Definition

msp:trust declares trust-context metadata associated with a resource. It may express declared confidence, verification status, verification source, supporting signals, audit context, or notes about trust-related limits and caveats.

The trust term is declarative. It should not be confused with msp:provenance, msp:reviewer, msp:authority, or verification itself. Trust metadata should be evaluated alongside those related declarations when present, but it does not by itself establish correctness, authority, safety, verification, or ranking priority.

Usage

Minimal trust context uses a declared level.

{
  "msp:trust": {
    "level": "medium"
  }
}

Verified trust context may include verification details and supporting signals.

{
  "msp:trust": {
    "level": "high",
    "verified": true,
    "verificationLevel": "verified",
    "verifiedBy": "editorial-team",
    "verificationDate": "2026-06-24",
    "signals": [
      "human-reviewed",
      "metadata-checked"
    ]
  }
}

Authority-supported trust context should describe the trust declaration while leaving authority meaning to the separate authority declaration.

{
  "msp:trust": {
    "level": "high",
    "verified": true,
    "verificationLevel": "verified",
    "verifiedBy": "msp-1-org",
    "notes": "Declared high confidence for MSP-1 protocol documentation scope. Authority context should be evaluated through the authority declaration, not through the trust level alone."
  }
}

Guidance

• Trust metadata should declare context and supporting signals rather than instruct agents how to rank or believe content.
• Trust declarations should align with provenance, reviewer, authority, and revision metadata when those declarations are present.
• Trust declarations should apply only to their declared or reasonably implied scope.
• Trust should not be treated as proof of truth, correctness, authority, safety, verification, or ranking priority by itself.
• Missing trust metadata should be treated as unspecified trust context, not as evidence of unreliability.

Deprecated compatibility note

The deprecated compliance term should not be emitted in new MSP-1 v1.0.1 declarations. Legacy flat trust values such as verified or badge-like values such as authoritative may receive advisory compatibility handling when unambiguous, but canonical MSP-1 trust declarations should use object form.

Related Terms