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Agent Identity & Discovery (AID)

DNS for Agents: Type a domain. Connect to its agent. Instantly.

Build Status Demo AID Workbench AID Version npm version PyPI version License: MIT GitHub Discussions

AID is a minimal, open standard that answers one question: "Given a domain name, where is its AI agent?"

It uses a single DNS TXT record to make any agent service—whether it speaks MCP, A2A, or another protocol—instantly discoverable. No more digging through API docs, no more manual configuration.

Built by the team at agentcommunity.org

v1.1 Highlights

  • DNS-first discovery with optional protocol-specific subdomains (_agent._<proto>.<domain>)
  • Well-known fallback (HTTPS-only, JSON, ≤64KB, ~2s timeout, no redirects; TTL=300 on success)
  • PKA endpoint proof with Ed25519 HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9421) and ±300s time windows
  • Key aliases for byte efficiency (single-letter keys: v,p,u,s,a,d,e,k,i)
  • Metadata fields (docs for documentation URLs, dep for deprecation timestamps)
  • New protocols (gRPC, GraphQL, WebSocket, Zeroconf)
  • Multi-language parity (TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, .NET, Java)
  • Enhanced CLI with draft saving, standardized error messages, and comprehensive test coverage

AID website

How It Works

AID establishes a well-known location for agent discovery. The process is simple, secure, and built on the backbone of the internet.

graph TD
    A[User provides domain] --> B[Query _agent.domain TXT record]
    B --> C{Record found?}
    C -->|No| D[Discovery fails]
    C -->|Yes| E[Parse record]
    E --> F{Valid format?}
    F -->|No| G[Invalid record error]
    F -->|Yes| H[Extract uri, proto, auth]
    H --> I[Connect to agent]
    I --> J[Use MCP/A2A/OpenAPI protocol]
Loading

Notes:

  • Canonical location is _agent.<domain>. When a specific protocol is requested, clients may query _agent._<proto>.<domain> then _agent.<proto>.<domain> before the base record.
  • .well-known JSON fallback is allowed only on DNS failure (HTTPS-only, JSON content-type, ≤64KB, ~2s timeout, no redirects). On success, TTL=300.
  • If pka/kid are present, clients perform an Ed25519 HTTP Message Signatures handshake with exact covered fields and ±300s windows.

Guiding Principles

  • Decentralized & Open: No central registry, no vendor lock-in. If you control a domain, you can publish an AID record.
  • Contract-First: A language-agnostic YAML file is the single source of truth for all protocol constants, ensuring cross-language consistency.
  • Protocol-Agnostic: Discover agents speaking MCP, A2A, OpenAPI, or even local protocols running in Docker.
  • Idiomatic Libraries: Core libraries are hand-written in each language for the best developer experience, with constants generated automatically.

Getting Started

Key Resources

Resource Link Description
Interactive Workbench aid.agentcommunity.org The best way to see the protocol in action with a live resolver and generator.
Official Documentation docs.agentcommunity.org/aid Read the full specification, guides, and API reference.
Command-Line Tool npm install -g @agentcommunity/aid-doctor The quickest way to check, validate, generate, and save AID records. Built on @agentcommunity/aid-engine with draft saving, PKA key generation, and comprehensive diagnostics.
Examples Guide EXAMPLES.md Complete guide to the examples system: how examples are defined, generated, and used across DNS, UI, and testing.

GitHub Repository: github.com/agentcommunity/agent-interface-discovery - Source code, issues, and community discussions.

Using the Libraries

Build AID-aware clients in your favorite language.

TypeScript (Node.js & Browser)
pnpm add @agentcommunity/aid

Node.js (uses native DNS):

import { discover, AidError } from '@agentcommunity/aid';

const { record, ttl } = await discover('supabase.agentcommunity.org');
console.log(`Found ${record.proto} agent at ${record.uri} (TTL: ${ttl}s)`);
//=> Found mcp agent at https://api.supabase.com/mcp (TTL: 60s)

Browser (uses DNS-over-HTTPS):

import { discover } from '@agentcommunity/aid/browser';

const { record } = await discover('supabase.agentcommunity.org');
console.log(`Found ${record.proto} agent at ${record.uri}`);

Advanced Usage: For building custom tools, use @agentcommunity/aid-engine - a pure, stateless library containing all AID business logic without CLI dependencies.

Python
pip install aid-discovery
from aid_py import discover, AidError

try:
    result = discover("supabase.agentcommunity.org")
    print(f"Found {result.record.proto} agent at {result.record.uri}")
    #=> Found mcp agent at https://api.supabase.com/mcp
except AidError as e:
    print(f"AID Error ({e.code}): {e}")

# NOTE: The Python package is currently published at https://pypi.org/project/aid-discovery/ and is not yet community-owned. Community transfer is planned for a future release.
Go
go get -u github.com/agentcommunity/agent-interface-discovery/aid-go
import (
	"fmt"
	"log"
	"github.com/agentcommunity/agent-interface-discovery/aid-go"
)

func main() {
	result, err := aid.Discover("supabase.agentcommunity.org")
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatalf("AID Error: %v", err)
	}
	fmt.Printf("Found %s agent at %s (TTL: %d)\n", result.Record.Proto, result.Record.URI, result.TTL)
    //=> Found mcp agent at https://api.supabase.com/mcp (TTL: 60)
}

Monorepo Overview

This repository uses a PNPM/Turborepo monorepo structure. It contains the full suite of libraries, tools, and documentation for the AID standard.

Packages

Package Status Description
@agentcommunity/aid Public Core TypeScript library for Node.js and Browsers
@agentcommunity/aid-engine Public Pure business logic library (discovery, validation, PKA)
@agentcommunity/aid-doctor Public Official CLI for checking, validating, and generating AID records (wraps aid-engine)
@agentcommunity/aid-conformance Public Conformance suite exporting fixtures and a CLI runner
aid-discovery (Python) Public Official Python library
aid-go Public Official Go library
aid-rs (Rust) Public Parser + discovery (handshake behind feature flag)
aid-dotnet (.NET) Public Parser + discovery + PKA + well-known
aid-java (Java) Public Parser + discovery + PKA + well-known
@agentcommunity/aid-web Private The Next.js app for the website and workbench
@agentcommunity/e2e-tests Private E2E tests validating our live showcase domains
(test runners) Private Internal packages for orchestrating Python and Go tests via Turbo

Project Structure

agent-interface-discovery/
├── protocol/                  # Protocol constants (YAML source of truth)
├── scripts/                   # Code generation and utility scripts
├── packages/
│   ├── aid/                   # Core TypeScript library (Node.js + Browser)
│   ├── aid-engine/            # Pure business logic library (stateless)
│   ├── aid-doctor/            # CLI tool (wraps aid-engine with side effects)
│   ├── aid-py/                # Python library
│   ├── aid-go/                # Go library
│   ├── aid-rs/                # Rust library (parser + discovery; handshake feature)
│   ├── aid-dotnet/            # .NET library (parser + discovery + PKA)
│   ├── aid-java/              # Java library (parser + discovery + PKA)
│   ├── web/                   # Next.js web workbench
│   ├── e2e-tests/             # End-to-end tests
│   └── (test-runners)/        # Internal test runners for Go/Python
├── tracking/                  # Development progress tracking (PHASE_*.md)
├── .github/ARCHITECTURE.md    # Comprehensive architecture documentation
├── tsconfig.base.json         # Shared TypeScript configuration
├── tsup.config.base.ts        # Shared build configuration
└── ...                        # Other configuration files

Architecture

This project follows a production-grade monorepo architecture designed for long-term maintainability and developer productivity. Our ARCHITECTURE.md provides comprehensive documentation covering:

  • Build System Decisions: Why we chose Turbo + tsup over alternatives, with performance benchmarks
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility: How we ensure consistent behavior across Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Package Organization: Clear separation of concerns between published libraries and internal tools
  • Developer Experience: Standardized commands and hot reloading for rapid iteration

Why This Matters: Understanding our architectural decisions enables contributors to extend the project effectively and ensures consistent development practices as the team scales. Every choice prioritizes long-term project health over short-term convenience.

CLI Architecture

The AID CLI follows a clean architecture pattern with clear separation of concerns:

  • @agentcommunity/aid-engine: Pure, stateless library containing all business logic (discovery, validation, PKA handshakes)
  • @agentcommunity/aid-doctor: Thin CLI wrapper that handles user interaction, filesystem operations, and orchestrates the engine

Why This Separation:

  • Testability: Pure functions in aid-engine are easily unit testable
  • Reusability: Engine can be consumed by other tools without CLI dependencies
  • Maintainability: Side effects are isolated in aid-doctor, business logic stays pure
  • Performance: Engine can be used in server environments without CLI overhead

Constants generation

  • Single command: pnpm gen reads protocol/constants.yml and writes language constants.
  • Currently supported: TypeScript, Python, Go, and optional Rust/.NET/Java (generated only if their package paths exist).

Development

Prerequisites: Node.js (v18.17+), PNPM (v8+)

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/agentcommunity/agent-interface-discovery.git
cd agent-interface-discovery

# 2. Install dependencies
pnpm install

Core Monorepo Scripts

Thanks to Turborepo's intelligent caching, commands only rebuild what changed.

Command Description
pnpm dev Start all packages in development/watch mode.
pnpm dev:core Start only core libraries (aid + aid-doctor) for focused work.
pnpm dev:web Start web interface and its dependencies.
pnpm build Build all packages for production (with intelligent caching).
pnpm test Run the entire test suite across all languages (TS, Python, Go).
pnpm lint Lint and format all code.
pnpm e2e Run end-to-end tests against the live showcase records.
pnpm gen Regenerate constant files from the YAML contract.
pnpm clean Remove all build artifacts (dist, .turbo, etc.).

The Contract-First Workflow

The single source of truth for all protocol constants is protocol/constants.yml. To update them across all language packages, follow this process:

  1. Edit the YAML file: Make your changes in protocol/constants.yml.
  2. Run the generator: This command reads the YAML and updates the corresponding files in the TS, Go, and Python packages.
    pnpm gen
  3. Verify and commit: Run the full test suite and build to ensure everything works.
    pnpm clean && pnpm build && pnpm test
    Commit the changes to protocol/constants.yml along with all the newly generated files. The CI pipeline will fail if they are not in sync.

v1.1 Release Status: ✅ READY

Implementation Complete - All v1.1 features implemented across 6+ languages with comprehensive testing. CLI enhanced with advanced features.

Ready for Release:

  • ✅ All tests passing (70+ TypeScript tests + Python/Go parity tests)
  • ✅ All builds successful (7/7 packages)
  • ✅ Changesets prepared for version bumps
  • ✅ Release workflow configured (npm + PyPI automation)
  • ✅ Multi-language SDKs ready (TS, Python, Go, Rust, .NET, Java)
  • ✅ Enhanced CLI with draft saving, standardized errors, and full test coverage

Next Step: Merge to main with chore(release) commit message to trigger automated release.

Development Environment

  • Node.js: Version 18.17+ required (enforced via engines field and .nvmrc)
  • PNPM: Version 8+ required for workspace support
  • Cross-Platform: All scripts work identically on Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Hot Reloading: All packages support watch mode for rapid development
  • Intelligent Caching: Turbo only rebuilds packages that actually changed, dramatically speeding up development cycles

Build Performance

Thanks to our production-grade setup:

  • First build: ~15 seconds for all packages
  • Incremental builds: ~1-3 seconds for most changes
  • Test runs: Only affected packages run tests
  • Cross-platform: Identical behavior on all operating systems

Community & Support

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Built by the team at agentcommunity.org

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