---
id: OCX-2
family: RT-OCX
level: core
profiles: [runtime]
posture: normative-target
added: "1.0"
changed: "1.0"
source: https://flowdrop.io/spec/rules/rt-ocx/ocx-2
specification: FlowDrop Workflow Specification 1.0-draft
licence: CC BY 4.0
---

# OCX-2 — External results are retrieved by polling, and only by polling

*RT-OCX (Part II) · level: core · profiles: runtime · added in 1.0*

A contract of omission: the connector dispatches nothing outbound. Widening it means taking on delivery, timeouts, retry and de-duplication, which belong elsewhere.

## The rule

> **Normative.** This is the rule.
>
> 1. Results of an externally invoked run are retrieved by the caller polling.
>
> 2. The connector dispatches no outbound request and subscribes to no runtime execution event.
>
> 3. A run that leaves no persisted record is invisible to a poller, so an execution engine that produces one is refused for external invocation: the configured choice is reported and the run is carried out on a pollable engine instead, rather than silently producing a run no caller can ever observe.

## Related rules

- Names: OCX-8
- Referenced by: OCX-8

---

Rule identifiers are permanent and are never renumbered. This specification carries
no implementation status: each implementation publishes its own standing against
these rules. Licensed CC BY 4.0.