access

Agent Identity Access

The agent signs requests with its agent token. The resource verifies the HTTP signature and the token, and applies its own access control policy on who the agent is. This replaces API keys with cryptographic identity: no authorization flow, no PS, no AS, and no token beyond the agent token. A resource that wants an AAuth agent token in particular says so with requirement=agent-token.

§ Agent Identity Access

GET https://api.example/data200

Agent presents its agent token in the Signature-Key header using sig=jwt.

Resource resolves the token: fetches agent.example/.well-known/aauth-agent.json, verifies JWT signature, extracts cnf.jwk.

Resource confirms the HTTP signature was made with the key in cnf.jwk.

Resource checks its internal policy — this agent identifier is in the allowed list.

Access granted. No PS, no AS, no token exchange — pure cryptographic identity.

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speed

Step 1: Signed GET /data (sig=jwt) → resource verifies agent token → 200

Request / response

GEThttps://api.example/data

Host

api.example

Signature-KeyAAuth?

sig=jwt;jwt="eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImtpZCI6ImFnZW50LWtleS0xIiwidHlwIjoiYWEtYWdlbnQ…

Signature-InputAAuth?

sig=("@method" "@authority" "@path" "signature-key");created=1700000000;alg="ed2…

SignatureAAuth?

sig=:BQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQUFBQU…

HTTP Signaturescheme=jwt

Covered Components

@method

@authority

@path

signature-key

Signature Base

"@method": GET

"@authority": api.example

"@path": /data

"signature-key": sig=jwt;jwt="eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImtpZCI6ImFnZW50LWtleS0xIiwidHlwIjoiYWEtYWdlbnQrand0In0…"

"@signature-params": ("@method" "@authority" "@path" "signature-key");created=1700000000;alg="ed25519"

Signature-Key Header

sig=jwt;jwt="eyJhbGciOiJFZERTQSIsImtpZCI6ImFnZW50LWtleS0xIiwidHlwIjoiYWEtYWdlbnQrand0In0…"

Signature-Input Header

sig=("@method" "@authority" "@path" "signature-key");created=1700000000;alg="ed25519"

Agent Tokenaa-agent+jwt

Header

{"alg":"EdDSA",
"kid":"agent-key-1",
"typ"?Token type identifier. aa-agent+jwt = Agent Token, aa-person+jwt = Person Token, aa-resource+jwt = Resource Token, aa-auth+jwt = Auth Token:"aa-agent+jwt"
}

Payload

{"iss"?Issuer — who created and signed this token:"https://agent.example",
"dwk"?Discovery Well-Known — the metadata document name for key discovery (e.g. aauth-agent.json, aauth-person.json):"aauth-agent.json",
"sub"?Subject. In an agent token, the agent identifier. In a person, resource or auth token, the person's directed identifier — opaque, unique within the issuer. Identity is the pair (iss, sub); a sub from one issuer MUST NOT be matched against a record established under another.:"aauth:local@agent.example",
"jti"?JWT ID — unique identifier for this token (replay detection, audit, revocation):"a6ae301d-1dc7-4b75-8f8b-5612197664a7",
"cnf"?Confirmation — proof-of-possession claim binding this token to a key:{"jwk"?JSON Web Key — the public key bound to this token:
},
"iat"?Issued At — Unix timestamp when the token was created:1776222894,
"exp"?Expiration — Unix timestamp after which the token is invalid:1776226494
}

sig: 8byvGd-PR3uOLeS_HYOpbW7OD_8whUuD…