Capabilities

A Capability is a Branch that has been installed into a Workspace and configured with Workspace-specific governance policies. Where a Branch defines what a workflow does, a Capability defines how it behaves within a specific organizational context: who can run it, on which models, with what budget, and with what level of human oversight.

Capability Manifest

The Capability Manifest is the governance configuration applied when a Branch is installed. It specifies:

• allowed_roles — Which Workspace roles can trigger this Capability
• model_overrides — Per-Bud model substitutions within the Workspace allow list
• budget_ceiling — Maximum credits per execution
• hitl_checkpoints — Which Buds require human approval before executing, and the routing policy for approvals
• high_privilege_buds — Declaration of Buds with elevated permissions, with optional disable flags
• agency — Execution mode: DETERMINISTIC (fixed sequence), CLASSIFIER_ONLY (single routing decision), or TWO_STAGE (planning + execution)

Execution modes

DETERMINISTIC — The Bud sequence is fixed. No autonomous decisions are made. This is the most predictable mode and is appropriate for well-defined workflows with known input/output shapes.

CLASSIFIER_ONLY — The Dendrite engine makes a single routing decision at the start of execution (which Branch or Bud to invoke), then executes deterministically. Suitable for intent-routing workflows.

TWO_STAGE — Full Dendrite autonomy: plan, execute, evaluate, repeat. The engine selects from candidate Branches and Buds at each step based on KPI thresholds and execution context. Requires careful Manifest configuration to bound the decision space.

KPI gates

Capabilities in TWO_STAGE or CLASSIFIER_ONLY mode can define KPI gates: numeric thresholds evaluated after each Dendrite step. If a KPI falls below its threshold, the engine is directed to remediate or escalate rather than continue. KPI gates are defined in the Manifest and evaluated deterministically — there is no model judgment involved in KPI evaluation.

Capability lifecycle

• Installing — The Branch is being configured with Workspace-specific settings.
• Active — The Capability is available to authorized users and can accept executions.
• Paused — The Capability is temporarily disabled. Existing executions in flight are not affected.
• Removed — The Capability has been uninstalled. Historical execution data is preserved.

Capability vs Branch

The distinction matters for access control: a Branch in the marketplace is publicly visible but cannot be executed until installed as a Capability in a Workspace. Once installed, execution is scoped to that Workspace — users in Workspace A cannot trigger Capabilities installed in Workspace B.