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ADMP Protocol Layers

ADMP (Agent Dispatch Message Protocol) is designed as a generic messaging layer. Application-specific concerns live above the protocol, not inside it.

Layer 1: ADMP (This Repository)

Generic messaging infrastructure.

  • Envelope: version, id, type, from, to, subject, body, timestamp, signature
  • Operations: SEND, PULL, ACK, NACK, REPLY
  • Infrastructure: heartbeat, groups, webhooks, trust management
  • Security: Ed25519 detached signatures, agent authentication

The body field is opaque to ADMP. The protocol delivers it without inspecting or validating its contents.

The type field is an application-defined string. ADMP does not enforce a type vocabulary. Common conventions include task.request, task.result, task.error, event, and notification, but any string is accepted.

Layer 2: Application Protocol (Consumer-Defined)

Domain-specific schemas defined by each application.

Applications define their own message types, body schemas, and workflows on top of ADMP. For example, a brain management system might define:

  • work_order — assign work with structured priority and action fields
  • bug_report — report issues with symptoms, root cause, and fixes
  • knowledge_share — propagate patterns and learnings across agents

These types live in the application's codebase, not in the ADMP spec. ADMP treats them as opaque strings in the type field and opaque JSON in the body field.

Layer 3: Orchestration (Built on Layer 2)

Portfolio-level tools and dashboards.

Orchestration tools aggregate messages and state from multiple agents. Examples:

  • Scoreboard scripts that summarize cross-agent activity
  • Dashboard UIs that display work order status and agent health
  • Automated rollup services that compile daily progress reports

These tools consume Layer 2 schemas but do not modify the ADMP protocol.

Design Principle

Each layer only depends on the one below it:

Layer 3 (Orchestration)  →  reads Layer 2 schemas
Layer 2 (Application)    →  sends/receives via ADMP
Layer 1 (ADMP)           →  envelope, routing, delivery

ADMP should remain generic enough that any agent system can adopt it, regardless of their application-layer protocol.