ToolsSubstrate planecalled, never run

Manifold

The model-provider switch

StatusBuildIn use
FIG · Change vendor by turning the valve; the pipes stay fixed.

Where it stands. Built and in use: Crawl and Scribe already reach their models through it.

01What it does
01
One contract to reach a model
Every Tool calls through Manifold to reach a model. A role asks for a capability tier, and Manifold resolves which vendor answers that call.
02
The vendor becomes a config line
Swapping one provider for another is an edit, not a rebuild, because which vendor a role runs on lives in config, not in a code path.
03
In the path of every Crawl and Scribe call
Crawl and Scribe reach their models through Manifold today, so the contract is proven before the rest of the suite leans on it.
02Its place on the control plane

Manifold is not on a plane, it is the gateway at the estate’s edge to the external model market: the one contract every Tool on every plane routes its model calls through. That position is what lets Gimbal’s proposed remaps land as a config line rather than a rebuild.

03Who it works with

A substrate member is called, never run. Everything below reads its declared contract at the moment it needs it, which is why it has no step of its own in any workflow.

04Where it does the work

Estate law (the owner, 2026-07-20): every deployed workflow's model access runs through Manifold. The workflows below are the ones that name it directly, the main ones, not an exhaustive account of everywhere that reach runs.