Service manifest

Every service ships a source manifest with the code. The host registry copies it into the index.

Location	Role
asmp.yaml (repo root)	Source of truth — ships with software
infra/asmp.yaml	Alias for infra-heavy projects
~/.asmp/services/{name}.asmp.yaml	Host index — written by scan or announce

Index filename: {name}.asmp.yaml

See Ship with software for the author checklist.

Full example

asmp: "0.1"
kind: service

# ── Identity ────────────────────────────────────────────────
name: email-daemon
description: "Email intelligence — ingest, analyze, decide, verify"
version: "1.0.0"
created_by: claude-code
owner: daniel
created_at: "2026-03-31T03:00:00Z"

# ── Runtime ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
run:
  command: python3
  args: [main.py]
  working_dir: ~/repos-personal/aic-director-daemon
  env:
    PYTHONPATH: .
  restart: always
  depends_on:
    - name: apple-mail
      kind: soft

lifecycle:
  start: "launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.email-daemon.plist"
  stop: "launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.email-daemon.plist"
  reload: "launchctl kickstart -k gui/501/com.example.email-daemon"

state: running

# ── Network ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
endpoints:
  - protocol: http
    host: 127.0.0.1
    port: 7400
    path: /
    visibility: loopback

health:
  method: http
  target: http://127.0.0.1:7400/health
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 5s

# ── Capabilities ────────────────────────────────────────────
capabilities:
  provides:
    - email.ingest
    - email.classify
    - email.search
  owns:
    - email.workflow.intelligence
    - email.question.answering
  supports:
    - crm.contact.create
  aliases:
    - email brain
    - inbox intelligence
  anti_routes:
    - calendar.schedule
    - filesystem.backup
  requires:
    - apple-mail.envelope-index:read
    - filesystem:read:~/Library/Mail

positive_examples:
  - "answer a question from recent email"
  - "classify inbound mail"

negative_examples:
  - query: "schedule a meeting from this email"
    handoff: calendar-agent

when_not_to_use:
  - "Do not use for calendar writes; hand off to the calendar service."

# ── Data ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
data:
  sensitivity: medium
  stores:
    - path: ~/data/email-brain.db
      type: sqlite
      contains: [email_metadata, email_bodies]

# ── Mods ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
mods:
  - name: compliance-scanner
    description: "Scans emails for PII violations"
    agent: security-mod
    attaches_to: [email.classify]
    capabilities:
      provides: [compliance.pii_detect]
      requires: [email.read]
    state: available

# ── Observability ───────────────────────────────────────────
logs:
  path: ~/.local/log/email-daemon.log
  format: text

repo: ~/repos-personal/aic-director-daemon

# ── Display ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
display:
  icon: "✉️"
  section: tools
  critical: true
  url: http://localhost:7400/status

Sections

Identity

Field	Required	Description
name	yes	Lowercase, hyphens ok. Stable identifier.
description	yes	One-line summary for discovery
version	yes	Semver
created_by	yes	Agent or human that wrote the manifest
owner	yes	Responsible human
created_at	no	ISO 8601 timestamp

Runtime

How the service runs. The host runtime maps this to native format (plist, systemd unit, compose file).

Field	Description
run.command	Executable
run.args	Command arguments
run.working_dir	Working directory
run.env	Environment variables
run.restart	always, on-failure, no
run.depends_on	Other services this needs
lifecycle.start/stop/reload	Shell commands for lifecycle
state	running, stopped, planned

Network

Field	Description
endpoints[].protocol	http, grpc, mcp, stdio
endpoints[].port	Port number
endpoints[].visibility	loopback, tailnet, public
health.method	http, tcp, exec
health.target	URL, address, or command

Capabilities

The discovery layer. Other agents query by provides. Registration validates that requires are satisfiable.

For vague natural-language routing, manifests may also declare:

Field	Description
owns	Primary owner for a workflow or question type
supports	Can assist, but is not the default owner
aliases	Plain-language names
positive_examples	Queries this service should win
negative_examples	Queries to reject (query + handoff)
anti_routes	Topics or capability prefixes to disqualify
when_not_to_use	Human-readable guardrails

See Routing boundaries for how hosts apply policy when candidates tie.

Data

Field	Description
sensitivity	low, medium, high, regulated
stores[]	Paths, types, and contents for audit

Display

Metadata for dashboards. Icon, section grouping, criticality flag, status URL.

Index metadata (host only)

When synced by scan or announce, the index may add fields the source manifest does not carry:

Field	Description
source	Absolute path to shipped asmp.yaml
last_seen	ISO 8601 timestamp of last scan or announce
generation	Monotonic handshake counter
sync	scan or announce
status	registered or stale