Workflow specs compile into governed loops.
Millrace turns a workflow definition into graph authority the runtime can execute repeatedly: stage contracts define legal work, agents emit predefined terminal status markers, and the runtime alone chooses the next deterministic transition.
The graph is the operating authority.
Millrace does not hardcode one universal agent ladder. A workflow specification declares stages, transitions, recovery paths, terminal markers, evidence expectations, and completion behavior. The runtime compiles that into graph authority before dispatch.
The customization ceiling is therefore the set of valid configurations the compiler accepts, not a fixed number of built-in stages. LAD can have builder, checker, fixer, integrator, and arbiter-style stages; another workflow can expose a different graph while still using the same runtime discipline.
Stages are contracts, not vibes.
A stage contract tells the runner what work is legal, what evidence matters, and which terminal markers are allowed. The agent can reason inside that boundary, but it cannot invent a new state machine by writing persuasive prose.
Inputs and scope
The handoff carries the stage assignment, relevant artifacts, and workflow-specific constraints needed to perform one bounded unit of work.
Predefined terminal markers
Results resolve through known markers such as completed, blocked, needs recovery, or workflow-specific closure states.
Evidence surface
Stage outputs leave artifacts and receipts the runtime and operator can inspect before treating a transition as authoritative.
The runtime decides the next valid move.
Done is workflow-specific.
Failures, blocked states, weak evidence, and missing prerequisites route through configured recovery rather than falling out of the system as chat residue.
Some workflows finish when required stages and evidence are satisfied. Others require closure review, release gates, or a domain-specific acceptance state.
Receipts are attached to the stage and run history, so a later operator or daemon can reconstruct why the runtime moved forward, recovered, or stopped.
From architecture to operation.
The runtime architecture explains why governed loops can be inspected and repeated. Millrace OS is the planned command center for watching those loops, daemons, queues, evidence, and completion states across active work.