4 ms·
Show HN: MEDF – Mutable Expression Description Format
Hi HN,
I’m sharing MEDF (Mutable Expression Description Format), a document format and CLI focused on one narrow problem:
making text content verifiable without freezing how it is presented or reused.
MEDF treats text blocks as immutable and verifiable (using RFC 8785 canonicalization and hashes), while explicitly allowing rendering, indexing, and layout to change over time.
It does not attempt to solve trust, identity, correctness, or authority.
It only answers: “Is this exactly the same text that was published?”
The reference CLI supports block-level hashing, optional signatures, and offline verification.
Repo: https://github.com/maskin/medf https://github.com/maskin/medf
Feedback and criticism welcome — especially on real-world use cases
- maskin 8mo agoHi HN, We’re releasing MEDF (Mutable Expression Description Format) — an open document format designed for the AI era. The core idea is simple: AI-generated documents are not the problem. Unverifiable documents are. Instead of trying to detect or ban AI-generated text, MEDF focuses on fixing the canonical meaning of a document, while allowing its expressions (PDF, Markdown, indexes, summaries) to remain mutable. What MEDF does Documents are split into semantic blocks Each block and the document as a whole are hashed and signed Offline verification is possible (no external services required) Indexes and views are explicitly non-canonical and regenerable AI usage is optional metadata — not a requirement for validity What MEDF does NOT do No AI detection No watermarking No blockchain dependency No centralized trust service We believe this approach works better for: government and administrative documents academic papers and citations long-term archives in the AI era Repository (spec + early foundation): https://github.com/maskin/medf https://github.com/maskin/medf This is not a final standard — it’s a starting point. Critical feedback is very welcome.