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Protocol Design

ARC Protocol design principles and rationale.

Overview​

ARC uses a stateless RPC design with JSON serialization, single-endpoint architecture, and standardized error taxonomy.

Topics​

Core Principles​

Stateless Communication​

Each request is independent and self-contained. No server-side session state required.

Agent-Level Routing​

Routing determined by targetAgent field at protocol level, not URL routing.

Method-Based Invocation​

Clean RPC-style method calls: task.create, chat.start, etc.

JSON Serialization​

Standard JSON for universal compatibility and tooling support.

Design Goals​

  1. Simplicity - Easy to implement and understand
  2. Scalability - Stateless design enables horizontal scaling
  3. Flexibility - Single endpoint supports any number of agents
  4. Traceability - Built-in workflow tracing via traceId
  5. Security - OAuth2 and quantum-safe TLS support