Execution integrity
Source readback: the missing step in agent execution
Between dispatch and truth there is a gap. Readback is the step that closes it, and most agent runtimes do not have one.
Published 16 July 2026 · 6 min read
Where the gap opens
Networks drop responses after the write lands. Connectors retry. Queues deliver twice. Each of these produces the same observable at the agent layer — an ambiguous result — and each has a different correct resolution.
Without a reservation and an idempotency key, the safest available response to ambiguity is to do nothing, which is exactly what an optimistic runtime will not do.
What readback actually checks
Declare the expected state before dispatch: a digest, a balance, a status, a count. After the bounded attempt, query the designated source of truth and compare. Equality yields verified. Inequality yields unverified or compensation due — never a silent success.
Receipts make it inspectable
A governed receipt records action, target, evidence, authority, reservation, dispatch, source readback, and final state. Auditors do not want a log stream; they want eight fields that answer who permitted what, and what the system says happened.