Domain adapters

Anarres separates domain runtimes from the native CLI. An adapter reads a domain's established records, performs domain-specific checks, and writes a versioned environment-profile input. The CLI validates and normalizes that input without importing the runtime that produced it.

native dataset or runtime
    → domain adapter
    → environment-profile input
    → anarres qualify / measure
    → content-addressed environment profile
    → compatible candidate panel

This boundary follows the receiver, processor, and exporter structure used by OpenTelemetry. It also keeps Anarres compatible with tools that already own large artifacts, including episode stores, agent sandboxes, molecular simulators, and atomistic datasets. Profiles reference those artifacts by URI and digest instead of copying them into the repository.

Adapter contract

Every adapter must preserve:

1. a stable environment identifier and source revision
2. the starting model, policy, or scientific model being measured
3. the adapter identity and implementation revision
4. the exact measurement contract and number of repetitions
5. infrastructure, verifier, source, and measurement checks
6. coordinates with explicit roles, units, estimators, and sample counts
7. the domain's realized cost unit

Every coordinate references a versioned definition. Profiles can also link the native measurements, qualification report, decision record, or other evidence by role, URI, and digest. These links preserve the originating study as the authoritative scientific record.

An error-level check must pass before a profile is ready for comparison. Warnings remain visible without changing the underlying measurement. Adapters must never convert a runtime failure, missing label, or invalid verifier result into an ordinary failure.

The scientific protocol is a JSON record, and the runtime boundary is a standalone executable rather than a dynamically loaded library. Installed adapters use the name anarres-<name> and publish a side-effect-free versioned descriptor. This keeps the native binary small, allows adapters to use the best language and libraries for their domain, and provides a stable boundary for containers and workflow systems.

anarres adapter list
anarres adapter doctor robotics
anarres adapter run robotics -- profile --output-dir profiles

The shorter anarres robotics ... form uses the same generic discovery path. The CLI resolves an exact executable on PATH and forwards a versioned runtime handshake plus the domain arguments without a shell. The adapter validates the protocol and identity before opening study artifacts. adapter doctor performs the full descriptor audit. This single-launch path avoids paying adapter startup twice for routine commands. The CLI does not download adapters or search a repository checkout implicitly.

Adding a domain measurement does not require changing the Rust binary. An adapter publishes a measurement convention, emits the coordinate with that definition revision, and retains its domain-specific implementation. The core changes only when the shared operational envelope changes.

Domain guidance

Reasoning, legal, finance, coding, and cyber

Repeated policy attempts should retain task and sample identifiers, verifier outcomes, tool or sandbox validity, generated-token or wall-clock cost, and the policy revision. The grouped-probe contract is preferred when binary rewards and repeated attempts make admitted advantage density and effective coverage well-defined. Executable domains should retain oracle and no-op checks as qualification evidence.

Robotics

Robotics adapters should preserve episode and task identities, policy revision, success or continuous return, action-step or wall-clock cost, and sensor or runtime validity. Natural termination and external truncation remain separate, matching Gymnasium's step contract. LeRobot datasets should be referenced by repository revision and retain their episode, task, feature, and metadata structure rather than being flattened into independent frames.

Molecular design

Molecular adapters should retain molecule or reaction identity, target and oracle revision, chemical validity, simulator or docking failures, action or route cost, and scaffold or target coverage. Invalid chemistry and failed infrastructure remain qualification outcomes rather than low rewards.

Materials science

Materials adapters should retain structure, composition, trajectory, target property, and starting-model revision. Useful coordinates can include force or energy residuals, uncertainty, chemical-system coverage, and reference-label or simulation cost. Atomistic records should keep units explicit and reference the native structure or trajectory artifact.

Comparison rules

anarres design compares profiles only when their domain, starting subject, adapter revision, measurement contract, and coordinate definitions match. Coordinate definitions include the versioned definition, name, role, unit, direction, and estimator. The command reports ranges and incompatibilities. It does not rank unlike domains or infer that a coordinate direction is a validated utility rule.

The schemas are environment-profile-input.v1 and environment-profile.v1. Synthetic cross-domain fixtures live in examples/environment-profiles. The adapter authoring guide documents the Python construction interface, conformance workflow, and promotion policy. The external adapter RFC defines discovery, compatibility, and execution. The scientific preservation guide explains how profiles relate to the legal and robotics releases.

Compatibility references

• OpenTelemetry semantic conventions motivate versioned meanings, units, and stability levels for measurements.
• MLflow Tracking keeps run metadata separate from large native artifacts, which profiles follow through typed artifact references.
• DVC pipelines treat tools as producers of declared outputs without assuming how each stage performs its work.
• LeRobotDataset defines episode-aware data, task metadata, features, and revisions.
• Gymnasium Env separates natural termination from external truncation.
• ASE Atoms and calculators define common atomistic structures, energies, forces, stress, and units.
• OpenTelemetry Collector configuration provides the receiver, processor, and exporter architecture used as the adapter model.
• OpenLineage facets provide the precedent for a small common envelope with project-prefixed extensions that preserve producer-specific metadata without name collisions.