Field notes · the pre-signing layer
Notes from before the signature.
Scope, receipts, and the failure modes that happen after the model decides but before the money moves. No price predictions, no token talk, no growth hacks.
What a pre-signing gate can check — and what it can't
A gate is useful only if its boundary is honest. Here is the checklist it can run against an intent, and the list of things it must say it does not know.
A receipt is not a guarantee. It's a falsifiable record.
A green check that nobody can verify is a logo. A receipt binds the exact intent, the block, the verdict, and an expiry — so a third party can tell what was checked and when.
Three payment intents your agent should never sign unchecked
An unlimited approval, an x402 offer that does not match the resource, and a swap with no floor. In each case the signature is valid; the intent is not.
What this blog is for
Each post is a working note from a solo-built service. If a claim cannot be reproduced against the live gate or the public repo, it does not belong here. Corrections are published, not quietly edited away.