> Markdown twin of https://adna.network/reference/specification/1-introduction-scope/
> Index: https://adna.network/llms.txt · Full corpus: https://adna.network/llms-full.txt
> State is a build-time snapshot generated 2026-08-30 (UTC); nothing here is live.

# 1. Introduction & Scope — aDNA Specification

> **Scan**: What aDNA is, who it's for, and RFC 2119 normative keywords.

## 1.1 What Is aDNA

aDNA (Agentic DNA) is a standard for organizing project knowledge so that AI agents can orient, operate, and coordinate within any project — alongside humans. It defines a directory structure, governance files, metadata conventions, and operational protocols that together form a project's "knowledge genome."

An aDNA instance is the complete set of governance files, triad directories, and operational infrastructure that implements this standard within a project.

## 1.2 Audience

This standard is written for:

- **Agents** — AI assistants that read, write, and navigate project knowledge
- **Agent operators** — humans who configure and manage agent-augmented projects
- **Project bootstrappers** — anyone starting a new project that will use AI agents

## 1.3 Scope

**In scope**: Project knowledge architecture — how project information is organized, how agents orient and operate, how multiple agents coordinate, and how knowledge persists across sessions.

**Out of scope**: Application source code structure, CI/CD pipeline configuration, deployment infrastructure, and agent model internals. These belong to the project content layer, not to aDNA.

## 1.4 Normative Language

This document uses RFC 2119 keywords:

| Keyword | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| **MUST** | Absolute requirement |
| **MUST NOT** | Absolute prohibition |
| **SHOULD** | Recommended; may be omitted with good reason |
| **MAY** | Truly optional |

---