MPLP — Multi-Agent Lifecycle Protocol

Repository Role: Source of Truth
protocol_version: 1.0.0 — FROZEN
License: Apache-2.0

MPLP is a vendor-neutral lifecycle protocol for AI agent systems — defining how agents are created, operated, audited, and decommissioned.

Not a framework. Not a runtime. Not a platform.

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Conceptual Positioning (POSIX Analogy, Informative)

MPLP uses POSIX as a conceptual analogy for protocol-level interface standardization:

• POSIX "standard interface" → MPLP "schema-defined lifecycle interface" (Context / Plan / Confirm / Trace)
• POSIX contracts → MPLP module contracts & kernel duties (invariants, failure semantics, expected signals)
• POSIX conformance tests → MPLP Golden Flows & evidence-based verdicts (evidence-only evaluation)
• POSIX portability → MPLP portability across substrates (models / frameworks / runtimes / vendors)
• POSIX logging/debugging → MPLP Trace & Evidence Pack (replayable, auditable artifacts)

Boundary: This is an analogy for conceptual positioning only. MPLP is not POSIX, does not implement an OS or runtime, and does not make any POSIX compatibility or certification claim.

For the detailed mapping table, see the Documentation (Non-Normative): "POSIX Analogy — Conceptual Mapping" at docs.mplp.io.

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This Repository Is the Source of Truth

This repository hosts the canonical source artifacts of MPLP.

MPLP is publicly presented through four official surfaces under a 3+1 constitutional entry model.

The Repository is the only authoritative truth source for:

• protocol definitions
• schema truth
• invariant truth
• governance source records

Other official MPLP surfaces exist with bounded roles:

• Documentation projects and explains protocol/reference material
• Website provides discovery and public framing
• Validation Lab adjudicates evidence within its bounded Lab scope

Repository truth plus Documentation reference together form the active authoritative documentation chain for MPLP. Website and Validation Lab remain bounded outward-facing projection surfaces.

Historical, archived, or generated materials in this repository are not part of the active truth chain unless they are explicitly cited as current source records.

This repository is not a marketing site and not a tutorial. It is also not the primary place for package-specific implementation guidance or current release walkthroughs.

Version Semantics

MPLP uses version domains rather than a single undifferentiated version label.

Canonical version meanings are defined in:

• governance/05-versioning/VERSION-TAXONOMY-MANIFEST.md
• governance/05-versioning/version-taxonomy-manifest.json

In repository-facing documentation:

• protocol changes are identified by protocol_version
• schema and invariant bundle changes are identified by schema_bundle_version and invariant_bundle_version
• Validation Lab release identity and adjudication rulesets are versioned separately as validation_lab_release_version and validation_ruleset_version
• website, documentation, and SDK release identities are versioned independently of protocol_version
• VERSION.txt remains a repository convenience marker for the frozen protocol line; it does not replace explicit version-domain meaning in outward-facing release language
• the root workspace package.json version is a private workspace/tooling marker, not a canonical public version domain

Directory labels such as schemas/v2/ remain valid path names, but they do not by themselves replace explicit version-domain meaning.

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Public-Facing Surfaces

MPLP uses a 3+1 constitutional entry model and exposes four public-facing surfaces.

Surface	Constitutional Class	Role	Purpose
Website	Primary	Discovery & Positioning	Establish MPLP's public framing and discovery path
Documentation	Primary	Specification & Reference	Explain how the protocol works and project normative requirements
Validation Lab	Auxiliary	Evidence Adjudication	Evidence-based verdicts under versioned Lab rulesets
Repository (this)	Primary	Source of Truth	Schemas, code, tests, governance sources

Validation Lab is a public-facing surface, but it is not a protocol-defining primary surface. The Repository alone remains authoritative for protocol truth; the other three surfaces are official MPLP surfaces with bounded roles.

Choose the correct entry:

• 👉 New to MPLP? Start at https://www.mplp.io/what-is-mplp
• 👉 Implementing MPLP? Read https://docs.mplp.io/docs/reference/entrypoints
• 👉 Evaluating evidence? See https://lab.mplp.io
• 👉 Auditing or building against MPLP? You are in the right place

Anchor Closure

Each public-facing surface has stable anchors for cross-referencing:

Website Anchors:

• What is MPLP? — Definition & disambiguation
• Entity Card — Machine-readable definition
• POSIX Analogy — Conceptual lens (not compatibility)

Documentation Anchors:

• Entry Points Reference — 3+1 constitutional model, four public-facing surfaces, and anchors
• Specification — Normative requirements
• Validation Lab Reference — Lab overview & terminology

Validation Lab Anchors:

• Lab Site — Evidence adjudication UI
• Coregentis/MPLP-Validation-Lab — Separate Validation Lab release-line repository

Repository Anchors:

• Schemas — Repository truth-source anchor for JSON Schema definitions
• Tests — Golden flows & validators
• Entity Definition — Canonical machine-readable entity package

Disambiguation: MPLP = Multi-Agent Lifecycle Protocol (not a license). MPLP is not POSIX (conceptual lens only).

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Validation Lab (Auxiliary Public-Facing Surface)

The Validation Lab is a public-facing auxiliary surface for evidence adjudication under MPLP's 3+1 constitutional entry model.

Validation Lab does not define protocol truth; protocol truth remains anchored in repository-backed schemas and invariants.

Property	Value
Constitutional Class	Auxiliary
Role	Evidence-based adjudication under versioned Lab rulesets
Lab Site	https://lab.mplp.io
Lab Repository	Coregentis/MPLP-Validation-Lab

Four Boundaries (Non-Negotiable)

1. Non-Certifying — Verdicts are evidence-based outputs, not official marks or endorsements
2. Non-Normative — Lab does not define protocol semantics; see MPLP Docs for specifications
3. No Execution Hosting — Lab does not accept uploads or run your code; you generate evidence locally
4. Deterministic Ruleset — Same evidence + same validation_ruleset_version = same verdict hash

Bounded Governance Chain

Bounded Role: Validation Lab rulesets, contract surfaces, and evidence adjudication assets are governed in the separate release-line repository Coregentis/MPLP-Validation-Lab and exposed publicly via https://lab.mplp.io. The root MPLP protocol repository links to that Lab surface but does not host it as an in-repository public source surface. This bounded Lab role does not supersede repository authority on protocol truth, schema truth, or invariant truth.

Terminology Partition

Term	Definition	Owned By
Flow-01~05	Protocol Test Scenarios	This repository (tests/golden/flows/)
LG-01~05	Legacy V1 guarantee line (Lab adjudication targets)	Validation Lab
V2 Clause IDs	V2 clause-bundle adjudication identifiers	Validation Lab

These are distinct naming spaces and should not be conflated.

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4-Layer Architecture (L1–L4)

MPLP is defined as a four-layer protocol topology:

Layer	Name	Scope
L1	Core Protocol (Normative)	Schemas, invariants, lifecycle primitives
L2	Coordination & Governance (Normative)	Module semantics and kernel duties
L3	Execution Runtime (Non-prescriptive)	Runtime realization (evidence-producing behaviors)
L4	Integration Layer (Optional boundary)	Governed integration boundaries with external systems

Boundary: L4 is optional and defines integration boundaries; it does not imply hosted execution, vendor endorsement, or certification.

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Repository Structure (High-Level)

This is a navigation overview. Source-of-truth boundaries are defined by the repository contents and governance documents.

.
├── schemas/                  # Frozen protocol schemas (v2)
│   └── v2/                   # 10 module schemas + invariants + events
├── packages/                 # Published package surfaces and source mirrors
│   ├── npm/                  # TypeScript packages (@mplp/*)
│   ├── pypi/                 # Python SDK (mplp-sdk)
│   └── sources/              # SDK source code
├── tests/                    # Protocol validation suites
│   ├── golden/               # Golden Flow tests (GF + profiles)
│   ├── cross-language/       # Cross-language validation
│   ├── runtime-compat/       # Runtime compatibility tests
│   └── schema-alignment/     # Schema alignment tests
├── docs/                     # Documentation source (docs.mplp.io)
├── governance/               # Constitution & governance files
│   └── 01-constitutional/    # CONST-001 to CONST-006
├── examples/                 # Usage examples (multi-language)
├── scripts/                  # Build & validation scripts
└── assets/                   # Diagrams & brand resources

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Protocol Status

• protocol_version: 1.0.0
• Specification State: FROZEN (no breaking changes permitted)
• Schemas: Frozen under schemas/v2/
• Golden Flows: Implemented as protocol evaluation scenarios (Core + profile flows)
• Published package surfaces / reference consumers: Partial by design (non-normative)

Note: Absence of a reference SDK implementation does not imply a module is experimental. Protocol obligations are defined by schemas and specifications, not by SDK coverage.

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Test Suites (Protocol Validation)

MPLP provides test suites for protocol validation and interoperability evidence:

Golden Flows (Evaluation Scenarios)

Golden Flows validate lifecycle invariants via replayable evidence (not via vendor endorsement).

• Core Golden Flows: flow-01 … flow-05
• Profile Flows: sa-flow-*, map-flow-* (when applicable)

Validation Suites

• Cross-Language Tests: Validate consistent behavior across TypeScript, Python, Go
• Runtime Compatibility: Ensure runtime integrations produce evaluable evidence
• Schema Alignment: Verify schema consistency across modules and consumers

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Interoperability Levels (IL1–IL3)

MPLP defines Interoperability Levels (not certification tiers) to describe evaluable evidence boundaries:

Level	Name	Scope
IL1	Schema	Data interoperability (valid instances)
IL2	Governance	Module semantics & lifecycle interoperability
IL3	Behavioral	Runtime evidence & Golden Flow interoperability

Any claim of "MPLP interoperability" must map to these definitions and be backed by evidence.

Disambiguation: These interoperability levels (IL1–IL3) are intentionally not the same as the L1–L4 architecture layers.
L4 (Integration Layer) is an optional boundary layer and is not an interoperability "tier"; it scopes how external systems are integrated without leaking concerns into the core protocol.

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Published SDK Package Surfaces (Non-Normative)

Published SDK packages are maintained as protocol consumers of the schemas and governance baseline (schemas remain authoritative).

TypeScript Standard Library (@mplp/*)

Primary packages include:

Package	Role
@mplp/sdk-ts	Public TypeScript facade helper package
@mplp/core	Derived core helper package
@mplp/schema	Public schema/data mirror package
@mplp/coordination	Derived coordination helper package
@mplp/modules	Module helper package
@mplp/conformance	Public compatibility alias for conformance tooling
@mplp/runtime-minimal	Public minimal runtime helper package
@mplp/devtools	Developer-tooling convenience package

For published sdk_version values, refer to npm package listings and/or the repository's version governance records.

Python SDK

Package	Role
mplp-sdk	Published Python protocol helper package surface

For published sdk_version values, refer to PyPI.

SDK Package Surface Boundaries

• packages/sources/* are source-side SDK package mirrors used for build and release preparation. They are not protocol truth surfaces and are not the public publish set.
• packages/npm/* and packages/pypi/* are the public publish surfaces for npm and PyPI.
• @mplp/sdk-ts is the public TypeScript facade package; @mplp/runtime-minimal is the separate public runtime package.
• mplp-sdk currently ships a minimal Python protocol helper surface (mplp.__version__, mplp.MPLP_PROTOCOL_VERSION, and Kernel Duty exports) and does not yet ship a full Python SDK/runtime implementation.
• @mplp/schema carries the canonical public package mirror of the Kernel Duty baseline.
• @mplp/sdk-ts and mplp-sdk expose consumer-facing Kernel Duty exports derived from that baseline.
• The canonical upstream 11-duty baseline remains in:
  • schemas/v2/taxonomy/kernel-duties.yaml
• Public package mirror artifacts include:
  • packages/npm/schema/schemas/kernel-duties.json

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What This Repository Does NOT Do

To maintain strict boundaries, this repository does not:

• Provide marketing or positioning narratives (use the Website)
• Replace the official documentation site (use Documentation)
• Offer certification or compliance guarantees
• Endorse vendors, runtimes, or agent frameworks
• Act as a tutorial or learning platform

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Documentation

The official documentation is built from /docs and published at:

👉 https://docs.mplp.io

Documentation includes:

• Architecture (L1–L4)
• All L2 modules (Context, Plan, Confirm, Trace, Role, Dialog, Collab, Extension, Core, Network)
• Golden Flows (evaluation scenarios)
• Standards mappings (ISO / NIST / W3C — informative only)
• Governance, versioning, and change control
• POSIX analogy mapping (informative / non-normative)

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Governance

• Protocol Governance: MPGC (MPLP Protocol Governance Committee)
• Constitution Files: Located in governance/01-constitutional/
  • CONST-001 — Entry Model Specification
  • CONST-002 — Document Format Specification
  • CONST-003 — Frozen Header Specification
  • CONST-004 — Doc Audit Methodology
  • CONST-005 — Authoring Constitution
  • CONST-006 — Document Type Outlines & Depth Rules

Any change that affects schemas or protocol semantics follows the MPGC process.

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Contributing

This repository accepts contributions within defined governance boundaries.

Before proposing changes, review the constitution files in governance/01-constitutional/.

Pull requests that introduce new protocol semantics, schema changes, or compliance/certification claims will be reviewed under MPGC governance.

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License

Apache License 2.0
© 2026 Bangshi Beijing Network Technology Limited Company

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Final Note

If you are reading this README expecting a tutorial or a sales pitch, you are intentionally in the wrong place.

This repository exists to ensure that:

MPLP remains observable, governed, and vendor-neutral at the protocol level.