arifOS — Constitutional AI Governance

Execute an action arif_judge has already SEALed — nothing runs without seal_verdict_id and approved_action_hash matching the judged action. Modes: engineer (default; plan and apply — requires manifest), dry_run (preview, no side effects; manifest or query), query (read-only), write (write files), generate (generate code/content), commit (commit prepared work), recall (retrieve past forge artifacts). Irreversible judged actions additionally require ack_irreversible=true. On missing seal or hash mismatch the call returns REFUSED with no change made. Outputs: execution receipt (receipt_id, status, actor_id, timestamp).

Ignite or resume a governed session. Returns session_id and session_token required for subsequent operations. Modes: init (default new session), preflight (inspect existing session state), resume (continue active session), validate (re-check credentials), canary (transport probe), triage (read session state), epoch_open/epoch_seal (bracket a long working window), light (minimal session), opt_out (privacy opt-out). Outputs: session credentials and allowed next tools. To END a governed session, call arif_seal(mode=session_close) — session closure is a ledger event, not an init mode.

Evaluate proposed operations against policy and safety constraints. Weighs blast radius, reversibility, and permission level. Returns binding verdict (SEAL for approved, HOLD for blocked, SABAR for awaiting conditions). Approval verdict is required prior to calling arif_forge. Outputs: evaluation verdict and authorization receipt.

Persistent institutional knowledge across sessions — store, recall, and curate lessons, decisions, and context so later sessions inherit them. Modes: recall (semantic search, default), inspect (read one memory in full), attest (vouch for its accuracy), remember (store a self-contained lesson), promote (move up a tier), revise (replace its text), forget (remove — gated), audit (integrity scan), metabolize (compact and consolidate tiers). Use to carry knowledge forward between sessions; NOT for fresh external facts (arif_observe) and NOT for permanent audit receipts — those are arif_seal appends to the VAULT999 ledger, which can never be edited, whereas memory entries are revisable by design. Tiers L1 (hot working memory) → L6 (sealed canon). Behavior: reads (recall/inspect/audit) are side-effect-free; writes (remember/promote/revise/metabolize) mutate memory state; promote and forget refuse without human_approval=true — only the human owner may destroy memory. Requires a valid arif_init session. Outputs: scoped memory entries with tier and provenance.

Sense reality into sourced evidence — gather external facts with provenance, the kernel's sensing verb. Run it before arif_think or arif_judge so decisions rest on sourced facts. Modes: search (web/literature query, default), fetch (one URL with provenance), hybrid_discovery (combine sources), ingest (absorb a document), compass/atlas (guided navigation), entropy_dS (measure system change), vitals (kernel machine telemetry), resource_read (read a registered arifos:// resource), resource_search (list registered resources). Use for fresh external facts or live system state; NOT for stored institutional knowledge (arif_memory recall) or organ dispatch (arif_route). Read-only and idempotent — writes nothing; every result carries source attribution and an epistemic tag (OBS/DER/INT). Requires a valid arif_init session; unauthenticated calls are refused. Outputs: structured facts with provenance and uncertainty labels.

AGENT REPORT LANE · File or read reports between agents without involving the human. Use when your work is done, when you are blocked by another agent, or when you need to tell peers a fact. Modes: report (file), inbox (read peers), ack, flush, stats. kind=fyi|peer|done|claim stay in the peer lane; ONLY kind=decision or kind=blocked reach the sovereign, and only in one coalesced message. Reports are SELF_REPORTED — probe before relying on one. Not for constitutional verdicts, sealing, or mutations — use the canonical verbs (arif_init … arif_seal); this lane coordinates, it never governs. Behavior: filing appends to an agent-only store (never the VAULT999 ledger); reads are side-effect-free; dry_run=true validates without storing. Requires a session from arif_init. Outputs: the filed report record (mode=report), or the inbox/ack/flush/stats payload for the other modes.

Classify an intent and route it to the organ that owns it — GEOX (Earth science), WEALTH (capital markets), WELL (human vitality), A-FORGE (execution), or the arifOS kernel itself. Modes: route (default; classify and recommend), triage (rank a batch of intents), delegate (prepare an A2A handoff), status (organ state), kernel (kernel-level status), metabolize (feed routing outcomes to arifFlow). Use when a task belongs to a specialized organ and you need a dispatch envelope or organ health before acting; supply organ_tool + arguments to bridge one call through to the organ. Routing RECOMMENDS only — it never executes: for execution obtain an arif_judge SEAL, then call arif_forge. Not for general reasoning (arif_think). Read-only unless organ_tool is supplied. Requires a valid arif_init session. Outputs: organ dispatch envelope with recommended organ and tool.

Appends a receipt to the VAULT999 immutable ledger. This is NOT a verdict and does not authorize anything — verdicts come only from arif_judge. Modes: seal (default; permanent append, requires payload and seal_purpose), verify (check one entry), ledger (read the ledger head), changelog (recent appends), audit (integrity check), session_close (close out a session into the ledger). Write modes require ack_irreversible=true. Outputs: immutable ledger entry receipt.

Structured reasoning and plan formulation — decomposes a question or claim into labeled derivations (OBS/DER/INT) before you act. Modes: reason (inquiry breakdown, default), reflect (self-review of prior reasoning), verify (check a derivation), axioms (surface hidden assumptions), plan/plan_review/plan_approve/refactor_plan (execution-plan lifecycle), metabolize (consolidate past reasoning), simulate (what-if), wonder (open exploration), atlas (map the problem space). Use to prepare evidence chains and plans BEFORE arif_judge or arif_forge — pass the returned plan_id to arif_forge when executing an approved plan. NOT for gathering facts (arif_observe), dispatching to organs (arif_route), or issuing verdicts (arif_judge — think never issues them). Pure reasoning: mutates no state and calls no external systems; its output is a reasoning record, not ground truth. Requires a valid arif_init session. Outputs: structured reasoning record with epistemic labels.