Remote VM Contract

August 14, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

Authority and Status

policy/remote-vm-contract.json defines the remote_vm contract. Each remote VM provider must use this contract.

The contract does not create operator support. The host-support matrix gives the support and launch status.

Fixed Contract Fields

FieldRequired value
target_kindremote_vm
target_assurance_classcompat
support_boundarypreview-only
runtime_apibrokered
workspace_transportremote-materialization
access_modelbrokered

The policy artifact uses target_provider=fake-remote. A provider-specific contract changes only this provider value. A separate access plan holds the provider broker data.

Deterministic Contract Evidence

The repository uses remotevm.FakeTarget for deterministic contract tests. The AWS and GCP conformance fixtures also use this fake target.

The fake target copies the source workspace into its local target root. It excludes .git and records each copied entry in materialization.json.

The fake target rejects destination names that collide after NFC normalization and Unicode case folding. It writes no content at a destination path it rejects for invalid UTF-8 data.

This process is contract evidence only. It does not copy data to AWS or GCP. It does not start a Workcell remote session.

Workspace Transfer Requirements

A live provider must copy the source workspace into its provider target root. It must exclude .git and record each copied entry in materialization.json.

Workcell must not use a live host mount for a remote workspace. The transfer must be explicit and auditable.

Session and Audit Requirements

The contract requires bootstrap.json, session records, and a target audit log. It requires these audit events:

  • workspace_materialized
  • bootstrap_ready
  • session_started
  • session_finished

The fake target tests status=running, status=exited, and assurance=compat-preview-brokered. These are deterministic contract results, not live provider results.

Provider Conformance Requirements

Each provider must implement remotevm.ConformanceTarget. Each provider must pass remotevm.RunConformance.

A provider must not define a separate contract suite. A provider must limit additions to its provider-specific broker and bootstrap data.

AWS and GCP do not implement live Workcell remote execution. Their preview documents define tools, broker tests, certification scope, and rollback: