> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mnemom.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Organization Card Templates

> Define alignment and protection card policies that apply to all agents in your organization

# Organization card templates

<Info>
  Organization card templates require an Enterprise plan. Contact [sales](https://mnemom.ai/pricing) to enable this feature.
</Info>

Org card templates let you define base policies that every agent in your organization inherits across two separate cards:

* **Alignment card template** — org-level values, behavioral commitments, and audit requirements. Agents can add but cannot remove what the org defines.
* **Protection card template** — org-level `protected_surface` (assets, forbidden operations, escalation requirements), thresholds, and screen surfaces. The `protected_surface` is the org's **enforced policy**, not the agent's self-declaration. Safe House L2 enforces it independent of what the agent declares in its alignment card. An empty or naive agent still gets the org floor applied.

The alignment card template section below covers the alignment side. The [Protection card template and `protected_surface`](#protection-card-template-and-protected_surface) section below covers the protection side.

## How it works

The org card template establishes a floor for alignment policy. Every agent's canonical card is computed by composing the org template with the agent's individual card:

```
Org Template (base) + Agent Card (additive) = Canonical Card (used for verification)
```

The org template defines the non-negotiable alignment requirements. Individual agent cards add agent-specific values, actions, and triggers on top.

This is similar to how an organization might have company-wide policies that every employee follows, while individual teams add their own domain-specific guidelines.

## Setting up

<Steps>
  ### Navigate to organization settings

  Open the [Mnemom dashboard](https://mnemom.ai/dashboard), click your organization name in the sidebar, and select **Settings**.

  ### Open the Alignment Card template section

  Scroll to the **Alignment Card Template** panel. If this is your first time, the template is disabled and empty.

  ### Enable the template

  Toggle the **Enable org card template** switch. This activates template composition for all agents in the org.

  ### Configure the template

  Use the **Visual editor** for a guided experience or switch to the **JSON editor** for full control.

  At minimum, define:

  * **Values**: Core organizational values that every agent must declare
  * **Forbidden actions**: Actions no agent in the org should ever take
  * **Audit commitment**: Minimum audit requirements (retention, queryability, tamper evidence)

  ### Save and verify

  Click **Save**. The template is validated before saving. Once saved, all agents in the org immediately inherit the template values in their canonical cards.

  Verify by checking any agent's card via `mnemom card show` or the dashboard -- you should see the org template values included.
</Steps>

### Visual editor vs JSON editor

The visual editor provides form-based inputs for each card block with inline validation. Use it for initial setup and when making incremental changes.

The JSON editor shows the raw template JSON. Use it for bulk edits, copying from a file, or when you need precise control over the template structure.

<Tip>
  Both editors validate on save. The JSON editor is faster for teams that maintain their org template in version control and paste updates from a file.
</Tip>

## Composition rules

When the org template is active, each field in the canonical card is computed according to these rules:

| Card Field                              | Composition Rule                                               | Example                                                                                                                |
| --------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `values.declared`                       | Union of org + agent values                                    | Org: `[honesty, transparency]` + Agent: `[editorial_independence]` = `[honesty, transparency, editorial_independence]` |
| `values.definitions`                    | Merged. Agent definitions cannot override org definitions      | Org defines `honesty`; agent can define `editorial_independence` but not redefine `honesty`                            |
| `values.hierarchy`                      | Org hierarchy takes precedence if defined                      | Org sets `lexicographic`; agent cannot change to `weighted`                                                            |
| `values.conflicts_with`                 | Union of org + agent conflicts                                 | Org: `[deception]` + Agent: `[upsell_pressure]` = `[deception, upsell_pressure]`                                       |
| `autonomy_envelope.bounded_actions`     | Agent-specific (org does not restrict)                         | Agent defines its own bounded actions                                                                                  |
| `autonomy_envelope.forbidden_actions`   | Union of org + agent forbidden actions                         | Org: `[exfiltrate_data]` + Agent: `[delete_records]` = `[exfiltrate_data, delete_records]`                             |
| `autonomy_envelope.escalation_triggers` | Union of org + agent triggers                                  | Org triggers always apply; agent adds more                                                                             |
| `audit_commitment.retention_days`       | Maximum of org and agent value                                 | Org: 180 days, Agent: 365 days = 365 days                                                                              |
| `audit_commitment.queryable`            | Org `true` cannot be overridden to `false`                     | If org requires queryable, all agents are queryable                                                                    |
| `audit_commitment.tamper_evidence`      | Strongest mechanism wins (`merkle` > `signed` > `append_only`) | Org: `signed`, Agent: `merkle` = `merkle`                                                                              |

<Warning>
  Composition is always additive from the agent's perspective. Agents can strengthen alignment requirements but never weaken them below the org floor.
</Warning>

## Protection card template and `protected_surface`

The protection card template is the org's **enforced protection policy**. Where the alignment card template defines what agents declare they will do, the protection card template defines what Safe House *enforces* regardless of agent behavior or instructions.

The `protected_surface` field is the core of the protection card template:

```yaml theme={null}
# Example org protection card template
protected_surface:
  assets:
    # What is precious — sealed records, sensitive fields, critical resources.
    - kind: table
      selector: customer_pii
      label: "Customer PII"
      reason: "Regulated data — any bulk operation requires escalation"
    - kind: field
      selector: replica_dsn
      label: "Replica connection string"
      reason: "Credential — never expose in agent output"
  forbidden_operations:
    # Categorically forbidden — Safe House blocks these regardless of agent instruction.
    - pattern: "TRUNCATE"
      severity: critical
      reason: "Irreversible data loss"
    - pattern: "exfiltrate:pii"
      severity: critical
      reason: "PII exfiltration forbidden"
  escalation_required:
    # Actions that need elevated authority before proceeding.
    - pattern: "bulk DELETE"
      applies_to: ["table:customer_pii"]
      reason: "Bulk deletions on regulated data require a co-sign"
```

Composition rules for `protected_surface`:

| Array                  | Rule                                                               | Agent can…                                                  |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `assets`               | Strengthen-only union across platform → org → team → agent         | Add assets; never remove or narrow a higher-scope entry     |
| `forbidden_operations` | Strengthen-only union; on pattern collision severity takes the max | Add operations; never remove or weaken a higher-scope entry |
| `escalation_required`  | Strengthen-only union                                              | Add requirements; never remove a higher-scope entry         |

Coverage is **workload-independent**: an empty or naive agent still gets the full org `protected_surface` applied. The agent's alignment card `autonomy.forbidden_actions` is its *behavioral commitment*; the protection card's `protected_surface.forbidden_operations` is the org's *hard policy* enforced by Safe House. The two are complementary, not redundant.

## Agent exemptions

In rare cases, an agent may need to operate without the org template. For example, a testing agent that intentionally exercises boundary conditions, or an agent operating under a different regulatory framework.

### Exemption flow

Exemptions require a double-confirm process:

<Steps>
  ### Request exemption

  Navigate to the agent's page in the dashboard. In the Alignment Card section, click **Request Org Template Exemption**.

  ### Provide a reason

  Enter a written reason for the exemption. This is required and stored in the audit trail. Be specific -- "for testing" is less useful than "this agent runs adversarial alignment tests and needs to declare conflicting values."

  ### Confirm

  A second confirmation dialog appears with a summary of what the exemption means:

  * The agent will no longer inherit org template values
  * The agent's individual card becomes its entire canonical card
  * The exemption is logged in the org's audit trail with your identity and reason

  Click **Confirm Exemption** to proceed.
</Steps>

### Requirements

* **Role**: Owner or admin role required
* **Audit trail**: Every exemption (grant and revoke) is logged with actor, reason, and timestamp
* **Visibility**: Exempted agents are flagged in the dashboard and API responses

### Revoking an exemption

To restore org template inheritance, navigate to the agent's page and click **Revoke Exemption** in the Alignment Card section. The agent's canonical card immediately recomposes with the org template.

### API

The legacy whole-card `org_card_exempt` flag was replaced in the 2026-04-15 unified-cards consolidation by **section-specific exemptions** that target one field of the org card at a time, with audit metadata. Manage them via:

```bash theme={null}
# List active exemptions on an agent
curl https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/{agent_id}/exemptions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

# Grant a new exemption (required: exempt_section, reason)
# exempt_section is closed-enum:
#   "autonomy.forbidden_actions" | "enforcement.forbidden_tools" | "autonomy.max_autonomous_value"
curl -X POST https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/{agent_id}/exemptions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "exempt_section": "autonomy.forbidden_actions",
    "exempt_patterns": ["no_external_api_calls"],
    "reason": "Adversarial alignment testing agent — external probes required",
    "expires_at": "2026-08-15T00:00:00Z"
  }'

# Revoke (use the exemption_id returned from the list/POST)
curl -X DELETE https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/{agent_id}/exemptions/{exemption_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
```

Exemptions are time-bounded (default 90-day expiry), audit-logged, and section-specific. See the [Unified Cards overview](/api-reference/unified-cards-overview) for the canonical exemption model and the [Card Composition](/concepts/card-composition) page for how exemptions interact with the platform → org → agent cascade.

## Relationship to conscience values

Org card templates and [custom conscience values](/gateway/conscience-values) are complementary features that operate at different layers:

| Feature                      | What It Controls                                                | When It Applies                                      |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| **Org card template**        | The alignment card (values, boundaries, audit commitment)       | At card composition time and during AAP verification |
| **Custom conscience values** | The conscience prompt used by AIP for per-turn integrity checks | At every AIP integrity checkpoint                    |

Think of it this way:

* The **org card template** defines what your agents declare they will do (their alignment posture)
* **Custom conscience values** define what AIP looks for when evaluating whether agents are actually doing it (the evaluation criteria)

Both work together to create a comprehensive organizational alignment policy. The card template sets the declared boundaries; conscience values ensure those boundaries are evaluated during per-turn analysis (and gated same-turn in `enforce`).

<Note>
  You can use one without the other. An org that only sets conscience values gets per-turn evaluation policy without modifying agent cards. An org that only sets a card template gets consistent declared alignment without customizing the evaluation criteria.
</Note>

## See also

* [Alignment Cards](/concepts/alignment-cards) -- Card structure and semantics
* [Card Management guide](/guides/card-management) -- Creating, validating, and publishing cards
* [Custom Conscience Values](/gateway/conscience-values) -- Per-org alignment policies for AIP evaluation
* [CLI Reference](/gateway/cli) -- `mnemom card show`, `card publish`, and `card validate` commands