What is TREF?

Introduction to TREF - the Traceable Reference Format for knowledge exchange.

What is TREF?

TREF (Traceable Reference Format) is a JSON-based format designed for knowledge exchange between humans and AI systems.

The Problem

When you share information with an AI, it often loses track of where that information came from. Citations get garbled, sources disappear, and knowledge becomes untraceable.

The Solution

TREF blocks contain:

  1. Content - The actual text/knowledge
  2. References - Where it came from
  3. ID - A content-addressable hash for verification

How It Works

Every TREF block has a unique ID generated from its content:

{
  "v": 1,
  "id": "sha256:abc123...",
  "content": "The actual content here",
  "meta": {
    "created": "2026-01-06T12:00:00Z",
    "license": "AIBlocks-1.0"
  },
  "refs": [
    {"type": "url", "url": "https://source.com/article"}
  ]
}

Using TREF

On this site (and on TwistedBrain), every article has a TREF block at the bottom. You can:

  • Drag the icon directly into an AI chat
  • Copy the JSON for manual pasting
  • Download as a .tref file

The AI receives not just the content, but also the full reference chain back to the source.

Learn More

Visit tref.lpmwfx.com for the full specification and tools.