Recruitment Board (recruitment-board)

Category: boards | Form: | Symbol: Rb

Kanban-style hiring pipeline — candidates as cards with role, seniority, and interview tracking

Recruitment pipeline board. Cards represent candidates with hiring-specific fields: role_title, department, seniority (junior/mid/senior/staff/principal), salary_min and salary_max (cents), and source (referral/linkedin/careers-page/ agency/event). Columns map to hiring stages (e.g. Applied, Screening, Interview, Offer, Hired, Rejected). Use hiring-summary to get a snapshot of candidates per stage, time-in-stage averages, and source effectiveness. All standard kanban features apply: WIP limits on interview slots, card references (blocks/blocked_by/related), file attachments (resumes, cover letters, assessments), drag-and-drop movement with move history, and real-time updates.

Guide

Kanban-style hiring pipeline — candidates as cards with role, seniority, and interview tracking

What It Does

Recruitment-board is a board element: a hiring-pipeline kanban where each card is a candidate and each column is a hiring stage. The default column layout runs Applied → Screening → Interview → Offer → Hired / Rejected, but columns are fully configurable. Candidate cards carry recruitment-specific fields — role_title, department, seniority (junior/mid/senior/staff/principal), salary_min/salary_max (annual compensation in cents), and source (referral/linkedin/careers-page/agency/event/other) — stored in card metadata and returned in every card response.

On top of the shared kanban mechanics (drag-and-drop movement with move history, WIP limits, typed card references, file attachments for resumes and assessments), the board adds a dedicated hiring-summary operation. It aggregates active candidates into candidates-by-stage with average time-in-stage, a source breakdown with advancement counts, a seniority breakdown, and a list of open roles with candidate counts — the data for a recruiting dashboard and for evaluating sourcing-channel effectiveness.

This board overrides the category card operations (add-card, update-card, get-card, list-cards, board-summary) to add the recruitment fields, and inherits the remaining card, reference, column, file, and history operations from the boards category unchanged. It is an atom element backed by Postgres storage; candidate fields live on cards, while the element spec configures only the column layout.

Element Definition

Property	Value
Type	recruitment-board
Category	boards
Form	atom
Symbol	Rb
Icon	people / #8B5CF6
Workbench	workbench-board-panel

Properties

Field	Type	Description
columns	array	Kanban columns representing hiring stages. Each item requires id, name, phase; optional position, color, wip_limit.

Column item fields:

Field	Type	Description
id	string	Stable column identifier (immutable once used by cards)
name	string	Display name shown in the column header
phase	string	todo, in_progress, or closed — used by hiring-summary aggregations
position	integer	Left-to-right display order (lower = further left)
wip_limit	integer	Maximum active candidates in this column; 0 = no limit. Use on Interview to cap load.
color	string	Hex color for the column header background

Default columns: applied (todo), screening (in_progress), interview (in_progress), offer (in_progress), hired (closed), rejected (closed).

Runtime States

State	Description
provisioned	Initial state
active	Board in use
error	Error state

Capabilities

Capability	Description
kanban	Column-based candidate pipeline with WIP limits and move history
candidate-tracking	Per-card recruitment fields: role_title, department, seniority, salary_min/max, source
hiring-analytics	Pipeline analytics via hiring-summary: candidates by stage, avg time-in-stage, source/seniority breakdown, open roles
source-effectiveness	hiring-summary source_breakdown tracks candidate counts and advancement rates per acquisition channel
move-history	Append-only audit trail of every candidate stage advance with timestamps and actor
file-attachments	File attachments on candidate cards for resumes, cover letters, and assessment results

Attachable modifiers: rate-limit, auth-policy.

Error Codes

Code	Class	Retryable	Description
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_WIP_EXCEEDED	limit	No	Candidate move or add would exceed the target column’s wip_limit
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_COLUMN_NOT_FOUND	validation	No	column_id does not match any column on this board
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_CARD_NOT_FOUND	validation	No	Card does not exist or belongs to a different board
RECRUITMENT_SELF_REF	validation	No	A candidate card cannot reference itself

Operations

Operations are invoked at POST /api/{circle}/{slug}/ops/{operation}. Auth level is shown per operation.

Candidate cards (recruitment-specific overrides)

add-card — POST cards (auth: write)

Create a candidate card in a column. title is the candidate name; recruitment fields role_title, department, seniority, salary_min, salary_max, source are stored in card metadata. Position defaults to the bottom of the column; phase defaults to todo. Column can be specified by ID, name, or phase alias.

update-card — PUT cards/{card_id} (auth: write)

Update any fields on a candidate card. Only provided fields change. Recruitment fields can be updated alongside standard fields.

get-card — GET cards/{card_id} (auth: read)

Return full card details including the recruitment fields, references, children, and file count.

list-cards — GET cards (auth: read)

List candidate cards with optional filters (column_id, phase, assignee, label, archived, limit, offset). Returns recruitment fields alongside standard card data.

board-summary — GET summary (auth: read)

Hiring pipeline overview with per-column candidate counts plus seniority and source breakdowns per column.

Hiring analytics

hiring-summary — GET hiring-summary (auth: read)

Hiring pipeline analytics across all active (non-archived) candidates. Returns:

• total_candidates
• candidates_by_stage — count per column with avg_days_in_stage
• source_breakdown — count per source with advanced_count (candidates that reached an in_progress or closed stage)
• seniority_breakdown — count per seniority level
• open_roles — distinct role_title values with candidate counts

Inherited board operations

These come from the boards category and behave as on any board:

Operation	Method + Path	Auth
move-card	POST cards/{card_id}/move	write
reorder-card	POST cards/{card_id}/reorder	write
archive-card	POST cards/{card_id}/archive	write
unarchive-card	POST cards/{card_id}/unarchive	write
delete-card	DELETE cards/{card_id}	write
add-ref	POST cards/{card_id}/refs	write
remove-ref	DELETE cards/{card_id}/refs/{target_card_id}	write
add-column	POST columns	write
update-column	PUT columns/{column_id}	write
remove-column	DELETE columns/{column_id}	admin
add-file	POST cards/{card_id}/files	write
get-file	GET cards/{card_id}/files/{filename}	read
list-files	GET cards/{card_id}/files	read
delete-file	DELETE cards/{card_id}/files/{filename}	write
move-history	GET cards/{card_id}/moves	read

Quick Start

Create a recruitment board

POST /api/{circle}/{project}/
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "element_type": "recruitment-board",
  "slug": "hiring-pipeline",
  "name": "Hiring Pipeline",
  "spec": {
    "columns": [
      { "id": "applied",   "name": "Applied",   "phase": "todo",        "position": 0 },
      { "id": "screening", "name": "Screening", "phase": "in_progress", "position": 1 },
      { "id": "interview", "name": "Interview", "phase": "in_progress", "position": 2, "wip_limit": 5 },
      { "id": "offer",     "name": "Offer",     "phase": "in_progress", "position": 3 },
      { "id": "hired",     "name": "Hired",     "phase": "closed",      "position": 4 },
      { "id": "rejected",  "name": "Rejected",  "phase": "closed",      "position": 5 }
    ]
  }
}

Add a candidate

POST /api/{circle}/{project}/hiring-pipeline/ops/add-card
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "title": "Ada Lovelace",
  "role_title": "Senior Backend Engineer",
  "department": "Engineering",
  "seniority": "senior",
  "salary_min": 14000000,
  "salary_max": 18000000,
  "source": "referral",
  "column_id": "applied"
}

Advance through stages and read analytics

POST /api/{circle}/{project}/hiring-pipeline/ops/move-card
Content-Type: application/json

{ "column_id": "interview" }

GET /api/{circle}/{project}/hiring-pipeline/ops/hiring-summary

Common Mistakes

Reusing or duplicating column IDs. Column IDs must be unique — the column_ids_unique validation rule rejects duplicates, because duplicate IDs corrupt candidate routing. Column id is also immutable once cards reference it; rename via name, not by changing id.

Adding candidates before configuring columns. A board with no columns warns at validation time (“add hiring-stage columns before adding candidates”). Define your hiring stages first.

Exceeding an Interview WIP limit. Setting a wip_limit on a column caps concurrent candidates; a move or add that would breach it fails with RECRUITMENT_BOARD_WIP_EXCEEDED. Raise the limit or advance/archive candidates first.

Hard-deleting candidates you may need later. delete-card is permanent and orphans subcards. Prefer archive-card to keep hired/rejected candidates out of the active pipeline while preserving history and references.

Relationships

• Attaches to: rate-limit, auth-policy

Capabilities

• kanban: Column-based candidate pipeline with WIP limits and move history
• candidate-tracking: Per-card recruitment fields: role_title, department, seniority (junior/mid/senior/staff/principal), salary_min/max, source
• hiring-analytics: Pipeline analytics via hiring-summary: candidates by stage, avg time-in-stage, source breakdown, seniority breakdown, open roles
• source-effectiveness: hiring-summary source_breakdown tracks candidate counts and advancement rates per acquisition channel
• move-history: Append-only audit trail of every candidate stage advance with timestamps and actor
• file-attachments: File attachments on candidate cards for resumes, cover letters, and assessment results

Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
columns	array	[{"id":"applied","name":"Applied","phase":"todo","position":0},{"id":"screening","name":"Screening","phase":"in_progress","position":1},{"id":"interview","name":"Interview","phase":"in_progress","position":2},{"id":"offer","name":"Offer","phase":"in_progress","position":3},{"id":"hired","name":"Hired","phase":"closed","position":4},{"id":"rejected","name":"Rejected","phase":"closed","position":5}]	Kanban columns representing hiring stages. Each column has a stable id, display name, and phase (todo | in_progress | closed). Optional: position, color, wip_limit. Typical layout: Applied → Screening → Interview → Offer → Hired / Rejected. Use wip_limit on Interview to cap concurrent interview load for the team.

Operations

activity

Get /ops/activity | Auth: Read

Get activity events for this element

Scope depends on element capabilities: individual elements query by element_id, project-form elements with activity-scope-members include member activities, circle-level elements with activity-scope-all query the entire circle. Gracefully returns empty list if activities table is missing (old circles).

add-card

Post /ops/cards | Auth: Write

Create a new candidate card in a column

Creates a candidate card in the specified column. Position defaults to the bottom of the column. Phase defaults to “todo”. Column can be specified by ID, name, or phase alias. Recruitment-specific fields: role_title (position being hired for), department, seniority (junior/mid/senior/staff/principal), salary_min and salary_max (annual compensation range in cents), and source (referral/linkedin/careers-page/agency/event/other). These fields are stored in card metadata and returned in all card responses.

add-column

Post /ops/columns | Auth: Write

Add a new column to the board

Creates a column with id, name, and phase (required). The display label field is ‘name’ (not ‘title’). Phase accepts friendly names: Backlog/To Do→todo, Sprint/In Progress→in_progress, Done/Review→closed. Use position gaps (e.g., 15 between 10 and 20) to insert between existing columns without renumbering.

add-file

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/files | Auth: Write

Attach a file to a card

Uploads a file to the card’s CAS folder at files/{card_id}/{filename}. Content is base64-encoded in the request body. Existing files with the same name are overwritten (upsert). Creates a DB index entry for fast listing. Maximum filename length is 255 characters; path separators are rejected.

add-ref

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/refs | Auth: Write

Add a typed reference between cards

Creates a typed edge from this card to the target. relation=blocks automatically creates the inverse blocked_by on the target card. relation=parent makes this card a child of the target. Validates against circular references (BOARD_CIRCULAR_REF) and self-references (BOARD_SELF_REF).

archive-card

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/archive | Auth: Write

Archive a card (soft-remove from board view)

Archived cards are hidden from default list_cards results but can be queried with filter=archived. Archive rather than delete to preserve history and references. Archived cards do not block other cards.

attachments

Get /ops/attachments | Auth: Read

List all modifiers and resources attached to this element

Returns both modifiers (policy enforcement) and resources (data injection) with is_modifier flag to distinguish. Items in the generated MODIFIER_TYPES list are modifiers; everything else is a resource. Includes cascade_policy and version pin info.

batch_stats

Get /ops/batch_stats | Auth: Read

Get per-element statistics for all children of this element

Returns per-child stats plus an aggregate. Most meaningful on compound or manifest form elements (repositories, circles, projects); atoms have no children so the result is an empty children array with a zeroed aggregate. Uses efficient GROUP BY SQL. Weighted averages for eval scores.

board-summary

Get /ops/summary | Auth: Read

Hiring pipeline overview with candidate counts per stage

Returns a pipeline overview with per-column candidate counts and recruitment analytics. Each column includes: candidate count, seniority breakdown, and source breakdown. Useful for hiring pipeline dashboards.

compose

Post /ops/compose | Auth: Execute

Batch add and remove modifiers on this element in a single call

Declarative composition: add modifiers by ref path (slug or path@version) and remove by attachment ID, all in one atomic call on the target element. Each ‘add’ entry resolves the source element, validates topology, attaches with optional priority and cascade policy. Each ‘remove’ entry deletes the attachment row. Returns a summary of what was added and removed. Example: compose({ add: [{ref: “my-prompt”}, {ref: “rate-limit/api@v2”, priority: 50}], remove: [{attachment_id: “uuid”}] })

context

Get /ops/context | Auth: Read

Get connected elements (graph traversal)

Graph traversal showing all connected elements with their relationship type (contains, contained_by, references, referenced_by, attaches, etc.). Use ?depth=N to control traversal depth (default 1) and ?types=actor,data to filter by element types.

create

Post /ops/create | Auth: Write

Create child element

POST to the parent path — element_type goes in the request body, NOT the URL. Both element_type and slug are required and must be non-empty. Name is derived from slug if omitted. Writes to both Git and PostgreSQL. All elements are stored flat under the circle — no intermediate library wrapper rows.

delete

Delete /ops/delete | Auth: Admin

Delete element (soft delete)

Soft delete — sets state to ‘deleted’ but retains the record. Cannot delete elements that have children (has_no_bond precondition) or active runs. Requires admin auth and confirmation.

delete-card

Delete /ops/cards/{card_id} | Auth: Write

Permanently delete a card

Hard deletes a card and all its references (blocked_by, blocks, related, parent). Subcards (children) are NOT deleted — they become orphans. Prefer archive-card to preserve history.

delete-file

Delete /ops/cards/{card_id}/files/{filename} | Auth: Write

Remove a file attachment from a card

Deletes the file from CAS and removes its DB index entry. The filename is extracted from the URL path. Returns not-found if the file doesn’t exist.

disable

Post /ops/disable | Auth: Admin

Disable element (hides and prevents use)

Idempotent — safe to call on already-disabled elements. Optionally pass a reason string. Disabled elements cannot be invoked or executed. Inverse of enable.

enable

Post /ops/enable | Auth: Admin

Enable element (makes usable and visible)

Idempotent — safe to call on already-enabled elements. Transitions element to ready/enabled state. Cannot enable deleted elements. Inverse of disable.

export_bundle

Get /ops/export/bundle | Auth: Read

Export element as downloadable git bundle

On non-root-namespace elements, returns a binary git bundle. On root-namespace (circle) elements, dispatch hands off to the circle’s own export_bundle op, which returns a multi-element JSON envelope with one base64 bundle per child element — this is intentional, not an error.

get

Get /ops/get | Auth: Read

Get element details

Element is already resolved by the routing layer — this returns the cached element, not a fresh DB query. Use the path /api/{circle}/{slug} to address elements.

get-card

Get /ops/cards/{card_id} | Auth: Read

Get a candidate card with full details

Returns full card details including recruitment-specific fields (role_title, department, seniority, salary_min, salary_max, source), references, children, and file count.

get-file

Get /ops/cards/{card_id}/files/{filename} | Auth: Read

Download a file attached to a card

Returns the file content as base64 along with metadata (size, content type, upload timestamp). The filename is extracted from the URL path.

hiring-summary

Get /ops/hiring-summary | Auth: Read

Hiring pipeline analytics and source effectiveness

Returns hiring pipeline analytics across all active (non-archived) candidates. Provides: - candidates_by_stage: count per column with avg days-in-stage - source_breakdown: candidate count per source, with conversion rates (how many from each source reach later stages)

• seniority_breakdown: candidate count per seniority level - open_roles: distinct role_title values with candidate counts Use for recruiting dashboards and to evaluate sourcing channel ROI.

import_bundle

Post /ops/import/bundle | Auth: Write

Import git bundle into element

Accepts a base64-encoded git bundle in the JSON bundle_base64 field. Use overwrite=true to replace existing elements with same slug (default skips duplicates). Imported elements get new UUIDs. Returns counts of imported/skipped elements and any errors.

intention

Get /ops/intention | Auth: Read

Get element intention with full inheritance chain

Returns three levels: direct (this element’s intention), inherited (from category and root), and resolved (final merged intention). Useful for understanding an element’s purpose in context of its hierarchy.

list-cards

Get /ops/cards | Auth: Read

List candidate cards with optional filtering

Lists candidate cards with optional filters. Returns recruitment-specific fields alongside standard card data. Filter by column, phase, assignee, label, or archived status.

list-files

Get /ops/cards/{card_id}/files | Auth: Read

List files attached to a card

Returns metadata for all files attached to the card. Reads from the DB index table for fast listing without walking the CAS tree.

move-card

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/move | Auth: Write

Move a card to a different column

Moves the card to the target column. Column can be specified by ID, name, or phase alias (Backlog, In Progress, Done, etc.). Position defaults to bottom of the target column. This is tracked in the move history audit trail. Enforces WIP limits on the target column — fails with BOARD_WIP_EXCEEDED if the limit would be breached. Emits board.card.moved NATS event.

move-history

Get /ops/cards/{card_id}/moves | Auth: Read

Get the move history for a card

Returns the audit trail of column transitions for this card. Each entry includes from_column, to_column, moved_by (actor slug), and timestamp. Ordered newest first.

promote

Post /ops/promote | Auth: Admin

Promote element configuration to a target environment

Only for manifest-form elements (projects). Environments advance: dev → demo → live. dev→demo requires member+ role, demo→live requires admin. Freezes member versions at promotion time (creates snapshot). Persists environment config to spec.environments.

readme

Get /ops/readme | Auth: Read

Get element README.md content

Reads README.md from the element’s git repository. Returns empty content (not an error) if no README exists. Always returns markdown format.

readme_update

Post /ops/readme_update | Auth: Write

Update element README.md content

Creates or overwrites README.md in the element’s git repo. Commits to the draft branch. Content must be provided as a markdown string.

remove-column

Delete /ops/columns/{column_id} | Auth: Admin

Remove a column from the board

Fails with BOARD_COLUMN_NOT_EMPTY if the column has non-archived cards. Archive or move all cards first. The column’s position gap remains available for reuse.

remove-modifier

Post /ops/remove-modifier | Auth: Execute

Remove an attached modifier from this element by attachment ID

Removes a modifier/resource attachment by its row ID. The ID comes from the attachments or context API. This is the reverse of attach — called on the target element, not the source.

remove-ref

Delete /ops/cards/{card_id}/refs/{target_card_id} | Auth: Write

Remove a reference between cards

Removes the reference from this card to the target. If the reference has an inverse (blocks/blocked_by), the inverse is also removed.

reorder-card

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/reorder | Auth: Write

Change a card’s position within its current column

Changes vertical position (priority) without changing column. Position 0 is the top (highest priority). Other cards in the column are renumbered automatically to maintain order.

restore

Post /ops/restore | Auth: Admin

Restore element to a specific version

Automatically snapshots the current state before restoring (creates a ‘Before restore to vN’ version entry). Writes restored spec to git as .triform/spec.yaml. Git failures warn but don’t fail the operation — DB state is authoritative. Cannot restore deleted elements.

schema

Get /ops/schema | Auth: Read

Get element input/output schema (MCP tools/list compatible)

Returns type-level port schemas from the TypeRegistry — not instance-specific overrides. Includes direction (input/output), required flag, and JSON schema per port. Useful for understanding what data an element accepts and produces.

source

Get /ops/source | Auth: Read

Get any file’s content from the element’s git repository

Reads an arbitrary file from the element’s CAS-backed git tree by its relative path. Same store as readme, just generalized. Path safety: rejects .. traversal, leading /, and null bytes. Use this to view main.py for action elements, asset files for SPAs, etc. Returns empty content (not an error) if the file doesn’t exist.

source_branches

Get /ops/source/branches | Auth: Read

List Source branches for this element

Returns the standard draft/demo/live Source branches, their current commits, and promotion relationships. Use GET /api/{element_path}/ops/source/branches.

source_promote

Post /ops/source/promote | Auth: Write

Promote Source branch forward

Promotes draft to demo or demo to live through the generated element op path. Direct Git pushes to demo/live are blocked by Source policy.

source_repair

Post /ops/source/repair | Auth: Write

Inspect or repair the element Source index

Runs Source repair through the element operation path. Defaults to dry_run=true; set dry_run=false only after reviewing a dry-run report.

source_status

Get /ops/source/status | Auth: Read

Get Source control status for this element

Returns the branch-aware clone URL, checkout commands, current draft commit, child source-link count, portable export summary, Source health, warnings, and auth hints for the addressed element. Use the element-first path: GET /api/{element_path}/ops/source/status.

source_validate

Post /ops/source/validate | Auth: Read

Validate Source branch contents

Validates a Source branch before accepting local Git workflow changes or promotion. Defaults to branch=draft and rejects runtime data, generated output, secret material, and unreadable CAS refs.

stats

Get /ops/stats | Auth: Read

Get aggregate statistics for this element

Health status is computed: error if errors_per_day > 5 or success_rate < 0.8, warning if errors_per_day > 0 or success_rate < 0.95. Firing alerts escalate health to error/warning. Default period is ‘day’. Returns runs_per_day, success_rate, avg_duration_ms, and more.

tree

Get /ops/tree | Auth: Read

Get the element’s position in the graph — ancestors, children, references, and subtree statistics

Uses per-circle ElementGraph cache for O(1) lookups. Returns ancestors (containment chain), children (direct), members (references), referenced_by (reverse refs), attachments, and subtree stats. Default depth is 3, max is 10. Pass ?include_metadata=true for name/state on each node.

unarchive-card

Post /ops/cards/{card_id}/unarchive | Auth: Write

Restore an archived card to the board

Restores an archived card, making it visible again in default list-cards results. The card retains all its fields and references. Position defaults to the bottom of the card’s original column.

update

Patch /ops/update | Auth: Write

Update element

Partial update — send only the fields you want to change. spec, name, and intention are all independently optional. spec MUST be a JSON object when present; deep-merged into the existing spec by default. Empty {"spec":{}} preserves existing spec content but still records a new version (no-op for content, not for version state). To clear/replace the entire spec wholesale send {"spec":{...},"deep":false}. List-typed spec fields use replace semantics (the patch list replaces the existing list, no array merging). Coordinates Git + DB writes. Slug cannot be changed after creation.

update-card

Put /ops/cards/{card_id} | Auth: Write

Update a candidate card

Updates any fields on a candidate card. Only provided fields are changed. Recruitment-specific fields (role_title, department, seniority, salary_min, salary_max, source) can be updated alongside standard fields.

update-column

Put /ops/columns/{column_id} | Auth: Write

Update column name, phase, WIP limit, or position

Updates column properties. Changing phase does NOT change the phase of cards in the column — card phase is independent. Only provided fields are updated. Set wip_limit to 0 to remove the limit.

update_meta

Patch /ops/update_meta | Auth: Write

Update element metadata (lightweight merge — does NOT bump version or snapshot spec)

Shallow JSONB merge into element.meta. Top-level keys in the provided value replace existing meta values; other keys are preserved. Used for UI metadata like canvas positions, panel state, viewer preferences. Wire-shape op_name is update_meta (distinct from update) so SSE subscribers + the cache auto-invalidator can distinguish lightweight metadata changes from spec edits without inspecting the payload. The MutatingElementStore wrapper stamps this op_name on the lifecycle event emitted by update_element_meta storage calls.

version

Get /ops/version | Auth: Read

Get current version or full history

Returns current version by default. Pass ?history=true for full version history (up to ?limit=N, default 50). Versions are backed by the element_versions table. Every spec update creates a new version entry.

Error Codes

Code	Class	Retryable	Description
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_WIP_EXCEEDED	limit	no	Candidate move or add would exceed the target column’s wip_limit (interview slot cap)
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_COLUMN_NOT_FOUND	validation	no	column_id does not match any column on this recruitment board
RECRUITMENT_BOARD_CARD_NOT_FOUND	validation	no	Card does not exist or belongs to a different board
RECRUITMENT_SELF_REF	validation	no	A candidate card cannot reference itself