I-Lang v3.0 Specification

The complete protocol specification. Two syntaxes, 88 verbs, 29 modifiers, 14 entities, 13 Greek aliases. MIT licensed.

1. Overview

I-Lang is an AI-native communication protocol built from symbols already inside every LLM's training data: brackets, pipes, arrows, key-value pairs. It defines a formal vocabulary for three communication modes:

ModeDescriptionExample
Human → AIPrecise instructions AI executes right the first time[READ:@SRC|path=data.csv]=>[STAT]=>[Ω]
AI → AIStructured communication between agents[SEND:@DST|fmt=json]=>[EVAL]=>[OUT]
AI internalBehavioral identity and reasoning structure::GENE{verify_first|conf:confirmed}

2. Two Syntaxes

2.1 Operation Syntax — What AI Does

[VERB:@TARGET|modifier=value]=>[NEXT_VERB]=>[Ω]

Operations are executable instructions. Each step in a chain receives the output of the previous step. The chain terminates with [Ω] or [OUT].

Components:

ComponentSyntaxDescription
VerbVERBOne of 88 defined verbs (e.g., READ, WRIT, FILT, SORT)
Target@TARGETEntity reference (e.g., @SRC, @DST, @PREV, @LOCAL)
Modifierskey=valueParameters separated by pipes (e.g., fmt=md, lng=ja)
Chain=>Output of left feeds into right

2.2 Declaration Syntax — What AI Is

::GENE{trait_name|conf:confirmed|scope:global}
  T:positive_trait
  A:anti_pattern⇒consequence
::STATE{@SELF, attribute:value}

Declarations define behavioral identity — personality, rules, anti-patterns, and immune responses. They persist across sessions when stored in soul files.

3. Verb Categories

CategoryCountVerbs
Data I/O12READ WRIT GET DEL LIST COPY MOVE STRM CACH SYNC SEND RUN
Transform22FMT CONV SPLIT MERGE MAP FILT SORT DEDU FLAT NEST CHNK REDU PIVT TRNS ENCD DECD HASH CMPR EXPN XLAT REWR DIFF
Analysis14SCAN MTCH CNT STAT EVAL SCOR RANK TRND CORR FRCS ANOM SENT CLST BNCH AUDT VALD CLSF
Generation10CREA DRFT EXPD SHRT PARA STYL TMPL FILL EXTC GEN
Execute10PLAN DECI CHEK FIX DPLO SAVE REVW LERN TEST PARS
Output4OUT DISP EXPT PRNT LOG
Structure5LINK SET TAG GRP EMBD
Meta4HELP DESC INTR NOOP
Batch1BATC

Total: 88 verbs. Full definitions with examples: Dictionary →

4. Greek Aliases

13 commonly-used verbs have single-character Greek aliases for maximum compression:

AliasVerbDescription
ΣMERGECombine multiple inputs into one
ΔDIFFCompare two inputs, show differences
φFILTFilter by condition
SORTSort by criteria
λMAPApply function to each element
SPLITSplit input into parts
μSTATStatistical summary
ψSENTSentiment analysis
ξHASHGenerate hash/checksum
ζCMPRCompress content
θXLATTranslate between languages
ΩOUTFinal output
ΠBATCBatch operation

5. Modifiers

ModifierPurposeExample values
fmt=Output formatmd, json, csv, html, yaml, txt
lng=Languageen, zh, ja, ko, es, fr, de
len=Length constraint3, 100w, 500char
ton=Toneformal, casual, pro, academic
sty=Stylebullets, prose, table, numbered
path=File/URL path./data.csv, https://example.com
whr=Filter condition*.md, status=active
mch=Match patternregex, glob, exact
src=Sourcefile, url, clipboard, @PREV
dst=Destinationfile, screen, @NULL

6. Entities

EntityDescription
@SRCSource input
@DSTDestination output
@PREVPrevious output in chain
@LOCALLocal file system
@SCREENScreen/visible content
@LOGLog output
@NULLDiscard output
@STDINStandard input

7. Examples

# Read CSV, filter rows, sort, output as markdown table
[READ:@SRC|path=sales.csv]=>[φ|whr=revenue>1000]=>[∇|by=revenue,desc]=>[FMT|fmt=md]=>[Ω]

# Translate previous output to Japanese, formal tone
[θ:@PREV|lng=ja,ton=formal]=>[Ω]

# Batch read all markdown files, merge, summarize
[LIST:@LOCAL|mch=*.md]=>[Π:READ]=>[Σ]=>[SHRT|len=5,sty=bullets]=>[Ω]

# Define behavioral DNA for an AI agent
::GENE{analyst|conf:confirmed|scope:global}
  T:data_driven|evidence_first
  T:answer_format=table|when:comparison
  A:speculation_without_data⇒forbidden
  A:hedging⇒remove

8. Full Specification

The complete, machine-readable specification is available at:

github.com/ilang-ai/ilang-spec  ·  npm: @i-language/spec  ·  HuggingFace

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