[Feature]: Self-sovereign Passports for user identity #1

New issue

Closed

opened 2025-09-21 23:05:58 -04:00 by continuist · 2 comments

continuist commented

2025-09-21 23:05:58 -04:00

Owner

Feature Summary

Allow creation and use of self-sovereign Passports for authorization and authentication of individual users

Problem or Use Case

We need an identity/AuthN/AuthZ solution for individual users of Sharenet if they are going to perform CRUD operations that should be tied to a user. We could have the user create accounts relative to an individual Node at which they are signed up, but this would make it hard to migrate their identity to other Nodes in case they want to leave that Node. A better way would be to allow the user to create their own account independently of any Node or central authority, and then simply register an identity (via a token or public key) with the Node in which they want to be a member. This might also allow them to be a member of more than one Node. This would be better for a decentralized system like Sharenet and to avoid problems around central control.

Proposed Solution

Create a Passport file that the user can create offline either manually or through a tool we provide (perhaps from the main page as a browser script?) to create a public/private key pair. The user should also set a backup password in case their Passport is lost, so that it can be regenerated and the old one tombstoned.

This proposed solution needs some work.

Alternatives Considered

No response

Additional Context

For users and potentially for Nodes as well.

Community Guidelines

I agree to follow this project’s Code of Conduct and contribution guidelines.

### Feature Summary Allow creation and use of self-sovereign Passports for authorization and authentication of individual users ### Problem or Use Case We need an identity/AuthN/AuthZ solution for individual users of Sharenet if they are going to perform CRUD operations that should be tied to a user. We could have the user create accounts relative to an individual Node at which they are signed up, but this would make it hard to migrate their identity to other Nodes in case they want to leave that Node. A better way would be to allow the user to create their own account independently of any Node or central authority, and then simply register an identity (via a token or public key) with the Node in which they want to be a member. This might also allow them to be a member of more than one Node. This would be better for a decentralized system like Sharenet and to avoid problems around central control. ### Proposed Solution Create a Passport file that the user can create offline either manually or through a tool we provide (perhaps from the main page as a browser script?) to create a public/private key pair. The user should also set a backup password in case their Passport is lost, so that it can be regenerated and the old one tombstoned. This proposed solution needs some work. ### Alternatives Considered _No response_ ### Additional Context For users and potentially for Nodes as well. ### Community Guidelines - [x] I agree to follow this project’s Code of Conduct and contribution guidelines.