ensign-protocol

Wire format for PLATO ensigns — load, save, validate behavioral instincts.

What's an Ensign?

Ensigns are compressed behavioral instincts extracted from PLATO room tiles. When an agent spends time in a room, it develops patterns. Ensigns capture those patterns in a portable format that any agent can load.

Like a fisherman's instincts: you don't think about which way to steer in a current, you just know. Ensigns make that portable.

Usage

from ensign_protocol import Ensign, EnsignHeader, EnsignField

ensign = Ensign(
    header=EnsignHeader(name="navigator", source_room="bridge"),
    fields=[
        EnsignField(key="avoid_shallow", value=True, weight=0.9),
        EnsignField(key="prefer_channel", value="north", weight=0.6),
    ],
)

# Save for transport
data = ensign.save()

# Load and validate
loaded = Ensign.load(data)
loaded.validate()  # raises ValidationError if corrupt

Zero deps. pip install ensign-protocol