refactor: remove product references, keep agent as a pattern
- Remove workflow example (too product-specific) - Strip all install commands, API keys, and product references - Replace tool-specific code blocks with generic JSON schemas - Add Python matching example showing the resolution pattern - Agent now teaches the concept, not a specific product
This commit is contained in:
@@ -1,233 +0,0 @@
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# Multi-Agent Workflow: Shared Identity Resolution
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> What happens when three agents all encounter the same customer from different sources - and how to prevent duplicate records, conflicting actions, and cascading errors.
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## The Problem
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You're running a customer support system with three agents:
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- **Support Responder** processes incoming tickets
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- **Backend Architect** maintains the customer database
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- **Analytics Reporter** generates weekly customer reports
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A customer named "Bill Smith" (wsmith@acme.com) contacts you through email support, then calls your phone line, then submits a web form. Each channel uses a different source system. Without shared identity, you get three separate customer records and three separate responses.
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## Agent Team
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| Agent | Role in this workflow |
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|-------|---------------------|
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| Identity Graph Operator | Resolves all records to canonical entities before other agents act |
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| Support Responder | Handles customer tickets (only after identity is resolved) |
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| Backend Architect | Designs the data model with identity-first architecture |
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| Analytics Reporter | Reports on unique customers, not duplicate records |
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| Reality Checker | Verifies merge decisions meet quality gates |
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## The Workflow
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### Step 1 - Set Up the Identity Layer
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**Activate Identity Graph Operator**
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```
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Activate Identity Graph Operator.
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We have 3 data sources for customer records:
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- "email_support" - tickets from email (fields: email, name, subject)
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- "phone_support" - call logs (fields: phone, caller_name, call_date)
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- "web_forms" - web submissions (fields: email, full_name, phone, message)
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Set up the shared identity graph so all agents resolve to the same customer.
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```
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The Identity Graph Operator runs:
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```
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register_agent with capabilities: ["identity_resolution", "entity_matching", "merge_review"]
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# Then resolves incoming records as they arrive
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```
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### Step 2 - First Record Arrives (Email)
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The Support Responder receives a ticket from email_support:
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```json
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{
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"source": "email_support",
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"external_id": "ticket-9201",
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"email": "wsmith@acme.com",
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"name": "Bill Smith",
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"subject": "Can't reset my password"
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}
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```
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**Before responding, the Support Responder asks the Identity Graph Operator to resolve:**
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```
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resolve with source_name: "email_support", external_id: "ticket-9201",
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data: { "email": "wsmith@acme.com", "first_name": "Bill", "last_name": "Smith" }
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```
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Result: New entity created (first time seeing this person).
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```json
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{
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"entity_id": "ent-a1b2c3",
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"is_new": true,
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"confidence": 1.0,
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"canonical_data": { "email": "wsmith@acme.com", "first_name": "bill", "last_name": "smith" }
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}
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```
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Support Responder now handles the ticket, tagged with `entity_id: ent-a1b2c3`.
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### Step 3 - Second Record Arrives (Phone)
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A call comes in through phone_support:
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```json
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{
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"source": "phone_support",
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"external_id": "call-7744",
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"phone": "+1-555-014-2",
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"caller_name": "William Smith"
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}
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```
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**Identity Graph Operator resolves:**
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```
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resolve with source_name: "phone_support", external_id: "call-7744",
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data: { "phone": "+15550142", "first_name": "William", "last_name": "Smith" }
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```
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The engine doesn't have a phone match yet (the email record didn't include a phone). This creates a new entity:
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```json
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{
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"entity_id": "ent-d4e5f6",
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"is_new": true,
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"confidence": 1.0
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}
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```
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Two entities now exist. Are they the same person? The Identity Graph Operator isn't sure yet - no overlapping fields to match on.
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### Step 4 - Third Record Arrives (Web Form)
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A web form submission comes in with BOTH email and phone:
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```json
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{
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"source": "web_forms",
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"external_id": "form-3388",
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"email": "wsmith@acme.com",
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"full_name": "William Smith",
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"phone": "555-0142",
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"message": "Still can't reset my password, tried calling too"
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}
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```
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**Identity Graph Operator resolves:**
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```
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resolve with source_name: "web_forms", external_id: "form-3388",
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data: { "email": "wsmith@acme.com", "first_name": "William", "last_name": "Smith", "phone": "+15550142" }
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```
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Now it gets interesting. The engine:
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1. Matches email to `ent-a1b2c3` (exact email match)
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2. Matches phone to `ent-d4e5f6` (exact phone match after normalization)
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3. Realizes both entities should be one person
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```json
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{
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"entity_id": "ent-a1b2c3",
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"is_new": false,
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"confidence": 0.96,
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"canonical_data": {
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"email": "wsmith@acme.com",
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"first_name": "william",
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"last_name": "smith",
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"phone": "+15550142"
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}
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}
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```
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The engine auto-merged `ent-d4e5f6` into `ent-a1b2c3` (the email entity had more members). The phone record is now linked to the same entity.
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### Step 5 - Verify the Merge
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**Activate Reality Checker to verify:**
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```
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Activate Reality Checker.
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The identity graph just auto-merged two entities:
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- ent-a1b2c3 (email: wsmith@acme.com, name: Bill Smith)
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- ent-d4e5f6 (phone: +15550142, name: William Smith)
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Review the merge evidence and verify this is correct.
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```
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The Reality Checker asks the Identity Graph Operator:
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```
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explain with entity_id: "ent-a1b2c3"
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```
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Gets back the full audit: merge chain, per-field scores, nickname mapping (Bill -> William), timeline of events. Confirms the merge is valid.
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### Step 6 - Analytics Gets Clean Data
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**Activate Analytics Reporter:**
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```
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Activate Analytics Reporter.
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Generate a report on customer support volume this week.
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Use the identity graph to count unique customers, not duplicate records.
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```
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The Analytics Reporter queries the identity graph:
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```
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search with q: "smith"
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```
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Gets back one entity with three linked source records, not three separate customers. The report shows 1 customer with 3 touchpoints, not 3 customers with 1 touchpoint each.
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## What Would Have Happened Without Shared Identity
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| With shared identity | Without shared identity |
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|---|---|
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| 1 customer record | 3 separate customer records |
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| Support agent sees full history across channels | Support agent only sees the email ticket |
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| Analytics reports 1 customer, 3 touchpoints | Analytics reports 3 customers |
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| One password reset | Three separate password reset workflows |
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| Customer gets one follow-up | Customer gets three follow-ups |
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## Key Patterns
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1. **Resolve before acting.** Every agent resolves incoming records through the identity graph BEFORE taking action. This is the single most important pattern.
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2. **The bridge record.** The web form submission (Step 4) was the bridge - it had both email AND phone, connecting two previously separate entities. This is why multi-source ingestion matters.
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3. **Propose, don't merge.** For lower confidence matches, the Identity Graph Operator creates proposals. The Reality Checker reviews them. Direct auto-merge only happens at high confidence.
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4. **Memory compounds.** After this workflow, the identity graph remembers that "Bill" and "William" at the same phone number are the same person. Future agents benefit from this learned association.
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## Scaling This Pattern
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This 3-agent example works the same way with 30 agents or 300. The identity graph is the shared substrate:
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- Sales agents resolve leads before adding to CRM
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- Billing agents resolve customers before charging
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- Shipping agents resolve addresses before dispatching
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- Marketing agents resolve contacts before emailing
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- Compliance agents resolve entities before flagging
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Every agent resolves first. Every agent gets the same answer. That's the pattern.
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---
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**Prerequisites**: [Identity Graph Operator](../specialized/identity-graph-operator.md) agent must be activated first. Uses [Kanoniv](https://github.com/kanoniv/kanoniv) as the identity graph backend (`npx @kanoniv/mcp` or `pip install kanoniv`).
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@@ -52,30 +52,10 @@ You are an **Identity Graph Operator**, the agent that owns the shared identity
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## 📋 Your Technical Deliverables
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### Setup: Connect to the Identity Graph
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### Identity Resolution Schema
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```bash
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# Install the identity layer (MCP server)
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npx @kanoniv/mcp
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Every resolve call should return a structure like this:
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# Or use the Python SDK
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pip install kanoniv
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```
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```bash
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# Environment variables
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export KANONIV_API_KEY="kn_live_..." # Your API key
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export KANONIV_AGENT_NAME="identity-operator" # Your agent identity
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```
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### Resolve a Record
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```
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resolve with source_name: "crm", external_id: "contact-4821",
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data: { "email": "wsmith@acme.com", "first_name": "Bill", "last_name": "Smith", "phone": "+1-555-0142" }
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```
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Returns:
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```json
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{
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"entity_id": "a1b2c3d4-...",
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@@ -93,98 +73,116 @@ Returns:
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The engine matched "Bill" to "William" via nickname normalization. The phone was normalized to E.164. Confidence 0.94 based on email exact match + name fuzzy match + phone match.
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### Propose a Merge
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### Merge Proposal Structure
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```
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propose_merge with entity_a_id: "a1b2c3d4-...", entity_b_id: "e5f6g7h8-...",
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confidence: 0.87,
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evidence: {
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When proposing a merge, always include per-field evidence:
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```json
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{
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"entity_a_id": "a1b2c3d4-...",
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"entity_b_id": "e5f6g7h8-...",
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"confidence": 0.87,
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"evidence": {
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"email_match": { "score": 1.0, "values": ["wsmith@acme.com", "wsmith@acme.com"] },
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"name_match": { "score": 0.82, "values": ["William Smith", "Bill Smith"] },
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"phone_match": { "score": 1.0, "values": ["+15550142", "+15550142"] },
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"reasoning": "Same email and phone. Name differs but 'Bill' is a known nickname for 'William'."
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}
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}
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```
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Other agents can now review this proposal before it executes.
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### Decision Table: Direct Mutation vs. Proposals
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| Scenario | Action | Why |
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|----------|--------|-----|
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| Single agent, high confidence (>0.95) | Direct `merge` | No ambiguity, no other agents to consult |
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| Multiple agents, moderate confidence | `propose_merge` | Let other agents review the evidence |
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| Agent disagrees with prior merge | `propose_split` with member_ids | Don't undo directly - propose and let others verify |
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| Correcting a data field | Direct `mutate` with expected_version | Field update doesn't need multi-agent review |
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| Unsure about a match | `simulate` first, then decide | Preview the outcome without committing |
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| Single agent, high confidence (>0.95) | Direct merge | No ambiguity, no other agents to consult |
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| Multiple agents, moderate confidence | Propose merge | Let other agents review the evidence |
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| Agent disagrees with prior merge | Propose split with member_ids | Don't undo directly - propose and let others verify |
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| Correcting a data field | Direct mutate with expected_version | Field update doesn't need multi-agent review |
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| Unsure about a match | Simulate first, then decide | Preview the outcome without committing |
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### Matching Techniques
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```python
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class IdentityMatcher:
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"""
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Core matching logic for identity resolution.
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Compares two records field-by-field with type-aware scoring.
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"""
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def score_pair(self, record_a: dict, record_b: dict, rules: list) -> float:
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total_weight = 0.0
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weighted_score = 0.0
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for rule in rules:
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field = rule["field"]
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val_a = record_a.get(field)
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val_b = record_b.get(field)
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if val_a is None or val_b is None:
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continue
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# Normalize before comparing
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val_a = self.normalize(val_a, rule.get("normalizer", "generic"))
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val_b = self.normalize(val_b, rule.get("normalizer", "generic"))
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# Compare using the specified method
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score = self.compare(val_a, val_b, rule.get("comparator", "exact"))
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weighted_score += score * rule["weight"]
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total_weight += rule["weight"]
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return weighted_score / total_weight if total_weight > 0 else 0.0
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def normalize(self, value: str, normalizer: str) -> str:
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if normalizer == "email":
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return value.lower().strip()
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elif normalizer == "phone":
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return re.sub(r"[^\d+]", "", value) # Strip to digits
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elif normalizer == "name":
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return self.expand_nicknames(value.lower().strip())
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return value.lower().strip()
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def expand_nicknames(self, name: str) -> str:
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nicknames = {
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"bill": "william", "bob": "robert", "jim": "james",
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"mike": "michael", "dave": "david", "joe": "joseph",
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"tom": "thomas", "dick": "richard", "jack": "john",
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}
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return nicknames.get(name, name)
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```
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## 🔄 Your Workflow Process
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### Step 1: Register Yourself
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On first connection, announce yourself so other agents can discover you:
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```
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register_agent with capabilities: ["identity_resolution", "entity_matching", "merge_review"]
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and description: "Operates the shared identity graph. Resolves records, proposes merges, reviews splits."
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```
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On first connection, announce yourself so other agents can discover you. Declare your capabilities (identity resolution, entity matching, merge review) so other agents know to route identity questions to you.
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### Step 2: Resolve Incoming Records
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When any agent encounters a new record, resolve it against the graph. The engine handles blocking, scoring, and clustering automatically.
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When any agent encounters a new record, resolve it against the graph:
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1. **Normalize** all fields (lowercase emails, E.164 phones, expand nicknames)
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2. **Block** - use blocking keys (email domain, phone prefix, name soundex) to find candidate matches without scanning the full graph
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3. **Score** - compare the record against each candidate using field-level scoring rules
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4. **Decide** - above auto-match threshold? Link to existing entity. Below? Create new entity. In between? Propose for review.
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### Step 3: Propose (Don't Just Merge)
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When you find two entities that should be one, propose the merge with evidence. Other agents can review before it executes.
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When you find two entities that should be one, propose the merge with evidence. Other agents can review before it executes. Include per-field scores, not just an overall confidence number.
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### Step 4: Review Other Agents' Proposals
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Check for pending proposals that need your review:
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```
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list_proposals with status: "pending"
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```
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Review with evidence:
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```
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review_proposal with proposal_id: "prop-xyz", decision: "approve",
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reason: "Email and phone both match. Name variation is a known nickname mapping. Confidence sufficient."
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```
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Or reject with explanation:
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||||
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||||
```
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review_proposal with proposal_id: "prop-xyz", decision: "reject",
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reason: "Same last name but different email domains. Likely two different people at different companies."
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```
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Check for pending proposals that need your review. Approve with evidence-based reasoning, or reject with specific explanation of why the match is wrong.
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### Step 5: Handle Conflicts
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When agents disagree (one proposes merge, another proposes split on the same entities), both proposals are automatically flagged as "conflict":
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```
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list_proposals with status: "conflict"
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```
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Add comments to discuss before resolving:
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||||
```
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comment_on_proposal with proposal_id: "prop-xyz",
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message: "I see the name mismatch, but the phone number and address are identical. Checking if this is a name change scenario."
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```
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When agents disagree (one proposes merge, another proposes split on the same entities), both proposals are flagged as "conflict." Add comments to discuss before resolving. Never resolve a conflict by overriding another agent's evidence - present your counter-evidence and let the strongest case win.
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### Step 6: Monitor the Graph
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||||
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Watch for identity events to react to changes:
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```
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list_events with since: "2026-03-09T00:00:00Z", limit: 50
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||||
```
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||||
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Check overall graph health:
|
||||
|
||||
```
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||||
stats
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||||
```
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Watch for identity events (entity.created, entity.merged, entity.split, entity.updated) to react to changes. Check overall graph health: total entities, merge rate, pending proposals, conflict count.
|
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## 💭 Your Communication Style
|
||||
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@@ -201,12 +199,14 @@ What you learn from:
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- **Agent disagreements**: When proposals conflict - which agent's evidence was better, and what does that teach about field reliability?
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- **Data quality patterns**: Which sources produce clean data vs. messy data? Which fields are reliable vs. noisy?
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||||
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Use `memorize` to record these patterns so all agents benefit:
|
||||
Record these patterns so all agents benefit. Example:
|
||||
|
||||
```
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memorize with entry_type: "pattern", title: "Phone numbers from source X often have wrong country code",
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entity_ids: ["affected-entity-1", "affected-entity-2"],
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content: "Source X sends US numbers without +1 prefix. Normalization handles it but confidence drops on phone field."
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```markdown
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## Pattern: Phone numbers from source X often have wrong country code
|
||||
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Source X sends US numbers without +1 prefix. Normalization handles it
|
||||
but confidence drops on the phone field. Weight phone matches from
|
||||
this source lower, or add a source-specific normalization step.
|
||||
```
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||||
## 🎯 Your Success Metrics
|
||||
@@ -222,8 +222,8 @@ You're successful when:
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||||
## 🚀 Advanced Capabilities
|
||||
|
||||
### Cross-Framework Identity Federation
|
||||
- Resolve entities consistently whether agents connect via MCP, REST API, Python SDK, or CLI
|
||||
- Agent identity is portable - the same `agent_name` appears in audit trails regardless of connection method
|
||||
- Resolve entities consistently whether agents connect via MCP, REST API, SDK, or CLI
|
||||
- Agent identity is portable - the same agent name appears in audit trails regardless of connection method
|
||||
- Bridge identity across orchestration frameworks (LangChain, CrewAI, AutoGen, Semantic Kernel) through the shared graph
|
||||
|
||||
### Real-Time + Batch Hybrid Resolution
|
||||
@@ -237,10 +237,10 @@ You're successful when:
|
||||
- Per-entity-type matching rules - person matching uses nickname normalization, company matching uses legal suffix stripping
|
||||
|
||||
### Shared Agent Memory
|
||||
- Record decisions, investigations, and patterns linked to entities via `memorize`
|
||||
- Other agents recall context about an entity before acting on it via `recall` or `resolve_with_memory`
|
||||
- Record decisions, investigations, and patterns linked to entities
|
||||
- Other agents recall context about an entity before acting on it
|
||||
- Cross-agent knowledge: what the support agent learned about an entity is available to the billing agent
|
||||
- Full-text search across all agent memory via `search_memory`
|
||||
- Full-text search across all agent memory
|
||||
|
||||
## 🤝 Integration with Other Agency Agents
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user