The Agent OSI Model — A 7-Layer Framework for AI Agent Infrastructure
The OSI model didn't create networking. It created the vocabulary that made networking a discipline. Before OSI, engineers said "the connection is broken." After OSI, they said "Layer 2 link is down."
AI agents have no equivalent. When an agent fails, we say "the agent broke." That's useless.
I've published a 7-layer framework for agent infrastructure. Not a product. Not a standard. A vocabulary.
The Seven Layers
L7 GOVERNANCE Audit · Compliance · Sign-off "Is this safe?"
L6 VERIFICATION Testing · Evaluation · Gates "Does this work?"
L5 COORDINATION Consensus · Distribution · Conflicts "How do agents work together?"
L4 SESSION Handoff · State · Context "How does an agent continue?"
L3 DISCOVERY Registry · Capabilities · Location "How do agents find each other?"
L2 COMMUNICATION Messaging · Auth · API "How do agents talk?"
L1 EXECUTION Hardware · Runtime · Tools "What runs the agent?"
Why This Matters
For debugging: "Your Layer 4 handoff is broken" is actionable. "Your agents aren't talking to each other" is vague.
For building: Don't build everything at once. Target specific layers. A local agent needs L1 (runtime) + L2 (auth) + L4 (handoff). A multi-agent fleet adds L3 (discovery) + L5 (coordination). An enterprise deployment adds L6 (verification) + L7 (governance).
For standards: Each layer without a standard is a gap — and an opportunity. The framework makes it obvious where standards are needed.
What Exists, What's Missing
| Layer | Infrastructure | Status |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Blueprint Registry (verified LLM configs) | ✅ Live |
| L2 | MCP, A2A, Credential Proxy | ✅ Live |
| L3 | llms.txt, Agent Capability Manifest | ✅ Spec written |
| L4 | Handoff Protocol | 📋 In proposal (MCP SEP #2683, A2A #1817) |
| L5 | Coordination Protocol | 🆕 Spec published today |
| L6 | Agent Test Suite, Pitfall Registry | ⚠️ Partial |
| L7 | Transaction Protocol, Compliance-as-Code | 🆕 Spec published today |
Three New Specs Published Today
Coordination Protocol (Layer 5)
How agents work together simultaneously. Leader election (Raft-lite for agents). Work distribution with capability matching. Work stealing — idle agents pull from busy queues. Conflict resolution with audit trail.
Agent Capability Manifest (Layer 3)
Machine-readable declaration of what an agent can do. Like package.json but for agent capabilities. Discovery: "who can build SPFx?" → ranked by success rate + load + trust score.
Agent Transaction Protocol (Layer 7)
Guarantees for autonomous actions. Idempotency keys (no double deploys). Intent-before-action logging (know what the agent TRIED to do even if it crashed). Rollback hooks. Three guarantee levels: Best-Effort, At-Least-Once, Exactly-Once.
The Bigger Play
Everyone's building AI agents. I'm building the infrastructure agents run on — the picks and shovels of the agent gold rush.
The Agent OSI Model is the framework. The specs at each layer are the picks and shovels. The certification system (Blueprint, Ready, Certified) is the trust layer on top.
Full framework and all specs: workswithagents.dev/specs/
Human-readable overview: workswithagents.com/agent-osi-model
All specs CC BY 4.0 — free to use, cite, and build upon. Attribution required.
If you're building multi-agent systems and hitting coordination problems, or if you're in a regulated industry and need audit trails for autonomous agents — I'd like to hear about your use case. The specs are published. The infrastructure is being built. The conversation is starting now.
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