HELM AI Kernel
HELM AI Kernel JSON Schema Reference
Open-source execution kernel, CLI, MCP, conformance, verification, and compatibility.This page is for developers who need the public schema inventory before writing validators, SDK bindings, conformance tests, or receipt processors. The outcome is a concrete map from schema family to source path, validation command, and public docs surface.
Audience
Use this page if you validate HELM JSON artifacts, generate types, add a receipt field, or need to know whether a schema family is a public contract.
Outcome
After this page you should know where public schema files live, how schema families map to consumers, how to validate schema index freshness, and what is not yet a stable public API.
Source Truth
The schema source is protocols/json-schemas, with the generated index at protocols/json-schemas/SCHEMA_INDEX.md (protected staff doc). The current tree contains 192 schema-related files across the public schema families listed below. Legacy compatibility schemas under schemas remain source-owned and are referenced from the protocol hub when they back public receipt examples.
Schema Family Flow
flowchart TD
subgraph Ingestion["1. Ingestion & Context Plane"]
Schemas["protocols/json-schemas"]
Index["SCHEMA_INDEX.md"]
Docs["public schema reference"]
Tests["docs-truth and conformance"]
SDKs["generated types and SDK examples"]
end
subgraph Ledger["4. Tamper-Evident Ledger Plane"]
Receipts["receipt and EvidencePack validation"]
end
%% Operational Flow Edges
Schemas --> Index
Index --> Docs
Schemas --> Tests
Tests --> SDKs
SDKs --> Receipts
%% Premium Styling Rules
style Receipts fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fffMermaid source
flowchart TD
subgraph Ingestion["1. Ingestion & Context Plane"]
Schemas["protocols/json-schemas"]
Index["SCHEMA_INDEX.md"]
Docs["public schema reference"]
Tests["docs-truth and conformance"]
SDKs["generated types and SDK examples"]
end
subgraph Ledger["4. Tamper-Evident Ledger Plane"]
Receipts["receipt and EvidencePack validation"]
end
%% Operational Flow Edges
Schemas --> Index
Index --> Docs
Schemas --> Tests
Tests --> SDKs
SDKs --> Receipts
%% Premium Styling Rules
style Receipts fill:#2f855a,stroke:#276749,stroke-width:2px,color:#fffPublic Families
| Family | Source path | Primary consumers |
|---|---|---|
| access | protocols/json-schemas/access |
privileged access requests and receipts |
| audit | protocols/json-schemas/audit |
merged audit reports |
| certification | protocols/json-schemas/certification |
conformance and deploy attestations |
| cli | protocols/json-schemas/cli |
CLI schema snapshots |
| compliance | protocols/json-schemas/compliance |
control mappings |
| core | protocols/json-schemas/core |
envelopes, effects, EvidencePacks, receipts, and error IR |
| effects / evidence | protocols/json-schemas/effects, protocols/json-schemas/evidence |
governed action effects and external host evidence receipts |
| identity | protocols/json-schemas/identity |
agent and principal identity envelopes |
| packs | protocols/json-schemas/packs |
policy and reference pack manifests |
| policy | protocols/json-schemas/policy |
policy bundles and rule inputs |
| receipt / receipts | protocols/json-schemas/receipt, protocols/json-schemas/receipts |
native HELM receipt verification |
| registry | protocols/json-schemas/registry |
module, connector, and pack registries |
| safety / verification | protocols/json-schemas/safety, protocols/json-schemas/verification |
fail-closed checks and verifier outputs |
| telemetry / tooling | protocols/json-schemas/telemetry, protocols/json-schemas/tooling |
OpenTelemetry and tool governance exports |
Families not listed here are still indexed in SCHEMA_INDEX.md; they are intentionally routed through the protocol hub until they become direct public contracts.
Validation
Run these after changing a schema, generated type, or public example:
make docs-coverage
make docs-truth
cd protocols/json-schemas
rg -n '"$schema"|"type"|"properties"' .
Expected output: the docs gates pass, and every public schema path referenced by this page exists in protocols/json-schemas.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
A public docs page references a schema missing from SCHEMA_INDEX.md |
schema index drift | regenerate or update SCHEMA_INDEX.md, then run make docs-truth |
| An SDK type does not match a schema field | generated type drift | update the generator or SDK type source before documenting the field |
A receipt example validates against schemas/receipts but not protocols/json-schemas |
legacy compatibility path | link both paths and explain which verifier accepts each contract |
Not Covered
This page does not claim that every schema is a stable public API. The public contract is the subset tied to documented CLI, HTTP, receipt, EvidencePack, conformance, and SDK examples.