aif-parser

AIF — Agent Instruction Format

A plain-text format for expressing executable instructions to autonomous agents, orchestration systems, and automated pipelines — with unambiguous syntax, explicit typing, and deterministic parse semantics.

Get Started

Try it live: AIF Playground — no install needed.

Install a parser:

# Python
pip install aif-parser

# TypeScript / Node.js
npm install aif-parser

Parse a document:

from aif_parser import parse_aif

result = parse_aif(open("pipeline.aif").read())
if result.valid:
    print(result.ast)
else:
    for err in result.errors:
        print(err)

import { parseAIF } from 'aif-parser'

const result = parseAIF(document)
if (result.valid) {
    console.log(result.ast)
} else {
    result.errors.forEach(e => console.error(e))
}

Validate any document:

python -m aif_parser pipeline.aif

---

Example

---
aif-version: 1.0
id:          deploy-pipeline-v1
title:       Production Deployment Pipeline
author:      platform-team
---

@Agent[test-runner] {
    name:        "Test Runner Agent"
    capabilities: [ test, coverage ]
    timeout:     10m
    on-error:    @ErrorPolicy::stop
}

@Task[run-tests] {
    title:     "Run test suite with coverage"
    agent:     test-runner
    priority:  @Priority::high
    input {
        branch:   String
        coverage: Boolean = true
    }
    output {
        passed:   Boolean
        coverage: Number
    }
}

@Rule[require-coverage] {
    title:    "Minimum 80% test coverage"
    severity: @Severity::error
    assert:   "output.coverage >= 80"
    message:  "Coverage below required threshold."
}

@Workflow[deploy-production] {
    title:   "Full Production Deployment"
    trigger: @Trigger::manual
    steps:   [ run-tests ]
    timeout: 60m
}

---

Why AIF?

Markdown was designed to convert plain text to HTML for humans. When repurposed as an agent instruction medium, its structural ambiguity becomes operational risk.

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Block Types

Full syntax reference in docs/AIF-Specification-v1.0.0.md.

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Interoperability

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Packages

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Project Status

AIF is a v1.0 draft, open for community review. See SPEC.md for implementation status.

Spec changes follow the RFC process — open a GitHub Discussion before proposing changes to block types, field syntax, or the AST.

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Resources

• Full Specification — complete grammar, AST schema, operator reference
• CONTRIBUTING.md — how to contribute, RFC process
• GOVERNANCE.md — project governance
• CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md — community standards
• CHANGELOG.md — version history

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License

Format specification: CC BY 4.0

Reference implementations: MIT