ZAIXOS Engineering Platform — Technical Architecture Index

Document type: Technical Authority Index
Version: 1.0 · Phase: 12-3
Status: Permanent technical authority — supersedes informal layout assumptions
Parent: PLATFORM_INDEX.md

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Purpose

This index is the entry point for how ZEP works internally — packages, dependencies, installation, configuration, materialization, validation, execution, lifecycle, and evolution.

Governance answers who owns what. Product definition answers what ZEP is. This layer answers how components connect and behave.

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Start here

Role	Document
Implementer (any layer)	TECHNICAL_ARCHITECTURE.md
Package / Composer author	PACKAGE_ARCHITECTURE.md · DEPENDENCY_MODEL.md
Product integrator	INSTALLATION_ARCHITECTURE.md · PLATFORM_CONFIGURATION_REFERENCE.md
Adapter author	RUNTIME_MATERIALIZATION.md · PUBLIC_API_ARCHITECTURE.md
Extension author	EXTENSION_ARCHITECTURE.md
Validation author	VALIDATION_ARCHITECTURE.md
Architect / phase owner	EXECUTION_ARCHITECTURE.md · EXECUTION_PIPELINE.md
Release manager	PLATFORM_STATE_MACHINE.md · ASSET_LIFECYCLE.md · EVOLUTION_MODEL.md

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Technical specification suite (Phase 12-3)

#	Document	Topic
1	TECHNICAL_ARCHITECTURE.md	Master technical architecture and models
2	PACKAGE_ARCHITECTURE.md	Logical and physical package layout
3	DEPENDENCY_MODEL.md	Dependency graph and rules
4	INSTALLATION_ARCHITECTURE.md	Install modes and bootstrap
5	CONFIGURATION_ARCHITECTURE.md	Configuration hierarchy
6	EXTENSION_ARCHITECTURE.md	Extension merge and registry
7	RUNTIME_MATERIALIZATION.md	Materialization engine and flows
8	VALIDATION_ARCHITECTURE.md	Validation layers and gates
9	PUBLIC_API_ARCHITECTURE.md	Public API technical surface
10	PLATFORM_CONFIGURATION_REFERENCE.md	Normative config schemas
11	TECHNICAL_DECISION_RECORDS.md	TDR-001–TDR-012
12	EXECUTION_ARCHITECTURE.md	Execution pipeline overview
13	PLATFORM_STATE_MACHINE.md	Platform asset states
14	ASSET_LIFECYCLE.md	Per-asset lifecycle matrix
15	EXECUTION_PIPELINE.md	Runtime pipelines (control + data)
16	EVOLUTION_MODEL.md	Change, migration, compatibility

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Authority hierarchy

Company Constitution
    └── Platform Constitution (governance)
            └── Platform Boundaries · Public API · Versioning · Extension Model
                    └── Product Definition (12-2)
                            └── Technical Architecture (12-3) ◄── THIS LAYER
                                    └── Extraction Planning (12-4+) — not started

Technical specs implement governance constraints; they do not amend Runtime Contract obligations (contracts@1 frozen).

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Canonical topic map

Topic	Technical authority	Governance authority
Asset ownership	Referenced in all technical docs	PLATFORM_BOUNDARIES.md
Public vs Internal API	PUBLIC_API_ARCHITECTURE.md	PLATFORM_PUBLIC_API.md
Extensions	EXTENSION_ARCHITECTURE.md	PLATFORM_EXTENSION_MODEL.md
Versioning	EVOLUTION_MODEL.md	PLATFORM_VERSIONING_POLICY.md
Execution phases	EXECUTION_PIPELINE.md	Methodology docs (Platform Core)

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Technical Index v1.0 — Phase 12-3 complete. Phase table: PLATFORM_INDEX.md.