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Policy-as-Code

Reviewed 19 July 2026Canonical definitionPart of: Runtime Control & Guardrail Terms →

Policy-as-code is the practice of defining governance rules in machine-readable formats that can be automatically enforced at runtime. Instead of relying on manual reviews, policies are version-controlled, tested, and deployed alongside the agents they govern.

§01 / QUESTIONSterm: Policy-as-Code
Questions

Common questions.

What is Policy-as-Code?

Policy-as-code is the practice of defining governance rules in machine-readable formats that can be automatically enforced at runtime.

How is Policy-as-Code used in production?

Instead of relying on manual reviews, policies are version-controlled, tested, and deployed alongside the agents they govern.

Which terms are related to Policy-as-Code?

Closely related concepts include AI Policy Library, Runtime Policy, Governance Automation, Jailbreak (AI Agent). Each is defined in the Prefactor glossary.

§02 / RELATEDnext: where this fits
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Where this fits.

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