# AGNTCY

> A Linux Foundation project building open infrastructure for an 'Internet of Agents' — discovery (OASF), identity, messaging (SLIM) and observability — so agents from different vendors interoperate.

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- **name:** AGNTCY
- **full_name:** AGNTCY (Internet of Agents project)
- **layer:** interop
- **creator:** Cisco (Outshift), with LangChain and Galileo; now Linux Foundation
- **status:** active (Linux Foundation, since 29 July 2025)
- **year:** 2025
- **one_liner:** A Linux Foundation project building open infrastructure for an 'Internet of Agents' — discovery (OASF), identity, messaging (SLIM) and observability — so agents from different vendors interoperate.
- **spec_url:** https://agntcy.org/
- **snippet:**

```
AGNTCY: Agent Discovery (OASF) + Agent Identity + Agent Messaging (SLIM) + Observability.
```
- **abbreviation:** AGNTCY
- **also_known_as:** AGNTCY, Internet of Agents
- **canonical_spec_url:** https://docs.agntcy.org/
- **entity_uri:** https://agntcy.org/
- **taxonomy_layer:** interop
- **sub_layer:** multi-agent-infrastructure
- **protocol_type:** transport
- **central_problem:** Provides open, vendor-neutral infrastructure (discovery, identity, messaging, observability) so AI agents from different frameworks and vendors can find each other and collaborate.
- **maintainer:** AGNTCY project under the Linux Foundation (originated at Cisco / Outshift)
- **governance_body:** Linux Foundation
- **license:** Apache-2.0
- **maturity_tag:** emerging
- **current_spec_version:** — (verify-against-primary-at-build)
- **spec_date:** — (verify-against-primary-at-build)
- **launch_date:** 2025-03
- **last_verified:** 2026-06-15
- **transport:** Multi-component (OASF schema discovery; SLIM messaging; identity; observability)
- **core_mechanism:** AGNTCY bundles the building blocks of an 'Internet of Agents': Agent Discovery via OASF, cryptographically verifiable Agent Identity and access control, Agent Messaging via SLIM (Secure Low-latency Interactive Messaging), and end-to-end Agent Observability. Cisco open-sourced it in March 2025 with LangChain and Galileo; it joined the Linux Foundation on 29 July 2025.
- **discovery_endpoint:** AGNTCY Agent Directory (OASF records); component endpoints per module
- **settlement_type:** —
- **adoption_metric:** 75+ supporting companies; formative members Cisco, Dell Technologies, Google Cloud, Oracle, Red Hat (source: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-welcomes-the-agntcy-project-to-standardize-open-multi-agent-system-infrastructure-and-break-down-ai-agent-silos)
- **notable_adopters:** {"value":"Cisco (originator)","source":"https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-welcomes-the-agntcy-project-to-standardize-open-multi-agent-system-infrastructure-and-break-down-ai-agent-silos"}, {"value":"Dell Technologies, Google Cloud, Oracle, Red Hat (formative members)","source":"https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-welcomes-the-agntcy-project-to-standardize-open-multi-agent-system-infrastructure-and-break-down-ai-agent-silos"}
- **relationships:** {"predicate":"competes_with","target":"a2a","note":"AGNTCY's interop stack overlaps with A2A as a multi-agent collaboration layer (though AGNTCY also supports A2A)."}, {"predicate":"complements","target":"acp","note":"ACP (Agent Communication Protocol) is associated with the AGNTCY community as a REST messaging option."}
- **ideal_use_case:** Standing up a vendor-neutral multi-agent system with discovery, identity, secure messaging and observability out of the box.
- **when_to_use:** When you need the full 'Internet of Agents' infrastructure stack rather than a single protocol like MCP or A2A.
- **when_not_to_use:** When a single interop protocol (A2A) or tool protocol (MCP) covers your need without adopting a whole framework.
- **code_example:** // AGNTCY is an infrastructure project, not one wire format.
// Discover an agent via OASF, message it via SLIM:
// directory.lookup('researcher') -> slim.connect(agent.endpoint)
- **source:** Cisco-originated (March 2025, with LangChain + Galileo), joined Linux Foundation 29 July 2025, 75+ companies, components OASF + SLIM + identity + observability: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-welcomes-the-agntcy-project-to-standardize-open-multi-agent-system-infrastructure-and-break-down-ai-agent-silos and https://agntcy.org/ . Listed for addition in research §2.
- **agent_readiness_link:** agent-readiness/a2a
- **layer_legacy:** agent