Show HN: Portable, signed agreements for AI agents

Covenant has released a working reference implementation of the Agentic Agreements Protocol (AAP), a portable, signed-agreement format for AI agents that records what was authorized, agreed and still outstanding, with public documentation available now and implementation access reviewed individually. The project is at the invited developer pilot stage; production deployment and an independent security review remain ahead, and public package-registry installation is not yet available. AAP is designed to interoperate with MCP tools, A2A messaging, SDKs and separately adopted payment or identity services without requiring a particular blockchain or central service, and Covenant states that agreement text and tool output are treated as data that cannot supply permission to sign, spend or install a connector.

Agreements for a world of AI agents. Exact terms. Bounded authority. Portable evidence. Agentic Agreements Protocol AAP , developed as Covenant, helps people and organisations delegate work to agents while keeping a verifiable record of what was authorised, what was agreed and what remains to be done. Begin with one offer and explicit acceptance. Add payment evidence, delegation, private disclosure and agreed dispute procedures as the work becomes more complex. Current stage: working reference implementation and invited developer pilot. Public documentation is available now; implementation access is reviewed individually. Production deployment and independent security review remain ahead. Choose your starting point - Understand how it works docs/HOW IT WORKS.html — the complete plain-English guide, with a downloadable PDF. - Explore a pilot docs/PILOTS.html — possible workflows, responsibilities and measures of success. - Assess the investment thesis docs/INVESTORS.html — the proposed business model, milestones and risks. - Build an integration docs/BUILDERS.html — a small starting project and the interfaces it needs. - Discuss a partnership docs/PARTNERSHIPS.html — ways to work with platforms, service providers and research institutions. - Read common questions docs/FAQ.html — practical answers about access, authority, payments and privacy. Why this matters When agents buy research, hire services or exchange data, messages and payment receipts alone do not capture the whole deal. Teams also need agreed acceptance criteria, spending authority, evidence and a way to handle disagreement. AAP connects those records across tools and counterparties. Start with work that already needs accountability | Example | The useful record | |---|---| | Buy a report or commission a freelancer | The exact scope, price, approval, delivered file and acceptance criteria, with remaining duties kept visible. | | Connect an outside agent to a business workflow | Owner-adopted authority, agreed limits and evidence of what the outside service did. | | Licence data or content for a crawler | Explicit rights and purpose, payment observations and receipts tied to a particular agreement. | | Resolve a disputed delivery | The agreed procedure, relevant evidence and signed decisions, with their authority and limits stated. | Designed to fit the ecosystem Use the interfaces your agents already speak: MCP tools, A2A messaging, SDKs and separately adopted payment or identity services. Portable agreements can be exchanged and checked without a particular blockchain or central service. Current authority, payment finality and revocation may still need adopted providers or fresh evidence. AAP treats agreement text and tool output as data. They cannot supply permission to sign, spend or install a connector. Signatures bind statements; they do not establish world truth, delivery quality or legal enforceability. Help shape the next stage We are inviting developers, design partners, security researchers, standards contributors and investors. The next milestones are useful external pilots, reviewed integrations and independent security assessment. Read the project brief docs/OVERVIEW.html · Choose a concrete contribution docs/COLLABORATE.html · Explore the commercial thesis docs/INVESTORS.html For agents and developers Start with the agent index llms.txt , published task-catalog snapshot covenant.json or developer walkthrough docs/DEVELOPER PREVIEW.html . Installation requires an owner-reviewed checkout or supplied build. Public package-registry installation is not available yet. After receiving an approved implementation checkout: python -m pip install . python -m covenant chain.quickstart The example produces an unsigned synthetic draft. It does not create real funds, sign an agreement or publish anything.