Phase 3 — Agent Runtime

Status: under construction. This page describes the intended technical direction, not an existing production runtime, plugin, protocol, or service.

Purpose

Phase 3 connects an agent runtime to the contracts established in Phase 2. The runtime should consume bounded execution context, operate within explicitly controlled authority, produce verification evidence, and return a structured result for acceptance.

Technical shape

BOUND Artifacts
      ↓
Agent Adapter
      ↓
prepare
      ↓
execute ──→ bounded tools / workspace / environment
      ↓
verify ──→ tests / contracts / policy / evidence
      ↓
Agent Result
      ↓
accept ──→ human or governing workflow

What is being explored

Runtime adapter: connect Agent Context and Verification Plan to an actual agent execution environment.
Tool enforcement: turn declared capabilities and scope into real runtime controls.
Workspace isolation: constrain filesystem and execution surfaces to the assigned boundary.
Network and credentials: make external access explicit, limited, observable, and independently governed.
Verification integration: execute required checks and attach their evidence to the Agent Result.
Plugin / protocol integration: evaluate a practical transport such as a plugin, MCP-based adapter, CLI, or service without changing the underlying BOUND artifact semantics.

Core invariant

The runtime must not become the source of truth for engineering intent. BOUND artifacts define the declared mission, boundary, contracts, constraints, verification obligations, and acceptance model; the runtime implements controlled execution around them.

Authority boundary

An agent having access to a tool does not automatically mean it is authorized to use that tool for every purpose. Phase 3 must enforce the distinction between capability, scope, and authority. Boundary or contract changes remain governed decisions.

Current state

Phase 2 provides the machine-readable artifacts, adapter contract, executable fixture, and verification model required to begin implementation. Phase 3 itself remains under development. No production runtime, plugin, MCP implementation, security guarantee, or adoption result is claimed here.