Starlight Intelligence Protocol

SIP defines how intelligence systems are built, attested, and composed across sovereign parties. It does not define what is built. It is the minimum viable shared contract.

Every SIP-compliant repository carries these files at the root or inside .<vertical>/:

File extensions beyond markdown:

• .arc — agent configuration (JSON or YAML, schema TBD v1.1).
• .nea — narrative / world / canon configuration (JSON or YAML).
• .skill — compact skill descriptor for embedding into larger skill packs.

Every artifact that composes ≥1 SIP element carries a "Built on SIP" block. The block is emitted via /sip-attest, which refuses to emit without real contribution. Attribution does not mean credit transfer — it means credit compounding across every adopter.

Minimum block

---
Built on SIP — Starlight Intelligence Protocol
- Substrate: starlightintelligence.org/protocol v<semver>
- Verticals: [<list>]
- Canon: [<list or "none">]
- Nodes: [<list of sovereign contributors>]
Generated: <ISO date>
---

Pinning rules

• Substrate is pinned by SemVer.
• Vertical contributions are pinned by commit SHA where available.
• Canon is pinned by canon version tag (Arcanea canon is versioned separately in arcanea-ecosystem).
• Unpinnable contributions are marked @unpinned, never fabricated.

MCP servers that expose SIP-native tools declare themselves via mcp.json in their repo root:

{
  "name": "arcanea-mcp",
  "sip_version": "1.0.0",
  "provides": ["arcanea.canon", "arcanea.guardians", "arcanea.veltara"],
  "requires": [],
  "attestation": { "built_on_sip": true }
}

The registry itself is a flat file at starlight/REGISTRY.md (v1.1 will promote to a queryable MCP).

Four command tiers, each with a naming convention and decision-rights rule:

Commands in lower tiers may depend on higher-tier commands. Higher-tier commands never depend on lower-tier ones.

Non-negotiable social contract. Every party that adopts SIP accepts:

1. 1

   Sovereignty. Each party retains full decision rights inside its declared domain. Advice ≠ override.

2. 2

   Attribution. Every shared artifact carries the "Built on SIP" block. Silent composition is a breach.

3. 3

   Reciprocity of canon. Using another party's canon requires the canon's license terms (default CC-BY-NC for Arcanea canon).

4. 4

   Commitment shape. Cross-party commitments name artifacts and dates, never intentions.

5. 5

   Fork resolution. Disagreements route through /alliance-decide. One node owns each fork per declared domain; others advise.

6. 6

   Exit. Any party can leave the composition. Attribution history remains immutable.

Verticals may adopt or extend canonical archetypes. The foundational archetype set (Arcanea's Guardians / Vel'Tara / Hz grounding) is licensed CC-BY-NC by Arcanea BV. Verticals may:

• Adopt whole — import the full archetype set with attribution.
• Extend — add new archetypes in their own namespace without renaming existing ones.
• Decline — use their own archetype layer or none at all.

Archetypes are not required for SIP compliance. Protocol, attestation, and sovereignty are. Archetypes are canon-layer compounding, adopted where the vertical benefits.

• SIP versions are SemVer.
• Breaking changes require a major bump and a 90-day deprecation window.
• Canonical changelog: starlightintelligence.org/protocol/changelog.

• This spec (SIP.md): MIT.
• Reference command implementations (.claude/commands/*): MIT.
• Arcanea canon (if adopted): CC-BY-NC 4.0, © Arcanea BV.
• Per-vertical content: owned by the vertical entity.