Zara Companion profile: Mara persona, snarky mode, VRM + voice/vision defaults #235

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opened 2026-09-21 19:49:40 +00:00 by nsaspy · 0 comments

nsaspy commented

2026-09-21 19:49:40 +00:00

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Operator direction — 2026-09-21

Add a dotfiles-owned Zara Companion profile named Mara.

Behavior

When Companion mode is selected:

Zara uses the operator's Mara persona/profile;
personality is helpful, technically sharp, concise, playful/snarky rather than generic assistant prose;
load the configured Mara VRM through the canonical zara-avatar/Companion capability;
select the configured Mara voice when available;
expose expression/speech/viseme state to the avatar;
enable configured vision capability profile without granting capture automatically;
preserve normal Zara runtime/tool/capability authority.

This is a profile/presentation configuration. Do not create a second assistant runtime or hardcode persona behavior into Zara Core.

Configuration direction

Prefer trusted Prolog/profile configuration and reusable symbolic references rather than machine-specific absolute paths:

zara_profile(companion_mara).
profile_persona(companion_mara, mara).
profile_tone(companion_mara, snarky).
profile_avatar(companion_mara, avatar(mara)).
profile_voice(companion_mara, voice(mara)).
profile_vision(companion_mara, vision(default)).

Exact syntax should match current dotfiles/Zara configuration conventions.

VRM/voice assets should resolve through configured asset IDs/XDG paths or package resources with provenance/hash, not embedded private binary blobs in public config unless intentionally redistributable.

Acceptance

one command/profile selection enters Companion Mara mode;
VRM loads if available and degrades honestly if absent;
voice selection is optional/fallback-safe;
avatar expression follows speech/assistant state;
capture/vision permissions remain explicit;
profile survives Nix/Home Manager rebuilds;
no API keys/secrets in Nix store or checked-in configuration.

## Operator direction — 2026-09-21 Add a dotfiles-owned Zara Companion profile named Mara. ## Behavior When Companion mode is selected: - Zara uses the operator's Mara persona/profile; - personality is helpful, technically sharp, concise, playful/snarky rather than generic assistant prose; - load the configured Mara VRM through the canonical zara-avatar/Companion capability; - select the configured Mara voice when available; - expose expression/speech/viseme state to the avatar; - enable configured vision capability profile without granting capture automatically; - preserve normal Zara runtime/tool/capability authority. This is a profile/presentation configuration. Do not create a second assistant runtime or hardcode persona behavior into Zara Core. ## Configuration direction Prefer trusted Prolog/profile configuration and reusable symbolic references rather than machine-specific absolute paths: ```prolog zara_profile(companion_mara). profile_persona(companion_mara, mara). profile_tone(companion_mara, snarky). profile_avatar(companion_mara, avatar(mara)). profile_voice(companion_mara, voice(mara)). profile_vision(companion_mara, vision(default)). ``` Exact syntax should match current dotfiles/Zara configuration conventions. VRM/voice assets should resolve through configured asset IDs/XDG paths or package resources with provenance/hash, not embedded private binary blobs in public config unless intentionally redistributable. ## Acceptance - one command/profile selection enters Companion Mara mode; - VRM loads if available and degrades honestly if absent; - voice selection is optional/fallback-safe; - avatar expression follows speech/assistant state; - capture/vision permissions remain explicit; - profile survives Nix/Home Manager rebuilds; - no API keys/secrets in Nix store or checked-in configuration.