SMALL

Visual representations of SMALL state and artifact flow.

Conceptual Protocol Model

SMALL stands for Schema, Manifest, Artifact, Lineage, Lifecycle. These five conceptual primitives form the protocol's intellectual foundation.

flowchart LR
  Schema --> Manifest
  Manifest --> Artifact
  Artifact --> Lineage
  Artifact --> Lifecycle
  • Schema defines structure and validation rules
  • Manifest declares what exists and what is intended
  • Artifact is concrete, versioned output
  • Lineage tracks provenance and dependencies
  • Lifecycle governs state transitions

This is the abstract model. The execution artifacts below implement this model for v1.0.0.

Execution State Model (v1.0.0)

In v1.0.0, the SMALL conceptual model is operationalized via five canonical YAML files stored in .small/. These are the execution artifacts and their relationships.

flowchart LR
  subgraph Human-Owned
    Intent
    Constraints
  end

  subgraph Agent-Owned
    Plan
    Progress
  end

  Intent --> Plan
  Constraints --> Plan
  Plan --> Progress
  Progress --> Handoff
  Handoff -.-> Plan

Humans define intent and constraints. Agents generate plans and record progress. Handoff enables resumption.

Execution Sequence (v1.0.0)

The sequence of operations when an agent interacts with SMALL execution artifacts.

sequenceDiagram
  participant Human
  participant Agent
  participant Intent
  participant Constraints
  participant Plan
  participant Progress
  participant Handoff

  Human->>Intent: Define goal
  Human->>Constraints: Set limits
  Agent->>Intent: Read
  Agent->>Constraints: Read
  Agent->>Plan: Generate tasks
  loop Execute
    Agent->>Progress: Record evidence
    Agent->>Plan: Update status
  end
  Agent->>Handoff: Generate resume point

Humans set intent and constraints. Agents read them, generate plans, record progress, and produce handoffs for resumption.

Ownership Boundary (v1.0.0)

The ownership boundary that defines who can modify what in the execution artifacts.

flowchart LR
  subgraph Human["Human Boundary"]
    Intent
    Constraints
  end

  subgraph Agent["Agent Boundary"]
    Plan
    Progress
  end

  subgraph Shared["Shared"]
    Handoff
  end

  Human --> Agent
  Agent --> Shared
  Shared -.-> Agent

Humans own intent and constraints. Agents own plan and progress. Handoff is shared for resumption.

Validation Flow

All artifacts are validated against JSON Schemas before use.

flowchart LR
  Artifact --> Schema --> Validator
  Validator -->|Valid| Use
  Validator -->|Invalid| Reject

Schema validation is mandatory. Invalid artifacts are rejected.