> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.rkat.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Governance

> Release candidate tracking, traceability matrix, validation, and governance state contracts.

MobKit includes a governance system for tracking release candidates through implementation. The governance layer validates that all contracts are traced, documented, and verified before a release.

## Governance state

The runtime declares its governance state as a string. The primary state for in-progress work:

```
"realignment_in_progress"
```

`validate_governance_state` verifies the state is recognized:

```rust theme={null}
validate_governance_state("realignment_in_progress")?;
```

## Traceability statuses

Every contract or feature in MobKit carries a traceability status. The strict status set used for validation:

| Status        | Meaning                                            |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| `TYPED`       | Contract has Rust types defined                    |
| `WIRED`       | Types are connected to runtime paths               |
| `VALIDATED`   | Integration tests pass                             |
| `PROVISIONAL` | Implementation exists but awaiting full validation |
| `MISSING`     | Not yet implemented                                |
| `DEFERRED`    | Explicitly deferred to a future release            |
| `STUBBED`     | Placeholder implementation for testing             |

### Validation

```rust theme={null}
validate_traceability_statuses(&["TYPED", "WIRED", "VALIDATED"])?;
```

All provided statuses must be in the `STRICT_TRACEABILITY_STATUSES` set. Unknown statuses produce a `GovernanceValidationError`.

## Baseline verification

The optional source-baseline check can verify that the required Meerkat API
symbols are available in a local Meerkat checkout. Supply the checkout
explicitly, or set `MEERKAT_REPO`; there is no machine-specific default:

```rust theme={null}
use std::path::Path;

let report: BaselineVerificationReport =
    verify_meerkat_baseline_symbols(Some(Path::new("/path/to/meerkat")))?;
```

The baseline check ensures that:

* Required Meerkat crates are present
* Expected API symbols are exported
* Version compatibility is maintained

### Required symbols

The `REQUIRED_MEERKAT_SYMBOLS` constant lists every Meerkat API entry point that MobKit depends on. Missing symbols produce a `BaselineVerificationError`.

## Governance contracts

`validate_governance_contracts` runs the full governance validation suite:

1. Governance state validation
2. Traceability status validation
3. Baseline symbol verification

This is available as a standalone binary (`governance_check`) for CI integration.

## Governance validation errors

| Error                        | Cause                                  |
| ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| `InvalidState`               | Governance state not recognized        |
| `InvalidTraceabilityStatus`  | Status not in strict set               |
| `BaselineVerificationFailed` | Required Meerkat symbols missing       |
| `ContractNotTraced`          | Contract lacks traceability annotation |

## CLI tools

MobKit provides standalone binaries for governance checks:

| Binary             | Purpose                                    |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------ |
| `baseline_check`   | Verify Meerkat prerequisites               |
| `governance_check` | Validate governance state and traceability |
| `mobkit_gateway`   | JSON-RPC gateway                           |
| `mcp_fixture`      | MCP test fixture                           |

These can be run in CI pipelines to enforce governance before merge.

## See also

* [Decisions](/mobkit/reference/decisions) -- runtime policy enforcement
* [Configuration](/mobkit/reference/configuration) -- release metadata validation
* [Architecture](/mobkit/reference/architecture) -- crate structure