Core concepts¶

PowerContext uses a small set of domain values to organize project evidence and reusable context. Sources preserve what happened. Revisioned Artifacts preserve selected results, and PreparedContext supplies a bounded view for one Agent turn. Every value belongs to a scope.

Scope is the isolation boundary¶

Every content operation uses a scope_id. The scope selects an isolated Source journal, Memory lifecycle, Candidate inbox, Handoff history, and related runtime state. Integrations can derive a scope from a repository or path, while public interfaces also allow callers to supply one explicitly.

A scope ID selects data. It does not prove user identity, grant tool access, or authorize execution.

Sources preserve evidence¶

A Source describes evidence that PowerContext can read. Captured Sources store content in PowerContext; referenced Sources point to material owned by another adapter. A SourceRef identifies one Source by its type and ID.

Capturing a Source does not automatically create Memory, an Experience, or a Skill. A configured pipeline may process eligible Sources later. Work Contracts and Task Outcomes are also captured as exact Source evidence.

Artifacts have immutable Revisions¶

An Artifact is one immutable revision of reusable output. Its exact reference contains a family, Artifact ID, and Revision:

FAMILY/ARTIFACT_ID@REVISION

The Artifact ID remains stable while approved replacements create later Revisions. Lineage records the exact Source and Artifact references used to produce each Revision. Reading an exact reference returns that historical snapshot, even after the family head advances.

Memory stores durable project knowledge¶

Memory is a revisioned Artifact family for reusable decisions, constraints, facts, state, and next steps. Entries can be active or inactive; retiring an entry removes it from active recall without deleting its history.

Explicit Memory writes do not require a model. Source-based extraction does require a configured generation pipeline. Memory is durable and searchable, unlike the temporary context prepared for one Agent turn. See Memory and Handoff for the boundary between durable knowledge and task transfer.

Candidates separate proposals from approved Artifacts¶

Experience and managed Skill proposals enter a scope-local Review Inbox as pending Candidates. A Candidate contains one current proposal version and its exact evidence. Review writes use expected_version so a decision cannot silently apply after another writer changes the proposal.

Approval writes an immutable Artifact Revision and returns its exact result_artifact. Rejection records a decision reason without creating an Artifact. Both decisions are terminal. See Review Candidates for the procedure.

Experience and Skill have different availability¶

An Experience records a situation, action, observed outcome, and reusable lesson. The approved current head can take part in same-scope PreparedContext recall. Pending, rejected, and historical Experience Revisions are excluded.

A managed Skill contains a name, discovery description, instructions, validation checks, and lineage. Approval does not install or execute it. An exact approved Revision must be exported explicitly before an Agent host can discover the host-local projection. See Experience and Skill lifecycle for the full review and availability model.

PreparedContext is temporary¶

PreparedContext is the final bounded value for one Agent turn. The Runtime selects active Memory and approved Experience heads for the request query, applies a shared byte budget, and returns either ready content or empty. The result is not a new durable record.

Recalled content is history, not an instruction authority. The receiving Agent must still follow current user and system instructions, inspect live workspace state, and check its actual capabilities.

Work continuity records task boundaries¶

The high-level work loop uses four durable or transferable values:

Work Contract → Prepared Handoff → Acknowledgement → Task Outcome

A Work Contract captures the objective and completion boundary as Source evidence. handoff_current_work captures an inspected boundary and returns a temporary Prepared Handoff. Committing a Handoff creates a durable Revision only when the user wants a milestone. The receiver resolves the Handoff and records an Acknowledgement; a Task Outcome preserves the final status and checks as Source evidence.

The Handoff Report projects current Handoff Revisions for inspection and export. The current scope report does not yet include Activity events or period comparison, and it does not rewrite Memory or the underlying Handoff history.

Interfaces expose different parts of the same Server¶

HTTP is the complete remote application contract. The Python Client provides typed access to that contract. MCP is a curated Agent-facing projection, while the CLI covers setup, diagnostics, Server operation, and human review tasks. Core protocols support applications that assemble their own Source, Artifact, and Trigger implementations.

Model generation, human Review, and execution authority remain separate. A model can propose content, Review can approve an Artifact Revision, and export can create a host-local copy. None of those steps grants an Agent permission to execute instructions.

Use Interfaces for current surface availability and Configuration for exact settings and defaults. RFCs record design decisions and may not describe the current implementation.