craftmarks.org
Craft Marks — show how AI was used in your work
Show how it was made.
In 1300, silversmiths punched small marks into their metal at the assay office. Who made it, where it was tested, what standard it met. Seven hundred years later we still read those marks. A hallmark was never an apology. It was how a craftsman stood behind his work. Craft Marks does the same job for work made with AI.
Marks, not warnings
A yes or no label tells a reader nothing. It puts a novelist who spent a year arguing with a model in the same box as someone who typed one prompt. A mark says what actually happened, in a shape you can read in three seconds. Nobody is being warned. Somebody is standing behind the work.
The five modes
How AI was used.
Use as many as apply. They always appear in this order.
- SP
Sparring
AI as thought partner. Brainstorming, pressure-testing, devil's advocate. The thinking is yours; AI sharpened it.
You argued an essay thesis against the model until it held.
- RS
Research
AI gathered, synthesized, or analyzed source material. You directed the questions and verified the findings.
You asked for the case law, then read the cases yourself.
- GN
Generating
AI produced the first substantive version, text, image, music, or code, from your direction and materials.
The model wrote the first draft; you took it from there.
- RF
Refining
You created the work; AI edited, critiqued, restructured, or polished it.
You wrote the chapter; the model cut four hundred words.
- EX
Execution
AI realized or rendered what you had fully specified: formatting, voice synthesis, translation, agentic and mechanical production work.
You wrote the song; a synthetic voice sang it.
The authority stamp
Who held the judgment.
Pick exactly one.
Human-led
The maker held creative authority throughout. Authority is measured in judgment, not keystrokes.
Co-created
Creative decisions were genuinely shared; AI shaped direction, not just surface.
AI-generated, human-reviewed
AI made the work; a human reviewed it and stands behind publishing it.
The origination test
The line between Generating and Refining is one question: who produced the first substantive version? If AI did, it is GN, no matter how much you reworked it. If you did, it is RF.
Reading a mark
Four worked examples.
A student essay
She argued the thesis with the model, had it pull sources she then checked, and let it tighten the final draft. Every sentence is hers.
The maker held creative authority throughout. AI served as a thought partner, gathered and synthesized research, and refined the maker's own work.
A song with a synthetic vocal
He wrote the words and the melody. The machine sang them.
The maker held creative authority throughout. AI executed work the maker had fully specified.
A vibe-coded app
She specified the product and made every call about how it behaves. The model wrote the first code and shipped the build steps.
The maker held creative authority throughout. AI produced the first substantive version and executed work the maker had fully specified.
A fully generated image
The model made it from a prompt. A person looked at it and chose to publish it.
AI made the work and a human reviewed it before publishing. AI produced the first substantive version.
Compose your mark
Make one for your work.
Pick the authority stamp, then punch in every mode you used. The sentence and the code write themselves.
The maker held creative authority throughout. AI served as a thought partner, gathered and synthesized research, and refined the maker's own work.
https://craftmarks.org/m/H+SP+RS+RF
Use it
Take the system with you.
Claude skill
Drop it into Claude and ask it to mark the work you made together.
Download zipUniversal prompt
One markdown file. Paste it into any model and it will assign the mark.
Download .mdEmbed snippet
A small linked stamp for a footer or a colophon. Copy it from the composer.
Go to composer