Glossary
This document provides normative definitions for key terms used throughout the Multi-Agent Lifecycle Protocol (MPLP) v1.0 specification. All definitions are based on actual schemas and implementations in the codebase.
Core Modules (L2)
Context
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): The foundational module that defines project scope, environment, and root configuration. Provides context_id, root domain, and governance metadata.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-context.schema.json
Key Fields: context_id, root.domain, root.environment, status (enum: draft, active, suspended, archived, closed)
Plan
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Structures executable work as a directed acyclic graph (DAG) of steps with dependencies. Each step specifies an agent_role, status, and optional dependencies.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-plan.schema.json
Key Fields: plan_id, context_id, steps[], status (enum: draft, proposed, approved, in_progress, cancelled, completed)
Confirm
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Manages human-in-the-loop approval workflows. Captures approval/rejection decisions with timestamps and decision-maker roles.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-confirm.schema.json
Key Fields: confirm_id, target_id, target_type, status (enum: pending, approved, rejected, cancelled)
Trace
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Records immutable execution history using OpenTelemetry-compatible spans and segments. Links execution to plans and contexts.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-trace.schema.json
Key Fields: trace_id, context_id, plan_id, root_span, segments[], status
Role
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Defines agent capabilities and permissions through capability strings (e.g., plan.create, confirm.approve). Enables role-based access control.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-role.schema.json
Key Fields: role_id, name, capabilities[], description
Dialog
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Manages multi-turn conversation threads. Uses minimal protocol format aligned with major LLM providers (OpenAI/Anthropic).
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-dialog.schema.json
Key Fields: dialog_id, context_id, thread_id, messages[], status (enum: active, paused, completed, cancelled)
Collab
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Orchestrates multi-agent sessions with coordination modes. Manages participant rosters and turn-taking semantics.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-collab.schema.json
Key Fields: collab_id, mode (enum: broadcast, round_robin, orchestrated, swarm, pair), participants[], status
Extension
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Provides plugin mechanism for external tools and capabilities. Supports capability injection with versioned configurations.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-extension.schema.json
Key Fields: extension_id, extension_type (enum: capability, policy, integration, transformation, validation), version (SemVer), status
Core
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Central governance module that maintains the module registry and protocol version. Tracks which modules are enabled in the runtime.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-core.schema.json
Key Fields: core_id, protocol_version, modules[] (descriptors with module_id, version, status), status
Network
Category: L2 Module
Definition (Mirror): Manages distributed agent topology and node status. Maps roles to physical/virtual execution units.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/mplp-network.schema.json
Key Fields: network_id, topology_type (enum: single_node, hub_spoke, mesh, hierarchical), nodes[], status
Event Families (Observability)
Based on schemas/v2/events/mplp-event-core.schema.json, MPLP defines 12 normative event families:
pipeline_stage
Required: YES
Definition: Lifecycle transitions of Plans and Steps (e.g., draft -> approved -> in_progress -> completed).
Truth Source: schemas/v2/events/mplp-pipeline-stage-event.schema.json
graph_update
Required: YES
Definition: Structural changes to the Project Semantic Graph (PSG) such as node/edge additions or removals.
Truth Source: schemas/v2/events/mplp-graph-update-event.schema.json
import_process
Definition: Project initialization and onboarding events.
intent
Definition: User's original request or goal.
delta_intent
Definition: Modification or refinement of an existing intent.
methodology
Definition: High-level approach or strategy selection.
reasoning_graph
Definition: Chain-of-thought internal reasoning traces.
runtime_execution
Definition: Low-level execution details (LLM API calls, tool invocations).
Truth Source: schemas/v2/events/mplp-runtime-execution-event.schema.json
impact_analysis
Definition: Predicted side-effects and risks of a proposed change.
compensation_plan
Definition: Rollback or undo strategies for failed actions.
cost_budget
Definition: Token usage, API costs, and resource consumption metrics.
external_integration
MAP Profile (Multi-Agent Profile)
Category: Execution Profile
Status: RECOMMENDED for v1.0
Definition (Mirror): Extends SA with multi-agent coordination via Collab, Dialog, and Network modules. Defined by schemas/v2/invariants/map-invariants.yaml.
Key Invariants:
map_session_requires_multiple_participants: participantsmap_collab_mode_valid: Mode must be valid enummap_participants_have_role_ids: All participants must have role bindings
Runtime Concepts (L3)
Project Semantic Graph (PSG)
Category: L3 Runtime
Definition (Mirror): The logical graph model maintained by the runtime, where nodes are protocol objects (Context, Plan, etc.) and edges represent relationships (dependencies, ownership, traceability). Serves as the single source of truth for project state.
Drift Detection
Category: L3 Runtime
Definition (Mirror): Process of identifying discrepancies between the PSG state and actual file system/repository state. Includes passive (event-driven) and active (polling) detection strategies.
Action Execution Layer (AEL)
Category: L3 Runtime
Definition (Behavioral): Runtime component responsible for executing actions defined in plans (e.g., LLM API calls, tool invocations). Implementation-specific but must emit conformant events.
Value State Layer (VSL)
Category: L3 Runtime
Definition (Behavioral): Abstraction for state persistence (e.g., Redis, Postgres, in-memory). Provides get(key) and set(key, value) interface.
Integration (L4)
File Update Event
Truth Source: schemas/v2/integration/mplp-file-update-event.schema.json
Definition: IDE file system changes (created, modified, deleted, renamed).
Git Event
Truth Source: schemas/v2/integration/mplp-git-event.schema.json
Definition: Version control operations (commit, push, merge, tag).
CI Event
Truth Source: schemas/v2/integration/mplp-ci-event.schema.json
Definition: Continuous integration pipeline status changes.
Tool Event
Truth Source: schemas/v2/integration/mplp-tool-event.schema.json
Definition: External tool invocations (formatters, linters, test runners).
Learning
Learning Sample
Category: Learning Module
Definition (Mirror): Structured record of agent experience capturing input, output, and feedback. Used for fine-tuning and reinforcement learning.
Schemas:
schemas/v2/common/learning-sample.schema.json(core structure)schemas/v2/learning/mplp-learning-sample-intent.schema.json(intent resolution)schemas/v2/learning/mplp-learning-sample-delta.schema.json(delta impact)
Key Fields: sample_id, project_id, intent_before, plan, success_flag, user_feedback.decision (enum: approve, reject, override), timestamps
Cross-Cutting Concerns
Governance
Definition (Mirror): Metadata structure present in all protocol objects, defining lifecyclePhase, truthDomain, locked status, and lastConfirmRef.
Invariant
Definition (Mirror): Validation rule encoded in YAML (e.g., sa-invariants.yaml, map-invariants.yaml) that enforces protocol constraints. Includes id, scope, path, rule, and description.
Metadata Block
Truth Source: schemas/v2/common/metadata.schema.json
Definition (Mirror): Standard meta field in all protocol objects containing protocolVersion, frozen (boolean), freezeDate, and governance authority.
UUID v4
Truth Source: schemas/v2/common/identifiers.schema.json
Definition (Mirror): Standard identifier format for all protocol entities. Must conform to RFC 4122 UUID version 4.
ISO 8601
Definition (Mirror): Standard timestamp format for all temporal fields (e.g., created_at, timestamp). Must include timezone information (UTC recommended).
Immutable (MPLP)
Definition (Normative): In MPLP documentation, "immutable" refers to append-only, tamper-evident record semantics (WORM) at the protocol and storage abstraction level. It does not imply blockchain, distributed ledger technology, or cryptographic immutability. This term is used strictly in a technical context.