Required frontmatter
answerworthyentitycanonicallast_verifiedWorking draft · 0.2.0-draft.1
One published file for declaration, evidence boundaries and maintenance.
Draft 0.2 supersedes the earlier multi-artifact framing. The standard now defines exactly one published file at the site root.
answerworthy.md is the canonical file. Any JSON, HTML, or PDF that an implementation emits is a projection of it and cannot outrank it.
- Version
- 0.2.0-draft.1
- Status
- Working draft
- Published
- 5 August 2026
- Specification
- CC BY 4.0
- Tooling
- Apache-2.0
1. The one file
/answerworthy.md
UTF-8 Markdown, YAML frontmatter and fixed level-two headings give people readable prose and machines stable structure.
Minimal file
---
answerworthy: "0.2"
entity: "Example Co"
canonical: https://example.com
last_verified: 2026-08-05
conformance: M2
---
## Identity
Example Co makes accounting software for freelancers.
## Answers
### What does Example Co make?
Accounting software for freelancers.
source: https://example.com/product
## Conformance
Self-declared M2. No independent corroboration is recorded.2. Grammar
Fixed keys and headings keep the file portable.
Required sections are Identity and Answers. Canonical facts, Entities, Provenance, Known corrections, Coverage limits, Freshness policy, Dimensions and Conformance complete the useful profile.
Recommended frontmatter
kindaliasessameasmaintainerlicensefreshness_daysconformance3. Axioms
A-01
One canonical file
answerworthy.md is the canonical file. Any JSON, HTML, or PDF that an implementation emits is a projection of it and cannot outrank it.
A-02
Declaration is not verification
Publishing the file proves control of the origin. Truth, independence and citation eligibility require separate evidence.
A-03
No evidence, no evaluated claim
A pass, warning or failure references retained evidence. Missing evidence becomes unavailable, manual or not applicable.
A-04
Unknown is not zero
Blocked access, provider failure and parser failure never become fabricated absence or a zero score.
A-05
Side effects denied by default
The file grants no credentials, publication authority, outreach permission or third-party consent.
A-06
No guaranteed outcome
The standard does not guarantee ranking, citation, recommendation, traffic, leads or revenue.
4. Six dimensions
Every finding declares its evidence boundary.
access-retrieval
Access and retrieval
Can relevant systems retrieve and render the necessary public evidence?
entity-certainty
Entity certainty
Can the subject be identified without material ambiguity or contradiction?
offer-comprehension
Offer comprehension
Can a qualified buyer or agent understand what is offered, for whom and under which conditions?
evidence-corroboration
Evidence and corroboration
Can consequential claims be supported, attributed and independently checked?
buyer-question-coverage
Buyer-question coverage
Does the public evidence answer priority pre-brand questions, comparisons and constraints?
answer-performance
Answer performance
What was actually mentioned, cited, recommended or followed through in declared answer-system observations?
5. Conformance states
The file states what has actually happened.
M0 through M2 may be self-declared. M3 requires an independent attestation recorded inside the file by signed fields or a referenced URL and hash.
M0
Present
A valid answerworthy.md exists at the canonical path and parses.
M1
Structured
Required frontmatter and sections are present and well formed.
M2
Sourced
Material facts carry basis, source class, source and verification date.
M3
Corroborated
An independent party re-fetched the site and recorded a signed or referenced attestation inside the file.
M4
Maintained
The file stays within its freshness policy and receives dated rechecks.
6. Agent contract
Four verbs operate on the file and the live site.
01
Generate
Draft answerworthy.md from a public site and mark every unsupported fact for confirmation.
02
Audit
Evaluate the file and live site across six dimensions while preserving unavailable states.
03
Remediate
Apply permitted changes to the site or repository, then update the canonical file.
04
Refresh
Re-fetch, recheck, update freshness and record material changes without rewriting history.
Working evidence and remediation may live in a private repository, session or client delivery. The public standard mints no additional artifact.
7. Verification
Independent corroboration is an act recorded inside the file.
An independent implementation re-fetches the site, checks material claims and records contradictions or unavailable evidence. The resulting attestation enters answerworthy.md as signed fields or a URL plus hash.
The self-declared ceiling is M2. The Answerworthy Engine is the initial reference implementation of the M3 corroboration act. Other implementations are invited.
The spec, grammar and validator are usable with no purchase.
8. Implement
Publish one file and make every projection resolve back to it.
Specification prose: CC BY 4.0. Tooling: Apache-2.0.