cto/.sot/03-PROTOCOLS/CTO-CASE-PROVIDER-DECISION-PACKET-PRD.md

title	status	lifecycle_classification	owner	created	last_reviewed	core_promotion_status	route
CTO Case Provider Decision Packet PRD	draft	sot	jp	2026-05-31	2026-05-31	not-promoted	cto

CTO Case Provider Decision Packet PRD

Local planning SOT only. Not a Core Protocol. Not active Core authority.

Problem Statement

CTO-WORK-020 is blocked by a provider policy decision. The route has two valid branches: approve one exact external provider/model path, or require a Case-compatible local provider route. Without a compact decision packet, the next operator choice can become ambiguous and accidentally look like provider approval.

Solution

Create a child-local decision packet that makes the CTO-WORK-020 choice explicit, bounded, and auditable. The packet does not approve a provider/model and is not Stage 2 pass evidence. It only records the decision options, required evidence fields, consequences, and blocked next actions for JP or a governed Core route to resolve later.

Scope

• Summarize the current CTO-WORK-020 blocker.
• Present only two active decision branches: external_provider_approved and local_provider_required.
• Preserve not_decided as the current safe state.
• Require a structured decision record using only not_decided, external_provider_approved, or local_provider_required.
• Require exact provider/model, approval source, credential source class, allowed network class, review trigger, and evidence expectations before any admission.
• Reference existing evidence paths and commits; do not copy runtime evidence into the packet.
• Require no secret value in SOT, task file, argv, report, trace, backend logs, generated config, or commit.
• Keep CTO-WORK-020 as the admission authority.
• Keep the CTO_HARNESS_CASE_MODEL_ADMISSION_FILE admission JSON gate as execution authority.
• Keep CTO-WORK-022 blocked unless decision_status=local_provider_required.
• Keep real Case Stage 2 blocked unless a provider/model is admitted and a pass report exists through the Harness Evidence Interface.
• State that no Target Repository path may be inspected or copied.

Non-Goals

• Do not approve Anthropic, Claude, local inference, or any other provider.
• Do not admit a provider/model.
• Do not implement a provider adapter.
• Do not run real Case Stage 2.
• Do not create a provider marketplace, registry, or scoring framework.
• Do not change Hermes runtime behavior.
• Do not mutate Cortex Core, Case source, vendor source, external developer repositories, or Target Repositories.
• Do not treat Case, Hermes, Pi, Codex, or any backend as Cortex authority.

Decision Branches

Branch A - External Provider Approved

Use only if JP or a governed Core route approves an external provider path.

Required decision fields:

• decision_status: external_provider_approved.
• provider_class: external_anthropic or external_openai_codex.
• provider: exact provider string.
• model: exact model string.
• approval_source: JP approval reference or governed Core route reference.
• credential_source_class: credential class only; no secret value.
• allowed_network_class: approved outbound network class.
• review_trigger: expiry, date, or condition that forces review.
• evidence_sources: existing admission/build evidence references.
• effect: CTO-WORK-020 remains blocked until admitted provider/model and real Stage 2 pass report exist.

Consequences:

• CTO-WORK-022 stays blocked.
• Hermes may attempt real Case Stage 2 only after admission JSON exists and matches CTO_HARNESS_CASE_MODEL_PROVIDER and CTO_HARNESS_CASE_MODEL.
• openai-codex with model gpt-5.5 may be recorded as the primary approved external provider only when the approval source, credential source class, allowed network class, review trigger, and admission JSON are recorded.
• vllm with model qwen3.6-35b-a3b may be recorded as an explicit fallback only when fallback use is represented in admission evidence and does not hide provider/model switching.
• Any fallback to anthropic or claude-sonnet-4-6 without matching admission blocks before case_process_started.

Branch B - Local Provider Required

Use only if external provider use is not approved.

Required decision fields:

• decision_status: local_provider_required.
• provider_class: local_case_compatible.
• provider: empty until a local provider is supplied and admitted.
• model: empty until a local model is supplied and admitted.
• approval_source: JP approval reference or governed Core route reference.
• credential_source_class: local credential or no-secret class only.
• allowed_network_class: local-only or explicitly bounded network class.
• review_trigger: expiry, date, or condition that forces review.
• evidence_sources: references to existing admission/local-provider-route evidence.
• effect: CTO-WORK-020 remains blocked until local provider/model admission and real Stage 2 pass report exist.

Consequences:

• CTO-WORK-022 becomes the next implementation candidate.
• No external fallback to anthropic or claude-sonnet-4-6 is allowed.
• Missing local adapter config blocks before case_process_started.
• Admission JSON mismatch blocks before case_process_started.

Acceptance Criteria

• Packet states not_decided is current safe state.
• Packet lists only external_provider_approved and local_provider_required as active branches.
• Packet says it does not approve or admit any provider/model.
• Packet says it is not Stage 2 pass evidence.
• Packet requires a structured decision record using only not_decided, external_provider_approved, or local_provider_required.
• Packet references existing evidence paths and commits instead of copying runtime evidence.
• Packet keeps CTO-WORK-020 as the provider/model admission authority.
• Packet keeps CTO_HARNESS_CASE_MODEL_ADMISSION_FILE as the execution admission gate.
• Packet requires exact provider/model, approval source, credential source class, allowed network class, review trigger, and evidence expectations before admission.
• Packet permits provider class external_openai_codex only as a decision branch, not as admission or Stage 2 proof.
• Packet requires no secrets in SOT, task file, argv, report, trace, backend logs, generated config, or commits.
• Packet states CTO-WORK-022 stays blocked unless decision_status=local_provider_required.
• Packet states real Case Stage 2 remains blocked until admitted provider/model and Harness Evidence Interface pass report exist.
• Packet states no Target Repository path may be inspected or copied.

Validation

• python3 tools/validate_cto_child.py validates this child-local route.
• Future branch execution must use existing Hermes focused validators for provider admission and local-provider adapter gates.
• Future real Case validation must use the Harness Evidence Interface, same-run fake baseline comparison, and copied artificial fixture Stage 2 only.

Risks And Dependencies

• JP approval or governed Core approval remains required for external provider use.
• Local provider use may require a separate Case-compatible endpoint or adapter implementation.
• A decision packet can reduce ambiguity but cannot supply credentials, provider availability, or model quality.
• The WorkOS Case default provider behavior may change; actual run evidence remains authoritative.

Success Definition

The CTO-WORK-020 human-only blocker is represented as one precise decision packet: no provider/model is approved, no execution is authorized, and the next valid implementation path is unambiguous once JP chooses external provider approval or local provider requirement.