# resolve

URL: /business/nouns/thing/resolve · Id: `verb:Thing.resolve` · Call: `await $.Thing.resolve({ … })` (SDK) or the `do` tool at `https://api.sb/mcp`. Inputs says what to pass, Outputs what returns, When it waits who approves.

> Resolve finds the one Thing of a Noun that matches given properties, or creates it, and says which it did.

Resolve finds the one [Thing](/business/nouns/thing) of a [Noun](/business/nouns/noun) that matches given properties, or creates it, and says which it did.

## Inputs
| Input | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `noun` | [Noun](/business/nouns/noun) | Yes | The Noun to resolve. |
| `match` | `json` | Yes | The properties that identify the Thing, such as an email address. |
| `set` | `json` | No | Properties to write on the found or created Thing. |

## Outputs
| Output | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `thing` | [Thing](/business/nouns/thing) | No | The Thing found or created; empty when held. |
| `decision` | `string` | Yes | What happened: `found`, `created`, or `held` when two or more Things match. |

## Effects
- Emits [`Thing.resolved`](/business/events/Thing.resolved).
- Performed by the [Data Engineer](/agents/engineering/data-engineer).
- Two-way: it runs at once, in the `try`, `send` and `do` modes.
- When two or more Things match, writes nothing and opens a Task to merge them.

## Refuses when
| Check | Error | Fix | Then call |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The key is valid, but its scopes do not allow this operation. | [`forbidden`](/code/api/errors/forbidden) | Use a key whose scopes cover the operation, or ask an owner of the namespace to grant them. | [Thing.resolve](/business/nouns/thing/resolve) |

## When it waits
| Gate | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Decision class | Low: two-way, nothing at stake |
| [Delay window](/systems/trust-and-governance/controls/one-way-windows) | None: it runs once review passes. |
| Limit | The call [Limit](/business/nouns/limit) of the [Permission](/business/nouns/permission) it runs under. |
| Over the Limit | It waits `pending` for an [Approval](/business/nouns/approval) from the [Founder](/agents/founding/founder). Approved, it runs; refused, it ends `refused` with [`limit-exceeded`](/code/api/errors/limit-exceeded); unanswered by its deadline, it ends `canceled`. |

## Example

**Ask**

```text
Resolve the latest thing with a noun.
```

**API**

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.sb/petpantry.shop/things/resolve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"noun":"noun_1","match":{}}'
```

```json
{
  "api": "https://api.sb/petpantry.shop",
  "thing": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/petpantry.shop/things/thing_1",
    "$type": "Thing",
    "id": "Example id",
    "type": [
      "noun_1"
    ]
  },
  "decision": "found",
  "action": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/petpantry.shop/actions/action_1",
    "operation": "Thing.resolve",
    "status": "done"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://api.sb/petpantry.shop/actions/action_1"
  }
}
```

**SDK**

```ts
import { $ } from 'startup-builder'

const { thing, decision } = await $.Thing.resolve({ noun: 'noun_1', match: {} })
```

**CLI**

```bash
npx startup-builder do Thing.resolve --json '{"noun":"noun_1","match":{}}'
```

**MCP**

```json
{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Thing.resolve({ noun: 'noun_1', match: {} })"
  }
}
```