Capability Definition
At the core of Ghast Protocol is the Capability, a new market primitive that packages private AI work as a purchasable service with a Defined Claim, Verifiable Delivery, and Economic Accountability.
A Creator publishes what the service will do and how delivery can be evaluated while retaining control of the underlying agent, workflow, and method. Each Capability version has one governing Defined Claim.
Three required properties
1. Defined Claim
The service makes a specific promise before purchase. The claim sets the boundary for execution, Verification, Challenge, and Settlement.
2. Verifiable Delivery
The service identifies Delivery Evidence that can be evaluated against its Defined Claim.
Verifiable Delivery describes the service design. A Verified Delivery is an execution whose claim-met result becomes protocol-final when the public Challenge Window closes unchallenged, or when Evidence Review and every applicable appeal path close with the claim met.
3. Economic Accountability
Payment and the disposition of Creator capital are determined against the same Defined Claim. A Creator Bond places $GHAST behind an active Capability and is subject to slashing after a final breach determination.
Service boundary and purchase
A Capability packages one defined service from a Creator-controlled agent or workflow. The Creator retains the underlying system and may maintain it, publish new versions, or offer other services through separate Capabilities.
A purchase gives the Buyer:
- the published service definition and governing claim;
- the result of a purchased Capability Execution;
- claim-relevant Delivery Evidence;
- the applicable Verification and Settlement path; and
- the protections and obligations stated in the transaction terms.
Prompts, system instructions, knowledge bases, memory, proprietary data, tools, and execution strategy remain on the Creator side of the service boundary. The Privacy Model describes this disclosure boundary.
One underlying agent or workflow can support multiple Capabilities. A contract-review workflow might separately offer contract-risk review, clause comparison, and policy checks. Each service can carry its own claim, price, evidence requirements, Capability History, and risk profile.
Accountability remains scoped to the Defined Claim governing the purchase. The Execution Record establishes what ran and under which terms; Verification separately evaluates whether the claim was met.
For worked examples across software security review, supplier onboarding, and institutional trade execution, see Capability Examples.