Schemas
AIEP schemas are the structural contracts that make the protocol deterministic. Every AIEP artefact — instructions, evidence records, compliance certificates, audit events — conforms to a canonical, versioned, Merkle-anchored schema.
Schemas do not prove truth. They prove structure. A system that validates structure can fail closed when required fields are missing. A system that validates nothing can be manipulated by malformed inputs.
Published schema endpoints
All canonical schemas are published under /.well-known/aiep/schemas/:
| Schema file | Record type | Description |
|---|---|---|
aiep.canonical.schema.v3.0.0.json | Canonical record | Current canonical schema (v3) |
aiep.canonical.schema.v2.0.0.json | Canonical record | Previous canonical schema (v2) |
aiep.metadata.schema.v1.json | AIEP_METADATA | Publisher metadata |
aiep.certificate.schema.v1.json | AIEP_CERTIFICATE | Conformance certificate |
aiep.audit_event.schema.v1.json | AIEP_AUDIT_EVENT | Audit event record |
aiep.citation.schema.v1.json | Citation | Evidence citation |
aiep.compliance_policy.schema.v1.json | Compliance policy | Compliance and policy record |
aiep.compliance_signals.schema.v1.json | Compliance signals | Compliance signal record |
aiep.discovery.schema.v1.json | Discovery | Machine discovery manifest |
aiep.innovation_ledger_entry.schema.v1.json | Innovation ledger | Ledger entry record |
aiep.issuer.schema.v1.json | Issuer | Publisher/issuer identity |
aiep.version.schema.v1.json | Version | Protocol version record |
Schema discovery manifest: /.well-known/aiep/schema
How schemas work
Every AIEP schema is:
- Versioned — a semantic version (
semverfield) and a canonical hash computed over the normalised schema text - Merkle-anchored — each schema carries a Merkle inclusion proof linking it to the current schema set root
- Deprecation-aware — a
deprecated_byfield (null if current); deprecated schemas remain valid for historical records - Published openly — available at the known path with no registration or fee required
Pinning to a schema version is done via the protocolVersion field on the artefact, which resolves to a specific schema set version in the registry. Artefacts validated against a deprecated version remain valid for historical records but are not execution-eligible under current registry rules.
The canonical record schema
The canonical record schema (aiep.canonical.schema.v3.0.0.json) is the single source of truth for AIEP record structure. It defines:
- Required primitive fields:
record_id,record_type,issuer_id,timestamp,canonical_hash - Evidence reference structure:
evidence_refs[]with source URI, retrieval timestamp, and content hash - Provenance metadata: version, schema reference, context
- Integrity fields: Merkle proof, signature envelope
This is the schema your records must conform to for AIEP mirror publication.
Downloads
The full schema bundle is available as a single download: /downloads
The bundle includes all canonical schemas, the GENOME lockfile, and the Merkle root proof.
Full schema catalogue
For detailed field-level documentation on every schema including required primitives and patent references, see the Schema Catalogue.
See also: Specification · Protocol · Downloads · Mirror · Get Started