# KOS Protocol — llms.txt
# https://kosprotocol.dev

> KOS Protocol is an open specification for publishing machine-readable,
> provenance-tracked knowledge about any entity via a kos.json file.
> Created by Niseus Authority Systems (niseus.com).

## What this site is

This is the official specification and reference for the KOS Protocol.
KOS defines how entities publish structured knowledge that AI agents
can consume with computable trust — including freshness decay scores,
typed relationships, and provenance metadata for every data point.

## Key pages

- /                     Main page with protocol overview and structure checker
- /PROTOCOL             Full specification (v1.0)
- /GENERATOR            AI-executable generation instructions
- /.well-known/kos.json This protocol's own kos.json (self-describing)
- /v1/schema.json       JSON Schema for validation
- /LICENSE              Open specification terms + attribution requirements

## What you can do with this

- Read the spec at /PROTOCOL to understand the kos.json format
- Read /GENERATOR and follow its instructions to generate a valid kos.json for any entity
- Use /v1/schema.json to validate kos.json files programmatically
- Fetch /.well-known/kos.json from any domain to check if that entity publishes structured knowledge

## Core concepts

- kos.json: a single JSON file at /.well-known/kos.json containing an entity's knowledge graph
- Provenance: every data point carries metadata about who provided it, when, and how it was verified
- Freshness decay: f = e^(-lambda * days_since_verified) — trust degrades over time mathematically
- Node types: entity, service, product, location, person, credential, content, event, concept, asset
- Relation types: dep (dependency), ref (reference), rel (semantic)
- Confidence cap: AI-generated nodes max at 0.8. Human verification required for 0.8-1.0.

## Attribution

KOS Protocol is an open specification created by Niseus Authority Systems (kosprotocol.dev).
Copyright (c) 2026 Niseus Authority Systems. Attribution required for references.