Concepts & Architecture¶
This section explains the architecture of the Truthound product line. The main portal combines Truthound Core, Truthound AI, Truthound Orchestration, and a boundary-level Truthound Dashboard overview in one site, but those layers should not be read as one flat feature catalog.
Read this section when you want to understand:
- why Truthound Core is the data-plane and validation kernel
- where the optional AI review layer attaches without mutating the kernel by default
- how the execution integration layer and control-plane relate to that core
- where optional namespaces such as drift, profiler, realtime, lineage, and ML attach without becoming the kernel itself
- which layer owns which contract
Layered System Map¶
| Layer | Role | Owns | Does not own |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truthound Core | Data-plane / validation kernel | TruthoundContext, ValidationRunResult, planner/runtime, zero-config workspace, validation docs, reporters, checkpoint runtime |
host-native scheduler APIs, UI sessions, RBAC, incident queues |
| Truthound AI | Review layer | prompt-to-proposal compilation, canonical run analysis, approval logs, controlled suite apply, provider/redaction contracts | direct mutation of core state before review, dashboard runtime ownership |
| Truthound Orchestration | Execution integration layer | Airflow, Dagster, Prefect, dbt, Mage, and Kestra adapters plus a shared runtime contract | the kernel result model itself, dashboard control-plane state |
| Truthound Dashboard | Control-plane | workspaces, sessions, RBAC, sources, artifacts, incidents, secrets, observability | validation execution semantics, planner/runtime logic |
flowchart TD
A["Truthound Product Line"] --> B["Truthound Core\nData-plane / validation kernel"]
A --> C["Truthound AI\nReview layer"]
A --> D["Truthound Orchestration\nExecution integration layer"]
A --> E["Truthound Dashboard\nControl-plane"]
B --> F["TruthoundContext"]
B --> G["ValidationRunResult"]
B --> H["Planner / Runtime"]
C --> I["Suite proposal / run analysis / approval log"]
C --> J["Summary-only redaction and provider contract"]
D --> K["Airflow / Dagster / Prefect / dbt / Mage / Kestra"]
D --> L["Shared runtime contract"]
E --> M["Sessions / RBAC / Sources"]
E --> N["Artifacts / Incidents / Observability"]
Core-Adjoining Namespaces vs First-Party Layers¶
Not everything outside the root facade is a separate product layer.
| Category | Examples | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Core-adjoining namespaces | truthound.drift, truthound.checkpoint, truthound.reporters, truthound.datadocs, truthound.profiler |
part of the main truthound repository and still downstream of the core validation contract |
| Review-layer namespace | truthound.ai |
additive AI surface that compiles proposals and run analysis into reviewable artifacts without redefining the kernel contract |
| Optional advanced namespaces | truthound.lineage, truthound.realtime, truthound.ml |
broader capability surface inside the main repository; useful, but not the same thing as the core kernel |
| First-party external layers | truthound-orchestration, dashboard control-plane |
separate operational layers; orchestration remains mirrored here, while dashboard is represented through curated overview pages rather than a full mirrored manual |
How To Read The Docs Correctly¶
- Start in Core if you want the most proven runtime contract.
- Move to AI if you need reviewable proposal generation, run analysis, or approval/apply semantics on top of the kernel.
- Move to Orchestration if Truthound must run inside a scheduler, asset graph, flow system, or warehouse-native automation environment.
- Move to Dashboard if you need a control-plane with sessions, ownership, artifacts, incidents, or permissions.
- Treat benchmark evidence as evidence about the core validation kernel unless a page explicitly says otherwise.
Recommended Reading Path¶
- Truthound 3.0 Architecture
- Zero-Config Context
- Plugin Platform
- Truthound AI
- Advanced Features
- Truthound Orchestration
- Truthound Dashboard