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HCS-14 Profiles and .agent's AID Resolution

· 2 min read
Author: Michael KantorMichael Kantor
Michael Kantor
President, Hashgraph Online DAO
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The Agent Community and the AID StandardDirect link to 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).

IntroductionDirect link to 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 IntroducedDirect link to 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 DiscoveryDirect link to 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-14Direct link to 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-14Direct link to 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

ConclusionDirect link to 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.