generated: '2026-08-07'
method: probed
source: 'https://blackbuffalo.com/api/2026-04/graphql.json (query publicApiVersions)'
description: >-
  Black Buffalo itself publishes no API versioning, deprecation or SLA policy, and runs
  no status page. The versioning contract that actually governs the surfaces served from
  blackbuffalo.com is Shopify's, and it is machine-readable: the publicApiVersions query
  on Black Buffalo's own endpoint returns the live support matrix, captured verbatim
  below on 2026-08-07.
versioning:
  scheme: calendar-quarter path segment
  pattern: https://blackbuffalo.com/api/{YYYY-MM}/graphql.json
  current: '2026-07'
  probed_at: '2026-08-07'
  probe: '{publicApiVersions{handle displayName supported}}'
  versions:
  - handle: '2025-10'
    display_name: '2025-10'
    supported: true
  - handle: '2026-01'
    display_name: '2026-01'
    supported: true
  - handle: '2026-04'
    display_name: '2026-04'
    supported: true
  - handle: '2026-07'
    display_name: '2026-07 (Latest)'
    supported: true
  - handle: '2026-10'
    display_name: '2026-10 (Release candidate)'
    supported: false
  - handle: unstable
    display_name: unstable
    supported: false
  policy_docs: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/versioning
  platform_inherited: true
ucp_versioning:
  scheme: dated protocol versions
  supported: ['2026-04-08', '2026-01-23']
  latest_stable: '2026-04-08'
  source: https://blackbuffalo.com/.well-known/ucp
  discovery: >-
    Both versions are individually addressable at
    https://black-buffalo.myshopify.com/.well-known/ucp/{version}, and
    https://blackbuffalo.com/.well-known/ucp/2026-04-08 also resolves (200).
  note: >-
    This is the one place Black Buffalo's own host advertises a version negotiation
    contract for agents, and /agents.md restates it under "Supported UCP versions".
mcp_versioning:
  protocol_version: '2025-06-18'
  server: {name: universal-commerce, version: 0.1.0}
  source: 'POST initialize to https://blackbuffalo.com/api/ucp/mcp, 2026-08-07'
  note: >-
    Server version 0.1.0 — the commerce MCP surface is early. All three capability blocks
    (tools, prompts, resources) advertise listChanged: true, so an agent should expect the
    tool set to move.
deprecation:
  policy_url: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/versioning
  platform_inherited: true
  sunset_header: false
  mechanism: >-
    Quarterly version release with a supported/unsupported flag exposed through
    publicApiVersions, plus @deprecated directives on individual schema fields.
  deprecated_fields_in_current_schema: 51
  provider_published_policy: false
  note: >-
    Recorded for accuracy, NOT wired as a Deprecation pointer — the policy is Shopify's
    platform policy, not something Black Buffalo publishes or commits to.
status_page:
  present: false
  probed:
  - {url: 'https://status.blackbuffalo.com', result: 'DNS does not resolve'}
  note: >-
    No status page found on any Black Buffalo host. Deliberately NOT wired as a
    StatusPage pointer.
sla:
  published: false
support:
  channel: https://blackbuffalo.com/pages/contact
  note: A consumer contact form. There is no developer support channel of any kind.
changelog:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No dated changelog for any surface. changelog/black-buffalo-changelog.yml is
    deliberately not emitted.
documentation_defects:
  description: >-
    Real, currently-broken links in the provider's own agent-facing documents, verified
    2026-08-07. Recorded because they are the difference between an agent contract that
    resolves and one that does not.
  items:
  - source: /agents.md
    claim: '"Full product and brand context: https://blackbuffalo.com/.well-known/llms.txt"'
    observed_status: 404
    reality: The document is served at the root path /llms.txt.
  - source: /llms.txt
    claim: '"Extended product and brand context: https://blackbuffalo.com/.well-known/llms-full.txt"'
    observed_status: 404
  - source: /agents.md and /llms.txt
    claim: >-
      Both name https://blackbuffalo.com/a/locator/sitemap.xml as the authoritative
      source for store-locator discovery, and /agents.md gives a numbered procedure whose
      first step is to fetch it.
    observed_status: 404
    reality: >-
      The /a/locator/ index itself returns 200, but the sitemap an agent is instructed to
      start from does not exist, so the published discovery procedure dead-ends at step 1.
corporate:
  acquired_by: ITG Brands (Imperial Brands plc)
  announced: '2026-05-27'
  consideration: USD 150 million upfront plus performance-based payments over three years
  source: https://www.itgbrands.com/2026/05/27/itg-brands-expands-us-oral-portfolio-through-acquisition-of-black-buffalo/
  note: >-
    Relevant to lifecycle because the storefront and its agent surfaces now sit inside a
    multinational tobacco group; the /agents.md content-restriction rules read as
    regulated-industry marketing governance.