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Issue, assert, or answer an obligation

record_obligation

Record one act in an obligation exchange—issue, assert, or respond—to move a committed agreement through performance, acceptance, and settlement.

Instructions

Record one act in the obligation exchange. Three acts, in this order, each signed by a different party, and each carrying that party's own allow decision from verify_mandate.

act=issue: the obligee derives an obligation from a committed agreement and activates it. Needs agreement_id, obligor, obligee, term_path, quantity, unit_code, due_condition, and a decision the obligee obtained for {"action_type": "obligation.activated", "transaction_id": ..., "counterparty_organization_id": <the obligor's org>, "proposed_terms": {"core": {"quantity": ..., "unit_code": ..., "total": }}, "agreement_id": ...}. The transaction moves to in_performance.

act=assert: the obligor asserts it performed. Needs obligation_id, obligor, obligee, asserted_quantity, at least one evidence entry, and a decision the obligor obtained for action_type performance.declared naming the obligee as counterparty, the asserted quantity and unit as proposed_terms, and the obligation_id. An assertion with no evidence is refused with A202-OBLIGATION-ASSERTION-UNEVIDENCED. The transaction moves to acceptance_pending.

act=respond: the obligee accepts or rejects, bound to the exact assertion hash. Needs assertion_id, responder, counterparty, response_type, and a decision the responder obtained for action_type acceptance.granted or acceptance.rejected naming the counterparty and the assertion_id. A response signed by anyone but the obligee is refused with A202-OBLIGATION-RESPONSE-UNAUTHORIZED; accepting less than is owed without naming a remainder obligation is refused with A202-OBLIGATION-REMAINDER-MISSING. Accept moves the transaction to settlement_pending, reject back to in_performance, where the obligor may assert again.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
actYesWhich act to record. Which other fields are required depends on it.
obligeeNoact=issue and act=assert. The party owed to.
obligorNoact=issue and act=assert. The party that owes.
decisionYesThe result verify_mandate returned for this exact act, passed through unchanged. It must be an allow, made under this party's own mandate, over the act document this tool builds, and made within the last 60 seconds. Where it does not match, the refusal detail states the exact proposed_action to verify. The acting party is the obligee for issue, the obligor for assert, and the responder for respond.
evidenceNoact=assert. At least one entry. Each becomes a signed evidence object the assertion references by hash.
quantityNoact=issue. Base-10 string of how much is owed.
responderNoact=respond. Must be the obligee named on the obligation.
term_pathNoact=issue. The owed term, addressed under $.terms.core or $.terms.profile_terms. The obligation points at the agreement's terms and never restates them, so drift shows up as a hash mismatch.
unit_codeNoact=issue. UN/ECE Recommendation 20 common code, matching the terms.
reason_codeNoact=respond with reject. The list is closed and anything else is refused.
agreement_idNoact=issue. The committed agreement the obligation derives from, prefixed agr_.
assertion_idNoact=respond. The assertion being answered, prefixed prf_.
counterpartyNoact=respond. The other party, which countersigns the event.
commitment_idNoact=issue. Optional. Defaults to the agreement's first commitment.
considerationNoact=issue. The money attached to this obligation as currency and amount, or null.
due_conditionNoact=issue. One of due_at_time with at, due_on_event with act_ref or evidence_type, due_on_discharge with obligation_id, or all_of with at least two of those. Anything else is refused with A202-OBLIGATION-CONDITION-UNKNOWN.
obligation_idNoact=assert. The obligation being performed, prefixed obl_.
response_typeNoact=respond.
rules_versionNoThe rule set version the record is written under. Defaults to 1.3.
accepted_quantityNoact=respond with accept. Defaults to the asserted quantity. Below what is owed, a remainder_obligation_id is required.
asserted_quantityNoact=assert. Base-10 string of how much was performed.
remainder_obligation_idNoact=respond with a short acceptance. The obligation carrying the shortfall, so it stays in the record.
Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

The description richly discloses state transitions (in_performance, acceptance_pending, settlement_pending), failure modes with error codes (A202-OBLIGATION-ASSERTION-UNEVIDENCED, A202-OBLIGATION-RESPONSE-UNAUTHORIZED), and constraints on evidence and decisions. This goes far beyond the minimal annotations (all hints false) and provides significant operational detail. No contradiction with annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is well-structured with an intro and three clearly labeled act blocks, following a consistent pattern of required fields then outcome/state transition. It is long but every sentence conveys necessary conditional information; however, it could arguably be tightened without losing value.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a tool with no output schema and high complexity, the description covers all essential selection and invocation aspects: prerequisites, per-act requirements, error handling, and resulting states. A minor gap is not stating the return value or how to reference the resulting obligation/assertion record, which would be expected when no output schema exists.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters5/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Although schema already documents all parameters at 100% coverage, the description adds crucial conditional logic: which fields are required per act, how the decision's proposed_action must align, and how accepted_quantity below owed interacts with remainder_obligation_id. That interplay is not visible from schema alone.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The opening sentence 'Record one act in the obligation exchange' clearly states the verb and resource. It then breaks down three distinct acts (issue, assert, respond) with specific purposes, distinguishing itself from sibling tools like create_agreement or verify_mandate.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description provides explicit preconditions: each act must carry a decision obtained from verify_mandate, and identifies required fields per act. It also explains when each act applies (issue derives from agreement, assert follows performance, respond accepts/rejects). However, it does not explicitly mention when not to use this tool or contrast with sibling alternatives like issue_approval, so it stops short of full alternatives coverage.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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