---
slug: "Goal"
name: "Goal"
type: "Data Structures"
layer: "Infrastructure"
ref: "Goal#986b"
sema_id: "sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:986beec5f7aea2c89962d1e93806de83c61eee9bd7364d9ce1d20bd479fa5e70"
tags: ["Infrastructure","Data Structures"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Goal/
related: ["Result","Work","Agent","Goalweave","Plan","PurposeLinkReview","Reflexion","Roadmap","Spec","Goalweave#5000","PurposeLinkReview#6f85"]
---

# Goal

Specification of desired end state

Layer: Infrastructure · Category: Data Structures

## Mechanism

A specification of a desired end state. It defines the target that [Work](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Work.md) aims to achieve and that evaluation measures against. A Goal is testable: given a [Result](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Result.md), one can determine if the Goal is satisfied. Goals can be composed (AND/OR) and prioritized.

## Invariants

- Testability: Given a Result, Goal satisfaction must be decidable.
- Explicit revision: a Goal may change only by explicit re-declaration, never silently. An execution whose Goal differs from the one it began under, with no re-declaration recorded, has no decidable satisfaction condition.

## Failure modes

- Goal Ambiguity: Goal admits multiple incompatible interpretations.
- Goal Conflict: Multiple goals cannot all be satisfied simultaneously.
- Moving Target: Goal changes during execution without proper signaling.

## Data schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "goal_statement",
    "success_criteria"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "goal_statement": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The desired end state"
    },
    "success_criteria": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "description": "Binary conditions that define completion"
    },
    "priority": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 100
    },
    "metric_target": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "metric_name": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "target_value": {
          "type": "number"
        },
        "comparator": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": [
            ">",
            "<",
            ">=",
            "<=",
            "="
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Builds on

- [Result](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Result.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Work](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Work.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Used by

- [Agent](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Agent.md) (Mind; References)
- [Goalweave](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Goalweave.md) (Society; References)
- [Plan](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Plan.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [PurposeLinkReview](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/PurposeLinkReview.md) (Mind; References)
- [Reflexion](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Reflexion.md) (Mind; References)
- [Roadmap](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Roadmap.md) (Mind; References)
- [Spec](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Spec.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:986beec5f7aea2c89962d1e93806de83c61eee9bd7364d9ce1d20bd479fa5e70`
- Ref: `Goal#986b`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:456a8a283dc469d46b3307147a853e4be7d07f0d6c4477d789b8ab14aa33b02a`
  - `sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:10766784445e66efafa393ed841ebfc1b68b763269f1a144fe7457478fcdb422`
  - `sema:Goal#mh:SHA-256:b011159e6135b97ac191b4a06846af58c55af37a977aaf58c1e3556457538808`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Goal/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/#Goal)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Goal.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json)