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Python SDK
Thin subprocess wrapper over the Gait CLI for Python integrations with zero external dependencies.

Python SDK Contract (v1)

The Python SDK (sdk/python/gait) is a thin subprocess wrapper over the local gait binary.

Important boundary:

  • Go CLI/Core is authoritative for policy, signing, canonicalization, verification, and exit semantics.
  • Python intentionally does not reimplement those behaviors; it shells out to gait and returns structured results.

Scope

Supported primitives:

  • intent capture (capture_intent)
  • gate evaluation (evaluate_gate)
  • demo capture (capture_demo_runpack, via gait demo --json)
  • regress fixture init (create_regress_fixture)
  • run capture (record_runpack)
  • trace copy/validation (write_trace)
  • optional LangChain middleware (GaitLangChainMiddleware)

Non-goals:

  • no policy parsing/evaluation in Python
  • no alternate artifact canonicalization/signing logic
  • no hosted transport dependency

Runtime Model

The SDK executes commands via subprocess.run(...) with a bounded timeout.

  • default timeout: 30s
  • JSON-decoding is strict for command responses expected to be JSON
  • demo capture consumes machine-readable gait demo --json output only
  • non-zero exits raise GaitCommandError with command, exit code, stdout, and stderr

Migration Note

If existing wrapper automation scraped the human gait demo text output, switch it to capture_demo_runpack(...) or gait demo --json. The human text form is not a stable SDK contract.

Binary Resolution And Errors

The SDK expects gait to be available on PATH by default.

Override binary:

  • gait_bin="gait" (default)
  • gait_bin="/absolute/path/to/gait"
  • gait_bin=[sys.executable, "wrapper.py"] (test harnesses)

Missing binary behavior:

  • raises GaitCommandError with actionable message:
    • install gait
    • ensure PATH contains gait
    • or pass gait_bin explicitly

Minimal Example

from gait import IntentContext, capture_intent, evaluate_gate

intent = capture_intent(
    tool_name="tool.write",
    args={"path": "/tmp/out.txt"},
    context=IntentContext(identity="alice", workspace="/repo", risk_class="high"),
)

decision = evaluate_gate(
    policy_path="examples/policy/base_high_risk.yaml",
    intent=intent,
)

if decision.verdict != "allow":
    raise RuntimeError(f"blocked: {decision.verdict} {decision.reason_codes}")

Rollout Pattern (Observe -> Enforce)

Recommended sequence:

  1. run fixture policy tests in CI (gait policy test, gait policy simulate)
  2. evaluate in observe mode (--simulate) through integration wrappers
  3. enforce non-allow as non-executable at the tool boundary

Reference docs:

  • docs/policy_rollout.md
  • docs/integration_checklist.md

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Python SDK require Go?

The SDK is a thin subprocess wrapper that calls the local gait binary. The Go binary must be installed and on PATH.

Does the SDK have external dependencies?

No. The Python SDK has zero external runtime dependencies. Dev dependencies (pytest, ruff, mypy) are for development only.

LangChain is opt-in:

  • install with uv sync --extra langchain --extra dev when you want the middleware surface
  • base SDK users do not need LangChain installed

What Python version is required?

Python 3.11 or higher.

How do I wrap a tool function with Gait?

Use the @gate_tool decorator from the SDK. It automatically evaluates gate policy before executing the tool and records the result.

How does the official LangChain integration work?

The official surface is GaitLangChainMiddleware, and enforcement only happens in wrap_tool_call.

  • tool name and args are captured into a normal IntentRequest
  • execution still routes through ToolAdapter.execute
  • optional GaitLangChainCallbackHandler receives additive correlation metadata such as run_id, request_id, trace_path, policy_digest, and intent_digest
  • callback handlers never decide allow or block behavior
  • the official example lane is examples/integrations/langchain/quickstart.py

Minimal snippet:

from gait import ToolAdapter
from gait.langchain import GaitLangChainMiddleware, GaitLangChainCallbackHandler

adapter = ToolAdapter(policy_path="examples/integrations/langchain/policy_allow.yaml")

middleware = [
    GaitLangChainMiddleware(
        adapter=adapter,
        callback_handler=GaitLangChainCallbackHandler(),
    )
]

What happens if the Gait binary is not found?

The SDK raises a clear error with install instructions and PATH guidance instead of an opaque FileNotFoundError.