Metadata-Version: 2.4
Name: vouch-protocol
Version: 1.5.0
Summary: The Identity & Reputation Standard for AI Agents
Author-email: Vouch Protocol Contributors <hello@vouch-protocol.com>
License: Apache License 2.0
        ==================
        
        Copyright 2025 Vouch Protocol Contributors
        
        Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
        you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
        You may obtain a copy of the License at
        
            http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
        
        Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
        distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
        WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
        See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
        limitations under the License.
        
        NOTE: The Vouch Protocol specification may be contributed to W3C
        Verifiable Credentials Working Group as a separate standards track.
        
        ================================================================================
        
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Project-URL: Homepage, https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch
Project-URL: Bug Tracker, https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/issues
Project-URL: Documentation, https://vouch-protocol.com
Keywords: ai,agents,identity,cryptography,did,verifiable-credentials
Classifier: Development Status :: 4 - Beta
Classifier: Intended Audience :: Developers
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: GNU Affero General Public License v3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
Classifier: Topic :: Security :: Cryptography
Classifier: Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules
Requires-Python: >=3.9
Description-Content-Type: text/markdown
License-File: LICENSE
Requires-Dist: jwcrypto>=1.5.0
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Dynamic: license-file

# Vouch Protocol

<p align="center">
  <img src="docs/assets/vouch-banner.png" alt="Vouch Protocol" width="400">
</p>

<p align="center">The Open Standard for Identity & Provenance of AI Agents</strong>
</p>

<!-- Standards Body Memberships -->
<p align="center">
  <a href="https://c2pa.org"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/C2PA-Member-0891b2?style=for-the-badge&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgZmlsbD0id2hpdGUiPjxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xMiAyQzYuNDggMiAyIDYuNDggMiAxMnM0LjQ4IDEwIDEwIDEwIDEwLTQuNDggMTAtMTBTMTcuNTIgMiAxMiAyek0xMCAMTdsLTUtNSAxLjQxLTEuNDFMMTAgMTQuMTdsNy41OS03LjU5TDE5IDhsLTkgOXoiLz48L3N2Zz4=" alt="C2PA Member"></a>
  <a href="https://contentauthenticity.org"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/CAI-Member-f97316?style=for-the-badge&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgZmlsbD0id2hpdGUiPjxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xMiAxTDMgNXY2YzAgNS41NSAzLjg0IDEwLjc0IDkgMTIgNS4xNi0xLjI2IDktNi40NSA5LTEyVjVsLTktNHptMCAyLjE4bDcgMy4xMnY1LjdjMCA0LjgzLTMuMjMgOS4zNi03IDEwLjU4VjMuMTh6Ii8+PC9zdmc+" alt="CAI Member"></a>
  <a href="https://identity.foundation"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/DIF-Member-6F2DA8?style=for-the-badge&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgZmlsbD0id2hpdGUiPjxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xMiAyQzYuNDggMiAyIDYuNDggMiAxMnM0LjQ4IDEwIDEwIDEwIDEwLTQuNDggMTAtMTBTMTcuNTIgMiAxMiAyem0tMiAxNWwtNS01IDEuNDEtMS40MUwxMCAxNC4xN2w3LjU5LTcuNTlMMTkgOGwtOSA5eiIvPjwvc3ZnPg==" alt="DIF Member"></a>
  <a href="https://lfaidata.foundation"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Linux_Foundation-Member-333333?style=for-the-badge&logo=linux-foundation&logoColor=white" alt="Linux Foundation Member"></a>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Protected_by-Vouch_Protocol-00C853?style=flat&labelColor=333&logo=data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAyNCAyNCIgd2lkdGg9IjI0IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI0Ij48cGF0aCBmaWxsPSIjMDBDODUzIiBkPSJNMTIgMjBMMiA0aDRsNiAxMC41TDE4IDRoNEwxMiAyMHoiLz48L3N2Zz4=" alt="Protected by Vouch"></a>
  <a href="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/11688"><img src="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/11688/badge" alt="OpenSSF Silver"></a>
  <a href="https://codecov.io/gh/vouch-protocol/vouch"><img src="https://codecov.io/gh/vouch-protocol/vouch/branch/main/graph/badge.svg" alt="Code Coverage"></a>
  <a href="https://discord.gg/VxgYkjdph"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Discord-Join_Community-7289da?logo=discord&logoColor=white" alt="Discord"></a>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/LICENSE"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-Apache_2.0-blue.svg" alt="Apache 2.0 License"></a>
</p>

---

## ⚡ Quick Start

```bash
pip install vouch-protocol

# One command to configure SSH signing + Vouch branding
vouch git init

# All future commits are now signed and show ✅ Verified on GitHub
git commit -m "Secure commit"
```

---

> **The Open Standard for AI Agent Identity & Accountability**
> 
> When Anthropic launched MCP, they solved "how agents call tools."  
> They didn't solve "how we TRUST those agents."
> 
> **Vouch Protocol is the SSL certificate for AI agents.**

[Read the spec →](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/docs/vouch_guide.md) | [Join Discord →](https://discord.gg/VxgYkjdph)

---

## The Problem

AI agents are making real-world API calls with **ZERO cryptographic proof** of:
- **WHO** they are
- **WHAT** they intended to do  
- **WHEN** they did it

**Examples of the risk:**
- Healthcare AI accesses patient data → HIPAA violation risk
- Financial AI makes unauthorized trades → Liability nightmare
- Customer service AI leaks data → Compliance failure

**Current solutions:**
- **DIY JWT signing** → No agent-specific features, security mistakes easy
- **Nothing** → Most people just YOLO it and hope for the best

---

## The Solution

**Vouch Protocol** provides cryptographic identity for AI agents, modeled after SSL/TLS:

✅ **Ed25519 signatures** (industry-standard cryptography)  
✅ **JWK key format** (works with existing infrastructure)  
✅ **Audit trail** (cryptographic proof of every action)  
✅ **Framework-agnostic** (works with MCP, LangChain, CrewAI, etc.)  
✅ **Open source** (Apache 2.0 license)

**Think of it as:**
- SSL certificate = Proves website identity
- **Vouch Protocol = Proves AI agent identity**

---

## How It Works

### The Workflow

![Vouch Protocol Workflow](docs/images/how-it-works.png)

**4 Simple Steps:**
1. **Generate Identity** - Create keypair and DID
2. **Sign Action** - Agent signs every API call
3. **Send to API** - Include token in HTTP header
4. **Verify** - API checks signature with public key

### The Trust Model

![Trust Model](docs/images/trust-model.png)

**Trust = Public Key Cryptography + JWT + DID**  
The same math that secures SSL/TLS, just for AI agents.

---

## Why Vouch Protocol?

### vs. DIY JWT

| Feature | Vouch Protocol | DIY JWT |
|---------|---------------|---------|
| **Agent-specific** | ✅ (designed for agents) | ❌ (generic) |
| **MCP integration** | ✅ (native) | ❌ (manual) |
| **Framework integrations** | ✅ (LangChain, CrewAI, etc.) | ❌ |
| **Audit trail format** | ✅ (standardized) | ❌ (custom) |
| **Security best practices** | ✅ (built-in) | ⚠️ (easy to mess up) |

---

## Quick Start

### 1. Install
```bash
pip install vouch-protocol
```

### 2. Generate Identity
```bash
vouch init --domain your-agent.com
```

### 3. Sign an Action (Agent Side)
```python
from vouch import Signer
import os

signer = Signer(
    private_key=os.environ['VOUCH_PRIVATE_KEY'],
    did=os.environ['VOUCH_DID']
)

token = signer.sign({'action': 'read_database', 'target': 'users'})
# Include token in Vouch-Token header
```

### 4. Verify (API Side)
```python
from fastapi import FastAPI, Header, HTTPException
from vouch import Verifier

app = FastAPI()

@app.post("/api/resource")
def protected_route(vouch_token: str = Header(alias="Vouch-Token")):
    public_key = '{"kty":"OKP"...}' # From agent's vouch.json
    
    is_valid, passport = Verifier.verify(vouch_token, public_key_jwk=public_key)
    
    if not is_valid:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=401, detail="Untrusted Agent")
        
    return {"status": "Verified", "agent": passport.sub}
```

**That's it.** 3 lines to sign, 3 lines to verify.

---

## Integrations

Works with all major AI frameworks out-of-the-box:

- ✅ **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** - Native integration for Claude Desktop & Cursor
- ✅ **LangChain** - Sign tool calls automatically
- ✅ **CrewAI** - Multi-agent identity management
- ✅ **AutoGPT** - Autonomous agent signing
- ✅ **AutoGen** - Microsoft multi-agent framework
- ✅ **Google Vertex AI** - Sign function calls
- ✅ **n8n** - Low-code agent workflows

[See all integrations →](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/tree/main/vouch/integrations)

---

## Enterprise Features

- 🔐 **Key Rotation** - Automatic rotating keys for production
- 🎙️ **Voice AI Signing** - Sign audio frames in real-time  
- ☁️ **Cloud KMS** - AWS KMS, GCP Cloud KMS, Azure Key Vault
- 📊 **Reputation Scoring** - Track agent behavior over time
- 🚫 **Revocation Registry** - Blacklist compromised keys
- ⚡ **Redis Caching** - Production-scale verification

---

## 🎯 Use Cases

### Financial Services
```python
# SEC-compliant trade logging
agent.sign({'action': 'execute_trade', 'amount': 10000, 'symbol': 'AAPL'})
```

### Customer Service
```python
# Data access accountability
agent.sign({'action': 'read_customer_data', 'customer_id': 'cust_abc'})
```

### Healthcare AI
```python
# HIPAA-compliant audit trail
agent.sign({'action': 'access_phi', 'patient_id': '12345'})
```

[See full examples →](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/tree/main/examples)

---

## 📚 Documentation

- 🚀 [Quick Start](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch#quick-start)
- 🔧 [Integration Guides](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/tree/main/vouch/integrations)
- 📖 [Protocol Specification](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/docs/vouch_guide.md)
- 🏢 [Enterprise Features](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch#enterprise-features)
- 🛡️ [Security Best Practices](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/docs/vouch_guide.md)
- ❓ [FAQ](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/discussions)

---

## 🤝 Community

- **Discord** - Ask questions, share use cases → [Join now](https://discord.gg/VxgYkjdph)
- **GitHub Discussions** - Technical discussions → [Start a discussion](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/discussions)
- **Twitter/X** - Updates and announcements → [@Vouch_Protocol](https://x.com/Vouch_Protocol)

---

## 🛣️ Roadmap

- [x] Core protocol (Ed25519, JWK, JWT)
- [x] MCP integration
- [x] LangChain, CrewAI, AutoGPT integrations
- [x] C2PA Content Credentials integration (image signing & verification)
- [x] 27 Prior Art Disclosures (CC0 defensive publications)
- [x] Audio watermarking (Vouch Sonic - spread-spectrum steganography)
- [x] Voice biometric enrollment (DID-linked voiceprints)
- [ ] W3C standardization track (in progress)
- [ ] Edge-first WASM + ONNX client-side processing
- [ ] Multi-signature support
- [ ] Hardware key support (YubiKey, etc.)
- [ ] Browser extension (verify agents in real-time)

[View full roadmap →](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/issues)

---

## 📜 License

**Apache License 2.0** - See [LICENSE](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/LICENSE)

You can use this freely in commercial and open-source projects.

*The Vouch Protocol specification is being developed as a W3C standards track submission. The implementation is also being submitted to the Linux Foundation's AI & Data Foundation (LF AI & Data).*

---

## 🙏 Acknowledgments

Inspired by:
- **SSL/TLS** (the gold standard for identity)
- **OAuth 2.0** (federated identity done right)
- **W3C Verifiable Credentials** (the future of digital identity)

Built by [Ramprasad Gaddam](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rampy) ([Twitter/X](https://x.com/rampyg))

---

## 🚀 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).

**Areas where we need help:**
- [ ] Add integrations (Haystack, Semantic Kernel, etc.)
- [ ] Improve documentation
- [ ] Write tutorials
- [ ] Build examples
- [ ] Security audits

---

**⭐ Star this repo if you find it useful!**

[Star on GitHub](https://github.com/vouch-protocol/vouch) | [Join Discord](https://discord.gg/VxgYkjdph) | [Follow on Twitter](https://x.com/Vouch_Protocol)

---

## 📜 Prior Art Disclosures

To ensure ecosystem freedom, we publish **27 defensive prior art disclosures** (CC0 public domain) covering novel methods across cryptographic identity, media provenance, voice biometrics, AI safety, and content authenticity:

| ID | Title | Category |
|----|-------|----------|
| [PAD-001](docs/disclosures/PAD-001-cryptographic-agent-identity.md) | Cryptographic Agent Identity | Identity |
| [PAD-002](docs/disclosures/PAD-002-chain-of-custody.md) | Chain of Custody Delegation | Identity |
| [PAD-003](docs/disclosures/PAD-003-identity-sidecar.md) | Identity Sidecar Pattern | Architecture |
| [PAD-004](docs/disclosures/PAD-004-smart-scan-verification.md) | DOM-Traversing Signature Matching | Verification |
| [PAD-005](docs/disclosures/PAD-005-reverse-lookup-registry.md) | Detached Signature Recovery | Verification |
| [PAD-006](docs/disclosures/PAD-006-trust-graph-url-chaining.md) | URL-Based Credential Chaining | Trust |
| [PAD-007](docs/disclosures/PAD-007-ghost-signature-telemetry.md) | Automated Provenance via Input Telemetry | Provenance |
| [PAD-008](docs/disclosures/PAD-008-hybrid-ssh-verification.md) | Hybrid Identity Bootstrapping | Identity |
| [PAD-009](docs/disclosures/PAD-009-localhost-identity-bridge.md) | Unified Local Identity via Localhost Bridge | Architecture |
| [PAD-010](docs/disclosures/PAD-010-semantic-consent-signing.md) | Context-Adaptive Semantic Consent | Privacy |
| [PAD-011](docs/disclosures/PAD-011-hierarchical-discovery-protocol.md) | Hierarchical Discovery Protocol | Discovery |
| [PAD-012](docs/disclosures/PAD-012-vouch-covenant.md) | Executable Usage Covenants in Media Manifests | Media / Rights |
| [PAD-013](docs/disclosures/PAD-013-vouch-airgap.md) | Air-Gapped Identity via Psychoacoustic Steganography | Audio |
| [PAD-014](docs/disclosures/PAD-014-vouch-sonic.md) | Robust Acoustic Provenance via Steganography | Audio |
| [PAD-015](docs/disclosures/PAD-015-ambient-witness-protocol.md) | Ambient Witness Protocol (BLE Crowdsourcing) | IoT / Provenance |
| [PAD-016](docs/disclosures/PAD-016-dynamic-credential-renewal.md) | Dynamic Credential Renewal ("Heartbeat Protocol") | Identity |
| [PAD-017](docs/disclosures/PAD-017-cryptographic-proof-of-reasoning.md) | Cryptographic Proof of Reasoning | AI Safety |
| [PAD-018](docs/disclosures/PAD-018-model-lineage-provenance.md) | Model Lineage Provenance ("Birth Certificate Protocol") | AI Safety |
| [PAD-019](docs/disclosures/PAD-019-glass-channel-protocol.md) | Transparent Agent Communication | AI Safety |
| [PAD-020](docs/disclosures/PAD-020-ratchet-lock-protocol.md) | Capability Acquisition Containment | AI Safety |
| [PAD-021](docs/disclosures/PAD-021-inverse-capability-protocol.md) | Graduated Autonomy via Inverse Capability Scaling | AI Safety |
| [PAD-022](docs/disclosures/PAD-022-swarm-limits-protocol.md) | Agent Population Governance | AI Safety |
| [PAD-023](docs/disclosures/PAD-023-content-policy-watermarking.md) | Machine-Readable Content Usage Policies in Audio Watermarks | Audio / Rights |
| [PAD-024](docs/disclosures/PAD-024-temporal-video-fingerprinting.md) | Temporal Perceptual Hashing for Video Provenance | Video |
| [PAD-025](docs/disclosures/PAD-025-edge-first-content-provenance.md) | Edge-First Content Provenance via Client-Side WASM | Architecture |
| [PAD-026](docs/disclosures/PAD-026-did-linked-voiceprint-enrollment.md) | DID-Linked Voice Biometric Enrollment | Voice / Biometrics |
| [PAD-027](docs/disclosures/PAD-027-shamir-split-biometric-recovery.md) | Shamir Secret Sharing of Biometric Enrollment Data | Recovery / Biometrics |

[View all disclosures →](docs/disclosures/README.md)
