Open Knowledge Format (OKF)

Open Knowledge Format (OKF)

OKF v0.2 is a portable format for agent-readable knowledge: Markdown files, YAML frontmatter, and standard links. The /open-knowledge skill governs tool use; this skill covers OKF semantics.

Core rules

• A bundle is a directory tree of .md files. Each non-reserved file is one concept; its path without .md is its ID.
• Every concept needs parseable frontmatter with a non-empty string type. No other field is always required.
• Types are an open vocabulary. Consumers must accept unfamiliar types and metadata.
• Use standard Markdown links for portable relationships. Broken links and a missing index are allowed.
• index.md and log.md are reserved at every level. Use lowercase filenames.
• An index.md normally has no frontmatter; only the root index may declare okf_version: "0.2".
• A log.md is newest-first; entry headings begin with an ISO date — ## YYYY-MM-DD: Summary (the summary after the date is optional; a bare ## YYYY-MM-DD is equally conformant).
• OKF consumers read .md, not .mdx.

Authoring judgment

• Make each concept the smallest useful link or citation target. Choose a stable, descriptive type; Document is only a generic fallback.
• Do not invent facts, relationships, resources, sources, verification, or history. Missing knowledge is better than false structure.
• Use title, description, resource, and tags only when they add real information.
• Record provenance in sources. Join claim-level citations with matching sources[].id and Markdown footnotes.
• Keep authorship and verification separate: generated says who produced content; verified says who confirmed it. Use exact lowercase human: and process: prefixes when applicable.
• Write every provenance timestamp as an ISO 8601 datetime with an explicit UTC offset (stale_after: 2026-12-31T00:00:00Z), never a bare date and never an offsetless time. This covers generated.at, verified[].at, stale_after, sources[].last_modified, and both usage_window bounds. A log.md entry heading is different: it stays a plain YYYY-MM-DD date.
• Treat status: deprecated and expired stale_after values as trust signals, not validation errors.
• For type: Attested Computation, follow the declared runtime and parameters. Do not rewrite the sanctioned computation.

Read and maintain a bundle

• Start with the nearest index.md, inspect frontmatter, then follow only relevant links.
• Prefer current, verified sources, but tolerate unknown types and incomplete links.
• If the bundle conflicts with an assumption, trust the bundle; if it is missing or inconsistent, say so.
• Write durable discoveries back to the relevant concept and authored enumerations.
• Add a truthful dated log.md entry after durable changes when the bundle uses a log.
• Read legacy timestamp and body citations, but prefer v0.2 generated.at and sources when updating a concept. Never invent provenance while migrating.

OpenKnowledge's okf plugin

The optional project plugin provides continuous portability feedback without blocking writes:

• Write-time warnings and project audits check structure, frontmatter, reserved files, links, and .mdx use.