Purpose
A model-breeding system needs a common package format before it can safely create descendants. The manifest is the contract between the model package, router, evaluator, registry, release system, and human reviewer.
Minimum manifest sections
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Identity | unique package id, version, digest, owner |
| Lineage | parents, operators, datasets, teacher models |
| Capability contract | input schema, output schema, task tags, abstention rules |
| Runtime | engine, hardware, memory, quantization, dependencies |
| Permissions | tools, network, filesystem, credentials, data access |
| Evaluation | suites, scorecards, calibration, failure slices |
| Safety | risk tier, hard gates, red-team findings, policy notes |
| Lifecycle | candidate, shadow, canary, champion, archived, retired |
Pseudocode object
RECORD SkillManifest
package_id
package_version
artifact_digest
created_at_utc
owner
lineage:
parent_package_ids
variation_operator
operator_config_digest
data_sources
teacher_models
contract:
input_schema
output_schema
task_tags
confidence_field
abstention_policy
escalation_policy
runtime:
engine
model_format
tokenizer
quantization
memory_mb
p95_latency_ms
supported_hardware
permissions:
network
filesystem
tools
credentials
data_jurisdictions
evaluation:
suite_version
scorecard_digest
calibration_report
known_failure_slices
lifecycle:
state
rollback_target
approval_record
END RECORDManifest validation gate
FUNCTION validate_manifest(manifest, policy)
REQUIRE manifest.artifact_digest MATCHES HASH(manifest.artifacts)
REQUIRE manifest.contract.input_schema IS VALID
REQUIRE manifest.contract.output_schema IS VALID
REQUIRE manifest.lifecycle.rollback_target EXISTS OR manifest.lifecycle.state == "candidate"
REQUIRE manifest.permissions WITHIN policy.allowed_permissions
REQUIRE manifest.evaluation.suite_version IN policy.approved_suites
RETURN PASS
END FUNCTIONWhy this matters
Interchangeability starts at the contract layer. Weight compatibility is optional and rare. Behavioral and operational compatibility are mandatory. A good manifest lets the ecology route, compare, replace, and retire modules without understanding every internal implementation detail.
Source reports used for this guide
These reports are preserved verbatim in the site archive. The guide above is an editorial synthesis and may narrow, qualify, or reorganize claims from the source material.
Core synthesisThe 4Fs Framework: Fast, Flexible, Frugal, FederatedEmerging practice · 22.5 KB
Core synthesisThe Four Fs of AI: Code Breeding, Model Breeding, and the Teleodynamic Convergence of Mutable Small-Model EcologiesConceptual synthesis · 80.5 KB
Core synthesisThe Architecture of Adaptability: An Exhaustive Analysis of the 4Fs, Code Beading, Model Breeding, and Interchangeable SystemsMixed maturity · 49.7 KB