Core concepts

Policy Certificate#

A machine-readable AIPS-1 certificate that describes an agent's cover: issuer, signature, active status, scope, coverage limit, claim triggers, exclusions, revocation status, and settlement path. See Certificates.

Mandate#

The rules an operator sets for an agent: transaction caps, periodic allowances, allowlists, time windows, freezing, and revocation. See Mandate firewall.

The two gates#

Cover and mandate are checked separately. No gate can override another. Valid cover never makes an unsafe transaction acceptable, and a generous mandate never replaces missing cover.

Execution Gateway#

The single path to spending. It executes only when both valid cover and mandate approval are present. See Execution Gateway.

Decision Receipt#

The record of one decision: policy and mandate hashes, the outcome, any denial reason, and execution evidence. See Decision receipts.

Claim#

For objectively verified covered failures, claims follow the certificate's settlement route. An optional operator bond can cover a first-loss deductible. See Claims.

Why trust it#

Transaction and claim evidence does not depend solely on project promises. Coverage, exclusions, limits, and denial reasons are explicit and machine-readable.