A single source of truth, often abbreviated SSOT, establishes where authoritative information should be read and changed. Other views may cache or present the information, but conflicts are resolved against the governed source.
Complex agent workflows need more than one unqualified file. A useful source of truth is versioned, conflict-aware and connected to provenance and approval, so new evidence can be reconciled without silently erasing earlier decisions.
ELI5
A single source of truth is the agreed authoritative place for a particular kind of information. Other systems may copy or display the data, but conflicts are resolved by checking the governed source.
For example, a versioned skill repository can be the source of truth for approved team procedures. Local copies remain useful, but updates and disagreements must preserve history and follow the repository's review process instead of silently overwriting decisions.
Why do AI agents need a single source of truth?
It reduces contradictory context and gives agents a governed place to retrieve current constraints and decisions.
Does a single source of truth delete conflicting history?
It should not. A well-designed system preserves provenance and prior versions while marking which record currently governs.
