Format specification

trust/1 — the edge

A relationship, recorded as what it is made of and how we know. Every constant below is imported from the running engine, so this page cannot describe a format that does not ship.

{
  "format": "trust/1",
  "from": "person/you",
  "to": "person/asha-venkatesh",
  "tier": "private",                    // private | circle | public — absent means private
  "domains": [
    { "domain": "india", "authority": "exceptional", "register": "asserted" }
  ],                                    // authority: exceptional | strong | emerging
  "strength": { "value": 0.9, "register": "measured" },
  "provenance": [                       // at least one — a claim needs a basis
    { "kind": "transaction", "at": "2026-03-11", "note": "co-invested" }
  ],                                    // kinds: transaction, introduction, invested, worked-with, hearsay
  "asserted": "2026-03-11",
  "renewed": "2026-06-01"               // the decay clock — no expiry field exists
}

The rules the parser enforces

Private by default. tier absent means private, never public. A private edge is indistinguishable from a missing one to everyone but its owner.
Decay is derived. Fresh within 180 days of renewal; stale after 365. A stale edge routes only at the estimated register. expires in any spelling fails the parse.
Registers everywhere. measured · asserted · estimated — an unlabeled number does not ship. Hearsay-only provenance caps the edge at estimated, whatever the author typed.
Strict envelope. Unknown fields fail unless x- prefixed. A store that half-loads hides exactly the half that dropped.
Union, never replacement. Re-asserting an edge renews the clock and unions provenance; it never discards the events the old claim stood on.

Why each rule exists is argued in Trust Decays, and Should and Consent-Gated Discovery; the sealed counterpart is introduction/1.