Protocol directory

Agentic commerce protocol directory

A maintained directory of the core protocols used around agentic commerce. The Atlas is not the primary specification for any protocol; use this page to understand the layer, role, maintainer, and status, then follow the official source for implementation details.

Machine-readable version: /data/protocols.json. Last checked: 2026-06-29.
Protocol Layer Maintainer and status Source Atlas guide
ACP
Agentic Commerce Protocol
Commerce semantics OpenAI, Stripe, Meta
beta
Official source Read guide
UCP
Universal Commerce Protocol
Commerce semantics Google and the UCP Tech Council (Shopify, Etsy, Target, Wayfair, plus Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, Stripe from April 2026)
launched
Official source Read guide
AP2
Agent Payments Protocol
Payment authorization FIDO Alliance (originated at Google)
pre-production
Official source Read guide
MCP
Model Context Protocol
Discovery Anthropic (donated to a foundation, Dec 2025)
widely adopted
Official source Read guide
A2A
Agent-to-Agent
Agent coordination Linux Foundation (originated at Google)
v1.0
Official source Read guide
x402
x402
Settlement Coinbase (x402 Foundation, under the Linux Foundation)
live
Official source Read guide
MPP
Machine Payments Protocol
Settlement Stripe and Tempo
live
Official source Read guide

How to read the layers

  • Discovery: how agents find tools, data, and capabilities.
  • Commerce semantics: how shopping, cart, checkout, and post-purchase actions are represented.
  • Payment authorization: how user intent and delegated authority are recorded.
  • Settlement: how software pays for services, API calls, or other resources.
  • Agent coordination: how agents communicate and delegate work to one another.

Use boundaries

This directory is an orientation layer. It is useful for comparison, discovery, and citation, but implementation-critical decisions should be checked against the official source linked for each protocol.