> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cogna8-io.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cogna8-io.gitbook.io/docs/architecture/processing-pipeline.md).

# Processing Pipeline

Every message in Cogna8 flows through a multi-stage authority pipeline that takes raw input through to committed, auditable, authorization-ready state.

## Pipeline Flow

The pipeline follows a consistent sequence:

**State Formation** - Meaningful information is identified from unstructured input, classified, normalized, and assigned canonical keys. This is where raw conversation becomes governed state.

**Conflict Detection** - New state is compared against all existing active state within the applicable scope. Contradictions and inconsistencies are surfaced as explicit conflict records.

**Policy Evaluation** - Active policies are checked against the current state. This includes prerequisite verification, constraint compliance, and any configured business rules.

**Action Gating** - If the message includes or implies an action request, the gate evaluates whether the action is authorized to proceed and returns a deterministic authorization decision.

All state changes, conflict records, gate evaluations, and audit entries are committed atomically at the end of each pipeline run.

{% hint style="info" %}
The entire pipeline typically completes in under two seconds. Each stage's progress is shown in real-time through the **pipeline status indicator** in the chat panel.
{% endhint %}

## Pipeline Visibility

Users see pipeline progress through color-coded status messages in the chat interface, showing which phase of processing is currently active.

See [Pipeline Status](https://github.com/Cogna8/docs/blob/main/ui-guide/pipeline-status.md) for the full list of status indicators.