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Value-Context Protocol (VCP)

The open standard for encoding values in AI context.

MCP moves data. VCP encodes what matters about that data.

Specification Extensions License: MIT VEPs

Overview | Architecture | Quick Start | Extensions | MCP Bridge | Governance | SDKs

Overview

The Value-Context Protocol (VCP) is an open specification for transporting constitutional values, behavioral rules, and personal context to AI systems.

AI systems accept text input but have no native ability to resolve references, verify signatures, or validate behavioral constraints. VCP provides a signed envelope format with cryptographic verification at the orchestration layer, delivering complete, self-contained behavioral context to the model.

Core Properties

Property Description
Portability Define your context once — every compatible service receives it
Adaptation Context profiles shift by situation: work mode, personal mode, crisis mode
Liveness Real-time personal state (energy, focus, urgency) modulates AI behavior
Verification Cryptographic signatures and content hashes ensure integrity
Privacy Share influence without sharing information
Extensibility Stable core + opt-in extensions for specialized needs

How VCP Relates to MCP

VCP and MCP (Model Context Protocol) are complementary:

  • MCP provides standardized transport for AI tool integration — tools, resources, prompts, sampling
  • VCP provides standardized value transport — constitutional profiles, personal state, behavioral constraints

The VCP-over-MCP bridge makes this concrete: VCP tokens travel as MCP resources, VCP operations are exposed as MCP tools, and VCP context is injected into MCP sampling requests.

Architecture

VCP is a six-layer protocol stack — I-T-S-A-M-E ("It's-a me!"):

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 6 — VCP/E  ECONOMIC GOV   WHO PAYS             │
│  Layer 5 — VCP/M  MESSAGING      WHO TALKS            │
│  Layer 4 — VCP/A  ADAPTATION     WHEN and HOW         │
│  Layer 3 — VCP/S  SEMANTICS      WHAT values mean     │
│  Layer 2 — VCP/T  TRANSPORT      HOW values travel    │
│  Layer 1 — VCP/I  IDENTITY       WHO and WHAT         │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Core Security                       │
│  Encryption | Scanning | Opacity | Revocation | Audit │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   Extensions (VCP-X-*)                │
│  Personal | Relational | Consensus | Torch | Intent  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The six layers:

  • VCP/E — Economic Governance: Fiduciary constraints, authorization gaps, transaction governance
  • VCP/M — Messaging: Inter-agent message types, escalation severity, delivery semantics
  • VCP/A — Adaptation: Context dimensions, state machine, hooks
  • VCP/S — Semantics: CSM-1 constitutional encoding, personas, composition
  • VCP/T — Transport: Signed bundle format, manifests, trust anchors
  • VCP/I — Identity: Token format, namespace tiers, identity encoding

Core security (v3.1): Context encryption, injection scanning, context opacity, revocation infrastructure, tamper-evident audit chain.

Extensions (v3.1): Opt-in protocol extensions negotiated per session via capability handshake.

Quick Start

1. Read the Newcomer Guide

VCP Newcomer Guide — What VCP is and why it exists.

2. Explore the Wire Format

See how VCP works end-to-end with annotated examples:

3. Install the SDK

Python:

pip install creed-sdk

TypeScript:

npm install @creed-space/vcp-sdk

Rust:

[dependencies]
vcp-sdk = "3.1"

4. Create Your First Token

from creed_sdk import VCPClient

client = VCPClient()
token = client.create_token(
    persona="supportive_companion",
    dimensions={"empathy": "high", "transparency": "high"},
    scope={"domain": "mental_health"}
)
print(token.csm1)  # csm1:supportive_companion:EH-TH-...

Extensions

VCP v3.1 introduces five protocol extensions:

Extension Status Description
VCP-X-Personal Stable 5 personal state dimensions with intensity + configurable decay
VCP-X-Relational Stable Trust, standing, norms, AI self-model with mandatory uncertainty
VCP-X-Consensus Stable Schulze voting for multi-stakeholder constitutional deliberation
VCP-X-Torch Stable Session handoff for relational continuity across agents
VCP-X-Intent Experimental Transparent, correctable intent inference from personal state

Extensions are opt-in and negotiated per session via capability handshake. Each extension has a spec, JSON schema, and wire format examples.

See the Extension Model overview for architecture details.

MCP Bridge

VCP layers map to MCP primitives:

VCP Layer MCP Primitive
Identity Tools (vcp_validate_token)
Transport Resources (vcp://bundle/*)
Semantics Tools + Resources
Adaptation Resources + Sampling integration
Messaging Tools (vcp_send_message, vcp_escalate)
Economic Governance Tools (vcp_authorize_transaction) + Resources
Extensions Negotiation-filtered tools + resources

The bridge enables any MCP-compatible client to access VCP values without implementing VCP natively. See the MCP Bridge spec.

Specification

Protocol Stack

VCP is a six-layer protocol stack (I-T-S-A-M-E):

Layer 6 -- VCP/E  ECONOMIC GOV   WHO PAYS
Layer 5 -- VCP/M  MESSAGING      WHO TALKS
Layer 4 -- VCP/A  ADAPTATION     WHEN and HOW constitutions apply
Layer 3 -- VCP/S  SEMANTICS      WHAT the values mean
Layer 2 -- VCP/T  TRANSPORT      HOW values travel securely
Layer 1 -- VCP/I  IDENTITY       WHO and WHAT is being addressed

Full Spec

VCP v3.1 Specification — Master specification referencing all layers, extensions, and security features.

Documents

Document Description
VCP Specification v1.0 Full protocol specification
VCP v1.1 Amendments R-line, personal state additions
Academic Paper Formal paper
VCP/M Messaging v2.0 Inter-agent messaging and escalation
VCP/E Economic Governance v2.0 Economic governance layer
VCP/C Competence v2.0 Competence assessment and adaptive friction (Supplementary)

By Layer

Layer Documentation
VCP/I — Identity Naming, Namespace, Encoding
VCP/T — Transport v1.0 Spec SS6
VCP/S — Semantics CSM-1 Grammar, Composition
VCP/A — Adaptation Adaptation, Context
VCP/M — Messaging Specification
VCP/E — Economic Governance Specification

Core Security

Encryption, Injection Scanning, Context Opacity, Revocation | Audit Chain

Specification Status

Layer Status Documents
VCP/I — Identity Stable 5 docs
VCP/T — Transport Stable 1 spec + 1 amendment
VCP/S — Semantics Stable 4 docs
VCP/A — Adaptation Stable 4 docs
VCP/M — Messaging Stable 1 spec
VCP/E — Economic Governance Stable 1 spec

Universal Value Codes (UVC)

Document Description
Naming UVC naming conventions
Encoding Encoding formats
Ontology Value classification
Registry Registry protocol
Governance Namespace governance

Version History

See CHANGELOG.

Schemas

Schema Validates Version
vcp-manifest-v1 Bundle manifests v1.0
vcp-identity-token Identity tokens v1.0
vcp-semantics-csm1 CSM-1 tokens v1.0
vcp-adaptation-context Adaptation context v1.0
vcp-capability-handshake Capability negotiation v3.1

Extension schemas are co-located: specs/extensions/VCP-X-*/schema.json.

Governance

VCP is governed by a Technical Steering Committee (TSC) under a foundation-compatible model:

  • Decision process: Lazy consensus, supermajority for spec changes
  • Contribution: DCO (Developer Certificate of Origin) sign-off
  • Extension proposals: Via the VEP process
  • IP license: MIT License with Agentic AI Foundation transfer clause

See GOVERNANCE.md for the full charter and CONTRIBUTING.md for contribution guidelines.

Filed VEPs

VEP Title Status
VEP-0001 Extension Model Architecture Accepted
VEP-0002 Capability Negotiation Protocol Accepted
VEP-0003 VCP-over-MCP Bridge Accepted

SDKs

Reference implementations live in the VCP-SDK repository:

Language Version Status
Python 3.1.0 Reference implementation
Rust 3.1.0 High-performance / WASM
TypeScript 3.1.0 Browser-side

Roadmap

  • VCP Inspector: Interactive web tool for decoding/encoding VCP tokens — Live at inspector.valuecontextprotocol.org
  • VCP Examples: 10 runnable examples covering all extensions (planned)
  • Anti-drift CI: Automated spec-implementation version sync checks
  • Agentic AI Foundation: Transfer of VCP governance to neutral foundation

Contributing

We welcome contributions. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

  • Typo / Clarification: Open a PR directly
  • Spec Change: Follow the VEP process
  • Extension Proposal: Use the VEP template

Please read our Code of Conduct before participating.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Authors

Nell Watson, Elena Ajayi, Filip Alimpić, Awwab Mahdi, Blake Wells, Claude (Anthropic)

A Creed Space project, developed for contribution to the Agentic AI Foundation.

Context that travels with you.

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Value-Context Protocol (VCP) Specification — the open standard for portable, adaptive, and verifiable AI context

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specification vcp ai-ethics constitutional-ai

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