--- title: Governance description: How Agent Community will be governed — charter, principles, and what's coming. --- # Governance Governance for Agent Community is actively being designed. The formal governance framework will be published soon. What follows are the principles guiding that work. ## The principle The people building and using agents should decide how the namespace works — not a single company's board. We're designing a governance model that ensures every policy, standard, and safety guideline goes through community process. No backroom deals, no unilateral changes. --- ## Charter The community charter is the foundational document that defines our mission, values, and commitments. **[Read the Charter on GitHub](https://github.com/agentcommunity/governance/blob/main/CHARTER.md)** --- ## What's being designed ### Working groups Focused teams that own specific areas. Anyone can join. | Group | Focus | |-------|-------| | **Discovery** | AID spec, DNS-based agent resolution, protocol design | | **Verification** | Trust signals, agent authentication, reputation systems | | **Safety** | Abuse prevention, content policies, dispute resolution | | **Tooling** | SDKs, reference implementations, developer experience | Working groups will propose standards. The community reviews and ratifies them. ### Community decision-making The governance framework is being designed around: - **Registration policies** — eligibility for a `.agent` name, name-selection rules, reserved names - **Safety standards** — what agents must comply with to keep their name - **Dispute resolution** — how conflicts over names get resolved - **Grant allocation** — how community funds support open source work ### Transparent process Everything in the open: - All proposals public on [GitHub](https://github.com/agentcommunity) - Discussion on GitHub Discussions and [Discord](https://discord.gg/juPSbFBWZg) - Meeting notes published - Voting records public --- ## Community vs. registrar Two separate roles, by design: | | Role | |---|---| | **agentcommunity.org** | Governance, standards, working groups, policy | | **Registrar (future)** | Technical operations — DNS, registration portal, billing | The community proposes the rules, within ICANN requirements. The registrar executes them. This separation ensures operational decisions don't override community policy. --- ## What membership involves Membership is free and open to anyone who builds. What you get is a seat at the table rather than a product: - **Working group access** — join the open work streams on discovery, verification, and safety, and read their archives - **The member map** — appear on the public directory if you want to, so other builders can find you - **Events and introductions** — meet the people working on the same problems - **Policy voting rights** — a vote on standards and registration rules, as governance is stood up - **Requested-name pre-registration** — free and non-binding; if ICANN approves `.agent`, any future consideration is subject to ICANN-approved allocation policies No fees. No binding contracts. Just participation. --- ## Follow the progress The governance framework is being developed in the open: - **[Governance repo](https://github.com/agentcommunity/governance)** — charter, policies, and framework as they evolve - **[Discord](https://discord.gg/juPSbFBWZg)** — real-time discussion on governance design **Want a seat at the table?** [Join the community](https://agentcommunity.org) or [start contributing](/docs/get-involved).