Nexus Attest Handbook
Welcome to the Nexus Attest handbook. This guide covers everything you need to add a governance layer to your MCP tool execution pipeline --- from first install to cryptographic audit proofs anchored on the XRP Ledger.
What is Nexus Attest?
Section titled “What is Nexus Attest?”Nexus Attest is a deterministic attestation system that adds structured governance to MCP tool execution. Where nexus-router executes immediately, Nexus Attest inserts a full Request / Review / Approve / Execute workflow with N-of-M approvals before anything runs.
Every decision produces a cryptographic audit package that binds what was allowed (governance) to what actually happened (execution). These packages are exportable, verifiable, and replayable. There is no mutable state and no hidden writes.
What you get
Section titled “What you get”- Governance workflows --- N-of-M approval gates with policy enforcement before execution
- Cryptographic audit packages --- SHA-256 binding digests that tie decisions to outcomes
- XRPL witness proofs --- on-chain attestation for third-party verifiability
- Policy templates --- reusable, immutable approval patterns
- Event sourcing --- every state is derived by replaying an immutable append-only log
- 11 MCP tools --- full governance surface exposed via the Model Context Protocol
- Portable bundles --- export and import decisions across systems with integrity verification
Handbook contents
Section titled “Handbook contents”| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Installation, first request, first verification |
| Concepts | Governance flow, decision lifecycle, event sourcing, policy model |
| MCP Tools | All 11 tools with parameters and usage examples |
| Templates & Bundles | Decision templates, export/import, conflict modes |
| Attestation | Cryptographic proofs, XRPL anchoring, narrative reports, replay |
| Reference | Data model, exit codes, project structure, security |
| Beginners | Gentle introduction for newcomers with step-by-step examples |
Requirements
Section titled “Requirements”- Python 3.11 or later
pip install nexus-attest- For XRPL attestation: network access to an XRPL node (testnet or mainnet)
Design philosophy
Section titled “Design philosophy”Nexus Attest follows three core principles:
- Determinism --- given the same event log, you always get the same state. No side effects, no non-deterministic reads during replay.
- Verifiability --- every audit package can be independently verified. All six integrity checks run regardless of failures so every issue is reported.
- Portability --- decisions can be exported as canonical JSON bundles and imported into other systems with full integrity verification.