--- type: Agentic Web Standard title: "Agent Network Protocol" description: "How can decentralized agents from different platforms authenticate, discover, and message each other without a central registry?" resource: "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol" tags: ["coordinate", "well-known-file", "community", "agent-to-agent-messaging", "prove-agent-identity", "discover-my-api", "agent-naming"] status: stable generated: { by: agenticweb-builder/1.0, at: 2026-10-30T00:00:00Z } verified: { by: process:agenticweb-engine, at: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z } stale_after: 2026-11-28T00:00:00Z sources: - id: ref-1 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/README.md" title: "Gaowei Chang (chgaowei) and Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol — README.md (ANP 1.2 specification index and release notes, checked 29 October 2026).: \"ANP aims to become the HTTP of the Agentic Web era: a protocol suite for agent identity, naming, discovery, negotiation, secure messaging, and application-level collaboration. Note: This project has not issued any digital currency on any platform or blockchain. Vision and Positioning Agent Network Protocol (ANP) is an open-source communication protocol for intelligent agents. Its goal is to define how agents connect with each other and to build an open, secure, and efficient collaboration network for billions of agents.\" \"Current specification set: ANP 1.2. Core specifications and all nine messaging documents have been integrated from vNext into their canonical release paths. ANP-02 provides DID-method-independent authentication for did:wba and native did:web; ANP-03 defines WBA method rules and identity continuity; ANP-04 defines WNS naming. Agent description and discovery documents are aligned with this release.\" \"Versioning note: Version: 1.2 identifies the specification/document release version, not a wire version. Profile identifiers, protocolVersion, interface versions, algorithms, and signature/AAD formats follow their owning specifications and are not globally renumbered.\" \"P6 Group E2EE is included in the 1.2 documentation but remains a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; the provisional 0xF0A1 value is not a completed registration. Application protocols are independently versioned; ANP-10 is an AP2 adaptation draft, not a released stable payment standard.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-2 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol repository metadata (created 23 October 2024, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-3 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/releases" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol releases (V1.0 published 19 May 2025; v1.1 published 27 June 2026; v1.2 published 24 September 2026).: \"\"tag_name\": \"v1.2\", \"target_commitish\": \"26ff75c634fa032fcc42291b10188174d9d4b4b0\", \"name\": \"ANP 1.2 Release\", \"draft\": false, \"immutable\": false, \"prerelease\": false, \"created_at\": \"2026-09-24T04:43:37Z\", \"updated_at\": \"2026-09-24T04:45:30Z\", \"published_at\": \"2026-09-24T04:45:30Z\"\" \"\"tag_name\": \"v1.1\", \"target_commitish\": \"main\", \"name\": \"ANP 1.1 Release\", \"draft\": false, \"immutable\": false, \"prerelease\": false, \"created_at\": \"2026-06-27T09:39:11Z\", \"updated_at\": \"2026-06-27T09:54:14Z\", \"published_at\": \"2026-06-27T09:54:14Z\"\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-4 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/01-agentnetworkprotocol-technical-white-paper.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 01-agentnetworkprotocol-technical-white-paper.md (ANP-01: Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper, Informative v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This white paper describes the conceptual architecture and vision. Normative ANP 1.2 requirements are defined by each specification: ANP-02 owns common authentication and ANP-03 owns WBA method rules; native did:web uses the same authentication flow. ANP-06 remains a draft, and stable P6 release remains subject to its MLS registration gate.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-5 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/02-anp-did-authentication-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 02-anp-did-authentication-protocol-specification.md (ANP-02: ANP DID Authentication Protocol, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This specification defines DID-based cross-platform authentication, including HTTP request signatures, JSON authentication metadata carriage, server verification, challenges and errors, and optional access tokens. The authentication flow is independent of the DID method. did:wba and native did:web resolve and validate DID Documents under their respective method rules, then use the common request-authentication flow in this specification. The method governs how identity material is obtained and validated; this specification governs request signatures, digests, and authentication-key authorization.\" \"Ordinary HTTP APIs may adopt this authentication without implementing ANP Messaging, WNS, or a device Manifest. There is no normative dependency on Messaging P1–P9 or WNS.\" \"Clients MUST send authentication information using the Signature-Input and Signature header fields defined in RFC 9421. When a request includes a message body, the client MUST also send the Content-Digest header field defined in RFC 9530.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-6 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/03-did-wba-method-design-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 03-did-wba-method-design-specification.md (ANP-03: did:wba Method Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"The did:wba DID method is a web-based decentralized identifier (DID) specification designed to meet the needs of cross-platform identity authentication and agent communication. This method is extended and optimized based on did:web, named did:wba, to retain its compatibility and enhance its adaptability to agent scenarios.\" \"did:wba:example.com corresponds to https://example.com/.well-known/did.json\" \"e1_: Binds the Ed25519 public key, recommended for new deployments, and can directly integrate the W3C standard Data Integrity EdDSA proof.\" \"Subject continuity MUST be verified according to Sections 2.5.2 through 2.5.5 by validating the old DID Document's successorDid, the document-wide proof, and the new DID's binding fingerprint.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-7 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/04-anp-did-wba-name-space-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 04-anp-did-wba-name-space-specification.md (ANP-04: ANP-DID:WBA Name Space Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This specification defines WNS (WBA Name Space), a human-readable namespace based on did:wba. WNS introduces Handles (such as alice.example.com) as readable aliases for did:wba DIDs.\" \"once allocated, a Handle permanently belongs to the same subject, is non-transferable, and cannot be reused after revocation.\" \"Binding Generation A monotonically increasing generation of WNS Handle binding state used to detect DID rebinding, status changes, and rollback attacks; it is not a generation field of a did:wba DID\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-8 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/05-anp-did-authorization-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 05-anp-did-authorization-protocol-specification.md (ANP-05: ANP DID-Based Authorization Protocol, Draft v0.7, checked 29 October 2026).: \"ANP-05 defines the DID-based agent authorization workstream with two complementary mechanisms: the OAuth Profile, in which an authorization server trusted by the resource side issues access tokens, and the VC Profile, in which a user or organization that holds the authority issues a W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) that the Agent holds and presents. DID identifies principals at the ANP layer. In the OAuth path, an ordinary AS uses the URL client identifier and its own resource-owner identity; only an explicitly verified DID binding establishes the associated DID at that AS. The VC path identifies its issuer and authorized Agent by DID. The first release (v1) is a DID–OAuth client identity and basic delegated-access Profile, plus directly presented single-level VC delegation and organization-role credentials, not a complete agent delegation system. The current document is its unreleased v0.7 draft.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-9 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/06-anp-agent-communication-meta-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 06-anp-agent-communication-meta-protocol-specification.md (ANP-06: ANP Agent Communication Meta-Protocol Specification, Draft v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"A meta-protocol is a protocol for negotiating communication protocols. In an agent network, it lets a caller and a target agent select the protocol, interface, Profile, schema, content type, security profile, and execution mode that should be used for the subsequent business interaction, based on intent, capabilities, constraints, security requirements, and available interfaces.\" \"Define a standard Profile: anp.meta.negotiation.v1; Define MetaProtocolInterface as an interface type that can be declared in the interfaces array of an Agent Description document; Reuse ANP Core Binding's JSON-RPC 2.0, params.meta/body/auth, profile, security_profile, target, and error model; Reuse anp.get_capabilities as the runtime capability confirmation method; Define anp.negotiate for selecting the final execution interface based on caller intent, caller capabilities, and constraints; Support structured-interface-first negotiation, natural-language fallback, cache reuse, and future protocol artifact publication; Explicitly mark the early PT=00 message negotiation model as deprecated and outside the compatibility scope of this specification.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-10 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/07-anp-agent-description-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 07-anp-agent-description-protocol-specification.md (ANP-07: ANP Agent Description Protocol Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This specification defines the Agent Description Protocol (ADP), a standardized protocol for describing agents. It defines how an agent publishes its public information, supported interfaces, and other details. Once other agents obtain this agent's description, they can exchange information and collaborate with this agent.\" \"\"protocolType\": \"ANP\", \"protocolVersion\": \"1.0.0\",\" \"\"type\": \"AgentDescription\"\" \"ANP adopts an information interaction pattern similar to \"web crawlers,\" where agents use URLs to connect externally provided data (files, APIs, etc.) and data descriptions into a network. Other agents can, like crawlers, select and retrieve appropriate data to their local environment based on the data descriptions, and then make decisions and process locally. If it is an API file, the agent can also call the API to interact with the agent.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-11 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/08-ANP-Agent-Discovery-Protocol-Specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 08-ANP-Agent-Discovery-Protocol-Specification.md (ANP-08: ANP-Agent Discovery Protocol Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This specification defines the Agent Discovery Service Protocol (ADSP), a standardized protocol for discovering agents. Based on the JSON-LD format, it provides two discovery mechanisms: active discovery and passive discovery, aimed at enabling agents to be effectively discovered and accessed by other agents or search engines in the network.\" \"https://{domain}/.well-known/agent-descriptions This path should return a JSON-LD document containing URLs of all public agent description documents under the domain. Discovery Document Format Active discovery documents adopt the JSON-LD format, using the CollectionPage type\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-12 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/09-ANP-end-to-end-instant-messaging-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. 09-ANP-end-to-end-instant-messaging-protocol-specification.md (ANP-09: ANP End-to-End Instant Messaging Protocol Overview, Published v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"ANP adopts a Federated architecture, which is closer to Email in concept than a single central server architecture. Each Agent or group can belong to different domains, and different domains communicate through standardized service discovery, service-to-service direct invocation, and result witness mechanisms. That is to say: Identity is distributed; Service endpoints are distributed; cross-domain service invocations can occur; But each type of operation has clear boundaries of responsibility. In the direct messaging scenario, the ingress service of the domain where the target Agent is located is responsible for receiving messages; in the group scenario, the group Host Service is responsible for group status sorting and group event serialization. 2.2 Identity priority, service discovery priority The first-class identifier of the ANP is not the username or device number, but: agent_did group_did ANP discovers interactive service endpoints through DID documents, and uses this to establish subsequent message sending, key discovery, group service discovery, and object service discovery paths. In the current version, the ANP service endpoint disclosed by DID documents is unified as ANPMessageService;\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-13 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/message/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. message/README.md (ANP Messaging 1.2 Profile Index, Published v1.2 catalog, 24 September 2026).: \"The documents in this directory form the ANP Messaging 1.2 specification set and replace the previous 1.1 documentation baseline. P6 is included in full as a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; inclusion in this catalog does not declare stable P6 v2 interoperability.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-14 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/application/10-anp-agent-payment-protocol-specification.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. application/10-anp-agent-payment-protocol-specification.md (ANP-10: ANP Agent Payment Protocol Specification (AP2), Draft v1.1, checked 29 October 2026).: \"This draft describes an ANP application-layer adaptation of the Agent Payment Protocol (AP2) for payment and transaction interactions between agents. It documents proposed payment flows and credential formats; its presence does not establish stable interoperability, implementation conformance, or production readiness.\" \"Defining four core roles in payment scenarios: Shopper Agent, Merchant Agent, Credentials Provider, and Payment Processor 2. Defining three key credential types: CartMandate, PaymentMandate, and DeliveryReceipt\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-15 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/appendix-a-did-wba-k1-compatibility-extension.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. appendix-a-did-wba-k1-compatibility-extension.md (Appendix A: did:wba k1_ Compatibility Extension, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This appendix defines the k1_ path binding profile for compatibility with the wallet ecosystem and existing secp256k1 implementation. k1_ does not belong to the default scheme of the main specification. New deployments SHOULD give priority to using the e1_ profile of the main specification.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-16 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/appendix-b-compatibility-with-native-did-web.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. appendix-b-compatibility-with-native-did-web.md (Appendix B: Native did:web Integration, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: \"This appendix is the integration entry point for native Web identities in the DID-method-independent ANP contracts. It does not define another authentication or messaging protocol. A subject retains its did:web identity; conversion to WBA is unnecessary.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-17 resource: "https://agent-network-protocol.com/" title: "ANP Open Source Community. Agent Network Protocol (official documentation portal, checked 29 October 2026).: \"Agent Network Protocol Open protocol stack for the Agentic Web Decentralized identity, discovery, messaging, and payment protocols for interoperable AI agents.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-18 resource: "https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00007" title: "Gaowei Chang, Eidan Lin, Chengxuan Yuan, Rizhao Cai, Binbin Chen, Xuan Xie, and Yin Zhang. Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper (arXiv:2508.00007, submitted 18 July 2025).: \"Submitted on 18 Jul 2025] Title: Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper Authors: Gaowei Chang, Eidan Lin, Chengxuan Yuan, Rizhao Cai, Binbin Chen, Xuan Xie, Yin Zhang View a PDF of the paper titled Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper, by Gaowei Chang and 6 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: With the development of large models and autonomous decision-making AI, agents are rapidly becoming the new entities of the internet, following mobile apps. However, existing internet infrastructure is primarily designed for human interaction, creating data silos, unfriendly interfaces, and high collaboration costs among agents, making it difficult to support the needs for large-scale agent interconnection and collaboration. The internet is undergoing a profound transformation, showing four core trends: agents replacing traditional software, universal agent interconnection, native protocol-based connections, and autonomous agent organization and collaboration. To align with these trends, Agent Network Protocol (ANP) proposes a new generation of communication protocols for the Agentic Web. ANP adheres to AI-native design, maintains compatibility with existing internet protocols, adopts a modular composable architecture, follows minimalist yet extensible principles, and enables rapid deployment based on existing infrastructure. Through a three-layer protocol system--identity and encrypted communication layer, meta-protocol negotiation layer, and application protocol layer--ANP. systematically solves the problems of agent identity authentication, dynamic negotiation, and capability discovery interoperability. Comments: This white paper is a reformatted version of the open-source community edition previously released by the ANP Open Source Technology Community\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-19 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp (AgentConnect multi-language SDK repository metadata, created 4 August 2024, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/anp\", \"private\": false\" \"\"description\": \"Our vision is to provide communication capabilities for intelligent agents, allowing them to connect with each other to form a collaborative network of intelligent agents.\", \"fork\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-20 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp — README.md (AgentConnect: Multi-language SDK for ANP, checked 29 October 2026).: \"AgentConnect is the multi-language SDK and reference implementation for the Agent Network Protocol (ANP). It helps agents identify each other, publish discoverable interfaces, call each other over standard RPC, attach verifiable proofs, resolve human-readable handles, and build end-to-end encrypted communication flows. The Python package name is anp; this repository also contains Go, Rust, Dart, TypeScript, and Java SDK implementations or SDK workspaces.\" \"OpenANP is the fastest way to see ANP in action. It turns ordinary Python methods into discoverable ANP interfaces and exposes the standard agent documents and JSON-RPC endpoint.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-21 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp/releases" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp releases (release-20260912 and v0.8.8, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"tag_name\": \"release-20260912\", \"target_commitish\": \"master\", \"name\": \"Release 2026-09-12\", \"draft\": false, \"immutable\": false, \"prerelease\": false, \"created_at\": \"2026-09-11T16:55:46Z\", \"updated_at\": \"2026-09-11T17:02:15Z\", \"published_at\": \"2026-09-11T17:02:15Z\"\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-22 resource: "https://pypi.org/pypi/anp/json" title: "Python Package Index (PyPI) JSON API. anp package metadata (version 1.0.7, owner chgaowei, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"summary\":\"An SDK that enables agents to connect with each other, allowing them to perform identity authentication, end-to-end encrypted communication, automatic protocol negotiation based on LLMs, and efficient data exchange.\",\"version\":\"1.0.7\",\"yanked\":false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-23 resource: "https://pypi.org/pypi/agent-connect/json" title: "Python Package Index (PyPI) JSON API. agent-connect package metadata (version 0.3.7, owner chgaowei, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"summary\":\"An SDK that enables agents to connect with each other, allowing them to perform identity authentication, end-to-end encrypted communication, automatic protocol negotiation based on LLMs, and efficient data exchange.\"\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-24 resource: "https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/anp" title: "crates.io API. anp crate metadata (max_version 1.0.7, updated 22 October 2026).: \"\"description\":\"Rust SDK for Agent Network Protocol (ANP)\",\"homepage\":\"https://agent-network-protocol.com/\",\"documentation\":\"https://docs.rs/anp\",\"repository\":\"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentConnect\"\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-25 resource: "https://registry.npmjs.org/@awiki/anp-typescript-sdk" title: "npm Registry API. @awiki/anp-typescript-sdk package metadata (latest: 0.9.5, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"name\":\"@awiki/anp-typescript-sdk\",\"dist-tags\":{\"latest\":\"0.9.5\"}\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-26 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/open-did-server" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/open-did-server repository metadata (created 1 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/open-did-server\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-27 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/open-did-server/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/open-did-server — README.md (Open DID Server, checked 29 October 2026).: \"Open DID Server 是一个开源 DID 文档服务。它托管本实例签发的 did:wba（E1）和 did:web 文档，按标准 DID 路径把客户端上传的原文分发出去，并提供 Handle 到 DID 的查询。调用方用自己的认证私钥对 HTTP 请求签名；服务只接受一种有限形态的 ANP HTTP Message Signature。\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-28 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp repository metadata (created 28 September 2025).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-29 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp — README.md (MCP2ANP, checked 29 October 2026).: \"MCP ↔ ANP 桥接服务，让支持 MCP 的客户端像调用本地工具一样使用 ANP 智能体。\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-30 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock\", \"private\": false, \"owner\": { \"login\": \"agent-network-protocol\", \"id\": 199323856, \"node_id\": \"O_kgDOC-Fw0A\", \"avatar_url\": \"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4\", \"gravatar_id\": \"\", \"url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol\", \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol\", \"followers_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers\", \"following_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}\", \"gists_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}\", \"starred_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}\", \"subscriptions_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions\", \"organizations_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs\", \"repos_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos\", \"events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}\", \"received_events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events\", \"type\": \"Organization\", \"user_view_type\": \"public\", \"site_admin\": false }, \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock\", \"description\": \"A DID-native Skill runtime for running MiniApp MCP-compatible agent skills over ANP.\"\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-31 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock — README.md (anp-miniapp-dock DID-native Rust Skill runtime, checked 29 October 2026).: \"anp-miniapp-dock is a DID-native Rust Skill runtime for running MiniApp MCP-compatible agent skills over ANP. The MVP is now implemented as a Cargo workspace. It can load a MiniApp MCP-style Skill, validate mcp.json, run atomic API JavaScript in an isolated QuickJS-backed VM, compile and execute a MiniApp MCP component runtime subset, route high-risk actions through consent/audit, and run a local coffee ordering demo through dock-cli and demo-server.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-32 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-33 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy — README.md (ANP Proxy, checked 29 October 2026).: \"Agent Network Proxy (ANP) - 高性能 HTTP over WebSocket 隧道，用于私有网络服务的安全对外暴露。\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-34 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-examples" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-examples repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/anp-examples\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-35 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-examples/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-examples — README.md (ANP Network Explorer, checked 29 October 2026).: \"ANP Network Explorer is an application based on the Agent Network Protocol (ANP) that allows users to interact with intelligent agent networks using natural language. Users can provide agent description URLs, engage in conversations with agents through simple questions, and view the network crawling process in real-time.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-36 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-37 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example/main/README.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example — README.md (DID WBA Client and Server Example, checked 29 October 2026).: \"This is a DID WBA method example implemented using FastAPI and Agent_Connect library, supporting both client and server functionality. For detailed technical documentation, please refer to Technical Documentation Features Server Features Supports DID WBA authentication protocol Implements two types of authentication: DID WBA initial authentication Bearer Token authentication Provides ad.json endpoint with authentication\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-38 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP\", \"private\": false, \"owner\": { \"login\": \"agent-network-protocol\", \"id\": 199323856, \"node_id\": \"O_kgDOC-Fw0A\", \"avatar_url\": \"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4\", \"gravatar_id\": \"\", \"url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol\", \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol\", \"followers_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers\", \"following_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}\", \"gists_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}\", \"starred_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}\", \"subscriptions_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions\", \"organizations_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs\", \"repos_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos\", \"events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}\", \"received_events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events\", \"type\": \"Organization\", \"user_view_type\": \"public\", \"site_admin\": false }, \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP\", \"description\": \"OpenManus-ANP\", \"fork\": true\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-39 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/owl_anp" title: "GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/owl_anp repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"agent-network-protocol/owl_anp\", \"private\": false, \"owner\": { \"login\": \"agent-network-protocol\", \"id\": 199323856, \"node_id\": \"O_kgDOC-Fw0A\", \"avatar_url\": \"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4\", \"gravatar_id\": \"\", \"url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol\", \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol\", \"followers_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers\", \"following_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}\", \"gists_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}\", \"starred_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}\", \"subscriptions_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions\", \"organizations_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs\", \"repos_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos\", \"events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}\", \"received_events_url\": \"https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events\", \"type\": \"Organization\", \"user_view_type\": \"public\", \"site_admin\": false }, \"html_url\": \"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/owl_anp\", \"description\": null, \"fork\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-40 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/One-Prompt-One-HTTP-Function-Enabling-Open-Source-Manus-to-Interact-with-Other-Agents-via-ANP.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/One-Prompt-One-HTTP-Function-Enabling-Open-Source-Manus-to-Interact-with-Other-Agents-via-ANP.md (One Prompt, One HTTP Function: Enabling Open-Source Manus to Interact with Other Agents via ANP, 2025).: \"This week, members of the ANP open-source technology community completed a task by adding support for the ANP protocol to the two most popular open-source Manus projects (owl and OpenManus), allowing open-source Manus to access the internet via ANP. (Thanks again to the community developers for their contributions!) We first conducted a small-scale test within our developer community and agent communication protocol exchange group, and today we are officially releasing it to the public. During the integration process, we observed the strengths of ANP compared to MCP. With just one prompt and one HTTP function, agents can communicate and collaborate with any other agent.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-41 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/11-ANP-Release-1.1-Focus-on-Agent-Cross-Domain-Communication.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/11-ANP-Release-1.1-Focus-on-Agent-Cross-Domain-Communication.md (ANP Release 1.1 Is Here: Focused on Cross-Domain Agent Communication, June 2026).: \"What did:wba does is put the fingerprint of the bound public key into a path-style DID. In simple terms, the DID itself establishes a verifiable binding with a public key controlled by the user. After this change, even if the DID Document is hosted by a Web service, the verifier can check whether the public-key fingerprint in the DID path matches the key declared in the DID Document. This makes silent key replacement by the server much harder. The result is that the user's control over the private key can be reflected more directly in the DID identity itself. A DID is no longer just a document under a Web address. It now has a stronger relationship with the key actually controlled by the user. Of course, did:web still has its own advantages. It is stable, simple, and highly compatible, especially for many low-barrier deployment scenarios. So ANP 1.1 is not about abandoning did:web. Instead, it supports both native did:web and did:wba. Different scenarios can choose different approaches, and they can interoperate with each other. Another important identity design in 1.1 is Handle. Why did we design Handle? Mainly for two reasons. The first reason is readability. DIDs are friendly to machines, but not to humans. A full DID is usually long. It is not suitable for chat windows, business cards, contact lists, or invitation links. It is also hard for users to manually type and remember. So we need an identifier that is more suitable for humans, such as:\" \"alice.example.com This form is much easier for users to understand and share. The second reason is to provide a stable ID for did:wba. Because the did:wba path binds a public-key fingerprint, when the underlying key changes, the DID itself may also need to change. From a security perspective, this is reasonable. But from a user experience perspective, people still expect a long-term stable name. Handle is designed to solve this problem. The Handle can remain stable, while the underlying DID can rotate as keys, security policies, or devices change.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-42 resource: "https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-jimenez-dawn-discovery-landscape-00.html" title: "Jaime Jimenez, Jim Feng, Jari Arkko, Mirja Kühlewind, and Rajat Kandoi (Ericsson). A Survey of AI Agent Discovery Mechanisms (draft-jimenez-dawn-discovery-landscape-00, IETF DAWN Working Group Internet-Draft, 3 July 2026).: \"The Agent Network Protocol [ANP-spec] defines a /.well-known/agent-descriptions endpoint for JSON-LD metadata documents, with agent identity anchored in Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs). ANP also specifies an Agent Discovery Service Protocol (ADSP) for cross-domain indexing; ADSP is covered under Registries and Directories below.\" \"ANP's ADSP [ANP-spec] is the aggregation layer above the per-host /.well-known/agent-descriptions endpoint described in Section 4. It operates in two modes. In active discovery, an indexing service queries domains' well-known endpoints to retrieve paginated collections of agent descriptions in JSON-LD format. In passive discovery, agents submit their description URLs to an indexing service, analogous to submitting a sitemap to a search engine. Agent identity in ADSP is anchored in did:wba identifiers resolved via HTTPS-hosted DID documents. ADSP does not define soft-state lifetimes or federation between indexers; each indexer maintains its own crawl scope.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-43 resource: "https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-zyyhl-agent-networks-framework-01.html" title: "Y. Zhou (ANP Open Source Community), K. Yao (China Mobile), M. Yu (China Telecom), M. Han (China Unicom), and C. Li (Huawei). Framework for AI Agent Networks (draft-zyyhl-agent-networks-framework-01, IETF Internet-Draft, 20 October 2025).: \"This document defines the framework of AI agent networks based on Agent Network Protocol (ANP) protocol. [ANP] It provides the basic functions that needs to support AI agent communication in the AI agent networks within the trust domain.\" \"The communication capabilities refer to the communication protocols supported by the Agent, such as http/2, http/3, A2A, ANP, MCP, etc.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-44 resource: "https://api.github.com/repos/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol" title: "GitHub REST API. w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol repository metadata (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group, checked 29 October 2026).: \"\"full_name\": \"w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol\", \"private\": false\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-45 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol/main/README.md" title: "W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group. w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol — README.md (AI Agent Protocol CG, checked 29 October 2026).: \"The AI Agent Protocol Community Group now holds regular bi-weekly online meetings, and we warmly welcome your participation. You can find meeting schedules and participation details on our W3C calendar: 👉 Meeting Calendar: https://www.w3.org/groups/cg/agentprotocol/calendar/ Meeting summaries are available on GitHub for convenient asynchronous access to meeting content. If the current meeting times are not convenient for your timezone, please let us know—we're happy to adjust one of the alternative meeting times to better accommodate global participants. Core Documents Our work is hosted on GitHub, focusing on two core documents: Community White Paper Draft 📄 https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/ AI Agent Protocol Specification 📜 https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/protocol.html\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-46 resource: "https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/" title: "Gaowei Chang, Ruoxi Ran, Song Xu, Hong Hou, Xi Sun, and Shengyi Zhang. Agent Network Protocol White Paper (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, 2025).: \"In response to these challenges, this paper elaborates on the design principles and core requirements for agent network protocols, and provides a systematic comparison and analysis of current major agent network protocol initiatives (MCP, A2A, ACP, ANP, etc.).\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-47 resource: "https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/did-wba.html" title: "Gaowei Chang. did:wba DID Method Specification (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, checked 29 October 2026).: \"This specification defines the did:wba DID method. The method uses HTTPS-hosted DID Documents and supports both domain-level identifiers and path-type identifiers. The default path profile binds an Ed25519 public key fingerprint into the final DID path segment using the e1_ prefix and requires a corresponding Data Integrity proof in the DID Document.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-48 resource: "https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/agent-identity.html" title: "Gaowei Chang. Agent Identity and HTTP Authentication (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, checked 29 October 2026).: \"This specification defines a DID-method-agnostic identity authentication protocol for agents communicating over HTTP. A client identifies a verification method with a DID URL, signs the HTTP request using HTTP Message Signatures, and binds any request content using Digest Fields. The server resolves and validates the DID according to the applicable DID Method Binding Profile, verifies that the selected verification method is authorized for authentication, verifies replay protections, and then makes a separate authorization decision.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-49 resource: "https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-agentprotocol/2026Aug/0004.html" title: "Gaowei Chang. Minutes of the AI Agent Protocol CG Meeting – August 12, 2026 (public-agentprotocol@w3.org W3C mailing list archive, 12 August 2026).: \"This meeting first reviewed the proposal to support multiple DID methods—including did:wba, native did:web, and did:webvh—through a DID-method-agnostic Agent Identity layer. Participants were invited to review the related GitHub pull request, including the method-specific resolution and validation requirements and the did:webvh verifiable-history checks. Protocol draft: https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/protocol.html\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-50 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/ANP-Presentation-at-W3C-WebAgents-CG.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/ANP-Presentation-at-W3C-WebAgents-CG.md (Presentation on ANP at W3C-WebAgents-CG, 14 February 2025).: \"On February 14, 2025, Chang Gaowei and James Waugh, representing the AgentNetworkProtocol (ANP) open-source community, delivered a presentation on ANP at the W3C WebAgents CG meeting.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-51 resource: "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/W3C-AI-Agent-Protocol-Community-Group-Latest-Progress-June-2025.md" title: "Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/W3C-AI-Agent-Protocol-Community-Group-Latest-Progress-June-2025.md (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Latest Progress (June 2025), June 2025).: \"The community group held its first meeting on June 18, 2025, where the main discussions focused on the group's objectives, scope of work, meeting mechanisms, and future plans. Meeting minutes link: https://github.com/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol/blob/main/meetings/2025-06-18.md Community Group Background and Composition The W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group was initiated and established by the ANP open source community at W3C, aiming to promote the standardization process of agent communication protocols. Chang Gaowei, the founder of the ANP community, serves as co-chair of this community group\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-52 resource: "https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.17149" title: "Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, and Jiaxuan You. ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? (arXiv:2510.17149, v1 submitted 20 October 2025, v3 revised 2 June 2026).: \"Despite the existence of diverse protocols (A2A, ACP, ANP, Agora, etc.), selection is often intuition-driven and lacks standardized guidance. We introduce ProtocolBench, a benchmark that systematically compares agent protocols along four measurable axes: task success, end-to-end latency, message or byte overhead, and robustness under failures. On ProtocolBench, protocol choice significantly influences system behavior. In the Streaming Queue scenario, overall completion time varies by up to 36.5% across protocols, and mean end-to-end latency differs by 3.48 s. Under Fail-Storm Recovery, resilience also differs consistently across protocols. Beyond evaluation, we present ProtocolRouter, a learnable protocol router that selects per-scenario (or per-module) protocols from requirement and runtime signals. ProtocolRouter reduces Fail-Storm recovery time by up to 18.1% versus the best single-protocol baseline, and achieves scenario-specific gains such as higher success in GAIA. We also release ProtocolRouterBench to standardize protocol evaluation and improve reliability at scale. Comments: Accepted to ICML 2026.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-53 resource: "https://proceedings.mlr.press/v306/du26l.html" title: "Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, and Jiaxuan You. ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? (Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Machine Learning, PMLR 306:26649–26695, 2026).: \"ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, Jiaxuan You Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Machine Learning, PMLR 306:26649-26695, 2026.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-54 resource: "https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02279" title: "Abul Ehtesham, Aditi Singh, Gaurav Kumar Gupta, and Saket Kumar. A survey of agent interoperability protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP) (arXiv:2505.02279, v1 submitted 4 May 2025, v2 revised 23 May 2025).: \"This survey examines four emerging agent communication protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP), each addressing interoperability in deployment contexts. MCP provides a JSON-RPC client-server interface for secure tool invocation and typed data exchange. ACP defines a general-purpose communication protocol over RESTful HTTP, supporting MIME-typed multipart messages and synchronous and asynchronous interactions. Its lightweight and runtime-independent design enables scalable agent invocation, while features like session management, message routing, and integration with role-based and decentralized identifiers (DIDs). A2A enables peer-to-peer task delegation using capability-based Agent Cards, supporting secure and scalable collaboration across enterprise agent workflows. ANP supports open network agent discovery and secure collaboration using W3C decentralized identifiers DIDs and JSON-LD graphs.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-55 resource: "https://www.newscientist.com/article/2483880-can-we-stop-big-tech-from-controlling-the-internet-with-ai-agents/" title: "Chris Stokel-Walker. Can we stop big tech from controlling the internet with AI agents? (New Scientist, 11 June 2025).: \"\"We don't want the 'agent internet' to become another 'data silo alliance',\" says Gaowei Chang. He chairs the AI Agent Protocol Group, which was established in May as part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards organisation, and says it is essential that all voices are heard in developing this new layer of the internet. \"If we truly believe AI is an important technology that will change human society, then we need an open, neutral community to drive protocol design, ensuring its future belongs to everyone, not just a few companies,\" he says.\" \"Chang has initiated his own open-source competitor to the big tech agent protocols, the Agent Network Protocol (ANP), which predates both MCP and A2A.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z - id: ref-56 resource: "https://www.marktechpost.com/2025/05/09/a-deep-technical-dive-into-next-generation-interoperability-protocols-model-context-protocol-mcp-agent-communication-protocol-acp-agent-to-agent-protocol-a2a-and-agent-network-protocol-anp/" title: "Sana Hassan. A Deep Technical Dive into Next-Generation Interoperability Protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP) (MarkTechPost, 10 May 2025).: \"Agent Network Protocol (ANP) provides the foundation for decentralized agent collaboration by combining semantic web technologies with cryptographic identity models. ANP leverages W3C-compliant Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and JSON-LD graphs to create self-describing, verifiable agent identities. Agents publish metadata, ontologies, and capability graphs, enabling other agents to discover and interpret their offerings without centralized registries. Security and privacy are integral to ANP. It supports encrypted message channels, cryptographic signing of requests, and selective disclosure of agent capabilities. These features enable agent marketplaces, federated research networks, and trustless cooperation across borders or organizations. Through its semantic context and decentralized identity, ANP brings to the agent ecosystem what DNS and TLS brought to the early internet, discoverability, trust, and security at scale.\"" last_modified: 2026-10-29T00:00:00Z --- # Agent Network Protocol Agent Network Protocol (ANP) is an agentic-web standard (well-known file — /.well-known/agent-descriptions) at step 6, Coordinate, governed by Community-led open-source project; its status is "Released v1.2". It answers: "How can decentralized agents from different platforms authenticate, discover, and message each other without a central registry?" Implementation status is shipping, last verified 2026-10-29. # Overview The **Agent Network Protocol (ANP)** is an open-source protocol suite initiated by Gaowei Chang (`chgaowei`) and the ANP Open Source Community in October 2024 under the Apache-2.0 license to provide decentralized identity, human-readable naming, capability description, cross-domain discovery, optional meta-protocol negotiation, and end-to-end encrypted messaging for autonomous AI agents [^ref-1][^ref-2][^ref-3]. Published on the project portal *Agent Network Protocol* (`agent-network-protocol.com`) with the tagline `"Agent Network Protocol Open protocol stack for the Agentic Web Decentralized identity, discovery, messaging, and payment protocols for interoperable AI agents."` [^ref-17], the repository `README.md` (`"full_name": "agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol", "private": false`) states that `"ANP aims to become the HTTP of the Agentic Web era: a protocol suite for agent identity, naming, discovery, negotiation, secure messaging, and application-level collaboration. Note: This project has not issued any digital currency on any platform or blockchain. Vision and Positioning Agent Network Protocol (ANP) is an open-source communication protocol for intelligent agents. Its goal is to define how agents connect with each other and to build an open, secure, and efficient collaboration network for billions of agents."` [^ref-1][^ref-2]. In the *Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper* (`ANP-01` and `arXiv:2508.00007`, authored by Gaowei Chang, Eidan Lin, Chengxuan Yuan, Rizhao Cai, Binbin Chen, Xuan Xie, and Yin Zhang), the authors explain that `"Through a three-layer protocol system—identity and encrypted communication layer, meta-protocol negotiation layer, and application protocol layer—ANP systematically solves the problems of agent identity authentication, dynamic negotiation, and capability discovery interoperability."` while explicitly noting that `"This white paper describes the conceptual architecture and vision. Normative ANP 1.2 requirements are defined by each specification: ANP-02 owns common authentication and ANP-03 owns WBA method rules; native did:web uses the same authentication flow. ANP-06 remains a draft, and stable P6 release remains subject to its MLS registration gate."` [^ref-4][^ref-18]. Following `V1.0` (19 May 2025) and `v1.1` (27 June 2026), the community published `"tag_name": "v1.2", "target_commitish": "26ff75c634fa032fcc42291b10188174d9d4b4b0", "name": "ANP 1.2 Release", "draft": false, "immutable": false, "prerelease": false, "created_at": "2026-09-24T04:43:37Z", "updated_at": "2026-09-24T04:45:30Z", "published_at": "2026-09-24T04:45:30Z"` (`Current specification set: ANP 1.2. Core specifications and all nine messaging documents have been integrated from vNext into their canonical release paths. ANP-02 provides DID-method-independent authentication for did:wba and native did:web; ANP-03 defines WBA method rules and identity continuity; ANP-04 defines WNS naming. Agent description and discovery documents are aligned with this release.`), specifying that `"Versioning note: Version: 1.2 identifies the specification/document release version, not a wire version. Profile identifiers, protocolVersion, interface versions, algorithms, and signature/AAD formats follow their owning specifications and are not globally renumbered."` [^ref-1][^ref-3]. At the identity, authentication, naming, and authorization layer, ANP separates HTTP request verification from the underlying Decentralized Identifier (DID) method across four documents (`ANP-02` through `ANP-05`) and two compatibility appendices [^ref-1][^ref-5][^ref-6]: - **DID Authentication Protocol (`ANP-02`, Released `v1.2`):** States that `"This specification defines DID-based cross-platform authentication, including HTTP request signatures, JSON authentication metadata carriage, server verification, challenges and errors, and optional access tokens. The authentication flow is independent of the DID method. did:wba and native did:web resolve and validate DID Documents under their respective method rules, then use the common request-authentication flow in this specification. The method governs how identity material is obtained and validated; this specification governs request signatures, digests, and authentication-key authorization."` and that `"Ordinary HTTP APIs may adopt this authentication without implementing ANP Messaging, WNS, or a device Manifest. There is no normative dependency on Messaging P1–P9 or WNS."` [^ref-5]. For initial HTTP authentication, `"Clients MUST send authentication information using the Signature-Input and Signature header fields defined in RFC 9421. When a request includes a message body, the client MUST also send the Content-Digest header field defined in RFC 9530."` covering `@method`, `@target-uri`, and `content-digest` before optional access-token issuance [^ref-5]. - **`did:wba` Method Specification (`ANP-03`, Released `v1.2`) and Appendices A & B:** Defines `did:wba`, where `"The did:wba DID method is a web-based decentralized identifier (DID) specification designed to meet the needs of cross-platform identity authentication and agent communication. This method is extended and optimized based on did:web, named did:wba, to retain its compatibility and enhance its adaptability to agent scenarios."` [^ref-6]. Bare-domain identifiers resolve over HTTPS (`"did:wba:example.com corresponds to https://example.com/.well-known/did.json"`), whereas path-based identifiers default to the `e1_` profile (`"e1_: Binds the Ed25519 public key, recommended for new deployments, and can directly integrate the W3C standard Data Integrity EdDSA proof."`), encoding a base64url SHA-256 RFC 7638 JWK thumbprint in the final path segment (`did:wba:example.com:user:alice:e1_`) and requiring that `"Subject continuity MUST be verified according to Sections 2.5.2 through 2.5.5 by validating the old DID Document's successorDid, the document-wide proof, and the new DID's binding fingerprint."` [^ref-6]. Appendix A defines `k1_` (`"This appendix defines the k1_ path binding profile for compatibility with the wallet ecosystem and existing secp256k1 implementation. k1_ does not belong to the default scheme of the main specification. New deployments SHOULD give priority to using the e1_ profile of the main specification."`), while Appendix B integrates native `did:web` (`"This appendix is the integration entry point for native Web identities in the DID-method-independent ANP contracts. It does not define another authentication or messaging protocol. A subject retains its did:web identity; conversion to WBA is unnecessary."`) [^ref-15][^ref-16]. - **ANP-DID:WBA Name Space Specification (`ANP-04`, Released `v1.2`):** Defines WNS, stating that `"This specification defines WNS (WBA Name Space), a human-readable namespace based on did:wba. WNS introduces Handles (such as alice.example.com) as readable aliases for did:wba DIDs."` resolved via `https://{domain}/.well-known/handle/{local-part}`, with the protocol commitment that `"once allocated, a Handle permanently belongs to the same subject, is non-transferable, and cannot be reused after revocation."` and a monotonic `binding_generation` counter (`"Binding Generation A monotonically increasing generation of WNS Handle binding state used to detect DID rebinding, status changes, and rollback attacks; it is not a generation field of a did:wba DID"`) [^ref-7]. - **DID-Based Authorization Protocol (`ANP-05`, Unreleased Draft `v0.7`):** Outside the stable `ANP 1.2` baseline, `"ANP-05 defines the DID-based agent authorization workstream with two complementary mechanisms: the OAuth Profile, in which an authorization server trusted by the resource side issues access tokens, and the VC Profile, in which a user or organization that holds the authority issues a W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) that the Agent holds and presents. DID identifies principals at the ANP layer. In the OAuth path, an ordinary AS uses the URL client identifier and its own resource-owner identity; only an explicitly verified DID binding establishes the associated DID at that AS. The VC path identifies its issuer and authorized Agent by DID. The first release (v1) is a DID–OAuth client identity and basic delegated-access Profile, plus directly presented single-level VC delegation and organization-role credentials, not a complete agent delegation system. The current document is its unreleased v0.7 draft."` under `Draft Profile identifiers: OAuth Profile anp.authorization.oauth2.cimd.v1-draft1; VC Profile anp.authorization.vc.v1-draft2` [^ref-1][^ref-8]. At the negotiation, description, discovery, messaging, and application layer (`ANP-06` through `ANP-10`), ANP defines how agents publish capabilities, discover peers across domains, exchange encrypted messages, and structure transaction mandates [^ref-9][^ref-10][^ref-11][^ref-12][^ref-14]: - **Agent Communication Meta-Protocol (`ANP-06`, Draft `v1.2`):** Explains that `"A meta-protocol is a protocol for negotiating communication protocols. In an agent network, it lets a caller and a target agent select the protocol, interface, Profile, schema, content type, security profile, and execution mode that should be used for the subsequent business interaction, based on intent, capabilities, constraints, security requirements, and available interfaces."` and aims to `"Define a standard Profile: anp.meta.negotiation.v1; Define MetaProtocolInterface as an interface type that can be declared in the interfaces array of an Agent Description document; Reuse ANP Core Binding's JSON-RPC 2.0, params.meta/body/auth, profile, security_profile, target, and error model; Reuse anp.get_capabilities as the runtime capability confirmation method; Define anp.negotiate for selecting the final execution interface based on caller intent, caller capabilities, and constraints; Support structured-interface-first negotiation, natural-language fallback, cache reuse, and future protocol artifact publication; Explicitly mark the early PT=00 message negotiation model as deprecated and outside the compatibility scope of this specification."` using `MetaProtocolInterface`, `anp.get_capabilities`, and `anp.negotiate` over JSON-RPC 2.0 [^ref-9]. - **Agent Description Protocol (`ANP-07`, Released `v1.2`) and Agent Discovery Protocol (`ANP-08`, Released `v1.2`):** `ANP-07` states that `"This specification defines the Agent Description Protocol (ADP), a standardized protocol for describing agents. It defines how an agent publishes its public information, supported interfaces, and other details. Once other agents obtain this agent's description, they can exchange information and collaborate with this agent."` using JSON-LD documents (`"protocolType": "ANP", "protocolVersion": "1.0.0",` `"type": "AgentDescription"`) and a crawler interaction model in which `"ANP adopts an information interaction pattern similar to "web crawlers," where agents use URLs to connect externally provided data (files, APIs, etc.) and data descriptions into a network. Other agents can, like crawlers, select and retrieve appropriate data to their local environment based on the data descriptions, and then make decisions and process locally. If it is an API file, the agent can also call the API to interact with the agent."` [^ref-10]. `ANP-08` specifies ADSP (`"This specification defines the Agent Discovery Service Protocol (ADSP), a standardized protocol for discovering agents. Based on the JSON-LD format, it provides two discovery mechanisms: active discovery and passive discovery, aimed at enabling agents to be effectively discovered and accessed by other agents or search engines in the network."`), where active discovery queries `"https://{domain}/.well-known/agent-descriptions This path should return a JSON-LD document containing URLs of all public agent description documents under the domain. Discovery Document Format Active discovery documents adopt the JSON-LD format, using the CollectionPage type"` containing `ad:AgentDescription` items and `next` pagination links, and passive discovery registers description URLs with search service agents [^ref-11]. - **End-to-End Instant Messaging (`ANP-09` and `message/README.md`, Published `v1.2` Catalog) and AP2 Payment Adaptation (`ANP-10`, Draft `v1.1`):** `ANP-09` notes that `"ANP adopts a Federated architecture, which is closer to Email in concept than a single central server architecture. Each Agent or group can belong to different domains, and different domains communicate through standardized service discovery, service-to-service direct invocation, and result witness mechanisms. That is to say: Identity is distributed; Service endpoints are distributed; cross-domain service invocations can occur; But each type of operation has clear boundaries of responsibility. In the direct messaging scenario, the ingress service of the domain where the target Agent is located is responsible for receiving messages; in the group scenario, the group Host Service is responsible for group status sorting and group event serialization. 2.2 Identity priority, service discovery priority The first-class identifier of the ANP is not the username or device number, but: agent_did group_did ANP discovers interactive service endpoints through DID documents, and uses this to establish subsequent message sending, key discovery, group service discovery, and object service discovery paths. In the current version, the ANP service endpoint disclosed by DID documents is unified as ANPMessageService;"` and splits messaging across `P1` (`anp.core.binding.v1`), `P2` (`anp.identity.discovery.v1` with `deviceManifest`), `P3` (`anp.direct.base.v1`), `P4` (`anp.group.base.v2`), `P5` (`anp.direct.e2ee.v2` using `X3DH-like` initial establishment and `Double Ratchet-like` message protection), candidate `P6` (`anp.group.e2ee.v2`), `P7` (`anp.attachment.v1`), `P8` (`anp.federation.relay.v1`), and `P9` (Message Mentions) [^ref-1][^ref-12][^ref-13]. Both `README.md` and `message/README.md` caution that `"P6 Group E2EE is included in the 1.2 documentation but remains a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; the provisional 0xF0A1 value is not a completed registration. Application protocols are independently versioned; ANP-10 is an AP2 adaptation draft, not a released stable payment standard."` and `"The documents in this directory form the ANP Messaging 1.2 specification set and replace the previous 1.1 documentation baseline. P6 is included in full as a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; inclusion in this catalog does not declare stable P6 v2 interoperability."` [^ref-1][^ref-13]. Separately, `ANP-10` notes that `"This draft describes an ANP application-layer adaptation of the Agent Payment Protocol (AP2) for payment and transaction interactions between agents. It documents proposed payment flows and credential formats; its presence does not establish stable interoperability, implementation conformance, or production readiness."` (`"Defining four core roles in payment scenarios: Shopper Agent, Merchant Agent, Credentials Provider, and Payment Processor 2. Defining three key credential types: CartMandate, PaymentMandate, and DeliveryReceipt"`) [^ref-14]. # Examples ```http GET {origin}/.well-known/agent-descriptions # parse: JSON-LD CollectionPage document with an items[] array of ad:AgentDescription entries confirms ANP active discovery is exposed # on absent: 404 or non-JSON-LD response means the domain does not expose ANP active discovery; agents there may still be reachable only via passive registration with a search service ``` # Knowledge Graph * **Lifecycle Step**: [6 Coordinate](/category/coordinate/index.md) * **Builds on**: [HTTP Message Signatures](/okf/protocols/http-message-signatures.md) * **Pairs with**: [Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A)](/okf/protocols/a2a.md), [Agent Name Service v2 (ANS)](/okf/protocols/ans.md), [Agora Protocol](/okf/protocols/agora-protocol.md), [Model Context Protocol](/okf/protocols/mcp.md), [Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)](/okf/protocols/ap2.md), [Eclipse LMOS (Language Model Operating System)](/okf/protocols/lmos.md) * **Compared in**: [Webhooks & RPC vs Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) (classic vs agentic)](/compare/webhooks-vs-a2a/index.md), [Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) vs Agent Network Protocol](/compare/a2a-vs-anp/index.md), [Agent Network Protocol vs Model Context Protocol](/compare/anp-vs-mcp/index.md), [Agent Network Protocol vs Coral Protocol (CoralOS)](/compare/anp-vs-coral-protocol/index.md) [^ref-1]: Gaowei Chang (chgaowei) and Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol — README.md (ANP 1.2 specification index and release notes, checked 29 October 2026).: "ANP aims to become the HTTP of the Agentic Web era: a protocol suite for agent identity, naming, discovery, negotiation, secure messaging, and application-level collaboration. Note: This project has not issued any digital currency on any platform or blockchain. Vision and Positioning Agent Network Protocol (ANP) is an open-source communication protocol for intelligent agents. Its goal is to define how agents connect with each other and to build an open, secure, and efficient collaboration network for billions of agents." "Current specification set: ANP 1.2. Core specifications and all nine messaging documents have been integrated from vNext into their canonical release paths. ANP-02 provides DID-method-independent authentication for did:wba and native did:web; ANP-03 defines WBA method rules and identity continuity; ANP-04 defines WNS naming. Agent description and discovery documents are aligned with this release." "Versioning note: Version: 1.2 identifies the specification/document release version, not a wire version. Profile identifiers, protocolVersion, interface versions, algorithms, and signature/AAD formats follow their owning specifications and are not globally renumbered." "P6 Group E2EE is included in the 1.2 documentation but remains a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; the provisional 0xF0A1 value is not a completed registration. Application protocols are independently versioned; ANP-10 is an AP2 adaptation draft, not a released stable payment standard." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/README.md) [^ref-2]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol repository metadata (created 23 October 2024, checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol) [^ref-3]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol releases (V1.0 published 19 May 2025; v1.1 published 27 June 2026; v1.2 published 24 September 2026).: ""tag_name": "v1.2", "target_commitish": "26ff75c634fa032fcc42291b10188174d9d4b4b0", "name": "ANP 1.2 Release", "draft": false, "immutable": false, "prerelease": false, "created_at": "2026-09-24T04:43:37Z", "updated_at": "2026-09-24T04:45:30Z", "published_at": "2026-09-24T04:45:30Z"" ""tag_name": "v1.1", "target_commitish": "main", "name": "ANP 1.1 Release", "draft": false, "immutable": false, "prerelease": false, "created_at": "2026-06-27T09:39:11Z", "updated_at": "2026-06-27T09:54:14Z", "published_at": "2026-06-27T09:54:14Z"" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/releases) [^ref-4]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 01-agentnetworkprotocol-technical-white-paper.md (ANP-01: Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper, Informative v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This white paper describes the conceptual architecture and vision. Normative ANP 1.2 requirements are defined by each specification: ANP-02 owns common authentication and ANP-03 owns WBA method rules; native did:web uses the same authentication flow. ANP-06 remains a draft, and stable P6 release remains subject to its MLS registration gate." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/01-agentnetworkprotocol-technical-white-paper.md) [^ref-5]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 02-anp-did-authentication-protocol-specification.md (ANP-02: ANP DID Authentication Protocol, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This specification defines DID-based cross-platform authentication, including HTTP request signatures, JSON authentication metadata carriage, server verification, challenges and errors, and optional access tokens. The authentication flow is independent of the DID method. did:wba and native did:web resolve and validate DID Documents under their respective method rules, then use the common request-authentication flow in this specification. The method governs how identity material is obtained and validated; this specification governs request signatures, digests, and authentication-key authorization." "Ordinary HTTP APIs may adopt this authentication without implementing ANP Messaging, WNS, or a device Manifest. There is no normative dependency on Messaging P1–P9 or WNS." "Clients MUST send authentication information using the Signature-Input and Signature header fields defined in RFC 9421. When a request includes a message body, the client MUST also send the Content-Digest header field defined in RFC 9530." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/02-anp-did-authentication-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-6]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 03-did-wba-method-design-specification.md (ANP-03: did:wba Method Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "The did:wba DID method is a web-based decentralized identifier (DID) specification designed to meet the needs of cross-platform identity authentication and agent communication. This method is extended and optimized based on did:web, named did:wba, to retain its compatibility and enhance its adaptability to agent scenarios." "did:wba:example.com corresponds to https://example.com/.well-known/did.json" "e1_: Binds the Ed25519 public key, recommended for new deployments, and can directly integrate the W3C standard Data Integrity EdDSA proof." "Subject continuity MUST be verified according to Sections 2.5.2 through 2.5.5 by validating the old DID Document's successorDid, the document-wide proof, and the new DID's binding fingerprint." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/03-did-wba-method-design-specification.md) [^ref-7]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 04-anp-did-wba-name-space-specification.md (ANP-04: ANP-DID:WBA Name Space Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This specification defines WNS (WBA Name Space), a human-readable namespace based on did:wba. WNS introduces Handles (such as alice.example.com) as readable aliases for did:wba DIDs." "once allocated, a Handle permanently belongs to the same subject, is non-transferable, and cannot be reused after revocation." "Binding Generation A monotonically increasing generation of WNS Handle binding state used to detect DID rebinding, status changes, and rollback attacks; it is not a generation field of a did:wba DID" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/04-anp-did-wba-name-space-specification.md) [^ref-8]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 05-anp-did-authorization-protocol-specification.md (ANP-05: ANP DID-Based Authorization Protocol, Draft v0.7, checked 29 October 2026).: "ANP-05 defines the DID-based agent authorization workstream with two complementary mechanisms: the OAuth Profile, in which an authorization server trusted by the resource side issues access tokens, and the VC Profile, in which a user or organization that holds the authority issues a W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) that the Agent holds and presents. DID identifies principals at the ANP layer. In the OAuth path, an ordinary AS uses the URL client identifier and its own resource-owner identity; only an explicitly verified DID binding establishes the associated DID at that AS. The VC path identifies its issuer and authorized Agent by DID. The first release (v1) is a DID–OAuth client identity and basic delegated-access Profile, plus directly presented single-level VC delegation and organization-role credentials, not a complete agent delegation system. The current document is its unreleased v0.7 draft." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/05-anp-did-authorization-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-9]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 06-anp-agent-communication-meta-protocol-specification.md (ANP-06: ANP Agent Communication Meta-Protocol Specification, Draft v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "A meta-protocol is a protocol for negotiating communication protocols. In an agent network, it lets a caller and a target agent select the protocol, interface, Profile, schema, content type, security profile, and execution mode that should be used for the subsequent business interaction, based on intent, capabilities, constraints, security requirements, and available interfaces." "Define a standard Profile: anp.meta.negotiation.v1; Define MetaProtocolInterface as an interface type that can be declared in the interfaces array of an Agent Description document; Reuse ANP Core Binding's JSON-RPC 2.0, params.meta/body/auth, profile, security_profile, target, and error model; Reuse anp.get_capabilities as the runtime capability confirmation method; Define anp.negotiate for selecting the final execution interface based on caller intent, caller capabilities, and constraints; Support structured-interface-first negotiation, natural-language fallback, cache reuse, and future protocol artifact publication; Explicitly mark the early PT=00 message negotiation model as deprecated and outside the compatibility scope of this specification." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/06-anp-agent-communication-meta-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-10]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 07-anp-agent-description-protocol-specification.md (ANP-07: ANP Agent Description Protocol Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This specification defines the Agent Description Protocol (ADP), a standardized protocol for describing agents. It defines how an agent publishes its public information, supported interfaces, and other details. Once other agents obtain this agent's description, they can exchange information and collaborate with this agent." ""protocolType": "ANP", "protocolVersion": "1.0.0"," ""type": "AgentDescription"" "ANP adopts an information interaction pattern similar to "web crawlers," where agents use URLs to connect externally provided data (files, APIs, etc.) and data descriptions into a network. Other agents can, like crawlers, select and retrieve appropriate data to their local environment based on the data descriptions, and then make decisions and process locally. If it is an API file, the agent can also call the API to interact with the agent." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/07-anp-agent-description-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-11]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 08-ANP-Agent-Discovery-Protocol-Specification.md (ANP-08: ANP-Agent Discovery Protocol Specification, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This specification defines the Agent Discovery Service Protocol (ADSP), a standardized protocol for discovering agents. Based on the JSON-LD format, it provides two discovery mechanisms: active discovery and passive discovery, aimed at enabling agents to be effectively discovered and accessed by other agents or search engines in the network." "https://{domain}/.well-known/agent-descriptions This path should return a JSON-LD document containing URLs of all public agent description documents under the domain. Discovery Document Format Active discovery documents adopt the JSON-LD format, using the CollectionPage type" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/08-ANP-Agent-Discovery-Protocol-Specification.md) [^ref-12]: Agent Network Protocol Community. 09-ANP-end-to-end-instant-messaging-protocol-specification.md (ANP-09: ANP End-to-End Instant Messaging Protocol Overview, Published v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "ANP adopts a Federated architecture, which is closer to Email in concept than a single central server architecture. Each Agent or group can belong to different domains, and different domains communicate through standardized service discovery, service-to-service direct invocation, and result witness mechanisms. That is to say: Identity is distributed; Service endpoints are distributed; cross-domain service invocations can occur; But each type of operation has clear boundaries of responsibility. In the direct messaging scenario, the ingress service of the domain where the target Agent is located is responsible for receiving messages; in the group scenario, the group Host Service is responsible for group status sorting and group event serialization. 2.2 Identity priority, service discovery priority The first-class identifier of the ANP is not the username or device number, but: agent_did group_did ANP discovers interactive service endpoints through DID documents, and uses this to establish subsequent message sending, key discovery, group service discovery, and object service discovery paths. In the current version, the ANP service endpoint disclosed by DID documents is unified as ANPMessageService;" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/09-ANP-end-to-end-instant-messaging-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-13]: Agent Network Protocol Community. message/README.md (ANP Messaging 1.2 Profile Index, Published v1.2 catalog, 24 September 2026).: "The documents in this directory form the ANP Messaging 1.2 specification set and replace the previous 1.1 documentation baseline. P6 is included in full as a candidate pending its registered MLS ExtensionType release gate; inclusion in this catalog does not declare stable P6 v2 interoperability." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/message/README.md) [^ref-14]: Agent Network Protocol Community. application/10-anp-agent-payment-protocol-specification.md (ANP-10: ANP Agent Payment Protocol Specification (AP2), Draft v1.1, checked 29 October 2026).: "This draft describes an ANP application-layer adaptation of the Agent Payment Protocol (AP2) for payment and transaction interactions between agents. It documents proposed payment flows and credential formats; its presence does not establish stable interoperability, implementation conformance, or production readiness." "Defining four core roles in payment scenarios: Shopper Agent, Merchant Agent, Credentials Provider, and Payment Processor 2. Defining three key credential types: CartMandate, PaymentMandate, and DeliveryReceipt" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/application/10-anp-agent-payment-protocol-specification.md) [^ref-15]: Agent Network Protocol Community. appendix-a-did-wba-k1-compatibility-extension.md (Appendix A: did:wba k1_ Compatibility Extension, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This appendix defines the k1_ path binding profile for compatibility with the wallet ecosystem and existing secp256k1 implementation. k1_ does not belong to the default scheme of the main specification. New deployments SHOULD give priority to using the e1_ profile of the main specification." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/appendix-a-did-wba-k1-compatibility-extension.md) [^ref-16]: Agent Network Protocol Community. appendix-b-compatibility-with-native-did-web.md (Appendix B: Native did:web Integration, Released v1.2, 24 September 2026).: "This appendix is the integration entry point for native Web identities in the DID-method-independent ANP contracts. It does not define another authentication or messaging protocol. A subject retains its did:web identity; conversion to WBA is unnecessary." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/appendix-b-compatibility-with-native-did-web.md) [^ref-17]: ANP Open Source Community. Agent Network Protocol (official documentation portal, checked 29 October 2026).: "Agent Network Protocol Open protocol stack for the Agentic Web Decentralized identity, discovery, messaging, and payment protocols for interoperable AI agents." (https://agent-network-protocol.com/) [^ref-18]: Gaowei Chang, Eidan Lin, Chengxuan Yuan, Rizhao Cai, Binbin Chen, Xuan Xie, and Yin Zhang. Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper (arXiv:2508.00007, submitted 18 July 2025).: "Submitted on 18 Jul 2025] Title: Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper Authors: Gaowei Chang, Eidan Lin, Chengxuan Yuan, Rizhao Cai, Binbin Chen, Xuan Xie, Yin Zhang View a PDF of the paper titled Agent Network Protocol Technical White Paper, by Gaowei Chang and 6 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: With the development of large models and autonomous decision-making AI, agents are rapidly becoming the new entities of the internet, following mobile apps. However, existing internet infrastructure is primarily designed for human interaction, creating data silos, unfriendly interfaces, and high collaboration costs among agents, making it difficult to support the needs for large-scale agent interconnection and collaboration. The internet is undergoing a profound transformation, showing four core trends: agents replacing traditional software, universal agent interconnection, native protocol-based connections, and autonomous agent organization and collaboration. To align with these trends, Agent Network Protocol (ANP) proposes a new generation of communication protocols for the Agentic Web. ANP adheres to AI-native design, maintains compatibility with existing internet protocols, adopts a modular composable architecture, follows minimalist yet extensible principles, and enables rapid deployment based on existing infrastructure. Through a three-layer protocol system--identity and encrypted communication layer, meta-protocol negotiation layer, and application protocol layer--ANP. systematically solves the problems of agent identity authentication, dynamic negotiation, and capability discovery interoperability. Comments: This white paper is a reformatted version of the open-source community edition previously released by the ANP Open Source Technology Community" (https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00007) [^ref-19]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp (AgentConnect multi-language SDK repository metadata, created 4 August 2024, checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/anp", "private": false" ""description": "Our vision is to provide communication capabilities for intelligent agents, allowing them to connect with each other to form a collaborative network of intelligent agents.", "fork": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp) [^ref-20]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp — README.md (AgentConnect: Multi-language SDK for ANP, checked 29 October 2026).: "AgentConnect is the multi-language SDK and reference implementation for the Agent Network Protocol (ANP). It helps agents identify each other, publish discoverable interfaces, call each other over standard RPC, attach verifiable proofs, resolve human-readable handles, and build end-to-end encrypted communication flows. The Python package name is anp; this repository also contains Go, Rust, Dart, TypeScript, and Java SDK implementations or SDK workspaces." "OpenANP is the fastest way to see ANP in action. It turns ordinary Python methods into discoverable ANP interfaces and exposes the standard agent documents and JSON-RPC endpoint." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp/main/README.md) [^ref-21]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp releases (release-20260912 and v0.8.8, checked 29 October 2026).: ""tag_name": "release-20260912", "target_commitish": "master", "name": "Release 2026-09-12", "draft": false, "immutable": false, "prerelease": false, "created_at": "2026-09-11T16:55:46Z", "updated_at": "2026-09-11T17:02:15Z", "published_at": "2026-09-11T17:02:15Z"" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp/releases) [^ref-22]: Python Package Index (PyPI) JSON API. anp package metadata (version 1.0.7, owner chgaowei, checked 29 October 2026).: ""summary":"An SDK that enables agents to connect with each other, allowing them to perform identity authentication, end-to-end encrypted communication, automatic protocol negotiation based on LLMs, and efficient data exchange.","version":"1.0.7","yanked":false" (https://pypi.org/pypi/anp/json) [^ref-23]: Python Package Index (PyPI) JSON API. agent-connect package metadata (version 0.3.7, owner chgaowei, checked 29 October 2026).: ""summary":"An SDK that enables agents to connect with each other, allowing them to perform identity authentication, end-to-end encrypted communication, automatic protocol negotiation based on LLMs, and efficient data exchange."" (https://pypi.org/pypi/agent-connect/json) [^ref-24]: crates.io API. anp crate metadata (max_version 1.0.7, updated 22 October 2026).: ""description":"Rust SDK for Agent Network Protocol (ANP)","homepage":"https://agent-network-protocol.com/","documentation":"https://docs.rs/anp","repository":"https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentConnect"" (https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/anp) [^ref-25]: npm Registry API. @awiki/anp-typescript-sdk package metadata (latest: 0.9.5, checked 29 October 2026).: ""name":"@awiki/anp-typescript-sdk","dist-tags":{"latest":"0.9.5"}" (https://registry.npmjs.org/@awiki/anp-typescript-sdk) [^ref-26]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/open-did-server repository metadata (created 1 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/open-did-server", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/open-did-server) [^ref-27]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/open-did-server — README.md (Open DID Server, checked 29 October 2026).: "Open DID Server 是一个开源 DID 文档服务。它托管本实例签发的 did:wba（E1）和 did:web 文档，按标准 DID 路径把客户端上传的原文分发出去，并提供 Handle 到 DID 的查询。调用方用自己的认证私钥对 HTTP 请求签名；服务只接受一种有限形态的 ANP HTTP Message Signature。" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/open-did-server/main/README.md) [^ref-28]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp repository metadata (created 28 September 2025).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp) [^ref-29]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp — README.md (MCP2ANP, checked 29 October 2026).: "MCP ↔ ANP 桥接服务，让支持 MCP 的客户端像调用本地工具一样使用 ANP 智能体。" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/mcp2anp/main/README.md) [^ref-30]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock", "private": false, "owner": { "login": "agent-network-protocol", "id": 199323856, "node_id": "O_kgDOC-Fw0A", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol", "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events", "type": "Organization", "user_view_type": "public", "site_admin": false }, "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock", "description": "A DID-native Skill runtime for running MiniApp MCP-compatible agent skills over ANP."" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock) [^ref-31]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock — README.md (anp-miniapp-dock DID-native Rust Skill runtime, checked 29 October 2026).: "anp-miniapp-dock is a DID-native Rust Skill runtime for running MiniApp MCP-compatible agent skills over ANP. The MVP is now implemented as a Cargo workspace. It can load a MiniApp MCP-style Skill, validate mcp.json, run atomic API JavaScript in an isolated QuickJS-backed VM, compile and execute a MiniApp MCP component runtime subset, route high-risk actions through consent/audit, and run a local coffee ordering demo through dock-cli and demo-server." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-miniapp-dock/main/README.md) [^ref-32]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy) [^ref-33]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy — README.md (ANP Proxy, checked 29 October 2026).: "Agent Network Proxy (ANP) - 高性能 HTTP over WebSocket 隧道，用于私有网络服务的安全对外暴露。" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-proxy/main/README.md) [^ref-34]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/anp-examples repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/anp-examples", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/anp-examples) [^ref-35]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/anp-examples — README.md (ANP Network Explorer, checked 29 October 2026).: "ANP Network Explorer is an application based on the Agent Network Protocol (ANP) that allows users to interact with intelligent agent networks using natural language. Users can provide agent description URLs, engage in conversations with agents through simple questions, and view the network crawling process in real-time." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/anp-examples/main/README.md) [^ref-36]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example) [^ref-37]: Agent Network Protocol Community. agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example — README.md (DID WBA Client and Server Example, checked 29 October 2026).: "This is a DID WBA method example implemented using FastAPI and Agent_Connect library, supporting both client and server functionality. For detailed technical documentation, please refer to Technical Documentation Features Server Features Supports DID WBA authentication protocol Implements two types of authentication: DID WBA initial authentication Bearer Token authentication Provides ad.json endpoint with authentication" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/did-wba-example/main/README.md) [^ref-38]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP", "private": false, "owner": { "login": "agent-network-protocol", "id": 199323856, "node_id": "O_kgDOC-Fw0A", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol", "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events", "type": "Organization", "user_view_type": "public", "site_admin": false }, "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP", "description": "OpenManus-ANP", "fork": true" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/OpenManus-ANP) [^ref-39]: GitHub REST API. agent-network-protocol/owl_anp repository metadata (checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "agent-network-protocol/owl_anp", "private": false, "owner": { "login": "agent-network-protocol", "id": 199323856, "node_id": "O_kgDOC-Fw0A", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/199323856?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol", "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/agent-network-protocol/received_events", "type": "Organization", "user_view_type": "public", "site_admin": false }, "html_url": "https://github.com/agent-network-protocol/owl_anp", "description": null, "fork": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/agent-network-protocol/owl_anp) [^ref-40]: Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/One-Prompt-One-HTTP-Function-Enabling-Open-Source-Manus-to-Interact-with-Other-Agents-via-ANP.md (One Prompt, One HTTP Function: Enabling Open-Source Manus to Interact with Other Agents via ANP, 2025).: "This week, members of the ANP open-source technology community completed a task by adding support for the ANP protocol to the two most popular open-source Manus projects (owl and OpenManus), allowing open-source Manus to access the internet via ANP. (Thanks again to the community developers for their contributions!) We first conducted a small-scale test within our developer community and agent communication protocol exchange group, and today we are officially releasing it to the public. During the integration process, we observed the strengths of ANP compared to MCP. With just one prompt and one HTTP function, agents can communicate and collaborate with any other agent." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/One-Prompt-One-HTTP-Function-Enabling-Open-Source-Manus-to-Interact-with-Other-Agents-via-ANP.md) [^ref-41]: Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/11-ANP-Release-1.1-Focus-on-Agent-Cross-Domain-Communication.md (ANP Release 1.1 Is Here: Focused on Cross-Domain Agent Communication, June 2026).: "What did:wba does is put the fingerprint of the bound public key into a path-style DID. In simple terms, the DID itself establishes a verifiable binding with a public key controlled by the user. After this change, even if the DID Document is hosted by a Web service, the verifier can check whether the public-key fingerprint in the DID path matches the key declared in the DID Document. This makes silent key replacement by the server much harder. The result is that the user's control over the private key can be reflected more directly in the DID identity itself. A DID is no longer just a document under a Web address. It now has a stronger relationship with the key actually controlled by the user. Of course, did:web still has its own advantages. It is stable, simple, and highly compatible, especially for many low-barrier deployment scenarios. So ANP 1.1 is not about abandoning did:web. Instead, it supports both native did:web and did:wba. Different scenarios can choose different approaches, and they can interoperate with each other. Another important identity design in 1.1 is Handle. Why did we design Handle? Mainly for two reasons. The first reason is readability. DIDs are friendly to machines, but not to humans. A full DID is usually long. It is not suitable for chat windows, business cards, contact lists, or invitation links. It is also hard for users to manually type and remember. So we need an identifier that is more suitable for humans, such as:" "alice.example.com This form is much easier for users to understand and share. The second reason is to provide a stable ID for did:wba. Because the did:wba path binds a public-key fingerprint, when the underlying key changes, the DID itself may also need to change. From a security perspective, this is reasonable. But from a user experience perspective, people still expect a long-term stable name. Handle is designed to solve this problem. The Handle can remain stable, while the underlying DID can rotate as keys, security policies, or devices change." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/11-ANP-Release-1.1-Focus-on-Agent-Cross-Domain-Communication.md) [^ref-42]: Jaime Jimenez, Jim Feng, Jari Arkko, Mirja Kühlewind, and Rajat Kandoi (Ericsson). A Survey of AI Agent Discovery Mechanisms (draft-jimenez-dawn-discovery-landscape-00, IETF DAWN Working Group Internet-Draft, 3 July 2026).: "The Agent Network Protocol [ANP-spec] defines a /.well-known/agent-descriptions endpoint for JSON-LD metadata documents, with agent identity anchored in Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs). ANP also specifies an Agent Discovery Service Protocol (ADSP) for cross-domain indexing; ADSP is covered under Registries and Directories below." "ANP's ADSP [ANP-spec] is the aggregation layer above the per-host /.well-known/agent-descriptions endpoint described in Section 4. It operates in two modes. In active discovery, an indexing service queries domains' well-known endpoints to retrieve paginated collections of agent descriptions in JSON-LD format. In passive discovery, agents submit their description URLs to an indexing service, analogous to submitting a sitemap to a search engine. Agent identity in ADSP is anchored in did:wba identifiers resolved via HTTPS-hosted DID documents. ADSP does not define soft-state lifetimes or federation between indexers; each indexer maintains its own crawl scope." (https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-jimenez-dawn-discovery-landscape-00.html) [^ref-43]: Y. Zhou (ANP Open Source Community), K. Yao (China Mobile), M. Yu (China Telecom), M. Han (China Unicom), and C. Li (Huawei). Framework for AI Agent Networks (draft-zyyhl-agent-networks-framework-01, IETF Internet-Draft, 20 October 2025).: "This document defines the framework of AI agent networks based on Agent Network Protocol (ANP) protocol. [ANP] It provides the basic functions that needs to support AI agent communication in the AI agent networks within the trust domain." "The communication capabilities refer to the communication protocols supported by the Agent, such as http/2, http/3, A2A, ANP, MCP, etc." (https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-zyyhl-agent-networks-framework-01.html) [^ref-44]: GitHub REST API. w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol repository metadata (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group, checked 29 October 2026).: ""full_name": "w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol", "private": false" (https://api.github.com/repos/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol) [^ref-45]: W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group. w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol — README.md (AI Agent Protocol CG, checked 29 October 2026).: "The AI Agent Protocol Community Group now holds regular bi-weekly online meetings, and we warmly welcome your participation. You can find meeting schedules and participation details on our W3C calendar: 👉 Meeting Calendar: https://www.w3.org/groups/cg/agentprotocol/calendar/ Meeting summaries are available on GitHub for convenient asynchronous access to meeting content. If the current meeting times are not convenient for your timezone, please let us know—we're happy to adjust one of the alternative meeting times to better accommodate global participants. Core Documents Our work is hosted on GitHub, focusing on two core documents: Community White Paper Draft 📄 https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/ AI Agent Protocol Specification 📜 https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/protocol.html" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol/main/README.md) [^ref-46]: Gaowei Chang, Ruoxi Ran, Song Xu, Hong Hou, Xi Sun, and Shengyi Zhang. Agent Network Protocol White Paper (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, 2025).: "In response to these challenges, this paper elaborates on the design principles and core requirements for agent network protocols, and provides a systematic comparison and analysis of current major agent network protocol initiatives (MCP, A2A, ACP, ANP, etc.)." (https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/) [^ref-47]: Gaowei Chang. did:wba DID Method Specification (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, checked 29 October 2026).: "This specification defines the did:wba DID method. The method uses HTTPS-hosted DID Documents and supports both domain-level identifiers and path-type identifiers. The default path profile binds an Ed25519 public key fingerprint into the final DID path segment using the e1_ prefix and requires a corresponding Data Integrity proof in the DID Document." (https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/did-wba.html) [^ref-48]: Gaowei Chang. Agent Identity and HTTP Authentication (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Draft Report, checked 29 October 2026).: "This specification defines a DID-method-agnostic identity authentication protocol for agents communicating over HTTP. A client identifies a verification method with a DID URL, signs the HTTP request using HTTP Message Signatures, and binds any request content using Digest Fields. The server resolves and validates the DID according to the applicable DID Method Binding Profile, verifies that the selected verification method is authorized for authentication, verifies replay protections, and then makes a separate authorization decision." (https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/agent-identity.html) [^ref-49]: Gaowei Chang. Minutes of the AI Agent Protocol CG Meeting – August 12, 2026 (public-agentprotocol@w3.org W3C mailing list archive, 12 August 2026).: "This meeting first reviewed the proposal to support multiple DID methods—including did:wba, native did:web, and did:webvh—through a DID-method-agnostic Agent Identity layer. Participants were invited to review the related GitHub pull request, including the method-specific resolution and validation requirements and the did:webvh verifiable-history checks. Protocol draft: https://w3c-cg.github.io/ai-agent-protocol/protocol.html" (https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-agentprotocol/2026Aug/0004.html) [^ref-50]: Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/ANP-Presentation-at-W3C-WebAgents-CG.md (Presentation on ANP at W3C-WebAgents-CG, 14 February 2025).: "On February 14, 2025, Chang Gaowei and James Waugh, representing the AgentNetworkProtocol (ANP) open-source community, delivered a presentation on ANP at the W3C WebAgents CG meeting." (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/ANP-Presentation-at-W3C-WebAgents-CG.md) [^ref-51]: Agent Network Protocol Community. blogs/W3C-AI-Agent-Protocol-Community-Group-Latest-Progress-June-2025.md (W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group Latest Progress (June 2025), June 2025).: "The community group held its first meeting on June 18, 2025, where the main discussions focused on the group's objectives, scope of work, meeting mechanisms, and future plans. Meeting minutes link: https://github.com/w3c-cg/ai-agent-protocol/blob/main/meetings/2025-06-18.md Community Group Background and Composition The W3C AI Agent Protocol Community Group was initiated and established by the ANP open source community at W3C, aiming to promote the standardization process of agent communication protocols. Chang Gaowei, the founder of the ANP community, serves as co-chair of this community group" (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/agent-network-protocol/AgentNetworkProtocol/main/blogs/W3C-AI-Agent-Protocol-Community-Group-Latest-Progress-June-2025.md) [^ref-52]: Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, and Jiaxuan You. ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? (arXiv:2510.17149, v1 submitted 20 October 2025, v3 revised 2 June 2026).: "Despite the existence of diverse protocols (A2A, ACP, ANP, Agora, etc.), selection is often intuition-driven and lacks standardized guidance. We introduce ProtocolBench, a benchmark that systematically compares agent protocols along four measurable axes: task success, end-to-end latency, message or byte overhead, and robustness under failures. On ProtocolBench, protocol choice significantly influences system behavior. In the Streaming Queue scenario, overall completion time varies by up to 36.5% across protocols, and mean end-to-end latency differs by 3.48 s. Under Fail-Storm Recovery, resilience also differs consistently across protocols. Beyond evaluation, we present ProtocolRouter, a learnable protocol router that selects per-scenario (or per-module) protocols from requirement and runtime signals. ProtocolRouter reduces Fail-Storm recovery time by up to 18.1% versus the best single-protocol baseline, and achieves scenario-specific gains such as higher success in GAIA. We also release ProtocolRouterBench to standardize protocol evaluation and improve reliability at scale. Comments: Accepted to ICML 2026." (https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.17149) [^ref-53]: Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, and Jiaxuan You. ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? (Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Machine Learning, PMLR 306:26649–26695, 2026).: "ProtocolBench: Which LLM MultiAgent Protocol to Choose? Hongyi Du, Jiaqi Su, Jisen Li, Lijie Ding, Yingxuan Yang, Peixuan Han, Xiangru Tang, Kunlun Zhu, Jiaxuan You Proceedings of the 43rd International Conference on Machine Learning, PMLR 306:26649-26695, 2026." (https://proceedings.mlr.press/v306/du26l.html) [^ref-54]: Abul Ehtesham, Aditi Singh, Gaurav Kumar Gupta, and Saket Kumar. A survey of agent interoperability protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP) (arXiv:2505.02279, v1 submitted 4 May 2025, v2 revised 23 May 2025).: "This survey examines four emerging agent communication protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP), each addressing interoperability in deployment contexts. MCP provides a JSON-RPC client-server interface for secure tool invocation and typed data exchange. ACP defines a general-purpose communication protocol over RESTful HTTP, supporting MIME-typed multipart messages and synchronous and asynchronous interactions. Its lightweight and runtime-independent design enables scalable agent invocation, while features like session management, message routing, and integration with role-based and decentralized identifiers (DIDs). A2A enables peer-to-peer task delegation using capability-based Agent Cards, supporting secure and scalable collaboration across enterprise agent workflows. ANP supports open network agent discovery and secure collaboration using W3C decentralized identifiers DIDs and JSON-LD graphs." (https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02279) [^ref-55]: Chris Stokel-Walker. Can we stop big tech from controlling the internet with AI agents? (New Scientist, 11 June 2025).: ""We don't want the 'agent internet' to become another 'data silo alliance'," says Gaowei Chang. He chairs the AI Agent Protocol Group, which was established in May as part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards organisation, and says it is essential that all voices are heard in developing this new layer of the internet. "If we truly believe AI is an important technology that will change human society, then we need an open, neutral community to drive protocol design, ensuring its future belongs to everyone, not just a few companies," he says." "Chang has initiated his own open-source competitor to the big tech agent protocols, the Agent Network Protocol (ANP), which predates both MCP and A2A." (https://www.newscientist.com/article/2483880-can-we-stop-big-tech-from-controlling-the-internet-with-ai-agents/) [^ref-56]: Sana Hassan. A Deep Technical Dive into Next-Generation Interoperability Protocols: Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A), and Agent Network Protocol (ANP) (MarkTechPost, 10 May 2025).: "Agent Network Protocol (ANP) provides the foundation for decentralized agent collaboration by combining semantic web technologies with cryptographic identity models. ANP leverages W3C-compliant Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and JSON-LD graphs to create self-describing, verifiable agent identities. Agents publish metadata, ontologies, and capability graphs, enabling other agents to discover and interpret their offerings without centralized registries. Security and privacy are integral to ANP. It supports encrypted message channels, cryptographic signing of requests, and selective disclosure of agent capabilities. These features enable agent marketplaces, federated research networks, and trustless cooperation across borders or organizations. Through its semantic context and decentralized identity, ANP brings to the agent ecosystem what DNS and TLS brought to the early internet, discoverability, trust, and security at scale." (https://www.marktechpost.com/2025/05/09/a-deep-technical-dive-into-next-generation-interoperability-protocols-model-context-protocol-mcp-agent-communication-protocol-acp-agent-to-agent-protocol-a2a-and-agent-network-protocol-anp/)