erdos-problems

Research cockpit for Paul Erdos problems.

Seed a problem. Hand it to an agent. Keep the public truth, local route truth, and verification truth sharply separated.

erdos-problems
atlas -> dossier -> pack -> checkpoint -> archive

erdos-problems is a CLI atlas and staged research harness for Paul Erdos problems. It is built for people who want more than a problem list and for agents that need a real starting surface on day one.

Links: GitHub · npm

Watch It Run

A fast look at the first minute:

Why It Feels Different

Most open-problem repos stop at metadata.

erdos-problems goes further:

• it ships a canonical atlas of Erdős problems
• it creates agent-ready dossiers and workspace bundles
• it keeps upstream public status separate from local research state
• it adds pack-specific cockpits where deeper structure is honest
• it carries an ORP-governed loop so claims, checkpoints, and runs stay disciplined

Start In 60 Seconds

Install:

npm install -g erdos-problems

Bootstrap a flagship problem:

erdos bootstrap problem 857
erdos sunflower frontier 857
erdos sunflower ready 857
erdos workspace show --json

Self-seed an unseeded problem into a fresh workspace:

erdos seed problem 25 --cluster number-theory
erdos problem show 25
erdos checkpoints sync

Archive a solved problem cleanly:

erdos graph-theory status 1008
erdos archive scaffold 1008 --json

What You Get

| Layer | What it does | | --- | --- | | Atlas | canonical problems/<id>/problem.yaml records plus a bundled upstream snapshot | | Dossiers | local case files with statement, references, evidence, and formalization paths | | Workspaces | .erdos/ state, checkpoints, ORP kit, pull bundles, runs, and archives | | Packs | deeper family-specific cockpits for problem clusters that deserve them | | Governance | ORP + breakthroughs + public-status review + structured run artifacts |

Coverage Right Now

| Surface | Coverage | | --- | --- | | Bundled upstream atlas | 1183 problems | | Native packaged dossiers | 18 | | Sunflower pack | 20, 536, 856, 857 | | Number-theory cockpit | 1, 2 | | Graph-theory archive cockpit | 19, 22, 1008 | | Deep theorem-facing pack problems | 20, 857 |

Seeded problems today:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 89, 536, 542, 856, 857, 1008

Flavor

The package is meant to feel like a research cockpit, not a bag of files.

Example:

$ erdos sunflower frontier 857
Erdos Problem #857 sunflower frontier
Active route: anchored_selector_linearization
Active ticket: T10
First ready atom: T10.G3.A2
Checkpoint focus: keep the board packet honest around T10 while preserving the open-problem / active-route / route-breakthrough ladder.

$ erdos graph-theory status 1008
Erdos Problem #1008 graph-theory harness
Family role: c4_free_lean_archive
Harness profile: lean_archive_cockpit
Archive mode: method_exemplar
Problem solved: yes
First ready atom: G1008.G1.A1 — Freeze the primary Lean-facing archive hook for the `C_4`-free density result

Core Flows

1. Bootstrap a seeded problem

erdos bootstrap problem 857
erdos problem artifacts 857 --json
erdos checkpoints sync

What this does:

• sets the active workspace problem
• syncs the bundled ORP kit into .erdos/orp/
• scaffolds the dossier into .erdos/scaffolds/<id>/
• pulls in pack-specific context where available
• makes the workspace immediately usable by an agent

2. Self-seed a new problem

erdos seed problem 25 --cluster number-theory

What this does:

• pulls upstream public metadata into a workspace bundle
• includes live site review and an agent-websearch brief by default
• seeds a local dossier into .erdos/seeded-problems/<id>/
• syncs state, checkpoints, and ORP automatically

3. Pull artifacts without seeding

erdos pull problem 857
erdos pull literature 857 --include-crossref --include-openalex --json

Use this when you want a research bundle first and a canonical dossier later.

4. Promote a pulled bundle into a canonical dossier

erdos maintainer review problem 25 --from-pull .erdos/pulls/25
erdos maintainer seed problem 25 --from-pull .erdos/pulls/25 --cluster number-theory

Packs

Sunflower Pack

The first deep pack is the sunflower quartet:

• 20: strong / uniform sunflower core
• 857: weak / non-uniform sunflower core
• 536: natural-density LCM analogue
• 856: harmonic-density LCM analogue

Useful commands:

erdos sunflower status 857
erdos sunflower board 857
erdos sunflower frontier 857
erdos sunflower routes 857
erdos sunflower tickets 857
erdos sunflower route 857 anchored_selector_linearization
erdos sunflower atom 857 T10.G3.A2
erdos sunflower compute run 857

What makes it special:

• mirrored public board packets
• route / ticket / atom cockpit views
• checkpoint and report packets
• governed local-scout compute posture

Number-Theory Starter Cockpit

The first lighter non-sunflower pack is number theory:

• 1: open starter cockpit around a distinct-subset-sum route
• 2: counterexample/archive cockpit

Useful commands:

erdos number-theory status 1
erdos number-theory frontier 1
erdos number-theory routes 1
erdos number-theory route 1 distinct_subset_sum_lower_bound
erdos number-theory ticket 1 N1
erdos number-theory atom 1 N1.G1.A1

Graph-Theory Archive Cockpit

The first archive-first pack outside sunflower is graph theory:

• 19: decision archive cockpit
• 22: proof archive cockpit
• 1008: Lean-facing proof archive cockpit

Useful commands:

erdos graph-theory status 19
erdos graph-theory frontier 22
erdos graph-theory routes 1008
erdos graph-theory tickets 19
erdos archive scaffold 1008 --json

Design rule:

• no fake live frontier for solved or decided problems
• keep the archive usable as a method exemplar
• preserve public status discipline instead of inflating pressure where none exists

Built For Agents

If you are using Codex, Claude Code, or another agent harness, the package gives your agent:

• canonical dossier files
• upstream provenance
• pack-aware context when available
• .erdos/ workspace state
• ORP templates and protocol guidance
• checkpoint shelves
• explicit next-honest-move framing
• machine-readable JSON on the important public surfaces

Especially useful commands for agent workflows:

erdos problem artifacts 857 --json
erdos workspace show --json
erdos pull literature 857 --include-crossref --include-openalex --json
erdos upstream drift 857 --json

ORP And Truth Hygiene

erdos-problems ships a bundled Open Research Protocol kit:

• PROTOCOL.md
• AGENT_INTEGRATION.md
• templates/CLAIM.md
• templates/VERIFICATION_RECORD.md
• templates/FAILED_TOPIC.md

The package is opinionated about a clean truth ladder:

• upstream public truth
• local canonical dossier truth
• workspace bundle truth
• pack-specific route / checkpoint / run truth

That separation is one of the main product features.

Command Gallery

erdos problem list --cluster sunflower
erdos problem show 857
erdos problem artifacts 857 --json

erdos cluster list --json
erdos cluster show graph-theory

erdos workspace show --json
erdos checkpoints sync
erdos preflight

erdos sunflower frontier 857
erdos sunflower ready 857
erdos sunflower compute run 857

erdos number-theory route 1 distinct_subset_sum_lower_bound
erdos graph-theory status 1008

erdos pull problem 857
erdos pull literature 857 --include-crossref --include-openalex --json

erdos seed problem 25 --cluster number-theory
erdos maintainer review problem 25 --from-pull .erdos/pulls/25
erdos archive scaffold 1008 --json

Canonical Sources

• local dossier truth: problems/<id>/problem.yaml
• bundled upstream snapshot: data/upstream/erdosproblems/
• workspace upstream snapshot: .erdos/upstream/erdosproblems/
• live upstream repo: https://github.com/teorth/erdosproblems
• live public site: https://www.erdosproblems.com/

Docs

• docs/ERDOS_PROBLEMS_REPO_SPEC.md
• docs/ERDOS_PROBLEMS_PROBLEM_SCHEMA.md
• docs/ERDOS_SUNFLOWER_CLUSTER_SEED_PLAN.md
• docs/RESEARCH_LOOP.md
• docs/LAUNCH_KIT.md

Launch Assets

If you are about to push the public GitHub launch, start here:

• docs/LAUNCH_KIT.md
• assets/social-card.svg

Notes

• erdos-problems is the canonical npm package name.
• the package is already live on npm
• the compact unscoped alias erdosproblems is not publishable because npm rejects it as too similar to erdos-problems