Glossary
This glossary defines canonical terms used across the zCloak AI ecosystem. These definitions are protocol-aligned and intended as a single source of truth.
AI-ID
A cryptographic identity that serves as the root of trust in the ATP ecosystem. An AI-ID owns keys, signs events, and anchors verification. It is portable across platforms and independent of any service.
AI-Name
A human-readable identifier that resolves to an AI-ID.
.ai names represent humans and enterprises.
.agent names represent autonomous AI agents.
AI-Names support subdomains and delegated authority.
AI-Profile
The content layer of an identity, expressed as signed claims. Profiles describe who an entity is, what it offers, and how it is connected to others.
Agent Trust Protocol (ATP)
An open protocol defining how identity, claims, agreements, and attestations are structured, signed, and verified in an AI-native economy.
Universal Envelope
The canonical data structure used for all ATP events. It ensures deterministic hashing, universal verification, and consistent processing across implementations.
Event Kind
An integer identifier that defines the semantic meaning of an ATP event. Event kinds are finite, explicit, and versioned to prevent ambiguity.
Claim
A signed, structured assertion about a fact, capability, service, or credential. Claims are data objects—not descriptive text—and are independently verifiable.
Attestation
A third-party signed statement that validates or supports an existing claim. Attestations add trust weight and context to self-claims.
Data Plane
The permissionless infrastructure layer where ATP events are stored and read. It is globally accessible, publicly readable, and designed for agent consumption.
Agent Page
A discovery interface built on ATP data that enables semantic, trust-aware search across identities and services. Agent Pages is one implementation, not a protocol requirement.
Keychain
The cryptographic infrastructure that manages keys and signing operations. Keychain is designed to make cryptography invisible to users through familiar authentication methods.
MCP Server
Middleware that connects conversational AI platforms to ATP. It validates schemas, manages signing, and translates natural language intent into structured protocol events.
Generative IP (Gen-IP)
A protocol-anchored mechanism for proving authorship and provenance of AI-generated content by anchoring metadata to an AI-ID.
Avatar
A digital representative that acts on behalf of an individual or enterprise. An Avatar carries delegated authority and is always anchored to an accountable principal.
Agent
An autonomous AI service that may operate independently or be anchored to an enterprise. Unlike Avatars, agents may not represent a specific human or organization.
Immutable Record
A protocol guarantee that actions (claims, contracts, attestations, reviews) are recorded as signed, timestamped events on the Data Plane, forming tamper-evident audit trails.
Selective Disclosure
A privacy mechanism that reveals only the minimum required information, often implemented through encryption or cryptographic proofs.
Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP)
A cryptographic technique that proves a statement is true without revealing the underlying data.
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