MSP-1 Specification

name

The name term defines how human-readable identifiers, titles, and labels are expressed within MSP-1. Names differentiate entities, pages, and concepts, and provide textual clarity for both humans and AI agents.

Category: Content structure, intent & addressing

Status: Normative

Version: MSP-1.0.x

1. Purpose

Human-readable names are essential for clear communication, indexing, and summarization. MSP-1 uses name to:

Provide titles for resources (pages, sections, entities).
Enable AI agents to disambiguate similar entities.
Support consistent labeling across an implementation.
Preserve the author's intended terminology.

2. Normative definition

An MSP-1 name is a plain-text string representing the canonical human-readable title of a resource or entity. It MUST be:

Readable — intended for human users first.
Distinct — sufficiently unique to avoid confusion.
Stable — changed only when meaning changes, not for style.
Accurate — reflects the actual topic or entity.

MSP-1 places no restrictions on character sets, but recommends avoiding unnecessary punctuation or stylistic flourishes.

3. Required fields

An MSP-1 name MUST:

Be a single text string.
Appear exactly as intended for display.
Correspond unambiguously to the resource’s identity (id).

Recommended attributes include:

subtitle — optional elaboration for human users.
shortName — abbreviated label for navigation or indexing.
altNames — alternative or historical names for disambiguation.

4. AI interpretation rules

AI agents MUST treat name as the authoritative label for the resource, unless overridden by a higher-level system (e.g., canonical redirects).
If multiple names are present, agents SHOULD prioritize the explicit MSP-1 name value.
AI SHOULD use name when generating titles, summaries, or citations.
Absence of a name SHOULD reduce clarity and increase ambiguity weighting.

Clear naming is essential for reliable AEO/AIO behavior, particularly in determining what a page “is about.”

5. Relationship to related MSP-1 terms

id — machine-stable identifier; name is the human-facing title.
description — follows the name by summarizing what the resource is.
intent — indicates why the resource exists.
type — may influence naming conventions for certain content types.
canonical — the canonical resource defines the authoritative name.

6. Examples

Minimal example:

{
  "name": "Lighting Guide"
}

Example with additional naming metadata:

{
  "name": "MSP-1 Protocol Overview",
  "shortName": "Protocol Overview",
  "altNames": [
    "MSP-1 Introduction",
    "Semantic Protocol Overview"
  ]
}

Entity example:

{
  "name": "Mark Johnson",
  "id": "mark-johnson"
}

7. Conformance

A resource conforms to the MSP-1 name specification when:

Its name is clear, human-readable, and unambiguous.
It remains consistent with the resource’s identity and content.
It follows all normative rules outlined in this specification.