{
  "dataset": "protocols",
  "record": {
    "id": "ucp",
    "name": "UCP",
    "full_name": "Universal Commerce Protocol",
    "layer": "payments",
    "creator": "Universal-Commerce-Protocol project (open standard; ucp.dev)",
    "status": "active (open standard)",
    "year": 2026,
    "one_liner": "An open standard for interoperability between commerce entities so AI agents can discover products, fill carts, and complete purchases — orchestrating A2A, AP2 and MCP across the commerce journey.",
    "spec_url": "https://ucp.dev",
    "snippet": "UCP: an open standard enabling interoperability between commerce entities for agent-driven shopping.",
    "abbreviation": "UCP",
    "also_known_as": [
      "Universal Commerce Protocol"
    ],
    "canonical_spec_url": "https://ucp.dev/specification/overview",
    "entity_uri": "https://github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp",
    "taxonomy_layer": "payments",
    "sub_layer": "commerce-interoperability",
    "protocol_type": "settlement",
    "central_problem": "Gives AI agents a single open standard to interoperate across commerce entities — discovering products, building carts, and completing purchases — instead of integrating each retailer/payment stack bespoke.",
    "maintainer": "Universal-Commerce-Protocol project (ucp.dev / github.com/universal-commerce-protocol)",
    "governance_body": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://ucp.dev",
      "note": "Research §2 lists UCP among AAIF-hosted projects; the primary repo did not confirm AAIF/Linux Foundation governance. Confirm the governance home at build."
    },
    "license": "Apache-2.0",
    "maturity_tag": "emerging",
    "current_spec_version": {
      "value": "v2026-04-08",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp",
      "note": "Latest release v2026-04-08 (dated Apr 9 2026) observed on github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp; confirm current tag at build."
    },
    "spec_date": {
      "value": "2026-04-08",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp",
      "note": "Release v2026-04-08; confirm against the GitHub releases at build."
    },
    "launch_date": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://ucp.dev",
      "note": "Secondary sources cite a Google/Shopify/Walmart UCP launch at NRF 2026; confirm the authoritative launch date/sponsors against ucp.dev at build."
    },
    "last_verified": "2026-06-15",
    "transport": "Open commerce-interoperability standard (orchestrates A2A / AP2 / MCP across the commerce journey)",
    "core_mechanism": "UCP is an open standard for interoperability between commerce entities (retailers, agents, payment providers) covering the journey from product discovery through cart-building, checkout, and post-purchase. Secondary analyses describe it as orchestrating existing protocols — A2A for agent communication, AP2 for payments, and MCP for tool/data access — into one commerce layer.",
    "discovery_endpoint": "UCP commerce endpoints (per the ucp.dev specification; implementation-defined)",
    "settlement_type": {
      "value": "card-rail / payment-agnostic (delegates settlement to AP2-class rails)",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://ucp.dev/specification/overview",
      "note": "Confirm UCP's settlement model against the primary spec at build."
    },
    "adoption_metric": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://ucp.dev",
      "note": "Secondary sources cite Shopify and Walmart involvement; not confirmed from the primary repo. Confirm at build."
    },
    "notable_adopters": [
      {
        "value": "Universal-Commerce-Protocol project",
        "source": "https://github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp"
      }
    ],
    "relationships": [
      {
        "predicate": "built_on",
        "target": "a2a",
        "note": "Secondary analyses describe UCP as orchestrating A2A for the agent-communication layer of commerce."
      },
      {
        "predicate": "built_on",
        "target": "ap2",
        "note": "UCP delegates the payment leg to AP2-class settlement."
      },
      {
        "predicate": "competes_with",
        "target": "acp-commerce",
        "note": "UCP and ACP (Agentic Commerce Protocol) both address agent-driven commerce/checkout interoperability."
      }
    ],
    "ideal_use_case": "Giving retailers, agents, and payment providers one open interoperability standard for agent-driven shopping end to end.",
    "when_to_use": "When you want a full commerce-journey interoperability layer (discovery → cart → checkout → post-purchase) rather than a single checkout or payment protocol.",
    "when_not_to_use": "When an in-conversation checkout (ACP) or a single payment mandate framework (AP2) already covers your need.",
    "code_example": "// UCP orchestrates commerce protocols (schematic):\n// agent --A2A--> retailer.discover(query)\n// agent --AP2--> pay(cartMandate)\n// retailer --MCP--> inventory.lookup(sku)",
    "source": "Open commerce-interoperability standard, Apache-2.0, release v2026-04-08: https://ucp.dev and https://github.com/universal-commerce-protocol/ucp . Secondary attribution (Google/Shopify/Walmart, NRF 2026) and AAIF hosting per research §2 + trade press — flagged for primary verification at build (possible distinct 'UCP' efforts).",
    "agent_readiness_link": "agent-readiness/x402",
    "creator_meta": {
      "value": "Universal-Commerce-Protocol project (open standard; ucp.dev)",
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://ucp.dev",
      "note": "Secondary sources attribute a UCP launch to Google with Shopify and Walmart at NRF 2026, and research §2 lists UCP among AAIF-hosted projects; the primary ucp.dev / github.com/universal-commerce-protocol repo did not confirm those sponsors or AAIF hosting. Confirm the authoritative creator/host against ucp.dev at build — possible multiple 'UCP' efforts."
    },
    "layer_legacy": "payment"
  }
}