Protocol Specification

Audience: Protocol implementers and those who want to understand the ActingWeb protocol itself.

The ActingWeb protocol is an implementation-agnostic specification for building distributed, actor-based systems. Each actor instance has a unique URL and communicates with other actors through RESTful endpoints.

Overview

ActingWeb is a protocol for distributed micro-services where each user gets their own “actor” instance with a unique URL. The protocol defines:

• Actor Identity: Each actor has a unique root URL (e.g., https://domain.com/actor-id)

• REST Endpoints: Standard endpoints for properties, trust relationships, subscriptions, and callbacks

• Trust Relationships: Symmetric trust establishment between actors

• Subscriptions: Event notification system for property changes

• Authentication: Multiple auth methods (basic, OAuth, OAuth2)

Contents

• ActingWeb Specification - version 1.4
  • Introduction
  • The Mini-Application Model
  • The Actor
  • Endpoints
  • /mcp - Model Context Protocol (OPTIONAL)
  • /trust - Trust Relationships (OPTIONAL)
  • /subscriptions - Subscriptions (OPTIONAL)
  • Security Considerations
  • IANA Considerations
  • References and Endnotes

Key Concepts

Actors

An actor represents a user or service instance. Each actor:

• Has a unique URL (https://domain.com/<actor_id>)

• Maintains its own state (properties)

• Can establish trust with other actors

• Can subscribe to events from trusted peers

Standard Endpoints

Every actor exposes these REST endpoints:

• /meta - Actor metadata and discovery

• /properties - Key-value storage

• /trust - Trust relationship management

• /subscriptions - Event subscription management

• /callbacks - Incoming event notifications

Trust and Permissions

Trust relationships are symmetric - both actors must approve. Trust enables:

• Permission-based access to properties

• Event subscriptions

• Secure data sharing

See the full specification for complete details.