RFC 0008 — Log Reference Model

Status: Draft Author: Martín Nicolás Sánchez Morales Created: 2026

Summary

This RFC defines the reference relationships between the canonical append-only logs defined in Janus Core Lite.

The model ensures that governance events can be traced to the domain records, schema context, and evidence artifacts that support them.

Motivation

Janus governance relies on multiple append-only logs:

• MANAGEMENT_LOG
• SCHEMA_LOG
• AUDIT_LOG

Without explicit reference rules, relationships between these logs may become ambiguous.

This RFC defines the minimal reference model required to maintain traceability and deterministic reconstruction of governance outcomes.

Specification

Canonical logs

Janus Core Lite defines three canonical logs:

• MANAGEMENT_LOG
• SCHEMA_LOG
• AUDIT_LOG

Each log records a different class of information:

• Domain activity → MANAGEMENT_LOG
• Schema evolution → SCHEMA_LOG
• Governance outcomes → AUDIT_LOG

Reference relationships

Governance events recorded in AUDIT_LOG SHOULD reference relevant records that support their evaluation context.

These references may include:

• domain records from MANAGEMENT_LOG
• schema definitions from SCHEMA_LOG
• supporting evidence artifacts

References allow governance events to be interpreted and validated within the correct historical and structural context.

Evidence linkage

When governance events rely on explicit evidence (E+) or omission evidence (E−), the event SHOULD reference the relevant evidence artifacts or the deterministic search scope used during evaluation.

Rebuildability

The reference model supports the deterministic rebuildability principle defined in RFC 0001.

Given:

• canonical logs
• schema definitions
• referenced evidence artifacts

an implementation should be able to reconstruct the governance interpretation associated with a recorded event.

Rationale

Explicit reference relationships ensure that governance outcomes remain traceable to the domain activity and schema context from which they were derived.

This model prevents governance events from becoming detached from the records required to interpret them.

Backwards compatibility

Not applicable (initial log reference model specification).

Security considerations

Risks related to log references include:

• missing or incomplete references
• inconsistent schema interpretation
• evidence artifacts that cannot be retrieved

Implementations must ensure that governance events preserve sufficient reference context to allow later verification and reconstruction.

License

MIT License