> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bardiel.tech/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bardiel.tech/technical-architecture/agent-surfaces.md).

# Agent Surfaces

Bardiel is a **service agent** that other agents call through **Virtual-native interfaces**, with optional exposure into **ERC-8004** validator / oracle flows.\
This page describes the high-level request and response shapes Bardiel expects, independent of any specific SDK or language.

***

#### Where Bardiel Is Exposed

For 2026, Bardiel is reachable through:

* **Virtual GAME Workers / Functions**\
  Bardiel appears as a Worker / Function target.\
  Typical bindings:
  * `delegate_to_bardiel`
  * `validate_with_bardiel`
  * `arb_with_bardiel`
* **ACP (Agent Commerce Protocol)**\
  Bardiel can be registered as:
  * a high-trust execution provider (Delegation-as-a-Service),
  * a validation oracle (pre-settlement checks),
  * an optional arbitration oracle for disputes where markets opt in.
* **ERC-8004 Agents and Registries (Planned / Opt-in)**\
  Bardiel can be exposed as:
  * a validator / oracle service in an ERC-8004-style registry,
  * a target for ERC-8004 agents to delegate tasks and request validation or arbitration,
  * an endpoint reachable over MCP / x402-style service calls.

Internally, Bardiel talks to the **Cortensor Router** and its `/completions` / `/validate` / x402 surfaces.\
Virtual and ERC-8004 developers only talk to **Bardiel**.

***

#### Common Request Envelope

All Bardiel calls share a common logical envelope.

Example (delegation):

```
{
  "mode": "delegation",
  "task": {
    "type": "summarize",
    "input": {
      "text": "long report text here"
    },
    "spec": {
      "max_summary_words": 200
    }
  },
  "policy": "safe",
  "context": {
    "caller": "agent_or_market_id",
    "surface": "GAME"
  },
  "metadata": {
    "client_trace_id": "optional-string"
  }
}
```

**Fields**

* **mode**
  * `"delegation"` – Bardiel runs the task on Cortensor and returns a result.
  * `"validation"` – Bardiel checks a claimed result or planned action.
  * `"arbitration"` – Bardiel resolves a dispute between two parties (used mainly by ACP and ERC-8004-style markets).
* **task**\
  Structured description of what should be done or checked (see **Task Object** below).
* **policy**\
  One of: `"fast"`, `"safe"`, `"oracle"`, `"adaptive"`.\
  This controls how cautious Bardiel should be. Details are defined in **Policy Engine & Tiers**.
* **context**\
  Optional caller context (agent ID, market ID, environment, surface such as `"GAME"`, `"ACP"`, or `"ERC8004"`).
* **metadata**\
  Optional tags for tracing, logging, analytics (for example `client_trace_id`, job IDs, or correlation keys).

***

#### Task Object

The `task` object contains the actual work description.

Conceptually it contains:

* `type` – task category (for example `summarize`, `classify`, `json_tool_call`, `text_generation`, `research`).
* `input` – the content or parameters for the task.
* `spec` – constraints, schema, or rules Bardiel should enforce.
* `claimed_result` – result produced by another agent (used for validation and arbitration).
* `dispute_context` – extra information for arbitration (roles, market, SLA, etc.).

Shapes can vary slightly per surface (GAME vs ACP vs ERC-8004), but the structure is similar.

**Delegation Example**

```
{
  "type": "summarize",
  "input": {
    "text": "long report text here"
  },
  "spec": {
    "max_summary_words": 200
  }
}
```

**Validation Example**

```
{
  "type": "json_tool_call",
  "input": {
    "tool_name": "create_event"
  },
  "spec": {
    "required_fields": ["title", "start", "end"],
    "datetime_format": "ISO-8601"
  },
  "claimed_result": {
    "title": "demo",
    "end": "tomorrow"
  }
}
```

**Arbitration Example**

```
{
  "type": "text_generation",
  "input": {
    "prompt": "Generate 10 product names with constraints X/Y/Z."
  },
  "spec": {
    "must_include_keyword": "X",
    "max_length": 30
  },
  "claimed_result": {
    "names": ["... seller output ..."]
  },
  "dispute_context": {
    "buyer_id": "buyer_123",
    "seller_id": "seller_456",
    "market_id": "acp_market_1"
  }
}
```

Exact shapes can be refined per integration (GAME, ACP, ERC-8004), but this is the **conceptual model** all bindings map to.

***

#### Policy Field (Quick View)

The `policy` string is a hint to Bardiel’s internal policy engine:

* `"fast"` – low cost, single miner, light checks.
* `"safe"` – default high-trust path, 3 miners, PoI plus basic scoring.
* `"oracle"` – high redundancy, strict thresholds, for high-stakes workloads.
* `"adaptive"` – start cheap, escalate only if confidence is low or disagreement is high.

Full details are in **Policy Engine & Tiers**, but from an agent’s perspective it is a simple string per call.

***

#### Response Envelope

All Bardiel responses return a structured envelope.

Example (delegation):

```
{
  "status": "VALID",
  "result": {
    "summary": "concise summary here"
  },
  "confidence": 0.91,
  "evidence": {
    "redundancy": 3,
    "poi_cluster_agreement": 0.87
  },
  "retry_instructions": null,
  "trace_id": "bardiel-trace-123",
  "bardiel_version": "v0.1.0"
}
```

**Fields**

* **status**
  * Delegation: usually `VALID`, `RETRY`, or `NEEDS_SPEC`.
  * Validation: `VALID`, `INVALID`, `RETRY`, or `NEEDS_SPEC`.
  * Arbitration: `SELLER_VALID`, `SELLER_INVALID`, or `INCONCLUSIVE`.
* **result**
  * For delegation: the chosen output (text, JSON, etc).
  * For arbitration: optional canonical result (for example the consensus output).
  * For pure validation: often omitted or minimal.
* **confidence**\
  Float in `[0, 1]` representing Bardiel’s belief in the verdict.
* **evidence**\
  Summarized trust signals such as redundancy, agreement, usefulness scores, schema errors, or high-level notes about tools used.\
  The exact structure can evolve over time, but it is always designed to be machine- and human-readable.
* **retry\_instructions**\
  Optional guidance on how to fix the task or output when `RETRY` or `NEEDS_SPEC` is returned.
* **trace\_id**\
  Identifier for correlating Bardiel logs and Cortensor logs, useful for debugging and telemetry.
* **bardiel\_version**\
  Semantic version of Bardiel that produced this response.

***

These envelopes are the foundation that **GAME**, **ACP**, **ERC-8004 agents**, and future SDKs will map onto their own type systems.\
From the caller’s perspective, Bardiel always looks like a single, consistent **“trust and execution” endpoint**, even though under the hood it is orchestrating tools, miners, validation templates, and proofs across Cortensor.