Workflow Verbs

Workflow verbs define the operation that occurs inside each workflow step. Every step executes exactly one verb. Verbs are divided into external (adapter-facing) and internal (runtime-only) categories.

External verbs

External verbs interact with connected systems through adapters.

FETCH

Retrieves a dataset from an external system.

FETCH → assignar.site_diaries
FETCH → business_central.projects

The adapter retrieves records and returns them in a Sovereign Envelope. The result is stored in the pipeline context for use by subsequent steps.

LOOKUP

Retrieves a single entity from an external system. Used when a workflow needs to confirm the existence of a record before proceeding.

LOOKUP → business_central.project[code=PROJ-001]

PUSH

Writes records into an external system. All PUSH operations must support dry_run: true (simulation mode).

PUSH → business_central.project_ledger

EXECUTE

Performs operational commands in external systems — triggering background jobs, sending notifications, running system operations.

EXECUTE → send_notification

Internal verbs

Internal verbs operate entirely inside the runtime environment. They do not interact with external systems and produce no side effects on external data.

TRANSFORM

Transforms datasets in memory. Common uses:

field normalization
schema mapping
derived field calculation
extracting child records from parent structures

TRANSFORM → extract_labour_entries
TRANSFORM → normalize_cost_categories

GOVERN

Evaluates governance policies. If a governance rule fails, the workflow may suspend execution and await approval.

GOVERN → validate_project_mapping
GOVERN → payment_approval_policy

LOGIC_GATE

Controls conditional workflow behavior — skipping steps when a dataset is empty, branching execution paths, or terminating workflows early.

Verb safety classification

Category	Verbs
Read-only (external)	`FETCH`, `LOOKUP`
Mutating (external)	`PUSH`, `EXECUTE`
Internal (no side effects)	`TRANSFORM`, `GOVERN`, `LOGIC_GATE`

This classification lets the runtime enforce safety rules. Simulation mode (dry_run: true) skips mutating verbs and returns the records that would have been written, allowing safe validation before production execution.

Deterministic execution

Workflows remain deterministic because verbs operate predictably:

external system interaction is isolated through adapters
internal transformations operate only on in-memory pipeline context
every verb result is persisted before the next step begins

This ensures consistent behavior across environments and retries.