Advanced · Systems

Agent Authorization Protocol (AAP)

Visual diagram · (in preparation) · Math · (in preparation) · Worked example · 3 difficulty levels.

TL;DR. A protocol that determines which actions an authenticated agent is permitted to perform, on whose behalf, and within what limits.

Technical Definition

A protocol that determines which actions an authenticated agent is permitted to perform, on whose behalf, and within what limits.

How it works

An Agent Authorization Protocol governs the step after authentication: given a verified agent identity and a requested action, may it proceed? Agent-specific designs extend OAuth-style flows with delegation chains (the human principal behind the agent), scoped and attenuable capabilities, short lifetimes, and per-action constraints such as spend caps or read-only scopes. Because agents act autonomously and at machine speed, AAP implementations emphasise least privilege, just-in-time grants, and cryptographic evidence that an action was authorized.

Related Concepts

• Agent Identity Protocol (AIP) — A protocol for establishing and proving an AI agent's identity to other agents, services, and users.
• Agent Authorization — Deciding and enforcing what an authenticated agent is allowed to do, at what scale, and under which conditions.
• Delegated Authority — The specific, bounded permission a principal transfers to an agent so it can act on their behalf.
• Capability-Based Agent Authorization — Authorizing agents by handing them unforgeable, narrowly scoped capability tokens rather than checking roles at call time.