A proxy is a designated agent authorized to act on behalf of a principal within a legal, technical, or social framework. Parameters: (1) a principal who grants authority, (2) a proxy who exercises substituted agency, (3) a scope that bounds the delegated authority. The persistence mechanism is formal authorization — a legal instrument (power of attorney), technical credential (API proxy), or institutional protocol that sustains the delegated role. A proxy is the institutionalization of substitution: the proxy's acts count as the principal's acts within the authorized scope. [formal: proxy | substrate: behavior | horizon: a life | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.31]
Accepted ontology entry
proxy
A proxy is a designated agent authorized to act on behalf of a principal within a legal, technical, or social framework. Parameters: (1) a principal who grants authority, (2) a proxy who exercises substituted agency, (3) a scope that bound…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A proxy is a human-made representational role: a person, entity, or system authorized to act on behalf of another within a legal, technical, or social framework. It is an institution of delegation — entirely constructed by human agreement, protocol, or law.
Names and aliases
- proxyen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrng8t8a02cyd1nlcuj11wc0INSTANCE_OF →
proxy is a specific kind of representation — it stands in for something else, which is the defining feature of representation. 'X is a specific kind of Y' → INSTANCE_OF.
- cmrmr3rjd01i4d1nlorpx6yu2INSTANCE_OF →
Proxy IS a specific kind of delegation — authorizing someone/something to act on one's behalf. Competent speaker test: a proxy is a kind of delegation (particularized by representing the principal's interests). Direction: specific to general per Law 9.
Relations to this entry
- cmsjfwwkk02vpnobpcf08yjow← DEPENDS_ON
A service mesh depends on proxies: its data plane is literally composed of sidecar or ambient proxies that intercept all traffic. Remove proxies and the service mesh stops operating — the mesh HAS NO WORKING without proxy instances.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 16, 2026, 9:18 PM UTC
- Content hash
- ca15e7b418c63442f3b175d316fe74de6e60ecce676335da6b43a27a9f12335e