PACT

This repository is PACT — the Terrene Foundation's reference implementation of PACT (Principled Architecture for Constrained Trust), the fourth standard in the Quartet alongside CARE, EATP, and CO. It implements the D/T/R accountability grammar, recursive operating envelope delegation, knowledge clearance framework, and verification gradient for running organizations with AI agents under governed autonomy.

PACT is Foundation-owned, Apache 2.0 licensed, and irrevocably open. Since the standards, SDKs, and reference model are all open, anyone can build commercial implementations on top — the Foundation has no structural relationship with any commercial entity.

What This Is

A framework and reference implementation of PACT (Principled Architecture for Constrained Trust). PACT publishes the domain-agnostic governance framework — D/T/R grammar validation, operating envelope composition, knowledge clearance, verification gradient — plus a simple example vertical (e.g., a university or open-source project) that proves the system works without requiring domain expertise. Built on the Kailash Python SDK (Kaizen agent framework, DataFlow persistence, Nexus API layer, EATP SDK trust layer).

The boundary test: If you ripped out all domain vocabulary from a vertical's code and replaced it with different domain terms, the pact library code wouldn't change at all. Only the configuration and domain layer would change.

What it is NOT: A generic agent orchestrator competing with LangChain/CrewAI. It is governed orchestration — an opinionated framework for running organizations with AI agents under PACT architectural governance.

Framework vs Verticals

Verticals import pact and define their domain's D/T/R structure, envelope constraints, and clearance mappings as PACT configuration. The framework knows nothing about finance, healthcare, or any other domain.

Absolute Directives

These override ALL other instructions. They govern behavior before any rule file is consulted.

0. Foundation Independence — No Commercial Coupling

PACT is a Terrene Foundation project. It is fully independent. There is NO relationship between PACT and any commercial product, proprietary codebase, or commercial entity. Do not reference, compare with, or design against any proprietary product. Do not use language like "open-source version of X." PACT IS the product — not a derivative of anything. See rules/independence.md for full policy.

1. Framework-First

Never write code from scratch before checking whether the Kailash frameworks already handle it.

• Instead of direct SQL/SQLAlchemy/Django ORM → check with dataflow-specialist
• Instead of FastAPI/custom API gateway → check with nexus-specialist
• Instead of custom MCP server/client → check with mcp-specialist
• Instead of custom agentic platform → check with kaizen-specialist

2. .env Is the Single Source of Truth

All API keys and model names MUST come from .env. Never hardcode model strings like "gpt-4" or "claude-3-opus". Root conftest.py auto-loads .env for pytest.

See rules/env-models.md for full details.

3. Implement, Don't Document

When you discover a missing feature, endpoint, or record — implement or create it. Do not note it as a gap and move on. The only acceptable skip is explicit user instruction.

See rules/zero-tolerance.md for details.

4. Standards Alignment

Every implementation decision must align with the CARE, PACT, EATP, and CO specifications. When in doubt, consult the relevant standards expert agent. This repo is the reference implementation of the Quartet — it must embody them correctly.

5. Recommended Reviews

• Code review (intermediate-reviewer) after file changes — see rules/agents.md Rule 1
• Security review (security-reviewer) before commits — strongly encouraged — see rules/agents.md Rule 2
• Real infrastructure in integration/E2E tests is recommended — see rules/testing.md

Architecture Overview

Three-Layer Stack

Platform Components (v0.3.0)

Import Patterns

# Governance (from kailash-pact — L1)
from pact.governance import GovernanceEngine, GovernanceVerdict
from pact.governance import compile_org, load_org_yaml

# Config types (from this repo — L3)
from pact_platform.build.config.schema import OrgDefinition, AgentConfig, ConstraintEnvelopeConfig

# Work management models (from this repo — L3)
from pact_platform.models import db, validate_finite

# Engine wiring (from this repo — L3)
from pact_platform.engine import SupervisorOrchestrator, EmergencyBypass

# Trust layer (kailash[trust] — L1)
from kailash.trust import TrustOperations, generate_keypair
from kailash.trust.chain import VerificationLevel, VerificationResult

Workspace Commands

Workspace detection: Hooks automatically detect the active workspace and inject context.

Session continuity: Run /wrapup before ending a session to write .session-notes. The next session reads these notes automatically.

Rules Index

Agents

Agents are organized by function. See .claude/agents/ for the full set.

Standards reference: use co-reference skill (covers CARE, EATP, CO, COC specs).

Skills

SDK skills in .claude/skills/01-* through 17-*. Standards in co-reference/, 26-eatp-reference/, 29-pact/. Project skills in project/.

Critical Execution Rules

# ALWAYS: runtime.execute(workflow.build())
runtime = LocalRuntime()
results, run_id = runtime.execute(workflow.build())

# Async: await runtime.execute_workflow_async(workflow.build(), inputs={})
# Express CRUD: db.express_sync.create("Model", {...})  # 23x faster than workflows
# PactEngine: result = await pact_engine.submit(objective, role, context)