WellKnownAI
Registry/spec examples and public snapshots (no PII; mirroring allowed)
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What is WellKnownAI?
WellKnownAI is a registry and tool platform that hosts AI Manifest field definitions, examples, and public snapshots for the AI Manifest v0.1 specification. It enables websites and service providers to publish machine-readable manifests at /.well-known/ai.json that declare their capabilities, servers, authentication endpoints, and schemas for AI agents to discover and interact with.
The platform provides a Registry Viewer for browsing registered domains, releases with snapshots and diffs, validation tools via CLI scripts, and CI integration through validate-registry.yml workflows. Key features include support for MCP (Model Context Protocol) and agents.json compatibility, JWKS publishing for authentication at /.well-known/jwks.json, optional CRL publishing for key revocation at /.well-known/ai-crl.json, and OpenAPI specification integration.
WellKnownAI is designed for AI service providers, API developers, and organizations building AI-integrated services who need to make their tools discoverable by AI agents. It serves developers creating MCP servers, OpenAPI tools, and AI plugins who want their services listed in a public registry that AI systems can query for available capabilities like search, vector upsert, and invoice creation.
WellKnownAI pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free - WellKnownAI is an open registry with no paid plans. To be listed, developers open a pull request to add their domain to the registry.json file. The CLI validation tools, Registry Viewer, and all downloads are freely available. No credit card or account required.
WellKnownAI pros
- Open source registry accessible via GitHub
- MCP and agents.json compatible
- Free to use with no paid tiers
- CLI validation tools included
- CI/CD integration with validate-registry.yml
- JWKS authentication support built-in
- OpenAPI specification integration
- Registry Viewer for browsing entries
- Public snapshots and diffs available
- No mandatory manual review process
- HTTPS and absolute URL requirements ensure security
- ETag and Cache-Control support for caching
- JWKS key rotation with kid overlap window
- Schema validation for AI manifests
- Supports multiple capability types like search and vector.upsert
WellKnownAI cons
- No dedicated pricing page or plan details
- Limited documentation beyond getting started guide
- No search API mentioned for programmatic access
- Manual PR submission required for listing
- No uptime or reliability metrics provided
- No admin UI for managing entries mentioned
- Validation requires local Node.js setup
- No official mobile app or GUI client
- Limited examples beyond minimal template
- No enterprise support tier available
- No SLA or guaranteed uptime commitment
- CRL publishing is optional not mandatory
Frequently asked questions about WellKnownAI
What is WellKnownAI?
WellKnownAI is a registry and tools platform that hosts AI Manifest field definitions, examples, and public snapshots. It enables websites to publish machine-readable AI manifests at /.well-known/ai.json that AI agents can discover to understand available capabilities, servers, authentication, and schemas.
How do I get listed on WellKnownAI?
To get listed, create an ai.json manifest at /.well-known/ai.json on your domain, publish JWKS at /.well-known/jwks.json, validate locally using the CLI tools, then open a pull request to add your domain entry to the registry.json file on the WellKnownAI site.
What is the AI Manifest v0.1?
AI Manifest v0.1 is a JSON-based specification for websites to declare capabilities readable by AI agents. It includes fields like manifest_version, provider info, spec.openapi_url, schemas array, servers array, capabilities array, resources, prompts, and auth.jwks_uri for authentication.
What capabilities can I declare?
You can declare capabilities like search, vector.upsert, invoice.create, schemas.list, and custom URNs in the format urn:agent:skill:your-domain:example.v1. The capabilities array describes what actions AI agents can perform through your API.
Do I need to pay to use WellKnownAI?
No, WellKnownAI is completely free. It is an open registry with no paid plans. All tools including CLI validators, Registry Viewer, and downloads are freely available with no credit card required.
What is MCP compatibility?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) compatibility means WellKnownAI supports the MCP standard for AI agents to discover and connect to tools. Registered endpoints can be used by MCP-compatible agents to access your services.
How does JWKS authentication work?
Publish your JSON Web Key Set at /.well-known/jwks.json containing your public keys. AI agents use this to verify signed receipts from your service. Rotate keys by kid with at least 7 days overlap - add new key first, then remove old one.
What CLI tools are available?
The repo provides node ai-manifest-kit/scripts/validate-ai.mjs for manifest validation, validate-jwks.mjs for JWKS validation, and validate-crl.mjs for CRL validation. Each outputs reports to specified directories.
Is there an API to fetch registry data?
The site provides Registry Viewer for browsing and releases with snapshots and diffs. Changes to registry.json are validated automatically via validate-registry.yml and validate-registry-remote.yml CI workflows.
What security requirements must I follow?
Use HTTPS and absolute URLs only. Send ETag and Last-Modified headers with Cache-Control (e.g., max-age=600+). Implement JWKS key rotation with kid overlap window of at least 7 days for secure key updates.