Relationship Types

MIF provides an extensible relationship type system. Implementations SHOULD support the core types for interoperability, but MAY define custom relationship types for domain-specific needs.

Relationship Type Architecture

Relationship types are not hard-coded. They are defined in vault configuration and can be extended per-project:

.mif/config.yaml

relationship_types:
  # Core types (RECOMMENDED for interoperability)
  - name: RelatesTo
    description: General semantic relationship
    symmetric: true
  - name: DerivedFrom
    description: Memory created based on source
    inverse: Derives
  - name: Supersedes
    description: Replaces an older memory
    inverse: SupersededBy
  - name: ConflictsWith
    description: Contradicts another memory
    symmetric: true
  - name: PartOf
    description: Component of a larger whole
    inverse: Contains
  - name: Implements
    description: Realizes a concept or pattern
    inverse: ImplementedBy
  - name: Uses
    description: Utilizes a technology or tool
    inverse: UsedBy
  - name: Created
    description: Authored by an entity
    inverse: CreatedBy
  - name: MentionedIn
    description: Referenced within a memory
    inverse: Mentions

  # Custom types (domain-specific)
  - name: Reinforces
    namespace: subcog
    description: Strengthens confidence in another memory
    inverse: ReinforcedBy
  - name: Contradicts
    namespace: subcog
    description: Provides evidence against another memory
    inverse: ContradictedBy
  - name: BreedsWith
    namespace: farm
    description: Animal breeding relationship
    symmetric: false
    properties:
      - name: breeding_date
        type: date
      - name: success
        type: boolean

Core Relationship Types (Recommended)

For maximum interoperability, implementations SHOULD recognize these nine core types:

Type	Description	Inverse	Symmetric
RelatesTo	General relationship	RelatesTo	Yes
DerivedFrom	Created based on source	Derives	No
Supersedes	Replaces older memory	SupersededBy	No
ConflictsWith	Contradicts another memory	ConflictsWith	Yes
PartOf	Component of larger whole	Contains	No
Implements	Realizes a concept/pattern	ImplementedBy	No
Uses	Utilizes a technology/tool	UsedBy	No
Created	Authored by entity	CreatedBy	No
MentionedIn	Referenced in memory	Mentions	No

Custom Relationship Types

Providers MAY define additional relationship types using namespaced URIs:

# Custom relationship type definition
relationship_types:
  - name: Contradicts
    namespace: farm           # Results in URI: farm:Contradicts
    description: Provides conflicting evidence
    inverse: ContradictedBy
    properties:
      - name: contradiction_type
        type: string
        enum: [direct, indirect, partial]
      - name: severity
        type: decimal
        range: [0.0, 1.0]

JSON-LD representation of custom relationship types:

{
  "@context": [
    "https://mif-spec.dev/schema/context.jsonld",
    {"farm": "https://example.org/farm/"}
  ],
  "relationships": [
    {
      "@type": "Relationship",
      "relationshipType": "farm:BreedsWith",
      "target": {"@id": "urn:mif:entity:animal:ram-001"},
      "strength": 1.0,
      "farm:breeding_date": "2025-10-15",
      "farm:success": true
    }
  ]
}

Relationship Schema

Markdown syntax:

Relationships use a simple type [[target]] format in a dedicated section:

## Relationships

- relates-to [[Other Memory]]
- derived-from [[Source Memory]]
- supersedes [[Old Memory]]
- conflicts-with [[Contradicting Memory]]
- part-of [[Parent Memory]]

The relationship type name is converted to kebab-case in Markdown. The target uses wiki-link syntax [[]] which resolves to the memory’s @id or title.

JSON-LD schema:

"relationships": [
  {
    "@type": "Relationship",
    "relationshipType": "DerivedFrom",
    "target": {"@id": "urn:mif:memory:source-memory"},
    "strength": 0.9,
    "metadata": {
      "reason": "Extracted key insight",
      "extractedAt": "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z"
    }
  }
]

Relationship Properties

Property	Type	Required	Description
@type	String	Yes	Always "Relationship"
relationshipType	URI/Vocab	Yes	Type identifier (core or custom)
target	URI Reference	Yes	Target memory or entity URI
strength	Decimal	No	Relationship strength (0.0-1.0)
metadata	Object	No	Additional relationship metadata