SMALL

Schemas

SMALL schemas define the valid shape of each artifact.

Artifact schemas

  • intent
  • constraints
  • plan
  • progress
  • handoff

Why schemas exist

  • Prevent drift and "AI vibes"
  • Enable validation in CI
  • Make handoffs portable across tools

Where to find them

  • Canonical source: github.com/justyn-clark/small-protocol under spec/small/
  • Vendored copy: This site maintains a pinned copy at vendor/small-protocol/spec/
  • Vendor lock file: vendor/small-protocol/VERSION records the source commit used for docs sync
  • Runtime schemas: Served at /schemas/small/v1/*.schema.json (compiled from canonical source)

Enforcement Rules

The CLI enforces specific rules beyond schema validation:

Handoff: ReplayId Required

handoff.small.yml must include:

  • replayId.value - 64-character lowercase hex string (SHA-256)
  • replayId.source - Either auto (deterministic hash of intent + plan + constraints) or manual

Progress: Timestamp Rules

Progress entries must follow these rules:

  • Timestamps must be RFC3339Nano format with fractional seconds (e.g., 2025-01-15T10:00:00.123456789Z)
  • Timestamps must be strictly increasing across entries
  • Completed tasks must have matching progress entries with evidence populated

See How to Use SMALL for full enforcement documentation.