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Glossary

18. Glossary

Term Definition
AAM Agent Artifact Manager — the CLI tool (aam) for installing, publishing, testing, and managing UAAPS packages.
Command A markdown file triggered by user typing /name or referenced as a parameterized template with {{variable}} interpolation. User or agent-invoked.
Skill A folder with SKILL.md that teaches an agent a specific capability. Model-invoked.
Agent A specialized persona definition with agent.yaml + system-prompt.md. Model or user-invoked.
Rule Persistent context (coding standards, conventions). Applied by scope rules.
Hook A shell command triggered by a lifecycle event. Always executed, zero token cost.
MCP Server An external tool server using the Model Context Protocol.
AGENTS.md Universal, freeform instruction file for any agent.
Progressive Disclosure Loading strategy: metadata → instructions → resources, on-demand.
Dependency Another agent package required for this package to function.
Peer Dependency A package that must be provided by the host environment, not auto-installed.
Optional Dependency A package that enhances functionality but isn't required.
System Dependency An OS binary, runtime, or package-manager package required on the host.
Lock File package.agent.lock — pins exact resolved versions for reproducible installs.
Hoisting Flattening shared dependencies to the top of the install tree to reduce duplication.
Resolution Override A resolutions entry that forces a specific version for a transitive dependency.
Pre-flight Check Verification that system dependencies exist before package installation.
SemVer Semantic Versioning 2.0 — MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH with defined compatibility rules.
DAG Directed Acyclic Graph — the dependency tree structure. Cycles are forbidden.
Permissions Declared scopes (fs, network, shell) that restrict what a package can do.
Env Environment variables and secrets required by the package to function.
Scope The @org namespace prefix in @org/package-name for organizational grouping.
Archive A .aam gzipped tar file containing a distributable package.
Bundle A pre-compiled, platform-specific archive requiring no install-time resolution.
Dist-tag A named alias for a specific package version (e.g., stable, bank-approved).
Policy Gate A client-side governance rule enforced before install or publish operations.
Yank Soft-delete of a published version. Yanked versions are hidden from search and new resolution but remain downloadable for existing lock files. See §12.7.
Deprecation Advisory state marking a version as superseded. Deprecated versions remain fully functional but emit warnings. See §12.7.
Provenance Cryptographic attestation linking a package archive to its source repository, commit, and build system. See §14.5.
Conformance Level A tiered compliance claim (Level 1–3) indicating which UAAPS features a platform implements. See §1.
Workspace A monorepo configuration where multiple UAAPS packages share a single dependency tree and lock file. See §13.14.
Capability Negotiation Runtime mechanism for packages to discover what features the host platform supports. See §10.
Resolver Version A manifest field (resolverVersion) that selects which dependency resolution algorithm to apply. See §13.4.
Permission Grant An explicit escalation allowing a dependency to use capabilities beyond the root package's permission boundary. See §17.3.
Threat Model A structured analysis of threat actors, attack surfaces, and mitigations for the UAAPS ecosystem. See §17.2.
ABNF Augmented Backus-Naur Form (RFC 5234) — formal grammar notation used to define UAAPS syntax. See §1.
SLSA Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts — a framework for graduated provenance requirements. See §14.5.