SMALL v1.1.0: Durable Session State

Justyn Clark Network has released SMALL v1.1.0.

SMALL is a state protocol for AI-assisted work. It keeps intent, constraints, plans, progress, evidence, and handoffs durable so project state does not depend on chat history or terminal scrollback.

Version 1.1.0 introduces support for the SMALL 2.0 session profile. The release keeps the stable v1 artifact profile available while adding a session-aware model for work that needs more than one writer.

What changed

Solo mode remains the default. A workspace moves into collaborative mode only through an explicit transition.

In the session profile:

  • Every writer has a durable session identity.
  • Authoritative history is recorded as immutable events.
  • Command outcomes and task acceptance remain separate facts.
  • Evidence is represented through typed, content-addressed receipts.
  • Independent clones reconcile session state through deterministic union.
  • Workspace projections are generated views rather than a second tracked authority.

This model allows two clones to contribute durable state without requiring both writers to rewrite one shared progress document. Reconciliation combines immutable session and event records while preserving deterministic validation of the resulting frontier.

Compatibility and migration

The SMALL CLI supports both the 1.0.0 artifact profile and the 2.0.0 session profile.

Existing v1 workspaces do not migrate automatically. Teams can continue using the established v1 model until session-aware state is useful. Migration is an explicit two-step operation: a read-only preview records the expected input state, and apply revalidates that state before making a change.

The migration process preserves the original v1 artifacts, stages and strictly validates the candidate v2 workspace, and swaps state through a recoverable transaction. Changed inputs are treated as stale rather than silently incorporated. Reapplying the same accepted migration plan is idempotent.

Supported v1 tooling remains appropriate for unmigrated workspaces. Once a workspace is migrated, v1 writers must not be used to create or modify v2 state.

Boundaries

SMALL remains a state protocol rather than an execution engine.

It does not schedule agents, select models, manage retries, infer authorization, resolve source-code conflicts, or provide distributed consensus. Cooperative locking remains local to one checkout. Those responsibilities belong to the execution and operating systems around the protocol.

This separation is intentional. A loop runner or agent governor can call one SMALL operation at a time and use the resulting state, but SMALL does not become another scheduler inside that system.

Release verification

The v1.1.0 release passed:

  • Race-enabled Go tests and static analysis
  • The complete repository verification suite
  • A local two-clone migration, collaboration, and reconciliation proof
  • GoReleaser builds for six operating-system and architecture combinations
  • Downloaded checksum verification for every published archive
  • npm package inspection and trusted OIDC publication with provenance
  • Fresh installation through both npm and the public curl installer
  • Live documentation checks in a real browser

The published binaries support macOS, Linux, and Windows on amd64 and arm64.

Install

Install through npm:

npm i -g @small-protocol/small

Or use the hosted installer:

curl -fsSL https://smallprotocol.dev/install.sh | bash

Both installation paths resolve to SMALL v1.1.0 with support for the 1.0.0 and 2.0.0 profiles.

Documentation: https://smallprotocol.dev/docs/session-profile-v2

GitHub release: https://github.com/justyn-clark/small-protocol/releases/tag/v1.1.0

npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@small-protocol/small