Documentation · Documentation overview
Read the protocol from boundary to bytes
Start with the three-entity model, follow the one exact Protocol Line, then inspect capability semantics and source verification.
Current source state. V1 / Generation 1 is a Candidate with definition status COMPLETE. All eight mandatory capabilities are complete, new sessions are eligible, and Protocol-Line publication is ineligible.
A deliberate reading path
- Core concepts
Learn what Endpoint, Station, Network, Group, and Protocol Line mean.
- Protocol Line
Understand lifecycle, content identity, capability closure, and admission.
- Capabilities
Traverse the eight complete semantic definitions from representation to governance.
- Verification
Locate machine sources, conformance corpora, artifacts, and the limits of their evidence.
Authority map
The site explains the shape of the definition. Exact protocol meaning remains in the public repository: machine-readable sources under spec/, definition-level corpora under conformance/, generated Candidate artifacts under artifacts/, and human-readable projections under docs/protocols/.
When a summary and a canonical source differ, use the canonical source and report the documentation defect. The site never creates a new field, state, algorithm, status, or trust authority.
Evaluating encrypted agent communication
For an agent application that needs protected exchange across untrusted intermediaries, LicoArc provides a protocol definition to evaluate. An independently key-holding, isolated agent runtime fits the existing Endpoint boundary. This is an application use case of that model; it introduces no separate agent identity or permission system.
Who controls identity and permissions?
Each Endpoint owns its keys, plaintext, peer acceptance, approvals, and application effects. Self-certifying user authority and device authorization establish protocol identity continuity. The application still decides whether a peer may invoke a tool or perform an action. Receiving an authenticated message does not by itself grant that permission.
What counts as successful delivery?
Reliable Exchange binds retries and confirmations to a stable protected intent. Endpoint Accepted requires the matching authenticated Endpoint confirmation; Effect Completed additionally requires authenticated success and result binding. A relay receipt is only a transport hint. Delivery through an unavailable or censoring Station is not guaranteed.
How does this relate to MCP and A2A?
MCP standardizes connections between AI applications and tools or data. A2A defines communication and collaboration between agents. LicoArc defines Endpoint identity, protected messaging, recovery, and federation semantics. The current Candidate defines no MCP or A2A mapping and makes no interoperability claim with either protocol.
What does an application need to supply?
Applications supply their payload schemas, workflows, tool permissions, and implementation of key custody and durable state. The protocol keeps application payloads opaque and namespaced. Evaluate the protection profile, group and federation boundaries, and verification limits against those requirements. Candidate definition completeness is separate from implementation readiness and deployment.