Core Primitives

Settld security and settlement correctness come from signed, hash-bound artifacts with deterministic relationships.

Canonical transaction chain

Kernel v0 paid capability flow:

1. ToolManifest

2. AuthorityGrant

3. ToolCallAgreement

4. FundingHold

5. ToolCallEvidence

6. SettlementDecisionRecord

7. SettlementReceipt

8. Dispute branch (when needed):

   • DisputeOpenEnvelope

   • ArbitrationCase

   • ArbitrationVerdict

   • SettlementAdjustment

Primitive purpose

ToolManifest

Capability identity, interface details, verifier hints. Prevents silent identity swaps.

AuthorityGrant

Constrains spend/scope/time. Prevents unauthorized settlement operations.

ToolCallAgreement

Commits parties to exact terms including call commitment (callId, inputHash) and settlement terms.

FundingHold

Reserves funds before work execution, enabling reliable provider execution with escrow semantics.

ToolCallEvidence

Signed evidence binding execution facts to the agreement commitment.

SettlementDecisionRecord

Deterministic evaluation outcome, reason codes, policy linkage, replay-critical facts.

SettlementReceipt

Finalized settlement artifact describing effective outcome and accounting effect.

Dispute artifacts

• DisputeOpenEnvelope proves opener legitimacy for non-admin opens.

• ArbitrationCase tracks active dispute subject.

• ArbitrationVerdict resolves dispute.

• SettlementAdjustment applies deterministic held-fund routing effect.

Critical invariants

• One deterministic settlement result per agreement hash

• Evidence must match agreement commitment (callId/inputHash)

• Open arbitration case blocks holdback auto-release

• Deterministic adjustment identity prevents double-apply

• Replay checks compare recomputed vs stored decision path

Determinism in practice

Determinism means:

• canonicalized artifact hashing

• explicit signer ownership

• deterministic artifact IDs for idempotent side effects

• reproducible replay/verification checks

It does not mean all policy semantics are universal truth. It means outcomes are provably tied to declared policy and evidence.

Related references

• docs/spec/README.md

• docs/spec/INVARIANTS.md

• docs/spec/SettlementDecisionRecord.v2.md

• docs/spec/DisputeOpenEnvelope.v1.md

• docs/spec/ClosePack.v1.md