This article introduces AI Registry for Agents (ARA), an open specification standardizing how AI agent artifacts are packaged, shared, and discovered across tools and platforms.

• ARA defines a common format (ara.json) for AI development artifacts like agent configurations and MCP servers
• Specification includes a RESTful registry API for consistent package discovery, publishing, and installation
• Supports six package types: Kiro Custom Agents, MCP Servers, Context, Skills, Kiro Powers, and Agent.md
• Built on four core tenets: community-driven discovery, platform agnostic, convention over configuration, transparent governance
• Includes lock files for reproducible installations and security features like SHA-256 hashing and authentication
• Reference implementations provided in Python and Rust for easy adoption
• Specification available on GitHub with complete documentation and JSON Schema validation

ARA solves the AI development ecosystem's distribution problem by enabling teams to publish packages once and use them across all compliant tools, eliminating manual adaptation and artifact recreation.