Enforcement Modes

Smoltbot supports three enforcement modes that control how the system responds when alignment or integrity violations are detected. You can choose the level of intervention appropriate for your use case — from passive observation to active blocking.

Modes Overview

Observe

Detect violations, record them, take no action. This is the default mode. Ideal for initial deployment and monitoring.

Nudge

Detect violations and inject feedback into the agent’s next request via system prompt. The agent sees it and can self-correct.

Enforce

Hard block with 403 for non-streaming requests. Falls back to nudge for streaming requests.

Mode Details

Observe
Nudge
Enforce

Observe Mode (Default)

In observe mode, smoltbot detects and records all violations but takes no action to modify agent behavior. This is the default mode for all new agents.Behavior:

All API calls pass through unchanged
Violations are detected and recorded in the trace database
Integrity checkpoints are created for every interaction
Drift alerts are generated when behavioral patterns shift
No modification to agent requests or responses

When to use:

During initial deployment to establish behavioral baselines
When you want to monitor without affecting agent behavior
For compliance auditing where you need a record but not intervention
When evaluating whether to enable more active enforcement

Configuration:

curl -X PUT https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/:id/enforcement \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "observe"}'

Nudge Mode

In nudge mode, when a violation is detected, smoltbot creates a pending nudge record. On the agent’s next request, the gateway injects an integrity notice into the system prompt. The agent sees the notice, can review its approach, and self-correct.Behavior:

Violations are detected and recorded
A pending nudge record is created for each violation
On the next API request, an integrity notice is injected into the system prompt
The agent receives the nudge and can self-correct
Nudge delivery is tracked in the conscience timeline
The original request passes through (not blocked)

How nudges work:

Observer detects a violation (e.g., UNBOUNDED_ACTION)
A nudge record is created with the violation details

On the agent’s next API call, the gateway injects a system prompt addition:

[INTEGRITY NOTICE] Your previous action was flagged for:
UNBOUNDED_ACTION (HIGH) — action "delete_all_records" is not
in your declared bounded_actions. Please review your approach.

The agent processes the notice alongside its normal instructions
The nudge is marked as delivered in the conscience timeline

When to use:

When you want the agent to self-correct without hard blocking
For agents in production where availability is critical
When building trust in the enforcement system before enabling hard blocks
For advisory or delegated_authority principal relationships

Configuration:

curl -X PUT https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/:id/enforcement \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "nudge"}'

Enforce Mode

In enforce mode, smoltbot actively blocks requests when critical violations are detected. The behavior depends on whether the request is streaming or non-streaming.Behavior:

Non-streaming requests: Hard block with HTTP 403 response. The request does not reach the AI provider.
Streaming requests: Falls back to nudge mode (injects integrity notice into system prompt). This is because streaming connections cannot be cleanly terminated mid-stream.

When to use:

For high-security environments where violations must be prevented
When operating under fail_closed AIP failure policy
For agents handling sensitive data or financial transactions
When regulatory requirements demand active intervention

Configuration:

curl -X PUT https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/:id/enforcement \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "enforce"}'

Enforce mode will block non-streaming API calls when violations are detected. Ensure your application handles 403 responses gracefully before enabling this mode.

Setting Enforcement Mode

Set enforcement mode via the API:

PUT /v1/agents/:id/enforcement

Request body:

{
  "mode": "observe" | "nudge" | "enforce"
}

Example:

# Enable nudge mode
curl -X PUT https://api.mnemom.ai/v1/agents/agent_abc123/enforcement \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode": "nudge"}'

Violation Types and Enforcement

Enforcement applies to all violation types detected by the AAP verification engine and AIP integrity checks:

Violation Type	Severity	Enforcement Behavior
`FORBIDDEN_ACTION`	CRITICAL	Blocked in enforce mode; nudged in nudge mode
`CARD_MISMATCH`	CRITICAL	Blocked in enforce mode; nudged in nudge mode
`UNBOUNDED_ACTION`	HIGH	Blocked in enforce mode; nudged in nudge mode
`MISSED_ESCALATION`	HIGH	Blocked in enforce mode; nudged in nudge mode
`CARD_EXPIRED`	HIGH	Blocked in enforce mode; nudged in nudge mode
`UNDECLARED_VALUE`	MEDIUM	Nudged in nudge/enforce mode (not blocked)

In enforce mode, only CRITICAL and HIGH severity violations trigger hard blocks on non-streaming requests. MEDIUM severity violations are always handled via nudge, even in enforce mode.

Conscience Timeline

All enforcement actions are tracked in the conscience timeline, accessible via the API and the web dashboard at mnemom.ai. The timeline records:

When a violation was detected
What type and severity
What enforcement action was taken (observed, nudged, blocked)
Whether the agent self-corrected after a nudge
Drift patterns across enforcement events

Provider Compatibility

Enforcement works across all providers where AIP is supported:

Provider	Observe	Nudge	Enforce (non-streaming)	Enforce (streaming)
Anthropic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Falls back to nudge
OpenAI	Yes	Yes	Yes	Falls back to nudge
Gemini	Yes	Yes	Yes	Falls back to nudge

Smoltbot Overview — Architecture and how it works
CLI Reference — CLI commands for monitoring enforcement
Observability — Export enforcement data to your observability platform

Overview

Concepts

Smoltbot

Pricing

Specifications

Changelog

Enforcement Modes

Enforcement Modes

Modes Overview

Observe

Nudge

Enforce

Mode Details

Observe Mode (Default)

Nudge Mode

Enforce Mode

Setting Enforcement Mode

Violation Types and Enforcement

Conscience Timeline

Provider Compatibility

Overview

Concepts

Smoltbot

Pricing

Specifications

Changelog

​Enforcement Modes

​Modes Overview

Observe

Nudge

Enforce

​Mode Details

​Observe Mode (Default)

​Nudge Mode

​Enforce Mode

​Setting Enforcement Mode

​Violation Types and Enforcement

​Conscience Timeline

​Provider Compatibility

​Related

Enforcement Modes

Modes Overview

Mode Details

Observe Mode (Default)

Nudge Mode

Enforce Mode

Setting Enforcement Mode

Violation Types and Enforcement

Conscience Timeline

Provider Compatibility

Related