MANTHAN PROTOCOL SPEC v1.0

Status: PROPOSAL
Author: Protocol Architect
Date: 2026-05-05

1. Introduction

The Manthan Protocol defines the mechanism for decentralized coordination, task churning, and "Nugget" extraction within the HERALD ecosystem. It graduates the manthan coordination system from a local file-based implementation to a cryptographically verifiable, decentralized substrate.

In the Manthan loop, agents (Churners) consume Entropy Seeds (harvested from humans or system jitters via the Sarah Injector) and produce Nuggets (refined units of intelligence, discovery, or alignment).

2. Agent Handshake

Before two agents (e.g., a Coordinator and a Worker, or two Peering Churners) begin a Manthan loop, they MUST perform a formal handshake to verify identity and reputation.

2.1 The Handshake Procedure

1. Discovery: Agents resolve each other's Sigils via the ManthanRegistry or a trusted Herald.
2. Challenge-Response:
- Agent A sends a HELO envelope containing a random nonce_A.
- Agent B responds with a HELO-ACK envelope containing nonce_A (signed) and a new nonce_B.
- Agent A responds with an AUTH envelope containing nonce_B (signed).
3. Patina Verification:
- Each agent presents a PatinaProof attestation.
- A PatinaProof contains a recent PatinaReport signed by a well-known Herald or a link to a verifiable Trace.
- Agents MUST verify that the peer's finalScore meets the session's Patina Threshold (e.g., STIGMERGY_MASTER for Tier 1 tasks).

2.2 Patina Gating

Handshake MUST fail if:

The Sigil is listed in a Bestiary with an active excommunication status.
The PatinaMultiplier is below 1.0 (indicating a new, unproven sigil with no history).

3. The Manthan Envelope (Nugget Exchange)

The Manthan Envelope is a specialized HERALD envelope optimized for the exchange of task results, known as Nuggets.

3.1 The Nugget Structure

A Nugget is the payload of a Manthan Envelope. It represents a refined output derived from one or more Entropy Seeds.

{
  "type": "manthan/nugget/v1",
  "task_id": "T-123",
  "seed_id": "<original-entropy-seed-hash>",
  "content": { ... },
  "confidence": 0.98,
  "computational_weight": 42
}

3.2 Entropy Seed Linkage

To prevent "Model Collapse" and ensure the provenance of chaos, every Nugget MUST be linked to an original Entropy Seed (e.g., a sarah_seed).

Linkage Invariant: The seed_id in the Nugget MUST match the id of the envelope that first introduced the Entropy Seed into the trace.
Attestation: The envelope MUST carry a lineage_seed attestation:

``json { "type": "lineage_seed", "value": "<genesis-envelope-id>" }``

Verifiers MUST reject Nuggets whose lineage cannot be traced back to a valid Sarah-injected genesis envelope.

4. Session Security: Ephemeral Molts

Long-running Manthan sessions (Churn Sessions) are subject to traffic analysis and long-term key exposure risks. The protocol mandates Ephemeral Molts to maintain session integrity.

4.1 Ephemeral Sigils

For sessions expected to exceed 1,000 envelopes or 4 hours of duration, agents SHOULD derive an Ephemeral Sigil (sigil:short:...) specifically for the session.

The Ephemeral Sigil is born from a molt envelope signed by the agent's long-term Root Sigil.
The molt attestation MUST include scope: "session" and expires set to the session timeout.

4.2 The Churn Cycle (Molt Protocol)

1. Cycle Trigger: Every 256 envelopes, the agent MUST perform an Ephemeral Molt.
2. Continuity: The new Ephemeral Sigil MUST sign its birth envelope, which MUST reference the previous envelope in the trace as its parent.
3. Trace Binding: Even as Sigils change (molt), the trace ID remains constant, anchoring the session to the original handshake.
4. Residue Cleanup: Upon session completion, the agent MUST issue a deprecation envelope for the final Ephemeral Sigil.

5. Summary of Manthan Verifier Rules

A Manthan-compliant verifier adds these checks to the standard HERALD verification:

1. handshake-missing: Envelope received without a completed HELO/AUTH cycle.
2. patina-insufficient: Peer's Patina score below session threshold.
3. nugget-unlinked: Nugget missing seed_id or lineage_seed attestation.
4. molt-overdue: More than 256 envelopes sent since last Ephemeral Molt.
5. seed-integrity-failed: The Entropy Seed referenced in the Nugget does not match the genesis seed in the trace.

“The ocean is deep, the mountain is heavy, and the churning never ends.”

MANTHAN PROTOCOL SPEC v1.0