Governance Modes¶

Sage Protocol uses a playbook system with a 3-axis governance model that allows communities to configure governance based on their size, maturity, and coordination needs. Each playbook pre-configures these axes to match common use cases.

The 3-Axis Model¶

Every Sage DAO is configured along three independent axes:

Axis	Values	What It Controls
governanceKind	`OPERATOR` / `TOKEN`	Who decides: trusted operator(s) vs token voting
proposalAccess	`COUNCIL_ONLY` / `COMMUNITY_THRESHOLD`	Who can create proposals
executionAccess	`COUNCIL_ONLY` / `ANYONE`	Who can execute passed proposals

This orthogonal design means you can mix and match - for example, allowing community members to propose changes while restricting execution to a trusted council.

Governance Playbooks¶

Playbooks are pre-configured combinations of the 3 axes optimized for common scenarios:

Playbook	governanceKind	proposalAccess	executionAccess	Best For
`personal`	OPERATOR	COUNCIL_ONLY	COUNCIL_ONLY	Solo creators
`council-closed`	OPERATOR	COUNCIL_ONLY	COUNCIL_ONLY	Teams with Safe multisig
`council-drafts`	TOKEN	COMMUNITY_THRESHOLD	COUNCIL_ONLY	Community proposes, council executes
`community`	TOKEN	COMMUNITY_THRESHOLD	ANYONE	Full token democracy
`community-long`	TOKEN	COMMUNITY_THRESHOLD	ANYONE	Extended voting (7 days)

Playbook Details¶

Personal¶

Best for: Solo creators who want to publish and iterate quickly.

sage dao create-playbook --playbook personal --name "My Library" --yes

Configuration: - Single EOA (your wallet) controls the DAO - No token voting required - Proposals execute through Timelock for transparency - Fastest iteration speed

How it works: 1. You create proposals via the Governor 2. Proposals auto-succeed (you're the only voter) 3. After timelock delay, you execute 4. All changes are on-chain and auditable

Council-Closed¶

Best for: Teams that want shared control via a Safe multisig.

sage dao create-playbook --playbook council-closed --name "Team Library" \
  --owners "0xAlice,0xBob,0xCarol" --threshold 2 --yes

Configuration: - Safe multisig controls the DAO - Only Safe signers can propose and execute - No external token voting - Good for small teams with high trust

How it works: 1. Any Safe signer proposes changes 2. Required signatures confirm approval 3. After timelock, any signer can execute 4. Full audit trail on-chain

Council-Drafts¶

Best for: Communities that want input but maintain execution control.

sage dao create-playbook --playbook council-drafts --name "Hybrid DAO" \
  --owners "0xAlice,0xBob,0xCarol" --yes

Configuration: - Community members can create proposals (if they meet token threshold) - Token holders vote on proposals - Only council can execute passed proposals - Balance of community input with trusted execution

How it works: 1. Community member creates proposal (needs SXXX stake) 2. Token holders vote during voting period 3. If quorum + majority reached, proposal succeeds 4. Council Safe executes after timelock

Community¶

Best for: Fully decentralized DAOs with token-weighted voting.

sage dao create-playbook --playbook community --name "Community DAO" --yes

Configuration: - Anyone with enough tokens can propose - All token holders can vote - Anyone can execute passed proposals - Full token democracy

Default parameters: - Voting period: 3 days - Quorum: 4% of token supply - Proposal threshold: 10,000 SXXX - Timelock delay: 2 days

How it works: 1. Holder with enough SXXX creates proposal 2. Community votes For/Against/Abstain 3. If quorum + majority reached, proposal queues 4. After timelock, anyone can execute

Community-Long¶

Best for: High-stakes decisions requiring extended deliberation.

sage dao create-playbook --playbook community-long --name "Deliberative DAO" --yes

Configuration: - Same as community but with extended voting - 7-day voting period - Lower quorum (2%) to account for longer period - Good for major upgrades or treasury decisions

Governance Parameters¶

All parameters can be customized during creation or updated via governance proposals:

Voting Parameters¶

Parameter	Default	Description
`votingDelay`	1 day	Time before voting starts after proposal
`votingPeriod`	3-7 days	Duration of voting
`proposalThreshold`	10,000 SXXX	Tokens required to create proposal
`quorumNumerator`	2-4%	Minimum participation to pass

Timelock Parameters¶

Parameter	Default	Description
`minDelay`	1-2 days	Minimum execution delay
`gracePeriod`	7 days	Window to execute after delay

Token Delegation¶

For TOKEN governance (council-drafts, community, community-long), voting power comes from delegated SXXX tokens.

Important: You must delegate before participating:

# Delegate voting power to yourself
sage sxxx delegate-self

# Check your voting power
sage sxxx delegation

# Check if you can propose
sage governance preflight --subdao 0xYourDAO

Delegation is required because ERC20Votes tokens track voting power via checkpoints. Without delegation, your tokens don't count toward voting or proposal thresholds.

Diagnosing Governance Mode¶

Check a DAO's governance configuration:

# Full diagnostics
sage governance diag --subdao 0xYourDAO

# Check readiness to propose
sage governance preflight --subdao 0xYourDAO

The diag command shows: - Current governance profile (playbook) - governanceKind, proposalAccess, executionAccess - Quorum and thresholds - Your voting power

Transitioning Between Modes¶

DAOs can evolve their governance over time via proposals:

Personal → Community¶

# 1. Create proposal to change governance profile
sage governance propose-custom \
  --description "Transition to community governance" \
  --target 0xSubDAO \
  --calldata <encoded-setProfile-call>

# 2. After approval and execution, governance mode changes

Council → Community¶

Teams often start with council governance and transition to community as the project matures:

Deploy with council-closed or council-drafts
Build community and distribute tokens
Propose governance profile change
Council executes the transition

CLI Commands for Governance¶

# Create DAO with specific playbook
sage dao create-playbook --playbook <id> --name "..." --yes

# Check governance configuration
sage governance diag --subdao 0x...

# Check proposal readiness
sage governance preflight --subdao 0x...

# View proposal details
sage governance info <proposal-id> --subdao 0x...

# Vote on proposal
sage governance vote-with-reason <id> 1 "Supporting this"

# Queue passed proposal
sage governance queue <id> --subdao 0x...

# Execute after timelock
sage governance execute <id> --subdao 0x...

# Watch and auto-execute
sage governance watch <id>

Best Practices¶

For Solo Creators (Personal)¶

Start with personal for fastest iteration
All changes still go through Timelock for auditability
Consider transitioning to community as you build audience

For Teams (Council)¶

Use council-closed for internal tools and early development
Use council-drafts when you want community input
Keep Safe threshold at majority (e.g., 2-of-3, 3-of-5)
Document Safe signer responsibilities

For Communities¶

Start with higher quorum and lower thresholds to encourage participation
Enable delegation early so passive holders can participate
Use community-long for major treasury or upgrade decisions
Monitor quorum carefully - too high kills governance, too low enables attacks

Summary¶

The playbook system makes it easy to start with the right governance model:

Your Situation	Recommended Playbook
Solo creator, want speed	`personal`
Small team, shared control	`council-closed`
Team + community input	`council-drafts`
Full decentralization	`community`
High-stakes decisions	`community-long`

All playbooks can evolve over time - start simple and add complexity as your community grows.