Protocol Overview
The Enterprise Context Management (ECM) Protocol defines a standardized approach to context exchange between AI systems, applications, and context stores. This specification covers the core architectural components and their interactions.
Message Format Specification
Context Message Structure
All ECM Protocol messages follow a consistent envelope format:
{
"ecm_version": "1.0",
"message_id": "uuid-v4",
"timestamp": "ISO-8601",
"source": {
"system_id": "string",
"capabilities": ["read", "write", "subscribe"]
},
"payload": {
"context_type": "string",
"context_id": "string",
"data": {},
"metadata": {}
}
}Context Type Registry
ECM defines standard context types with registered schemas. Each type has defined semantics: user-context for individual user state, session-context for interaction sessions, entity-context for business entities, and system-context for system state and configuration.
Transport Layer
HTTP/REST Binding
Primary transport for request-response patterns. RESTful endpoints with standard HTTP semantics. Content-Type: application/ecm+json for protocol messages. Standard HTTP status codes for error handling.
WebSocket Binding
For bidirectional real-time context streaming. Persistent connections with heartbeat. Multiplexed streams for multiple context subscriptions. Binary frame support for efficiency.
gRPC Binding
High-performance binary transport. Protocol Buffer message definitions. Streaming RPCs for context feeds. Built-in flow control.
Protocol Operations
CRUD Operations
Standard context lifecycle operations: CREATE for new context, READ for retrieval by ID or query, UPDATE for modification, and DELETE for removal. Operations support optimistic concurrency via ETags.
Query Operations
Rich query capabilities beyond simple READ. Filter expressions with Boolean logic. Projection for partial context. Pagination for large result sets. Sorting by context attributes.
Subscription Operations
Real-time context change notifications. SUBSCRIBE to context patterns. UNSUBSCRIBE to cancel. Server-sent events or WebSocket delivery.
Protocol Extensions
ECM supports extensions via namespaced attribute:
- x-ecm-encryption: Field-level encryption directives
- x-ecm-lineage: Context provenance tracking
- x-ecm-ttl: Time-to-live specifications
- x-ecm-priority: Processing priority hints
Conclusion
The ECM Protocol provides a comprehensive specification for context exchange. Implementations must support core message format and at least one transport binding. Extensions enable functionality for specific use cases.
