WorkOS reposted this
Today we’re launching auth-md: an open protocol for agent registration. For the last 20 years, software assumed the user was a human sitting in front of a browser. Click the button. Fill out the form. Verify your email. Copy the API key. Paste it somewhere else. That model does not work when the user is delegating work to an agent. Agents are already writing code, opening PRs, triaging tickets, querying systems, updating records, and deciding which tools to use. But most products still have no real way for an agent to register. auth-md gives apps a simple way to expose how agents can register. Your app publishes an auth-md file. An agent can read it and understand: How do I register? Which flows are supported? What scopes can I request? How does the user approve this? How do I get credentials that can be audited and revoked? The most important part: your app stays in control. You decide which flows to accept. You decide which scopes exist. You decide what level of access agents get. You issue credentials tied to a real user. Some apps may allow open agent registration. Some may require verified user identity. Some may only trust specific agent providers. Some may require admin approval. Some may decide agents should not get access at all. That should be the developer’s choice. We think every product is going to need an agent registration surface. Just like every app needed a login box. Then OAuth. Then SSO. Then SCIM. Now agents need a way in. And that way should be open. WorkOS authored the protocol, but auth-md is not tied to WorkOS infrastructure. Any app can publish one. Any agent can read one. Any provider can implement verified identity assertions. The point is interoperability. Agents are becoming real actors on the internet. They should not need to pretend to be humans. And users should not need to hand them master keys. Read more below and make your app Agent Ready today:
