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Policy Workflows

Policy workflows explain how Atlas exposes and enforces runtime or query-related rules.

Policy Surface

flowchart LR
    PolicyDocs[Policy documents and config] --> Runtime[Runtime policy mode]
    Runtime --> Query[Query enforcement]
    Runtime --> Explain[policy explain]
    Runtime --> Validate[policy validate]

This policy surface map shows how Atlas turns policy from a hidden runtime influence into something you can inspect and explain. That is important when clients need to understand why a request was accepted or rejected.

Main Policy Commands

  • policy validate
  • policy explain

Why Users Should Care About Policy

flowchart TD
    Policy[Policy] --> Limits[Query limits]
    Policy --> Rejection[Rejection reasons]
    Policy --> Predictability[Predictable runtime behavior]

This user-facing view explains why policy belongs in the user guide at all. It is not just an operator or maintainer concern when policy changes the requests users can make successfully.

Policy is what turns “the server happened to reject my request” into “the server enforced a known rule for a known reason.”

Practical Commands

Validate the active policy surface:

cargo run -p bijux-atlas --bin bijux-atlas -- policy validate --json

Explain active policy deltas:

cargo run -p bijux-atlas --bin bijux-atlas -- policy explain --json

How to Read Policy Effects

If a query fails because it is too broad or too expensive, that is usually a policy decision, not a random implementation quirk.

Common policy-sensitive areas:

  • full-scan restrictions
  • page size limits
  • region span limits
  • serialization budget limits

Workflow Advice

  • use policy output to explain runtime behavior to clients
  • do not treat policy rejection as a server bug by default
  • change policy intentionally, not by relying on hidden defaults

When to Reach for Policy Commands

  • a query is rejected and you need the reason to be explicit
  • you are comparing expected versus active runtime policy behavior
  • you need to explain enforcement behavior to another team or client

Purpose

This page explains the Atlas material for policy workflows and points readers to the canonical checked-in workflow or boundary for this topic.

Stability

This page is part of the canonical Atlas docs spine. Keep it aligned with the current repository behavior and adjacent contract pages.