Test Occupant Load

Single-shot occupant-load math against IBC §1004 + Table 1004.5 text the user has already in hand. The command bundles no values and recalls no values from training; every load factor in the output is a verbatim quote from the user's pasted text or a live WebFetch with a SourceURL.

This command is the light-weight sibling of the design-occupancy-load skill. Use:

• design-occupancy-load (skill) when you want the multi-turn workflow: confirm edition / jurisdiction → ask program (multiple sub-areas + functions) → "should I fetch §1004.5 + Table row?" per use group → assemble per-space loads → sum + flag multi-use rules.
• /test-occupant-load (this command) when you already have the relevant Table row pasted (or want a single-shot fetch) AND a single space + function — and you just want ceil(SF / factor) math with verbatim attribution.

If your project has multiple spaces / multiple use groups OR you don't have the Table row text in hand: use the design-occupancy-load skill — it owns the multi-turn fetch + sum pattern.

Why this pattern (read first)

IBC §1004 + Table 1004.5 row labels and several factor values are revised between editions (IBC 2018 / 2021 / 2024). Bundled transcriptions silently misquote when written from training-data recall (well-tracker incident, 2026-05-09; design-stair v0 incident, 2026-05-10). The command compares against text the user provides — pasted from their adopted edition — and labels every row with the source.

The user MUST paste the relevant Table row + § text, OR authorize a single live WebFetch. There is no offline fallback to bundled values — by design.

Authoritative sources used

If the user authorizes a fetch, the workflow uses these public URLs only:

Standard	Public source
IBC 2024	https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2024P1
IBC 2021	https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2021P2
IBC 2018	https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2018

Paste preferred. Fetch is single-shot per Table row the user nominates — for the full multi-turn fetch + multi-use sum workflow, use the design-occupancy-load skill.

Inputs the command needs

1. Space SF — net floor area of the single space, in sf (use net-vs-gross matching what the user-pasted row specifies).
2. Function — the IBC Table 1004.5 row that applies. The user picks the row; the command does not classify use. Common rows include:
   • Assembly without fixed seats (concentrated / unconcentrated / standing)
   • Assembly with fixed seats (count seats per §1004.6)
   • Business areas
   • Educational classroom / shop / vocational
   • Mercantile (basement / ground / upper)
   • Industrial / S-1 / S-2
   • Residential
   • Day care / institutional / medical care / inpatient
   • Library reading rooms / stack
3. Edition — IBC 2018 / 2021 / 2024.
4. Jurisdiction — for the report only (state amendments are out-of-scope).
5. Source text — one of:
   • Paste the verbatim Table 1004.5 row + relevant § text (preferred for /test-occupant-load — that's the scope).
   • Authorize one-shot fetch from the URL table above.
   • Defer to design-occupancy-load skill if the user wants the full multi-turn fetch workflow.

Required citations (verify exact § from source)

Topic-level mapping. The verbatim § number + load factor comes from the user's pasted text or a single live fetch.

Topic	IBC § (subject area)
Function classification + load factor	§1004.5 + Table 1004.5
Posted increased occupant load (assembly)	§1004.5.1 (out-of-scope: user must furnish AHJ posting)
Multi-use combination	§1004.6 (out-of-scope: use design-occupancy-load skill)
Outdoor areas	§1004.7

Workflow

Step 1 — Confirm scope

"This command does single-shot occupant-load math against IBC §1004 + Table 1004.5 Federal — single space, single function. State amendments (NYC BC, CA CBC, FL Building Code), means-of-egress capacity (§1005.3.1), and cumulative load across spaces are NOT covered. Multi-use spaces (§1004.6) require the design-occupancy-load skill instead. To proceed I need:

1. Space SF + function (single space, single row of Table 1004.5).
2. IBC edition + jurisdiction.
3. Source: paste the Table 1004.5 row + relevant § text, OR authorize one-shot fetch (for multi-turn fetch use design-occupancy-load skill).

Continue?"

If multi-use space / multi-function: stop and route to design-occupancy-load skill.

Step 2 — Compute against source text

Math: occupant load = ceil(space_sf / load_factor) for net SF rows, or per the source's expression for gross SF rows.

• Quote the row from the source (verbatim, blockquoted).
• Apply the formula with user's SF.
• Show the math: ceil(2,400 / 100) = 24 occupants.

Present as a markdown table:

Item	Source factor	Space SF	Computed load	CitedSection	SourceURL	FetchedAt	Confidence	Remarks

Schema same as design-occupancy-load skill. For pasted source: SourceURL = pasted by user, FetchedAt = paste timestamp.

Step 3 — Optional persistence

After the inline table, ask:

"Save this as a file? (a) markdown, (b) CSV, (c) both, (d) inline only. Path?"

Default suggested path docs/egress/<space-id>-occupant-load.{csv|md} if save chosen.

Step 4 — Report

After the table:

• Total occupant load (single value for single space).
• Formula shown verbatim.
• Out-of-scope reminders:
  • Multi-use combination (§1004.6) — design-occupancy-load skill.
  • Means-of-egress capacity (§1005.3.1) — separate workflow.
  • Travel distance / common path / dead-end (§1006, §1017, §1020) — separate.
  • State amendment overlay (NYC BC §1004, CA CBC §1004, etc.) — user verifies.
  • Posted occupant load (§1004.5.1) — AHJ approval, user furnishes.
• AOR's stamped opinion governs; AHJ confirms compliance with adopted overlays (NOT checked here).
• If multi-space / multi-function: recommend design-occupancy-load skill instead.

NA AEC conventions (enforce)

• English only.
• Imperial-first: sf (net or gross per the source), occupants. Metric only if the source uses it.
• IBC § format: IBC 2024 §1004.5 / IBC 2024 Table 1004.5. Never "section 1004" generically.
• AHJs named specifically: NYC DOB, FDNY, LADBS, DSA, CA HCAI, Toronto Building, GSA, USACE.
• Roles: Architect of Record (AOR), Code Consultant, Egress Consultant.

Constraints

• Never recall IBC load factors from training. Verbatim Table 1004.5 row from user paste or single live WebFetch only.
• Never paraphrase the source. "1 per 100 gross" must appear verbatim, not as "100 sf/person".
• Show the formula in Remarks. ceil(2,400 / 100) = 24 occupants — math visible.
• Single space, single function. Multi-use is design-occupancy-load skill territory — defer.
• Posted occupant load is an AHJ approval, not a recall — user must furnish AHJ-stamped posting.
• Source URL or 'pasted by user' is mandatory in every output row.
• No docs/ artifact unless user opts in.
• Caveat block always present.
• Fetch only after explicit user authorization (single-shot per Table row).
• Multi-turn fetch + multi-use sum is design-occupancy-load skill territory. Don't reproduce that workflow here — defer.

Anti-patterns

• Filling a Source factor cell from training-data recall instead of a paste / fetch quote.
• Re-introducing a references/ibc-1004-table.md of transcribed factors — deliberately none.
• Re-introducing a compute_load.py with hardcoded load-factor constants — deliberately none.
• Auto-classifying the function ("this looks like a B occupancy") — user picks the row.
• Auto-converting "1 per 7 net" into "7 sf/person" — preserve the source's expression.
• Skipping ceil-rounding ("38.5 occupants" in output) — IBC requires whole occupants.
• Computing means-of-egress capacity (0.2/0.3 in/occ → exit width) — out of scope; user runs separately.
• Quoting Table 1004.5 row from a different edition than the user's adopted edition.
• Doing multi-turn per-topic fetch confirmation — that's design-occupancy-load skill scope; this command is single-shot.
• Computing a multi-use sum here — that's design-occupancy-load skill scope; defer.

Resources

None. This command is intentionally body-only. For the full multi-turn workflow with per-topic fetch confirmation + multi-use combination, use the design-occupancy-load skill.