> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.aibydna.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> D.E.S.P stands for **D**elta **E**vent-**S**tate **P**rotocol.

D.E.S.P is a coordination protocol for intelligent systems. It transforms state changes and operational context into governed
decisions about what should run, what should skip, what requires approval, what should be blocked, and why.

D.E.S.P is not a workflow builder, model runtime, agent framework, cache, or observability dashboard.

D.E.S.P can apply within a single workflow, across multiple workflows, across multi-agent systems, across software systems,
and across physical-world operational systems, provided those systems can be represented through state, capabilities, dependencies, actions, and outcomes.

Core D.E.S.P question:

> Given what changed, what context surrounds the change, and which systems are available, what should happen next?

## Important concepts

> [card] [Aether](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/aether.md)
>
> The control plane built around D.E.S.P.

> [card] [Environment](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/environment.md)
>
> A collection of systems connected and coordinated by D.E.S.P.

> [card] [Connected System](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/connected-system.md)
>
> Any system that participates in D.E.S.P coordination.

> [card] [State (Emit Event)](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/state.md)
>
> The events a connected system declares it can emit.

> [card] [Delta](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/delta.md)
>
> A meaningful state change, and the starting point for every decision.

> [card] [System Contract](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/system-contract.md)
>
> What a connected system emits and what it can do.

> [card] [D.E.S.P Decision Context](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/decision-context.md)
>
> The structured input D.E.S.P uses to decide what happens next.

> [card] [Decision Engine](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/decision-engine.md)
>
> Turns a Decision Context into a Trigger Plan.

> [card] [Trigger Plan](https://documentation.aibydna.com/desp/concepts/trigger-plan.md)
>
> The structured output: what should run, skip, or is unknown.


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