Open Standards for Production-Grade AI Orchestration
This repository contains NORP (NeuraScope Orchestration Reference Patterns), a set of open standards for production-grade AI orchestration systems.
Status: 🚀 Phase 1 + Phase 2 DELIVERED (8 specifications, 7 STABLE + 1 DRAFT, 3 reference implementations)
License: CC BY 4.0 (specifications) + MIT (reference code)
What is NORP? Open standards defining how to build safe, predictable AI orchestration systems in production.
Why NORP? Prevents cycles, isolates tenants, controls costs, ensures determinism.
How to use?
- Read NORP-001 (validation pipeline)
- Implement using PHP, Python, or TypeScript
- Pass compliance tests
NORP defines architectural and operational invariants to guarantee:
- Security: Strict multi-tenant isolation
- Reliability: Fail-fast pre-execution validation
- Predictability: Determinism and traceability
- Performance: O(V+E) scalable algorithms
NORP currently covers AI workflow orchestration (directed graph execution):
- Validation pipelines and cycle detection
- Deterministic execution ordering
- Multi-tenant and execution-scoped isolation
- Cost estimation and budgeting
- Machine-readable interfaces for interoperability
The following are not yet covered by NORP but planned for future specifications:
- Data & Knowledge Management (RAG, vector storage, memory, chunking)
- LLM Protocols (MCP integration details, multi-model routing, function calling)
- Platform Governance (RBAC, audit trails, API key management, regulatory compliance)
See governance/ROADMAP.md for future phases timeline.
graph LR
A[NORP-001<br/>Validation Pipeline] --> B[NORP-004<br/>Cycle Detection]
A --> C[NORP-005<br/>Topological Order]
A --> D[NORP-007<br/>Cost Estimation]
B --> C
E[NORP-002<br/>Multi-Tenant<br/>Isolation] -.->|applies to| A
F[NORP-003<br/>Immutable State] -.->|enforced by| A
G[NORP-006<br/>Resource Pooling] -.->|used in| A
style A fill:#e1f5ff
style E fill:#ffe1e1
style F fill:#e1ffe1
style G fill:#fff5e1
| NORP | Title | Status | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| NORP-001 | Pre-Execution Validation Pipeline | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-002 | Multi-Tenant Resource Isolation | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-003 | Immutable Pipeline with DTOs | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-004 | Cycle Detection in Directed Graphs | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-005 | Topological Sorting for Execution Order | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-006 | Resource Pooling with Context Isolation | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-007 | Cost Estimation Pre-Execution | ✅ Stable | 1.2 |
| NORP-008 | NORP Interface Specification | 🔄 Draft | 1.0 |
NORP specifications are available in:
- 🇬🇧 English (specs/NORP-*.md) - Original version
- 🇫🇷 Français (specs/fr/NORP-*.md) - Complete translation
NORP/
├── README.md # This file
├── specs/ # Normative specifications
│ ├── NORP-001.md to 007.md # 7 STABLE specs
│ ├── NORP-008.md # Interface spec (DRAFT)
│ └── fr/ # French translations
├── schemas/ # JSON Schema
│ ├── norp-interface.schema.json # NORP-008 validation
│ └── norp-interface.template.json # Starter template
├── reference-implementations/ # Reference implementations
│ ├── php/ # PHP 8.2+
│ ├── python/ # Python 3.10+
│ └── typescript/ # TypeScript 5.0+
├── compliance-tests/ # Compliance test suites
│ └── NORP-001-tests.md to 008-tests.md
├── examples/ # Examples
│ ├── interfaces/ # NORP-008 interfaces
│ ├── saas/ # SaaS use case
│ ├── simple-workflow.json
│ └── multi-tenant-workflow.json
└── governance/ # NORP governance
├── CONTRIBUTING.md
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
├── WORKING-GROUP.md
└── ROADMAP.md
- Read specifications in
specs/ - Consult reference implementations in
reference-implementations/ - Run compliance tests in
compliance-tests/
- Read
governance/CONTRIBUTING.md - Propose changes via Pull Request
- Follow review process in
governance/WORKING-GROUP.md
Each NORP pattern is extracted from production-tested code at NeuraScope, not theory.
Every NORP includes executable compliance test suite.
Reusable code provided under MIT license to facilitate adoption.
Specifications are technology, language, and framework agnostic.
- ✅ NORP-001 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-002 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-003 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-004 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-005 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-006 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-007 v1.2 STABLE (2026-01-09)
- ✅ NORP-008 v1.0 DRAFT (2026-01-10)
- ✅ Phase 1 COMPLETED (7/7 stable specs)
- ✅ Compliance tests (NORP-001 through 008)
- ✅ PHP (6 files, production-tested)
- ✅ Python (5 files)
- ✅ TypeScript (6 files)
- ✅ Phase 2 COMPLETED
- ⏳ NORP-compliant certification program
- ⏳ Third-party integrations
- ⏳ Workshops and conferences
NORP complements existing standards and frameworks:
- MCP (Model Context Protocol): Standardizes LLM ↔ Tools communication. NORP focuses on workflow orchestration governance.
- OpenAPI: Defines API contracts. NORP defines orchestration guarantees.
- Airflow: Data pipeline scheduling. NORP addresses AI-specific concerns (probabilistic systems, variable costs, tenant isolation).
NORP specifically targets AI workflow orchestration with multi-tenant isolation, deterministic execution, and cost control.
- Specifications (
specs/): CC BY 4.0 - Reference code (
reference-implementations/): MIT License - Tests (
compliance-tests/): MIT License
- GitHub: https://github.com/norp-specs/norp
- Website: https://norp.neurascope.ai (coming soon)
- Issues: https://github.com/norp-specs/norp/issues
- Discussions: https://github.com/norp-specs/norp/discussions
- Email: norp@neurascope.ai
If you use NORP in academic work:
@techreport{norp2026,
title={NORP: NeuraScope Orchestration Reference Patterns},
author={NORP Working Group},
institution={NeuraScope},
year={2026},
type={Technical Specification},
url={https://github.com/norp-specs/norp}
}NORP - Open standards for trustworthy AI orchestration.
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