{
  "dataset": "protocols",
  "record": {
    "id": "agents-json",
    "name": "agents.json",
    "full_name": "agents.json / Arazzo API manifests",
    "layer": "discovery",
    "creator": "open community (built on the OpenAPI Arazzo spec)",
    "status": "emerging",
    "year": 2025,
    "one_liner": "A manifest that describes a site's APIs and workflows in a form agents can discover and execute, typically served from /.well-known/.",
    "spec_url": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
    "snippet": "GET /.well-known/agents.json → { \"endpoints\": [ ... ], \"workflows\": [ ... ] }",
    "abbreviation": "agents.json",
    "also_known_as": [
      "agents.json",
      "Arazzo API manifest"
    ],
    "canonical_spec_url": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
    "entity_uri": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
    "taxonomy_layer": "discovery",
    "sub_layer": "api-workflow-manifest",
    "protocol_type": "manifest",
    "central_problem": "Describes a site's APIs and multi-step workflows in a machine-readable manifest agents can discover and execute, rather than reverse-engineering the UI.",
    "maintainer": "Wild Card AI + open community (built on the OpenAPI Arazzo spec)",
    "governance_body": "none (community; layered on OpenAPI Arazzo)",
    "license": {
      "value": "MIT",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
      "note": "Confirm the repo license at build."
    },
    "maturity_tag": "emerging",
    "current_spec_version": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
      "note": "Confirm current version at build."
    },
    "spec_date": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
      "note": "Confirm latest spec date at build."
    },
    "launch_date": {
      "value": "2025",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
      "note": "Confirm first-release date at build."
    },
    "last_verified": "2026-06-15",
    "transport": "Static JSON manifest at /.well-known/agents.json (OpenAPI Arazzo workflows)",
    "core_mechanism": "A JSON manifest served from /.well-known/agents.json enumerates a site's API endpoints and chained workflows using the OpenAPI Arazzo format, so an agent can discover which calls exist and execute multi-step flows without scraping the UI.",
    "discovery_endpoint": "/.well-known/agents.json",
    "settlement_type": null,
    "adoption_metric": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json",
      "note": "No audited adoption figure asserted."
    },
    "notable_adopters": [
      {
        "value": "Wild Card AI",
        "source": "https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json"
      }
    ],
    "relationships": [
      {
        "predicate": "complements",
        "target": "llms-txt",
        "note": "agents.json declares APIs/workflows; llms.txt declares content — paired Layer-1 discovery files."
      },
      {
        "predicate": "built_on",
        "target": "mcp",
        "note": "Both expose machine-callable actions; agents.json built on OpenAPI Arazzo and can front MCP-style execution."
      }
    ],
    "ideal_use_case": "Publishing a discoverable, executable description of your site's APIs and workflows for agents.",
    "when_to_use": "When agents need to call your APIs or run multi-step workflows and you already have an OpenAPI surface to expose.",
    "when_not_to_use": "When you only have content to expose (use llms.txt) or want a live tool-calling session rather than a static manifest (use MCP).",
    "code_example": "GET /.well-known/agents.json HTTP/1.1\n\n{ \"endpoints\": [ { \"path\": \"/api/search\", \"method\": \"GET\" } ], \"workflows\": [ { \"id\": \"checkout\", \"steps\": [ ... ] } ] }",
    "source": "Spec/repo (built on OpenAPI Arazzo): https://github.com/wild-card-ai/agents-json ; agents.json/agents.txt listed among Layer-1 discovery additions in research §2.",
    "agent_readiness_link": "agent-readiness/discoverability",
    "layer_legacy": "content"
  }
}