---
slug: "DocumentedOverride"
name: "DocumentedOverride"
type: "Governance"
layer: "Society"
ref: "DocumentedOverride#129b"
sema_id: "sema:DocumentedOverride#mh:SHA-256:129bb6b19219e4afc278012f555b298980c4a74000195ae1e6766f2e5d40d940"
tags: ["Society","Governance"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json
url: https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/DocumentedOverride/
related: ["AcceptSpec","TimeWarpLog","Decision"]
---

# DocumentedOverride

Supervised bypass of a failed acceptance gate, cryptographically logged

Layer: Society · Category: Governance

## Mechanism

The override-with-documentation safety valve at hard seams. Accepts a failed [AcceptSpec](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/AcceptSpec.md) evaluation plus a textual rationale and scoped override authority; composes_with [TimeWarpLog](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/TimeWarpLog.md) to cryptographically log the override event (forward action + override + rationale + signing identity). Yields a forced [Decision](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Decision.md) that bypasses the failed gate. The override is a first-class, audit-trailed coordination act — every bypass carries non-repudiable evidence of who overrode what and why. Preserves fail-closed discipline by making the bypass explicit, named, signed, and logged rather than silent.

## Invariants

- Every override event must be signed by an identity holding scoped override authority.
- Forward action, override, rationale, and signing identity are all logged to [TimeWarpLog](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/TimeWarpLog.md) — no partial records.
- Rationale field must be non-empty: a DocumentedOverride with no documentation is not a DocumentedOverride.

## Failure modes

- Override authority is over-scoped — any agent can bypass any gate, defeating the fail-closed discipline.
- Compromised signing key enables silent override with valid-looking log entries.
- Rationale accepts low-information text ('legitimate business reason') that defeats the audit purpose while technically satisfying non-empty.

## Caution

Overrides a failed acceptance gate. The cryptographic log is the only post-hoc accountability; ensure override authority is scoped and auditable before composing.

## Builds on

- [AcceptSpec](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/AcceptSpec.md) (Infrastructure; Accepts)
- [TimeWarpLog](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/TimeWarpLog.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)
- [Decision](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Decision.md) (Infrastructure; Yields)

## Used by

—

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:DocumentedOverride#mh:SHA-256:129bb6b19219e4afc278012f555b298980c4a74000195ae1e6766f2e5d40d940`
- Ref: `DocumentedOverride#129b`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:DocumentedOverride#mh:SHA-256:17d333bda6bfc9f98ef85e9d09dd8cf84a8d8f13f13fb4e5de767bc4c8e75a54`
  - `sema:DocumentedOverride#mh:SHA-256:40548ac167ea414f493054543303e74dac28a64510aa55ea8d1807ea52a6a5c6`
  - `sema:DocumentedOverride#mh:SHA-256:2b7763b4dab9fefa6b60e2b2ffd3849509a9b5af43a4ab3604973d55916f6dc4`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/DocumentedOverride/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/#DocumentedOverride)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/DocumentedOverride.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json)