Standard Format

Standard format

SYSTEMX 1.3.0 is a portable project operating convention. It defines a stable place for context, planning, tasks, evidence, and memory while leaving the project's language, framework, provider, and deployment choices unconfigured. It does not certify an adopted project or install an agent runtime.

The checked-in FORMAT.md is the canonical field and lifecycle reference. The wiki teaches its use.

Canonical records

File inside .SYSTEMX	Responsibility
GLOBAL/CONTEXT.md	Project identity, constraints, and accepted sources
PLAN/MASTER-PLAN.md	Outcomes, milestone acceptance, and sequencing
WORK/TASKS.json	Task state, ownership, dependencies, evidence, and history
WORK/FOCUS.json	Selected objective and task/checkpoint pointers
AGENTS/REGISTRY.json	Role IDs and scoped memory paths
MEMORY/PROJECT.md	Verified facts, decisions, and lessons
project.json	Explicit project command configuration, created on adoption

The six work status pages and CURRENT.md are generated views. Task notes, worker reports, messages, and checkpoints reference canonical IDs; they do not become additional editable completion ledgers.

Compatibility

Use UTF-8 documents and preserve path casing. Template version and record schema version are separate: this release retains canonical JSON schema version 1. Unknown or missing canonical fields are rejected. Timestamps carry an explicit timezone, and task history must begin at creation and remain chronological. Keep custom project metadata in separate project-owned files linked from Global context. See Upgrading before merging an update into populated records.

Two validation modes

# For an adopted active project:
bash .SYSTEMX/SYSTEMX.sh validate

# For a pristine public distribution:
bash .SYSTEMX/SYSTEMX.sh validate --template

The public-template mode also requires blank work/focus, Agent 0 only, empty example commands, and reviewed blank context/plan/memory seeds. It rejects files outside the distribution inventory, including normally ignored local artifacts. Seed hashes use UTF-8 text normalized to LF, so normal CRLF checkouts are supported.

This check is not a secret scanner or an authenticity guarantee. Maintainers review the actual source and exported artifact. Publish a tracked-file export, retain the MIT license and provenance, and validate the extracted folder before sharing. An active project's folder should not be copied as a blank template.

Managed defaults and project ownership

A managed installation adds INSTALLATION.json with the selected version, profile, repository, pin, update policy, timestamps, and retained release fingerprints. Default files live in .systemx/releases/<version>/. Tasks, configuration, context, and memory remain in the outer .SYSTEMX directory.

An update appends a verified default snapshot and missing root files. It never replaces or deletes an existing local file, directory, customization, or older release. The root VERSION stays at its original seed value; the installation state identifies the active defaults. See Installation and updates.

config/distribution.json lists all release files except itself and fingerprints their LF-normalized bytes. The manager verifies a selected snapshot before running its tools. Profiles share the same records; they change setup guidance and persistence expectations, not the task schema. The CLI/library boundary can support a future MCP adapter, but no MCP server is included.