A Kristal is the core knowledge artifact of the kOA ecosystem.
It is designed to make knowledge portable, verifiable, and usable under degraded conditions (including offline).
Think of it as a compiled unit of meaning that can be shared, audited, and reused—without requiring trust in a single platform or operator.
What a Kristal does
Kristals exist to solve a simple problem:
Most “knowledge” is stored as text, screenshots, or websites—hard to verify, hard to reuse, and fragile under crisis.
A Kristal turns knowledge into something that can be:
Verified (provenance, integrity, identity of publisher)
Replayed (same inputs → same outputs, when needed)
Distributed (copied across networks and communities)
Queried offline (a portable bundle that can still answer questions)
Composed (multiple domains / authorities without silent mixing)
What you get as a user (not technical)
When a system is backed by Kristals, you get:
Answers and summaries that can be traced back to sources
A clearer separation between:
what is claimed
what is validated
what remains uncertain
The ability to keep operating when the network fails (using local packs)
Kristals are meant to support learning, deliberation, decision, and execution—while preserving a durable memory of “what was known, when, and why.”
Two outputs: Exchange vs Runtime Pack
A Kristal is typically published in two complementary forms:
1) Kristal Exchange
The Exchange is the canonical artifact:
stable identity
provenance and validation traces
structured content meant for governance and interoperability
It’s the thing you cite, verify, and federate across institutions.
2) Runtime Pack
The Runtime Pack is the portable offline bundle:
optimized for local use (search, lookup, retrieval, browsing)
designed to operate when network access is limited or unavailable
It’s the thing you deploy on devices, local servers, or field environments.
In short: Exchange = truth object. Runtime Pack = usable offline package.
Where Kristals fit in the ecosystem
Kristals are not “a platform.” They are a shared layer used by platforms and tools.
Typical roles:
Konnaxion consumes Kristals to publish and preserve civic knowledge.
Ariane can use Kristal-backed structures to guide users through complex interfaces with better trust and traceability.
Orgo can route work that produces, validates, or updates Kristals (as a process), while keeping the audit trail.
Trust, provenance, and federation (high level)
Kristals can be published by different authorities (institutions, communities, individuals).
The ecosystem needs two guarantees:
You can always identify who published what (provenance)
You can compose multiple sources without silent blending (federation rules)
This is where concepts like domain shards and federated composition matter—but the public principle is simple:
If two sources disagree, the system must show it—never hide it.
Use cases (examples)
A community publishes a local policy Kristal and distributes it as a Runtime Pack for offline access.
A school publishes course Kristals with versioned updates and clear provenance.
A civic project publishes a decision record Kristal: claims, evidence, deliberation summary, outcome, and accountability trail.
Next pages
What it does (in practice):/technology/kristal/what-it-does
