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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Covenant?
Covenant is an open, local-first operating layer that lets people and software agents safely share one computer. It runs as a local daemon and exposes eight host-level primitives: intent, runtime, memory, identity, permissions, comms, a compositor, and settlement.
Is Covenant open source?
Yes. The core is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 and developed in the open at github.com/open-covenant/covenant. It is pre-1.0 software.
How is Covenant different from MCP?
MCP is a protocol for connecting a model to tools. Covenant is the host-level layer underneath: it provides identity, signed permissions, shared memory, audit, and settlement across agents, and integrates MCP as one of its comms adapters.
Does Covenant require a blockchain?
No. Covenant runs fully locally and records settlement receipts to a local ledger by default. On-chain settlement to Solana is an optional, planned boundary; chain fields stay empty unless a settlement integration is configured.
What are the eight primitives?
Intent, runtime, memory, identity, permissions, comms, compositor, and settlement. Each one is a host-level service that agents and people share, defined term by term in the glossary.
Is Covenant production-ready?
Not yet. Covenant is pre-1.0. The local control plane, including the daemon, CLI, identity, permissions, memory, and audit log, is implemented and live-tested. Production-grade isolation, networked multi-host operation, and on-chain settlement are on the roadmap, not the changelog.
What does staking $CVNT do?
Locking $CVNT earns a pro-rata share of protocol revenue, paid in SOL, with longer locks earning more. Distribution amounts reflect actual protocol revenue and are not guaranteed.