Skip to main content
IntentLang
Draft documentation. Syntax and behavior are illustrative and will change before v1.

IntentLang Ecosystem Brief

The shared reference every SkillsTech sibling product should understand. IntentLang is the intent language for AI-era software. Proof is the through-line: each product proves a different thing about the same mission.

One sentence per sibling

  • IntentLang defines what software should do.
  • SkillsTech Compiler turns intent into deterministic artifacts.
  • OpenThunder verifies whether implementation matches intent.
  • Repo Mastery teaches humans to understand the intent.
  • SkillsTech Talk trains humans to defend the intent.
  • SkillsTech Certified certifies understanding of intent-oriented engineering.
  • SkillsTech IDE helps engineers author and inspect intent.
  • SkillsTech Workspace stores and signs proof of intent, verification, and ownership.
  • SkillsTech Social lets engineers share learning and milestones around intent.

Roles and boundaries

Product Role Owns Does not own Core question
SkillsTech Compiler Compile intent into deterministic artifacts parser, AST, semantic analysis, graphs, generators, proof, CLI, no-AI execution repo verification, learning, certification, defense, signing Can the language produce artifacts?
OpenThunder Verify repo vs declared intent Intent Inventory, Coverage, Drift, Can-I-Ship, Verification Pack parsing, compiler semantics, learning, exams Does the implementation still satisfy the intent?
Repo Mastery Teach the human the mission learning paths, mission mastery, flashcards, quizzes, reality checks, ownership proof compiler, repo verification, final exam Can the engineer explain and safely change it?
SkillsTech Talk Explain and defend intent defense drills, review rooms, exec summary, pushback practice compiler, verification, learning, exam content Can the engineer defend it under pressure?
SkillsTech Certified Certify the method curriculum, lessons, quizzes, mock exams, labs, readiness, track compiler, drift detection, mission learning, signing Does the learner understand the method?
SkillsTech IDE Author and visualize intent editing, highlighting, command runner, graph/diagnostics/proof viewers compiler semantics, repo verification, certification, signing Can a developer write and run it comfortably?
SkillsTech Workspace Store, govern, sign proof proof portfolio, team visibility, signed artifacts, audit, billing compiler, verification, learning, defense, certification content Can the org prove who defined and approved it?
SkillsTech Social Share milestones milestone sharing compiler, verification, certification, signing Can engineers share credible progress without spam?

Shared artifact contracts

Every sibling should recognize these artifact types.

Intent source

  • *.intent

Compiler outputs

  • .intent-proof.json
  • contract-graph.json
  • architecture-graph.json
  • implementation-plan.json
  • docs/*.md
  • graphs/*.mmd
  • tests/*.testplan.md
  • openapi/*.yaml

Compiler -> OpenThunder handoff

  • il-to-ot-drift-v1, emitted by intent handoff <approved.intent>. Names the mission, approval + source hash, mapsTo, and expectations[] (per guarantee / never / input / api) with the check OpenThunder must run against real repo evidence. The compiler does not verify repo-wide; OpenThunder does.

OpenThunder output

  • intent-verification-pack-v1
  • intent-drift-report-v1
  • intent-coverage-v1
  • can-i-ship-with-intent-v1

Running the drift round-trip

The compiler emits the handoff; OpenThunder consumes it against real repo evidence.

# IntentLang side: approve the intent in place (adds the approval + source hash),
# then emit the handoff pack to a file.
intent approve CreateInvoice.intent --by "you"
intent handoff CreateInvoice.intent > intent-handoff.json

# OpenThunder side: check the repo against the pack.
openthunder intent drift --pack intent-handoff.json --repo .

openthunder intent drift prints an intent-drift-report-v1 and exits non-zero when the implementation has drifted from the approved intent.

Can-I-Ship gate (--intent-pack)

The same pack plugs into OpenThunder's signature verb so a drifted intent stops a ship the code-level checks alone would pass:

openthunder can-i-ship --intent-pack intent-handoff.json

The drift report is folded into the ship verdict and can only tighten it, never loosen it:

  • drift (a declared input, guarantee, or never rule is unmet) -> HOLD
  • review (a declared expectation lacks repo evidence) -> CAUTION
  • in_sync -> no change to the code-level verdict

It is surfaced in the text output, in --json (an intentDrift block), and in --pr-comment. Without --intent-pack, Can-I-Ship behaves exactly as before, so the intent gate is strictly opt-in.

Repo Mastery output

  • intent-learning-pack-v1
  • intent-mission-mastery-v1
  • intent-ownership-proof-v1

SkillsTech Talk output

  • intent-defense-proof-v1
  • intent-explanation-score-v1

SkillsTech Certified output

  • intent-certification-progress-v1
  • intent-oriented-programming-cert-v1

SkillsTech Workspace output

  • signed-intent-proof-v1
  • workspace-intent-portfolio-v1

The canonical example

All siblings use examples/CreateInvoice.intent as the shared example. It is small enough to teach and serious enough to show the value.

The first demo (whole-ecosystem story)

  1. Write CreateInvoice.intent.
  2. Run intent check.
  3. The compiler warns if duplicate prevention lacks idempotency.
  4. Add idempotencyKey.
  5. Run intent build.
  6. Generate Markdown docs, a Mermaid graph, a test plan, and proof JSON.
  7. OpenThunder checks whether the implementation matches the mission.
  8. Repo Mastery creates flashcards and reality checks.
  9. SkillsTech Talk asks the engineer to defend the mission.
  10. Workspace stores the proof.

Why it matters

Most tools handle one part of the lifecycle. IntentLang can be the bridge between requirements, architecture, AI coding, implementation, tests, verification, documentation, learning, communication, certification, proof, and governance, a shared language across the whole ecosystem.

← Compiler contractEcosystem current-state map →