Stress Model

Identity OS uses a 4-level stress model that automatically tightens behavioral constraints when your agent encounters problems.

The 4 Stress Levels

Level	Color	What Happens
LOW	Green	Normal operations. All actions allowed, full behavioral freedom.
MED	Yellow	Caution. Conservative actions preferred, learning rate decreases.
HIGH	Red	Critical. Action vocabulary severely restricted. Only safe actions allowed.
OVER	Black	Shutdown. System enters deferred decision mode. Minimal actions only.

What Triggers Stress

Stress rises automatically based on observable signals from your agent's environment. You don't need to calculate or send stress manually — the engine detects it from the pattern of observations you send.

What Changes Under Stress

As stress rises, the ExecutionContract becomes more restrictive:

• Allowed actions narrow — risky actions are removed
• Decision style shifts — slower tempo, lower risk tolerance
• Energy depletes faster — stress increases per-cycle cost
• Recovery profile activates — the contract signals what the agent needs to recover

Sending Stress Signals

You can also explicitly signal stress:

result = client.engine.process(
    instance_id=instance.id,
    mode_target=Mode.STRESS_RESPONSE,
    signal_strength=0.9  # High stress signal
)

# Contract will reflect tightened constraints
print(result.contract.current_stress_level)  # "HIGH" or "OVER"
print(result.contract.allowed_actions)       # Restricted set

Recovery

When stress signals stop, the system gradually recovers:

• Stress level decreases over subsequent calm cycles
• Action vocabulary expands back
• Energy begins recovering
• Decision style returns to normal

The recovery is gradual, not instant — preventing oscillation between states.