Glossary
Meter
The one unit each layer charges for: credit, decision, governed action, node-year.
Read the termGlossary · Term 12 of 39
Governed action
A governed action is one consequential write, proposed by an AI agent or a system, that passed the Right Path and was committed to the system of record. It is the unit elan1 Govern meters and bills. Refused writes still leave a proof record and are metered at 0.4 of a governed action.
In one sentence: One consequential write that passed the Right Path and was committed; Govern's meter unit.
01In more detail
What it means in practice
Paid per governed action. A refusal costs 40% of one. A credit in elan1 Work is a rendering of governed actions, never a separate count, so you never pay twice for one change.
Every governed action has exactly one proof record and one meter event at rung 9 METERED.
02Where this shows up in elan1
elan1 Govern's meter, and the unit every other layer's charges render into rather than double-count.
04Questions
Governed action: common questions
No. A governed action is a write that passed the Right Path and was committed. A refused write still leaves a proof record and is metered at 0.4 of a governed action, because the checks still ran but nothing was committed.
No. An elan1 Decide answer is metered as a decision. If a decision leads to a write, that write is a separate write intent, and it becomes a governed action only once elan1 Govern allows and commits it.
Defined in the elan1 glossary · Last reviewed 10 Oct 2026. Definitions change only with a dated note.
// SEE IT
See the term in a governed action.
The walkthrough follows one write from intent to proof record, using the words in this glossary.