| name | operation-system-contract |
| description | Read this when changing runtime-owned dispatch, source-aware operationRef, step-completion transport, prompt composition boundaries, or live versus debug prompt differences. |
Operation System Contract
Purpose
This document organizes the stable runtime and prompt-composition contract of the operation system in this repository.
Refer to it when changing workflow routing, runtime dispatch ownership, report handling, or prompt composition boundaries.
Non-Negotiable Invariants
- Dispatch is runtime-mediated, not direct agent chaining.
- The runtime decides the next actor and owns worker dispatch.
- The canonical workflow key in runtime state is
operationRef, and operationName is for display only.
- Workflows with the same
name across builtin and project sources are treated as separate catalog entries.
- Auto activation from a free-form message succeeds only when there is a unique catalog match.
- The canonical transport for step completion is
taskId + next + message.
- Routing depends on runtime state, not standalone body tags or
[STEP:N] tokens.
- Noctis steps and worker steps share the same completion contract.
- A delegated child task does not change parent step ownership; after reporting, it returns to the same Noctis-owned step.
