# Session Handoff — 2026-04-12 (ACT / ECT IETF Strategy)

**Purpose**: Cold-start snapshot for the next session. Read this plus
`workspace/STRATEGY.md` to pick up without re-discovery.

---

## 1. Session Date & Context

- **Date**: 2026-04-12
- **Trigger**: Between 2026-04-07 and 2026-04-11, 14+ competing IETF
  individual drafts and 7+ high-relevance arXiv papers appeared in the
  agent-authorization / execution-accountability space. The window to
  plant ACT + ECT as the standards-track home for this family is now
  narrow. IETF 123 (July 2026) is the landing target.
- **Work mode**: Strategic consolidation — renames, restructure, diff
  documents, outreach drafts, interop plan. No new normative content
  added beyond what the existing drafts already carried.

---

## 2. Key Decisions Made This Session

1. **`par` → `pred` claim rename** (ACT). Aligns the ACT predecessor
   claim with ECT's identical `pred` claim so both specs use the same
   wire token for DAG parent references. Applied across draft text,
   refimpl, tests.

2. **"Agent Compact Token" → "Agent Context Token" rename** (ACT).
   Preserves the "ACT" acronym. "Context" better describes what the
   token carries (invocation context — DAG refs, task metadata,
   capabilities, delegation chain, oversight) and creates a clean
   semantic pair with ECT (Execution Context Token).

3. **Package split into sibling packages `ietf-act` + `ietf-ect`** (no
   shared core). Moved from monorepo with shared module to
   `workspace/packages/act/` and `workspace/packages/ect/` as
   independent packages. Decision: do not build a shared-core library
   — the two specs have intentionally different scope, and forcing
   shared abstractions obscures that. Cross-spec guarantees are
   documented and tested via a separate `packages/interop/` plan.

4. **Position Option B chosen**: ECT is a WIMSE profile that
   **normatively references** ACT. ACT is the general-purpose
   primitive, ECT is the WIMSE-identity-bound execution profile. This
   lets ECT be submitted for WIMSE WG adoption while ACT stays on the
   independent-submission path (no WG dependency), and they cite each
   other cleanly.

5. **`inp_hash` / `out_hash` format divergence acknowledged, not
   unified this session**. ACT emits plain base64url; ECT validator
   requires `sha-256:<b64url>` prefix. Documented as expected-xfail in
   the interop test plan rather than forced into alignment — spec-level
   decision deferred.

---

## 3. Artifacts Produced / Updated This Session

| Path (relative to `workspace/`) | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `STRATEGY.md` | Master strategy doc — landscape, positioning, phased action plan, risk register, success criteria |
| `packages/act/draft-nennemann-act-01.md` | ACT -01 draft; new §1.4.1 Related Work (concurrent proposals), new §1.5 Applicability (MCP/OpenAI/LangGraph/A2A/CrewAI/ECT), new §7.3 DAG vs Linear Delegation Chains |
| `packages/act/` (`ietf-act` refimpl) | 103 tests passing after `pred` and Context rename |
| `packages/ect/` (`ietf-ect` refimpl) | 56 tests passing; `inp_hash` bug fixed (removed stale `sha-256:` transformation in emitter path) |
| `packages/INTEROP-TEST-PLAN.md` | Planned `packages/interop/tests/test_interop.py` structure — shared-claim consistency, algorithm matrix, DAG cross-reference, claim divergence, anti-goals; user-facing compatibility matrix |
| `drafts/ietf-wimse-ect/draft-nennemann-wimse-ect.md` | ECT -02 (docname `draft-nennemann-wimse-ect-02`); normative ref to `I-D.nennemann-act` added |
| `drafts/ietf-wimse-ect/DIFF-vs-txn-tokens-for-agents.md` | ~1235-word factual diff doc vs `draft-oauth-transaction-tokens-for-agents-06` — claim-level matrix, lifecycle comparison, composition scenarios |
| `drafts/ietf-wimse-ect/wimse-intro-email.md` | ~390-word introduction email for wimse@ietf.org |
| `drafts/ietf-wimse-ect/ietf123-slides-outline.md` | 10-minute WIMSE slot outline: 10 slides, pacing plan, Mermaid diagrams for WIT/WPT/ECT layering and DAG-vs-linear, speaker notes, timing-discipline cuts |
| `drafts/outreach/emirdag-liaison-email.md` | Liaison email to Dr. Emirdag on SCITT-AI-agent-execution overlap; proposes cross-citation, claim alignment, possible joint IETF 123 slot |
| `drafts/outreach/oauth-ml-response.md` | Short oauth@ietf.org response to Txn-Tokens-for-Agents-06; frames ACT `pred` DAG as generalization of Raut et al.'s linear `actchain` |

---

## 4. Open Action Items (what the user does next)

Phase A items from `STRATEGY.md` still require execution:

- [ ] **A1**: Update ECT HTTP header section — replace `Wimse-Audience`
  header with `wimse-aud` signature metadata parameter per
  `draft-ietf-wimse-http-signature-03` (breaking change upstream,
  published 2026-04-07).
- [ ] **A2**: Update SCITT refs in ACT to `draft-ietf-scitt-architecture-22`
  (AUTH48); note "to be RFC-XXXX upon publication".
- [ ] **A3**: Lock Txn-Tokens refs in ACT/ECT to
  `draft-ietf-oauth-transaction-tokens-08`.
- [ ] **A7**: Commit workspace + `research.ietf` subrepo changes.

Phase B outreach items (drafted but not sent):

- [ ] **B1**: Send Emirdag liaison email (`drafts/outreach/emirdag-liaison-email.md`).
- [ ] **B2**: Submit ACT -01 to datatracker.
- [ ] **B3**: Submit ECT -02 to datatracker.
- [ ] **B4**: Post ECT intro email to wimse@ietf.org, link DIFF doc.
- [ ] **B5**: Post OAuth ML response to oauth@ietf.org.
- [ ] **B6**: Request 10-min WIMSE slot at IETF 123.
- [ ] **B7**: Watch DAWN WG charter formation.

---

## 5. Pending Decisions (need user input)

- **Emirdag engagement depth**: liaison citation only, co-authorship
  offer on a joint anchoring section, or just passive cross-citation?
  The drafted email leaves all three doors open — pick one before
  sending.
- **Refimpl publication to PyPI**: package names `ietf-act` and
  `ietf-ect` are reserved but not published. User approval required
  before any `twine upload`.
- **Repo strategy**: single monorepo for both drafts, or split into
  separate Git repos so each draft has its own "home" for
  kramdown-rfc / datatracker watchers? Current state is monorepo.
- **IETF 123 travel**: in person (Madrid) or remote? Affects
  slide-prep cadence and whether to plan side meetings with Emirdag
  / Bertocci.
- **Hash encoding alignment** (ACT plain b64url vs ECT `sha-256:`
  prefix): decide which spec moves, or keep divergence documented.
  Interop plan currently pins it as xfail.

---

## 6. Known Landscape Threats (top 3)

1. **`draft-oauth-transaction-tokens-for-agents-06`** (Raut / Amazon,
   2026-04-11). Linear `actchain` at OAuth AS layer — directly in the
   same conceptual neighborhood as ACT. If this gets OAuth WG adoption
   before ACT is visible, ACT has to position as "DAG generalization /
   no-AS variant" instead of the default.
2. **`draft-emirdag-scitt-ai-agent-execution-00`** (VERIDIC, 2026-04-07).
   AIR (AgentInteractionRecord) as SCITT payload. Not a direct
   competitor but overlapping on input/output hashing, reasoning
   capture, causality. Risk: if adopted first, ACT looks redundant
   unless positioned as the *lifecycle* that AIR *anchors*.
3. **arXiv 2603.24775 (AIP / IBCTs)**. Closest *technical* competitor —
   JWT + Biscuit/Datalog, exposes auth gap on ~2000 MCP servers, same
   peer-to-peer-without-AS story. Not an IETF draft so no WG adoption
   risk, but could become the citation of record in academic /
   industry press if ACT is not visible fast.

(Full landscape table: `STRATEGY.md` §3.)

---

## 7. Next Session Starting Points (first 3 things)

1. **Read** `docs/control-center.md` (workspace root) and
   `workspace/STRATEGY.md`; confirm Phase A is still the active phase.
2. **Execute A1** — patch ECT's HTTP header section to the
   `wimse-aud` signature parameter form. This is the most urgent
   technical fix; it's a breaking upstream change from
   `draft-ietf-wimse-http-signature-03` and blocks ECT -02 submission.
3. **Execute A2 + A3** — refresh SCITT and Txn-Tokens reference
   versions in both drafts so the submission snapshot is current.
   After A1–A3, move to Phase B (submissions + outreach sends).

---

## 8. Reference State Snapshot

- ACT refimpl: `packages/act/` — 103 tests pass, `pred` + Context
  rename done, EdDSA + ES256 both supported.
- ECT refimpl: `packages/ect/` — 56 tests pass, `inp_hash` fix
  applied, ES256 only, `exec+jwt` typ (legacy `wimse-exec+jwt` still
  accepted).
- Interop package: not yet created; plan is in
  `packages/INTEROP-TEST-PLAN.md`.
- Draft versions: ACT at `-01`, ECT at `-02` (`docname:
  draft-nennemann-wimse-ect-02`).
- No submissions on datatracker yet this session (pending Phase A
  completion).
