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Handshake

Proof of Authority

Delegate consequence, not control.

Handshake routes agent attempts through limits you approve. Without valid scoped approval consumed at your intended receiver, downstream handlers cannot run.

Open documentationHow it works

For security, platform, and operator teams.

Architecture

Bounded Delegation

Caps you can cite.

Verified · Explicit Limits

Accountability Trail

Runs under written limits.

Verified · Decision-Grade

Receiver check

Before the handler runs.

Verified · Enforced

After the ask

Thin ask, thick run.

One stated goal unfolds into retries and tools. Limits bind each protected attempt, not the chat title.

One conversational goal.

Consequence pressure

Automation needs power. Power needs a ceiling.

Without a service ceiling, speed trades against open-ended risk. Each protected attempt answers to written limits—a receiver check before impact.

What the attempts look like

09:41:08billing-agentRefund · $12,400 · outside scopeno mandate
09:41:12deploy-agentShip to production · unapproved pathno mandate
09:41:19support-agentBulk export · users tableno mandate
09:41:33support-agentRefund · $450 · inside scopeauthorised

Three attempts lack a matching mandate; one does.

01–04

Mechanism

Intent to receipt. Four beats.

Cap. Intercept. Check. Record.

Money, deploys, data: set the ceiling before the run spreads.

By surface

Shrink the blast radius.

Write the limit before the agent touches money, code, or bulk data.

Same dollar and account caps on every refund attempt.

Sketch

Surface
Refunds
Ceiling
$5,000
Scope
Own account
Window
4h, revocable

Receipt · #01JV8K4XMTZ9NQRP

Action
Refund · $450
Agent
ai-customer-support
On behalf of
acme-corp
Mandate
refund_up_to_5000 · 4h · revocable
Approval
issued · consumed
Receiver
billing.acme.com/refunds
Checked
14 May 2026 · 09:41 UTC
Outcome
authorized · ran

View trail →

Proof, not story

Receipt, not narrative.

No scoped approval consumed at the intended receiver—no handler.

Read the Docs

Same substrate

Ship fast. Prove it.

Same rails as proof: limits at the edge, receipts after.

Authorized or refused. Nothing in between.

Check authority before your handler.

Three roles

Issue. Enforce. Witness.

Issue at the API, enforce on the receiver, read truth in the console.

Handshakeenforcement gate

Handshake API· issuer

Scoped LimitsAuthority Recovery

Receiver Middleware· enforcer

ExpressNext.jsFastify

Audit Dashboard· observer

Durable ReceiptsLive Traces

Start here

Set the boundary.
Before consequence.

Publish limits once, verify at your receiver, ship with receipts.

Read the BriefingView Documentation