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Path of the LuminaryLuminary Life

Canonical document, version 1.0.2-draft

governance/FORK-REGISTRY.mdddb251fb5d894d888634ef64e053b45daa1b87f07602b0673a7828aebc962f02All documents

Fork Registry (specification)

A future, opt-in, public registry of forks: the constitutional family tree. Nothing here is built yet, and launch does not depend on it. This file fixes the shape so that early forks can register by pull request today and a visual observatory can be built later without changing the data.

Why

Forks are experiments. An experiment nobody can find teaches nobody. The registry makes forks visible, credits them, and gives canonical stewards a standing list to learn from.

What lineage means

Lineage identifies ancestry, not approval and not ethical compatibility. A fork within the lineage shares the four point names and the center with the canonical text; it may differ in every question, principle, and rule. Listing here says "this descends from that". It never says "canonical stewards agree with this".

Format

Registry entries live in governance/forks/ as one YAML file per fork, named <slug>.yaml, added by pull request from the fork's author (or anyone, with the author's consent).

name: Example Fork
slug: example-fork
repository: https://github.com/example/example-fork
lineage_id: path-of-the-luminary   # the lineage this descends from; a new lineage names its own
release_role: fork                 # fork | new_lineage. Only the canonical release is "canonical".
within_lineage: true               # true means the four point names and the center are unchanged
forked_from_version: 1.0.2-draft
parent_commit: 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000   # the canonical commit the fork started from
four_points_changed: false         # true means within_lineage must be false and release_role new_lineage
changes_summary: >
  One paragraph, written by the fork's authors, on what differs and why. Substantive differences,
  not just which files were touched.
authors:
  - name: Example Author
    contact: optional
status: active                     # active | dormant | merged_upstream | archived
registered: 2026-09-13
canonical_notes: >
  Filled in by canonical stewards: what, if anything, canonical learned or adopted from this fork,
  with the LIP reference. Left empty until there is something honest to say.

Rules:

  • Entries are self-described. Canonical stewards do not edit a fork's own summary; they add to canonical_notes only.
  • four_points_changed: true with within_lineage: true is rejected at review; the fields must agree.
  • release_role: canonical is never accepted in a registry entry. The canonical release is identified by PROVENANCE.md, not by a registry field.
  • Registration is opt-in and revocable by the fork's authors.
  • The registry lists; it does not rank, endorse, or certify.

Later

A page on the site rendering the registry as a tree (lineage, version forked from, status). The data format above is the contract; the page is Layer 2 work and can arrive whenever someone builds it.