Edit a zone dictionary

Use a zone’s Dictionary tab to manage the values its intent policies compare actions with, such as the branches that count as protected or the hosts an agent may reach. You need the editor role or higher to change a dictionary; a viewer reads it.

What a dictionary holds

A dictionary is a set of tables. Each table names what OpenLatch observes about an action, the kinds of target it applies to, the question an interview card asks when an intent policy uses it, and its values.

Column	What it shows
Table	The table’s name, in lower case, digits and underscores
Observation	What OpenLatch compares the values with
Kinds	The targets the table applies to
Values	How many values the table holds
Layer	The zone that defined the table or added the value

A value is a glob, such as release/*, or a pattern written as regex: followed by the pattern. A table is case-sensitive unless you switch it off, in which case main and Main are the same value.

Inheritance only adds

A zone’s dictionary inherits every table and value of the zones above it.

Rule	What it means
Inherited entries are read-only	An inherited table or value shows the zone it came from and can only be changed there
A zone can add	Add values to an inherited table, or create a table under a new name
A zone never removes	It cannot delete an inherited value, or change an inherited table’s observation, kinds or question
Own entries can be deleted	A zone deletes its own values, and its own tables while no value and no intent policy uses them
A unit without its own zone	Shows the dictionary of the zone it inherits, read-only

Add values or a table

1. Open Autonomy Zone, select the unit whose zone you want to change, and open the Dictionary tab.
2. To add values, open a table and enter each value under Add values, pressing Enter after each one. Values added here apply to this zone and the zones below it.
3. To add a table, choose Add a dictionary table, give it a name, its observation, its kinds and the question an interview card should ask, then choose Add table.

A pattern too complex to evaluate safely is refused, and nothing is saved: simplify it and add it again. The number of values per table is capped, and the drawer shows how many are left.

When a value changes, OpenLatch runs again the test cases it affects. Values you accept on an interview card while writing an AIP join the dictionary of the zone you authored it from, when you ratify. See Write an Agent Intent Policy.

OpenLatch can also propose a value your reviewers agreed on: an Add to your dictionary proposal in the zone’s Proposals tab adds the exact value your agents reached, once an editor accepts it. See Review learning proposals.