{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-records-that-respond-but-serve-no-backing-resource",
  "title": "How should an instance handle discovery records that respond but serve no backing resource?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** Discovery records can outlive their backing resources, the agent relies on discovered resources, and the cost of querying an orphan is non-trivial. * **Does not apply when:** Discovery is strictly synchronous (existence ",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-records-that-respond-but-serve-no-backing-resource.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-records-that-respond-but-serve-no-backing-resource.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-handle-discovery-records-that-respond-but-serve-no-backing-resource.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 984,
    "python_slice_tokens": 247,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **discovery record existence** (the record is present in the registry and responds to queries) and **backing resource liveness** (the actual resource behind the record exists and is reachable). Relying on record existence creates the **Orphan Record Substitution**: the agent discovers a record that promises a service, attempts to use i...",
    "what_was_observed": "In service-mesh and agent-registry architectures, failing to validate backing resource liveness produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Phantom Service Consumption:** The agent discovers `payments-service` and dispatches a request. The service was decommissioned months ago but its registry entry lingers. The agent waits for a response that never comes. 2. **Orphan Tool Invocation:** The agent discovers a tool that...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** Discovery records can outlive their backing resources, the agent relies on discovered resources, and the cost of querying an orphan is non-trivial. * **Does not apply when:** Discovery is strictly synchronous (existence implies liveness), or records are cryptographically bound to live resources (e.g., on-chain registries with programmatic...",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the discovery record include a `liveness_probe_receipt`?** If no, the agent cannot trust the record. It must execute a probe before use. 2. **Does the receipt confirm the backing resource is live?** If no, the record is orphaned. The agent must not dispatch to it. 3. **Has the `orphan_detection_signature` been generated?** If yes, the agent must ap...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Orphan Prevention:** Stops the agent from dispatching to dead resources by requiring liveness proofs. 2. **Budget Preservation:** Reduces wasted retries on orphan records. 3. **Registry Hygiene:** Provides deterministic signals for orphan eviction, keeping the discovery layer clean."
  },
  "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": "f4119a8b6bb572da6b2aad08d3378aa900f3261fd2a0b3741aff5827381f5429",
    "verified_classes": [
      "OrphanVerdict",
      "DiscoveryRecord",
      "OrphanPolicy",
      "OrphanManifest",
      "OrphanDiscoveryGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_record"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}