---
id: ORC-5
family: RT-ORC
level: extended
profiles: [runtime]
posture: normative-target
added: "1.0"
changed: "1.0"
source: https://flowdrop.io/spec/rules/rt-orc/orc-5
specification: FlowDrop Workflow Specification 1.0-draft
licence: CC BY 4.0
---

# ORC-5 — A strategy's capabilities are declared, not asked for

*RT-ORC (Part II) · level: extended · profiles: runtime · added in 1.0*

The declaration is the single source. A strategy that behaves statefully but does not declare it is treated as stateless, and the behaviours gated on the capability (checkpoint storage among them) are chosen accordingly.

## The rule

> **Normative.** This is the rule.
>
> 1. A strategy declares its capabilities as part of its definition.
>
> 2. Whether a strategy is treated as stateful, and whether it is treated as synchronous, is determined from those declarations alone: stateful means the capability is declared, synchronous means synchronous execution is declared and stateful is not.
>
> 3. Behaviour that depends on a strategy's nature is gated on the declared capabilities and not on the strategy's identity.


## What it means

Whether a strategy is treated as stateful comes only from its own
declaration: nothing infers it from behaviour, and nothing infers it from
which strategy it is.

"Synchronous", as a capability query, means something narrower than "runs
synchronously": it is the declared capability for synchronous execution
*and* the absence of the stateful capability. State graph is synchronous in
its mechanics, but it also declares itself stateful, so the synchronous
query answers false for it — the two capabilities are read together, not as
alternatives.

A strategy with no declaration at all, or a declaration that carries no
capabilities, answers every capability query the same way: false. There is
no separate "unknown" outcome.

## Example

Two strategy declarations, queried for the same two
capabilities:

```json title="A definition declaring both capabilities" verdict="stateful"
["synchronous_execution", "stateful"]
```

```json title="A definition declaring only one" verdict="synchronous"
["synchronous_execution"]
```

The first answers true for stateful and false for synchronous; the second
answers the other way round.

## Related rules

- Names: ORC-1
- Referenced by: ORC-1

---

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.