# Kova Documentation

The trust layer for the agent economy. Kova is an open cryptographic protocol (MIT license) that enables AI agents to declare behavioral commitments, prove compliance, and build verifiable reputation across platforms. This index links to all documentation.

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## Getting Started

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [ONE-PAGER.md](./ONE-PAGER.md) | Executive summary — one page |
| [QUICK-START.md](./QUICK-START.md) | 30 minutes from install to verified covenant + compliance export |
| [architecture.md](./architecture.md) | Protocol architecture, document lifecycle, extension points |

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## Compliance & Regulation

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [eu-ai-act-mapping.md](./eu-ai-act-mapping.md) | EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) — Article-by-Article mapping to Kova. **Deadline: Aug 2, 2026** |
| [i18n/](./i18n/) | Localized docs — EU AI Act + Quick Start in German, French, Spanish |
| [nist-ai-rmf-mapping.md](./nist-ai-rmf-mapping.md) | NIST AI Risk Management Framework — Govern, Map, Measure, Manage |

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## CCL (Constraint Language)

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [COMMON-CCL-PATTERNS.md](./COMMON-CCL-PATTERNS.md) | Common CCL patterns — permit/deny, when clauses, rate limits, wildcards |

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## Protocol Design

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [76-IMPROVEMENTS-MAP.md](./76-IMPROVEMENTS-MAP.md) | Master index — all 76 improvements mapped to packages/docs |
| [UPGRADES.md](./UPGRADES.md) | 15 feature upgrades (attestation, canary, gametheory, derivatives, etc.) |
| [CORE-MECHANISMS.md](./CORE-MECHANISMS.md) | 11 core mechanism improvements (self-enforcing covenants, trust algebra, etc.) |
| [STRATEGIC-CHANGES.md](./STRATEGIC-CHANGES.md) | 13 strategic changes (positioning, 3 primitives, adoption mechanics) |
| [ADOPTION-STRATEGY.md](./ADOPTION-STRATEGY.md) | Incentive alignment + three wedges (regulatory, internal, MCP) |
| [ADOPTION-READINESS.md](./ADOPTION-READINESS.md) | 10-gap closure: champions, content, community, kova audit, academic, conferences, pricing, moat, localization, milestones |
| [KIP-PROCESS.md](./KIP-PROCESS.md) | Kova Improvement Proposals — structured process for protocol changes |
| [GOOD-FIRST-ISSUES.md](./GOOD-FIRST-ISSUES.md) | 20+ scoped tasks for new contributors (1–2 hr each) |
| [HOLES-PATCHED.md](./HOLES-PATCHED.md) | 10 preemptive defenses against known objections |
| [ACCOUNTABILITY-KERNEL.md](./ACCOUNTABILITY-KERNEL.md) | Four operations: identity binding, covenant signing, proof verification, trust accounting |
| [IMPOSSIBILITY-CONJECTURES.md](./IMPOSSIBILITY-CONJECTURES.md) | Observation bound, trust–privacy tradeoff, composition limit, collateralization |
| [GOVERNANCE-BOOTSTRAP.md](./GOVERNANCE-BOOTSTRAP.md) | Four-phase governance bootstrap (Phase 0–3) |
| [UNIT-OF-TRUST.md](./UNIT-OF-TRUST.md) | Multidimensional trust profile (5 dimensions), anti-gaming |
| [REVENUE-MODEL.md](./REVENUE-MODEL.md) | Certification Authority, Trust Tax, Trust Data, Trust-Gated Marketplace, Sovereign Licensing |
| [CERTIFICATION-AUTHORITY-SPEC.md](./CERTIFICATION-AUTHORITY-SPEC.md) | UL model, $10K–100K |
| [TRUST-TAX-SPEC.md](./TRUST-TAX-SPEC.md) | Micro-fee, value-proportional, Visa model |
| [TRUST-DATA-SPEC.md](./TRUST-DATA-SPEC.md) | Bloomberg model, anonymized insights |
| [MARKETPLACE-SPEC.md](./MARKETPLACE-SPEC.md) | Trust-gated discovery, escrow, AWS model |
| [TWO-SIDED-PAYMENTS-SPEC.md](./TWO-SIDED-PAYMENTS-SPEC.md) | AdSense model, $0.0002 per query |
| [TRUST-FUTURES-SPEC.md](./TRUST-FUTURES-SPEC.md) | CME model, trust score futures |
| [COMPLIANCE-AUTOPILOT-SPEC.md](./COMPLIANCE-AUTOPILOT-SPEC.md) | 0.5–1% budget, Salesforce stickiness |
| [STAKING-TIERS-SPEC.md](./STAKING-TIERS-SPEC.md) | $1/$10/$100/$1000, governance weight |
| [THE-RAIL-SPEC.md](./THE-RAIL-SPEC.md) | Trust = transaction, 0.15% of volume |
| [PRICING.md](./PRICING.md) | Nobulex Cloud: per-verification toll model — per-action toll ($0.005+/verification), certification badges, compliance intelligence, insurance-linked coverage, embedded middleware |
| [MODEL-UPDATE-TRIGGERS.md](./MODEL-UPDATE-TRIGGERS.md) | Model update triggers (Hole 7/39) — re-verification workflow |
| [METRICS-DASHBOARD.md](./METRICS-DASHBOARD.md) | What to track — npm installs, stars, DMs |
| [DISCOVERY.md](./DISCOVERY.md) | Federated covenant discovery (`.well-known/nobulex`) |
| [ZK-IDENTITY-HIERARCHY.md](./ZK-IDENTITY-HIERARCHY.md) | ZK identity design — prove trust without revealing identity |

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## Launch & Incident Response

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [UNCOVENANTED-AGENT-PROBLEM-HN.md](./UNCOVENANTED-AGENT-PROBLEM-HN.md) | HN post — full pitch with defense in depth |
| [crisis-playbook/](./crisis-playbook/) | Incident analysis templates, rapid-deployment compliance, thought leadership |

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## API Reference

| Doc | Description |
|-----|-------------|
| [api/README.md](./api/README.md) | API documentation |
