Protocol Reference v6

This is the current normative boundary for AgentXchain protocol v6. It exists because the repo already had two adjacent but different surfaces:

• Protocol v6 explains the constitutional model.
• Protocol Implementor Guide explains how to prove conformance.

Neither one was clean enough to answer the narrower question: what is actually part of protocol v6 right now, and what is merely a reference-runner or integration detail?

The canonical versioned repo-native source is PROTOCOL-v6.md.

Versioning Model

Do not flatten these into one number:

Axis	Current value	Meaning
Protocol version	v6	Constitutional contract
Governed config schema	1.0	agentxchain.json governed config shape
Turn result schema	1.0	staged result payload contract
Governed state schema	1.1	.agentxchain/state.json shape
Coordinator config/state/context schema	0.1	multi-repo config and coordinator artifacts
Conformance tiers	1, 2, 3	executable proof packaging, not protocol versions

If someone says "AgentXchain is on schema 1.1" or "Tier 3 means protocol v3," that is wrong.

Normative Repo-Local Contract

These repo-local concepts are protocol v6, not UI sugar:

Governed run statuses

• idle
• active
• paused
• blocked
• completed
• failed

Write authorities

• authoritative
• proposed
• review_only

Artifact and lifecycle rules

• Governed config is repo-native in agentxchain.json.
• Accepted turn history is append-only in .agentxchain/history.jsonl.
• Accepted decisions and selected governance events are append-only in .agentxchain/decision-ledger.jsonl.
• Turn dispatch is turn-scoped under .agentxchain/dispatch/turns/<turn_id>/.
• Staged results are turn-scoped under .agentxchain/staging/<turn_id>/turn-result.json.
• Gate requests are queued first and only become human-approvable when they materialize as pending_phase_transition or pending_run_completion.
• review_only turns must raise at least one objection. That is a protocol rule, not a documentation preference.

Normative Coordinator Contract

These multi-repo concepts are part of protocol v6:

• super_run_id
• workstreams
• acceptance_projection
• COORDINATOR_CONTEXT.json
• coordinator pending_gate

Current barrier types are:

• all_repos_accepted
• interface_alignment
• ordered_repo_sequence
• shared_human_gate

The coordinator is not allowed to invent repo-local truth. Repo-local accepted history remains authoritative. Coordinator projections, barriers, and gates are derived from repo-local state, not the other way around.

Current Executable Proof Set

Protocol v6 is currently proven by the shipped conformance corpus under .agentxchain-conformance/fixtures/.

Current surfaces:

• Tier 1: state_machine, turn_result_validation, gate_semantics, decision_ledger, history, config_schema
• Tier 2: dispatch_manifest, hook_audit
• Tier 3: coordinator

That list is the current executable proof set. It is not a claim that every shipped product feature is part of protocol v6.

Not Normative In v6

These are real product surfaces, but they are not part of protocol v6 conformance today:

• CLI command names such as step, resume, or multi approve-gate
• dashboard ports, view names, and browser UX
• provider-specific adapter behavior such as Anthropic or OpenAI request wiring
• notifications.webhooks delivery behavior and event transport
• export artifact schema and verify export report semantics, which are stable operator contracts but not protocol-v6 proof surfaces. See Export Schema Reference

Those surfaces matter, but treating them as constitutional truth before they are promoted into the conformance boundary would be sloppy.

How To Read The Docs Stack

• Start with Protocol v6 for the constitutional overview.
• Use this page when you need the current normative boundary.
• Use Protocol Implementor Guide when you are building or validating another runner.