---
slug: "EbbFlowSync"
name: "EbbFlowSync"
type: "Protocols"
layer: "Society"
ref: "EbbFlowSync#c68e"
sema_id: "sema:EbbFlowSync#mh:SHA-256:c68ee6aee66d266b40bf18152658a65d26e210aac458011629d39b131f3461f7"
tags: ["Society","Protocols"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json
url: https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/EbbFlowSync/
related: ["Global","Hysteresis","Lock","State","System","Transition"]
---

# EbbFlowSync

Cyclical connectivity modes

Layer: Society · Category: Protocols

## Mechanism

[System](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/System.md) oscillates between High Tide (synchronous, high-bandwidth, global lock) and Low Tide (asynchronous, disconnected, local-only). Agents strictly enforce this rhythm, allowing for massive scaling during Low Tide and reconciliation during High Tide. It employs [Hysteresis](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Hysteresis.md) to dampen the transition between connected (Flow) and disconnected (Ebb) states.

## Invariants

- Phase [Lock](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Lock.md): All agents must be in same phase (Ebb or Flow) at time T
- Tide [Transition](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Transition.md): Flow cannot start until Ebb reconciliation is complete

## Preconditions

- [Global](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Global.md) clock synchronization < Delta

## Postconditions

- [State](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/State.md) is consistent up to last High Tide

## Failure modes

- Clock drift causes agents to miss the High Tide window.

## Parameters

- `high_watermark` (Float, [0.5, 0.95]): Threshold to trigger ebb
- `low_watermark` (Float, [0.1, 0.5]): Threshold to allow flow
- `measurement_window` (Duration, [1s, 1min]): Averaging period

## Builds on

- [Global](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Global.md) (Society; References)
- [Hysteresis](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Hysteresis.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Lock](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Lock.md) (Physics; References)
- [State](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/State.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [System](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/System.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [Transition](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/Transition.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Used by

—

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:EbbFlowSync#mh:SHA-256:c68ee6aee66d266b40bf18152658a65d26e210aac458011629d39b131f3461f7`
- Ref: `EbbFlowSync#c68e`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:EbbFlowSync#mh:SHA-256:b4a07e620d27785381b12c3853380f0cef04bc9832acc1bd0b73f72a97b21de6`
  - `sema:EbbFlowSync#mh:SHA-256:7c073d208eeb2c9cf8f7b69f56e0adc042c1400e6ef9f75e71cdc3dea67f9687`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/EbbFlowSync/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/#EbbFlowSync)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/EbbFlowSync.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.pages.dev/bootstrap/index.json)