This repository is the normative standards and governance layer for the Knowledge Islands ecosystem.
It holds the proposals, accepted specifications, JSON Schemas, governance rules, templates and reference examples that define how Knowledge Packages, and the wider Knowledge Islands architecture, are built and evolved.
Knowledge Islands is an open-source operating system for governed human and AI knowledge work.
KI Specifications is the canonical source of normative portable contracts, including KIPs, KIS documents, schemas, templates, conformance rules, and reference examples. It formalises concepts established in Arcadia Principal and implementation evidence from the KI Agentic Harness; an Active KIS governs implementations that claim conformance within its scope.
The KI Website may vendor source-labelled specification material for autonomous public publication, while this repository remains canonical for the normative contracts. The mirrored ecosystem decision defines the four authorities and publication flows.
A KIP (Knowledge Islands Proposal) is a reviewable proposal for a new foundational concept, specification, change or extension.
KIPs are numbered KIP-NNNNNN (six digits) and move through a lifecycle of Draft → Review → Accepted | Rejected | Withdrawn, then Implemented once a corresponding specification is published, and eventually Superseded.
Anyone may draft a KIP; maintainers assign the number and steward it through review.
A KIS (Knowledge Islands Specification) is the normative document produced once a KIP is accepted.
KIS documents are numbered KIS-NNNN (four digits) independently of the KIP series, and move through Draft → Active → Deprecated → Superseded, starting Draft and becoming Active once there is real implementation experience against it.
Together the two series separate the deliberative process (KIP: should we do this, and how) from the durable normative outcome (KIS: this is how it works today), so specifications can change carefully while proposals can be debated freely.
| Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|
proposals/ |
KIP proposals: the deliberative record of what was proposed, why, and how it was decided |
specifications/ |
KIS documents: the accepted, normative specifications of the ecosystem |
schemas/ |
JSON Schemas that machines validate Knowledge Packages and other artefacts against |
templates/ |
Starter file sets for creating new Knowledge Packages at each conformance level |
examples/ |
Worked, valid reference packages illustrating the schema and conventions |
docs/ |
Process, versioning, adoption and architectural context documentation |
tooling/ |
Guidance on validating packages today, and on tooling anticipated in future |
| Number | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| KIP-000001 | Knowledge Packages | Accepted |
| KIS-0001 | Knowledge Package | Draft |
New concepts, specifications, changes and extensions start life as a KIP.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for how to raise one, and docs/specification-process.md for the full lifecycle from proposal through to an accepted, versioned KIS.
This repository is licensed under the MIT licence, which applies equally to specification text and to schemas.
The following are anticipated areas for future KIPs and KIS documents, beyond the Knowledge Package covered by KIS-0001:
- KI kernel
- Kernel modules
- Planner and orchestration
- Workspaces
- Knowledge promotion
- Skills
- Tools and MCP adapters
- Evaluation
- Identity
- Provenance
- Storage and persistence providers