RuleOak
Open Source · v0.50.0

Authorize exactly. Execute once. Verify the effect.

RuleOak v0.50.0 is an Apache-2.0, local-first Effect Boundary for supported AI-agent and MCP tool actions. It separates permission from outcome so a timeout or lost response does not automatically become a duplicate retry.

60-second source proofGitHub

The problem

action dispatched
      ↓
external effect happens
      ↓
response is lost
      ↓
caller sees timeout
      ↓
blind retry can duplicate the effect

Ordinary authorization answers whether an action may execute. RuleOak also models what happened after execution and whether the available evidence supports retry.

The chain

NormalizeExact operation/resource identity.
AuthorizeAuthority, policy, approval and revocation.
LeaseShort-lived one-use execution authority.
ExecuteCooperating SDK/MCP boundary.
ObserveEffectReceipt and observation quality.
VerifyTrusted postcondition semantics when available.
Decide retryDo not retry, fresh-authority retry, or verify manually.

Start with the right page

Architecture

The authority/effect/evidence chain and integration boundaries.

Use cases

Filesystem, MCP, deployment, outbound actions and candidate-source review.

Concepts

Authority Envelope, ExecutionLease, EffectReceipt, Effect Profile and Flight Recorder.

Threat model

What RuleOak reduces, what it only partially addresses and what remains out of scope.

Examples

Supported integration patterns and the questions to answer before declaring a route protected.

Verify v0.50.0

Manifest, checksum, reproducibility, package and hosted attestation guidance.

Choose an operational path

Decision guide

Decide whether RuleOak fits the problem before integrating it.

Deployment patterns

SDK, MCP stdio, Streamable HTTP, REST and operator CLI boundaries.

Evidence model

Understand the difference between authorization, execution and effect evidence.

Safe retry

Handle timeout and response loss without blindly repeating the action.

MCP integration

Protect supported routes without confusing discovery with authority.

Node.js SDK

Guard application-owned functions and tool registries.

Project boundary

RuleOak is an application-layer cooperating boundary. It controls supported actions only when they pass through RuleOak. It is not an operating-system sandbox, EDR, anti-malware product, universal DLP system, universal prompt-injection prevention system or proof that every external effect completed.

Secondary capability: AI-produced code review

The repository also contains an experimental Intent-Verified Development stack for reviewing external source candidates against declared intent and baseline-owned qualification. It is deliberately secondary to the runtime Effect Boundary and does not let a coding model certify itself.

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