# 12-Factor AgentOps

> The doctrine for trustworthy agent-built software: twelve operating rules for fixed intent, one bounded build, fresh validation, and a content-addressed verdict. No verdict, not done.

The product this doctrine explains lives at https://github.com/boshu2/agentops.
Full corpus in one file: https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms-full.txt

## The 12 Factors

- [01 Ship Packets Not Transcripts](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/01-ship-packets-not-transcripts.md): Brief each agent with a bounded packet: the exact intent source, constraints, relevant files, and proof command. That packet is the interface between units o… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/01-ship-packets-not-transcripts)
- [02 Keep Ground Truth In Git](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/02-keep-ground-truth-in-git.md): The repository is the ground truth. Work state, decisions, evidence, and learnings live in git; everything else (sessions, terminals, task lists, dashboards)… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/02-keep-ground-truth-in-git)
- [03 One Agent One Job](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/03-one-agent-one-job.md): Give each job the smallest sufficient agent: one bounded job, one fresh context window, no more machinery than the job needs. (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/03-one-agent-one-job)
- [04 Cap The Blast Radius](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/04-cap-the-blast-radius.md): Before an agent acts, bound what it can touch and what it can spend. The envelope has walls (capabilities, file scope, credentials) and a meter: budget caps,… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/04-cap-the-blast-radius)
- [05 Map The Terrain Then Pave It](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/05-map-the-terrain-then-pave-it.md): Map first: read the code that owns the behavior, find the existing patterns, name the risks, before anything is built. Then pave: turn what the map found int… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/05-map-the-terrain-then-pave-it)
- [06 One Lane One Owner](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/06-one-lane-one-owner.md): Every concurrent worker gets a lane: an isolated workspace and exclusive ownership of the files it may edit. One lane, one owner. A claim on a task list does… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/06-one-lane-one-owner)
- [07 No Verdict Not Done](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/07-no-verdict-not-done.md): Before a change counts as done, a fresh context has to judge it. The author supplies the candidate and factual check receipts. Validate recomputes the exact … (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/07-no-verdict-not-done)
- [08 Ratchet The Baseline](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/08-ratchet-the-baseline.md): A verified result can become the new floor after the caller accepts and lands it. Keep the verdict with the change, then turn the behavior into a test or che… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/08-ratchet-the-baseline)
- [09 Close The Learning Loop](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/09-close-the-learning-loop.md): Keep two ledgers with different jobs. [Beads](https://github.com/steveyegge/beads) records the work, acceptance, decisions, and evidence. A reviewed LLM wiki… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/09-close-the-learning-loop)
- [10 Own The Verdict Rent The Conductor](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/10-own-the-verdict-rent-the-conductor.md): Build and own the machinery that decides whether work is real. Rent everything that merely moves the work around. (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/10-own-the-verdict-rent-the-conductor)
- [11 Stop The Line](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/11-stop-the-line.md): When an agent hits ambiguity, missing information, or failure, it reports the boundary and stops. Guessing forward is how small confusions become large incid… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/11-stop-the-line)
- [12 Price The Proof](https://www.12factoragentops.com/llms/factors/12-price-the-proof.md): Verification has a price. Measure what verified-done costs (tokens, minutes, review effort) and drive it toward the cost of unverified-done, without giving u… (rendered: https://www.12factoragentops.com/factors/12-price-the-proof)