FORMATION engine

Find what holds. Then build with it.

Sign in to try it

Example results

What FORMATION returns

Real results, not mock-ups.

Sent

“A 3-step plan for a teen who blows up at their parents and hates it afterwards. No religious language — they're not there yet.”

3 sessions · practical support · ages 14-18 · anger

Practical support · 3 sessions · Anger / conflict

Cool Head at Home: 3 steps to stop blowing up

A short, practical plan to catch anger early, speak clearly in the moment, and repair after a blowup with your parents. No religious language. Straightforward steps you can use this week.

For: Built for 14–18 year olds who feel stuck in the same fight cycle at home. Plain English, no church talk. Use it in a small group or one-on-one. Keep it calm and concrete.

Session 1

Step 1 — Catch it early

Notice the first signs of anger and your home triggers, then use a short pause before words leave your mouth.

The step

Everybody gets angry. The goal here isn’t to feel nothing. It’s to catch the moment before your words do damage.

Anger doesn’t just appear in your mouth. Your body flashes first—jaw tight, chest hot, shoulders up, fists clench, breath gets fast.

At home, the same few things usually set you off: a topic, a time of day, or the way someone says something.

There’s a small window—the first seconds—where a tiny pause can change the whole night.

Reflect

Think of your last blowup at home. Where did you feel it in your body first?
What were the top two triggers in that moment: topic, time, tone, or something else?
What usually happens in the first 15 seconds that makes things worse?
If you took a 10–20 second pause in that moment, what would it have changed?

Practice

Yellow-light plan

Pick two body cues that mean you’re heating up (for example: jaw tight, chest hot). Pick one pause move (for example: sip water, step to the sink, look out a window) and one line you can say (“Give me a second,” or “I need a quick breather”). For the next week, the first time you notice a cue, do your pause move and say your line before you answer.

Journal prompt

Write about the last time you snapped at a parent. List three body cues you noticed or might have missed. Name the main trigger and what 10–20 seconds of pause could look like next time.

Optional: hand it out to take home, or use it in the group.

Resources

Session 2

Step 2 — Talk short and clear in the heat

In the moment, use one clear sentence and a real timeout to lower the heat instead of adding fuel.

The step

When tempers rise, long speeches and blame make the fire bigger. Short and specific words lower the heat.

Saying what you need or what you can’t do right now lands better than attacking someone’s motives.

If things are spiking, a short timeout with a plan to return can calm it down.

Respect isn’t weakness. It keeps your power and helps you be heard.

Reflect

What’s a common sentence you say that pours gas on the fire?
Turn that into one short, specific sentence that names a need or limit.
When would you call a timeout at home? What would you say, and when would you come back?
Who at home tends to follow you back into a calmer talk if you lead with calm?

Practice

Two lines ready

Write two scripts on a note in your phone: (1) Your one-sentence ask or limit (for example: “I can talk about this after dinner, not right now.”). (2) Your timeout line with a return plan (for example: “I’m heated. I’m taking 10 minutes. I’ll come back at 7:40 to finish this.”). Practice saying both out loud twice today.

Journal prompt

Rewrite your last heated comeback into one short sentence that names a need or limit. Then write the exact timeout line you’ll use next time, with a return time.

Optional: hand it out to take home, or use it in the group.

Resources

Session 3

Step 3 — Repair what broke

After a blowup, own your part, apologize with specifics, and make one small repair.

The step

Vague apologies like “Sorry about earlier” don’t fix much. Specific ones land better and help rebuild trust.

Owning your part without excuses shows you’re serious and makes it safer to talk next time.

A small repair—like cleaning up the mess you made with your words or actions—helps the relationship recover.

Reflect

What exactly did you do or say in the last blowup that you can own?
If you name the impact on your parent in one line, what would it be?
What is one small repair you could offer this week?
When and where could you bring this up so it’s not rushed or public?

Practice

Repair script + one small action

Use this flow with a parent: 1) “I’m sorry for [specific action].” 2) “It was wrong because [impact on them].” 3) “I’m working on [small change].” 4) “To make it right, I’ll [small repair].” Keep it short. No “but.” Set a calm time to say it, then follow through on the repair within 48 hours.

Journal prompt

Draft your repair using the four lines. Pick the day and time you’ll say it, and the small repair you’ll follow through on. After you do it, jot how it went and what you learned.

Optional: hand it out to take home, or use it in the group.

For developers: placement health, provenance & raw JSON All invariants hold

practical-lane: light, sparse, cyclable

2/3

slots filled

unique resources

repeats

videos reused

worship in practical

1 · 1 · 0

inline per session

LIFELINE queries

· Inline sparingly, deeper tiers: session 1 carries one song; go-deeper chips and a short teaching arrive later.
· Practical lane is spiritually light: one support song per session under the reviewed depth ceiling (≤ 0.6; a row with no reviewed depth needs the legacy practical-safe flag) — no worship, verses, prayer, plans, teaching or testimonies.
· Everything is cyclable: each slot keeps a lead plus alternates so a reader can ask for another without a new query.
· No repeats across the study; videos are unique across the whole study.

design: gpt-51626 in / 3486 outenrich: rerankTRUTH reviews: 0

The practical lane carries no TRUTH go-deeper material (it is scripture-grounded); its claims are listed for a reviewer only.

{
  "studyId": "dfaaf9bc-604a-4cf8-b90b-b3b6729726b5",
  "title": "Cool Head at Home: 3 steps to stop blowing up",
  "summary": "A short, practical plan to catch anger early, speak clearly in the moment, and repair after a blowup with your parents. No religious language. Straightforward steps you can use this week.",
  "track": "anger",
  "lane": "practical",
  "audience": {
    "ageRange": "14-18",
    "faithFamiliarity": "new"
  },
  "audienceNote": "Built for 14–18 year olds who feel stuck in the same fight cycle at home. Plain English, no church talk. Use it in a small group or one-on-one. Keep it calm and concrete.",
  "voice": null,
  "sessions": [
    {
      "id": "session-1",
      "index": 0,
      "title": "Step 1 — Catch it early",
      "objective": "Notice the first signs of anger and your home triggers, then use a short pause before words leave your mouth.",
      "scripture": [],
      "teaching": "Everybody gets angry. The goal here isn’t to feel nothing. It’s to catch the moment before your words do damage.\n\nAnger doesn’t just appear in your mouth. Your body flashes first—jaw tight, chest hot, shoulders up, fists clench, breath gets fast.\n\nAt home, the same few things usually set you off: a topic, a time of day, or the way someone says something.\n\nThere’s a small window—the first seconds—where a tiny pause can change the whole night.",
      "teachingParts": [
        {
          "text": "Everybody gets angry. The goal here isn’t to feel nothing. It’s to catch the moment before your words do damage.",
          "claims": []
        },
        {
          "text": "Anger doesn’t just appear in your mouth. Your body flashes first—jaw tight, chest hot, shoulders up, fists clench, breath gets fast.",
          "claims": [
            0
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "At home, the same few things usually set you off: a topic, a time of day, or the way someone says something.",
          "claims": [
            1
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "There’s a small window—the first seconds—where a tiny pause can change the whole night.",
          "claims": [
            2
          ]
        }
      ],
      "claims": [
        "Anger shows up in the body before words or actions most of the time.",
        "Home blowups usually repeat around the same triggers like topic, time, or tone.",
        "A short pause in the first seconds reduces the chance of a blowup."
      ],
      "reflection": [
        "Think of your last blowup at home. Where did you feel it in your body first?",
        "What were the top two triggers in that moment: topic, time, tone, or something else?",
        "What usually happens in the first 15 seconds that makes things worse?",
        "If you took a 10–20 second pause in that moment, what would it have changed?"
      ],
      "practice": {
        "label": "Yellow-light plan",
        "text": "Pick two body cues that mean you’re heating up (for example: jaw tight, chest hot). Pick one pause move (for example: sip water, step to the sink, look out a window) and one line you can say (“Give me a second,” or “I need a quick breather”). For the next week, the first time you notice a cue, do your pause move and say your line before you answer."
      },
      "journalPrompt": "Write about the last time you snapped at a parent. List three body cues you noticed or might have missed. Name the main trigger and what 10–20 seconds of pause could look like next time.",
      "prayer": null,
      "depthModule": null,
      "lifelineNeeds": {
        "song": "I’m about to snap at my parents and need a song to cool me down fast",
        "teaching": "how to notice early signs of anger in my body",
        "plan": "simple daily plan to pause before I speak at home",
        "story": "teen who learned to catch anger early with their parents"
      },
      "lifelines": [
        {
          "slot": "song",
          "surface": "inline",
          "category": "support_song",
          "need": "I’m about to snap at my parents and need a song to cool me down fast",
          "lead": {
            "resourceKey": "submitted:name:skillet-monster-783214b972",
            "canonicalKey": "skillet|monster",
            "category": "support_song",
            "provider": "YouTube",
            "title": "Monster",
            "creator": "Skillet",
            "blurb": "Play this when you need to let out a roar and feel less alone with the chaos inside.",
            "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mjlM_RnsVE",
            "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/1mjlM_RnsVE",
            "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1mjlM_RnsVE/hqdefault.jpg",
            "durationSeconds": null,
            "topics": [
              "inner_struggle",
              "self_loathing",
              "anger"
            ],
            "journeyTracks": [
              "anger",
              "fear_doubt",
              "harmful_habit"
            ],
            "deliveryVisibility": "private",
            "spiritualDepth": 0,
            "placementSafety": {
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementFitStored": true,
              "legacySafety": {
                "introOutreachSafe": false,
                "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
              }
            },
            "rank": 1,
            "score": 32,
            "matchReasons": [
              "track:anger",
              "topic:song",
              "tone:energizing"
            ]
          },
          "alternates": [
            {
              "resourceKey": "submitted:name:nf-let-you-down-fbec2ab749",
              "canonicalKey": "nf|let you down",
              "category": "support_song",
              "provider": "YouTube",
              "title": "Let You Down",
              "creator": "NF",
              "blurb": "Play this when you need raw, honest words about letting people down and feeling stuck — when you just need to be heard.",
              "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbHbTBP_u7U",
              "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbHbTBP_u7U?feature=oembed",
              "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fbHbTBP_u7U/hqdefault.jpg",
              "durationSeconds": null,
              "topics": [
                "shame",
                "family_conflict",
                "self_worth"
              ],
              "journeyTracks": [
                "fear_doubt",
                "anger"
              ],
              "deliveryVisibility": "private",
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementSafety": {
                "spiritualDepth": 0,
                "placementFitStored": true,
                "legacySafety": {
                  "introOutreachSafe": false,
                  "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                  "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                  "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
                }
              },
              "rank": 2,
              "score": 28,
              "matchReasons": [
                "track:anger",
                "topic:song",
                "topic:down"
              ]
            },
            {
              "resourceKey": "submitted:youtube:www-youtube-com-watch-3e920bf884",
              "canonicalKey": "james bay|let it go",
              "category": "support_song",
              "provider": "YouTube",
              "title": "Let It Go",
              "creator": "James Bay",
              "blurb": "Play this when you need to sit with the ache and finally let something — or someone — go.",
              "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsPq9mzFNGY",
              "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/GsPq9mzFNGY?feature=oembed",
              "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GsPq9mzFNGY/hqdefault.jpg",
              "durationSeconds": null,
              "topics": [
                "breakup",
                "letting_go",
                "identity"
              ],
              "journeyTracks": [
                "anger",
                "fear_doubt"
              ],
              "deliveryVisibility": "private",
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementSafety": {
                "spiritualDepth": 0,
                "placementFitStored": true,
                "legacySafety": {
                  "introOutreachSafe": false,
                  "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                  "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                  "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
                }
              },
              "rank": 3,
              "score": 22,
              "matchReasons": [
                "track:anger",
                "topic:song"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "rankedBy": "deterministic",
          "why": null,
          "error": null
        }
      ],
      "goDeeper": [
        {
          "claim": "Anger shows up in the body before words or actions most of the time.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "Home blowups usually repeat around the same triggers like topic, time, or tone.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "A short pause in the first seconds reduces the chance of a blowup.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        }
      ],
      "lesson": {
        "status": "settled",
        "claimsStand": true,
        "withheldParts": 0,
        "leaderNotes": []
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "session-2",
      "index": 1,
      "title": "Step 2 — Talk short and clear in the heat",
      "objective": "In the moment, use one clear sentence and a real timeout to lower the heat instead of adding fuel.",
      "scripture": [],
      "teaching": "When tempers rise, long speeches and blame make the fire bigger. Short and specific words lower the heat.\n\nSaying what you need or what you can’t do right now lands better than attacking someone’s motives.\n\nIf things are spiking, a short timeout with a plan to return can calm it down.\n\nRespect isn’t weakness. It keeps your power and helps you be heard.",
      "teachingParts": [
        {
          "text": "When tempers rise, long speeches and blame make the fire bigger. Short and specific words lower the heat.",
          "claims": [
            0
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "Saying what you need or what you can’t do right now lands better than attacking someone’s motives.",
          "claims": [
            1
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "If things are spiking, a short timeout with a plan to return can calm it down.",
          "claims": [
            2
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "Respect isn’t weakness. It keeps your power and helps you be heard.",
          "claims": []
        }
      ],
      "claims": [
        "Short, specific words lower the emotional heat better than long, blaming speeches in many cases.",
        "Naming a concrete need or limit is usually easier to hear than accusing motives.",
        "A time-out with a return plan often de-escalates an argument."
      ],
      "reflection": [
        "What’s a common sentence you say that pours gas on the fire?",
        "Turn that into one short, specific sentence that names a need or limit.",
        "When would you call a timeout at home? What would you say, and when would you come back?",
        "Who at home tends to follow you back into a calmer talk if you lead with calm?"
      ],
      "practice": {
        "label": "Two lines ready",
        "text": "Write two scripts on a note in your phone: (1) Your one-sentence ask or limit (for example: “I can talk about this after dinner, not right now.”). (2) Your timeout line with a return plan (for example: “I’m heated. I’m taking 10 minutes. I’ll come back at 7:40 to finish this.”). Practice saying both out loud twice today."
      },
      "journalPrompt": "Rewrite your last heated comeback into one short sentence that names a need or limit. Then write the exact timeout line you’ll use next time, with a return time.",
      "prayer": null,
      "depthModule": null,
      "lifelineNeeds": {
        "song": "song for when an argument is blowing up and I need to keep my cool",
        "teaching": "how to speak clearly without being disrespectful during conflict",
        "plan": "timeout plan with exact words and a return time for family arguments",
        "story": "teen who learned to use short sentences and timeouts with their parents"
      },
      "lifelines": [
        {
          "slot": "song",
          "surface": "inline",
          "category": "support_song",
          "need": "song for when an argument is blowing up and I need to keep my cool",
          "lead": {
            "resourceKey": "submitted:youtube:www-youtube-com-watch-641f0cb280",
            "canonicalKey": "ne yo|mad",
            "category": "support_song",
            "provider": "YouTube",
            "title": "Mad",
            "creator": "Ne-Yo",
            "blurb": "Play this when you’re still mad after a fight and need a song that actually says what you’re feeling.",
            "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAYuOc7_TKg",
            "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/sAYuOc7_TKg?feature=oembed",
            "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sAYuOc7_TKg/hqdefault.jpg",
            "durationSeconds": null,
            "topics": [
              "relationship_conflict",
              "reconciliation",
              "communication"
            ],
            "journeyTracks": [
              "anger"
            ],
            "deliveryVisibility": "public",
            "spiritualDepth": 0,
            "placementSafety": {
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementFitStored": true,
              "legacySafety": {
                "introOutreachSafe": false,
                "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
              }
            },
            "rank": 1,
            "score": 22,
            "matchReasons": [
              "track:anger",
              "topic:song"
            ]
          },
          "alternates": [
            {
              "resourceKey": "submitted:youtube:www-youtube-com-watch-5fb86c0b00",
              "canonicalKey": "rebecca lynn howard|forgive",
              "category": "support_song",
              "provider": "YouTube",
              "title": "Forgive",
              "creator": "Rebecca Lynn Howard",
              "blurb": "Play this when you’re ready to stop carrying anger and need a steady, honest song about trying to let go.",
              "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTFX0Q7rq-E",
              "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/VTFX0Q7rq-E?feature=oembed",
              "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VTFX0Q7rq-E/hqdefault.jpg",
              "durationSeconds": null,
              "topics": [
                "infidelity",
                "betrayal",
                "forgiveness"
              ],
              "journeyTracks": [
                "anger"
              ],
              "deliveryVisibility": "public",
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementSafety": {
                "spiritualDepth": 0,
                "placementFitStored": true,
                "legacySafety": {
                  "introOutreachSafe": false,
                  "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                  "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                  "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
                }
              },
              "rank": 2,
              "score": 22,
              "matchReasons": [
                "track:anger",
                "topic:song"
              ]
            },
            {
              "resourceKey": "submitted:youtube:www-youtube-com-watch-d286d11e56",
              "canonicalKey": "cody johnson|til you can t",
              "category": "support_song",
              "provider": "YouTube",
              "title": "'Til You Can't",
              "creator": "Cody Johnson",
              "blurb": "Play Cody Johnson’s 'Til You Can't when you need a straight-up reminder to give it your all and stop waiting.",
              "sourceUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2LixP7n_hM",
              "embedUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2LixP7n_hM?feature=oembed",
              "thumbnailUrl": "https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v2LixP7n_hM/hqdefault.jpg",
              "durationSeconds": null,
              "topics": [
                "take_chance",
                "priorities",
                "family"
              ],
              "journeyTracks": [],
              "deliveryVisibility": "public",
              "spiritualDepth": 0,
              "placementSafety": {
                "spiritualDepth": 0,
                "placementFitStored": true,
                "legacySafety": {
                  "introOutreachSafe": false,
                  "initialOutreachSafe": false,
                  "supportEnrichmentSafe": false,
                  "practicalEnrichmentSafe": false
                }
              },
              "rank": 3,
              "score": 20,
              "matchReasons": [
                "topic:song",
                "tone:energizing"
              ]
            }
          ],
          "rankedBy": "deterministic",
          "why": null,
          "error": null
        }
      ],
      "goDeeper": [
        {
          "claim": "Short, specific words lower the emotional heat better than long, blaming speeches in many cases.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "Naming a concrete need or limit is usually easier to hear than accusing motives.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "A time-out with a return plan often de-escalates an argument.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        }
      ],
      "lesson": {
        "status": "settled",
        "claimsStand": true,
        "withheldParts": 0,
        "leaderNotes": []
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "session-3",
      "index": 2,
      "title": "Step 3 — Repair what broke",
      "objective": "After a blowup, own your part, apologize with specifics, and make one small repair.",
      "scripture": [],
      "teaching": "Vague apologies like “Sorry about earlier” don’t fix much. Specific ones land better and help rebuild trust.\n\nOwning your part without excuses shows you’re serious and makes it safer to talk next time.\n\nA small repair—like cleaning up the mess you made with your words or actions—helps the relationship recover.",
      "teachingParts": [
        {
          "text": "Vague apologies like “Sorry about earlier” don’t fix much. Specific ones land better and help rebuild trust.",
          "claims": [
            0
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "Owning your part without excuses shows you’re serious and makes it safer to talk next time.",
          "claims": [
            1
          ]
        },
        {
          "text": "A small repair—like cleaning up the mess you made with your words or actions—helps the relationship recover.",
          "claims": [
            2
          ]
        }
      ],
      "claims": [
        "Specific apologies are more effective than vague ones.",
        "Owning your part without excuses builds trust over time.",
        "A small repair action helps relationships recover."
      ],
      "reflection": [
        "What exactly did you do or say in the last blowup that you can own?",
        "If you name the impact on your parent in one line, what would it be?",
        "What is one small repair you could offer this week?",
        "When and where could you bring this up so it’s not rushed or public?"
      ],
      "practice": {
        "label": "Repair script + one small action",
        "text": "Use this flow with a parent: 1) “I’m sorry for [specific action].” 2) “It was wrong because [impact on them].” 3) “I’m working on [small change].” 4) “To make it right, I’ll [small repair].” Keep it short. No “but.” Set a calm time to say it, then follow through on the repair within 48 hours."
      },
      "journalPrompt": "Draft your repair using the four lines. Pick the day and time you’ll say it, and the small repair you’ll follow through on. After you do it, jot how it went and what you learned.",
      "prayer": null,
      "depthModule": null,
      "lifelineNeeds": {
        "song": "song for when I feel guilty after yelling at my mom or dad",
        "teaching": "how to apologize well and rebuild trust after an argument",
        "plan": "step-by-step plan to repair after I lost my temper at home",
        "story": "teen who owned their part and made things right with a parent"
      },
      "lifelines": [
        {
          "slot": "song",
          "surface": "inline",
          "category": "support_song",
          "need": "song for when I feel guilty after yelling at my mom or dad",
          "lead": null,
          "alternates": [],
          "rankedBy": "deterministic",
          "why": null,
          "error": "every candidate was refused by the practical lane's gate: carried a reviewed depth but no stored placement verdict (the export refuses it too)"
        }
      ],
      "goDeeper": [
        {
          "claim": "Specific apologies are more effective than vague ones.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "Owning your part without excuses builds trust over time.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        },
        {
          "claim": "A small repair action helps relationships recover.",
          "jobId": null,
          "status": "skipped",
          "reason": null,
          "lesson": null,
          "insight": null
        }
      ],
      "lesson": {
        "status": "settled",
        "claimsStand": true,
        "withheldParts": 0,
        "leaderNotes": []
      }
    }
  ],
  "gospelGateway": null,
  "placement": {
    "sessions": 3,
    "slotsPlanned": 3,
    "slotsFilled": 2,
    "slotsEmpty": 1,
    "uniqueResources": 6,
    "repeats": 0,
    "worshipInPracticalLane": 0,
    "practicalCeilingRefused": 10,
    "faithCategoryRefused": 0,
    "practicalRefusals": {
      "above_ceiling": 0,
      "no_placement_fit": 10,
      "not_legacy_safe": 0,
      "placement_safety_unreported": 0
    },
    "videosReused": 0,
    "inlinePerSession": [
      1,
      1,
      0
    ],
    "rules": [
      "Inline sparingly, deeper tiers: session 1 carries one song; go-deeper chips and a short teaching arrive later.",
      "Practical lane is spiritually light: one support song per session under the reviewed depth ceiling (≤ 0.6; a row with no reviewed depth needs the legacy practical-safe flag) — no worship, verses, prayer, plans, teaching or testimonies.",
      "Everything is cyclable: each slot keeps a lead plus alternates so a reader can ask for another without a new query.",
      "No repeats across the study; videos are unique across the whole study."
    ],
    "strategy": "practical-lane: light, sparse, cyclable",
    "queries": 3,
    "offRampCheck": {
      "checked": 6,
      "withheld": 0,
      "error": null
    }
  },
  "truth": {
    "enabled": false,
    "reviewsEnqueued": 0,
    "insightsEndpoint": null,
    "note": "The practical lane carries no TRUTH go-deeper material (it is scripture-grounded); its claims are listed for a reviewer only."
  },
  "provenance": {
    "generatedAt": "2026-10-14T16:43:11.501Z",
    "designModel": "gpt-5",
    "designUsage": {
      "inputTokens": 1626,
      "outputTokens": 3486
    },
    "enrich": "rerank",
    "spend": [
      {
        "step": "formation_design",
        "model": "gpt-5",
        "inputTokens": 1626,
        "outputTokens": 3486
      },
      {
        "step": "formation_audit",
        "model": "gpt-5-mini",
        "inputTokens": 2446,
        "outputTokens": 149
      },
      {
        "step": "formation_resource_check",
        "model": "gpt-5-mini",
        "inputTokens": 641,
        "outputTokens": 75
      }
    ]
  },
  "review": {
    "pending": false,
    "sessionsPending": 0,
    "statusEndpoint": "/api/public/formation/study?studyId=dfaaf9bc-604a-4cf8-b90b-b3b6729726b5"
  }
}

Returned by FORMATION v0 · API v1.

Turn a plain-language brief into a study for your group.

Generate a study from a brief

Funded account or a bound service bearer8 studies / hour per accounttypically 45–150s (design ~30–60s, a lane audit on the practical lane, up to 14 resource serves); hard deadline 270s; TRUTH reviews finish minutes later

Returns the study with each lesson pending while its claims are checked. Poll /study for the lessons as the checks finish.

· Gated on the server for every caller, with no switch: on the faith lane, a teaching part is sent only once every claim it rests on (teachingParts[].claims) has been checked, and only if none of them came back CONTRADICTED. Each claim is read through TRUTH's consumer result (truth-consumer-result/v1: SUPPORTED | CONTRADICTED | UNDETERMINED), never its internal enums. UNDETERMINED is TRUTH abstaining, not rejecting: the part is kept, and lesson.leaderNotes says why TRUTH could not stand behind the claim — a genuine dispute as a question careful readers disagree on. A review that failed to run is kept apart from an abstention (lesson review_failed) and is not held either. A part on a pending, unchecked or CONTRADICTED claim is never sent, in any field; lesson.leaderNotes says why. The practical lane's claims are not checked by TRUTH, so its teaching is not held for them.
· Poll GET /api/public/formation/study?studyId=… until review.pending is false.
· A study carries NO crisis off-ramp and NO Gospel gateway, on either lane. A study that includes one is refused (leader_material_violation); a practical-lane study with religious language is refused (lane_violation).
· Claim checks are paid TRUTH reviews on the calling account. A refused claim comes back skipped or failed with its reason, never as a silently unchecked claim.
· POST /api/public/formation/gospel-response answers 410 formation_gospel_gateway_retired.
· Refusals: session_count_mismatch, session_content_missing. A slot or claim cut off by the deadline comes back empty or skipped, with a reason.

Request body

Field	Type	Meaning
`brief`required	`string (10–2000)`	What you want to form in your people, in your own words. Topic, occasion, tone, anything.
`audience`	`{ ageRange?, ages?, context?, faithFamiliarity? }`	ageRange: 7-13 · 14-18 · 19-28 · adults · mixed. ages: the exact ages, when you know them — "15" or "13-15". context: e.g. "youth group, mostly unchurched, gamers". faithFamiliarity: new · exploring · familiar · mixed.
`voice`	`string (≤200)`	How it should sound, e.g. "like a level-headed older friend", "plain, no church words".
`sessions`	`1–7`	How many sessions/days. Default 3.
`lane`	`faith \| practical`	faith: scripture, teaching, prayer and an optional depth module. practical: useful to skeptics — no Scripture, prayer or Gospel language, spiritually light lifelines only. Default faith.
`track`	`anger \| despair \| fear_doubt \| harmful_habit \| sexual_habit`	The struggle this study is closest to; steers LIFELINE. Inferred from the brief when omitted.
`goDeeper`	`boolean`	Enqueue TRUTH self-reviews for the claims (default true). Faith lane only — the practical lane's claims are not sent to TRUTH, and its teaching is sent as written. Off on the faith lane, the claims stay unchecked, so no teaching that rests on one is ever sent (an unchecked claim was never put to TRUTH, so there is no result to keep it on).
`enrich`	`rerank \| fast`	Faith lane only. rerank: LIFELINE's LLM reranker judges each slot. fast: deterministic serve. The practical lane is always served deterministically (inline placement), which is what keeps it narrow. Default rerank.
`maxTruthReviews`	`0–21`	Cap on TRUTH jobs (default: every claim — a session rests on at most 3). A claim past the cap is not reviewed, so the teaching that rests on it is never sent (it is unchecked, not undetermined).

Response

Field	Type	Meaning
`title / summary / track / lane / audienceNote`	`string`	The study's frame as designed.
`sessions[]`	`Session[]`	id, title, objective, lesson { status pending \| settled, claimsStand, withheldParts, leaderNotes[{claim, note}] }, scripture[{reference, why — null unless every claim of the session stands}], teachingParts[{text, claims[] — indexes into claims[]: what the part rests on}] — on the faith lane, ONLY the parts every claim of which was reviewed and stands: TRUTH's result for it was SUPPORTED, or UNDETERMINED (TRUTH abstained — the part is kept, with a leader note of why), or its review failed to run (kept, with a note); never one resting on a CONTRADICTED or unchecked claim, and none while the session is pending; on the practical lane, whose claims TRUTH does not review, every part, teaching (those parts joined), reflection[], practice{label,text}, journalPrompt (an optional take-home or in-group writing prompt for the leader to use, generated with the session on both lanes; an activity, never teaching or evidence, and never sent to TRUTH — the study audit's journal_claim rule refuses a prompt that states a claim or argues a point: one retry, then claim_binding_violation), prayer, depthModule{scripture, explanation, reflectionQuestion, action, prayer} \| null (null unless every claim of the session stands), lifelineNeeds, claims[], lifelines[] (placed slots: slot, surface inline\|chip, category, need, lead, alternates[], rankedBy, why, telemetryToken — present with a lead; verifies the lead's shown / open / play events when this site renders the study; a verse resource carries `verse`, the card Shepherd renders, as on LIFELINE /match), goDeeper[] (claim, jobId, insightsToken, status, lesson { status earned \| undetermined \| review_failed \| correction \| withheld, reason — for undetermined, why TRUTH abstained: legacy_contract \| genuine_dispute \| not_assessable \| research_failure \| missing_corpus \| ungrounded_proposition \| unresolved_objection \| insufficient_evidence — leaderNote }, null until the review is back — and insight, the claim's go-deeper material, sent only for a claim TRUTH supported or refuted) — the token binds the job to YOUR caller; the insights read requires it.
`review`	`{ pending, sessionsPending, statusEndpoint }`	Whether any session's lesson still waits on a TRUTH review. Poll statusEndpoint (GET /api/public/formation/study?studyId=…) until pending is false.
`gospelGateway`	`null`	Always null, on both lanes.
`placement`	`Health`	The strategy applied and its health: slots planned/filled, unique resources, repeats (0), worship in the practical lane (0), practical-ceiling refusals (candidates the practical lane refused for sitting above the reviewed song depth ceiling), reused videos (0), inline per session, rules, and offRampCheck { checked, withheld, error } — the embedded resources a model pass read for crisis off-ramps, how many it withheld, or why it could not run (then every embed is withheld).
`truth`	`{ enabled, reviewsEnqueued, insightsEndpoint, note }`	How to fetch each claim's verdict + go-deeper moments. A goDeeper entry that is skipped or failed was NOT checked, and its reason says why; when no claim could be sent, the note says the whole study is unverified.
`provenance`	`{ generatedAt, designModel, designUsage, enrich }`	What produced this study.
`dedupe`	`"fresh" \| "in_flight" \| "cached" \| "undeduped"`	An identical brief from your account shares one generation, so a retry is not charged twice. fresh ran it, in_flight joined a running one, cached returned a recent study, undeduped ran on its own. Never shared across accounts.

Try it

POST /api/public/formation/generate

Response

// the response will appear here

Call it from your code

server-to-server (service bearer)

curl -sS -X POST 'https://<your-shepherd-host>/api/public/formation/generate' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer $SHEPHERD_API_KEY' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data-binary @- <<'JSON'
{
  "brief": "A 3-day identity-in-Christ study for our middle school group. Most of them are gamers, a few are new to church. Keep it real, not preachy.",
  "audience": {
    "ageRange": "14-18",
    "context": "middle school youth group, gamers, half unchurched",
    "faithFamiliarity": "mixed"
  },
  "voice": "like a level-headed older friend",
  "sessions": 3
}
JSON

Never ship the service key to a browser.

Versions

Every response from every Shepherd engine — a result, an estimate, a refusal or an error — says which versions produced it, under the same three headers on every engine. A JSON object body carries the same three as `versions: { api, engine, engines }`.

Response headers

Field	Type	Meaning
`X-API-Version`required	`v<N>`	The API version: the request/response contract, the same for every engine ("v1"). It changes only for a breaking change to that contract.
`X-Engine-Version`required	`<engine>-engine/<line>-v<N>`	The responding engine's version ("truth-engine/research-v32", "verse-engine/card-v1"). The number goes up whenever the engine's behaviour changes: its prompts, its models, its retrieval or its rules.
`X-Engine-Versions`required	`JSON object`	The versions of the engines this response's own work called, by engine name ({"lifeline": "lifeline-engine/match-v1", "truth": "truth-engine/research-v32"} from a FORMATION study; {} when it called none — a refusal before any work, or a result served from a recent identical run).

· Read as a label, a version is the engine's name, its number and the API's: "VERSE v3 · API v1". The example results on every engine page are labelled this way, with the versions each was captured under.
· A result stored for later (a TRUTH read, a FORMATION study's reviews) keeps the version that produced it; the headers name the versions answering now.
· TRUTH's assessment endpoints return the frozen assessment contract, which carries its own provenance.truth_engine_version, so there the versions are in the headers only. The open contract endpoint runs the deterministic stub and answers as truth-engine/stub-v0.