AIPs (Agent Improvement Proposals) are open numbered standards for the AI-agent ecosystem. The model is the same one that built the internet and most working crypto stacks:
- BIPs — Bitcoin Improvement Proposals
- EIPs — Ethereum Improvement Proposals
- RFCs — IETF Internet standards
- PEPs — Python Enhancement Proposals
Each AIP is a single document that defines one piece of the agent stack — a file format, a runtime contract, an orchestration primitive. AIPs reference each other, build on each other, and graduate through a clear lifecycle: Draft → Review → Final → Superseded.
The goal: readability, operability, composability.
Browse the rendered registry at agentproto.sh.
| # | Title | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIP-1 | Purpose & Process | Meta | Final |
| AIP-2 | AIP Template | Meta | Final |
| AIP-3 | SKILL.md — skill manifest format | Schema | Draft |
| AIP-4 | DESIGN.md — design token format | Schema | Draft |
| AIP-5 | CANVAKIT.md — template + data-source binding | Schema | Draft |
| AIP-6 | agentcompanies/v1 — company primitives | Core | Draft |
| AIP-7 | agentgovernance/v1 — audit & approval | Core | Draft |
| AIP-8 | agentagencies/v1 — agency engine | Core | Draft |
| AIP-9 | agentoperators/v1 — operator runtime protocol | Core | Draft |
- Meta — process & registry mechanics (AIPs 1–2)
- Schema — file formats agents and tools consume (AIPs 3–5)
- Core — runtime, governance, and orchestration primitives (AIPs 6–9)
AIPs explicitly defer to and cross-reference adjacent specs (MCP, A2A,
AGNTCY, AITP, Anthropic Skills, OpenAPI, OTel GenAI semconv, W3C VCs,
DTCG, …). See related-standards.md for the
full catalogue and how AIPs relate.
- Read AIP-1 (process & purpose) and AIP-2 (template)
- Copy
AIPS/aip-template.mdtoAIPS/aip-XXXX.md(editors assign the real number) - Fill in frontmatter and the 7 mandatory body sections
- Open a PR. Editors respond within 7 days.
Full submission walkthrough: agentproto.sh/docs/propose-aip.
When an AIP overlaps with an existing spec from another initiative, the AIP MUST cite the overlap in its Rationale and explain why a new spec exists rather than extend the existing one. Default position: extend, don't fork. AIPs are scoped to the AI-company operating layer (above MCP transport, below vendor frameworks); we live in the gaps neighbours leave.
Authors retain attribution.
See CONTRIBUTING.md. Code of conduct in CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.