Originally published at HOL
Toward a Modular Framework for Agent Identity and Discovery
The Agent Community and the AID Standard
The Agent Community is an open standards initiative focused on defining shared infrastructure for agent identity, discovery, and interoperability.
At the center of its work is the Agent Identity & Discovery (AID) standard, a simple, open mechanism that uses DNS to enable agents to be discovered and optionally verified.
This work intersects with the Hashgraph Online standards stack, where HCS-14 defines the Universal Agent ID (UAID).
Introduction
HCS-14 defines a Universal Agent ID (UAID): a deterministic, protocol-neutral identifier intended to represent agents across heterogeneous systems.
The latest update introduces Profiles and the AID Resolution Profile for Web and DNS.
From Identity to Resolution: Why Profiles Were Introduced
Profiles are integration-specific mechanisms that define how discovery and verification are performed.
- Profiles are optional.
- Implementations may support zero or more profiles.
- Claiming support for a profile requires implementing its normative requirements.
The AID Resolution Profile: Web and DNS Discovery
The AID Resolution Profile defines how deterministic UAIDs can be resolved to agent endpoints using DNS TXT records and web-based discovery.
Resolvers query a DNS TXT record at:
_agent.<nativeId>
The TXT record may include:
- Version identifier
- Protocol identifier
- Endpoint URI
- Optional cryptographic keys
Architectural Evolution in HCS-14
The specification now includes a Profiles section, a Profile Registry, and a core resolver contract defining expected inputs and outputs.
Developer Deep Dive: Resolution Mechanics in HCS-14
HCS-14 defines a canonical resolver function:
resolveUAID(uaid: string, options?: ResolveOptions): Promise<ResolutionResult>
The ResolutionResult object may contain:
-
uaid -
document -
services -
verification -
profile -
errors
Conclusion
This update formalizes a modular philosophy for agent identity and discovery. By introducing profiles and the AID Resolution mechanism, HCS-14 enables agents to be discoverable across diverse systems while maintaining a clean separation between identity and resolution strategies.
