ConstitutionalKernel

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from ct_toolkit import ConstitutionalKernel
from pathlib import Path

# Built-in kernels
kernel = ConstitutionalKernel.default()
kernel = ConstitutionalKernel.from_yaml(Path("ct_toolkit/kernels/defense.yaml"))

# From dict
kernel = ConstitutionalKernel.from_dict(data)

Properties

Property	Type	Description
name	str	Kernel name
anchors	list[AxiomaticAnchor]	Immutable rules
commitments	list[PlasticCommitment]	Endorsable rules

Methods

validate_user_rule(rule_text, *, embedding_fn=None, similarity_threshold=0.75) → raises on conflict

Checks rule_text against all AxiomaticAnchor and PlasticCommitment rules using:

1. Keyword matching: Fast deterministic substring scan.
2. Semantic similarity: When embedding_fn is provided (automatically wired by TheseusWrapper), computes cosine similarity between the user rule embedding and each anchor/commitment description + keyword phrase to catch paraphrased bypasses.

ConstitutionalKernel.from_headers(headers, secret_key=None, *, base_kernel=None, max_age_seconds=300) → ConstitutionalKernel

Reconstructs and verifies a parent kernel received over HTTP headers (X-CT-Kernel, X-CT-Signature, X-CT-Timestamp):

• Verifies the HMAC-SHA256 signature (hmac.compare_digest) using secret_key or CT_PROPAGATION_SECRET.
• Enforces a replay window (max_age_seconds=300 by default).
• If base_kernel is provided, returns base_kernel.merge(parent_kernel) so parent constraints become axiomatic in the sub-agent.

update_commitment(commitment_id, new_value) → updates a plastic commitment

merge(other) → ConstitutionalKernel

Creates a merged kernel where the other kernel's rules become axiomatic:

merged = base_kernel.merge(parent_kernel)

to_dict() / from_dict() — serialization

get_system_prompt_injection() → str — formatted system prompt block