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Gestalt

API: Zeitgestalt, tensions, closure

Capability state: zeitgestalt.query is staging-durable; tension.query is fixture-rehearsed; closure.surface is staging-durable. No real explanatory engine yet — see 022 gap report item 14.

The Zeitgestalt and tension operations let you ask why the company is in the state it’s in, query open tensions, and inspect / open closure surfaces.

zeitgestalt.query

Section titled “zeitgestalt.query”

Request receipt-backed inquiry over governed worldline.

POST /v1/zeitgestalt/query
state: staging-durable
sdk_role: request receipt-backed inquiry over governed worldline
request_record: CloudZeitgestaltQueryRequest
responses: zeitgestalt_answer | refusal | receipt

Request

Section titled “Request”
interface ZeitgestaltQueryRequest {
  tenant?: GestaltRef;
  reality?: GestaltRef;       // record or projected
  question?: string;          // e.g. "why can March not close?"
  entitlement?: GestaltRef;
}

Response

Section titled “Response”
{
  "operation": "zeitgestalt.query",
  "outcome": "verified",
  "body": {
    "receiptBacked": true
  },
  "receipt": {
    "ref": "receipt:fixture_zeitgestalt_query",
    "outcome": "verified",
    "reasons": ["Zeitgestalt fixture answer returned"],
    "fixture": true
  }
}

Refused with proof_entitlement_missing if no entitlement is supplied for queries that produce disclosable answers.

What a real Zeitgestalt answer will look like

Section titled “What a real Zeitgestalt answer will look like”

Today the body returns receiptBacked: true only. When the explanatory engine lands, the answer will walk:

reality
query_time
schema_version
authority_epoch
lens
source_atoms          which atoms support the answer
capability_path       which capabilities were cited
evidence              which evidence backs the source atoms
standing              who acted under what
effects               what changed because of the cited atoms
closure_surfaces      what is open or resolved
tensions              what conflicts remain
receipts              receipt refs for verification

The output is structured before it is pretty. An LLM may render the prose; the structured answer is not an LLM invention.

SDK example

Section titled “SDK example”
const why = await client.zeitgestaltQuery({
  tenant: "tenant_node:rheinwerk_calibration",
  reality: "reality:record",
  question: "why can March not close?",
  entitlement: "entitlement:fixture_zeitgestalt",
});

tension.query

Section titled “tension.query”

Query active tensions through the membrane.

POST /v1/tensions/query
state: fixture-rehearsed
sdk_role: query active tensions through membrane
request_record: CloudTensionQueryRequest
responses: tensions | receipt

Request

Section titled “Request”
interface TensionQueryRequest {
  tenant?: GestaltRef;
  reality?: GestaltRef;
  // optional filters: tags, status, subject
}

Response

Section titled “Response”
{
  "operation": "tension.query",
  "outcome": "verified",
  "body": {
    "tensions": [
      {
        "ref": "tension:financial_period_non_closure_2026_04",
        "status": "open",
        "tags": ["financial_period_non_closure"],
        "subjectAtoms": [...],
        "createdAt": "2026-04-26T..."
      }
    ]
  },
  "receipt": {...}
}

Tension status: open | resolved | scarred.

Common tension tags (fixture)

Section titled “Common tension tags (fixture)”
financial_period_non_closure
contested_atom
evidence_gap
standing_lapsed
counterparty_unacknowledged
external_authority_required

SDK example

Section titled “SDK example”
const tensions = await client.tensionQuery({
  tenant: "tenant_node:rheinwerk_calibration",
  reality: "reality:record",
});

closure.surface

Section titled “closure.surface”

Open a closure surface and emit a tension explicitly. (Most surfaces open implicitly through atom emission; this operation is for cases where a surface needs to be opened by direct membrane call.)

POST /v1/closure/surface
state: staging-durable
sdk_role: open closure surface and emit tension
request_record: CloudClosureSurfaceRequest
responses: closure_surface | tension | receipt

Request

Section titled “Request”
interface ClosureSurfaceRequest {
  tenant?: GestaltRef;
  // surface kind, subject atoms, opening evidence
}

Response

Section titled “Response”
{
  "operation": "closure.surface",
  "outcome": "admitted",
  "body": {
    "closureSurface": "closure_surface:...",
    "tension": "tension:..."
  },
  "receipt": {...}
}

What Zeitgestalt is not

Section titled “What Zeitgestalt is not”
  • Not a SQL query interface. Zeitgestalt explains worldline meaning; SQL queries rows.
  • Not an LLM summary. The structured answer is governed; an LLM may render but does not invent.
  • Not search. Search is a Koerper concern. Zeitgestalt walks causal chains.
Section titled “Where to read next”