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APIS v2.1 Documentation

Passport Alliance™ defines APIS v2.1, the open Agent Passport Issuance Standard for trustworthy AI agent identity, delegation, and registry-ready profiles.

Why Passport Alliance™

Autonomous software agents can already call APIs, move money, and operate infrastructure. APIS v2.1 establishes a common trust language for this reality:

  • Who the agent is
  • What profile or class it was issued under
  • Who authorized it
  • What the authorization scope is
  • How trust can be revoked immediately

Three Pillars

  • Identity: Realm-scoped Agent Passport™ credentials (did:passport:[realm]:[uuid]) cryptographically bound to agent keys.
  • Authorization: Principals grant scoped, time-bound mandates to delegates instead of broad standing access.
  • Accountability: Issuer, principal, and delegate signatures provide verifiable chain-of-custody for agent actions.
  • Trust Anchors: Machine Passports and trust tiers identify whether the agent key is anchored in physical TPM 2.0, attestable vTPM, confidential-compute evidence, DNSSEC or HTTPS namespace proof, software HSM, or development software keys.

What You Can Do Here

Publication Surfaces

  • APIS v2.1: The canonical publication chain is anchored by DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21042004.
  • Agent Passport Profiles: Public profile definitions describe the issuance class for agents before or alongside minting.
  • Agent Registry: This site publishes static registry entries and proof records today, with room for a future dynamic registry service.
  • Herman Reference Proof: See the first verified APIS v2.1 minted passport reference proof at Herman Reference Proof.
  • Faraday Operator Profile: See the pending operator profile at Faraday Operator Profile.

Core Vocabulary

  • Principal: Issuing or owning legal or organizational identity accountable for the agent and its authorizations.
  • Delegate: Scoped authority granted by a principal to a software actor.
  • Agent Passport Profile: Issuance recipe or credential class definition.
  • Agent Passport™: Minted credential instance bound to a concrete agent key.
  • Registry Entry: Public verification record that can point to a profile, proof artifact, or minted passport reference.
  • Proof Artifact: Evidence package, DOI record, signed artifact, or reference proof used to support verification.

Project Status

  • APIS v2.1 specification: Canonical publication, published June 29, 2026
  • Status: Version 2.1 — Canonical — Supersedes APIS v2.0
  • Governance model: Passport Alliance governance, Realm Issuers, and root trust anchor model documented
  • Conformance tests: Initial baseline published in this repository
  • Registry model: Signed, mirrorable issuer registry design defined
  • Profile model: Agent Passport Profile documented as the issuance recipe for future registry use
  • Reference proof: Herman, the Hermes Agent, is recorded as the first verified minted Agent Passport reference proof for APIS v2.1
  • DOI record: 10.5281/zenodo.21042004
  • Concept DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18820876
  • Public website: passportalliance.org

For source materials, see the repository directories SPEC/, GOVERNANCE/, and TESTS/.

Stewardship and Contact

Passport Alliance™ was created by Cory Gibson, Founder, CEO, and CTO of AetherPro Technologies.

Initial APIS and Passport™ work began with the Passport reference implementation and Legal-Based Access Control (LBAC) framework. APIS v2.1 is now presented as a standards-oriented trust framework for broader issuer, developer, verifier, and governance participation.

Trademark Notice

Passport™, Agent Passport™, and Passport Alliance™ are trademarks of AetherPro Technologies LLC.