Project policy ladders

The SDK does not replace project policy. It supplies the invocation rung and the working directory that lets the engine discover the rest.

Run spend

SPEND LADDER · CLOSEST EXPLICIT DECISION WINS

await nika.runToEnd('workflows/release.nika.yaml', {
  maxCostUsd: requestBudget,
})

maxCostUsd is invocation-specific. Keep the project default in nika.yaml instead of copying it into every application call.

Trace retention

nika: v1

traces:
  keep: 30d

The matching NIKA_TRACE_* environment knob wins over the project retention rung, then the engine default applies. This lets an immutable project run under different operational retention obligations.

Registry provenance

nika: v1

registry:
  floor: provenanced

The project floor max-composes with the operator policy under ~/.nika. A repository can demand stronger provenance. It cannot weaken the machine owner’s floor.

operator floor ─┐
                ├── maximum ── admitted artifact tier
project floor ──┘

Keep one owner per decision

Decision	Owner
Project default spend	`nika.yaml ceiling`
Request-specific spend	`LocalNika` call or CLI flag
Scheduled tick spend	`arm[].plafond`
Retention by host	Environment or project `traces.keep`
Artifact provenance	Maximum of operator and project floors
Workflow authority	The workflow’s own `permits:` and `secrets:`

Do not create an application nikaConfig object that mirrors every project key. That produces a second control plane with no precedence contract. Construct LocalNika once with cwd; pass only invocation-specific inputs, model, ceiling and cancellation per call.

Continue

SDK configuration

Constructor and call-level options.

Security boundary

Permits, secrets, argv and cancellation.

Project file

The closed grammar behind these ladders.

Arm registry

Per-tick money and missed-run policy.

Overview

Start

Project · live

Local API · live

Runtime · live

Remote API · preview

Operations

Reference

Project policy ladders

Run spend

Trace retention

Registry provenance

Keep one owner per decision

Continue

SDK configuration

Security boundary

Project file

Arm registry

​Run spend

​Trace retention

​Registry provenance

​Keep one owner per decision

​Continue

SDK configuration

Security boundary

Project file

Arm registry

Run spend

Trace retention

Registry provenance

Keep one owner per decision

Continue