Governance

CAP is an open specification. Anyone can implement it without asking permission, paying a fee, or using a particular vendor.

Status

Version 1.0 is a draft. The wire format is /cap/v1, CAP-Version: 1.0, and Protocol: CAP/1.0.

While the spec is a draft:

• Breaking changes are allowed. Each one is listed in CHANGELOG.md with what an owner or a caller has to change.
• The version stays 1.0. Implementations should expect to update as the draft changes.

Version 1.0 becomes final when several independent owners serve it in production. After that:

• Changes within 1.x only add. An existing owner or caller keeps working without a change.
• A breaking change ships as a new version on a new path, /cap/v2. Owners may serve both.

Making a change

1. Open an issue that describes the problem before proposing wording.
2. Open a pull request that changes spec.md and the reference server together. From reference/, node check.mjs must pass.
3. A maintainer merges after at least one week of public review for any change to the wire format.

Editorial fixes, such as typos and clearer wording with the same meaning, can merge without the review period.

Maintainers

Maintainers review and merge pull requests and publish releases. They are listed as owners of the conciergeprotocol organization on GitHub. A contributor who has helped shape the spec over time can be invited as a maintainer.

Maintainers decide by rough consensus in the issue or pull request. When consensus is not reached, the maintainers decide and record the reason in the thread.

Licenses

• The specification text and documentation are licensed under CC BY 4.0.
• The reference server, examples, and other code are licensed under Apache 2.0.