Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures (WebBotAuth) vs JAFAR: A JSON-Based Format for Publishing IP Ranges of Automated HTTP Clients
The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.
| Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures WebBotAuth | JAFAR: A JSON-Based Format for Publishing IP Ranges of Automated HTTP Clients JAFAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle step | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? |
| Answers | Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically? | How can a crawler or bot operator publish the IP ranges its automated clients use, in one machine-readable format that sites can check traffic against? |
| Governed by | IETF webbotauth Working Group (chartered; document adopted as a WG item 2026-09-01) | Individual Internet-Draft, not adopted by a working group; despite 'webbotauth' in its name, discussion takes place on the AI Preferences (aipref) WG list ai-control@ietf.org; source at github.com/garyillyes/jafar |
| Status (issuer's words) | Active Internet-Draft, WG Document, Intended Status: Standards Track; expires 5 March 2027 | Active Internet-Draft (draft-illyes-webbotauth-jafar-01), Intended Status: Informational; expires 2027-04-25 |
| Version | draft-ietf-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol-00, adopted by the webbotauth WG, 2026-09-01 (replaces the individual draft-meunier-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol, last revision -02 of 2026-08-18) (2026-09-01) | draft-illyes-webbotauth-jafar-01 (2026-10-22) |
| Form / transport | HTTP header | document format |
| Found at | /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory | None defined: the draft specifies only the JSON file's syntax and semantics (media type application/jafar+json), not where it is published or how it is retrieved |
| Implementation | multi-implementation — Cloudflare (edge verification, verified-bots program) and independent client/server implementations listed in the draft's own appendix | none found |
| Evidence | 6 verified | 3 verified |
| Primary use case | Prove an agent's identity | Attribute and measure agent traffic |
| Last verified | 2026-10-23 (current) | 2026-10-23 (current) |
| Specification | https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol/ | https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-illyes-webbotauth-jafar-01 |
When to use which
- Choose Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures when your question is “Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically?” and you accept its maturity: status "Active Internet-Draft, WG Document, Intended Status: Standards Track; expires 5 March 2027", implementation multi-implementation (Cloudflare (edge verification, verified-bots program) and independent client/server implementations listed in the draft's own appendix).
- Choose JAFAR: A JSON-Based Format for Publishing IP Ranges of Automated HTTP Clients when your question is “How can a crawler or bot operator publish the IP ranges its automated clients use, in one machine-readable format that sites can check traffic against?” and you accept its maturity: status "Active Internet-Draft (draft-illyes-webbotauth-jafar-01), Intended Status: Informational; expires 2027-04-25", implementation none found.
Read the full articles
- Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures: Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically?
- JAFAR: A JSON-Based Format for Publishing IP Ranges of Automated HTTP Clients: How can a crawler or bot operator publish the IP ranges its automated clients use, in one machine-readable format that sites can check traffic against?