Federation Architecture Explained

Understanding how websites form federated networks for AI discovery and trust propagation.

Core Components

  • Manifest Files — Site identity cards at /ai/manifest.json
  • Health Endpoints — System status at /ai/health.json
  • Catalog Endpoints — Content inventory at /ai/catalog.json
  • Karma Scoring — Trust signals at /ai/karma.json
  • Federation Registry — Network topology at /ai/federation.json

4-Stage Federation Mapping

The v7.0 standard introduces a 4-stage mapping model that gives AI agents progressively richer network intelligence:

  1. v01 — Listings: Raw inventory of all member sites
  2. v02 — Clusters: Sites grouped by function (hub, implementation, tool, content)
  3. v03 — Relationships: Directed edges between sites with relationship types
  4. v04 — Propagation: Trust flow model across the network graph

Decentralization

The federation is decentralized. Any site can join by implementing the standard independently — no central server approval required. Sites discover each other through peer-to-peer link traversal. The optional registry at DigitalKarmaWeb.com is a convenience, not a requirement.

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