13 · Execution

How work gets done.

Execution is the set of mechanisms that perform actions in external systems. Every execution requires a governance token. Every execution is auditable. Every execution feeds back to reconciliation.

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Execution Flow

Approved Action → Execution Token → Routing → Mechanism → External System → Receipt → Reconciliation

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Execution Mechanisms

Mechanism	Purpose
APIs & Services	Direct API calls to external systems
MCP / Tools	Model Context Protocol tool invocations
Workflows	Multi-step process execution
Hermes	Execution service for complex actions
Functions / Workers	Serverless compute execution
External Integrations	Third-party service calls

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Execution Token

interface ExecutionToken {
  id: string;
  tenantId: string;
  workItemRef: string;
  action: ActionDef;
  approvedBy: ActorRef;
  approvedAt: string;
  expiresAt: string;
  constraints: Constraint[];
  budget: CostBudget;
}

Token Rules

• Single-use
• Expires after configurable TTL
• Scoped to specific action
• Cannot be reused or transferred
• Invalid or expired tokens reject execution

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MCP Tools

Tool Category	Examples
Data Operations	Read, write, query, transform
Communication	Send message, schedule meeting
File Operations	Create, update, share document
Workflow	Start process, advance stage
Integration	Call external API, sync data

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Execution Receipt

interface ExecutionReceipt {
  id: string;
  executionToken: string;
  action: ActionDef;
  status: 'success' | 'partial' | 'failure';
  result: ActionResult;
  timestamp: string;
  duration: number;
}

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Execution Rules

Rule	Description
Token required	No execution without a valid token
Scope limited	Token scoped to specific action
Time limited	Token expires after TTL
Budget limited	Execution cost tracked and limited
Audit logged	Every execution is audited
Rollback capable	Actions can be compensated

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Execution Connects to

Layer	Relationship
Governance	Issues execution tokens
Communication Bridge	Routes to execution mechanisms
Agents	Agents trigger execution
Source Systems	Executes in external systems
Reconciliation	Receipts feed reconciliation