{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-handle-actions-that-matter-because-they-did-not-happen",
  "title": "How must an instance handle actions that matter because they did not happen?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The session's decisions include non-actions, non-actions have material consequences, and downstream decisions depend on accounting for non-action. * **Does not apply when:** All decisions are actions (no non-action optio",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-actions-that-matter-because-they-did-not-happen.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-actions-that-matter-because-they-did-not-happen.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-handle-actions-that-matter-because-they-did-not-happen.warrant.json"
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **action evidence** (what the session did) and **non-action evidence** (what the session chose not to do, and why). Relying on action evidence creates the **Invisible Decision Blindness**: the session's best decisions are often non-actions (not deploying, not writing, not calling), but non-actions leave no execution trace, and their va...",
    "what_was_observed": "In action-traceable agent architectures, failing to record non-actions produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Missed Opportunity Attribution:** The session chose not to take a path that would have led to a better outcome, but there is no record of the consideration, so the missed opportunity is invisible and cannot inform future decisions. 2. **Prevented Harm Invisibility:** The session's inaction prevented a har...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The session's decisions include non-actions, non-actions have material consequences, and downstream decisions depend on accounting for non-action. * **Does not apply when:** All decisions are actions (no non-action options), or non-actions have no material consequence.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Are non-action decisions material to the session's value or failure?** If no, standard action logging suffices. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is the `non-action-decision-receipt` recorded with rationale?** If yes, the decision is traceable. If no, the consideration is invisible. 3. **Does the `reevaluation-trigger-signature` specify when to revisit?** If yes, t...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Decision Symmetry:** Non-actions are recorded with the same rigor as actions. 2. **Prevention Recognition:** Prevented harms are attributed to the session's choices. 3. **Revisitation Discipline:** Non-actions are revisitable when conditions change."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "7f9d52f2fcc900970c09fb635142425a1631280db6695bfb6605986fcafa0f2f",
    "verified_classes": [
      "NonActionVerdict",
      "NonActionDecision",
      "NonActionContext",
      "NonActionPolicy",
      "NonActionManifest",
      "NonActionGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_decision"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}