OpenAgents public documentation STE policy

• Standard: ASD-STE100 Issue 9
• Glossary revision: openagents-ste-glossary-v1
• Policy revision: openagents-ste-policy-v3
• Scope: public-facing documentation only

Publication boundary

STE applies only to text files in these configured publication roots:

• apps/openagents.com/apps/start/content/docs/
• apps/openagents.com/apps/start/public/

The checker reads this boundary from checker-config.v1.json. A file is governed only when its path starts with a configured governedPrefixes value and its extension is governed. Path and extension checks are both required.

The first root contains authored website documentation. The second contains documents shipped through the public static surface, including public agent instructions. Generated public documentation mirrors and public font license text are source data.

If a new publication surface lives outside these roots, add its precise root to the checker configuration before publishing it. Do not broaden the scope to an internal directory merely because that directory contains Markdown.

Internal documents are excluded

Internal documents are not governed by STE. This includes strategy, teardowns, roadmaps, audits, plans, specifications, runbooks, receipts, research notes, issue records, and agent working documents. In the current repository shape, that means documents under docs/, specs/, packages, and application-internal documentation unless a path is also inside one of the explicit publication roots above.

Internal documents can use the vocabulary, tone, sentence length, and structure that best communicate their technical meaning. They do not need an STE profile, ledger entry, inventory digest, baseline update, semantic capture, or STE check. Copying or generating their content into a configured public root makes the published copy governed.

Public document requirements

Write governed public documents in Simplified Technical English. Use the rules in ASD-STE100 Issue 9 and the approved OpenAgents terms in glossary.v1.json.

Use the base STE profile for public human-facing text. Public agent-facing instructions can use the agent compact profile when its controlled extensions improve precision or scan speed. The compact profile does not relax safety, authority, evidence, or ambiguity controls. Do not apply it to public human-facing text.

Do not copy the ASD dictionary into this repository. A strict lexical check requires an authorized local dictionary file through ASD_STE100_DICTIONARY.

Source data

Do not rewrite commands, paths, URLs, identifiers, protocol values, quoted legal text, third-party text, or generated output merely to satisfy STE. Treat those spans as source data and add a clear STE frame when readers need context.

The generator writes public Markdown mirrors and llms files under apps/openagents.com/apps/start/public/docs/. Do not edit those generated mirrors directly. Change the authored source under apps/openagents.com/apps/start/content/docs/ and run the site generator.

Profiles and inventory

The migration ledger gives each governed public file a profile. A profile selects descriptive, procedural, mixed, or source-data text and records its review state:

• migration: the public file has a temporary baseline and needs conversion.
• checked: the checker passed, but an inspector did not approve the text.
• inspected: a technical reviewer and an STE inspector approved the text.
• source-data: the public file contains immutable, generated, or third-party source data.
• superseded: a current public STE document replaces the file.

Only inspected, source-data, and superseded are terminal states. A tool result is not proof of full STE conformance.

The final inventory binds governed public paths and terminal states to exact SHA-256 digests. It does not inventory internal documents.

Checks

For a change that touches governed public documentation, run:

pnpm run check:ste

That command checks changed governed files. To check the complete public documentation corpus, run:

pnpm run check:ste:public
pnpm run check:ste-public-semantics
pnpm run test:ste

check:ste:all and check:ste-control-semantics remain compatibility aliases. They do not expand enforcement beyond the configured public scope.

After an approved change to governed paths or terminal review state, regenerate the digest-bound records in this order:

pnpm run generate:ste-final-inventory
pnpm run generate:ste-ledger

Use generate:ste-baseline only for an approved public migration reset. Use --refresh-path=<path> for an approved update to one public migration file.

Strict mode does not use the migration baseline:

pnpm run check:ste:strict -- <public-paths>

It requires an authorized Issue 9 dictionary outside Git.

The public semantic baseline protects configured public control documents. It compares normative keywords, code literals, URLs, issue references, and numeric values. After an approved control change, capture only that public path:

node --import tsx scripts/check-ste-semantic.ts --capture-path=<public-path>

This comparison does not prove semantic equality. A technical reviewer must also inspect the change.

Checker limits

The deterministic checker reports selected structural and vocabulary signals, including sentence length, semicolons, contractions, selected word forms, possible passive voice, paragraph density, and OpenAgents terminology. Some signals require human judgment. The checker cannot prove that a sentence has one topic or that the complete meaning is safe and correct.

An identified review can accept only the screening rules permitted by the profile. It cannot accept prohibited punctuation, contractions, word forms, terms, or profile defects.

Copyright

ASD owns the copyright for ASD-STE100 and its dictionary. This repository stores only OpenAgents policy, profiles, and technical terms. Use the official Issue 9 source.