Ordered request pipeline
Every request — regardless of wire format — runs through the same fixed, cheapest-first stage order.
- Build order: auth → token_budget → security_in → scratchpad → summarize → knowledge → dedup → cache → routing → dispatch → security_out → meter.
- auth, token_budget, security_in, dispatch, security_out, and meter always run; memory-layer and routing stages are independently feature-flagged.
- A blocked stage short-circuits the rest of the pipeline — a filtered prompt never reaches a provider.