accessPhase 2

Resource-Managed Access (2-party)

The resource manages authorization entirely itself — no PS or AS involved. It verifies the agent's signed request, applies its own policy (allowlist, pre-registered key, or internal rule), and issues a session token in the AAuth-Access header for subsequent calls. The session token is opaque to the agent — the resource wraps its own authorization state, which MAY be an existing OAuth access token — and it is the one AAuth credential a resource issues for its own consumption. A resource declares this mode as access_mode=session-token in its metadata.

§ Resource-Managed Access (Two-Party)

GET https://api.example/data200

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

Resource verifies the agent token JWT and HTTP signature, then checks its internal policy.

This agent's domain is allowlisted — resource grants access immediately.

Resource issues an AAuth-Access header carrying a session token for subsequent calls.

The session token is a token68 string minted by the resource — not a JWT, no PS or AS. It names the continuing relationship the resource has established with this agent for this person.

1 / 2

speed

Step 1: Signed GET /data → resource checks policy → 200 + session token

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=:Hh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4eHh4…

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…