# Concepts (/docs/concepts)



kestrel.markets manages what stays scarce in a world of abundant intelligence —
authority, licensed data, presence, deterministic execution, and evidence — and
deliberately nothing else. A handful of concepts carry the whole platform.

- [The four faces](/docs/concepts/four-faces): HTTP+SSE is canonical; SDK, CLI, and MCP are equal projections.
- [The four statements](/docs/concepts/statements): View, Wake, Plan, Grade — the Kestrel language.
- [Authority](/docs/concepts/authority): One Envelope, scope-gated signers, the pod tree.
- [Evidence](/docs/concepts/evidence): Blotters, Grades, and replay-stability — the black-box recorder.

## First principles [#first-principles]

* **Brains stay outside.** The platform hosts deterministic reflexes and evidence,
  never an agent's intelligence. The agent is external and replaceable.
* **Proof before account.** An agent may discover, build, and prove value before a
  human signs up or pays.
* **Derived, not raw.** Frames, grades, and fair values are derived works; raw-feed
  redistribution stays with licensed vendors.
* **Impersonal by default.** No "recommended for your book" surface.
* **BYO-plan + BYO-broker for live, always.** The platform never supplies plans,
  never holds trading capital, never exercises discretion.