@sanity/workflow-engine 0.16.0 → 0.18.0

package/dist/index.d.cts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { analyzeCondition } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
 import { AtomInsight } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
+import { atomReadsDataset } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
 import { AtomRequirement } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
 import { checklistLines as checklistLines_2 } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
 import { ComparisonOp } from "@sanity/groq-condition-describe";
@@ -39,17 +40,15 @@ export declare function abortReason(
 ): string | undefined;
 
 /**
- * The structured half of applicability: does a required subject entry
- * ({@link isSubjectEntry} — `doc.ref` / `doc.refs`, workflow scope) accept
- * `documentType`? Name-blind and EXISTENTIAL: ANY required ref entry counts —
- * a multi-input definition (say, contract + counterparty) surfaces from
- * either document's picker, and the start dialog collects the remaining
- * required entries (their fail-hard validation backstops). An entry without
- * `types` accepts any type; a definition with NO required ref entry takes no
- * subject and never matches. Cheap and indexable — no GROQ evaluation — so a
- * consumer can pre-filter before loading document content. (`required` is
- * pinned to caller-filled `input` entries by a deploy invariant, so it alone
- * identifies the handoff.)
+ * The structured half of applicability: does the definition's subject entry
+ * ({@link isSubjectEntry} — the `subject` kind, workflow scope, at most one
+ * by deploy invariant) accept `documentType`? The kind is the discriminator,
+ * so a definition surfaces from its SUBJECT's document picker and nowhere
+ * else; the start dialog collects the remaining required entries (their
+ * fail-hard validation backstops). A subject without `types` accepts any
+ * type; a definition with NO subject entry takes no subject and never
+ * matches. Cheap and indexable — no GROQ evaluation — so a consumer can
+ * pre-filter before loading document content.
  */
 export declare function acceptsDocumentType(
   definition: Pick<ApplicabilitySource, "fields">,
@@ -82,6 +81,11 @@ export declare type Action = ActionFields<Op, string[]> & {
   roles?: string[] | undefined;
 };
 
+export declare const ACTION_SEMANTICS: readonly [
+  "decision.accept",
+  "decision.decline",
+];
+
 /**
  * The engine's per-reason detail fragment — the same wording
  * {@link ActionDisabledError} embeds in its message. Exported so a dev-facing
@@ -123,6 +127,8 @@ export declare type ActionDisabledReason = Exclude<
 
 export declare interface ActionEvaluation {
   action: Action;
+  /** The action's advisory workflow meaning, unchanged from its definition. */
+  semantics?: ActionSemantic[] | undefined;
   allowed: boolean;
   /**
    * The action is cascade-fired (`when`): the engine fires it on truth, it
@@ -146,6 +152,7 @@ export declare interface ActionEvaluation {
  *  group-membership grammars. */
 declare type ActionFields<TOp, TGroup> = {
   name: string;
+  semantics?: ActionSemantic[] | undefined;
   title?: string | undefined;
   description?: string | undefined;
   group?: TGroup | undefined;
@@ -167,36 +174,131 @@ export declare type ActionParam = v.InferOutput<typeof ActionParamSchema>;
  * effects: missing required params → ActionParamsInvalidError, action
  * does not commit. Resolved values feed `ValueExpr.param` lookups.
  */
-declare const ActionParamSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
-  {
-    readonly type: v.PicklistSchema<
-      readonly [
-        "string",
-        "number",
-        "boolean",
-        "url",
-        "dateTime",
-        "actor",
-        "doc.ref",
-        "doc.refs",
-        "json",
-      ],
-      `Invalid option: expected one of ${string}`
-    >;
-    readonly name: v.SchemaWithPipe<
-      readonly [
-        v.StringSchema<undefined>,
-        v.MinLengthAction<string, 1, "must be a non-empty string">,
-      ]
-    >;
-    readonly title: v.OptionalSchema<v.StringSchema<undefined>, undefined>;
-    readonly description: v.OptionalSchema<
-      v.StringSchema<undefined>,
+declare const ActionParamSchema: v.SchemaWithPipe<
+  readonly [
+    v.StrictObjectSchema<
+      {
+        readonly type: v.PicklistSchema<
+          readonly [
+            "string",
+            "number",
+            "boolean",
+            "url",
+            "dateTime",
+            "actor",
+            "doc.ref",
+            "doc.refs",
+            "json",
+          ],
+          `Invalid option: expected one of ${string}`
+        >;
+        readonly name: v.SchemaWithPipe<
+          readonly [
+            v.StringSchema<undefined>,
+            v.MinLengthAction<string, 1, "must be a non-empty string">,
+          ]
+        >;
+        readonly title: v.OptionalSchema<v.StringSchema<undefined>, undefined>;
+        readonly description: v.OptionalSchema<
+          v.StringSchema<undefined>,
+          undefined
+        >;
+        readonly required: v.OptionalSchema<
+          v.BooleanSchema<undefined>,
+          undefined
+        >;
+        readonly options: v.OptionalSchema<
+          v.GenericSchema<ChoiceOptions>,
+          undefined
+        >;
+        readonly validation: v.OptionalSchema<
+          v.GenericSchema<ScalarValidation>,
+          undefined
+        >;
+      },
       undefined
-    >;
-    readonly required: v.OptionalSchema<v.BooleanSchema<undefined>, undefined>;
-  },
-  undefined
+    >,
+    v.CheckAction<
+      {
+        type:
+          | "string"
+          | "number"
+          | "boolean"
+          | "doc.ref"
+          | "doc.refs"
+          | "url"
+          | "actor"
+          | "dateTime"
+          | "json";
+        name: string;
+        title?: string | undefined;
+        description?: string | undefined;
+        required?: boolean | undefined;
+        options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+        validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
+      },
+      (
+        issue: v.CheckIssue<{
+          type:
+            | "string"
+            | "number"
+            | "boolean"
+            | "doc.ref"
+            | "doc.refs"
+            | "url"
+            | "actor"
+            | "dateTime"
+            | "json";
+          name: string;
+          title?: string | undefined;
+          description?: string | undefined;
+          required?: boolean | undefined;
+          options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+          validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
+        }>,
+      ) => string
+    >,
+    v.CheckAction<
+      {
+        type:
+          | "string"
+          | "number"
+          | "boolean"
+          | "doc.ref"
+          | "doc.refs"
+          | "url"
+          | "actor"
+          | "dateTime"
+          | "json";
+        name: string;
+        title?: string | undefined;
+        description?: string | undefined;
+        required?: boolean | undefined;
+        options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+        validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
+      },
+      (
+        issue: v.CheckIssue<{
+          type:
+            | "string"
+            | "number"
+            | "boolean"
+            | "doc.ref"
+            | "doc.refs"
+            | "url"
+            | "actor"
+            | "dateTime"
+            | "json";
+          name: string;
+          title?: string | undefined;
+          description?: string | undefined;
+          required?: boolean | undefined;
+          options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+          validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
+        }>,
+      ) => string
+    >,
+  ]
 >;
 
 /**
@@ -241,6 +343,8 @@ export declare function actionRendering(action: {
     | undefined;
 }): "absent" | "automation" | "button";
 
+export declare type ActionSemantic = (typeof ACTION_SEMANTICS)[number];
+
 /** The fireable-action verdict for one action on an activity — its `allowed`
  *  state, structured `disabledReason`, and declared params, tagged with the
  *  owning activity. The per-action atom both projections share:
@@ -312,6 +416,13 @@ declare const ACTIVITY_STATUSES: readonly [
   "failed",
 ];
 
+/** The activity slice of a stage rollup — total by construction, like
+ *  {@link stageAutonomyOf}. */
+export declare function activityAutonomyOf(
+  stageAutonomy: StageAutonomy,
+  activityName: string,
+): AutonomyAnswer;
+
 /** An activity's gates, each described — absent keys mirror undeclared gates. */
 export declare interface ActivityDescription {
   requirements?: Record<string, ConditionDescription>;
@@ -360,11 +471,19 @@ export declare interface ActivityEvaluation {
    */
   kind: ActivityKind;
   /**
-   * Who, if anyone, the activity waits on — derived from the definition
+   * Who, if anyone, fires the activity's actions — derived from its shape
    * alone: `autonomous` (every action cascade-fired), `interactive` (only
    * fireAction-fired actions), `off-system` (`target` present), or `hybrid`.
    */
   classification: ExecutorClassification;
+  /**
+   * The causal refinement of {@link ActivityEvaluation.classification}:
+   * whether this activity completes without a caller, derived by
+   * {@link deriveWorkflowAutonomy}'s dataflow over the definition — a
+   * mechanically `autonomous` activity whose triggers only read
+   * caller-written state still reports the caller it waits on.
+   */
+  autonomy: AutonomyAnswer;
   /** Whether this activity is the current actor's responsibility right now. */
   pendingOnActor: boolean;
   /**
@@ -443,11 +562,31 @@ export declare const ACTOR_KINDS: readonly ["person", "agent", "system"];
 
 export declare type ActorKind = (typeof ACTOR_KINDS)[number];
 
+export declare type ActorResolution<User> =
+  | {
+      readonly status: "resolved";
+      readonly actor: PersonActor;
+      readonly user: User;
+    }
+  | {
+      readonly status: "missing";
+      readonly actor: PersonActor;
+    }
+  | {
+      readonly status: "inaccessible";
+      readonly actor: PersonActor;
+      readonly cause?: unknown;
+    }
+  | {
+      readonly status: "not-person";
+      readonly actor: Actor;
+    };
+
 export { analyzeCondition };
 
-/** The definition surface applicability reads — structural, so authored,
+/** The definition surface the start contexts read — structural, so authored,
  *  stored, and deployed definition shapes all fit. `name` binds
- *  `$definition` and names the definition in a broken-filter error. */
+ *  `$definition` and names the definition in a broken-predicate error. */
 export declare interface ApplicabilitySource {
   name?: string | undefined;
   lifecycle?: WorkflowLifecycle | undefined;
@@ -456,6 +595,7 @@ export declare interface ApplicabilitySource {
     | {
         kind?: StartKind | undefined;
         filter?: string | undefined;
+        allowed?: string | undefined;
       }
     | undefined;
 }
@@ -470,7 +610,7 @@ export declare function applicableDefinitions<
   definitions: readonly T[];
   document: CandidateDocument;
   /** Caller-side filter bindings, shared by every definition's evaluation. */
-  scope?: StartFilterScope;
+  scope?: StartScope;
 }): Promise<T[]>;
 
 /**
@@ -491,6 +631,11 @@ export declare function assertReadableModel<
   },
 >(doc: T): T;
 
+export declare function assertReaderModelAcknowledgement(
+  expectedMinReaderModel: unknown,
+  context?: string,
+): asserts expectedMinReaderModel is typeof DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER;
+
 /**
  * One member of an `assignees`-kind entry's value — and the value of the
  * singular `assignee` kind. The WHO-FOR spec the inbox reverse-query and the
@@ -511,6 +656,8 @@ export declare type Assignee =
 
 export { AtomInsight };
 
+export { atomReadsDataset };
+
 export { AtomRequirement };
 
 /**
@@ -607,6 +754,11 @@ export declare type AuthoringGuard = v.InferOutput<typeof AuthoringGuardSchema>;
 
 declare const AuthoringGuardSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
   {
+    /**
+     * Lake-id-segment grammar (`^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$`, deploy-enforced): the
+     * guard's lake `_id` derives from `(instanceId, name)` at stage entry.
+     * Unique per definition.
+     */
     name: v.SchemaWithPipe<
       readonly [
         v.StringSchema<undefined>,
@@ -768,8 +920,9 @@ declare const AuthoringGuardSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
     /**
      * Lake GROQ predicate — a distinct eval context: delta-mode GROQ
      * reading the `before()`/`after()` natives, `mutation`, `guard`, and
-     * `identity()`. Bare ids/fields only. Omitted or empty means
-     * UNCONDITIONAL DENY.
+     * `identity()`. Bare ids/fields only. Polarity: a result of strictly
+     * `true` ALLOWS the matched mutation; anything else (false, null, an
+     * evaluation error) DENIES. Omitted or empty means UNCONDITIONAL DENY.
      */
     predicate: v.OptionalSchema<v.StringSchema<undefined>, undefined>;
     /**
@@ -1221,6 +1374,85 @@ export declare type AuthoringWorkflow = WorkflowFields<
   AuthoringStartBlock
 >;
 
+/** The narratable answer at one rollup level: the verdict plus what it waits
+ *  on. `waitsOn` may be non-empty on a `yes` verdict (an effect settle is a
+ *  wait the engine resolves itself) — consumers choose what to surface. */
+export declare interface AutonomyAnswer {
+  completesWithoutCaller: AutonomyVerdict;
+  waitsOn: AutonomyWait[];
+}
+
+/** The workflow-level autonomy narrative: fully self-running, or the stages
+ *  where a run is held. */
+export declare function autonomySummary(
+  autonomy: WorkflowAutonomy,
+  ctx: DescribeContext,
+): InsightPhrase;
+
+/**
+ * Whether a node resolves without a caller: `yes` — engine machinery alone
+ * (the cascade plus the host's effect drain/ticker) gets it there; `no` —
+ * someone outside the engine must act (a caller fires an action, an editor
+ * writes a field or content); `conditional` — it may resolve either way
+ * depending on values the analysis can't see (start-time seeds, mixed
+ * alternative routes, unresolvable children, cyclic gates).
+ *
+ * `yes` still leans on the host: effects settle only if a drain runs, and
+ * time only passes for a ticker. A cascade-fired action's `roles` pin is a
+ * DEPENDENCY, not an assumption — the runtime leaves a pinned trigger armed
+ * until a capable token cascades, and whether the deployment's tokens fulfil
+ * the pin is configuration the analysis can't see, so a pinned trigger
+ * reports `conditional` with the pin as its wait.
+ */
+export declare type AutonomyVerdict = "yes" | "no" | "conditional";
+
+/** One narratable dependency a non-`yes` verdict rests on. */
+export declare type AutonomyWait =
+  | {
+      kind: "caller-action";
+      stage: string;
+      activity: string;
+      action: string;
+      roles?: string[];
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "execute-pin";
+      stage: string;
+      activity: string;
+      action: string;
+      roles: string[];
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "editor-field";
+      field: string;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "editor-content";
+      condition: Condition;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "effect";
+      effect: string;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "start-input";
+      field: string;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "context";
+      key?: string;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "subworkflow";
+      definition: string;
+      resolved: boolean;
+    }
+  | {
+      kind: "unwritten-field";
+      field: string;
+      handlerPossible: boolean;
+    };
+
 export declare interface AvailableAction {
   activity: string;
   activityStatus: ActivityStatus;
@@ -1251,10 +1483,10 @@ export declare interface AvailableActionsResult {
 /**
  * Type each caller-supplied name→value against the workflow's declared field
  * entries — the engine takes typed {@link InitialFieldValue}s, and a value's
- * type IS its declared entry's kind. Only `input`-sourced entries read
- * caller values (the engine silently ignores the rest), so anything else
- * fails here, naming the fields that ARE settable; value validation stays
- * in the engine.
+ * type IS its declared entry's kind. Only `input`-sourced entries read caller
+ * values, so anything else fails here, naming the fields that ARE settable.
+ * The engine repeats this structural validation at its contract boundary;
+ * value validation also stays there.
  */
 export declare function buildInitialFields({
   declared,
@@ -1318,6 +1550,17 @@ export declare interface ChildrenArgs extends InstanceRefArgs {
   activity?: string;
 }
 
+export declare interface ChoiceOption {
+  title: string;
+  value: ChoiceValue;
+}
+
+export declare interface ChoiceOptions {
+  list: ChoiceOption[];
+}
+
+export declare type ChoiceValue = string | number;
+
 /**
  * The action half of the mirrored claim pair. `field` references an
  * author-declared actor-valued entry (the pair's other half), resolved
@@ -1378,6 +1621,21 @@ export declare function clientConfigFromResource(res: WorkflowResource):
  *  resolves to a client, or the router throws. */
 declare type ClientForGdr = (parsed: ParsedGdr) => WorkflowClient;
 
+/** Native project-user response returned by Sanity's project API. */
+export declare interface ClientProjectUser {
+  readonly id: string;
+  readonly displayName?: string;
+  readonly email?: string;
+  readonly imageUrl?: string | null;
+  readonly [key: string]: unknown;
+}
+
+/** Project-user directory for CLI, MCP, and server runtimes using the engine client. */
+export declare function clientProjectUserDirectory(
+  client: WorkflowClient,
+  projectId: string,
+): ProjectUserDirectory<ClientProjectUser>;
+
 /**
  * The engine's single source of "now".
  *
@@ -1648,11 +1906,14 @@ export declare interface ConditionVar {
  *    the rest evaluate to `undefined` — and deploy rejects them at these
  *    sites; a cascade-fired action's per-token gate is `roles`, never its
  *    conditions.
- * 3. **The start-filter context** — a definition's `start.filter` evaluates
- *    against a CANDIDATE (no instance exists yet): the candidate document is
- *    the root, {@link START_FILTER_VARS} are the only bound vars, and
- *    `*[...]` reads the WORKFLOW resource's dataset. None of the rendered
- *    condition vars exist there.
+ * 3. **The start contexts** — a definition's `start.filter` and
+ *    `start.allowed` evaluate against a CANDIDATE (no instance exists yet):
+ *    `*[...]` reads the WORKFLOW resource's dataset and none of the rendered
+ *    condition vars exist. The two split on what a surface can know:
+ *    `filter` is browse-time-pure (candidate document as root,
+ *    {@link START_FILTER_VARS} — no `$fields`, which cannot exist before
+ *    inputs do), `allowed` is the start-time permission predicate
+ *    ({@link START_ALLOWED_VARS} — `$fields` bound, never a root).
  * 4. **Guard predicates** — NOT conditions. A lake mutation guard's
  *    `predicate` is groq-js **delta-mode** GROQ over a document mutation:
  *    `before()`/`after()`/`identity()` are dialect natives, and the wire
@@ -1666,7 +1927,7 @@ export declare interface ConditionVar {
  *   instance and its snapshot.
  * - `'caller'` — rides the acting caller; without one the var is `undefined`
  *   (conditions referencing it fail closed). Author predicates may not read
- *   these — they pre-evaluate once per instance, caller-free.
+ *   these — they pre-evaluate caller-free, per evaluation context.
  * - `'spawn'` — bound only at spawn sites (the per-row `$row`).
  */
 export declare type ConditionVarBinding = "always" | "caller" | "spawn";
@@ -1808,10 +2069,11 @@ export declare function contextMap(
 
 /**
  * A caller broke a public-API contract — a call the engine rejects
- * before touching the lake: an invalid `tag`, a `workflow.query` GROQ that
+ * without writing anything: an invalid `tag`, a `workflow.query` GROQ that
  * never binds `$tag`, a bare id where a GDR URI is required, an action,
- * activity, or field the definition never declared. Fix the call site;
- * retrying cannot succeed.
+ * activity, or field the definition never declared, or a `startInstance`
+ * `instanceId` reused for a different start (or a discarded one). Fix the
+ * call site; retrying cannot succeed.
  */
 export declare class ContractViolationError extends WorkflowError<"contract-violation"> {
   constructor(message: string);
@@ -1841,7 +2103,9 @@ export declare class ContractViolationError extends WorkflowError<"contract-viol
  * `completeEffect` — the runtime still decides when to drain and
  * reports outcomes via `completeEffect`.
  */
-export declare function createEngine(args: CreateEngineArgs): Engine;
+export declare function createEngine<Client extends WorkflowClient>(
+  args: CreateEngineArgs<Client>,
+): Engine;
 
 /**
  * The {@link EngineScopeArgs} scope pinned at construction, plus the
@@ -1851,8 +2115,11 @@ export declare function createEngine(args: CreateEngineArgs): Engine;
  * partition is the only thing keeping reads and writes off the wrong
  * environment.
  */
-export declare interface CreateEngineArgs extends EngineScopeArgs {
-  effectHandlers?: Record<string, EffectHandler>;
+export declare interface CreateEngineArgs<
+  Client extends WorkflowClient = WorkflowClient,
+> extends EngineScopeArgs {
+  client: Client;
+  effectHandlers?: Record<string, EffectHandler<Client>>;
   missingHandler?: MissingHandlerPolicy;
   loggerFactory?: LoggerFactory;
   /**
@@ -1904,19 +2171,70 @@ export declare function createTelemetryIntake(args: {
 }): TelemetryIntake;
 
 /**
- * The reader floor the current model imposes — the compatibility half of
- * {@link MODEL_STAMP}, stamped as `minReaderModel`: the oldest engine model
- * that can safely interpret a document written at {@link DATA_MODEL_VERSION}.
- * An additive change leaves it untouched (older engines read newer docs
- * fine — mixed fleets of Functions, Studios, and CLIs are the steady state);
- * ONLY a breaking shape change raises it, and doing so is a declared,
- * DATAMODEL.md-logged decision to fence out older readers.
+ * The append-only, machine-readable counterpart of the model log in
+ * `DATAMODEL.md`. It records compatibility decisions; the prose log retains
+ * the reasoning, absent-value semantics, and old-writer round-trip proof.
+ */
+export declare const DATA_MODEL_CHANGES: readonly [
+  Readonly<{
+    id: "governed-model-stamps";
+    introducedInModel: 1;
+    minReaderModel: 0;
+    documentTypes: readonly ["definition", "instance"];
+    compatibility: "additive";
+    applicability: "unconditional";
+    summary: "Definition and instance documents carry model provenance and reader-floor stamps.";
+  }>,
+  Readonly<{
+    id: "subject-field-kind";
+    introducedInModel: 2;
+    minReaderModel: 0;
+    documentTypes: readonly ["definition", "instance"];
+    compatibility: "additive";
+    applicability: "detectable";
+    summary: "A workflow-level subject field identifies the document a workflow is about.";
+  }>,
+  Readonly<{
+    id: "typed-scalar-choice-lists";
+    introducedInModel: 2;
+    minReaderModel: 2;
+    documentTypes: readonly ["definition", "instance"];
+    compatibility: "reader-floor";
+    applicability: "detectable";
+    summary: "Scalar fields may constrain writes to a persisted typed choice list.";
+  }>,
+  Readonly<{
+    id: "action-semantics";
+    introducedInModel: 2;
+    minReaderModel: 0;
+    documentTypes: readonly ["definition"];
+    compatibility: "additive";
+    applicability: "detectable";
+    summary: "Ordinary actions may carry a closed bag of advisory workflow semantics.";
+  }>,
+  Readonly<{
+    id: "inclusive-scalar-bounds";
+    introducedInModel: 2;
+    minReaderModel: 2;
+    documentTypes: readonly ["definition", "instance"];
+    compatibility: "reader-floor";
+    applicability: "detectable";
+    summary: "String, text, and number values may carry persisted inclusive bounds.";
+  }>,
+];
+
+/**
+ * The maximum reader floor this writer can emit. Individual documents derive
+ * their `minReaderModel` from the compatibility-bearing features actually
+ * present; a document written at {@link DATA_MODEL_VERSION} may therefore
+ * carry a lower floor. Raising this maximum is a declared, DATAMODEL.md-logged
+ * decision that requires readers-first fleet sequencing.
  */
-export declare const DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER = 0;
+export declare const DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER = 2;
 
 /**
  * The engine's persisted data-model version — the provenance half of
- * {@link MODEL_STAMP}, stamped as `modelVersion` on every engine-owned
+ * the model stamp, written as `modelVersion` on every engine-owned
  * document at its construction and persist choke-points. Conforms-to
  * semantics: the stamp means "this document conforms to model N now" —
  * instances are re-stamped on every full persist, so mixed-version fleets
@@ -1927,7 +2245,19 @@ export declare const DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER = 0;
  * job. Declare every bump in `DATAMODEL.md`; the model-surface snapshot test
  * keeps undeclared drift red.
  */
-export declare const DATA_MODEL_VERSION = 1;
+export declare const DATA_MODEL_VERSION = 2;
+
+export declare interface DataModelChange {
+  readonly id: string;
+  readonly introducedInModel: number;
+  readonly minReaderModel: number;
+  readonly documentTypes: readonly DataModelDocumentType[];
+  readonly compatibility: "additive" | "reader-floor";
+  readonly applicability: "unconditional" | "detectable";
+  readonly summary: string;
+}
+
+export declare type DataModelDocumentType = "definition" | "instance";
 
 /**
  * Split a dataset resource id (`<projectId>.<dataset>`) into its parts — the
@@ -2103,6 +2433,10 @@ export declare interface DefinitionsForDocumentArgs {
    * perspective the caller loaded the document with.
    */
   document: CandidateDocument;
+  /** Resource-qualified identity of `document`. Required when an applicable
+   *  definition's `start.filter` reads `$subjectHasInFlightInstance`; the
+   *  loaded value's bare `_id` cannot distinguish resources. */
+  subject?: GdrUri;
 }
 
 /** A definition-level site address: every runtime {@link InsightSite}, plus
@@ -2227,13 +2561,17 @@ export declare interface DeployDefinitionResult {
 export declare interface DeployDefinitionsArgs<
   T extends WorkflowDefinitionInput<T> = WorkflowDefinition,
 > {
+  /** Reviewed literal acknowledging the installed writer's maximum reader-floor capability. */
+  expectedMinReaderModel: typeof DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER;
   /**
    * Resource-alias bindings for this deploy (alias name → physical resource).
-   * Every `@<alias>:` reference in a definition is expanded to its bound
-   * physical resource at deploy, so the deployed definition holds only physical
-   * references. Deploy fails closed when a definition references an alias this
-   * map doesn't bind. Omit for single-resource workflows (definitions that
-   * reference no aliases).
+   * A deploy-time abstraction ONLY: every `@<alias>:` reference in a
+   * definition is expanded to its bound physical resource before the
+   * deployed definition is fingerprinted and stored, and deploy fails closed
+   * on an unbound alias. Aliases never exist past deploy — no stored
+   * document carries one, the runtime never sees the map, and an
+   * alias-shaped ref reaching a runtime boundary is rejected as malformed.
+   * Omit for single-resource workflows (definitions referencing no aliases).
    */
   resourceAliases?: ResourceAliases;
   /** Authored definitions (the default — full compile-time checking) or
@@ -2282,7 +2620,7 @@ export declare type DeployedDefinition = WorkflowDefinition & {
  *
  * An aborted instance also no-ops: it parks on its stage forever, so a stale
  * deploy landing after abort's retract would re-lock the subjects with no
- * remaining path to lift them. The gate is `abortedAt`, not `completedAt` —
+ * remaining path to delete them. The gate is `abortedAt`, not `completedAt` —
  * a normal move *into* a terminal stage stamps `completedAt` in the same
  * persist and must still deploy that stage's guards.
  */
@@ -2294,6 +2632,7 @@ export declare function deployStageGuards(args: StageGuardArgs): Promise<void>;
  *  definitions themselves — carrying `resourceAliases` here is what keeps a diff
  *  fingerprinting the same physical content `deployDefinitions` would. */
 export declare interface DeployTarget {
+  expectedMinReaderModel: typeof DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER;
   tag: string;
   workflowResource: WorkflowResource;
   resourceAliases?: ResourceAliases;
@@ -2308,18 +2647,37 @@ export declare interface DeployTarget {
  */
 export declare function deriveActivityKind(activity: Activity): ActivityKind;
 
+export declare interface DeriveAutonomyOptions {
+  /** Child definitions for `spawn` recursion, by definition `name` — the
+   *  deploy batch or previously deployed set. An unresolvable child reports
+   *  `conditional` with an unresolved wait. */
+  children?: ReadonlyMap<string, WorkflowDefinition>;
+}
+
 /**
- * Who, if anyone, the activity waits on — derived ahead-of-time from the
- * definition alone: `off-system` when `target` is present; else `autonomous`
- * (every action cascade-fired — no caller ever needed), `interactive` (only
- * fireAction-fired actions), or `hybrid` (mixed). An actionless activity
- * classifies `autonomous` vacuously — nothing waits on a caller (deploy's
- * terminal-reachability invariant rejects it anyway).
+ * Who, if anyone, fires the activity's actions — derived ahead-of-time from
+ * the activity's shape alone: `off-system` when `target` is present; else
+ * `autonomous` (every action cascade-fired — no caller fires anything),
+ * `interactive` (only fireAction-fired actions), or `hybrid` (mixed). An
+ * actionless activity classifies `autonomous` vacuously (deploy's
+ * terminal-reachability invariant rejects it anyway). Shape-only: whether
+ * the activity actually RESOLVES without a caller is the causal question
+ * `deriveWorkflowAutonomy` answers.
  */
 export declare function deriveExecutorClassification(
   activity: Activity,
 ): ExecutorClassification;
 
+/**
+ * Derive the causal autonomy of a stored definition. Pure and instance-free;
+ * conditions must parse (they did at define/deploy time — an unparseable one
+ * throws groq-js's syntax error rather than guessing).
+ */
+export declare function deriveWorkflowAutonomy(
+  definition: WorkflowDefinition,
+  options?: DeriveAutonomyOptions,
+): WorkflowAutonomy;
+
 export declare type Describable =
   | ConditionInsight
   | FieldInsight
@@ -2337,6 +2695,12 @@ export declare function describeAtom(
   fallback: boolean;
 };
 
+/** One {@link AutonomyWait} as a phrase in the workflow vocabulary. */
+export declare function describeAutonomyWait(
+  wait: AutonomyWait,
+  ctx: DescribeContext,
+): InsightPhrase;
+
 /** Render one condition's insight as a checklist + frontier summary, in the
  *  workflow vocabulary. */
 export declare function describeCondition(
@@ -2611,7 +2975,7 @@ export declare type DisabledReason =
       /**
        * The actor's grants on an involved subject's resource don't allow the
        * content write the action's effects would perform there. Forecast
-       * per-resource: each subject named by a `doc.ref`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref`
+       * per-resource: each subject named by a `doc.ref`/`subject`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref`
        * field entry outside the workflow's own resource is checked against
        * THAT resource's ACL. Advisory like every engine verdict — the subject's
        * lake still enforces; and it degrades open: a resource whose grants
@@ -2806,6 +3170,7 @@ export declare interface EditableFieldEvaluation {
   name: string;
   type: FieldKind;
   title?: string;
+  validation?: ScalarValidation;
   /** Current resolved value; `undefined` until the field is first resolved. */
   value: unknown;
   /** Whether THIS actor may edit the field right now (window + predicate + guard). */
@@ -2920,6 +3285,15 @@ export declare type EditMode = "set" | "append" | "unset";
 
 export declare type Effect = v.InferOutput<typeof EffectSchema>;
 
+/**
+ * Every terminal state an effect run can record. `done` and `failed` are
+ * reported through completion ({@link EffectCompletionStatus}); `cancelled`
+ * is engine-stamped only — an abort cancelling the entry before dispatch.
+ * A cancellation is not a failure: anything counting failures (dashboards,
+ * retry tooling) must not count aborted-away effects among them.
+ */
+declare const EFFECT_RUN_STATUSES: readonly ["done", "failed", "cancelled"];
+
 /** The outcomes a completer may report through `completeEffect` — a run
  *  either succeeded or failed. `cancelled` is not reportable: only an abort
  *  stamps it, on entries that never dispatched. */
@@ -2928,6 +3302,20 @@ export declare type EffectCompletionStatus = Exclude<
   "cancelled"
 >;
 
+export declare type EffectHandler<
+  Client extends WorkflowClient = WorkflowClient,
+> = {
+  /** Bivariant so a concretely typed handler registry remains readable from
+   * the non-generic Engine surface; only the typed drain invokes handlers. */
+  bivarianceHack(
+    params: Record<string, unknown>,
+    ctx: EffectHandlerContext<Client>,
+  ): Promise<{
+    outputs?: Record<string, unknown>;
+    ops?: FieldOp[];
+  } | void>;
+}["bivarianceHack"];
+
 /**
  * External effect handler — invoked at drain time with the resolved
  * `params` and a context. Returning `outputs` records them on the run's
@@ -2938,8 +3326,10 @@ export declare type EffectCompletionStatus = Exclude<
  * applier as an action's field ops (so a created doc's ref enters `$fields`, or
  * a screened outcome lands in a field the activity/stage gate reads). Effects
  * report results as field state, never by flipping an activity status, so `ops`
- * excludes `status.set`. Throwing marks the effect as failed (and returns no
- * `ops`).
+ * excludes `status.set`. Unlike definition-authored field ops, completion ops
+ * have no authoring location from which to infer a target scope: every returned
+ * op must explicitly set `target.scope` to `'workflow'` or `'stage'`. Throwing
+ * marks the effect as failed (and returns no `ops`).
  *
  * **Delivery is at-least-once — a handler MAY run more than once for the
  * same effect.** Two overlaps produce a double-run: the dispatching process
@@ -2957,38 +3347,38 @@ export declare type EffectCompletionStatus = Exclude<
  * already completed; derive external-system identifiers from `ctx.effectKey`
  * so the receiving system can dedupe the overlap the ledger can't see.
  */
-export declare type EffectHandler = (
-  params: Record<string, unknown>,
-  ctx: {
-    /** The engine's own client — bound to the workflow resource the
-     *  instance lives in. Use it for same-resource subjects; for a
-     *  cross-resource subject, route through {@link clientFor} instead. */
-    client: WorkflowClient;
-    /**
-     * Resolve the client bound to a subject doc's own resource. A handler
-     * patches the SUBJECT (which may live in a different Sanity resource
-     * than the instance — split-dataset GDR deploys); the drainer's
-     * `completeEffect` writes the INSTANCE through {@link client}. One
-     * client can't address both, so a handler that patches a foreign
-     * subject must route its write here.
-     *
-     * Pass the subject's GDR — the URI a binding like `$fields.subject._id`
-     * resolves to (the hydrated doc's `_id`), or a full
-     * {@link GlobalDocumentReference}. Returns the `resourceClients` client
-     * for that resource when one is mapped, {@link client} for the workflow
-     * resource itself, and a sibling derived from {@link client}'s
-     * credentials otherwise. Throws if `ref` isn't a GDR — a bare id can't
-     * be routed, so failing loud beats silently patching the wrong dataset.
-     */
-    clientFor: (ref: GdrUri | GlobalDocumentReference) => WorkflowClient;
-    instanceId: string;
-    effectKey: string;
-    log: (message: string, extra?: Record<string, unknown>) => void;
-  },
-) => Promise<{
-  outputs?: Record<string, unknown>;
-  ops?: FieldOp[];
-} | void>;
+declare type EffectHandlerContext<Client extends WorkflowClient> = {
+  /**
+   * The exact concrete client supplied to `createEngine`, bound to the
+   * workflow resource rather than an
+   * engine wrapper. Its class identity, namespaces, configuration, and
+   * credentials are preserved. Handler-owned requests are not automatically
+   * tagged by the engine.
+   */
+  client: Client;
+  /**
+   * Resolve the client bound to a subject doc's own resource. A handler
+   * patches the SUBJECT (which may live in a different Sanity resource
+   * than the instance — split-dataset GDR deploys); the drainer's
+   * `completeEffect` writes the INSTANCE through {@link client}. One
+   * client can't address both, so a handler that patches a foreign
+   * subject must route its write here.
+   *
+   * Pass the subject's GDR — the URI a binding like `$fields.subject._id`
+   * resolves to (the hydrated doc's `_id`), or a full
+   * {@link GlobalDocumentReference}. Returns the `resourceClients` client
+   * for that resource when one is mapped, {@link client} for the workflow
+   * resource itself, and a sibling derived from {@link client}'s
+   * credentials otherwise. Mapped clients are returned unchanged; an
+   * unmapped foreign resource necessarily returns a configured sibling.
+   * Throws if `ref` isn't a GDR — a bare id can't
+   * be routed, so failing loud beats silently patching the wrong dataset.
+   */
+  clientFor: (ref: GdrUri | GlobalDocumentReference) => WorkflowClient;
+  instanceId: string;
+  effectKey: string;
+  log: (message: string, extra?: Record<string, unknown>) => void;
+};
 
 export declare interface EffectHistoryEntry {
   _key: string;
@@ -3095,14 +3485,7 @@ export declare function effectOutputsMap(
   instance: Pick<WorkflowInstance, "effectHistory">,
 ): Record<string, unknown>;
 
-/**
- * Every terminal state an effect run can record. `done` and `failed` are
- * reported through completion ({@link EffectCompletionStatus}); `cancelled`
- * is engine-stamped only — an abort cancelling the entry before dispatch.
- * A cancellation is not a failure: anything counting failures (dashboards,
- * retry tooling) must not count aborted-away effects among them.
- */
-export declare type EffectRunStatus = "done" | "failed" | "cancelled";
+export declare type EffectRunStatus = (typeof EFFECT_RUN_STATUSES)[number];
 
 declare const EffectSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
   {
@@ -3183,6 +3566,10 @@ export declare interface Engine {
   /** The resolved telemetry logger ({@link noopTelemetry} unless injected) —
    *  exposed so adapters built on the engine log through the same seam. */
   readonly telemetry: WorkflowTelemetryLogger;
+  /** Resolve durable actor provenance through this engine's project client. */
+  resolveActor: (
+    args: ResolveClientActorArgs,
+  ) => Promise<ActorResolution<ClientProjectUser>>;
   deployDefinitions: <T extends WorkflowDefinitionInput<T>>(
     args: DeployDefinitionsArgs<T>,
   ) => Promise<DeployDefinitionsResult>;
@@ -3214,7 +3601,7 @@ export declare interface Engine {
   getInstance: (args: InstanceRefArgs) => Promise<WorkflowInstance>;
   /** The reactive {@link WatchSet} for an instance — every document whose
    *  change should re-evaluate it (the instance, its ancestors, and the docs
-   *  named by `doc.ref`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref` field entries on the workflow scope
+   *  named by `doc.ref`/`subject`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref` field entries on the workflow scope
    *  + current stage) as exploded {@link SubscriptionDocument}s, plus the
    *  instance's read perspective. Fetches the instance, then derives. A
    *  reactive adapter that already holds the live instance calls the pure
@@ -3229,8 +3616,9 @@ export declare interface Engine {
    *  its own; the consumer drives it. */
   session: (args: SessionArgs) => InstanceSession;
   /** Every lake mutation guard this instance registered, unioned across the
-   *  instance's own resource and the resource of each `doc.ref`/`doc.refs`
-   *  GDR it holds in state. For coherency refresh and housekeeping. */
+   *  instance's own resource and the resource of each
+   *  `doc.ref`/`subject`/`doc.refs` GDR it holds in state. For coherency
+   *  refresh and housekeeping. */
   guardsForInstance: (args: InstanceRefArgs) => Promise<MutationGuardDoc[]>;
   /** Every lake mutation guard a workflow deployed (any version), across the
    *  datasources its guards statically name — the workflow resource plus any
@@ -3249,26 +3637,39 @@ export declare interface Engine {
    *  in-flight instance whose watch-set includes `document` (a resource-qualified
    *  GDR URI). For a non-reactive, content-change-driven runtime deciding which
    *  instances a changed doc should `tick`. Matches the same ref set the forward
-   *  watch-set uses (self, ancestors, current-stage `doc.ref`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref`)
+   *  watch-set uses (self, ancestors, current-stage `doc.ref`/`subject`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref`)
    *  via the shared `collectWatchRefs`. Sorted by `startedAt` asc. */
   instancesForDocument: (
     args: InstancesForDocumentArgs,
   ) => Promise<WorkflowInstance[]>;
   /** The startable half of {@link Engine.instancesForDocument}: the latest
    *  deployed version of every definition that applies to the LOADED candidate
-   *  document — startable, a required subject entry accepts its `_type`, and
-   *  `start.filter` passes. All matches, name ascending; advisory — a start
-   *  picker's filter, never enforcement. */
+   *  document — startable, the `subject`-kind entry accepts its `_type`, and
+   *  `start.filter` (browse-time-pure — `$fields` never binds) passes. All
+   *  matches, name ascending; advisory — a start picker's filter, never
+   *  enforcement. */
   definitionsForDocument: (
     args: DefinitionsForDocumentArgs,
   ) => Promise<DeployedDefinition[]>;
+  /** Pre-flight `startInstance`'s gates for a definition + the
+   *  `initialFields` gathered so far: structurally invalid rows, the
+   *  `start.allowed` verdict with its insight, and still-missing required
+   *  inputs. `allowed` is the overall startability signal; `outcome` describes
+   *  only the condition. Bindability-aware — a
+   *  predicate reading a not-yet-supplied entry reports `'unevaluable'`
+   *  with the entries named in `unboundReads`, never a collapsed verdict.
+   *  Pure read; the enforcement moment is `startInstance` itself. */
+  evaluateStart: (args: EvaluateStartArgs) => Promise<StartEvaluation>;
   /** GROQ query against the engine's workflow resource. `$tag`
    *  is bound for tag-scoped filtering. */
   query: <T = unknown>(args: QueryArgs) => Promise<T>;
   /** Snapshot-aware GROQ — runs against the same in-memory view the
-   *  engine's filters see for the supplied instance. The rendered scope's
-   *  instance-derived vars ({@link FILTER_SCOPE_VARS}) are bound, ids in
-   *  GDR URI form to match the snapshot's keying. */
+   *  engine's filters see for the supplied instance. The caller-free
+   *  rendered scope cascade gates evaluate in is bound — the
+   *  instance-derived vars ({@link FILTER_SCOPE_VARS}) with the open
+   *  stage's overlay merged into `$fields`, `$assigned` at its caller-free
+   *  `false`, plus the author's pre-evaluated `$<predicate>` booleans —
+   *  ids in GDR URI form to match the snapshot's keying. */
   queryInScope: <T = unknown>(args: QueryInScopeArgs) => Promise<T>;
   /** List every pending effect on an instance. */
   listPendingEffects: (args: InstanceRefArgs) => Promise<PendingEffect[]>;
@@ -3303,8 +3704,9 @@ export declare interface Engine {
  * housekeeping exports — derives its working client onto this version via
  * {@link WorkflowClient.withConfig}, and `resourceClients`-resolved clients
  * are rebound the same way. A caller's configured `apiVersion` therefore
- * never reaches engine traffic (the caller's own client instance is
- * untouched). The one exception is a client that lacks `withConfig` and so
+ * never reaches engine-owned traffic (the caller's own client instance is
+ * untouched). Effect handlers are host traffic and deliberately receive the
+ * caller's configuration unchanged. The other exception is a client that lacks `withConfig` and so
  * cannot be rebound — it must be built to serve this version; see
  * {@link WorkflowClient.withConfig}.
  */
@@ -3347,8 +3749,9 @@ export declare interface EngineScopeArgs {
    * docs that live in a different Sanity resource than the workflow). Called
    * with a parsed GDR; return a client for that resource, or undefined to let
    * the engine route it — `client` for the workflow resource itself, a
-   * sibling derived from `client`'s credentials for anything else. Engine-scope
-   * configuration — see `CreateEngineArgs`.
+   * sibling derived from `client`'s credentials for anything else. A served
+   * resource is also part of the declared surface for runtime-supplied refs.
+   * Engine-scope configuration — see `CreateEngineArgs`.
    */
   resourceClients?: ResourceClientResolver;
   /**
@@ -3368,6 +3771,16 @@ export declare interface EngineScopeArgs {
   idempotencyTtlMs?: number;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Pull the {@link GlobalDocumentReference} values out of `doc.ref` /
+ * `subject` / `doc.refs` (content) field entries. Content only — release
+ * field entries come from {@link entryReleaseRefs}, so guard discovery (which
+ * reads this via `collectEntryDocUris`) stays scoped to content docs.
+ */
+export declare function entryDocRefs(
+  entries: unknown,
+): GlobalDocumentReference[];
+
 /**
  * Pure error helpers — no client, no I/O. The one home for the engine's
  * "coerce an unknown caught value" + "rethrow with context" idioms, so the
@@ -3465,24 +3878,45 @@ export declare function evaluateMutationGuard(args: {
   context: MutationContext;
 }): Promise<boolean>;
 
+/** Args for `evaluateStart` — the pre-flight read of `startInstance`'s gates
+ *  for a definition + the `initialFields` gathered so far (possibly none). */
+export declare interface EvaluateStartArgs {
+  /** The definition's `name` — which deployed workflow would be started. */
+  definition: string;
+  /** Optional explicit version. Defaults to the highest deployed version. */
+  version?: number;
+  /**
+   * The candidate seed, in `StartInstanceArgs.initialFields` shape. Partial
+   * mid-form input is expected and safe: the verdict is BINDABILITY-AWARE —
+   * when the predicate reads a declared entry these inputs don't supply,
+   * `outcome` reports `'unevaluable'` and {@link StartEvaluation.unboundReads}
+   * names the entries, instead of the collapsed answer GROQ equality would
+   * otherwise produce (`null == x` is false, not null — a definitive-looking
+   * verdict one more input could overturn, in either direction).
+   */
+  initialFields?: InitialFieldValue[];
+}
+
 /**
- * Evaluate one `start.filter` in the start-filter context: `document` (may be
- * absent — root reads then fail closed) as the GROQ root, the
- * {@link StartFilterScope} bindings plus `$definition`, and — only when
- * `analyzeCondition` says the filter reads the dataset — the scope's fetched
- * slice as `*`. Cheap pure evaluation otherwise: no I/O rides a filter that
- * never scans. GROQ null ("can't decide") is `false` — every consumer of
+ * Evaluate one `start.filter` in the start-filter context: `document` (may
+ * be absent — a root read is then GROQ null, fail-closed or vacuous-pass by
+ * shape) as the GROQ root, the {@link StartScope} bindings plus
+ * `$definition`, and — when `analyzeCondition` says the filter reads the
+ * dataset or the filter reads `$subjectHasInFlightInstance` — the scope's
+ * fetched slice as `*`. Cheap pure evaluation otherwise: no I/O rides a
+ * filter that needs neither. GROQ null ("can't decide") is `false` — every consumer of
  * this verdict fails closed; a parse/evaluation THROW is a malformed
- * predicate, not an unevaluable one — rethrown loud, naming the definition
- * (only writable by bypassing deploy validation), so every read surface that
- * evaluates the filter reports the same context. A failed slice FETCH
+ * predicate, not an unevaluable one — rethrown loud, naming the definition,
+ * so every read surface that evaluates the filter reports the same context.
+ * A caller that omits the prospective subject required by the synthetic
+ * variable also throws as a scope-contract error. A failed slice FETCH
  * propagates as itself: transport trouble, never definition blame.
  */
 export declare function evaluateStartFilter(args: {
   filter: string;
   definition: Pick<ApplicabilitySource, "name">;
   document?: CandidateDocument | undefined;
-  scope?: StartFilterScope | undefined;
+  scope?: StartScope | undefined;
 }): Promise<boolean>;
 
 /**
@@ -3532,8 +3966,8 @@ export declare interface ExecutionContext {
 }
 
 /**
- * Executor classifications — who, if anyone, an activity waits on
- * (derived; see `./activity-kind.ts`).
+ * Executor classifications — who, if anyone, fires an activity's actions
+ * (shape-derived; see `./activity-kind.ts`).
  */
 export declare const EXECUTOR_CLASSIFICATION_DISPLAY: {
   autonomous: {
@@ -3564,10 +3998,63 @@ export declare const EXECUTOR_CLASSIFICATIONS: readonly [
 export declare type ExecutorClassification =
   (typeof EXECUTOR_CLASSIFICATIONS)[number];
 
+/**
+ * Expand every `@<alias>:` reference in a definition to the physical GDR prefix
+ * its alias binds to, returning a definition that carries only physical
+ * references. Fails closed — naming the definition + alias — when a referenced
+ * alias isn't bound: the check that stops a portable definition from deploying
+ * against the wrong (or no) resource.
+ *
+ * Runs at deploy (inside {@link planDefinitionDeploy}), BEFORE the content
+ * fingerprint, so a deployed definition never carries a logical alias. The
+ * stored references are physical, and a rebind (same source, a different alias
+ * map) surfaces as changed content — a new version, never a silent shift in what
+ * the workflow reads. A no-op when the definition references no aliases.
+ *
+ * Rewrites string VALUES only (via the shared {@link mapJsonStrings} deep-walk),
+ * skipping the prose fields in {@link PROSE_KEYS}. A reference that stands alone
+ * (the whole value is `@<alias>:<id>`, e.g. a literal `doc.ref`) must expand to a
+ * well-formed GDR — a malformed one (`@content:a:b`, an empty id) is rejected
+ * here rather than failing when an instance later reads it.
+ */
+export declare function expandResourceAliases(
+  definition: WorkflowDefinition,
+  resourceAliases: ResourceAliases | undefined,
+): WorkflowDefinition;
+
 export { explainCondition };
 
 export { ExplainConditionArgs };
 
+/**
+ * Explain one `start.allowed` in the start-allowed context: no root (the
+ * subject rides `$fields.<entry>.id` — deploy rejects a root read), the
+ * {@link StartScope} bindings plus `$definition` and the caller's `$fields`
+ * map, and the scope's fetched slice as `*` when the predicate reads the
+ * dataset. Returns the full {@link ConditionInsight} — `outcome` is the
+ * verdict (`'satisfied'` allows; `'unsatisfied'`/`'unevaluable'` refuse,
+ * fail-closed) and the atom breakdown is what lets a surface disable its
+ * start affordance AND say why. One evaluator serves both moments:
+ * `startInstance` enforces the outcome, the `evaluateStart` verb pre-flights
+ * it.
+ *
+ * A dataset-reading predicate with no slice provider THROWS instead of
+ * failing closed: unlike a picker that merely hides a row, this verdict
+ * refuses starts — evaluating over an empty `*` would let a `count()`-style
+ * rule pass vacuously, and a silent "not allowed" would misreport a caller
+ * bug as an author verdict. Parse/evaluation throws rethrow naming the
+ * definition, like the filter's; a failed slice FETCH propagates as itself.
+ */
+export declare function explainStartAllowed(args: {
+  allowed: string;
+  definition: Pick<ApplicabilitySource, "name" | "fields">;
+  /** The caller's input entries as a `$fields` map — the engine verbs build
+   *  it with `startFieldsParam` (field resolution's projection), so the
+   *  predicate can only see values the resolution would persist. */
+  fields: Record<string, unknown>;
+  scope?: StartScope | undefined;
+}): Promise<ConditionInsight>;
+
 /**
  * Extract the bare document `_id` from a GDR URI — what
  * `*[_id == $docId]` in GROQ needs.
@@ -3610,6 +4097,10 @@ export declare const FIELD_KIND_DISPLAY: {
     title: string;
     description: string;
   };
+  subject: {
+    title: string;
+    description: string;
+  };
   "release.ref": {
     title: string;
     description: string;
@@ -3678,6 +4169,7 @@ declare const FIELD_SCOPES: readonly ["workflow", "stage", "activity"];
 declare const FIELD_VALUE_KINDS: readonly [
   "doc.ref",
   "doc.refs",
+  "subject",
   "release.ref",
   "string",
   "text",
@@ -3721,6 +4213,8 @@ declare type FieldEntryFields<TEditable, TGroup> = FieldBase<
   TGroup
 > & {
   type: FieldValueKind;
+  options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+  validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
   types?: string[] | undefined;
   fields?: FieldShape[] | undefined;
   of?: FieldShape[] | undefined;
@@ -3776,6 +4270,8 @@ export declare interface FieldShape {
   name: string;
   title?: string | undefined;
   description?: string | undefined;
+  options?: ChoiceOptions | undefined;
+  validation?: ScalarValidation | undefined;
   fields?: FieldShape[] | undefined;
   of?: FieldShape[] | undefined;
 }
@@ -3809,6 +4305,10 @@ declare type FieldValueKind = (typeof FIELD_VALUE_KINDS)[number];
 export declare interface FieldValueMap {
   "doc.ref": GlobalDocumentReference | null;
   "doc.refs": GlobalDocumentReference[];
+  /** THE document the workflow is about — same value as
+   *  {@link FieldValueMap."doc.ref"}, distinct kind so the runtime and UI
+   *  identify the subject deterministically (workflow scope, at most one). */
+  subject: GlobalDocumentReference | null;
   "release.ref": ReleaseRef | null;
   string: string | null;
   /** Multiline string — same value as {@link FieldValueMap.string}, distinct kind for rendering. */
@@ -3987,6 +4487,35 @@ export declare function gdrUri(
 ): GdrUri;
 
 /**
+ * The engine's reference value — deliberately NOT a lake reference, and
+ * spelled differently on purpose (`id`/`type`, never `_ref`/`_id`):
+ *
+ * - **`id` is a URI, not a bare doc id**, because workflow references cross
+ *   resources (another dataset, a media library) and a bare `_id` is only
+ *   meaningful inside one dataset. Everything resource-aware — client
+ *   routing, spawn discovery, guard target resolution — reads the resource
+ *   out of this URI. It is stripped to a bare lake id at exactly one
+ *   boundary: `paramsForLake` (core/params.ts), when a query actually runs
+ *   against a lake.
+ * - **`type` carries the target's schema type so consumers don't need a
+ *   fetch — as stamped by the ref's constructor, never verified against the
+ *   target.** Engine-built refs stamp it from real data (a projection row's
+ *   `_type`, the `releaseRef` constructor); a caller-supplied ref's `type`
+ *   is a trusted claim. Three advisory surfaces read it: the declared-subject-type
+ *   contract (an entry's `types: [...]` accepts/rejects incoming refs —
+ *   `refTypeIssues` at start `initialFields` and spawn `with`), start
+ *   applicability ("which definitions accept a doc of this `_type`" —
+ *   `acceptsDocumentType`), and guard `match.types` inference from resolved
+ *   targets (`resolveMatchTypes`). All must work when the target lives in a
+ *   resource the reader can't (or shouldn't) fetch from.
+ *
+ * In rendered GROQ this shape is what a reference-held value exposes
+ * (`$fields.<entry>.id` / `.type`) — whereas `_id`/`_type` belong to
+ * documents you hold (lake rows, `$row`, a dereferenced singular `doc.ref`).
+ * The spelling is not a namespace guarantee: a content document can carry
+ * its own `id`/`type` fields — what you're reading follows what the entry's
+ * declared kind puts in your hand, never the key's spelling.
+ *
  * `TType` preserves the `type` literal the constructors ({@link refDataset},
  * {@link gdrRef}, …) were called with, so a constructed ref satisfies
  * literal-typed targets (e.g. a `release.ref` value's `"system.release"`).
@@ -4116,9 +4645,6 @@ export declare type Guard = v.InferOutput<typeof GuardSchema>;
  */
 export declare const GUARD_DOC_TYPE = "temp.system.guard";
 
-/** Retracted predicate — unconditionally allows, lifting the guard. */
-export declare const GUARD_LIFTED_PREDICATE = "true";
-
 export declare const GUARD_OWNER = "robot:workflow-engine";
 
 /**
@@ -4243,6 +4769,11 @@ declare const GuardReadSchema: v.VariantSchema<
 /** Stored guards carry the printed string reads (the deploy resolver's input). */
 declare const GuardSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
   {
+    /**
+     * Lake-id-segment grammar (`^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$`, deploy-enforced): the
+     * guard's lake `_id` derives from `(instanceId, name)` at stage entry.
+     * Unique per definition.
+     */
     name: v.SchemaWithPipe<
       readonly [
         v.StringSchema<undefined>,
@@ -4314,8 +4845,9 @@ declare const GuardSchema: v.StrictObjectSchema<
     /**
      * Lake GROQ predicate — a distinct eval context: delta-mode GROQ
      * reading the `before()`/`after()` natives, `mutation`, `guard`, and
-     * `identity()`. Bare ids/fields only. Omitted or empty means
-     * UNCONDITIONAL DENY.
+     * `identity()`. Bare ids/fields only. Polarity: a result of strictly
+     * `true` ALLOWS the matched mutation; anything else (false, null, an
+     * evaluation error) DENIES. Omitted or empty means UNCONDITIONAL DENY.
      */
     predicate: v.OptionalSchema<v.StringSchema<undefined>, undefined>;
     /**
@@ -4711,6 +5243,67 @@ export declare interface HydratedSnapshot {
  */
 export declare function inFlightFilter(): string;
 
+/** Why one caller-supplied initial-field row cannot be consumed. */
+export declare type InitialFieldIssue = {
+  index: number;
+  name: string;
+  type: FieldKind;
+} & (
+  | {
+      reason: "duplicate";
+      duplicateIndexes: number[];
+    }
+  | {
+      reason: "undeclared";
+    }
+  | {
+      reason: "wrong-kind";
+      expectedTypes: FieldKind[];
+    }
+  | {
+      reason: "not-input";
+      source:
+        | "working-memory"
+        | Exclude<NonNullable<FieldEntry["initialValue"]>["type"], "input">;
+    }
+  | ({
+      reason: "invalid-scope";
+      stage: string;
+      declaredType: FieldKind;
+    } & (
+      | {
+          scope: "stage";
+        }
+      | {
+          scope: "activity";
+          activity: string;
+        }
+    ))
+);
+
+/**
+ * Explain every structural reason caller-supplied initial-field rows cannot
+ * be consumed. Value-shape validation remains in the resolver because it
+ * needs the matched declaration's complete schema.
+ */
+export declare function initialFieldIssues(
+  args: ScopedInitialFieldDeclarations & {
+    initialFields: readonly InitialFieldValue[];
+  },
+): InitialFieldIssue[];
+
+/**
+ * Thrown before start writes when one or more caller-supplied `initialFields`
+ * rows cannot be consumed by workflow-scope, input-sourced declarations.
+ * `issues` is stable machine-readable remediation context; the message renders
+ * the same complete set for logs and command-line callers.
+ */
+export declare class InitialFieldsInvalidError extends WorkflowError<"initial-fields-invalid"> {
+  readonly definition?: string;
+  readonly issues: InitialFieldIssue[];
+  constructor(args: { definition?: string; issues: InitialFieldIssue[] });
+}
+
 /**
  * Initial value for an `input`-sourced entry — what a caller supplies at
  * `startInstance` (or `setStage`). Same discriminator shape as
@@ -4760,14 +5353,24 @@ export declare type InsightSite =
       activity?: string;
     };
 
+/**
+ * Mint the Sanity document `_id` for a workflow instance — a fresh
+ * {@link randomKey} suffix, so every instance (root or spawned child) gets a
+ * unique doc id under its tag. Lives in the shell, not `core/`, because it
+ * draws randomness; the deterministic {@link definitionDocId} is the pure-core
+ * counterpart. Bare form — Sanity rejects `:` in document IDs, so this is
+ * never a GDR URI.
+ */
+export declare function instanceDocId(tag: string): string;
+
 /**
  * The per-instance guard filter — the single definition of "this instance's
  * guards in one datasource". The engine's verdict load
  * ({@link verdictGuardsForInstance}) fetches it once against the engine
  * datasource; the reactive adapters feed the same query/params to their
  * stores as a live subscription; {@link guardsForInstance} unions it across
- * datasources for housekeeping. Matches lifted guards too (predicate
- * `"true"`) — the consumer decides how to render a lifted guard.
+ * datasources for housekeeping. Ordinary stage retraction deletes guards, so
+ * results represent active persisted guard documents.
  */
 export declare function instanceGuardQuery(instanceId: string): CompiledQuery;
 
@@ -4815,7 +5418,10 @@ export declare interface InstanceSession {
   /** Replace the held content with the current values the consumer observed
    *  (last-write-wins, scoped). A self-doc updates the held instance only when
    *  its `_updatedAt` is strictly newer — an older or timestamp-equal echo is
-   *  ignored. Buffered if a commit is in flight. */
+   *  ignored. Buffered if a commit is in flight; a BUFFERED push that fails
+   *  validation surfaces on the NEXT `update` call (after that call's own
+   *  docs are processed), never from the commit itself — the commit's
+   *  outcome is never masked by a store echo's failure. */
   update(docs: LoadedDoc[]): void;
   /** Replace the held live guards (the consumer's guard stream,
    *  last-write-wins). Guards are a separate stream from the watch-set:
@@ -4858,10 +5464,11 @@ export declare interface InstanceSession {
    *  replace the target's staged rows (last write wins); appends accumulate.
    *  Tolerant where commits are loud: a target that doesn't resolve in the
    *  current stage (it moved under a mounted editor), a closed edit window
-   *  (a skipped activity's field), or a value that doesn't
-   *  fit the field's shape yet (a half-typed date) stages an INERT preview —
-   *  no echo, no throw; the commit at the semantic boundary is the loud
-   *  surface. Never persisted — commit via {@link InstanceSession.editField}. */
+   *  (a skipped activity's field), a value that doesn't fit the field's
+   *  shape yet (a half-typed date), or a ref outside the declared resource
+   *  surface stages an INERT preview — no echo, no throw; the commit at the
+   *  semantic boundary is the loud surface. Never persisted — commit via
+   *  {@link InstanceSession.editField}. */
   previewField(args: {
     target: EditFieldTarget;
     mode?: EditMode;
@@ -4879,8 +5486,10 @@ export declare interface InstancesForDocumentArgs {
 
 /**
  * The instance-list GROQ for a {@link InstancesQueryFilter}, ordered by
- * `startedAt` ascending. Adapters subscribe to it; {@link workflow.query}
- * -style one-shot reads fetch it — both see the same rows.
+ * `startedAt` ascending (descending + sliced under
+ * {@link InstancesQueryFilter.limit}). Adapters subscribe to it;
+ * {@link workflow.query}-style one-shot reads fetch it — both see the same
+ * rows.
  */
 export declare function instancesQuery(args: {
   tag: string;
@@ -4924,6 +5533,14 @@ export declare interface InstancesQueryFilter {
   stage?: string;
   /** Include completed/aborted instances (default: in-flight only). */
   includeCompleted?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Cap the read to the NEWEST `limit` instances — the query flips to
+   * `startedAt desc` and slices, so a bounded consumer (a dashboard over an
+   * unbounded dataset) reads the most recent rows instead of the oldest.
+   * Unlimited reads keep the ascending order adapters index by. Must be a
+   * positive integer.
+   */
+  limit?: number;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -4978,7 +5595,7 @@ export declare function isDefinitionApplicable(args: {
   definition: ApplicabilitySource;
   document: CandidateDocument;
   /** Caller-side filter bindings — omit for the bare candidate-doc context. */
-  scope?: StartFilterScope;
+  scope?: StartScope;
 }): Promise<boolean>;
 
 /**
@@ -4997,13 +5614,14 @@ export declare function isFilterScopedOut(entry: {
 export declare function isGdr(value: unknown): value is GlobalDocumentReference;
 
 /**
- * Whether a guard has been lifted (retracted to the unconditional-allow
- * predicate). A lift patches the predicate and keeps the doc, so lifted
- * guards still appear in guard queries and streams — this is the
- * discriminator a consumer filters or renders by.
+ * Whether an entry is caller-filled at start/spawn — the only source that
+ * reads `initialFields`. Every other source (query/literal/fieldRead, or
+ * working memory) resolves itself at materialisation, so a `$fields.<name>`
+ * read of it can never bind on any read surface that evaluates a
+ * `start.filter`. The deploy read-check keys on this.
  */
-export declare function isGuardLifted(
-  guard: Pick<MutationGuardDoc, "predicate">,
+export declare function isInputSourced(
+  entry: Pick<FieldEntry, "initialValue">,
 ): boolean;
 
 /**
@@ -5027,6 +5645,32 @@ export declare function isNotesEntry(
   }
 >;
 
+/** Whether a project-user API failure explicitly means the user is absent. */
+export declare function isProjectUserNotFoundError(error: unknown): boolean;
+
+/** Entry-level {@link isSingleDocRefKind}: narrows a resolved entry to the
+ *  single-GDR arms (`doc.ref` / `subject`) — the value is one GDR (or null)
+ *  and the entry may carry the accepted-target `types`. */
+export declare function isSingleDocRefEntry(
+  entry: ResolvedFieldEntry,
+): entry is Extract<
+  ResolvedFieldEntry,
+  {
+    _type: "doc.ref" | "subject";
+  }
+>;
+
+/**
+ * Kinds whose value is a single content-document GDR — `doc.ref` and its
+ * elevated alias `subject`. The one predicate behind every "this entry is one
+ * document reference" branch (deref reads, query/spawn ref coercion, input
+ * shape checks, watch-set collection), so the alias can't drift out of a
+ * site.
+ */
+export declare function isSingleDocRefKind(
+  kind: string,
+): kind is "doc.ref" | "subject";
+
 /**
  * Whether a human may start this definition standalone (the default). A
  * `lifecycle: 'child'` definition is spawn-only — instantiated by a parent via
@@ -5040,15 +5684,16 @@ export declare function isStartableDefinition(definition: {
 }): boolean;
 
 /**
- * The SUBJECT-ENTRY RULE: a required `doc.ref` / `doc.refs` input entry is
- * what makes a definition "about" a subject document. One predicate shared by
- * applicability's type matching (`acceptsDocumentType`), the autonomous-start
- * deploy invariant, and the root-read deploy check (a root-reading
- * `start.filter` needs a subject entry to bind a candidate root) — so
- * "counts as a subject" can't drift between them.
+ * The SUBJECT-ENTRY RULE: the `subject`-kind entry is what makes a definition
+ * "about" a subject document — the kind is the discriminator, never a
+ * heuristic over required refs. One predicate shared by applicability's type
+ * matching (`acceptsDocumentType`), the autonomous-start deploy invariant,
+ * and the root-read deploy check (a root-reading `start.filter` needs a
+ * subject entry to bind a candidate root) — so "counts as a subject" can't
+ * drift between them.
  */
 export declare function isSubjectEntry(
-  entry: Pick<FieldEntry, "required" | "type">,
+  entry: Pick<FieldEntry, "type">,
 ): boolean;
 
 /**
@@ -5098,6 +5743,19 @@ export declare function isTodoListEntry(
  *  as null). The remaining columns stay loose (field validation owns them). */
 export declare function isTodoListItem(row: unknown): row is TodoListItem;
 
+/**
+ * True when the instance document exists but its start never finished: the
+ * `create` committed, yet priming (stage entry, activities, guard deploy)
+ * did not. The shape is legal and resumable — `startInstance` with the same
+ * `instanceId` completes the outstanding commits. Readers should present it
+ * as an incomplete start, never as a normal run sitting at its initial
+ * stage. Terminal instances are excluded: an aborted never-primed husk
+ * reads as aborted, not as still-resumable.
+ */
+export declare function isUnprimed(
+  instance: Pick<WorkflowInstance, "stages" | "completedAt" | "abortedAt">,
+): boolean;
+
 /**
  * Deterministic id so deploy/retract are query-free and idempotent. Derived
  * from the guard's authored `name` — an author-controlled handle that stays
@@ -5164,6 +5822,15 @@ export declare interface LoadedDoc {
 
 export declare type LoggerFactory = (name: string) => EngineLogger;
 
+/** A by-name reference to another workflow definition (an
+ *  `action.spawn.definition`). No `version` (or `'latest'`) means "the
+ *  highest deployed version at spawn time"; a numeric version pins one
+ *  deployed version permanently. */
+export declare interface LogicalRef {
+  name: string;
+  version?: number | "latest";
+}
+
 export declare type ManualTarget = v.InferOutput<
   typeof StoredManualTargetSchema
 >;
@@ -5190,7 +5857,7 @@ export { MAX_COUNTERFACTUAL_INDEX };
 
 /**
  * The oldest engine model that can safely read a persisted engine document.
- * The engine always writes the {@link MODEL_STAMP} pair, so a `modelVersion`
+ * The engine always writes the stamp pair, so a `modelVersion`
  * with no `minReaderModel` is malformed foreign data — read conservatively:
  * the stamp itself is the floor. A doc with neither is model 0 (floor 0).
  */
@@ -5396,6 +6063,8 @@ export declare interface MutationGuardDoc extends MutationGuardBody {
   _updatedAt?: string;
 }
 
+export declare const MutationGuardDocSchema: v.GenericSchema<MutationGuardDoc>;
+
 export declare interface MutationGuardMatch {
   types?: string[];
   /** Bare document ids (resource-local; both published and `drafts.` forms). */
@@ -5404,6 +6073,14 @@ export declare interface MutationGuardMatch {
   actions: MutationGuardAction[];
 }
 
+/** Every wait narrated, de-duplicated by phrase: same-named actions on
+ *  sibling activities are distinct waits that tell one story — consumers
+ *  want one line per story, not one per site. */
+export declare function narrateAutonomyWaits(
+  waits: readonly AutonomyWait[],
+  ctx: DescribeContext,
+): string[];
+
 /** The default logger: emit nothing. The engine's twin of `@sanity/telemetry`'s `noopLogger`. */
 export declare const noopTelemetry: WorkflowTelemetryLogger;
 
@@ -5527,12 +6204,7 @@ export declare function parseDefinitionInput(
   caller: string,
 ): WorkflowDefinition;
 
-/**
- * The ONE way to read an instance's frozen {@link WorkflowInstance.definitionSnapshot}
- * back into a {@link WorkflowDefinition} — wraps the parse so a corrupt
- * snapshot fails with the instance id attached instead of a bare
- * `SyntaxError`.
- */
+/** Parse the frozen definition from a complete persisted instance. */
 export declare function parseDefinitionSnapshot(
   instance: WorkflowInstance,
 ): WorkflowDefinition;
@@ -5549,12 +6221,34 @@ export declare interface ParsedGdr {
   documentId: string;
 }
 
+declare type ParsedWorkflowConfig = v.InferOutput<typeof WorkflowConfigSchema>;
+
+declare type ParsedWorkflowDeployment =
+  ParsedWorkflowConfig["deployments"][number];
+
 /**
  * Parse a GDR URI into its scheme + addressing parts. Throws on
  * unknown scheme or malformed shape.
  */
 export declare function parseGdr(uri: string): ParsedGdr;
 
+/**
+ * Parse a fetched guard document, failing hard with a
+ * {@link PersistedDocShapeError} naming the document and every offending
+ * field. No model-version gate: the guard doc carries no stamp by design —
+ * its `_type` cutover is its versioning event.
+ */
+export declare function parseGuardDocument(doc: unknown): MutationGuardDoc;
+
+/**
+ * Parse a fetched `sanity.workflow.instance` document, failing hard with a
+ * {@link PersistedDocShapeError} naming the document and every offending
+ * field. The caller's model-version gate (`assertReadableModel`) comes
+ * FIRST — a doc from beyond the reader floor is a governed
+ * `ModelVersionAheadError`, not a shape error.
+ */
+export declare function parseInstanceDocument(doc: unknown): WorkflowInstance;
+
 /**
  * Parse a resource-shaped GDR (`<type>:<id>`, no document part) into the
  * {@link WorkflowResource} it names. The one grammar for resource addresses —
@@ -5643,6 +6337,30 @@ export declare interface PendingEffectClaim {
   leaseExpiresAt?: string;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A persisted engine-owned document failed its shape parse — the stored
+ * field tree does not match what this engine's data model declares for the
+ * doc type. Distinct from {@link ModelVersionAheadError} (a declared,
+ * governed fence: upgrade the engine); this is UNGOVERNED corruption — a
+ * document no conforming engine wrote — and the read fails hard instead of
+ * letting the malformed value corrupt behavior downstream. The issues name
+ * every offending field path.
+ */
+export declare class PersistedDocShapeError extends WorkflowError<"persisted-doc-shape"> {
+  readonly documentId: string;
+  readonly documentType: string;
+  readonly issues: ValidationIssue[];
+  constructor(args: {
+    documentId: string;
+    documentType: string;
+    issues: ValidationIssue[];
+  });
+}
+
+export declare type PersonActor = Omit<Actor, "kind"> & {
+  readonly kind: "person";
+};
+
 /**
  * One row of the instance's idempotency ledger — a caller-supplied
  * `idempotencyKey` a state-changing verb already committed under. Recorded in
@@ -5702,6 +6420,26 @@ export declare function projectToWatchRef(args: {
   perspective: WorkflowPerspective | undefined;
 }): SanityDocument;
 
+/** Host integration for current project-user data. */
+export declare interface ProjectUserDirectory<User> {
+  /** Return `inaccessible` for lookup failures; directory methods must not reject. */
+  readonly findById: (id: string) => Promise<ProjectUserLookup<User>>;
+  readonly findByEmail?: (email: string) => Promise<ProjectUserLookup<User>>;
+}
+
+export declare type ProjectUserLookup<User> =
+  | {
+      readonly status: "resolved";
+      readonly user: User;
+    }
+  | {
+      readonly status: "missing";
+    }
+  | {
+      readonly status: "inaccessible";
+      readonly cause?: unknown;
+    };
+
 export declare interface QueryArgs {
   groq: string;
   params?: Record<string, unknown>;
@@ -5711,6 +6449,28 @@ export declare interface QueryInScopeArgs extends InstanceRefArgs, QueryArgs {}
 
 export { quoted };
 
+export declare const READER_MODEL_ROLLOUT_URL =
+  "https://github.com/sanity-io/workflows/blob/main/docs/reader-model-rollout.md";
+
+/** A producer has not explicitly acknowledged this engine's writer capability. */
+export declare class ReaderModelAcknowledgementError extends WorkflowError<"reader-model-acknowledgement"> {
+  readonly code = "WORKFLOW_READER_MODEL_ACKNOWLEDGEMENT_MISMATCH";
+  readonly expectedMinReaderModel: unknown;
+  readonly engineMinReaderModel = 2;
+  readonly engineModelVersion = 2;
+  readonly documentationUrl =
+    "https://github.com/sanity-io/workflows/blob/main/docs/reader-model-rollout.md";
+  constructor(expectedMinReaderModel: unknown, context?: string);
+}
+
+/**
+ * The one spelling of the instance read discipline — model gate
+ * ({@link assertReadableModel}) first, shape parse
+ * ({@link parseInstanceDocument}) second — shared by the point-read funnel
+ * above and the list-read sites that fetch instance rows in bulk.
+ */
+export declare function readInstanceDoc(doc: SanityDocument): WorkflowInstance;
+
 /**
  * Whether a watched ref reads RAW — never perspective-scoped. The
  * instance, its ancestors, and its spawned children (all instance docs), and
@@ -5761,6 +6521,15 @@ export declare function refDataset<TType extends string = string>({
   type: TType;
 }): GlobalDocumentReference<TType>;
 
+/**
+ * Kinds whose entries carry the accepted-target `types` facet — the
+ * content-document reference kinds. `release.ref` is excluded: it points at a
+ * release system doc whose type is fixed.
+ */
+export declare function refKindAcceptsTypes(
+  kind: string,
+): kind is "doc.ref" | "doc.refs" | "subject";
+
 /** Make a GDR pointer to a Media-Library-resource doc. */
 export declare function refMediaLibrary<TType extends string = string>({
   resourceId,
@@ -5769,15 +6538,36 @@ export declare function refMediaLibrary<TType extends string = string>({
 }: ResourceRefArgs<TType>): GlobalDocumentReference<TType>;
 
 /**
- * The GDR `type`s in a `doc.ref` / `doc.refs` value that the entry's declared
- * accepted `types` reject — empty when the value conforms, the entry declares
- * no `types`, or the kind isn't a ref. A GDR's `type` names the target
- * document's schema type, so this is the declared-subject-type contract.
- * Skips anything that isn't GDR-shaped — the shape schemas scream about
- * those. Boundaries that need their own error framing (the spawn `with`
- * projection gates its remediation hint on the generic `"document"` type
- * being among the rejects) read this; everything else goes through
- * {@link refTypeIssues} / {@link checkFieldValue}.
+ * Thrown when a field write carries a ref to a resource outside the
+ * declared surface. The write does not commit; the engine has not mutated
+ * state.
+ */
+export declare class RefResourceUndeclaredError extends WorkflowError<"ref-resource-undeclared"> {
+  readonly entryType: string;
+  readonly entryName: string;
+  readonly issues: string[];
+  constructor(args: { entryName: string; entryType: string; issues: string[] });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Every spawn reference a definition carries, as logical
+ * {@link LogicalRef} entries — the definition's outgoing edges in the
+ * spawn-dependency graph. The one walk deploy ordering, delete's
+ * referrer check, and external dependency tooling all share, so what
+ * counts as a reference can never drift between them.
+ */
+export declare function refsOf(def: WorkflowDefinition): LogicalRef[];
+
+/**
+ * The GDR `type`s in a reference-kind ({@link refKindAcceptsTypes}) value
+ * that the entry's declared accepted `types` reject — empty when the value
+ * conforms, the entry declares no `types`, or the kind isn't a ref. A GDR's
+ * `type` names the target document's schema type, so this is the
+ * declared-target-type contract. Skips anything that isn't GDR-shaped — the
+ * shape schemas scream about those. Boundaries that need their own error
+ * framing (the spawn `with` projection gates its remediation hint on the
+ * generic `"document"` type being among the rejects) read this; everything
+ * else goes through {@link refTypeIssues} / {@link checkFieldValue}.
  */
 export declare function rejectedRefTypes(args: {
   entryType: string;
@@ -5865,12 +6655,18 @@ export declare class RequiredFieldNotProvidedError extends WorkflowError<"requir
   });
 }
 
-/**
- * Names an author's predicate may not use — engine-owned and author names
- * share one namespace, so a predicate redefining a binding would silently
- * shadow engine behaviour. Rejected at deploy; derived from
- * {@link CONDITION_VARS}.
- */
+/** The known persisted-model requirements applicable to one canonical stored tree. */
+export declare function requiredModelFeatures(
+  documentType: DataModelDocumentType,
+  document: unknown,
+): readonly DataModelChange[];
+
+/** The oldest engine model that can safely interpret one canonical stored tree. */
+export declare function requiredReaderModel(
+  documentType: DataModelDocumentType,
+  document: unknown,
+): number;
+
 export declare const RESERVED_CONDITION_VARS: readonly string[];
 
 /**
@@ -5894,6 +6690,23 @@ export declare interface ResolveAccessArgs {
   grantsFromPath?: string;
 }
 
+/** Resolves person provenance without treating agent or system ids as user ids. */
+export declare function resolveActor<User>(
+  directory: ProjectUserDirectory<User>,
+  actor: Actor,
+): Promise<ActorResolution<User>>;
+
+/** Resolve an actor through a plain engine client, without a UI adapter. */
+export declare function resolveClientActor(
+  client: WorkflowClient,
+  args: ResolveClientActorArgs,
+): Promise<ActorResolution<ClientProjectUser>>;
+
+export declare interface ResolveClientActorArgs {
+  readonly actor: Actor;
+  readonly projectId: string;
+}
+
 /**
  * A resolved field entry as the engine persists it on an instance.
  * Discriminated by `_type` (bare — unique within this union); the `value`
@@ -5901,9 +6714,9 @@ export declare interface ResolveAccessArgs {
  * `initialValue` is `{type:'query'}`, of any kind) additionally carries
  * `resolvedAt` — the lake-read time — so `resolvedAt` is provenance-driven,
  * not kind-specific. `object` / `array` entries carry their declared
- * sub-field shape (`fields` / `of`) — and `doc.ref` / `doc.refs` entries
- * their declared accepted `types` — so the instance is self-describing for
- * op-time validation and rendering.
+ * sub-field shape (`fields` / `of`) — and the reference kinds
+ * ({@link refKindAcceptsTypes}) their declared accepted `types` — so the
+ * instance is self-describing for op-time validation and rendering.
  */
 export declare type ResolvedFieldEntry = {
   [K in FieldKind]: {
@@ -5915,6 +6728,8 @@ export declare type ResolvedFieldEntry = {
     value: FieldValueMap[K];
     /** Lake-read time, present only on `query`-sourced entries. */
     resolvedAt?: string;
+    options?: ChoiceOptions;
+    validation?: ScalarValidation;
   } & (K extends "object"
     ? {
         fields: FieldShape[];
@@ -5925,7 +6740,7 @@ export declare type ResolvedFieldEntry = {
           of: FieldShape[];
         }
       : Record<never, never>) &
-    (K extends "doc.ref" | "doc.refs"
+    (K extends "doc.ref" | "doc.refs" | "subject"
       ? {
           types?: string[];
         }
@@ -5959,9 +6774,10 @@ export declare function resolveFieldEntry(
 export declare type ResourceAliases = Record<string, WorkflowResource>;
 
 /**
- * Collapse a deployment's `resourceAliases` bindings into the engine's
- * {@link ResourceAliases} map (handle name → physical resource) — the shape
- * {@link deployDefinitions} consumes.
+ * Collapse a deployment's `resourceAliases` bindings into the
+ * {@link ResourceAliases} map (handle name → physical resource) that
+ * `deployDefinitions` expands `@<handle>:` references against. Deploy-time
+ * only — the map never reaches any other verb.
  */
 export declare function resourceAliasesToMap(
   resourceAliases: WorkflowDeployment["resourceAliases"],
@@ -5974,10 +6790,13 @@ export declare function resourceAliasesToMap(
  * engine route it — its own client for the workflow resource, a derived
  * sibling ({@link WorkflowClient.withConfig}) for anything else.
  *
- * Resolved clients ride the engine's API version like every other engine
- * client: the verb scope rebinds them onto `ENGINE_API_VERSION` when they
- * carry {@link WorkflowClient.withConfig} (one without it is used as
- * returned and must be built to serve that version).
+ * Serving a resource also DECLARES it on the written-ref surface: the write
+ * boundaries probe this resolver per ref, so narrowing a resolver rejects
+ * refs to the resources it stops serving.
+ *
+ * Engine-owned verb scopes rebind resolved clients onto
+ * `ENGINE_API_VERSION`. Effect handlers receive resolver clients unchanged
+ * because handler traffic belongs to the host.
  */
 export declare type ResourceClientResolver = (
   parsed: ParsedGdr,
@@ -6008,11 +6827,18 @@ declare interface ResourceRefArgs<TType extends string> {
   type: TType;
 }
 
+export declare interface ResourceSurface {
+  /** True when the parsed GDR targets a declared resource. */
+  allows: (parsed: ParsedGdr) => boolean;
+  /** Prose rendering of the declared surface, for rejection messages. */
+  description: string;
+}
+
 /**
- * Retract every guard for a stage being exited (lift predicate to allow), but
+ * Retract every guard for a stage being exited by deleting it, but
  * only once the instance has genuinely moved off that stage — or was aborted
  * on it: an aborted instance keeps its `currentStage` (no stage move), so the
- * `abortedAt` stamp is what licenses lifting the stage it still occupies. The
+ * `abortedAt` stamp is what licenses retracting the stage it still occupies. The
  * gate is `abortedAt`, not `completedAt` — normal completion parks the
  * instance on a structurally terminal stage whose guards must stay live.
  * Skip if it is still live on the stage (a concurrent loop-back re-entered
@@ -6079,8 +6905,52 @@ declare const RoleAliasesSchema: v.RecordSchema<
   undefined
 >;
 
+/** Whether two workflow resources address the same place. */
+export declare function sameResource(
+  a: WorkflowResource,
+  b: WorkflowResource,
+): boolean;
+
+/** Inclusive scalar bounds. String/text bounds measure character length;
+ * number bounds measure the numeric value. */
+export declare interface ScalarValidation {
+  min?: number | undefined;
+  max?: number | undefined;
+}
+
+export declare function scalarValidationIssues(args: {
+  entryType: string;
+  validation: ScalarValidation | undefined;
+  value: unknown;
+}): string[] | undefined;
+
+/**
+ * The DECLARED field tree of a runtime schema — every entry key (optional
+ * keys marked `key?`), every enum vocabulary, every variant arm — walked out
+ * of valibot's runtime shape. The declared twin of `fieldTreeShape` (which
+ * walks a CONCRETE document): the model-surface gate pins persisted doc
+ * types by what their schema declares, so an optional field no fixture
+ * reaches is still ledger-visible. Recursive grammars (a field shape nesting
+ * field shapes) close with a `'(circular)'` marker.
+ */
+export declare function schemaTreeShape(schema: v.GenericSchema): unknown;
+
 export { ScopeAssignment };
 
+export declare interface ScopedInitialFieldDeclarations {
+  workflowFields: readonly FieldEntry[];
+  stages?: readonly {
+    name: string;
+    fields?: readonly FieldEntry[] | undefined;
+    activities?:
+      | readonly {
+          name: string;
+          fields?: readonly FieldEntry[] | undefined;
+        }[]
+      | undefined;
+  }[];
+}
+
 export { sentenceCase };
 
 export declare interface SessionArgs {
@@ -6115,6 +6985,27 @@ export declare interface SiteConsequence {
   after: ConditionOutcome;
 }
 
+/** One statically invalid parent-to-child spawn contract found at deploy. */
+export declare type SpawnContractIssue =
+  | {
+      reason: "unresolved-definition";
+      from: string;
+      ref: string;
+    }
+  | {
+      reason: "unconsumable-field";
+      from: string;
+      child: string;
+      field: string;
+      detail: string;
+    };
+
+/** Deploy refused one or more invalid static `spawn` contracts. */
+export declare class SpawnContractsInvalidError extends WorkflowError<"spawn-contracts-invalid"> {
+  readonly issues: SpawnContractIssue[];
+  constructor(args: { issues: SpawnContractIssue[]; message: string });
+}
+
 export declare type Stage = StageFields<
   FieldEntry,
   Activity,
@@ -6123,6 +7014,21 @@ export declare type Stage = StageFields<
   Editable
 >;
 
+/** A stage's rollup: progress through any exit transition, plus each
+ *  activity's own completion answer. */
+export declare interface StageAutonomy extends AutonomyAnswer {
+  stage: string;
+  activities: Record<string, AutonomyAnswer>;
+}
+
+/** The stage slice of a rollup. Total by construction — the rollup derives
+ *  from the same `definition.stages` consumers iterate, so a miss is an
+ *  engine bug worth failing loud on. */
+export declare function stageAutonomyOf(
+  autonomy: WorkflowAutonomy,
+  stageName: string,
+): StageAutonomy;
+
 export declare interface StageEntry {
   _key: string;
   name: StageName;
@@ -6138,6 +7044,9 @@ export declare interface StageEvaluation {
   stage: Stage;
   activities: ActivityEvaluation[];
   transitions: TransitionEvaluation[];
+  /** The stage's causal-autonomy rollup — will it progress without a caller,
+   *  and what does it wait on. Definition-derived, identical for every actor. */
+  autonomy: StageAutonomy;
 }
 
 /** Type-mirror of {@link stageFields}, parameterised over field/activity/transition/guard/editable. */
@@ -6170,18 +7079,35 @@ declare interface StageGuardArgs {
 
 export declare type StageName = string;
 
+/**
+ * The vars a definition's `start.allowed` reads — the start-time permission
+ * dialect: everything the filter context binds ({@link START_FILTER_VARS})
+ * plus `$fields`, which start time always has. No candidate root ever binds
+ * here (the subject rides `$fields.<entry>.id`; a root read is
+ * deploy-rejected). Pre-flights can omit not-yet-collected input bindings and
+ * report those reads as provisional. Bound in one place: `startContextParams`
+ * in the applicability evaluator.
+ */
+export declare const START_ALLOWED_VARS: readonly {
+  name: string;
+  label: string;
+  description: string;
+}[];
+
 /**
  * The vars a definition's `start.filter` reads — the start-filter dialect,
  * not the rendered condition scope (no {@link ConditionVarBinding}: these
  * bind only while the filter is evaluated on the READ side — the
  * `definitionsForDocument` derivation and the Studio start control).
- * `startInstance` never evaluates the filter. An absent binding evaluates to
- * GROQ null, so a read of it fails closed: a picker with no `initialFields`
- * in hand hides a `$fields`-reading definition rather than guessing. Bound in
- * one place: `startFilterParams` in the applicability evaluator.
+ * `startInstance` never evaluates the filter. BROWSE-TIME-PURE: `$fields` is
+ * deliberately absent — a `$fields` read is deploy-rejected with a pointer
+ * to `start.allowed`. The synthetic subject variable requires a prospective
+ * subject; evaluation throws when the caller omits that required scope.
+ * Bound in one place: `startContextParams` in the applicability evaluator.
  */
 export declare const START_FILTER_VARS: readonly {
   name: string;
+  label: string;
   description: string;
 }[];
 
@@ -6203,44 +7129,72 @@ export declare type StartBlock = StartFields & {
  */
 export declare type StartContext = Record<string, unknown>;
 
+/**
+ * What `evaluateStart` projects — the same gates `startInstance` enforces,
+ * as renderable state. `allowed` and `missingRequired` are deliberately
+ * orthogonal: a missing required input is a caller mistake (the verb throws
+ * `RequiredFieldNotProvidedError` for it), never a `start.allowed` verdict.
+ */
+export declare interface StartEvaluation {
+  /** Overall preflight startability: every supplied initial-field row is
+   *  valid and the `start.allowed` outcome is satisfied. `outcome` describes
+   *  only the condition; structurally invalid rows can therefore produce
+   *  `allowed: false` with `outcome: 'satisfied'`. */
+  allowed: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Three-valued, BINDABILITY-AWARE verdict: `'unsatisfied'` is a definitive
+   * no for these inputs (disable and explain), `'unevaluable'` means the
+   * predicate can't be decided yet — either a null operand reached an
+   * ordered comparison, or the predicate reads an entry `initialFields`
+   * doesn't supply ({@link StartEvaluation.unboundReads} non-empty). Keep
+   * the affordance enabled on `'unevaluable'`; `startInstance` still
+   * enforces the final verdict, where absence is final rather than
+   * provisional.
+   */
+  outcome: ConditionOutcome;
+  /** The `start.allowed` atom breakdown over the SUPPLIED inputs — what to
+   *  render next to a disabled start affordance. Present iff the definition
+   *  declares `allowed`. With `unboundReads` non-empty its own `outcome` may
+   *  be a collapsed provisional answer — the top-level `outcome` is the
+   *  trustworthy one. */
+  insight?: ConditionInsight;
+  /** The `$fields` entries the predicate reads that `initialFields` doesn't
+   *  supply — "fill these to decide". Non-empty forces `outcome:
+   *  'unevaluable'`. Empty when the definition declares no `allowed`. */
+  unboundReads: string[];
+  /** Required input entries `initialFields` doesn't fill yet — the rows a
+   *  `startInstance` now would throw `RequiredFieldNotProvidedError` about. */
+  missingRequired: {
+    name: string;
+    type: FieldEntry["type"];
+  }[];
+  /** Supplied rows `startInstance` would reject before writing. Empty means
+   *  every row targets a workflow-scope, input-sourced declaration exactly
+   *  once. Render these as corrections, not an authorization verdict. */
+  invalidInitialFields: InitialFieldIssue[];
+}
+
 /** Type-mirror of {@link startFields}: how standalone runs of this workflow
  *  begin. Stored requires `kind` (desugar fills the `'interactive'` default);
  *  authoring may omit it — so each variant declares it. */
 declare type StartFields = {
   filter?: string | undefined;
+  allowed?: string | undefined;
 };
 
 /**
- * The caller-side half of the start-filter context — everything the
- * evaluating surface knows that the definition doesn't. Every member is
- * optional because the surfaces genuinely differ (a picker holds no
- * `initialFields`; a pure consumer may hold no clock): an absent binding
- * evaluates to GROQ null, so a filter reading it FAILS CLOSED rather than
- * guessing. The vars themselves are inventoried in `START_FILTER_VARS`.
+ * Project caller-supplied `initialFields` into the `$fields` map the
+ * start-allowed context binds: one key per declared `input`-sourced entry,
+ * resolved through {@link suppliedFieldFor} — the predicate can only ever see
+ * a value the input resolution would persist, and an undeclared supplied name
+ * never leaks in. Unsupplied (or null-supplied) entries stay unbound, so a
+ * read of one is GROQ null. Document references bind as their GDR envelopes
+ * (`$fields.<entry>.id` is the GDR URI).
  */
-export declare interface StartFilterScope {
-  /** The engine's tag partition — binds `$tag`. */
-  tag?: string | undefined;
-  /** ISO clock reading — binds `$now`. */
-  now?: string | undefined;
-  /**
-   * The candidate initialFields by entry name — binds `$fields`. Document
-   * references bind as their GDR envelopes (`$fields.<entry>.id` is the GDR
-   * URI). A surface that holds the caller's inputs (the Studio start control)
-   * supplies them; a per-doc picker does not.
-   */
-  fields?: Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
-  /**
-   * The WORKFLOW resource's dataset, for filters that read it (`*[...]` or a
-   * deref) — invoked lazily, only when `analyzeCondition` says the filter
-   * needs it. A slice is fine as long as it covers what filters scan;
-   * `definitionsForDocument` supplies EVERY instance of the tag, completed
-   * included — `*` carries no hidden predicate, so authors qualify in-flight
-   * themselves (`!defined(completedAt)`). Absent ⇒ a dataset-reading filter
-   * fails closed (this surface cannot see the dataset, so it cannot decide).
-   */
-  fetchDataset?: (() => Promise<unknown[]>) | undefined;
-}
+export declare function startFieldsParam(args: {
+  entryDefs: readonly FieldEntry[];
+  initialFields: readonly InitialFieldValue[];
+}): Record<string, unknown>;
 
 export declare interface StartInstanceArgs {
   /** The definition's `name` — which deployed workflow to instantiate. */
@@ -6256,10 +7210,11 @@ export declare interface StartInstanceArgs {
    * `initialValue` resolution for query/working-memory entries).
    *
    * To start an instance "about" a specific document, declare a
-   * `{ type: "doc.ref", name: "subject", initialValue: { type: "input" } }`
+   * `{ type: "subject", name: "subject", initialValue: { type: "input" } }`
    * entry on the workflow and pass
-   * `{ type: "doc.ref", name: "subject", value: { id, type } }` here.
-   * Conditions then read it as `$fields.subject`.
+   * `{ type: "subject", name: "subject", value: { id, type } }` here.
+   * Conditions then read it as `$fields.subject`, and document pickers key
+   * on the `subject` kind.
    */
   initialFields?: InitialFieldValue[];
   ancestors?: GlobalDocumentReference[];
@@ -6275,7 +7230,14 @@ export declare interface StartInstanceArgs {
    * entry, so all forms read back the same under `$context.<name>`.
    */
   context?: StartContext;
-  /** Caller-supplied id; auto-generated otherwise. */
+  /**
+   * Caller-supplied id; auto-generated otherwise (mint one with
+   * `instanceDocId`). This is start's idempotency key: a retry carrying the
+   * same id resumes the earlier attempt's outstanding commits instead of
+   * creating a duplicate — the per-instance request ledger can't cover the
+   * create (it lives on the instance document), so id identity is the rail.
+   * Inputs bind on the create only; a resume never re-reads them.
+   */
   instanceId?: string;
   /**
    * URL path on the supplied client where the engine fetches the
@@ -6329,6 +7291,55 @@ export declare function startKindOf(definition: {
     | undefined;
 }): StartKind;
 
+/**
+ * Thrown by `startInstance` when the definition's `start.allowed` predicate
+ * is not satisfied for the supplied `initialFields` — evaluated false, or
+ * GROQ null ("can't decide"; fail-closed, `insight.outcome` tells the two
+ * apart). Carries the full {@link ConditionInsight} so a consumer renders
+ * the same explanation the `evaluateStart` pre-flight would have shown.
+ * There is no override arg — like `fireAction`, you don't bypass a verdict,
+ * you change what produces it. Advisory under races like every engine-side
+ * check.
+ */
+export declare class StartNotAllowedError extends WorkflowError<"start-not-allowed"> {
+  readonly definition: string;
+  readonly insight: ConditionInsight;
+  constructor(args: { definition: string; insight: ConditionInsight });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Thrown when a start fails AFTER its create committed but BEFORE priming:
+ * the instance document exists, unprimed (see {@link isUnprimed}) — a
+ * genuinely failed start, but a RESUMABLE one. The error names the id so
+ * every surface's failure message can point at the retry rail: retrying
+ * `startInstance` with this `instanceId` finishes the start instead of
+ * creating a duplicate; aborting the instance discards it.
+ */
+export declare class StartNotPrimedError extends WorkflowError<"start-not-primed"> {
+  readonly instanceId: string;
+  constructor(args: { instanceId: string; cause: unknown });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Thrown when a start's first cascade fails AFTER the instance was created
+ * and primed: the run exists — stage entered, activities active, guards
+ * deployed — it just hasn't auto-advanced to a stable stage yet. Callers
+ * must not present this as a failed start: the workflow IS running, and a
+ * `tick` (or retrying `startInstance` with the same `instanceId`) resumes
+ * the settling.
+ */
+export declare class StartNotSettledError extends WorkflowError<"start-not-settled"> {
+  readonly instanceId: string;
+  /** The primed instance re-read after the cascade failure — absent when
+   *  that best-effort read also failed. */
+  readonly instance?: WorkflowInstance;
+  constructor(args: {
+    instanceId: string;
+    instance?: WorkflowInstance;
+    cause: unknown;
+  });
+}
+
 /**
  * Why a definition can't be started standalone, or `undefined` when it can.
  * Advisory — the engine itself does not refuse ({@link isStartableDefinition})
@@ -6339,6 +7350,43 @@ export declare function startRefusal(definition: {
   lifecycle?: WorkflowLifecycle | undefined;
 }): string | undefined;
 
+/**
+ * The caller-side half of the start contexts — everything the evaluating
+ * surface knows that the definition doesn't. Every member is optional
+ * because the surfaces genuinely differ (a pure consumer may hold no clock):
+ * except for the subject identity required by `$subjectHasInFlightInstance`,
+ * an absent binding evaluates each read of it to GROQ null, and where that
+ * null lands decides the verdict — a predicate that can't decide without
+ * the binding fails closed, while a count-of-matches clause over values
+ * every row stores passes vacuously (in GROQ null equals only null, so the
+ * unbound read matches no stored value). The vars themselves are
+ * inventoried in `START_FILTER_VARS` / `START_ALLOWED_VARS`; the caller's
+ * `$fields` map is NOT scope — `start.filter` never binds it, and
+ * `explainStartAllowed` takes it as its own argument.
+ */
+export declare interface StartScope {
+  /** The engine's tag partition — binds `$tag`. */
+  tag?: string | undefined;
+  /** ISO clock reading — binds `$now`. */
+  now?: string | undefined;
+  /** Resource-qualified identity of the prospective subject. Required when
+   *  `start.filter` reads `$subjectHasInFlightInstance`; unlike a loaded
+   *  document's bare `_id`, this stays collision-free across resources. */
+  subject?: GdrUri | undefined;
+  /**
+   * The WORKFLOW resource's dataset, for predicates that read it (`*[...]` or
+   * a deref) or `$subjectHasInFlightInstance` — invoked lazily only when the
+   * predicate needs it. A slice is fine as long as it covers what predicates
+   * scan; the engine verbs supply EVERY instance of the tag, completed
+   * included — `*` carries no hidden predicate, so authors qualify in-flight
+   * themselves (`!defined(completedAt)`). Absent ⇒ a dataset-reading filter
+   * fails closed (this surface cannot see the dataset, so it cannot decide),
+   * while a dataset-reading `allowed` THROWS — see
+   * {@link explainStartAllowed}.
+   */
+  fetchDataset?: (() => Promise<unknown[]>) | undefined;
+}
+
 /**
  * Declared editability of a field — the generic edit seam's gate. Default
  * (absent) is NOT editable: a field is op-only engine working memory unless the
@@ -7181,6 +8229,29 @@ declare type TransitionFields = {
  */
 export declare function tryParseGdr(uri: string): ParsedGdr | undefined;
 
+/**
+ * The `$fields` entries a `start.allowed` predicate reads that `fields` does
+ * not bind — the BINDABILITY rule every pre-flight surface applies before
+ * trusting a verdict over possibly-incomplete inputs. GROQ equality against
+ * a missing operand collapses to a definitive-looking answer (`null == x` is
+ * false, not null), so a verdict that read an unbound entry is PROVISIONAL in
+ * both directions: supplying the entry could overturn a refusal AND an
+ * approval. Non-empty ⇒ report "can't decide yet" instead of the collapsed
+ * verdict (the `evaluateStart` verb does; the Studio start control does).
+ *
+ * The GATE never consults this: at `startInstance` the supplied inputs are
+ * final, so evaluating over genuine absence — including rules that WANT it,
+ * like `!defined($fields.rush)` — is the correct semantics there.
+ *
+ * `fields` is a produced `$fields` map (`startFieldsParam`, or a surface's
+ * seed map) — producers bind only own keys with real values, so key presence
+ * IS the supplied-ness rule.
+ */
+export declare function unboundAllowedReads(
+  allowed: string,
+  fields: Record<string, unknown>,
+): string[];
+
 /**
  * The diagnose idiom shared by every consumer: each unsatisfied exit
  * transition with its insight summary. Consumers shape the result (the CLI
@@ -7221,27 +8292,13 @@ export declare function validateDefinition(
   definition: WorkflowDefinition,
 ): void;
 
-/**
- * Engine-scope tag — the environment partition primitive.
- *
- * Every engine operates against exactly one `tag` ("test", "prod", …).
- * The tag partitions definitions and instances within a single workflow
- * resource: `deploy(def, tag: "test")` and `deploy(def, tag: "prod")` are
- * separate deployed workflows with independent lifecycles, and every read
- * is scoped to one tag so test runs never surface in prod.
- *
- * The tag must be Sanity-ID-compatible since it's joined into IDs with
- * `.` — ASCII lowercase + digits + dashes, no leading dash, no dots. It
- * is also the ID prefix for every definition/instance the engine writes.
- *
- * There is no default. The tag selects which environment the engine reads
- * and writes, and the engine enforces nothing — so the partition is the
- * only thing keeping test runs out of prod. Every entry point
- * (`createEngine`, the CLI, the MCP server) requires it explicitly and
- * fails when it's absent rather than guessing an environment.
- */
 export declare function validateTag(tag: string): void;
 
+declare interface ValidationIssue {
+  path: ReadonlyArray<PropertyKey>;
+  message: string;
+}
+
 export declare type ValueExpr = ValueExprInternal;
 
 declare type ValueExprInternal =
@@ -7311,7 +8368,7 @@ export declare const wallClock: Clock;
 export declare interface WatchSet {
   /**
    * Docs to subscribe to — instance + ancestors + the docs named by
-   * `doc.ref`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref` field entries — deduped by
+   * `doc.ref`/`subject`/`doc.refs`/`release.ref` field entries — deduped by
    * `globalDocumentId`. Refs that aren't resource-qualified GDR URIs are
    * skipped (without a resource there's nothing to subscribe against).
    */
@@ -7386,18 +8443,36 @@ export declare const workflow: {
   /**
    * Spawn a new workflow instance from a deployed definition.
    *
-   * Throws only on its own input contract — a missing `required` input
-   * ({@link RequiredFieldNotProvidedError}) or a value that doesn't fit its
-   * declared kind. It does NOT evaluate the definition's `start.filter`: that
-   * is a read-side visibility rule (see `definitionsForDocument`), so a
-   * caller who supplies everything needed starts, full stop.
+   * Two gates run before anything is written, in order: the required-input
+   * check — a missing `required` input is a CALLER mistake
+   * ({@link RequiredFieldNotProvidedError}) — then the definition's
+   * `start.allowed` permission predicate, whose false/GROQ-null VERDICT
+   * throws {@link StartNotAllowedError} (declaring the expression is the
+   * opt-in; there is no override arg — pre-flight with `evaluateStart`).
+   * Per-value SHAPE validation fires during field resolution, after the
+   * verdict but still before any write. It does NOT evaluate `start.filter`:
+   * that is a read-side visibility rule (see `definitionsForDocument`).
    *
    * Pins the snapshot at start-time, seeds the `context` bag, and enters
    * the initial stage — fields resolve and every in-scope activity is
    * born active. Then cascades until stable, so the initial stage's
-   * `when: 'true'` triggers have fired by the time this returns. Starting
-   * always changes state (`changed: true`) — `cascaded` reports how far
-   * the new instance auto-advanced.
+   * `when: 'true'` triggers have fired by the time this returns.
+   *
+   * Start is three commits — create, prime, first cascade — and a supplied
+   * `instanceId` is its idempotency key across them. When that id already
+   * exists under this tag for the same start, the call RESUMES: input gates
+   * and field resolution are skipped (those values were pinned at create)
+   * and the outstanding commits run — the retry path for a start that
+   * failed after its create landed (see `isUnprimed`). Reusing an id for a
+   * DIFFERENT start (definition or explicit version mismatch) — or for an
+   * unfinished start that was aborted (a discarded start) — throws
+   * {@link ContractViolationError}. The mid-sequence failures are typed and
+   * carry the retry id: a prime failure after the create committed throws
+   * `StartNotPrimedError` (failed but resumable), and a cascade failure
+   * after a successful prime throws `StartNotSettledError` — the run exists
+   * by then and must not be reported as a failed start. `changed` is `true`
+   * on a fresh start and rev-derived on a resume; `cascaded` reports how far
+   * the instance auto-advanced.
    */
   startInstance: (
     rawArgs: Clocked<Telemetered<StartInstanceArgs & EngineScopeArgs>>,
@@ -7517,10 +8592,13 @@ export declare const workflow: {
    * filters see for a given instance.
    *
    * Hydrates the instance's snapshot (instance + ancestors + every doc
-   * declared by a `doc.ref` / `doc.refs` entry in scope), then
+   * declared by a `doc.ref` / `subject` / `doc.refs` entry in scope), then
    * evaluates the supplied GROQ in groq-js against that dataset. The
-   * rendered scope's instance-derived vars ({@link FILTER_SCOPE_VARS}) are
-   * auto-bound — ids in GDR URI form to match the snapshot's keying.
+   * caller-free rendered scope cascade gates evaluate in is auto-bound —
+   * the instance-derived vars ({@link FILTER_SCOPE_VARS}) with the open
+   * stage's overlay merged into `$fields`, `$assigned` at its caller-free
+   * `false`, plus the author's pre-evaluated `$<predicate>` booleans —
+   * ids in GDR URI form to match the snapshot's keying.
    *
    * Use when an external consumer (a UI, a debug pane, a test) wants
    * to ask "what does the engine see for this workflow right now?"
@@ -7600,7 +8678,8 @@ export declare const workflow: {
    * Inngest/durable worker, any server) that holds no instances in memory: a
    * document changed; which instances should it `tick`? The watch-set covers
    * the instance itself, its ancestors, and the docs named by
-   * `doc.ref` / `doc.refs` / `release.ref` field entries on the workflow scope
+   * `doc.ref` / `subject` / `doc.refs` / `release.ref` field entries on the
+   * workflow scope
    * **and the current stage** — so a hand-rolled GROQ over `fields[]` gets it
    * subtly wrong (misses stage-scope refs, `release.ref`, ancestors).
    *
@@ -7629,21 +8708,44 @@ export declare const workflow: {
    * deployed definition that APPLIES to `document` — what a start picker for
    * it should offer. Loads the latest deployed version of each definition
    * visible to the engine's tag and filters it through the derivation
-   * ({@link applicableDefinitions}): startable ∧ a required subject entry
+   * ({@link applicableDefinitions}): startable ∧ the `subject`-kind entry
    * accepts the doc's `_type` ∧ `start.filter` passes — evaluated in the
-   * start-filter context with `$tag`/`$definition`/`$now` bound and the
-   * tag's instance slice (completed included) backing dataset reads. A picker holds no
-   * `initialFields`, so `$fields` stays unbound here and a filter reading it
-   * fails closed (the definition is not surfaced).
+   * browse-time-pure start-filter context with `$tag`/`$definition`/`$now`
+   * bound and the tag's instance slice (completed included) backing dataset
+   * reads. `start.allowed` never participates — permission is a start-time
+   * question; pre-flight it with {@link workflow.evaluateStart}.
    *
    * Takes the LOADED candidate document, not a ref — applicability evaluates
-   * its content, under whatever perspective the caller read it with. Surfaces
-   * ALL matches (name ascending), no engine ranking — presenting a picker or
-   * auto-picking is consumer policy. Advisory like every engine-side check.
+   * its content, under whatever perspective the caller read it with. A
+   * resource-qualified `subject` accompanies it when a filter reads
+   * `$subjectHasInFlightInstance`; a bare document id cannot identify a
+   * cross-resource subject. Surfaces ALL matches (name ascending), no engine
+   * ranking — presenting a picker or auto-picking is consumer policy.
+   * Advisory like every engine-side check.
    */
   definitionsForDocument: (
     rawArgs: Clocked<DefinitionsForDocumentArgs & EngineScopeArgs>,
   ) => Promise<DeployedDefinition[]>;
+  /**
+   * Pre-flight the start gates for a definition + candidate `initialFields` —
+   * the read `startInstance` enforces, as a {@link StartEvaluation} a surface
+   * can render: `missingRequired` mirrors the input contract
+   * ({@link RequiredFieldNotProvidedError}'s rows), and `allowed` /
+   * `outcome` / `insight` carry the `start.allowed` verdict with its atom
+   * breakdown — disable the start affordance on a definitive `false` and say
+   * why. BINDABILITY-AWARE for partial mid-form inputs: when the predicate
+   * reads an entry `initialFields` doesn't supply, `outcome` is
+   * `'unevaluable'` and `unboundReads` names the entries ("fill these to
+   * decide") instead of the collapsed answer GROQ equality would give —
+   * this is the ONE deliberate divergence from the gate, where absence is
+   * final, not provisional (a rule like `!defined($fields.rush)` genuinely
+   * passes there when `rush` is absent). A definition with no
+   * `start.allowed` is vacuously allowed, exactly like the verb. Pure read;
+   * advisory under races — the enforcement moment is `startInstance` itself.
+   */
+  evaluateStart: (
+    rawArgs: Clocked<EvaluateStartArgs & EngineScopeArgs>,
+  ) => Promise<StartEvaluation>;
   /**
    * Permission helpers — Sanity ACL grants evaluated against documents
    * via GROQ. Used by `workflow.evaluate` to soft-gate actions when the
@@ -7705,6 +8807,12 @@ export declare interface WorkflowAdminOverrideData extends InstanceScopedEventDa
   changed: boolean;
 }
 
+/** The whole-definition rollup: every stage must progress, so the workflow
+ *  verdict conjoins the stage verdicts. */
+export declare interface WorkflowAutonomy extends AutonomyAnswer {
+  stages: StageAutonomy[];
+}
+
 export declare interface WorkflowClient {
   fetch: <T = unknown>(
     query: string,
@@ -7854,7 +8962,12 @@ export declare interface WorkflowCommitOptions {
   tag?: string;
 }
 
-export declare type WorkflowConfig = v.InferOutput<typeof WorkflowConfigSchema>;
+export declare type WorkflowConfig = Omit<
+  ParsedWorkflowConfig,
+  "deployments"
+> & {
+  deployments: WorkflowDeployment[];
+};
 
 declare const WorkflowConfigSchema: v.ObjectSchema<
   {
@@ -7869,6 +8982,10 @@ declare const WorkflowConfigSchema: v.ObjectSchema<
                   v.NonEmptyAction<string, "must not be empty">,
                 ]
               >;
+              readonly expectedMinReaderModel: v.OptionalSchema<
+                v.CustomSchema<2, undefined>,
+                undefined
+              >;
               readonly tag: v.SchemaWithPipe<
                 readonly [
                   v.StringSchema<undefined>,
@@ -8130,6 +9247,7 @@ declare const WorkflowConfigSchema: v.ObjectSchema<
         v.MinLengthAction<
           {
             name: string;
+            expectedMinReaderModel?: 2 | undefined;
             tag: string;
             workflowResource:
               | {
@@ -8190,6 +9308,7 @@ declare const WorkflowConfigSchema: v.ObjectSchema<
         v.CheckAction<
           {
             name: string;
+            expectedMinReaderModel?: 2 | undefined;
             tag: string;
             workflowResource:
               | {
@@ -8351,7 +9470,12 @@ declare const WorkflowDefinitionSchema: v.GenericSchema<
   WorkflowFields<FieldEntry, Stage, StartBlock>
 >;
 
-export declare type WorkflowDeployment = WorkflowConfig["deployments"][number];
+export declare type WorkflowDeployment = Omit<
+  ParsedWorkflowDeployment,
+  "expectedMinReaderModel"
+> & {
+  expectedMinReaderModel: typeof DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER;
+};
 
 export declare const WorkflowEffectCompleted: WorkflowTelemetryEvent<WorkflowEffectCompletedData>;
 
@@ -8399,23 +9523,31 @@ export declare abstract class WorkflowError<
 
 export declare type WorkflowErrorKind =
   | "action-disabled"
+  | "start-not-allowed"
   | "edit-field-denied"
   | "mutation-guard-denied"
   | "action-params-invalid"
   | "effect-ops-invalid"
   | "effect-outputs-invalid"
   | "required-field-not-provided"
+  | "initial-fields-invalid"
   | "workflow-state-diverged"
   | "partial-guard-deploy"
+  | "start-not-primed"
+  | "start-not-settled"
   | "concurrent-fire-action"
   | "concurrent-edit-field"
   | "concurrent-complete-effect"
   | "cascade-limit"
   | "field-value-shape"
+  | "ref-resource-undeclared"
   | "model-version-ahead"
+  | "reader-model-acknowledgement"
+  | "persisted-doc-shape"
   | "instance-not-found"
   | "definition-not-found"
   | "definition-in-use"
+  | "spawn-contracts-invalid"
   | "effect-not-found"
   | "missing-effect-handler"
   | "contract-violation";
@@ -8443,6 +9575,14 @@ export declare interface WorkflowEvaluation {
    * Empty when no condition reads a field.
    */
   fieldInsights: FieldInsight[];
+  /**
+   * The whole definition's causal-autonomy rollup: per activity, per stage,
+   * and workflow-wide — will each level resolve without a caller, and what
+   * does it wait on. Static (no instance state), stamped here so every
+   * consumer reads one derivation. Spawn children are not resolved at
+   * evaluation time, so their legs report `conditional`.
+   */
+  autonomy: WorkflowAutonomy;
 }
 
 export declare interface WorkflowFetchOptions {
@@ -8472,6 +9612,12 @@ export declare interface WorkflowFieldEditedData extends InstanceScopedEventData
 
 /** Type-mirror of {@link workflowFields}, parameterised over field/stage/start. */
 declare type WorkflowFields<TField, TStage, TStart> = {
+  /**
+   * Lake-id-segment grammar (`^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*$`, deploy-enforced): the
+   * name interpolates into every deployed document id
+   * (`<tag>.<name>.v<version>`). Stable identity — instances pin to it,
+   * subworkflows resolve by it.
+   */
   name: string;
   title: string;
   description?: string | undefined;
@@ -8497,9 +9643,9 @@ export declare interface WorkflowInstance extends SanityDocument {
   modelVersion?: number;
   /**
    * Reader floor — the oldest engine data model that can safely interpret
-   * this document (see {@link DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER}). Written alongside
-   * {@link WorkflowInstance.modelVersion}; additive model changes leave it,
-   * only breaking ones raise it.
+   * this document. Derived from features actually present, bounded by
+   * {@link DATA_MODEL_MIN_READER}, and written alongside
+   * {@link WorkflowInstance.modelVersion}. Full persists never lower it.
    */
   minReaderModel?: number;
   /**
@@ -8606,6 +9752,13 @@ export declare interface WorkflowInstance extends SanityDocument {
 
 export declare const WorkflowInstanceAborted: WorkflowTelemetryEvent<WorkflowAdminOverrideData>;
 
+/**
+ * The persisted instance document, root to leaf. Reused verbatim by every
+ * engine read boundary through {@link parseInstanceDocument}; the
+ * model-surface gate derives its shape ledger from this schema.
+ */
+export declare const WorkflowInstanceSchema: v.GenericSchema<WorkflowInstance>;
+
 export declare const WorkflowInstanceStarted: WorkflowTelemetryEvent<WorkflowInstanceStartedData>;
 
 export declare interface WorkflowInstanceStartedData extends InstanceScopedEventData {
@@ -8800,10 +9953,11 @@ export declare interface WorkflowTransaction {
   /**
    * Queue a document delete. Deliberately a transaction-only capability —
    * the top-level client surface stays delete-free so no engine code path
-   * can casually remove documents; the sole consumer is `deleteDefinition`
-   * housekeeping (definition docs + orphaned guard docs). Both the real
-   * `@sanity/client` Transaction and the test fake's TransactionHandle
-   * carry this shape.
+   * can casually remove documents. Engine-side consumers are guard retraction
+   * and `deleteDefinition` housekeeping; outside the engine the CLI's `nuke`
+   * reset deletes raw engine-owned docs through it. Both the real
+   * `@sanity/client` Transaction and the test fake's TransactionHandle carry
+   * this shape.
    */
   delete: (id: string) => WorkflowTransaction;
   /**