---
id: PMEM-WP-0004
type: workplan
title: "Policy, Audit, And Review Gates"
domain: markitect
repo: phase-memory
status: finished
owner: phase-memory
topic_slug: policy-audit
planning_priority: P1
planning_order: 40
related_workplans:
  - PMEM-WP-0002
  - PMEM-WP-0003
created: "2026-05-18"
updated: "2026-05-18"
state_hub_workstream_id: "e8d405a3-3ddd-4353-81a2-518850033b8e"
---

# PMEM-WP-0004: Policy, Audit, And Review Gates

## Goal

Make policy-aware memory behavior concrete enough that phase-memory can safely
plan and apply memory lifecycle changes.

The project intent calls for provenance, confidence, freshness, policy
metadata, reauthorization, audit, redaction, and trust-zone boundaries. The
current implementation surfaces policy gates, but it does not yet enforce
review gates beyond planner metadata.

## Current Evidence

Current code includes:

- `PolicyDecision`
- `PolicyGateway` protocol
- `AuditSink` protocol
- `AllowAllPolicyGateway`
- `RecordingAuditSink`
- policy gate strings in profile execution plans
- review-required flags on stabilization, compaction, refresh, and deletion
  proposals

The next step is an explicit authorization and audit workflow for reads,
activations, writes, compactions, and phase transitions.

## Non-Goals

- Do not build a full identity platform.
- Do not implement enterprise authorization policy languages.
- Do not make `flex-auth` a hard dependency.
- Do not store or expose secrets in test fixtures.

## Implementation Update - 2026-05-18

The policy, audit, and review-gate slice is complete.

Implemented outputs:

- `phase_memory.policy` defines canonical memory operation points, audit event
  schema helpers, review-record helpers, activation policy checks, and
  deterministic redaction.
- `ReviewRecord` and `ReviewDecision` model structured local approvals and
  rejections for review-gated lifecycle actions.
- Runtime audit events now use `phase_memory.audit.event.v1` and carry policy
  decisions, source references, dry-run flags, actor labels, and subjects.
- `apply_lifecycle_actions` rejects review-required actions unless the caller
  provides a matching approved review record or explicit local approval marker.
- Activation planning can evaluate required labels, denied labels, trust zones,
  secret denial, reauthorization, and freshness policy context before package
  selection.
- Policy-denied activation nodes are omitted and returned as redacted denial
  records with diagnostics.
- `docs/policy-audit.md` documents operation points, review records,
  activation policy, audit envelopes, and ownership boundaries.

Validation:

- `python3 -m pytest` -> 36 passed.

## T01 - Define memory operation policy points

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T01
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "1231b7bf-b23c-498d-a9d6-a6ee307aa3d4"
```

Define the canonical policy check points for:

- profile import
- graph import
- node read
- event read
- activation
- stabilization
- compaction
- refresh
- delete request
- archive
- export

Output: operation vocabulary and tests that runtime operations call policy at
the right boundary.

## T02 - Add review authorization records

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T02
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "b989d43c-eb25-4663-afd1-a54673ad565a"
```

Add structured review records for actions that move memory into stabilized or
rigid states, compact source records, refresh source-backed facts, or request
deletion.

Records should capture:

- reviewer id or local reviewer label
- reviewed action id
- approval or rejection
- timestamp
- reason
- policy obligations
- source digests

Output: review record model and approval checks in the runtime facade.

## T03 - Enforce durable write gates

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T03
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "6b677c18-7135-4d54-9e46-5116645d2ebe"
```

Make durable write operations fail closed when profile policy declares
review-gated durable writes.

Output: runtime tests proving that stabilization, rigid updates, compaction,
and deletion requests cannot be applied silently.

## T04 - Add activation policy checks

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T04
status: done
priority: high
state_hub_task_id: "6f07087b-e6e2-469a-9bce-71bfd21cb633"
```

Before memory nodes or events are included in activation packages, check:

- required labels
- denied labels
- trust zone compatibility
- secrets allowance
- reauthorization requirements
- source freshness requirements

Output: activation planner/runtime policy tests and omitted-item diagnostics
for policy-denied records.

## T05 - Add audit event schema

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T05
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "bb6461a8-9181-4b88-a152-334668b22208"
```

Define a stable audit event envelope for memory operations:

- operation id
- operation kind
- subject id
- profile id
- graph id
- policy decision
- dry-run flag
- planned action id
- actor label
- timestamp
- source contract references

Output: audit schema helpers and tests for profile, lifecycle, activation, and
apply operations.

## T06 - Add redaction and denial diagnostics

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T06
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "dcdec3af-d20f-43ba-b12e-6febc4347d38"
```

Add deterministic redaction behavior for denied fields and policy-sensitive
metadata. Redaction should be visible in diagnostics and audit events.

Output: redaction utility, denied activation examples, and regression tests.

## T07 - Document policy and audit guarantees

```task
id: PMEM-WP-0004-T07
status: done
priority: medium
state_hub_task_id: "c4e0bdff-5047-4fe5-ab86-e422d4b1a17e"
```

Document what the local runtime guarantees and what remains delegated to
external policy infrastructure.

Output: policy architecture note with examples of allowed, denied, and
review-required operations.

## Acceptance Criteria

- `python3 -m pytest` passes.
- Every apply-capable operation has policy and audit coverage.
- Activation explains policy-denied and redacted items.
- Review-required actions fail closed without an explicit review record.
- The policy layer remains adapter-based and does not become an identity
  platform.

## Closure Review - 2026-05-18

**Outcome:** All tasks completed.

### Completed

- PMEM-WP-0004-T01 - Define memory operation policy points
- PMEM-WP-0004-T02 - Add review authorization records
- PMEM-WP-0004-T03 - Enforce durable write gates
- PMEM-WP-0004-T04 - Add activation policy checks
- PMEM-WP-0004-T05 - Add audit event schema
- PMEM-WP-0004-T06 - Add redaction and denial diagnostics
- PMEM-WP-0004-T07 - Document policy and audit guarantees

### Cancelled

None.

### Carried Forward

Optional Markitect validation and context-package compiler bridge behavior
remain in PMEM-WP-0005.