env-forge -- Environment Design Methodology

Claude Code interface for the Agent World Model (AWM) synthesis pipeline from Snowflake Labs. Generates self-contained, database-backed tool environments exposed via MCP. Each environment is a complete FastAPI + SQLite stack with typed endpoints, seed data, and task verification functions. The synthesis methodology, output format, and task-first design principle are from AWM.

Two modes:

• Browse: Pick from 1000 pre-generated environments across 28 domains (AWM-1K catalog)
• Forge: Generate a new environment from a scenario description

Core Insight: Task-First Design

The key methodology: tasks drive schema, not the reverse.

Traditional approach: design tables -> build API -> hope tasks work. Task-first approach: define user tasks -> derive schema from tasks -> design API to support tasks -> generate verification from tasks.

This produces environments where every table column and every API endpoint exists because a task needs it. No dead schema, no unused endpoints.

Environment Anatomy

Every environment has three layers:

Layer	Implementation	Purpose
State	SQLite database	Persistent, queryable, diffable
Interface	FastAPI + fastapi-mcp	Typed tools with OpenAPI metadata
Verification	Python functions	DB state comparison for task completion

The state layer is the source of truth. Tools read and write state. Verification compares state snapshots (before vs after tool execution).

Synthesis Pipeline

When forging a new environment, follow these steps in order. Each step produces a file in the output directory.

Step 1: Define Scenario

Write a clear description of the platform/domain. Include:

• What entities exist (users, products, orders, etc.)
• What relationships connect them
• What workflows users perform

Step 2: Generate Tasks (10 per scenario)

Generate 10 realistic, diverse user tasks that cover:

• CRUD operations (create, read, update, delete)
• Search and filtering
• Aggregation and reporting
• Multi-step workflows
• Edge cases

Each task is a single sentence with all parameters included. Example: "Search for laptops under $500 and add the cheapest one to the cart."

Tasks must NOT include authentication (assume user is logged in as user_id=1), file downloads, or page navigation.

Step 3: Generate Schema

Design SQLite tables to support ALL tasks. Rules:

• Proper primary keys, foreign keys, indexes, constraints
• Use SQLite types: TEXT, INTEGER, REAL, BLOB
• Add timestamps (created_at, updated_at) where appropriate
• Exclude authentication fields (password_hash, salt, token, session)
• Users table has essential profile fields only (id, username, email)
• All operations as authenticated user_id=1

Full patterns: references/schema_patterns.md

Step 4: Generate Seed Data

Write INSERT statements that make every task executable. Coverage rules:

• SEARCH tasks: diverse data matching AND not matching criteria
• LIST tasks: 5-10+ records for meaningful results
• CREATE tasks: all referenced entities exist
• UPDATE tasks: existing records to modify
• DELETE tasks: expendable records
• AGGREGATION tasks: sufficient volume for meaningful stats

Data uses realistic values: real product names, proper formats, temporal diversity, status variations.

Full patterns: references/schema_patterns.md

Step 5: Generate API Specification

Design RESTful endpoints for all tasks. Rules:

• Atomic endpoints: each does ONE operation
• Maximize reusability: base CRUD that composes
• Follow exact schema names (tables, columns)
• RESTful conventions (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE/PATCH)
• Group by resource type
• No auth endpoints
• User-specific data filters by user_id=1 automatically

Every endpoint requires: summary (80 chars max), description (200 chars max, single line), operation_id (snake_case), tags, typed request_params, typed response schema.

Full patterns: references/api_design_rules.md

Step 6: Generate Server Code

Produce a complete, executable FastAPI application. Stack:

• FastAPI + fastapi-mcp for MCP tool exposure
• SQLAlchemy ORM (no raw SQL)
• Pydantic v2 for request/response models
• SQLite via DATABASE_PATH env var

All endpoint handlers are async and self-contained. Session lifecycle: create -> work -> commit (for writes) -> close.

Full template: references/fastapi_mcp_template.md

Step 7: Generate Verification Functions

For each task, write a Python function that determines completion by comparing DB state:

def verify_task(initial_db_path: str, final_db_path: str) -> dict:
    # Connect to both databases
    # Query relevant tables
    # Compare state
    # Return diagnostic dict

Two verification strategies:

• Modification tasks (add, update, delete): compare initial vs final DB
• Query tasks (find, list, get): check final_answer content against DB

Full patterns: references/verification_patterns.md

Self-Correction Pattern

When generation fails (syntax errors, import errors, schema mismatches):

1. Capture the full traceback
2. Summarize the error: what failed, why, what the fix should be
3. Retry generation with the error summary appended to the prompt
4. Maximum 3 retries before escalating to the user

This applies to schema generation, server code generation, and data insertion.

Suitability Assessment

Not every domain produces useful synthetic environments. Data must be realistically fakeable:

Synthesizable	NOT Synthesizable
Numeric values (prices, ratings, coordinates)	Long-form content (articles, blogs)
Structured entities (users, products, orders)	Media content (actual video/audio/images)
Status/state values	AI inference results
Short text (names, titles, descriptions)	Search ranking algorithms
Dates, timestamps	Real-time external feeds
Geographic data (cities, coordinates)

If a scenario requires non-synthesizable data as its core (e.g., "a blog platform" where posts ARE the product), flag it. The environment will have placeholder text that cannot meaningfully exercise search or recommendation tasks.

Domain Categories (28)

The AWM-1K catalog covers: E-commerce/Marketplace, Booking/Reservation, Social/Community, Task/Project Management, Finance/Banking, Subscription/Membership, Inventory/Catalog, Messaging/Communication, Lists/Collections, Scheduling/Calendar, Forms/Surveys, Settings/Configuration, Healthcare/Medical, Education/Learning, Real Estate/Property, HR/Recruiting, Legal/Compliance, Logistics/Shipping, Food/Restaurant, Entertainment/Gaming, Fitness/Wellness, Travel/Hospitality, Automotive, IoT/Smart Devices, Developer Tools, CRM/Sales, Content Management, Analytics/Reporting.

Full index: references/catalog_index.md

Output Structure

.env-forge/environments/<name>/
  scenario.json     # Metadata + task list
  schema.sql        # SQLite DDL
  seed_data.sql     # INSERT statements
  api_spec.json     # API specification
  server.py         # FastAPI + fastapi-mcp (runnable)
  verifiers.py      # Task verification functions
  db/
    initial.db      # Seeded (backup)
    current.db      # Working (mutated by tools)
  pyproject.toml    # Environment dependencies

Scripts

# Browse catalog
uv run python env-forge/scripts/catalog.py --search "e-commerce"

# Materialize from catalog
uv run python env-forge/scripts/materialize.py --scenario e_commerce_33

# Validate environment structure
uv run python env-forge/scripts/validate_env.py .env-forge/environments/e_commerce_33/

References

Reference	Purpose
references/schema_patterns.md	SQLite schema patterns with examples
references/api_design_rules.md	RESTful API spec patterns and rules
references/verification_patterns.md	DB state comparison verification
references/fastapi_mcp_template.md	Server code template (FastAPI + fastapi-mcp + SQLAlchemy)
references/catalog_index.md	AWM-1K scenario index by category