Ask your AI agent: "What are you allowed to do?"
If it can't answer from its own context—without tools, without searching—you have a chatbot, not an agent.
IGAP (Identity-Governed Agent Pattern) is how you build AI that knows its own boundaries.
The Litmus Test
Ask your agent these three questions:
If it answers from its loaded context—without tools, without searching—you have IGAP.
If it can't, you have a chatbot with extra steps.
Everyone builds agents
Nobody builds governance.
5 files. Complete governance.
Each file answers one question. Together, they define what your agent is, knows, and may do.
USER
Authority
SOUL
Identity
AGENTS
Current Phase
TOOLS
Capabilities
MEMORY
Runtime Learning
Trust is earned, not given
Like onboarding an employee. Day 1: observe. Day 5: act independently. The phase file controls everything.
"Autonomy doesn't come from capability. It comes from identity + phase + memory."
More tools won't make your AI trustworthy. Governance will.
Ready to build governed AI?
Personal assistant, team agent, or enterprise system—the pattern scales. The implementation is simpler than you think.