{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "what-decentralized-cache-coherency-invariants-prevent-agents-from-acting-on-mutually-contradictory-replicas",
  "title": "What decentralized cache coherency invariants prevent agents from acting on mutually contradictory replicas?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** Multiple agents cache the same state, caches can diverge, and agents act on cached state. * **Does not apply when:** Caching is strictly local to each agent with no cross-agent state, or agents always read from origin.",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-decentralized-cache-coherency-invariants-prevent-agents-from-acting-on-mutually-contradictory-replicas.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-decentralized-cache-coherency-invariants-prevent-agents-from-acting-on-mutually-contradictory-replicas.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-decentralized-cache-coherency-invariants-prevent-agents-from-acting-on-mutually-contradictory-replicas.warrant.json"
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **cache locality** (each agent's cache is fast and accessible) and **cache coherency** (all agents' caches reflect the same underlying state within acceptable bounds). Relying on locality creates the **Contradictory Replica Hazard**: Agent A's cache says the config is X, Agent B's cache says Y, both agents act on their caches, and the ...",
    "what_was_observed": "In decentralized agent mesh architectures, failing to enforce cache coherency produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Config Split-Brain:** Agents in different mesh segments cache different configuration values. Each segment behaves correctly under its own config, but the segments contradict each other, and downstream consumers see inconsistent results. 2. **Capability Descriptor Race:** Agents cache capability de...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** Multiple agents cache the same state, caches can diverge, and agents act on cached state. * **Does not apply when:** Caching is strictly local to each agent with no cross-agent state, or agents always read from origin.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the cache entry reflect the origin's current state?** If yes, standard caching applies. If no, the cache is stale. 2. **Is the staleness within the `cache_coherency_tolerance_receipt`?** If yes, the cache is acceptable. If no, the agent must invalidate before acting. 3. **Has a `cache_invalidation_broadcast_receipt` been received?** If yes, the age...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Split-Brain Prevention:** Cache coherency bounds prevent agents from acting on contradictory state. 2. **Staleness Awareness:** Agents know when their caches are stale, enabling informed decisions. 3. **Broadcast Discipline:** Origin updates trigger invalidation broadcasts, reducing divergence windows."
  },
  "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": "2640dcea27adf17e5fec513967ba1a2f4d4c49d99dd82a3c358ed1f4933ec7be",
    "verified_classes": [
      "CoherencyVerdict",
      "CacheEntry",
      "CoherencyPolicy",
      "CoherencyManifest",
      "DecentralizedCacheCoherencyGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_cache_entry"
    ],
    "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
  }
}