Ledgers, hashes, and append-only history

Distinguish replay journals, durable facts, logical branches, content-addressed values, controls, and downstream analytics.

Constal keeps two related forms of execution history. The positional journal records what a program requested at each replay position and how that operation resolved. The ledger records immutable facts and control events that constitute durable workflow truth. Neither is an application log.

Journal and ledger

A replayed journal position must request the same operation kind and canonical argument hash. Completed positions return their recorded result; mismatches fail as nondeterministic replay. World-effect entries additionally record Resource, operation, Policy decision, effect class, recovery state, and terminal evidence.

Ledger facts form a logical parent chain while physical events form an append-only audit chain. commit adds a fact. Branch creates a named prefix. Truncate moves the logical head by appending an event rather than deleting history. Compensation runs registered forward-recovery work and records every result.

Bytes move by hash

Large values and files are stored by immutable content reference. Dataset manifests index content-addressed files, and hashes bind deployments, Resources, Policy, Tools, turns, operations, and stages to exact semantics. A hash is evidence and identity input, not a mutable execution address.

Observation remains downstream

Analytics events are recorded and become available for recent and historical queries. They support aggregate questions, investigation, cost, and export, but they cannot authorize, resume, bill, or mutate a workflow. Read authoritative current state from the Run or Session, and use Analytics for observation.