The Magenta Canon states ten governing principles for the reference execution runtime. In the reference model, execution requires a birth epoch, conformance is monotonic (the runtime does not permit it to regress), the execution gate is default-deny and binary (ALLOW or BLOCK) with no silent bypass or warn-only mode, agents may only propose actions that humans approve, and the audit chain is append-only and tamper-evident.
- Law I: No artifact executes without a birth epoch
- Law IV: The gate is default-deny and binary — ALLOW or BLOCK
- Law X: The audit chain is append-only and tamper-evident
THE MAGENTA CANON
Laws of the Governance Runtime
How to Read These Laws
The Canon is doctrine. A constitutional document describing a mechanism is not evidence that the mechanism runs, so each law falls into one of three classes and a reader should not collapse them.
Implemented runtime — mechanically enforced today, and checkable on the proof walkthrough. Laws IV (default-deny, binary gate), VI and VII (capability grants and an unexceedable ceiling), and X (append-only, hash-linked, tamper-evident evidence) describe the enforced path: a tools/call is refused unless a grant permits it, and every allow and block becomes a signed receipt.
Ratified doctrine and architecture — accepted design that is not, or not fully, runtime-enforced. Laws I, II, III, VIII, and IX describe the reference model's treatment of birth, conformance, baselines, supersession, and initialization. Law V (agents propose, humans approve) is doctrine plus a documented fail-closed intervention path; a fully wired production human-override channel is a roadmap goal and is not claimed as in place.
Proposed or future — not yet authoritative or implemented, and never presented here as a capability. Where a law reaches past the enforced path, the corresponding entry in the machine-readable claims register at /claims-register.json carries its real status: proven, supported, active development, roadmap, doctrine, or an explicit non-claim.
I. Execution Requires Birth
No artifact may execute without first being born into the governance runtime. Birth establishes the first epoch. Without an epoch, the gate does not open.
II. Conformance is Monotonic
Conformance may only improve or remain constant. The runtime does not permit conformance to regress: an artifact that was conformant is not made non-conformant by the governance runtime itself.
III. Epochs are Append-Only
An epoch, once created, is not overwritten, amended, or deleted by the runtime. E1 is followed by E2. The chain is append-only, and altering a past epoch is detectable on verification. History is preserved, not replaced.
IV. The Gate is Binary
Execution is either allowed or blocked. There is no warn-only mode and no silent bypass. Where a human exception path is used, it is itself a governed, logged decision — not a way around the gate. This default-deny, binary enforcement is the core governance invariant.
V. Agents Propose, Humans Approve
Autonomous agents may submit proposals. They may not execute them. They may not commit epochs. They may not bypass validation. Approval requires human authority within the governance runtime.
VI. Capabilities are Earned
No actor begins with execution authority. Observe and Validate are default. Propose, Commit, Execute, and Delegate must be granted. Grants are epoch-bound.
VII. The Ceiling Cannot be Exceeded
No actor may grant capabilities they do not possess. No actor may delegate authority they have not been given. The ceiling is inviolable.
VIII. Supersession is Final
Once a capability is superseded, it cannot be un-superseded. Forward-only removal. The audit chain records the moment of loss.
IX. Initialization Precedes Execution
MDK is the reference initialization model, not a required public runtime. In the reference model, an un-initialized artifact is not execution-eligible: eligibility is established by a committed baseline epoch, not assumed.
X. The Audit Chain is Tamper-Evident
Every governed action is recorded. Every epoch is hashed. Every grant is logged. The chain is append-only and hash-linked, so tampering with the record is detectable when the evidence is independently verified.
The Canon states the governance principles the reference runtime is built to enforce.