Key Concepts

The COMPILE model

The executor compiles each plan step into a harness node with four binding contract field-groups:

Group What it covers
Lifecycle Step state (pending, executing, verifying, complete, failed)
DoD (Definition of Done) Acceptance criteria, integration checks, outputs
Effect Classification (pure, reversible, irreversible), pre-commit gates
Traces Which spec requirements this step satisfies

DoD (Definition of Done)

Every step has a DoD derived from its acceptance criteria, integration checks, and declared outputs. The executor verifies DoD in a role-separated verifier lens: it re-derives each criterion from recorded evidence, never from the build narration.

  • Empty acceptance_criteria => BLOCKED (never auto-passed).
  • A criterion that cannot be grounded in evidence => FAILED (never silent PASS).

effect_class

Effects are classified before acting:

Class Gate
pure No gate --- safe to execute
reversible Checkpoint before executing
irreversible Human confirm required --- pre-commit checkpoint + HITL gate

Role separation

The executor enforces role separation between building (execute_step) and verifying (verify_dod). When driving the graph, these are separate nodes with separate contexts. This separation is lost the moment you hand-emulate the loop instead of driving it.