Conformance Levels
UKS defines three conformance levels. Each adds layers — you implement only what you need, and a consumer can tell at a glance how much a packet promises.
| Level | Layers | Contains | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | A | Sources + data contracts | You're packaging knowledge — citations, evidence, licenses |
| L2 | A + B + C | + scrape targets + extraction rules | You're packaging how to acquire and parse more data |
| L3 | A + B + C + D + E | + directives + actions + agent instructions | You're packaging executable agent behavior |
L1 — knowledge
The most common level. A valid L1 packet has at least one source, each with the required fields:
id, title, source_type, credibility_score, evidence_grade, clinical_status
L1 packets interoperate with BibTeX, FHIR, and schema.org today. Most published registry packets are L1.
L2 — acquisition
Adds Layer B (scrape targets) — where to get more data — and Layer C (extraction rules) — how to parse it (selectors, regex, or extraction prompts). An L2 packet is a reproducible recipe for gathering a class of knowledge.
L3 — action
Adds Layer D (directives) — processing, validation, and governance rules — and Layer E (actions & agent instructions) — what an AI agent should do with the knowledge. An L3 packet is executable: it can drive an agent end-to-end.
Checking a level
The CLI reports the level of any packet:
uks info my-packet.uks.json
# Level: L1 Layer A: ✓ Layer B: ✗ Layer C: ✗ Layer D: ✗ Layer E: ✗The level is also validated: if a packet declares conformance_level: "L3" but omits Layer E, validation fails.
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