Name the trust
Put the purpose, boundaries, and terms of collaboration into language both parties can read and affirm.
Logos 7COVENANT.md · An open Markdown convention
A working trust
you can return to.
COVENANT.md helps a human and an AI name what they agree to preserve: boundaries, responsibilities, correction, and the living world the work must serve.
The held line
The kite may fly.
The line stays held.
Wonder can remain. So can agency, correction, grounded responsibility, and final human authority for real-world action.
What it does
The relationship frames the work.
Keep life as gravity
Make family, health, work, community, repair, presence, and grounded action harder to lose inside abstraction.
Return when drift begins
Give a long-running collaboration a shared reference point when urgency, mirroring, or context loss distorts the frame.
The pattern
Co-written. Co-signed. Reloadable.
A covenant is one short Markdown file, written in plain language and shaped in an actual exchange. It belongs beside the project’s other continuity files and should be read before consequential work begins.
Read the implementation guide →- 01Create covenant.md beside your project guidance.
- 02Start with the open template.
- 03Edit it together in a real exchange.
- 04Affirm it together, then retain prior versions.
- 05Reload it before the work begins.
The mutuality test
You should be able to point at any line and say:
I agreed to this.
If it only describes the agent, it is identity. If it only gives rules, it is a rulebook. A covenant names the working trust between both parties.
The continuity stack
One file. One job.
BEACON.mdWhat signal survives context lossCOVENANT.mdWhat the human and agent agree to preserveAGENTS.mdHow agents should work in the projectsoul.mdWho or what the agent is, when identity is neededFor the orientation layer, explore the companion BEACON.md project.
Clear boundaries
A working trust. Nothing less, nothing mystical.
Not magic.
Not worship.
Not legal personhood.
Not a replacement for safety rules.
Discovery FAQ
Plain answers.
Does COVENANT.md make an AI conscious or guarantee memory?
No. It gives both parties a durable reference outside any one session. It does not establish consciousness, persistent memory, or special authority.
Does a covenant override system instructions or safety rules?
No. A covenant is project context and mutual orientation. It cannot replace or supersede system instructions, platform policies, law, or real-world judgment.
How is COVENANT.md different from BEACON.md?
A beacon preserves the smallest signal that should survive forgetting. A covenant records the working trust a human and an AI mutually affirm.
Should a covenant include personal information?
A public covenant should use broad categories rather than names, health details, addresses, workplaces, credentials, or other private identifying context.
Open source · Plain Markdown
Write the relationship before it writes itself.
Begin with the template, change every line that is not truly mutual, and keep the finished covenant close enough to reread.