Advanced · Systems

Agent Credential Exchange

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

TL;DR. The handshake in which agents present, verify, and accept each other's credentials before doing business.

Technical Definition

The handshake in which agents present, verify, and accept each other's credentials before doing business.

How it works

Credential exchange is the agent equivalent of a TLS handshake plus a background check. Each side presents an identity credential and any capability or compliance attestations, proves possession of the corresponding keys, checks issuer trust and revocation status, and then agrees the scope of the interaction. Because agents meet dynamically and at scale, exchange must be automatable, cacheable, and cheap — typically signed credentials verified offline against a known issuer set rather than a synchronous call to a central authority.

Related Concepts

• Agent Passport System (APS) — A scheme that issues verifiable, portable identity documents to AI agents so other systems can recognise and trust them across domains.
• Agent Identity Protocol (AIP) — A protocol for establishing and proving an AI agent's identity to other agents, services, and users.
• Agent Credential Delegation — Passing a scoped, verifiable credential from a principal to an agent — or from agent to sub-agent — so it can act on their behalf.
• Agent Revocation — Withdrawing an agent's identity, credentials, or capabilities so it can no longer act — immediately and verifiably.