Governance before, during and after execution
PALO-AI is the technical control-plane component of the PALO Framework. It operationalizes selected PALO-AM controls for n8n and agentic automation platforms by binding explicit authority and policy to a one-time execution capability, a trusted receipt and verification that the action produced the declared effect.
Current boundary: this release is for interoperability evaluation with isolated data and non-consequential tools. It is not a production authorization service, certification, or independently assessed security boundary.
One connected governance journey
Orientation: PALO-AM v2.0 remains the June 2026 methodology baseline. PALO-AI v2.5 is the July 2026 full-cycle runtime/contracts Developer Preview. The Governance Hub uses illustrative/local data and is not a production console.
Objective: govern agent actions
First choose your organizational role in the guided Start. Only then choose how you build. PALO-AI keeps the Action Claim, policy decision, approval and evidence vocabulary consistent across all three implementation modes.
Integrate JSON Schema, MCP, OPA/Rego, CI gates and a brokered executor into an application or agent runtime.
Use the visual decision gate for comparison, then move the protected action into the PALO Governed Action node and verify its outcome.
Connect Copilot Studio or a similar platform to a deliberately narrow set of PALO MCP tools, without writing policy code first.
New guided Governance Hub
The same governance state is translated into an executive cockpit and a technical workbench. Leaders see coverage, authority, verified outcomes and exceptions. Builders configure the exact agent, tool, resource, oversight and outcome verifier through an eight-step guided flow.
Prototype boundary: this browser interface uses realistic evaluation data. Production multi-user operation still requires an authenticated backend-for-frontend, tenant-aware roles, managed keys and independent security assurance.
Portable governance lifecycle
Deployment choice
The contract stays portable; identity, keys, persistence, availability and network trust change by deployment mode.
Swipe horizontally to compare every deployment field.
| Mode | Best fit | Current availability | Trust boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local sidecar | Code-first development, self-hosted n8n and offline evaluation. | Implemented preview | Keep OPA, registry, ledger and credentials on the trusted host or private container network. |
| Hybrid | Local/private workflows calling a remote PALO decision service over HTTPS. | Prototype | Workflow data crosses the organization boundary; minimize claims and retain protected execution locally. |
| Managed cloud | Multi-team governance with central policies, approvals, evidence and operations. | Target architecture | Requires tenant isolation, workload identity, RBAC, KMS/HSM, HA and independent assurance. |
| Private cloud / VPC | Regulated or enterprise environments needing organizational control and network isolation. | Target architecture | Customer-owned identity, network, keys, retention and operational controls integrate with the PALO service. |
PALO FRAMEWORKhttps://governance.paloframework.org/gatewayhttps://governance.paloframework.org/mcpInternet-reachable does not mean production-ready. The current VPS adds HTTPS termination and network isolation, but not production workload identity, least-privilege RBAC, managed keys, high availability, distributed exactly-once semantics, attested execution or independent security review.
Integration is not enforcement
A visible check helps people understand a decision. It becomes an authorization boundary only when the protected tool and credential cannot be reached around it.
Swipe horizontally to compare enforcement coverage.
| Platform | Visual gate | Brokered execution | Runtime interception | Authoritative today? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n | Package 0.2 compatibility decision node | Package 0.2 Governed Action prototype | Not implemented; alternate credentials or tool paths can bypass the node | No. Unpublished and not n8n-verified |
| Copilot Studio | MCP tools can surface governance actions | Target via narrow PALO tools | Platform-owned controls | No. Integration guidance only |
| Dify | Non-production tool example | Agent Strategy target | Plugin-owned target | No. Reference example |
| LangChain / LangGraph | Middleware decision feedback | Recommended adapter shape | Before-tool middleware / interrupt | No. Adapter not packaged |
| Node-RED | Custom node or subflow target | Broker required | Self-hosted hook target | No. Specified pattern |
| Make | HTTP or custom-app step | PALO-controlled API target | No universal interceptor | No. Direct actions must be removed |
| Zapier | Private/public integration target | PALO-controlled action target | No universal interceptor | No. Direct actions must be removed |
Enforcement invariant: do not expose a direct privileged tool path beside its PALO-governed broker and then describe the flow as enforced.
Assurance before scale
The developer preview includes canonical schemas, a trusted versioned registry, Rego v1 policy evaluation, replay controls, transactional local persistence, signed evidence and official-SDK MCP transports. These are evaluation primitives, not evidence of an independently assured production service.
Current publication boundary
Locally installable alpha package with Allowed, Approval Required and Denied outputs. It does not execute the protected target.
Package 0.2 binds an Effect Contract to a one-time capability, executes through a registered connector, records a signed receipt and verifies authoritative post-state. Alternate credentials or tool paths can still bypass this preview.
Target flow binding authenticated reviewer authority, exact claim digest and one-time workflow continuation.
Target deployment gate that rejects flows containing bypass paths before activation.
Publication status: n8n-nodes-palo-ai is unpublished, unverified and not accepted by n8n. npm publication, catalog discovery, n8n verification and connector submission are deferred until real integration and security gates pass.
Architecture preview
We are looking for n8n builders, platform integrators, policy authors and security reviewers willing to test a non-production workflow with mock or reversible actions. Do not share secrets, personal data or production credentials.