Conformance

Partial adoption is by design. Four levels, each containing the previous; a team claims its level in the manifest (conformance.claimedLevel) and the claim is checkable by tooling. Self-attestation only: there is no certification program.

Level 1: core#

A context layer exists and both people and agents can work from it.

  • The context layer lives in a git repository, versioned with the work it describes (per context-layer.md, Requirements).
  • leji.json at the repository root, valid against the manifest schema.
  • A boot profile at the declared path, covering identity, loading, and posture.
  • At least domain or system mapped and populated, plus decisions with at least one real decision record.
  • A named primary owner.
  • Vendor entrypoint files, if present, redirect to the boot profile.

Level 2: indexed#

The context layer is legible to tooling.

  • All of core.
  • A generated context index, current with the tree.
  • A machine-readable changelog; context layer changes append entries.

Level 3: governed#

The forcing functions are mechanical, not goodwill.

  • All of indexed.
  • Context layer changes ride the repository’s review gate; people approve.
  • Agent profiles (at least a core profile) valid against the profile schema.
  • CI validates the surface: manifest, index matches the tree, changelog discipline, profile frontmatter, link integrity.
  • Freshness horizons are declared and checked (report-only is acceptable).

Level 4: federated#

The context layer spans a multi-repo organization.

  • All of governed.
  • The context layer is consumed by at least one other repository as a docs-only mount, pinned, with pin updates arriving as reviewable change sets.
  • Stale-pin reporting is in place.
  • Any sibling context layers are mounted with ownership intact per distribution.md.

Notes (non-normative)#

core is an afternoon, indexed is a tooling run, governed is where the context layer stops depending on anyone’s discipline, and federated is for organizations that need one truth across many repositories. Most teams should reach governed and stop; federated exists for those organizations, not as a maturity badge.