Governance Patterns

Governance Patterns

Guide for implementing resource governance operations with proper artifact management, RBAC mutations, and lineage tracking.

When to Use

Apply when:

• Implementing copy/branch/transfer/promote/merge operations
• Managing resource artifacts (files, data, code)
• Mutating RBAC bindings during governance operations
• Tracking lineage and provenance of resources
• Building approval workflows for promotions

Core Components

ArtifactManager (libs/core/artifacts.py)

Manages file artifacts stored at {DATA_DIR}/artifacts/{artifact_ref}/.

from libs.core.artifacts import ArtifactManager

manager = ArtifactManager(data_dir=data_dir)

# Create empty artifact
artifact_ref = manager.create_artifact()

# Copy artifact (for branch/promote)
new_ref = manager.copy_artifact(source_ref)

# File operations
manager.write_file(artifact_ref, "model.pkl", model_bytes)
content = manager.read_file(artifact_ref, "model.pkl")
files = manager.list_files(artifact_ref)

GovernanceService (libs/core/governance.py)

Orchestrates governance operations with RBAC mutations.

from libs.core.governance import GovernanceService

service = GovernanceService(artifact_manager=manager)

# Copy (reference only)
result = await service.copy_resource(session, actor, source_id=src, target_parent_id=parent)

# Branch (with file copy)
result = await service.branch_resource(session, actor, source_id=src, target_parent_id=parent)

# Transfer ownership
result = await service.transfer_resource(session, actor, resource_id=res, target_owner_id=owner)

# Promote to team
result = await service.promote_resource(session, actor, source_id=src, target_space_id=space, team_principal_id=team)

# Merge branch
result = await service.merge_resource(session, actor, source_id=branch, target_id=ancestor)

Governance Operations

Copy (Reference)

• Artifact: Same artifact_ref (no file copy)
• RBAC: No changes - user keeps existing role
• Lineage: Creates copy_of edge
• Use Case: Referencing shared definitions

Branch

• Artifact: New artifact_ref with copied files
• RBAC: Actor=owner, source_owner=viewer
• Lineage: Creates branch_of edge
• Use Case: Personal modifications of official resources

Transfer

• Artifact: Same artifact_ref (ownership change only)
• RBAC: Target=owner, previous=viewer
• Lineage: Creates transferred_from edge
• Use Case: Handing off resources to another user

Promote

• Artifact: New artifact_ref with copied files
• RBAC: Team=owner, promoter=delegator
• Lineage: Creates promoted_from edge
• Use Case: Publishing personal work to team official

Merge

• Artifact: Branch artifact replaces ancestor artifact
• RBAC: No changes (ancestor RBAC preserved)
• Lineage: Creates merged_from edge
• Use Case: Incorporating branch changes back to official

RBAC Templates

Templates define role binding mutations for operations.

template = RbacTemplate(
    name="branch",
    policy={
        "bindings": [
            {"principal": "actor_id", "role": "owner"},
            {"principal": "source_owner_id", "role": "viewer"},
        ],
        "revocations": []  # Optional role revocations
    }
)

Context variables for templates:

• actor_id: User performing the operation
• source_owner_id: Original owner of source resource
• target_owner_id: New owner for transfer
• team_id: Team principal for promote

Lineage Edge Types

API Endpoints

All endpoints at /governance/resources/{resource_id}/:

POST /copy      - Copy by reference
POST /branch    - Branch with file copy
POST /transfer  - Transfer ownership
POST /promote   - Promote to team
POST /merge     - Merge branch
GET  /lineage   - Query lineage chain

Activity Actions

Governance operations emit these activities:

resource.copied      resource.branched
resource.transferred resource.promoted
resource.merged

Database Schema

Resource Table

• artifact_ref: UUID reference to artifact folder

ResourceEdge Table

• edge_type: Type of relationship
• created_by_principal_id: Who created the edge

See references/schema.md for details.

Testing

@pytest.fixture
def governance_service(artifact_manager):
    return GovernanceService(artifact_manager=artifact_manager)

async def test_branch_creates_new_artifact(governance_service, db_session):
    result = await governance_service.branch_resource(...)
    assert result["artifact_ref"] != source.artifact_ref

See references/testing.md for patterns.

Reference Files

• Schema Details - Database schema for governance
• Testing Patterns - How to test governance operations
• RBAC Templates - Template definitions