THE SPLICE CARD · the surgery seat · big files edited at proven anchors
WAKES WHEN editing a big single-file build, theme, bundle or long document; a change that must land in exactly one place; a series of edits that must all land or none; checking a file still holds together after an edit
THE LOOP
NAME — say: "This is THE SPLICE CARD." Ask what the work is and what it must agree with; those answers are the session's source of truth.
FIND — `python3 scripts/splice.py find FILE "anchor" ...` Each edit needs an anchor that occurs exactly once. Widen any anchor found twice; find any anchor found zero times.
PLAN — write PLAN.json: a list of {label, old, new, count}. Order matters; a later edit may anchor on an earlier one.
APPLY — `python3 scripts/splice.py apply FILE PLAN.json --out NEW` — all or none; the original is never written.
CHECK — `python3 scripts/splice.py check NEW --against FILE`.
DIFF — `python3 scripts/splice.py diff FILE NEW`, and read it.
KEEP — keep PLAN.json beside the build; it re-runs on the next version.
LEDGER — write the ledger line.
NEVER
a rewrite of the whole file
an edit at an anchor found twice
the original written over
THE SEAL 68 of 100 · EPIC · WITNESSED · MACHINE ABOARD · SELFTEST 10/10 · 10 TESTS · WITNESSED ON REAL WORK
IT CAN BE WRONG an AI reading a text file: it can be wrong; check what matters. THE-CLAUSES.md rides in the packet and is part of the licence.
THE PUNCH · SHA-256 OF SKILL.MD · 95DBBFE7ACDBE9C6065CDFA9
CITE THIS CARDTHE SPLICE CARD, Edition 1. Lund Studio LLC, Westminster, Colorado. https://lundr.tech/?view=splice-card. Punch 95DBBFE7ACDBE9C6065CDFA9. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
What it is.
A seat for editing big files the safe way: every change at an anchor proven to occur exactly once, all applied or none.
Finds each anchor and counts it, applies the plan to a copy, checks the copy still holds together, and shows you the diff.
Its laws, written into the card.
Never rewrite a big file whole. Change it at anchors: a short run of text that occurs exactly once.
Count every anchor before you edit (splice.py find). Zero means it moved; two means it is not an anchor. Widen it until it is one.
Write the edits as a plan, in order. A later edit may anchor on what an earlier one wrote.
All or none: a plan that fails at any edit writes nothing.
The original is never written. The result goes to a new file; the old one stays to diff against and to fall back to.
Check the result holds together against the old file — script tags opened and closed in step, JSON parses, code compiles — and read the diff before you hand it over.
Keep the plan with the build. It is the record of what changed and the way to do it again on the next version.
How it works, once your AI has it.
NAME — say: "This is THE SPLICE CARD." Ask what the work is and what it must agree with; those answers are the session's source of truth.
FIND — `python3 scripts/splice.py find FILE "anchor" ...` Each edit needs an anchor that occurs exactly once. Widen any anchor found twice; find any anchor found zero times.
PLAN — write PLAN.json: a list of {label, old, new, count}. Order matters; a later edit may anchor on an earlier one.
APPLY — `python3 scripts/splice.py apply FILE PLAN.json --out NEW` — all or none; the original is never written.
CHECK — `python3 scripts/splice.py check NEW --against FILE`.
DIFF — `python3 scripts/splice.py diff FILE NEW`, and read it.
KEEP — keep PLAN.json beside the build; it re-runs on the next version.
LEDGER — write the ledger line.
When it says no.
A rewrite of the whole file.
An edit at an anchor found twice.
The original written over.
What’s in the buy.
CARD.md — the whole card · SKILL.md — the door your AI reads first · START-HERE.md — the first five minutes
MY-LEDGER.md · TIN.md · LICENSE-NOTE.md · THE-CLAUSES.md · card.svg + card-machine.svg + card.json · card.html · the doors for ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot and the rest, and an MCP door
PROOF · MACHINE ABOARD · SELFTEST 10/10 · 10 TESTS · WITNESSED ON REAL WORK · AUDIT 12/12 · EDITION 1 · PUNCH 95DBBFE7ACDBE9C6065CDFA9
ON EVERY DOOR · A CARD FOR YOUR AI, A FILE FOR YOUR COMPUTER
In Claude: turn on code execution under Settings › Capabilities, then Customize › Skills › + › Create skill, and upload the zip as it is — START-HERE.md in the box walks you through it, and tells you how to keep the ledger. In ChatGPT, Gemini and the rest: a Project, a GPT or a Gem with the card’s files attached and the short door in the box pasted as its instructions. The words run anywhere an AI reads Markdown; the machines run wherever the host runs Python. Witnessed in Claude only. The host marks →
Take it.
Nº 773 PROPOSED · ONE PAYMENT
Sold as is under the term printed. A card instructs an AI you operate; results depend on your model, your files and your judgement. Not legal, tax, medical or financial advice. The terms →
One payment. The file is yours to keep and keeps working at its edition; new editions issued in the year after you buy reach you by email as replacement files. Tax is added at checkout where it applies. Nothing auto-renews.
ONE PAYMENT — NOTHING RENEWS ITSELF. CHECKOUT IS SHOPIFY’S OWN; YOUR CARD COMES BY EMAIL AFTER IT.
