For builders
Open Values Standard
This is the builder-facing specification for the files Values Commons passes around: what someone values, what the sourced facts say, how rankings are re-run, how a group finds agreement, and how a plan stays accountable. The point is permissionless compatibility, not a central platform.
The shape
Small files, reproducible decisions
The standard is not a social network or a ranking authority. It is a grammar for decisions that can be inspected, repaired, combined, and re-run from files.
Values file
A local, nameless file of weights and deal-breakers that says what matters to a person or group.
Sourced facts
A roster of options, criteria, scores, notes, links, and dates. It can be corrected or kept as a separate version.
Ranking
A deterministic result from values plus facts. Same inputs, same order, with withheld confidence when facts are thin.
Group agreement
Many values files combined into a shared stance that preserves disagreement instead of smoothing it away.
Shared plan
A derived list of buys, avoids, switches, or priorities with the reason and evidence attached.
Compatible app
A subject-specific front end running the shared shell and engine with its own facts, look, and language.
Conformance v0.1
What counts as standard-aligned
A project can be creative in its domain and design, but the core promise should stay recognizable.