---
title: Trace Capsule v0.1 Draft Spec
emoji: 🔐
colorFrom: blue
colorTo: green
sdk: static
app_file: index.html
pinned: false
license: cc-by-nc-sa-4.0
short_description: C2PA bridge for bounded trace interpretation
tags:
  - c2pa
  - content-credentials
  - provenance
  - trace-capsule
  - digital-trust
  - responsible-ai
  - ai-transparency
  - metadata
  - source-return
  - hir-oam
---

# Trace Capsule v0.1 Draft Spec

**Non-Normative C2PA Bridge Layer for Bounded Interpretation, Source-Return, and Honest Closure**

By **Collin D. Weber**  
Creator and Developer of Primordial Calculus / HIR-OAM  
Systems Architect / Systems Integrity Steward

## Core Lock

**C2PA carries provenance.**  
**Trace Capsules carry bounded interpretation.**  
**Substrate carries closure.**

Content Credentials make provenance visible. Trace Capsules make provenance usable inside live communication loops.

## Purpose

This Space hosts a static HTML review artifact for **Trace Capsule v0.1**, a non-normative bridge proposal around C2PA / Content Credentials.

The proposal asks what happens after provenance-bearing content enters AI summaries, reposts, disputes, review objects, Community Notes-style systems, classrooms, creator conflicts, journalism, policy debates, or public trust loops.

It does not replace Content Credentials. It does not define cryptographic provenance. It does not prove truth. It proposes a bounded interpretation layer that can preserve source, uncertainty, claim boundary, source-return, and scoped closure after reuse.

## Layer Separation

- **C2PA / Content Credentials** = provenance and source layer
- **Trace Capsule** = bounded interpretation layer
- **Substrate** = loop-closure environment

## Minimum Necessary Access

Trace Capsule v0.1 preserves a minimum-necessary-access principle:

> The capsule should not ask: “Give me everything.”  
> It should ask: “What trace is available? What boundary applies? Who can act? Where is repair blocked? What would honest closure require?”

This makes the model compatible with need-to-know environments, least-privilege systems, confidentiality agreements, protected records, hospitals, schools, legal teams, government agencies, research groups, and enterprise systems.

## Test Packet Added

This Space includes a **Trace Capsule v0.1 Test Packet** with JSON Schema files and test vectors demonstrating:

- root provenance immutability
- child capsule inheritance
- evidence-supported `loop_state` transitions
- `source_return_path` present or explicitly absent
- failure cases for missing `evidence_ref`, missing `reason`, and attempted root rewrite

The test packet validates structure, required fields, fixed enum values, inheritance, source-return discipline, and transition-record discipline. It does **not** validate truth, intent, claim correctness, or C2PA credential validity.

## Files

- `index.html` — static HTML artifact served by the Space
- `trace_capsule_schema_v0_1.json` — TraceCapsule JSON Schema
- `transition_record_schema_v0_1.json` — TransitionRecord JSON Schema
- `trace_capsule_test_vectors_v0_1.json` — combined valid/invalid test vectors
- `VALID_ROOT_HELD.json` — valid root HELD capsule example
- `VALID_CHILD_INHERITANCE.json` — valid child capsule inheritance example
- `VALID_TRANSITIONS.json` — valid loop_state transition examples
- `INVALID_TRANSITIONS.json` — invalid transition/root-rewrite examples
- `VALIDATION_NOTES.md` — four-gate validation notes
- `Trace_Capsule_v0_1_Test_Packet.zip` — downloadable structured test packet
- `artifact_manifest.json` — packaging and provenance notes
- `LICENSE.md` — Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 notice

## Boundary

This artifact is a **non-normative public draft**. It is not a C2PA standard, not a Content Credentials replacement, not a compliance certification, not production-ready software, and not a replacement for human accountability or domain review.

## License

This artifact is released under **Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International** (`cc-by-nc-sa-4.0`), unless otherwise stated.