Shared protocols

These ten Markdown contracts define the harness-neutral behavior of THE LOOP. Harness adapters translate local discovery and invocation details into these contracts; they do not change the contracts themselves.

Contract index

Contract	Purpose	Requirement prefix
Stage contracts	Common stage inputs, outputs, done gates and halt rules	STG
Skill routing	Capability detection, ranking, rejection and bundled fallback selection	RTE
Code and non-code tracks	Track-specific preparation and evidence under shared safety rules	TRK
Workflow dispatch	Lifecycle selection, handoffs and completion boundaries	DSP
Autonomy policy	Default authority, elevation, warnings, revocation and invariants	AUT
Run state and leases	Ownership, authoritative state, recovery, budgets and kill switches	RUN
Issue ledger	Defect lifecycle, blocking rules and regression closure	ISS
Evidence contract	Reproducible proof, outcomes and environment records	EVD
Watcher contract	Read-only monitoring, staleness and escalation	WAT
Harness capability map	Discovery and evidence-scoped behavior status across target harnesses	CAP

Normative language

MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL and SHALL NOT are normative. Each normative statement carries a stable identifier in square brackets. SHOULD, SHOULD NOT and MAY are guidance unless a referenced requirement makes them mandatory.

The JSON Schemas in schemas/ are the machine-readable record shapes. These protocols define cross-record and workflow semantics that schema validation alone cannot express. If a schema and protocol appear to disagree, execution fails closed and the conflict is recorded as an issue; adapters do not choose a convenient interpretation.

Versioning

Requirement identifiers remain stable after release. A behavioral replacement receives a new identifier and the superseded rule stays discoverable in Git history. Contract changes require repository validation, contradiction review and the same evidence discipline as code changes.