ASR is an independent, vendor-neutral project. Its process is modeled on the one used by the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), adapted to a data format.

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Stages

The specification as a whole, and every substantive change to it, moves through three stages: The format is currently a Draft, as formatVersion 0.1. The roadmap lists the work between here and 1.0.

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Requests for Dialog

Substantive changes are proposed as Requests for Dialog (RFDs): short documents that state the problem, the proposed change, the alternatives considered and the effect on existing records. RFDs advance through the stages above as their requirements are met. A proposal for a new field or record type shows which of the four priority tools record it (see below). Editorial fixes, new examples and registry entries do not need an RFD.

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How features join the format

Version 0.1 is fitted to four priority tools: Claude Code, T3 Code, Codex and OpenClaw.
  • The admission rule. A field or record type is standard when at least two of the four priority tools record it.
  • Exceptions. A field may also be standard when it is the only way to keep a concept ASR already has. Each exception has a written justification in the specification.
  • Everything else has a documented destination. Every other fact these tools record is listed in the tool’s agent registry entry, with its destination: a _meta key on the nearest record (preferred) or a vendor record type, citing the native name. Nothing recorded is dropped. Redaction and the exclusion of secrets still apply.
  • No experimental tier. Every feature in the specification is normal. A feature that does not meet the rule is left out of the schema and listed as future work on the roadmap.

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Rules for changing the format

  • Minor versions only add optional fields, record types and enum values. Every enum is open: conforming readers accept unrecognized values, so a new value never breaks them.
  • A feature is retired in stages: Active, then Deprecated for at least 12 months, then Removed. Removed means writers stop emitting the feature; archival readers keep accepting it.
  • Readers declare which major versions they support, and tested migration tools exist for every major version.
  • Specification document versions are separate from formatVersion.

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Maintainers

The project aims to have maintainers from more than one organization, with Agent Client Protocol maintainers serving as a formal liaison so that the live protocol and the record format evolve together. Decisions are recorded in RFDs, with the reasoning behind them.

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Foundation

The intent is to propose ASR to the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) after 1.0, once two independent implementations and the golden corpus exist.