Universal Tool Calling Protocol (UTCP) Specification

This repository contains the official specification documentation for the Universal Tool Calling Protocol (UTCP). UTCP is a modern, flexible, and scalable standard for defining and interacting with tools across various communication protocols.

What is UTCP?

UTCP provides a standardized way for AI systems and other clients to discover and call tools from different providers, regardless of the underlying protocol used (HTTP, WebSocket, CLI, etc.). This specification defines:

• Tool discovery mechanisms
• Tool call formats
• Provider configuration
• Authentication methods
• Response handling

Contributing to the Specification

We welcome contributions to the UTCP specification! Here's how you can contribute:

1. Fork the repository: Create your own fork of the specification repository
2. Make your changes: Update or add documentation as needed
3. Submit a pull request: Open a PR with your changes for review
4. Participate in discussions: Join the conversation about proposed changes

When contributing, please follow these guidelines:

• Ensure your changes align with the overall vision and goals of UTCP
• Follow the established documentation structure and formatting
• Include examples when adding new features or concepts
• Update relevant sections to maintain consistency across the documentation

Building the Documentation Locally

Prerequisites

To build and preview the documentation site locally, you'll need:

• Ruby version 2.5.0 or higher
• RubyGems
• Bundler

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/universal-tool-calling-protocol/utcp-specification.git
   cd utcp-specification

2. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

Running the Documentation Site

To build and serve the site locally:

bundle exec jekyll serve

This will start a local web server at http://localhost:4000 where you can preview the documentation.

Documentation Structure

The UTCP documentation is organized as follows:

• index.md: Homepage and introduction to UTCP
• docs/
  • introduction.md: Detailed introduction and core concepts
  • for-tool-providers.md: Guide for implementing tool providers
  • for-tool-callers.md: Guide for implementing tool callers
  • providers/: Documentation for each provider type
    • http.md: HTTP provider
    • websocket.md: WebSocket provider
    • cli.md: CLI provider
    • sse.md: Server-Sent Events provider
    • etc.
  • implementation.md: Implementation guidelines and best practices

Working with the Specification

Modifying the Documentation

The documentation is written in Markdown format with Jekyll front matter. When making changes:

1. Ensure your Markdown follows the established style
2. Preview changes locally before submitting PRs
3. Keep examples up-to-date with the latest specification
4. Update navigation items in _config.yml if adding new pages

File Organization

When adding new documentation:

• Place provider-specific documentation in docs/providers/
• Use consistent front matter with appropriate navigation ordering
• Include tags for improved searchability on GitHub Pages

Version Control

The UTCP specification follows semantic versioning:

• Major versions (1.0, 2.0): Breaking changes to the protocol
• Minor versions (1.1, 1.2): New features added in a backward-compatible manner
• Patch versions (1.0.1, 1.0.2): Backward-compatible bug fixes and clarifications

License

This specification is distributed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0).

Additional Resources

• UTCP GitHub Organization
• UTCP Website
• Reference Implementations
• Community Discussions