Documentation Concepts
Architecture
Cella separates agent execution, application runtimes, credentials, and consequence authority. The controller keeps their identities and work history connected.
Product design · implementation in progress
On this page
The architecture at a glance
New to the names? Start with components, explained. For the complete product contract, explore the 22-feature catalog.
Policy · lifecycle · Workstreams · evidence
Agent + private candidate
Sealed app + Project Secrets
cellad is the agent-independent controller. It owns durable state, coordination, and authority. Agents remain replaceable workers inside their admitted runtime boundaries.
Wall: the execution boundary
Wall enforces containment and runtime admission. The initial target uses a dedicated Debian runtime stack with containerd and gVisor. The macOS design runs the same enforcement stack inside a dedicated Linux VM.
A protected claim requires the mandatory invariants and qualification evidence. Missing enforcement means refusal or quarantine; there is no silent downgrade to a weaker protected mode.
Security model and assumptionsSeparate Agent and Service Cells
An Agent Cell gets a private writable candidate. A Service Cell runs a sealed, immutable revision with an independent lifecycle, declared storage, and approved Project Secrets.
A named Channel governs the agent’s access to a specific service endpoint. Relay handles that scoped connection; it does not grant general host networking or reveal the destination’s raw authentication material.
The service may continue after the agent session ends. A new agent run receives fresh, authorized leases rather than inheriting stale access.
Service runtime and data contractCell roles and generations · Channels and Relay · Services, secrets, and analysis
Gateway: external authority stays outside
Connections represent approved external identities. Gateway mediates typed effects such as a repository read or a governed delivery operation. External credentials and authority remain outside the worker.
Policy and required approvals constrain each request. Effects are recorded with exact inputs and reconciliation state.
Component responsibilitiesWorkstreams and Change Capsules
A Workstream holds the intended change and its lineage. Runs, checkpoints, checks, interventions, and approvals remain connected across agent changes.
A Change Capsule binds a selected patch and base to checks, policy, approvals, evidence, and protected effects. Open formats and independent verification are part of the intended local Engine.
Walk through the workflowCella Engine and Cella Cloud
The intended open-source Engine provides the complete local trust loop without requiring a Cella account.
Cella Cloud is a planned organization authority layer: authenticated organization policy, shared Connections and approvals, fleet revocation, coordinated Workstreams, and durable evidence. Enrolled execution can remain local, on-premises, or in the customer’s cloud.
The Cloud direction does not replace local enforcement or make weaker local security a paid feature.
Read the Cloud product directionWhat exists today
An offline interactive shell candidate exists, but it is not a qualified protected-runtime release. The integrated policy, Service Cell, handoff, and delivery experience described on this site is still being built.
The feature milestones track what has been wired, what has been tested, and which on-host qualification gates remain. This site explains the intended product.
Current protected-runtime delivery gateExplore the engineering documentation