Proposal: urn:local: namespace for context-local identifiers

[melvincarvalho]

urn:local: - A URN Namespace for Context-Local Identifiers

Problem

In the age of LLMs and context-aware computing, we need a simple way to express "this identifier is local to the current context."

Current approaches have issues:

• http:// URLs imply dereferenceability (404 errors)
• did: methods require resolvers
• _: blank nodes are cryptic (RDF-specific)
• urn:example: is for documentation only
• Custom namespaces lack universal meaning

Proposal

Adopt urn:local: as a de facto standard for context-local identifiers:

urn:local:treasury     → "treasury" in THIS ledger/document/system
urn:local:config       → "config" in THIS context
urn:local:user:alice   → "alice" in THIS namespace

Why This Matters for LLMs

Property	Benefit
Self-documenting	LLM instantly understands scope
No resolution needed	Won't hallucinate external lookups
Context-native	Matches how LLMs process information
Collision-free	Can't conflict with global identifiers
Portable	Copy document anywhere, meaning preserved

Semantics

When an agent (human or AI) encounters urn:local:X:

1. Do NOT attempt to resolve externally
2. Interpret X within the current document/context/system
3. Treat as equivalent to a local variable or internal reference

Use Cases

• WebLedgers: urn:local:treasury, urn:local:amm
• Config files: urn:local:database, urn:local:cache
• JSON-LD documents: Local entity references
• LLM contexts: Scoped identifiers in prompts
• Multi-tenant systems: Per-tenant namespacing

Specification

urn:local:<local-name>

where:
- "urn" = Uniform Resource Name scheme
- "local" = Namespace Identifier (NID) indicating local scope
- <local-name> = Any valid URN Namespace Specific String

Next Steps

1. Document usage in WebLedgers
2. Create standalone spec page
3. Seek adoption in related projects
4. Consider W3C Community Group or informal RFC

References

• RFC 8141 - URN Syntax
• RFC 6963 - urn:example namespace
• IANA URN Namespaces