# Cron and n8n advisory classifier contract

Status: dry-run specification and integration examples
Scope: cron and n8n alert/event classification through the OpenVINO advisory gateway
Gateway: `http://172.19.0.1:18830` from `n8n-agent` and host-local cron on the current bridge-bound service. Override `NPU_ADVISORY_GATEWAY_URL=http://127.0.0.1:18830` only if a localhost-bound instance is explicitly running.

## Authority boundary

This contract is advisory only. It may recommend one of `suppress`, `log`, `summarize`, or `escalate`, but it must not perform the action itself.

Every integration must preserve these authority flags:

```json
{
  "may_route": false,
  "may_write_memory": false,
  "may_send_external": false,
  "may_process_private_dirs": false,
  "may_execute_tools": false,
  "may_restart_services": false
}
```

Allowed side effects in dry-run mode:

- read an explicit cron/n8n event payload;
- call the advisory gateway classifier/generator;
- write compact local stdout or n8n execution logs;
- store metadata-only advisory counters if an existing log sink already does so.

Forbidden without separate explicit approval:

- outbound sends/pages/Discord/Telegram/email;
- service restarts, command execution, or tool calls;
- Hermes/Atlas routing changes;
- memory writes;
- broad private-directory processing;
- vector database mutation or reindexing.

## Input event envelope

Cron and n8n producers should normalize events before classification. Keep this input small and avoid raw private payloads.

```json
{
  "schema": "cron_n8n_event_v1",
  "trace_id": "cron:service-health:2026-06-05T14:30:00Z",
  "source": "cron",
  "workflow": "npu-service-health",
  "event_kind": "health_check",
  "severity": "warning",
  "subject": "openvino-reranker health check repeated warning",
  "summary": "Two consecutive health probes reported timeout, no restart attempted.",
  "dedupe_key": "service:openvino-reranker:timeout",
  "observed_at": "2026-06-05T14:30:00Z",
  "stale_after_s": 900,
  "action_requested": false,
  "dry_run": true
}
```

Field rules:

- `source`: `cron` or `n8n`.
- `workflow`: compact job/workflow name, not a private URL.
- `subject` + `summary`: the only text sent to the classifier.
- `dedupe_key`: stable non-secret key for duplicate detection by the caller.
- `stale_after_s`: caller-side freshness gate; stale events should not page.
- `action_requested`: true only when an upstream job is asking a human/Atlas to consider action.
- `dry_run`: must remain true for this phase.

## Gateway classifier call

The current gateway `/v1/advisory/classify` accepts explicit text and wraps the classifier response in `openvino_advisory_v1` with NPU proof and authority fields.

Host cron example for the current bridge-bound service:

```bash
curl -fsS http://172.19.0.1:18830/v1/advisory/classify \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "trace_id":"cron:service-health:sample",
    "text":"source=cron workflow=npu-service-health severity=warning kind=health_check subject=openvino-reranker repeated timeout summary=Two consecutive health probes reported timeout; no restart attempted; dry_run=true"
  }' | jq '{schema, mode, trace_id, npu_ok: .npu_proof.ok, npu_delta: .npu_proof.npu_busy_delta_us, authority, labels: .result.labels}'
```

n8n Docker-bridge example:

```bash
curl -fsS http://172.19.0.1:18830/v1/advisory/classify \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"trace_id":"n8n:swarm-health:sample","text":"source=n8n workflow=swarm-health-watchdog severity=critical kind=health_check subject=multiple services unhealthy summary=Health probe failed for three services; dry_run=true"}' \
  | jq '{mode, npu_ok: .npu_proof.ok, npu_delta: .npu_proof.npu_busy_delta_us, may_send_external: .authority.may_send_external}'
```

NPU proof gate: an HTTP 200 is not enough. Treat the classifier as NPU-backed only when `.npu_proof.ok == true` and `.npu_proof.npu_busy_delta_us > 0` for real inference.

## Advisory decision envelope

Cron/n8n wrappers should map the gateway response plus caller-side freshness/deduplication state into this compact decision envelope:

```json
{
  "schema": "cron_n8n_advisory_decision_v1",
  "trace_id": "cron:service-health:2026-06-05T14:30:00Z",
  "source": "cron",
  "workflow": "npu-service-health",
  "dry_run": true,
  "recommendation": "summarize",
  "classification": "action_required",
  "confidence": 0.84,
  "reason_codes": ["warning_or_high_urgency", "fresh_event", "not_duplicate"],
  "npu_proof": {"required": true, "ok": true, "npu_busy_delta_us": 1234},
  "authority": {
    "may_route": false,
    "may_write_memory": false,
    "may_send_external": false,
    "may_process_private_dirs": false,
    "may_execute_tools": false,
    "may_restart_services": false
  },
  "next_gate": "human_or_atlas_review_required_before_any_side_effect"
}
```

Decision fields:

- `recommendation`: `suppress`, `log`, `summarize`, or `escalate`.
- `classification`: `duplicate`, `stale`, `no_op`, or `action_required` for v1 examples.
- `confidence`: use classifier urgency/category confidence when available; otherwise use a conservative wrapper score.
- `reason_codes`: compact machine-readable rationale, not raw payload text.
- `next_gate`: always a review/approval gate before side effects.

## Recommendation mapping

This is the v1 dry-run mapping. It is intentionally conservative and caller-side; the NPU classifier advises, the wrapper chooses a recommendation, and humans/Atlas retain authority.

| Caller/classifier signal | Classification | Recommendation | Dry-run behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same `dedupe_key` observed inside caller cooldown | `duplicate` | `suppress` | Log compact duplicate count only. Do not send. |
| `observed_at + stale_after_s` is older than now | `stale` | `log` | Log stale event and age. Do not summarize/page. |
| Severity low/normal, no action requested, classifier urgency low/normal | `no_op` | `log` | Keep normal execution log only. |
| Warning/high urgency or action requested, NPU proof ok | `action_required` | `summarize` | Draft a local summary for review; no send/restart. |
| Critical severity or repeated failures and NPU proof ok | `action_required` | `escalate` | Recommend escalation to Atlas/human; wrapper still must not send/restart. |
| NPU proof missing or false | `action_required` or caller-specific | `log` | Log `npu_proof_failed`; do not claim NPU-backed advice. |

## Required examples

### Duplicate -> suppress

Input summary:

```json
{"source":"cron","workflow":"npu-service-health","severity":"warning","dedupe_key":"service:reranker:timeout","summary":"Same timeout as prior run inside cooldown.","dry_run":true}
```

Decision:

```json
{"classification":"duplicate","recommendation":"suppress","reason_codes":["dedupe_key_in_cooldown"],"next_gate":"none_in_dry_run"}
```

### Stale -> log

Input summary:

```json
{"source":"n8n","workflow":"swarm-health-watchdog","severity":"warning","observed_at":"older_than_stale_after","stale_after_s":900,"summary":"Delayed webhook replay for an old probe.","dry_run":true}
```

Decision:

```json
{"classification":"stale","recommendation":"log","reason_codes":["event_stale"],"next_gate":"none_in_dry_run"}
```

### No-op -> log

Input summary:

```json
{"source":"cron","workflow":"backup-check","severity":"normal","action_requested":false,"summary":"Backup completed and all expected files are present.","dry_run":true}
```

Decision:

```json
{"classification":"no_op","recommendation":"log","reason_codes":["normal_severity","no_action_requested"],"next_gate":"none_in_dry_run"}
```

### Action required -> summarize/escalate

Input summary:

```json
{"source":"n8n","workflow":"swarm-health-watchdog","severity":"critical","action_requested":true,"summary":"RAG and embeddings health failed repeatedly; no restart attempted.","dry_run":true}
```

Decision:

```json
{"classification":"action_required","recommendation":"escalate","reason_codes":["critical_severity","action_requested","fresh_event"],"next_gate":"human_or_atlas_review_required_before_any_side_effect"}
```

## Optional local summary draft

If the decision is `summarize` or `escalate`, a wrapper may request a bounded draft from `/v1/advisory/generate`:

```bash
curl -fsS http://172.19.0.1:18830/v1/advisory/generate \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"trace_id":"cron:service-health:sample","job":"summary","input":"Health check warning: openvino-reranker timed out twice; no restart attempted.","max_new_tokens":48}' \
  | jq '{mode, trace_id, npu_ok: .npu_proof.ok, authority, draft: .result.draft_text, final_authority: .result.final_authority}'
```

The draft remains non-authoritative. It must not be automatically sent externally or written to memory.

## n8n integration pattern

Recommended node chain for dry-run workflows:

```text
Schedule/Webhook/Failure Trigger
  -> Set normalized event envelope
  -> HTTP Request POST /v1/advisory/classify
  -> Code node maps decision envelope
  -> IF node on recommendation
      suppress/log: execution log only
      summarize/escalate: optional local summary draft, then execution log only
```

The IF node must not connect to outbound messaging, service restart, memory write, or Hermes routing nodes until a separate approval changes the authority boundary.

See `../examples/n8n-advisory-dry-run-fragment.json` for a sanitized node fragment.

## Cron integration pattern

Cron jobs should call a wrapper script that prints one compact line and exits successfully unless the wrapper itself fails. The wrapper should not page or restart.

Example crontab shape:

```text
*/15 * * * * /home/will/lab/swarm/openvino-advisory-gateway/examples/cron-advisory-dry-run.sh npu-service-health warning health_check "openvino-reranker timeout twice" "service:openvino-reranker:timeout" >> /home/will/.local/state/npu-advisory/cron.log 2>&1
```

See `../examples/cron-advisory-dry-run.sh`.

## Verification checklist

- Gateway health is reachable on the intended interface.
- Classifier response includes `schema=openvino_advisory_v1`.
- `.authority.*` flags are all false for side-effect authority.
- `.npu_proof.ok` is true and `npu_busy_delta_us > 0` before claiming NPU-backed advice.
- Decision envelope is compact and contains only booleans/counts/paths/deltas/gates.
- Duplicate/stale/no-op/action-required examples remain dry-run only.
- No n8n workflow activation, outbound send, service restart, memory write, routing change, private-dir broadening, or vector DB mutation occurred.