Engine

What it is

Engine is the execution core behind cellas engine. It materializes candidate runs under .reference-engine/runs/<candidate-id>/ and keeps historical sample trees read-only.

Why it exists

Intent without an execution model cannot be certified. Engine turns structured workflows into digests, manifests, and artifacts that Conformance can verify.

When to use it

• Authoring or debugging reference executions
• Producing candidates for certification
• Exploring the boundary between Runtime configuration and Engine behavior

How it works

Operators invoke Engine through the CLI namespace. Candidate outputs are isolated from immutable evidence. Those outputs feed verify and certify, closing the loop from intent to proof.

pnpm exec cellas engine --help

Relationship to other components

• Runtime supplies the deterministic environment
• Plugin SDK extends capabilities the Engine can invoke
• Conformance certifies Engine-produced evidence against profiles

Related

• Engine docs
• Runtime
• Architecture
• Reference map

Next steps

• Install CELLAS
• Quick Start (First PASS)
• Read the docs for this pillar
• CLI reference