# KIFF

> KIFF is the open-source operational foundation for agentic systems: the layer that lets you put an AI agent, human, or service to work on consequential actions while you keep control of what each is allowed to do. You define an operational domain once (its entities, states, actions, authority, approvals, and evidence), and any actor proposes actions against that contract. The runtime checks state, permissions, parameters, and approvals against the system's real state, returns a decision before execution, and records a tamper-evident receipt. It is what lets you hand an agent the routes that move money or change state and stay in control.

KIFF is a framework first (MIT, Go) with hosted and authoring layers around it. Build the operational domain once and connect any agent; replace the agent without rewiring the system. The framework is the kernel you can embed with zero cloud; KIFF Cloud runs the same runtime as a hosted HTTP contract; KIFF Studio authors the domain; and kiff-guard is the on-ramp for agents you already run.

## Key facts

- Open source: the KIFF Framework is MIT-licensed, written in Go.
- What it is: a coordination and runtime layer — events, state, decisions, action contracts, approvals, and a replayable, tamper-evident audit trail. It is not a workflow engine, an agent platform, a model gateway, or an app builder; it composes with those.
- Core property: a decision is made before a consequential action executes, and callers cannot self-approve — the runtime is the sole authority that grants execution.
- Product layers: Framework (the kernel) · Studio (author the domain) · Cloud (the hosted runtime over HTTP) · kiff-guard (observe agents you already run, then migrate the risky actions in).
- The domain is the reusable unit; agents are meant to be replaceable.

## Core

- [KIFF](https://kiff.dev/): The operational foundation for agentic systems — define the domain once, connect any agent, decide before execution.
- [Why KIFF](https://kiff.dev/why): The conviction behind KIFF in plain language — the trust ceiling under every agent that's allowed to act, and the principles (open source, verifiable proof, humans keep authority) the product is built on.
- [Whitepaper](https://kiff.dev/whitepaper): The framework's design and principles.
- [Proof — the boundary governing a real action](https://kiff.dev/proof): A state-aware runtime stopping a duplicate $10,000 payment, with a replayable decision trail.
- [Pricing](https://kiff.dev/pricing): KIFF Cloud pricing.

## The framework (open source, MIT, Go)

- [KIFF Framework on GitHub](https://github.com/kiff/kiff): The protocol kernel — events, state, decisions, actions, approvals, audit. Embed it in your backend; useful with zero cloud. Ships a CLI to scaffold and verify domains.
- [Quickstart — ship one governed action](https://kiff.dev/docs/quickstart): Scaffold a runnable refund domain with `kiff new -scenario refund`, run it, and watch the boundary allow the good refund, hold the risky one for a human, and refuse the duplicate. Local, MIT, no account.
- [What KIFF is](https://kiff.dev/docs/what-kiff-is): Scope and non-goals.
- [Concepts](https://kiff.dev/docs/concepts): How the coordination loop works.
- [Domains](https://kiff.dev/docs/domains): The reusable operational contract.
- [Decisions](https://kiff.dev/docs/decisions): The proposal-to-decision model.
- [Receipts and proof](https://kiff.dev/docs/receipts-and-proof): Tamper-evident evidence that the boundary ran.
- [Protected controls](https://kiff.dev/docs/protected-controls): The self-approval trust boundary.
- [What's real today](https://kiff.dev/docs/whats-real-today): An honest account of what ships now.

## kiff-guard (the on-ramp for existing agents)

- [kiff-guard on GitHub](https://github.com/kiff/kiff-guard): Attach to your agent's tool calls, observe what it does, then migrate the risky actions onto the framework. Python and TypeScript, MIT, with adapters for common agent frameworks.
- [Connect an existing agent](https://kiff.dev/docs/connect-an-agent): Attach the guard in observe mode, watch what your agent does, derive a starter domain from real traffic, then enforce — no rewrite.
- [Domain skill for coding agents](https://kiff.dev/skills/kiff-domains.md): A portable SKILL.md a coding assistant (Cursor, Kiro, Codex, Claude Code, and more) installs so it authors and extends your kiff.yaml domains against the real grammar — states, actions, approvals, permissions, executors. Fetch with one curl.
- Adapter guides: [Agno](https://kiff.dev/docs/agno), [LangGraph](https://kiff.dev/docs/langgraph), [Hermes](https://kiff.dev/docs/hermes), [OpenAI Agents](https://kiff.dev/docs/openai-agents), [Google ADK](https://kiff.dev/docs/google-adk), [Pydantic AI](https://kiff.dev/docs/pydantic-ai), [Strands](https://kiff.dev/docs/strands), [Haystack](https://kiff.dev/docs/haystack), [Microsoft Agent Framework](https://kiff.dev/docs/microsoft-agent-framework), [LlamaIndex](https://kiff.dev/docs/llamaindex).

## KIFF Cloud (hosted runtime) and Studio (authoring)

- [KIFF Cloud](https://app.kiff.dev): The KIFF runtime, hosted — agents and services call it over HTTP to propose an action and get a decision before execution, with approvals, signed receipts, and a governance evidence view.
- [KIFF API](https://api.kiff.dev): The headless runtime contract — POST a proposal, get a decision before execution.
- [Cloud quickstart](https://kiff.dev/docs/cloud-quickstart): Govern one action over HTTP — seed a starter domain, POST one proposal, watch KIFF refuse a refund on an unpaid order, then see the domain behind the decision. No Go, no framework, no domain to author by hand.
- [Five-line integration](https://kiff.dev/docs/five-line-integration): Put one proposal call in front of an existing consequential function; your code stays the executor.
- [Govern](https://kiff.dev/docs/govern): Decisions, receipts, approvals, and verifiability.

## Legal and trust

- [Security](https://kiff.dev/security)
- [Privacy](https://kiff.dev/privacy)
- [Terms](https://kiff.dev/terms)
- [Data Processing Addendum](https://kiff.dev/legal/dpa)
- [EU AI Act](https://kiff.dev/ai-act)

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://kiff.dev/llms-full.txt): The full text of the docs and whitepaper concatenated into one file, for single-fetch ingestion.

_Last updated: 2026-07-16._