---
slug: "RootSolver"
name: "RootSolver"
type: "Strategy"
layer: "Mind"
ref: "RootSolver#f7f5"
sema_id: "sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:f7f5a39c4d93545b506ddc3eeb03660295425657486a5ab1f71811cb8e5816ca"
tags: ["Mind","Strategy"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/RootSolver/
related: ["PathwayMemory","Budget","FrameError","Problem","ProblemSpace","Result","Solution","SolverNode","Task","Tree","GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol","MandatoryAbstraction","ProblemFramer","SolverTree"]
---

# RootSolver

Apex triage node of a SolverTree, with Pathway Memory as its compounding learning site

Layer: Mind · Category: Strategy

## Mechanism

The apex node of a solver [Tree](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Tree.md) — the unique entry point where a [Problem](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Problem.md) (attached to a [Task](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Task.md)) enters that tree. Its cognitive operation is triage: determining what kind of problem this is and routing it via a dispatch function conditioned on its [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md). The RootSolver holds four unique authorities: Problem Framing (initial constraints and [ProblemSpace](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ProblemSpace.md)), Budget Allocation (cascading [Budget](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Budget.md) to child [SolverNode](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/SolverNode.md)s), Ultimate Accountability (owning the final [Result](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Result.md) or [Solution](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Solution.md)), and Pathway Memory maintenance (compounding learning about which routes work for which problem types). Every tree has exactly one RootSolver; sub-trees carry their own. A [FrameError](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/FrameError.md) arriving from any descendant is the signal that reframing is required rather than retry; the RootSolver is its terminal consumer, since it alone holds Reframe Authority.

## Invariants

- Singleton per tree: every SolverTree has exactly one RootSolver.
- Owns the final success or failure of the root [Task](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Task.md).
- Sole reframe authority, and terminal consumer of any [FrameError](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/FrameError.md) raised beneath it.
- [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md) writes name the node that wrote them.

## Failure modes

- Bad Frame: problem framed incorrectly, unsolvable by downstream nodes.
- Reframe Failure: Root fails to find a valid alternative frame after downstream failure.
- Budget Misallocation: resources distributed poorly across child nodes.
- Poisoned Pathway Memory silently biases routing decisions — mitigated by signed writes only.

## Data schema

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "task_ref",
    "problem_frame"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "task_ref": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Reference to originating task"
    },
    "problem_frame": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Initial problem constraints and space"
    },
    "budget_allocation": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Resource distribution to children"
    },
    "pathway_memory_ref": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Reference to this Root's PathwayMemory"
    },
    "children": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "string"
      },
      "description": "Child solver node refs"
    }
  }
}
```

## Builds on

- [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md) (Mind; Composes with)
- [Budget](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Budget.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [FrameError](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/FrameError.md) (Mind; References)
- [Problem](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Problem.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [ProblemSpace](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ProblemSpace.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Result](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Result.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Solution](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Solution.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [SolverNode](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/SolverNode.md) (Society; References)
- [Task](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Task.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Tree](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Tree.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Used by

- [GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/GeneralProblemSolvingProtocol.md) (Mind; References)
- [MandatoryAbstraction](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/MandatoryAbstraction.md) (Mind; References)
- [ProblemFramer](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/ProblemFramer.md) (Mind; References)
- [SolverTree](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/SolverTree.md) (Society; References)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:f7f5a39c4d93545b506ddc3eeb03660295425657486a5ab1f71811cb8e5816ca`
- Ref: `RootSolver#f7f5`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:SolverRoot#mh:SHA-256:d31bfa55e755ef10526cf18631128ba7fa9f77afbc6417a07bb5c0700f7a671f`
  - `sema:SolverRoot#mh:SHA-256:8a84b7a912568866ea4b75faf00eb272cb9611b5c96648c073ddcf5a4d687ba1`
  - `sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:750d3992db274fa89e6bad275ad10c0fc6ea9969cc9e4ff9cd809c77f96a4d32`
  - `sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:6d0d34bacbf2d51f0c8152acde51d1bcc1c3f2e93127d4e03ea037a87183980b`
  - `sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:332edbdd0535c4895116d911fbdc4dfeb1ccefc3266d56f413b39f418f66f31b`
  - `sema:RootSolver#mh:SHA-256:29d798d343e265e5a0e7de0f84917106067fdaf958476eb9128c5b271a711acb`

## Links

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