ModelTrade Specification

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ModelTrade

The AI Trade Network

Overview

ModelTrade is a federated, open source AI trade network for publishing, discovering, sharing, licensing, buying, selling, reviewing, and rating AI models, datasets, applications, and related AI projects.

ModelTrade is designed as a decentralized ecosystem of independently operated nodes. Each node can provide its own community, users, projects, storefronts, moderation policies, and services while participating in a larger federated network.

The specification prioritizes interoperability, user ownership, portability, transparent licensing, creator-controlled commerce, federated discovery, reputation, provenance, and modular deployment.

Design Principles

ModelTrade shall:

Support independently operated federated nodes.
Allow users and organizations to publish AI resources.
Provide every user with a profile and optional storefront.
Support free and commercial resources.
Provide built-in reviews, ratings, and reputation.
Support searchable models, datasets, projects, creators, and organizations.
Preserve licensing and provenance information.
Support versioned AI resources.
Support user and project portability.
Avoid mandatory dependence on a single vendor or service provider.
Separate core functionality from optional integrations.
Support local-first operation where practical.
Provide transparent federation mechanisms.
Support self-hosted deployments.
Support interoperability between compatible nodes.
Keep users in control of their published resources and account data.

Core Identity Module

The Identity Module shall provide the foundational identity services required by the network.

Features include:

User registration
Authentication
Usernames
Unique user identifiers
Account profiles
Account recovery
Session management
Security controls
Multi-factor authentication support
Account export
Account deletion
Identity portability
Identity verification
Federated identity discovery

Core Profile Module

The Profile Module shall provide public profiles for individuals and organizations.

Profiles may contain:

Display name
Username
Biography
Profile image
Organization information
External links
Published projects
Published models
Published datasets
Published applications
Storefront
Collections
Reviews written
Reviews received
Ratings received
Followers
Following
Reputation
Verification status
Featured projects
Activity information

Core Organization Module

The Organization Module shall allow groups to operate as shared entities.

Features include:

Organization profiles
Organization verification
Multiple administrators
Team membership
Shared projects
Shared storefronts
Contributor management
Role-based permissions
Shared licensing information
Shared analytics
Organization-level publishing

Core Federation Module

The Federation Module shall allow independent ModelTrade nodes to communicate and exchange compatible information.

Features include:

Node identity
Node discovery
Node metadata
Node verification
Federated user discovery
Federated project discovery
Federated model discovery
Federated dataset discovery
Federated storefront discovery
Federated search
Cross-node references
Federation synchronization
Federation event handling
Federation provenance
Selective federation
Node allowlists
Node blocklists
Local federation policies
Public nodes
Private nodes
Community nodes
Organization nodes

Federation shall not require every node to trust every other node.

Node operators shall be able to determine which external nodes and resources they accept, display, synchronize, or block.

Core Project Module

The Project Module shall provide a common container for related AI resources.

Projects may contain:

Models
Datasets
Applications
APIs
Documentation
Evaluations
Demonstrations
Publications
Dependencies
Related projects
Provenance information
Version information
Licensing information
Discussions
Reviews
Ratings

Projects may be free or commercial.

Core Model Module

The Model Module shall provide first-class support for publishing and distributing AI models.

Features include:

Model repositories
Model metadata
Model documentation
Model cards
Model versions
Releases
Model files
Model tags
Model categories
Model tasks
Model architectures
Parameter information
Model size
Hardware requirements
Framework information
Runtime requirements
Dependencies
Supported languages
Intended use
Limitations
Evaluation information
Base model relationships
Fine-tuning relationships
Derivative relationships
Model lineage
Changelogs
Download statistics
Purchase statistics
Reviews
Ratings
Licensing
Pricing

Core Dataset Module

The Dataset Module shall provide first-class support for publishing and distributing datasets.

Features include:

Dataset repositories
Dataset metadata
Dataset cards
Dataset versions
Dataset releases
Dataset files
Dataset categories
Dataset tags
Dataset size
Record counts
File formats
Languages
Domains
Collection methodology
Source information
Data quality information
Data limitations
Privacy information
Dataset provenance
Dataset lineage
Dataset transformations
Dataset licensing
Evaluation information
Download statistics
Purchase statistics
Reviews
Ratings
Pricing

Core Application Module

The Application Module shall support publishing AI applications associated with models, datasets, projects, or independent functionality.

Features include:

Application pages
Application documentation
Application versions
Application demonstrations
Application licensing
Application pricing
Application subscriptions
Model dependencies
Dataset dependencies
API dependencies
Application reviews
Application ratings

Core Search Module

The Search Module shall provide simple and advanced discovery across the ModelTrade network.

Users shall be able to search by:

Keyword
Project name
Model name
Dataset name
Application name
Creator
Organization
Node
Category
Tag
License
Framework
Language
Task
Price
Rating
Review count
Popularity
Download count
Sales
Release date
Update date

Search shall support:

Keyword search
Exact-name search
Partial-name search
Fuzzy matching
Advanced filtering
Sorting
Relevance ranking
Federated search
Local search
Network-wide discovery

Core Discovery Module

The Discovery Module shall help users find relevant AI resources without requiring a specific search query.

Features include:

Trending models
Trending datasets
Trending projects
Trending creators
Trending storefronts
New releases
Recently updated resources
Popular resources
Highly rated resources
Most reviewed resources
Free resources
Commercial resources
Related projects
Similar resources
Featured creators
Featured collections

Core Storefront Module

The Storefront Module shall provide each eligible user or organization with a personal marketplace.

Features include:

Personal storefronts
Organization storefronts
Storefront descriptions
Storefront branding
Featured products
Product categories
Product collections
Free products
Paid products
Pay-what-you-want products
Subscription products
Tiered pricing
Product bundles
Discounts
Promotional pricing
Seller policies
Refund policies
Licensing information
Storefront reviews
Storefront ratings
Seller verification
Storefront analytics

Core Marketplace Module

The Marketplace Module shall provide network-wide discovery and commerce for AI resources.

Features include:

Marketplace listings
Local marketplace listings
Federated marketplace listings
Product discovery
Product comparison
Featured products
Trending products
New products
Popular products
Highest-rated products
Free resources
Paid resources
Creator discovery
Organization discovery
Related products
Similar projects

Marketplace results shall identify the node responsible for the resource.

Core Commerce Module

The Commerce Module shall provide standardized support for transactions involving digital AI resources.

Features include:

Product listings
Product pricing
Currency support
Shopping carts
Checkout
Orders
Receipts
Purchase history
Seller accounts
Buyer accounts
Seller balances
Revenue records
Refunds
Cancellations
Discounts
Coupons
Bundles
Promotional campaigns
Transaction records

Payment processing shall remain modular and shall not require a specific payment provider.

Core Digital Delivery Module

The Digital Delivery Module shall control access to purchased resources.

Features include:

Authorized downloads
Download permissions
Access tokens
License keys
Version-specific access
Subscription access
API access
Download limits
Expiration controls
Access revocation
Purchase verification
Digital receipts

Core Licensing Module

The Licensing Module shall clearly identify the rights and restrictions associated with every published resource.

Features include:

Open source licenses
Proprietary licenses
Custom licenses
Commercial licenses
Noncommercial licenses
Attribution requirements
Redistribution terms
Modification terms
Dataset restrictions
Model restrictions
Usage restrictions
Training restrictions
Derivative-work terms
License versioning
License compatibility information

The platform license and the license governing an individual model, dataset, application, or project shall be treated as separate licensing layers.

Core Versioning Module

The Versioning Module shall maintain distinct versions of published resources.

Features include:

Immutable versions
Release tags
Version history
Changelogs
Version comparisons
Version-specific downloads
Version-specific purchases
Version-specific licensing
Version-specific pricing
Version-specific reviews
Version-specific ratings
Archived versions

Reviews and ratings shall identify the version to which they apply.

Core Provenance Module

The Provenance Module shall record relationships between AI resources and their sources.

Features include:

Model provenance
Dataset provenance
Source attribution
Training dataset declarations
Base model declarations
Fine-tuning relationships
Derivative relationships
Dataset transformation history
Version lineage
Dependency lineage
Provenance records
Provenance verification
Provenance display

The system should make it possible to trace relationships such as:

Model → Base Model → Training Dataset → Source Data

Core Dependency Module

The Dependency Module shall allow projects to declare dependencies on other resources.

Supported dependencies may include:

Models
Datasets
Applications
APIs
Libraries
Projects

Dependency information shall include:

Dependency name
Version
Source node
License
Availability
Required version
Compatibility information

Core Review Module

The Review Module shall provide built-in user reviews for marketplace resources and creators.

Features include:

Written reviews
Product reviews
Project reviews
Creator reviews
Seller reviews
Version-specific reviews
Verified purchase reviews
Verified acquisition reviews
Review responses
Review editing
Review history
Review reporting
Review moderation
Review provenance
Review timestamps

Creators shall be able to respond to reviews but shall not be able to unilaterally delete legitimate reviews.

Core Rating Module

The Rating Module shall provide structured ratings for resources and creators.

Features include:

Five-star ratings
Overall ratings
Version ratings
Model ratings
Dataset ratings
Application ratings
Project ratings
Creator ratings
Seller ratings
Rating distributions
Verified-user ratings
Recent ratings
Lifetime ratings

Core Review Integrity Module

The Review Integrity Module shall protect the reliability of the marketplace reputation system.

Features include:

Verified purchase indicators
Verified acquisition indicators
One rating per eligible user per version
Duplicate review detection
Suspicious review detection
Review manipulation detection
Review abuse reporting
Review moderation
Transparent moderation records
Seller responses
Review history
Review provenance

Core Reputation Module

The Reputation Module shall provide transparent reputation information for creators, sellers, organizations, and other participating entities.

Potential reputation signals include:

Ratings
Reviews
Verified purchases
Successful transactions
Account history
Project history
Community participation
Verification status
Moderation history
Node reputation

Reputation calculations shall be documented and should not rely solely on an unexplained proprietary score.

Core Collections Module

The Collections Module shall allow users to organize and share resources.

Collections may contain:

Models
Datasets
Applications
Projects
Creators
Storefronts

Collections may be:

Private
Public
Shared
Collaborative
Federated

Core Social Module

The Social Module shall provide community discovery and relationship features.

Features include:

Following users
Following organizations
Following projects
Following models
Following datasets
Following nodes
Favorites
Bookmarks
Activity feeds
Creator updates
Project updates
Release notifications

Core Notification Module

The Notification Module shall provide notifications for important platform activity.

Notifications may include:

Purchases
Sales
Reviews
Ratings
Replies
New versions
Price changes
Product updates
New followers
New projects
Federation events
Moderation events
Account security events

Core Evaluation Module

The Evaluation Module shall allow creators and communities to publish performance information.

Features include:

Model benchmarks
Dataset benchmarks
Evaluation datasets
Performance metrics
Accuracy measurements
Speed measurements
Resource requirements
Evaluation methodology
Evaluation results
Reproducibility information
Creator evaluations
Community evaluations
Third-party evaluations
Evaluation history

Core Demonstration Module

The Demonstration Module shall allow projects to provide interactive demonstrations.

Supported demonstrations may include:

Text interfaces
Chat interfaces
Image interfaces
Audio interfaces
Video interfaces
Model playgrounds
Dataset explorers
Interactive applications
API demonstrations

Core Moderation Module

The Moderation Module shall allow node operators and authorized moderators to manage platform activity.

Features include:

User reporting
Product reporting
Review reporting
Dataset reporting
Model reporting
Copyright complaint workflows
License violation reporting
Abuse reporting
Spam detection
Moderator tools
Node-level moderation
Federation-level blocking
Moderation history
Appeals
Transparent moderation policies

Moderation decisions made by one node shall not automatically require every federated node to take the same action.

Core Trust and Verification Module

The Trust and Verification Module shall provide visible indicators for verified entities and resources.

Verification levels may include:

Unverified
Account verified
Identity verified
Creator verified
Organization verified
Seller verified
Provenance verified
Model provenance verified
Dataset provenance verified
Purchase verified

Verification indicators shall clearly communicate what has actually been verified.

Core File Integrity Module

The File Integrity Module shall provide mechanisms for verifying digital resources.

Features include:

Cryptographic hashes
File checksums
Artifact verification
Version integrity
Download integrity verification
File manifests
Dependency manifests
Signed releases
Optional cryptographic signatures

Core API Module

The API Module shall provide standardized interfaces for programmatic access.

APIs may provide access to:

Users
Profiles
Organizations
Projects
Models
Datasets
Applications
Search
Federation
Storefronts
Products
Orders
Reviews
Ratings
Licensing
Provenance
Analytics

Core Federation API Module

The Federation API Module shall provide standardized interfaces for node communication.

Federation services may include:

Node discovery
Identity discovery
Profile discovery
Project discovery
Model discovery
Dataset discovery
Search
Reviews
Ratings
Follows
Updates
Storefront information
Product information
Availability information
Federation events

Core Import and Export Module

The Import and Export Module shall allow users to move their information between compatible systems.

Supported exports may include:

Profiles
Projects
Model metadata
Dataset metadata
Reviews
Collections
Storefronts
Licensing information
Provenance
Federation metadata

Core Portability Module

The Portability Module shall reduce dependence on individual nodes.

Features include:

Profile migration
Project migration
Storefront migration
Metadata migration
Collection migration
Identity portability
Redirects from previous locations
Historical project preservation
Federated identity continuity

Core Permissions Module

The Permissions Module shall provide granular access control.

Supported roles may include:

Owner
Administrator
Maintainer
Contributor
Moderator
Reviewer
Finance manager
Store manager

Permissions may be assigned separately for:

Profiles
Organizations
Projects
Models
Datasets
Storefronts
Commerce
Moderation
Federation

Core Analytics Module

The Analytics Module shall provide creators and organizations with information about their resources.

Analytics may include:

Profile views
Storefront views
Product views
Downloads
Purchases
Revenue
Conversion rates
Ratings
Reviews
Followers
Popular products
Search impressions
Version adoption

Analytics should provide useful aggregate information without unnecessarily exposing individual user behavior.

Core Creator Dashboard Module

The Creator Dashboard shall provide a unified management interface for:

Profiles
Projects
Models
Datasets
Applications
Storefronts
Products
Orders
Sales
Revenue
Reviews
Ratings
Followers
Analytics
Licenses
Releases
Federation activity

Core Buyer Dashboard Module

The Buyer Dashboard shall provide access to:

Purchased products
Download access
Licenses
Receipts
Subscriptions
Saved products
Favorites
Collections
Reviews
Ratings
Followed creators
Followed projects
Purchase history

Core User Interface Module

The User Interface Module shall provide a user-friendly interface suitable for developers, researchers, organizations, creators, sellers, and general users.

Primary interface areas should include:

Home
Search
Explore
Marketplace
Models
Datasets
Projects
Creators
Storefronts
Collections
Dashboard
Notifications
Profiles

Important product information should be clearly visible, including:

Price
License
Rating
Review count
Verification status
Version
Size
Last update
Source node
Provenance information

Core Accessibility Module

The Accessibility Module shall support accessible use of the platform.

Features include:

Keyboard navigation
Screen-reader compatibility
Accessible forms
Accessible search
Accessible marketplace controls
Adjustable text sizing
High-contrast support
Semantic interface elements
Accessible media controls

Core Internationalization Module

The Internationalization Module shall support global deployment.

Features include:

Multiple interface languages
Localized interfaces
Currency localization
Date localization
Number localization
Right-to-left language support
International seller support

Core Audit Module

The Audit Module shall maintain records of important system activity.

Audit records may include:

Administrative actions
Commerce actions
Federation events
Moderation actions
Account security events
License changes
Product changes
Pricing changes
Review moderation
Version history

Core Transparency Module

The Transparency Module shall make important information about users, resources, transactions, licensing, and federation visible and understandable.

Transparency features may include:

License display
Provenance display
Verification explanations
Review verification
Version history
Pricing history
Seller information
Node information
Moderation information
Reputation methodology
Federation status

Core Storage Module

The Storage Module shall provide an abstraction layer for storing AI resources.

Supported storage approaches may include:

Local storage
Object storage
Distributed storage
External storage
Content-addressed storage
Replicated storage

Storage providers shall be replaceable without requiring changes to the core specification.

Core Infrastructure Independence

ModelTrade shall avoid requiring a specific:

Cloud provider
Database
Payment processor
AI provider
Storage provider
Identity provider
Search engine
Inference provider

Infrastructure integrations should be replaceable modules.

Optional Plugin Modules

ModelTrade shall support optional plugins that extend functionality without requiring changes to the core specification.

Potential plugins include:

Payment providers
Tax services
Identity providers
Storage providers
Search engines
AI inference providers
Compute providers
Email providers
Analytics systems
Verification services
Content moderation services
Authentication systems
Decentralized identity systems
Enterprise integrations
External marketplaces

Plugins should have defined interfaces and should not compromise the interoperability of the core network.

Optional Subscription Module

The Subscription Module may provide:

Recurring subscriptions
Subscription products
Subscription tiers
Subscription access
Subscription management
Subscription cancellation
Subscription analytics

Optional Donation Module

The Donation Module may provide:

Creator donations
Project donations
Organization donations
Recurring donations
Donation goals
Donation history

Optional Sponsorship Module

The Sponsorship Module may provide:

Creator sponsorships
Project sponsorships
Organization sponsorships
Recurring sponsorships
Sponsorship tiers

Optional Bounty Module

The Bounty Module may allow users and organizations to fund requested work.

Features may include:

Bounties
Funding targets
Contributor submissions
Milestones
Completion verification
Bounty payments
Dispute handling

Optional Crowdfunding Module

The Crowdfunding Module may support:

Project campaigns
Funding goals
Campaign rewards
Campaign updates
Contribution tracking
Campaign completion

Optional Inference Module

The Inference Module may allow creators to offer models as hosted services.

Features may include:

Hosted inference
API endpoints
Usage metering
API pricing
Usage limits
Authentication
Usage analytics
Inference subscriptions

Optional Compute Marketplace Module

The Compute Marketplace may allow participants to offer AI compute resources.

Features may include:

Compute listings
GPU availability
CPU availability
Memory availability
Storage availability
Pricing
Availability schedules
Provider ratings
Provider reviews
Usage metering

Optional Training Marketplace Module

The Training Marketplace may allow creators to offer model training services.

Features may include:

Training requests
Training jobs
Training pricing
Dataset selection
Model selection
Training specifications
Training results
Provider ratings
Provider reviews

Optional Evaluation Services Module

The Evaluation Services Module may allow users to purchase independent model or dataset evaluations.

Features may include:

Evaluation requests
Evaluation packages
Evaluation pricing
Benchmark execution
Evaluation reports
Evaluator profiles
Evaluator ratings
Evaluator reviews

Optional Certification Module

The Certification Module may provide optional certification programs for:

Creators
Organizations
Models
Datasets
Applications
Provenance
Security
Compliance

Certification status should remain distinct from community ratings and reviews.

Optional Enterprise Module

The Enterprise Module may provide:

Enterprise organizations
Private projects
Private storefronts
Private nodes
Team management
Advanced permissions
Enterprise licensing
Enterprise analytics
Private federation
Internal marketplaces

Optional Affiliate Module

The Affiliate Module may support:

Affiliate links
Creator referrals
Product referrals
Referral tracking
Commission rules
Affiliate reporting

Optional Revenue Sharing Module

The Revenue Sharing Module may allow project owners to distribute revenue among contributors.

Features may include:

Contributor revenue shares
Organization revenue shares
Automated distribution rules
Revenue reporting
Contributor statements

Optional Marketplace Promotion Module

The Promotion Module may provide:

Featured listings
Promotional campaigns
Sponsored listings
Discount campaigns
Product launches
Creator promotions

Promotional listings should be clearly identified so that users can distinguish them from organic search results.

Governance

ModelTrade nodes may establish their own governance policies while remaining interoperable with the broader ModelTrade specification.

Node governance may define:

Membership policies
Federation policies
Moderation policies
Commerce policies
Verification policies
Seller requirements
Content policies
Resource policies
Administrative permissions

Federation shall preserve node autonomy while providing standardized interoperability.

Security

ModelTrade implementations should provide security mechanisms appropriate to the resources and transactions they support.

Security considerations include:

Secure authentication
Access control
Session security
File integrity
Download authorization
Transaction security
API authentication
Audit logging
Abuse prevention
Account protection
Secure federation
Data protection

Data Ownership and Portability

Users should be able to export their profiles, projects, metadata, collections, storefront information, and other supported data.

The system should minimize unnecessary lock-in to individual nodes.

Where technically and legally possible, users should be able to migrate their work to another compatible ModelTrade node.

Federation Trust

Federation shall use explicit trust relationships.

Nodes should be able to:

Accept federation from selected nodes
Reject federation from selected nodes
Temporarily suspend federation
Block nodes
Block users
Block resources
Preserve local moderation decisions
Preserve local commerce policies

A federated relationship shall not imply universal endorsement of another node’s content or policies.

Marketplace Trust

Marketplace transactions should preserve sufficient information to establish:

Who published the resource
Which node hosts the resource
What was purchased
Which version was purchased
What license applies
What price was paid
Whether the transaction was verified
Which creator received the transaction
Which reviews are associated with the purchase

Resource Identity

ModelTrade should provide stable identifiers for published resources.

Identifiers should distinguish:

Node
Creator
Organization
Project
Resource
Version

Resource identifiers should support reliable references between federated projects.

Resource Relationships

The platform should support relationships such as:

Project contains Model
Project contains Dataset
Model derived from Model
Model trained on Dataset
Dataset derived from Dataset
Application uses Model
Application uses Dataset
Project depends on Model
Project depends on Dataset
Project depends on Application
Resource belongs to Creator
Resource belongs to Organization
Resource hosted by Node

Economic Transparency

Commercial resources should clearly communicate:

Price
Currency
License
Included resources
Version
Subscription requirements
Renewal terms
Refund terms
Seller identity
Node identity

Users should not be required to purchase a resource without being able to determine the basic rights and conditions associated with the purchase.

Specification Branding License (SBL)

Standard

Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
Copyleft enforced for network deployments
Required attribution:
- Roxanne Ardary
- https://www.roxanneardary.com/

Optional

Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- https://roxanneardary.com/modeltrade/

License & Notice Requirements

ModelTrade is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

By contributing to any Open Arsenal project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.

Please note the following:

All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to: Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
ModelTrade specifications are free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments. Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update notice.md.
When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.

For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.

Notice – ModelTrade

Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.

Contributors

This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.

Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – August 31, 2026
Created the repository for ModelTrade, a federated AI trade network for publishing, discovering, licensing, buying, selling, reviewing, and rating AI models, datasets, applications, and related AI projects.
[Add other contributors here] – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]

License – ModelTrade

This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

Key Points

You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.

For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.