# REQ-INT-001: Database Integrity Framework

## Metadata
- **Category**: INTEGRITY
- **Subcategory**: Framework
- **Priority**: HIGH
- **Phase**: 17
- **Status**: MISSING
- **Dependencies**: REQ-GO-042 (CRDT Sync)

## Requirement

RTMX shall provide a database integrity framework that prevents unauthorized modification of requirement status fields, ensuring closed-loop verification is enforced rather than merely detected.

## Rationale

The core value proposition of RTMX is closed-loop verification: requirement status must be derived from test results, not manually claimed. In agentic development workflows, AI agents have the same filesystem permissions as developers, making detection-based approaches (signatures, audit logs) insufficient. True enforcement requires architectural controls that agents cannot bypass.

## Problem Statement

1. AI agents run with user-level privileges
2. Any file the user can modify, the agent can modify
3. Detection mechanisms (signatures, hooks) can be bypassed
4. Sudo-based solutions create installation friction
5. Decentralized/federated workflows lack central enforcement authority

## Design Space

The solution must be analyzed across multiple dimensions:

### Enforcement Mechanisms (choose one or more)
- [ ] OS-level file permissions (requires privilege separation)
- [ ] Remote attestation service (requires network + infrastructure)
- [ ] Git branch protection (requires centralized Git hosting)
- [ ] Interactive confirmation (requires human presence)
- [ ] Hardware token attestation (requires physical device)
- [ ] CRDT proof-of-verification (requires cryptographic proofs)

### Trust Models (choose one)
- [ ] Self-sovereign (developer's key verifies their own work)
- [ ] Delegated authority (org designates trusted verifiers)
- [ ] Web of trust (N-of-M verifiers required)
- [ ] Centralized CA (single root of trust)

### Deployment Constraints
- [ ] No sudo required for installation
- [ ] Works offline
- [ ] Works in air-gapped environments
- [ ] Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows)
- [ ] Compatible with existing Git workflows
- [ ] Compatible with RTMX Sync (CRDT-based)

## Acceptance Criteria

1. A design document analyzes all enforcement mechanisms with trade-offs
2. The chosen approach prevents agents from bypassing verification
3. Installation does not require elevated privileges
4. The solution scales from single-developer to enterprise federation
5. Migration path exists from current (unenforced) to enforced model

## Test Strategy

- Adversarial testing: attempt to bypass enforcement as an agent
- Integration testing: verify enforcement across all supported platforms
- Usability testing: measure friction introduced for legitimate workflows

## Notes

This is a framework requirement. Specific implementation requirements (REQ-INT-002 through REQ-INT-00x) will be defined after design analysis is complete.

## References

- CLAUDE.md: Closed-Loop Verification section
- docs/patterns.md: Manual status edits anti-pattern
- Strategic Plan: Phase 10 Zero-Trust Foundation
