ICE Runtime is the execution substrate of ICE.
It is where ideas stop being hypothetical and start being accountable.
ICE Runtime does not decide what to do.
It ensures that whatever is done is valid.
This project derives its assumptions, invariants, and boundaries from
ICE Foundation v1.0.0.
ICE Foundation defines what is allowed.
ICE Runtime enforces that allowance under execution pressure.
If execution violates the Foundation, the Runtime is wrong — not the axioms.
ICE Runtime occupies a fixed position:
Foundation → Runtime → Engine → Intelligence → Interfaces
ICE Runtime:
- does not infer intent
- does not optimize meaning
- does not reinterpret authority
It exists to make execution:
- explicit
- constrained
- inspectable
- accountable
ICE Runtime is:
- an execution substrate
- a lifecycle governor
- an event and state coordinator
- an authority-enforcing layer
- the ground truth of execution
If it ran, it was authorized.
If it changed state, it is traceable.
ICE Runtime is not:
- an AI system
- an agent framework
- a business logic layer
- an orchestration UI
- a scripting engine
- a policy language
Execution is not intelligence. ICE keeps them separate on purpose.
ICE Runtime is responsible for:
- enforcing execution lifecycles
- supervising long-running processes
- managing sessions and workspaces
- routing and validating events
- governing state transitions
- enforcing authority boundaries
- preserving traceability and accountability
- exposing execution-level observability
ICE Runtime does not guess. It enforces.
ICE Runtime operates under strict governance:
- execution is authority-bound
- invalid assumptions cause suspension
- reconfiguration cannot self-authorize
- nothing runs silently
- nothing escapes responsibility
Governance is inherited. It is not configurable.
ICE Runtime is not built for demos.
It is embedded by:
- ICE Engine
- agent systems
- automation layers
- developer tools (e.g. ICE Studio)
If you want convenience, use a framework.
If you want control, you use a runtime.
ICE Runtime is a constrained executor.
If Runtime behavior contradicts ICE Foundation, the Runtime is incorrect by definition.
Execution systems rot fast.
ICE Runtime is designed to resist that, even when it makes development slower.
Speed without control is just latency to failure.
