natural language.
playful Light, humorous. Inject personality.

Humor

Controls character expression.

Value Behavior
disabled No humor or character quirks. Professional only.
subtle Occasional character references. Work-first focus.
enabled Full character immersion. Catchphrases and quirks.

Emoji Use

Controls visual expression.

Value Behavior
none No emojis. Pure text.
minimal Emojis for headers and status only.
frequent Emojis throughout. Visually engaging.

Configuration

Basic Configuration

# .pennyfarthing/config.local.yaml
theme: discworld

attributes:
  verbosity: medium
  formality: casual
  humor: enabled
  emoji_use: minimal

Per-Agent Overrides

Override specific agents while keeping theme defaults:

theme: discworld

attributes:
  verbosity: medium
  humor: enabled

overrides:
  reviewer:
    humor: disabled      # Granny stays serious during reviews
    verbosity: high      # Detailed feedback on issues

  dev:
    verbosity: low       # Just the code, please

Changing Themes

Simply change the theme value:

theme: star-trek         # Switch to Star Trek characters

All agents will use the new theme's characters.

How Personas Load

  1. Command file triggers agent activation
  2. Agent reads .pennyfarthing/config.local.yaml
  3. Gets theme value (e.g., discworld)
  4. Loads personas/themes/{theme}.yaml
  5. Extracts agent's character section
  6. Applies attributes from config
  7. Agent activates in character

Loading Priority

  1. Overrides (highest) - Per-agent settings in config
  2. Attributes - Global attribute settings
  3. Theme defaults - Theme file defaults
  4. System defaults (lowest) - Built-in fallbacks

Helper Agents

Each agent has a helper for mechanical tasks:

Agent Helper Role
SM Nobby Scanning files, checking Jira
TEA Igor Running tests (we are all Igor)
Dev Hex Thinking engine, problem solving
Reviewer Nanny Ogg Running tests, gathering lint
Architect Modo Quiet maintenance
PM Drumknott Efficient clerical work
Tech Writer Otto Chriek Screenshots and visuals
UX Designer Stanley Cataloging components
DevOps Lobsang Health monitoring

Helpers are Haiku-based subagents that handle routine operations.

Creating Custom Themes

Interactive Wizard (Recommended)

Use /theme-maker for guided theme creation:

/theme-maker

Three creation modes:

Mode You Provide AI Generates
AI-Driven Universe concept All 10 agent personas
Guided Character selections from AI suggestions Style, traits, quotes
Manual Character, style, quote per agent Role, expertise, helper

The wizard handles validation, file creation, and version tracking.

CLI Command

For quick creation from command line:

pf theme create noir-detective

Creates a skeleton theme file to edit manually.

Theme File Location

Custom themes are stored in:

.claude/pennyfarthing/themes/{name}.yaml

Theme File Structure

# Custom theme: noir-detective
# Created by /theme-maker

theme:
  name: Noir Detective
  description: "1940s noir detective fiction"
  source: "Classic noir films and novels"
  default_emoji_use: minimal
  default_humor: enabled
  character_immersion: high
  user_title: Boss
  pennyfarthing_version: "4.0.0"
  created: 2025-01-15

agents:
  sm:
    character: Sam Spade
    style: World-weary, trusts no one, gets the job done
    expertise: Team coordination, solving mysteries
    role: The detective who runs the agency
    trait: Cynical pragmatism, hidden morality
    quote: "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it."
    emoji: "🎩"
    helper:
      name: Effie
      style: "Efficient, loyal, keeps the office running"

  # ... all 10 agents required

Required Agents

Each theme must define all 10 agents:

Agent Role Character Should Be
orchestrator Meta-coordinator Pattern-seer, guide
sm Scrum Master Leader, coordinator
tea Test Engineer Detail-oriented, finds flaws
dev Developer Builder, practical
reviewer Code Reviewer Critical, high standards
architect System Architect Big-picture thinker
pm Product Manager Strategic planner
tech-writer Documentation Clear communicator
ux-designer UX Design User advocate
devops Infrastructure Reliable operator

Version Compatibility

Custom themes include pennyfarthing_version to track compatibility. When Pennyfarthing updates, you'll see a warning if your theme was created with an older version. The theme still works, but some fields may be missing or deprecated.

Theme Guidelines

  1. Consistent tone - Characters should feel like they belong together
  2. Clear expertise - Map character traits to agent responsibilities
  3. Distinct voices - Each agent should be recognizable
  4. Helper rationale - Helpers should make sense for the character
  5. Appropriate humor - Match humor level to theme source

Best Practices

Choosing a Theme

  • Discworld - Default. Fun, quotable, distinct voices.
  • Star Trek - Technical focus, professional but personable.
  • Literary Classics - Sophisticated, wit, literary references.
  • Minimalist - When you want no personality, just work.

For detailed personality analysis including Big Five (OCEAN) profiles, visual mapping, and most disparate pairs analysis, see THEME-COMPARISON.md.

Tuning Attributes

For focused work:

attributes:
  verbosity: low
  humor: disabled
  emoji_use: none

For learning/exploration:

attributes:
  verbosity: high
  humor: subtle
  emoji_use: minimal

For fun/engagement:

attributes:
  verbosity: medium
  humor: enabled
  emoji_use: frequent

Team Considerations

If working with a team, consider:

  • Consistent theme across all team members
  • Shared attribute preferences
  • Minimalist for formal/client contexts
  • Themed for internal/fun work

See Also