diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd5590b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+node_modules/
+.npmrc
+.env
+.env.*
+__tests__/
+coverage/
+.nyc_output/
+dist/
+build/
+.cache/
+*.log
+.DS_Store
+tmp/
+.tmp/
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+.venv/
+venv/
+*.egg-info/
+.pytest_cache/
+READY_TO_PUBLISH
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..53a1e71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# GuardRail.Space AGENTS.md
+
+Architectural guidelines and contribution rules for GuardRail.Space MVP.
+
+- Architecture overview
+- Tech stack and interfaces
+- Testing commands and CI hints
+- Contribution and code style rules
+- MVP scope for safety contracts, policy engine, guard module, and adapters
+
+The goal is to provide a production-ready scaffold that can be progressively extended:
+- DSL for SafetyContracts (JSON-like for MVP)
+- Runtime policy engine to veto or adjust actions
+- Shadow planner for risk-proof alternatives
+- Offline-first logging and reconciliation
+- CatOpt bridge adapters for cross-domain interoperability
+- HIL-ready integration hooks (Gazebo/ROS)
+- Governance, audit trails, and privacy controls
+
+If you add features, update this document to reflect schema changes and testing commands.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c595973..d5e17c2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
-# guardrail-space-verifiable-safety-contra
+# GuardRail.Space
 
-A lightweight, open-source safety framework to govern onboard AGI planners for space robotics (rovers, habitats, small satellites). It introduces a contract-based safety layer with (1) Safety Contracts defining pre/post conditions, budgets, and colli
\ No newline at end of file
+A lightweight, open-source safety framework to govern onboard AGI planners for space robotics. MVP includes:
+- JSON-like SafetyContract DSL
+- Runtime policy engine to veto or adjust actions
+- Guard module with deterministic fallback and shadow-planner hook
+- CatOpt bridge adapters skeleton for cross-domain interoperability
+- Offline-first design concepts and governance groundwork
+
+This repository provides a minimal, production-ready scaffold to bootstrap a full MVP. The goal is to enable cross-domain experimentation while maintaining safety and auditability.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b19d9bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["setuptools>=40.8.0", "wheel"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
+[project]
+name = "guardrail_space"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "Verifiable safety contracts and offline-first guard for onboard AGI space robotics"
+readme = "README.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.9"
+
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["src"]
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b94f0af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+from setuptools import setup, find_packages
+
+setup(
+    name="guardrail_space",
+    version="0.1.0",
+    packages=find_packages(where="src"),
+    package_dir={"": "src"},
+    description="Verifiable safety contracts and offline-first guard for onboard AGI space robotics",
+)
diff --git a/src/guardrail_space/__init__.py b/src/guardrail_space/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a683100
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/guardrail_space/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+from .contracts import SafetyContract, parse_safety_contract_from_json, contract_to_minimal_dict
+from .policy_engine import PolicyEngine
+from .guard_module import GuardModule
+
+__all__ = [
+    "SafetyContract",
+    "parse_safety_contract_from_json",
+    "contract_to_minimal_dict",
+    "PolicyEngine",
+    "GuardModule",
+]
diff --git a/src/guardrail_space/adapters.py b/src/guardrail_space/adapters.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8039fe8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/guardrail_space/adapters.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+from typing import Dict, Any
+
+def catopt_to_canonic(obj: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "Object": obj.get("subject", {}),
+        "Morphism": obj.get("signal", {}),
+        "Functor": obj.get("adapter", {}),
+        "Meta": obj.get("meta", {}),
+    }
+
+def canonic_to_catopt(obj: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "subject": obj.get("Object", {}),
+        "signal": obj.get("Morphism", {}),
+        "adapter": obj.get("Functor", {}),
+        "meta": obj.get("Meta", {}),
+    }
diff --git a/src/guardrail_space/contracts.py b/src/guardrail_space/contracts.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46f66e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/guardrail_space/contracts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import json
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import List, Dict, Any, Optional
+
+
+@dataclass
+class SafetyContract:
+    name: str
+    pre: Optional[str]
+    post: Optional[str]
+    budgets: Dict[str, float]
+    collision_rules: List[Dict[str, Any]]
+    trust_policy: Dict[str, Any]
+
+
+def parse_safety_contract_from_json(text: str) -> SafetyContract:
+    data = json.loads(text)
+    return SafetyContract(
+        name=data.get("name", "contract"),
+        pre=data.get("pre"),
+        post=data.get("post"),
+        budgets=data.get("budgets", {}),
+        collision_rules=data.get("collision_rules", []),
+        trust_policy=data.get("trust_policy", {}),
+    )
+
+
+def contract_to_minimal_dict(contract: SafetyContract) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+    return {
+        "name": contract.name,
+        "pre": contract.pre,
+        "post": contract.post,
+        "budgets": contract.budgets,
+        "collision_rules": contract.collision_rules,
+        "trust_policy": contract.trust_policy,
+    }
diff --git a/src/guardrail_space/guard_module.py b/src/guardrail_space/guard_module.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac3c286
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/guardrail_space/guard_module.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import threading
+from typing import Dict, Any, Tuple
+from .contracts import SafetyContract
+from .policy_engine import PolicyEngine
+
+
+class GuardModule:
+    def __init__(self, contract: SafetyContract):
+        self.contract = contract
+        self.engine = PolicyEngine(contract)
+        self.lock = threading.Lock()
+        self.shadow_delta: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+    def decide(self, action: Dict[str, Any], context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Tuple[bool, Dict[str, Any]]:
+        with self.lock:
+            pre_ok, _ = self.engine.evaluate_pre(action, context)
+            if not pre_ok:
+                return False, {"reason": "precondition-failed", "fallback": self._fallback(action, context)}
+            remaining = self.engine.remaining_budgets(context)
+            cost = action.get("cost", {})
+            for k, v in cost.items():
+                rem = remaining.get(k, 0)
+                if v > rem:
+                    return False, {"reason": f"budget-{k}-exceeded", "fallback": self._fallback(action, context)}
+            post_ok, _ = self.engine.evaluate_post(action, context)
+            if not post_ok:
+                return False, {"reason": "postcondition-failed", "fallback": self._fallback(action, context)}
+            return True, action
+
+    def _fallback(self, action: Dict[str, Any], context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, Any]:
+        safe_action = {"name": "halt", "reason": "fallback", "context": context}
+        thread = threading.Thread(target=self._run_shadow_planner, args=(action, context))
+        thread.daemon = True
+        thread.start()
+        return safe_action
+
+    def _run_shadow_planner(self, action: Dict[str, Any], context: Dict[str, Any]):
+        delta = {"adjustment": {"reduce_cost": True}, "base_action": action}
+        with self.lock:
+            self.shadow_delta = delta
diff --git a/src/guardrail_space/policy_engine.py b/src/guardrail_space/policy_engine.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39ebbaf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/guardrail_space/policy_engine.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+from typing import Dict, Any, Tuple
+
+def _safe_eval(expr: str, context: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
+    if not expr:
+        return True
+    allowed_globals = {"__builtins__": {}}
+    local = dict(context)
+    try:
+        return bool(eval(expr, allowed_globals, local))
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
+class PolicyEngine:
+    def __init__(self, contract=None):
+        self.contract = contract
+
+    def set_contract(self, contract) -> None:
+        self.contract = contract
+
+    def evaluate_pre(self, action: Dict[str, Any], context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        if not self.contract or not self.contract.pre:
+            return True, "no-precondition"
+        ok = _safe_eval(self.contract.pre, {**context, "action": action})
+        return (bool(ok), "precondition" if ok else "precondition-failed")
+
+    def evaluate_post(self, action: Dict[str, Any], context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Tuple[bool, str]:
+        if not self.contract or not self.contract.post:
+            return True, "no-postcondition"
+        ok = _safe_eval(self.contract.post, {**context, "action": action})
+        return (bool(ok), "postcondition" if ok else "postcondition-failed")
+
+    def remaining_budgets(self, context: Dict[str, Any]) -> Dict[str, float]:
+        budgets = dict(self.contract.budgets) if self.contract and self.contract.budgets else {}
+        spent = context.get("spent", {"time": 0, "energy": 0, "compute": 0})
+        remaining = {}
+        for k, v in budgets.items():
+            spent_k = spent.get(k, 0)
+            remaining[k] = max(0.0, v - spent_k)
+        return remaining
diff --git a/test.sh b/test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c07d618
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+echo "Running tests..."
+pytest -q
+echo "Building package..."
+python -m build
+echo "All tests and build succeeded."
diff --git a/tests/test_contract_parsing.py b/tests/test_contract_parsing.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3f9fc9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_contract_parsing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+import json
+import sys
+import os
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "src")))
+from guardrail_space.contracts import SafetyContract, parse_safety_contract_from_json
+
+
+def test_parse_basic_contract():
+    text = json.dumps({
+        "name": "Demo",
+        "pre": "battery > 20",
+        "post": "after_action",
+        "budgets": {"time": 10, "energy": 5},
+        "collision_rules": [{"type": "avoid", "distance": 1.0}],
+        "trust_policy": {"overrides": ["operator"]}
+    })
+    c = parse_safety_contract_from_json(text)
+    assert isinstance(c, SafetyContract)
+    assert c.name == "Demo"
+    assert c.pre == "battery > 20"
+    assert c.budgets["time"] == 10
+    assert c.collision_rules[0]["type"] == "avoid"
+
+
+def test_contract_to_dict_roundtrip():
+    c = SafetyContract(
+        name="X",
+        pre=None,
+        post=None,
+        budgets={"time": 1},
+        collision_rules=[],
+        trust_policy={},
+    )
+    d = {
+        "name": c.name,
+        "pre": c.pre,
+        "post": c.post,
+        "budgets": c.budgets,
+        "collision_rules": c.collision_rules,
+        "trust_policy": c.trust_policy,
+    }
+    assert d["name"] == "X"
+    assert d["budgets"]["time"] == 1