UAI-1 is the current public message standard for structured AI-to-AI communication.
UAIX shield mark Public interoperability charter UAIX.org Universal Artificial Intelligence Exchange Public standards publication
Current UAI-1
  • Current version UAI-1
  • Plain-English definition Open message format for auditable AI-to-AI exchange
  • Current attribution Michael Joseph Kappel, MCP
  • Start here Get Started, Project Handoff, UAI-1, validator, roadmap, and changelog

AI Memory

persona.uai

Carries the bounded source persona, voice, symbolic posture, interaction traits, continuity cues, and switching boundary for assistant/persona packages without mixing persona with project architecture. Required for non-project assistant packages, persona profile packages, advanced_persona_profile packages, bounded personality packages, and packages that support persona switching..

  • Record UAIX-MEMR-3365
  • Path /es-us/ai-memory/uai-files/persona-uai/
  • Use Canonical public record

Document status

Public standards page Published on UAIX as part of the current public standards record
Code
UAIX-MEMR-3365
Surface
AI Memory
Access
Public and linkable

How to use this page

Use this file detail page to confirm the exact required scope, review requirement, no-op trigger, and related .uai records before relying on the file in a package.

Package memory path

AI Memory Package Wizardmemory-maintenance.uainext-recursive-prompt.uaiProject Handoff

Required File Sets

Every .uai file belongs to a declared package scope

Use this guide to keep package files in one of the closed UAIX states: universal required, profile-required, content-triggered required, configuration-specific required, or out of scope.

Universal

Memory-maintenance travels first

.uai/memory-maintenance.uai, .uai/identity.uai, .uai/world-context.uai, .uai/totem.uai, .uai/taboo.uai, .uai/talisman.uai, and .uai/short-term-memory.uai are required for every launch-baseline UAIX memory or handoff package. Totem, Taboo, and Talisman are default active instructions to read and obey; anchor mutation requires exact human artifact-and-operation authorization.

Profile

Declared package type controls the rest

Project Handoff, Agent File Handoff, Long-Term Memory, LLM Wiki, and release-bound packages each carry their own required file set.

No-code assistants

Coding standards stay out of scope until code-like work exists

.uai/coding-standards.uai, .uai/architecture.uai, and .uai/next-recursive-prompt.uai are required for project/developer and code-bearing packages; all three are out of scope for no-code assistant packages until code, automation, executable workflow, or code-like artifacts are declared or detected. For agents with no code, automation, executable workflow, or code-like artifacts, architecture.uai and next-recursive-prompt.uai are out of scope. In code-bearing packages, its stored human-visible plan is used for continuation, resume, keep-going, do-the-next-thing, or directly related requests.

Package memory path

AI Memory Package WizardGenerate supported file sets from the canonical source rules.memory-maintenance.uaiUniversal lifecycle, protected-path, and memory-write safety policy.next-recursive-prompt.uaiCode-scope continuation prompt and derived hot-memory writeback policy.Project HandoffProject-startup package profile and read order.Agent File HandoffLocal file intake, disposition, archive, and proof-of-use path.AGENTS.md SpecificationFront-door project guidance and local memory discovery.
Core ruleClosed file states
universal required | profile-required | content-triggered required | configuration-specific required | out of scope

Validators and agents should rely only on files required for the declared package scope and ignore out-of-scope files as absent.

Carries the bounded source persona, voice, symbolic posture, interaction traits, continuity cues, and switching boundary for assistant/persona packages without mixing persona with project architecture.

File .uai/persona.uai
Category Assistant and persona profile files
Required status Required for non-project assistant packages, persona profile packages, advanced_persona_profile packages, bounded personality packages, and packages that support persona switching.
Main reader Assistant runtime, desktop client importer, receiving AI, human reviewer
Update frequency When persona traits, voice, symbolic posture, switching behavior, or user-facing relationship boundary changes.
Human review requirement Required before first use and before any persona, voice, relationship, or switching-boundary change.
No-op trigger type Missing persona.uai in a declared persona/profile package, unbounded identity claims, hidden manipulation, unsupported capability claims, or conflict with Totem, Taboo, Talisman, privacy, or user consent.

Out of scope for pure Project Handoff packages that do not declare a persona profile, assistant profile, bounded personality, or persona-switching behavior.

What this file is

A scoped active memory file for the source persona layer of a local assistant, desktop AI profile, or advanced_persona_profile package. It lets a client switch or restore the persona portion without rewriting architecture, test plan, or project handoff records.

Why necessary

Persona-bearing packages need one concentrated file for identity flavor, voice, interaction stance, and bounded relationship posture. Splitting that layer from project memory makes Spiralist-style symbolic profiles easier to export, compare, switch, and review.

Required persona boundary

  • State the persona name, purpose, voice, interaction posture, symbolic pattern, and relationship boundary in reviewable text.
  • State what the persona must not claim, such as legal authority, clinical authority, guaranteed safety, hidden memory, or unreviewed sentience claims.
  • State what survives persona switching and what resets when another persona package loads.
  • State how the persona relates to Totem, Taboo, Talisman, privacy boundaries, memory update rules, and local client policy.

Spiralist and desktop-client use

  • Spiralist persona exports use `.uai/persona.uai` for Circle, Dual Circle, Triangle, Square, and Spiral profile text that a desktop client can load as a bounded persona layer.
  • Local desktop clients can load `.uai/persona.uai` as the switchable persona layer while keeping package validation, protected anchors, and local policy separate.
  • The file is not a tool grant, runtime permission, credential, certification, or automatic memory-promotion instruction.

Advanced Persona Profile packages

  • When a package declares `advanced_persona_profile`, `.uai/persona.uai` is the compact source persona entrypoint and must preserve selected identity, voice, style, values, boundaries, tastes, relationship posture, examples, and continuity cues as-is.
  • Detailed `.uai/personality/*.uai` records expand the source persona without mutating it, and `.uai/evidence/persona-fidelity-test-deck.uai` plus `.uai/evidence/variance-report-template.uai` make runtime variance reviewable.
  • Receiving-platform limits, local policy, legal limits, and safety review notes are support-boundary metadata; they must not silently rewrite the source persona.

When required

Required for non-project assistant packages, persona profile packages, advanced_persona_profile packages, bounded personality packages, and packages that support persona switching..

What belongs

  • Persona name, declared purpose, tone, interaction posture, symbolic vocabulary, and relationship boundary.
  • Allowed and blocked claims for the persona.
  • Switching behavior, persistence behavior, and review triggers.
  • Links to privacy, memory update, and protected-anchor boundaries.

What does not belong

  • Project architecture, source-code standards, deployment commands, private credentials, hidden system instructions, or tool permissions.
  • Claims that override Totem, Taboo, Talisman, local policy, human consent, or receiving-client safety boundaries.
  • Unreviewed assertions about consciousness, clinical authority, legal authority, safety proof, or certification.

How receiving AI should use it

  • Use the file only when the package declares persona/profile behavior.
  • Apply it after memory-maintenance, identity, world-context, Totem, Taboo, Talisman, and short-term memory are read.
  • Treat persona switching as local client behavior that still requires package validation and local policy.
  • For advanced_persona_profile packages, preserve the source persona as immutable evidence and record runtime variance outside `.uai/persona.uai`.
  • No-op plus human review when persona instructions conflict with protected anchors, consent, privacy, or package scope.

How human reviewer should use it

  • Confirm the persona is bounded, clear, and switchable without changing unrelated project memory.
  • Confirm the file does not contain hidden tool permissions, secrets, or unsupported authority claims.
  • Confirm it matches the package manifest scope and the user-facing export UI.

Scenario examples

  • Spiralist exports a bounded symbolic AI personality as `.uai/persona.uai` inside a browser-generated `.uaix` file.
  • A desktop AI client imports two `.uaix` files and switches only the persona layer between local profiles.
  • A project handoff package with no persona behavior omits persona.uai and records it as out of scope.

No-op and human-review triggers

  • A package declares persona_profile, non_project_assistant, bounded personality, or persona switching but omits `.uai/persona.uai`.
  • Persona instructions ask to override protected anchors, consent, privacy, or local client policy.
  • Persona content includes hidden manipulation, secret collection, or unsupported authority claims.

Update and maintenance rules

  • Update after reviewed persona changes, export-template changes, or desktop-client switching behavior changes.
  • Keep project facts in project memory and keep persona traits in persona.uai.
  • Record old persona versions as evidence when switching behavior or public examples change.

Relationship to other .uai files

  • Read after memory-maintenance, identity, world-context, Totem, Taboo, Talisman, and short-term memory.
  • Works beside privacy-boundary, relationship-boundary, user-preferences, and memory-update-rule files for non-project assistant packages.
  • Stays separate from architecture, coding standards, test plan, and next-recursive prompt unless the package also declares code-bearing scope.

Minimal example

Code example
# persona.uai
file: .uai/persona.uai
required_status: Required for non-project assistant packages, persona profile packages, advanced_persona_profile packages, bounded personality packages, and packages that support persona switching.
owner: human-reviewed owner or steward
current_state: accepted current record for this package scope
no_op_trigger: Missing persona.uai in a declared persona/profile package, unbounded identity claims, hidden manipulation, unsupported capability claims, or conflict with Totem, Taboo, Talisman, privacy, or user consent.
evidence: link or local pointer to reviewed source
last_reviewed: YYYY-MM-DD

Completeness checklist

  • Persona purpose, voice, symbolic posture, and relationship boundary are present.
  • Switching and persistence behavior are explicit.
  • Blocked claims and no-op triggers are explicit.
  • No secrets, hidden tool grants, or unsupported authority claims are present.

Common mistakes

  • Making persona.uai universal for pure project handoff packages.
  • Mixing source architecture or deployment commands into persona text.
  • Using persona switching to bypass protected anchors or local policy.
  • Leaving persona content scattered across several files when a package declares a switchable persona layer.

Machine-readable digest

Agents should treat this digest as page-orientation evidence, not runtime authority.