Guide
OPA vs authority layer
Policy engine vs full authority loop.
Open Policy Agent evaluates policy decisions. An authority layer adds identity continuity, risk advisory, human approval routing, and replayable evidence around policy.
What OPA provides
OPA is a powerful general-purpose policy engine. Teams embed Rego policies to return allow/deny for structured inputs. It does not inherently provide approval workflows, evidence bundles, or fleet readiness models.
What an authority layer adds
Humbleaf may use policy engines internally; the product value is the full authority physics, not a single decision function.
- End-to-end authority loop: propose → evaluate → approve → execute → evidence
- Human approval bound to exact action hashes
- Behavioral risk advisory (advises, never blocks alone)
- Authority Readiness Model and shadow mode rollout
- Workflow-specific guards (refunds, dispatches, delegations)
Frequently asked questions
Can we use OPA with Humbleaf?
Policy evaluation is one step in the authority loop. Humbleaf integrates policy with approval, evidence, and operational guards.
