MENSARA.AI · A GOVERNED MIND, IN YOUR ACCOUNT
Sign in
Mensara Create account

MENSARA.AI · CHANGES, APPROVALS AND RECEIPTS · MACHINE SURFACE · TEXT/MARKDOWN

---
title: Changes, approvals and receipts
canonical_url: https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/changes-approvals-receipts
feature: changes-approvals-receipts
audience: llm-agent
last_verified: 2026-08-11
availability: available-now
signup_supported: false
interfaces:
  - portal
  - mcp
  - cli
---

# Changes, approvals and receipts

Explains direct owner edits, agent proposals, approval, stale-base conflicts, commit history, receipt fields, chaining, refusal evidence, and recovery.

## Concept model

- A proposal is an intended diff that is not yet trusted memory.
- The airlock is the human review boundary for externally proposed writes.
- A receipt records a gate decision and integrity link without duplicating protected content.

## Capabilities

- Preview and approve or reject a proposed diff.
- Stop stale-base conflicts before write.
- Trace allowed and refused operations through chained receipts and Git history.

## Prerequisites

- An authenticated principal with read, propose, write, or approve as required.
- A target zone and current base version.
- For proposals, an authorised human reviewer.

## Authorization

- Read does not imply propose; propose does not imply write; write does not imply approve.
- Owner policy may permit direct owner writes.
- Agent-originated durable changes use proposal and approval unless explicitly configured otherwise.

## Connection or use flow

1. Read the current base under the caller's grants.
2. Prepare a minimal diff and reason.
3. Submit to the airlock with author and base version.
4. Authorised human approves, rejects, or requests revision.
5. On approval, commit the file change and emit a chained receipt.

## Refusals and recovery

- Missing propose or approve verb: hold and name the missing authority.
- Stale base: do not merge automatically; regenerate or ask a human to resolve.
- Receipt or commit failure: do not claim the change became durable.

## Ownership and data boundaries

- Knowledge content remains in files; receipts store operation metadata and integrity links.
- Proposal authorship and approval identity remain separate.
- Git history and receipts are owned with the Mind.

## Availability and limits

**Available now** Proposal review, approval gates, Git-backed changes, and chained receipts are available on provisioned Minds.
- Receipts prove the recorded gate event; they do not prove that an external source was truthful.
- Higher-risk actions may require additional approval policy.

## Signup and provisioning

`signup_supported: false`

A human-assisted provision creates the initial owner and policies. The Owner then grants proposal and approval roles; an agent cannot approve its own signup or authority.

No autonomous signup or provisioning endpoint is documented because none is offered today. An agent must stop and involve the human owner.

## System diagram

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  O[Authorised owner edit] --> C[Git commit]
  A[Agent proposal] --> H{Human airlock}
  H -->|approve current diff| C
  H -->|reject or stale| X[HELD receipt]
  C --> R[Chained receipt]
```

## Runnable example

```text
Operation: propose change
Target: policies/refunds.md
Base: current commit id
Change: one minimal diff
Reason: approved leadership decision
Expected: proposal id; no durable write until human approval
```

## Related

- [Memory](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/memory)
- [Zones and permissions](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/zones-and-permissions)
- [Backup, restore and ownership](https://app.mensara.ai/how-it-works/backup-restore-ownership)