Language Reference
Operators, commands, references, statuses, comments, examples, and notes for the current public ICC DSL release.
A-Z Index
Every supported and planned ICC item sorted by display name. Each entry has a stable anchor.
%files.cN All artifacts reference supported @use artifact Artifact input supported @file Auto artifact supported @file .ext Auto-named artifact type supported auto Automatic routing supported .best Best-of routing supported cN Cell alias supported status Cell statuses supported loop Chain loop supported >, >=, <, <=, ==, != Condition operators supported @if Conditional branch supported < cost Cost limit supported @else Else branch supported %error.cN Error reference supported \> Escaped service line supported @chain Execution chain supported : Explicit model supported file: File branch target planned @forward! Forward and run supported @forward Forward output supported header boundary Header boundary supported %header.cN Header reference supported %input Input reference supported < iterations Iteration limit supported providers Known providers supported < latency Latency limit supported {{...}} Legacy reference migration supported %% Literal percent supported %meta.cN.key Metadata reference supported .profile Model profile supported @file name.ext Named artifact supported %file.cN:name.ext Named artifact reference supported %output.cN Output reference supported + Parallel providers supported %var.cN.name Parsed variable reference supported %file.cN Primary artifact reference supported %prompt.cN Prompt reference supported provider errors Provider API error taxonomy planned > Routing line supported routing modes Routing modes supported condition_uncertain Semantic condition evaluator fallback planned > openai Single provider supported .synthesis Synthesis routing supported @text <N Text preview limit supported < tokens Token limit supported @text Visible text output supported Wiki
Groups mirror the language architecture: routing, constraints, flow, outputs, references, syntax, providers, and runtime states.
8 entries
Provider, model, profile, and orchestration selection with leading `>` lines.
> Selects provider, model, model profile, or orchestration mode for an intent cell.
> <provider>> <provider>:<model>> <provider>.<profile>> auto > openai> claude:claude-sonnet-4-6> claude.max> openai Runs one provider alias with the workspace default profile unless a model or profile is specified.
> <provider-alias>> openai> claude > openai> claude: Pins a provider call to a concrete model id instead of using a workspace profile.
> <provider>:<model> > openai:gpt-5.5> gemini:gemini-2.5-pro.profile Selects a named provider profile from workspace settings.
> <provider>.max> <provider>.cheap> <provider>.fast> <provider>.code> <provider>.reasoning > claude.max> openai.code+ Runs multiple provider candidates and keeps their runs in execution history.
> (<provider> + <provider>)> <provider>, <provider> > (openai + claude).best Runs provider candidates and marks the route as selector-based best response mode.
> (<provider> + <provider>).best > (openai + claude).best.synthesis Runs provider candidates and requests a synthesized answer.
> (<provider> + <provider>).synthesis > (openai + claude).synthesis> (xai.max + claude.max).synthesisauto Lets workspace settings choose the concrete provider/model route.
> auto> fast> cheap> best > auto> fast4 entries
Hard execution limits declared with leading `<` lines.
< cost Sets a maximum dollar cost for the cell or flow.
< cost <= $N< $N < cost <= $3.33< $3.33< latency Sets a maximum wall-clock runtime.
< latency <= 3m< 3m< 500ms< 2h < latency <= 3m< 30s< tokens Sets a maximum total token count.
< tokens <= N < tokens <= 50000< iterations Caps loop iterations when a chain repeats a cell alias.
< iterations <= N < iterations <= 37 entries
Forwarding, chains, loops, and deterministic branching with `@` commands.
>, >=, <, <=, ==, != Comparison operators available inside `@if` conditions.
>>=<<===!= @if pnl > 0 -> c3@if verdict == accept -> c3@forward Passes current output to a target cell without autorun.
@forward cN @forward c2@forward! Passes output to a target cell and runs that cell automatically.
@forward! cN @forward! c2@chain Declares ordered cell execution.
@chain c1 > c2 > c3 @chain c1 > c2 > c3loop A repeated alias in `@chain` is interpreted as a loop.
@chain c1 > c3 > c5 > c1< iterations <= 3 @chain c1 > c3 > c5 > c1
< iterations <= 3@if Routes workflow based on a parsed output variable.
@if <variable> <operator> <value> -> <target>@if <variable> -> <target> @if pnl > 0 -> c3@if accepted -> c4@else Declares fallback target for the preceding `@if`.
@else -> cN@else -> stop@else -> done @else -> c46 entries
Visible text, generated files, and artifact inputs.
@file Requests a generated artifact with automatic name and type.
@file @file@file .ext Requests an auto-named artifact with a fixed extension.
@file .md@file .py@file .json @file .md@file name.ext Requests a generated artifact with an explicit filename.
@file <name>.<ext> @file strategy_code.py@file closeout_note.md@text Shows full generated text output in the cell result.
@text @text@text <N Limits visible text output to the first N characters.
@text <300 @text <300@use artifact Attaches a generated artifact from another cell as input.
@use artifact cN/<filename> @use artifact c4/closeout_note.md11 entries
ICC data references with `%` tokens.
%input References input passed by `@forward`, `@forward!`, `@chain`, or loop execution.
%input Critically evaluate:
%input%output.cN References generated output from another intent cell.
%output.cN Use %output.c1 as input.%prompt.cN References prompt body text from another cell.
%prompt.cN Audit this prompt:
%prompt.c1%header.cN References the parsed control header text from another cell.
%header.cN Explain the constraints in %header.c1%meta.cN.key References run metadata such as cost, latency, model, or status.
%meta.cN.cost%meta.cN.latency%meta.cN.model%meta.cN.status Previous cost: %meta.c2.cost%error.cN References the latest error or diagnostic from another cell.
%error.cN Debug this failure:
%error.c2%var.cN.name Inserts a parsed variable extracted from another cell output.
%var.cN.<name> %var.c2.pnl%file.cN References the primary generated artifact from another cell.
%file.cN Review %file.c3%file.cN:name.ext References a specific generated artifact filename from another cell.
%file.cN:<filename> %file.c3:strategy_code.py%files.cN References the generated artifact set from another cell.
%files.cN Summarize %files.c3%% Escapes a percent reference when the author wants literal text.
%% Write %%output.c1 literally.4 entries
Header boundaries, escaping, aliases, and migration rules.
header boundary Only consecutive leading service lines are parsed as control header.
leading `>`, `<`, `@` linesfirst blank or ordinary text line starts prompt body > openai
@text <300
This is prompt text, not a header directive.\> Escapes a leading service character inside the control header.
\> text\< text\@ text \> not routing
\< not constraint
\@ not directivecN Stable intent-cell alias used by flow commands and references.
c1c2c12 @forward c2{{...}} Detects deprecated double-brace references and maps them to ICC v1.01 `%` references.
{{cN.output}} -> %output.cN{{cN.vars.name}} -> %var.cN.name{{cN.artifact.file}} -> %file.cN:file {{c2.output}} -> %output.c22 entries
Provider ids, model profiles, and parser routing modes.
providers Provider ids recognized by the parser plus workspace aliases configured in settings.
openaiclaudegeminixaimistraldeepseeklocal openai
claude
gemini
xai
mistral
deepseek
localrouting modes Routing modes emitted by the parser.
singleparallelbestsynthesisautofastcheap single
parallel
best
synthesis
auto
fast
cheap1 entries
Notebook status values and run-blocking diagnostics.
status Cell status values understood by the current notebook/runtime.
not_runrunningcompletedfailedskippedstaleparse_errorreference_errordecision_errorconfig_errorartifact_errorcancelled not_run
running
completed
failed
skipped
stale
parse_error
reference_error
decision_error
config_error
artifact_error
cancelled3 entries
Documented concepts that are not interpreted by ICC v1.01 yet.
condition_uncertain Initial-spec evaluator fallback for ambiguous `@if` conditions.
condition_uncertain condition_uncertainfile: Initial-spec branch target form for direct file routing.
@if accepted -> file:report.md @if accepted -> file:report.mdprovider errors Initial-spec provider adapter error codes.
rate_limitquota_exceededtimeoutauth_errorserver_errorinvalid_requestcontext_too_largemodel_unavailable rate_limit
auth_error
context_too_large