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KERNEL_EVOLUTION_POLICY.md

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Exo Kernel Evolution Policy

This policy defines how /exo/kernel may change.

1. Kernel Scope

Kernel is only:

  • governance enforcement
  • side-effect gating
  • ticket/lock temporal authority
  • immutable audit and receipts

Anything else belongs outside kernel.

2. Authority Boundary

Kernel changes are human-only and out-of-band.

Forbidden through Exo governed flows:

  • proposal-driven kernel edits
  • ticket-based kernel edits
  • autonomous kernel patching by agents

3. Versioning

Kernel version is semantic: exo-kernel MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.

Kernel version must be embedded in:

  • governance lock metadata
  • every audit event
  • every receipt

4. Backward Meaning Invariant

Past decisions and receipts never change meaning. Old records remain interpreted under the kernel version that created them.

5. Change Classes

  • PATCH: refactor/perf/logging only, same semantics.
  • MINOR: additive, opt-in behavior only.
  • MAJOR: semantic changes; requires explicit migration and frozen legacy receipts.

6. Prohibition List

Kernel must never include:

  • planning
  • memory retrieval
  • LLM calls
  • goal selection
  • self-evolution logic

7. Operational Rule

If a problem is solvable in governance or stdlib, do not change kernel.