Governance Issues#

Governance mechanisms in OpenMontage enforce budget limits, locked decisions, and artifact contracts. Violations surface as errors or reviewer findings during pipeline execution. Inspect files under pipeline/<project-id>/ and projects/<kebab-name>/artifacts/ to diagnose.

Budget Overruns#

The CostTracker follows estimate → reserve → reconcile for every paid operation. Configuration lives in config.yaml:

budget:
  mode: cap
  total_usd: 10.00
  reserve_pct: 0.10
  single_action_approval_usd: 0.50

• observe: tracks only.
• warn: logs overruns but continues.
• cap: rejects operations that would exceed remaining budget.

Overruns raise BudgetExceededError (in cap mode) or ApprovalRequiredError (above the single-action threshold or first use of a paid tool). Review pipeline/<project-id>/cost_log.json for entries showing estimated_usd, reserved_usd, and actual_usd.

To resolve, increase total_usd or switch to warn mode, then resume from the last checkpoint. Run make preflight before retrying to confirm provider availability.

See Cost Tracking for full lifecycle details.

Runtime Swaps#

render_runtime ("remotion", "hyperframes", or "ffmpeg") is locked in proposal_packet.production_plan.render_runtime at the proposal stage and must match edit_decisions.render_runtime exactly. Silent changes are blocked by video_compose.

Check projects/<kebab-name>/artifacts/proposal_packet.json and edit_decisions.json. Mismatches appear in pipeline/<project-id>/decision_log.json under render_runtime_selection entries. If both Remotion and HyperFrames are available, the agent must present both options with tradeoffs before locking.

To fix a detected swap, revert to the approved runtime in the next checkpoint or obtain explicit approval and log a new decision. See Composition Runtimes.

Delivery Promise Violations#

delivery_promise (with promise_type, motion_required, min_motion_ratio) is set in proposal_packet.production_plan and enforced at compose time via validate_cuts. Real motion (video, animation, avatar) is required for MOTION_LED or AVATAR_PRESENTER; still-image fallbacks are forbidden when still_fallback_allowed: false.

Violations surface as blockers in the compose stage or final review. Inspect delivery_promise and slideshow_risk_score in the artifacts. Re-run proposal with adjusted intent or add motion assets before advancing. See Provider Selection.

Checkpoint Validation Failures#

Checkpoints require the canonical artifact for the stage (per CANONICAL_STAGE_ARTIFACTS) and must validate against schemas. Missing artifacts or type mismatches raise validation errors.

Read pipeline/<project-id>/checkpoint_<stage>.json. Ensure artifacts contains the expected key (e.g., script for the script stage) and that status is completed or awaiting_human. Re-execute the stage director skill to regenerate the artifact, then write a fresh checkpoint. See Checkpoint System and Schemas and Artifacts.

Reviewer Findings#

The meta/reviewer skill scans checkpoints for governance issues including cost overruns, runtime mismatches, promise violations, and missing decision logs. Findings appear in the review field of checkpoints and final_review artifacts.

Address each item listed (e.g., "runtime_swap_detected" or "motion_ratio_below_floor"), update the relevant artifact or decision log, and re-run the reviewer step. Human approval is required for creative stages when human_approval_required: true.

See Running Pipelines for stage progression and approval gates.