Solid Application Interoperability - Authorization Agent Primer

1. Introduction

This primer is intended to accompany [SAI]. It is focused on providing a friendly introduction for developers of libraries intended for solid authorization agents.

This document was developed alongside the open-source TypeScript implementation [SAI-JS] and open-source Java implementation [SAI-JAVA].

2. Shape Tree

Shape Trees [SHAPETREES] allow for the definition and validation of data hierarchies including which shapes [SHEX] should be used to validate data. In our examples, we are going to use the following Shapes and Shape Trees.

solidtrees:Project
  a shapetrees:ShapeTree ;
  shapetrees:expectsType shapetrees:Resource ;
  shapetrees:shape solidshapes:Project ;
  shapetrees:references uuid:54b5e4f6-c6b5-4c9a-b885-cbf69d08370d .

uuid:54b5e4f6-c6b5-4c9a-b885-cbf69d08370d
  shapetrees:hasShapeTree solidtrees:Task ;
  shapetrees:viaShapePath
    "@<https://solidshapes.example/shapes/Project>~<https://vocab.example/project-management/hasTask>" .

solidshapes:Project {
  a [ pm:Project ] ;
  rdfs:label xsd:string ;
  pm:hasTask IRI *
}

solidtrees:Task
  a shapetrees:ShapeTree ;
  shapetrees:expectsType shapetrees:Resource ;
  shapetrees:shape solidshapes:Task .

solidshapes:Task {
  a [ pm:Task ] ;
  rdfs:label xsd:string
}

Reference shape path documentation

3. Registry Set

Authorization Agent uses a set of different registries to perform its dutes. Specificaly,

• one or more § 4 Data Registry,

• one § 5 Authorization Registry,

• one § 6 Agent Registry,

each one of them is described in a dedicated section.

The Registry Set can be discovered from a social agent’s WebID Profile using interop:hasRegistrySet predicate.

alice:\#id  a interop:Agent ;  interop:hasRegistrySet alice-auth:13e60d32-77a6-4239-864d-cfe2c90807c8 ;  interop:hasAuthorizationAgent <https://auth.alice.example/> .

While WebID Profile is readable to the public, Registry Set should only be readable by its owner and their Authorization Agent.

alice-auth:13e60d32-77a6-4239-864d-cfe2c90807c8
  a interop:RegistrySet;
  interop:hasAgentRegistry alice-auth:1cf3e08b-ffe2-465a-ac5b-94ce165cb8f0 ;
  interop:hasAccessConsentRegistry alice-auth:96feb105-063e-4996-ab74-5e504c6ceae5 ;
  interop:hasDataRegistry
    alice-pro:71e96aaa-f3dc-4263-97d6-a5b4c83524cb ,
    alice-home:2d3d97b4-a26d-434e-afa2-e3bc8e8e2b56 .

4. Data Registry

A Data Registry is a collection of Data Registrations, each of which represents a unique type of data, identified by a shape tree.

alice-pro:71e96aaa-f3dc-4263-97d6-a5b4c83524cb
  a interop:DataRegistry ;
  interop:hasRegistration
    alice-pro:773605f0-b5bf-4d46-878d-5c167eac8b5d ,
    alice-pro:4d594c61-7cff-484a-a1d2-1f353ee4e1e7 .

In a Data Registry, there can be at most one Data Registration for any given shape tree.

4.1. Data Registration

Data Registration is a container, which contains Data Instances. Each of those Data Instances conforms to one specific shape tree assigned to the Data Registration.

alice-pro:773605f0-b5bf-4d46-878d-5c167eac8b5d  a interop:DataRegistration ;  interop:registeredShapeTree solidtrees:Project ;  interop:registeredAt "2020-10-17T11:42:35.000Z"^^xsd:dateTime ;  interop:registeredBy <https://alice.example/#id> ;  interop:registeredWith <https://solidmin.example/#app> ;  interop:iriPrefix "https://pro.alice.example/" ;  ldp:contains    alice-pro:ccbd77ae-f769-4e07-b41f-5136501e13e7\#project ,    alice-pro:7a130c38-668a-4775-821a-08b38f2306fb\#project .

registeredShapeTree

Shape Tree used by this Data Registration

4.2. Data Instance

Data Instance is a resource representing something specific, for example, a project or a task. An Authorization Agent is not responsible for modifying data instances. Sometimes it still needs to access them during § 7 Gathering Authorizations from the user if the user wants to select specific data instances.

5. Authorization Registry

Authorization Registry is a container, which contains Access Authorizations. Each of those Access Authorizations is created for a specific grantee, and groups together one or more Data Authorizations.

alice-auth:96feb105-063e-4996-ab74-5e504c6ceae5
  a interop:AccessConsentRegistry ;
  interop:hasAccessConsent
    alice-auth:eac2c39c-c8b3-4880-8b9f-a3e12f7f6372 ,
    alice-auth:75a2ef88-d4d4-4f05-af1e-c2a63af08cab .

5.1. Access Authorization

Access Authorization groups one or more data authorizations. Together they represent the whole access granted by a social agent to another agent. One of the primary responsibilities of the authorization agent is § 9 Generating Access Grant from Access Authorization.

An Access Authorization is immutable, it never gets updated, instead it can be only replaced with a newer Access Authorization.

5.2. Data Authorization

Data Authorization, similar to § 6.7 Data Grant, represents access granted by a specific Social Agent. It is always associated with a specific § 2 Shape Tree. Depending on its scope it can apply to all the Data Instances in any number of Data Registrations. In that case, interop:hasDataRegistration will not be specified.

alice-auth:e2765d6c-848a-4fc0-9092-556903730263
  a interop:DataConsent ;
  interop:grantedBy <https://alice.example/#id> ;
  interop:grantedWith <https://jarvis.alice.example/#agent> ;
  interop:grantee <https://projectron.example/#app> ;
  interop:registeredShapeTree solidtrees:Project ;
  interop:dataOwner <https://acme.example/#corp> ;
  interop:accessMode acl:Read, acl:Write ;
  interop:scopeOfConsent interop:AllFromAgent .
alice-auth:6a9feb57-252b-43b2-8470-5a938888b2fa
  interop:inheritsFromConsent
    alice-auth:e2765d6c-848a-4fc0-9092-556903730263 .

A Data Authorization is immutable, it never gets updated, instead it can be only replaced with a newer Data Authorization.

5.2.1. Scopes

Data Authorization can have one of five scopes:

All

All the Data Instances in all the Data Registration the End-user has access to. This includes ones owned by the End-user as well as ones owned by others, where End-user has been granted access.

AllFromAgent

All the Data Instances in all the Data Registrations, owned by a specific social agent. This could be the End-user themselves or any other social agent who granted access to the End-user.

Plus all the Data Grant Scopes

6. Agent Registry

alice-auth:1cf3e08b-ffe2-465a-ac5b-94ce165cb8f0
  a interop:AgentRegistry ;
  interop:hasSocialAgentRegistration
    alice-auth:b1f69979-dd47-4709-b2ed-a7119f29b135 ,
    alice-auth:5dc3c14e-7830-475f-b8e3-4748d6c0bccb ;
  interop:hasApplicationRegistration
    alice-auth:bcf22534-0187-4ae4-b88f-fe0f9fa96659 ,
    alice-auth:170c12ac-7d4f-47fe-b36d-7a9944c429d9 .

6.1. Agent Registration

There can be only one Agent Registration for any given agent in Agent Registry. Its main purpose is to make § 6.6 Access Grant available to the registered agent.

6.2. Social Agent Registration

Social Agent Registration is created for a Social Agent. Besides § 6.6 Access Grant it can also reference a § 6.2.1 Reciprocal Registration.

6.2.1. Reciprocal Registration

The reference to reciprocal registration can be created after receiving an § 6.8 Access Receipt from another Social Agent and performing § 6.5 Agent Registration Discovery

In the case of Social Agent Registration for ACME, created in Alice’s Agent Registry. The reciprocal registration will be the Social Agent Reigstration for Alice, created in ACME’s Agent Registry.

6.3. Social Agent Invitation

Social Agent Invitation represents an invitation for a Social Agent. It takes advantage of an existing and secure communication channel between two agents to pass a secret link that allows accepting the invitation. This flow results in both agents establishing a pair of Reciprocal Registrations. If the platform supports it, the Authorization Agent of the sender can use [WEB-SHARE] to pass the secret link to the user’s messaging app. On the other side, the Authorization Agent of the recipient can use [WEB-SHARE-TARGET] to register with the platform and receive a secret link from the user’s messaging app. Independent of the platform, Authorization Agents should always allow a simple copy of the link by the sender (e.g., navigator.clipboard.writeText) and paste it by the recipient.

6.4. Application Registration

Application Registrations are created by the End-user for applications they use. Since applications do not own or share data, they will never have a [#reciprocal-registration].

6.5. Agent Registration Discovery

Both Social Agent and Application can discover Agent Registration created for them, by performing HEAD or GET request on IRI denoting the Authorization Agent. Response will include HTTP Link header relating Agent Registration to the agent making the request using http://www.w3.org/ns/solid/interop#registeredAgent as link relation.

In a case where End-user using an application performs the discovery on their own Authorization Agent. The response will include a link to the Application registration.

HEAD / HTTP/1.1
Host: auth.alice.example
Authorization: DPoP ....

HTTP/1.1 200 OKLink: <https://projectron.example/#app>;  anchor="https://auth.alice.example/bcf22534-0187-4ae4-b88f-fe0f9fa96659";  rel="http://www.w3.org/ns/solid/interop#registeredAgent"

In the case where the client acting on behalf of one social agent, performs the discovery on another’s social agent Authorization Agent. The response will include a link to Social Agent Registration.

HEAD / HTTP/1.1
Host: auth.alice.example
Authorization: DPoP ....

HTTP/1.1 200 OKLink: <https://bob.example/#id>;  anchor="https://auth.alice.example/92868ad4-a9e6-42df-9cb0-883350c62769";  rel="http://www.w3.org/ns/solid/interop#registeredAgent"

6.6. Access Grant

An Access Grant groups together all the Data Grants provided for a specific agent.

An Access Grant is immutable — it never gets updated; it can only be replaced, by a newer Access Grant.

6.7. Data Grant

Each Data grant represents access granted by specific Social Agent, to all or selected Data Instances in specific Data Registration.

alice-auth:cd247a67-0879-4301-abd0-828f63abb252
  a interop:DataGrant ;
    interop:dataOwner <https://alice.example/#id> ;
    interop:grantedBy <https://alice.example/#id> ;
    interop:registeredShapeTree solidtrees:Project ;
    interop:hasDataRegistration alice-pro:773605f0-b5bf-4d46-878d-5c167eac8b5d ;
    interop:accessMode acl:Read, acl:Write ;
    interop:scopeOfGrant interop:SelectedFromRegistry ;
    interop:hasDataInstance
      alice-pro:7a130c38-668a-4775-821a-08b38f2306fb\#project .

alice-auth:9827ae00-2778-4655-9f22-08bb9daaee26
    interop:inheritsFromGrant
      alice-auth:cd247a67-0879-4301-abd0-828f63abb252 .

alice-pro:773605f0-b5bf-4d46-878d-5c167eac8b5d
  interop:iriPrefix "https://pro.alice.example/" .

A Data Grant is immutable, it never gets updated, instead it can be only replaced with a newer Data Grant.

Data Grant can be consider as the most important data structure, it provides following information:

dataOwner

Social Agent who owns the data

grantedBy

Social Agent who granted the access

registeredShapeTree

Shape Tree used by related Data Registration

hasDataRegistration

Data Registration that this Data Grant applies to. As well as iriPrefix of that Data Registration (see § 4.1 Data Registration)

accessMode

List of access modes defining what application can do with the data

scopeOfGrant

Defines which instances can be accessed (see § 6.7.1 Scopes)

inheritsFromGrant

If grant has InheritInstances scope, it will be the Data Grant for Data Registraion with parent Data Instances (see § 6.7.2 Inheritance)

hasDataInstance

If grant has SelectedInstances scope, it will be all the Data Instances that application can access in the Data Registration

delegationOfGrant

If Data Grant is issued by Social Agent other than data owner, it will be the original Data Grant issued by the data owner (see § 6.7.3 Delegation)

6.7.1. Scopes

Data Grant can have one of three scopes:

AllFromRegistry

All the Data Instances in the Data Registration. Application will be able to access the Data Registration and see the list of all contained instances (see § 4.1 Data Registration)

SelectedFromRegistry

Only specific Data Instances in the Data Registration. Application will not be able to access the Data Registration, so it will not see the list al all contained instances. Instad list of selected Data Instances is available via hasDataInstance

Inherited

Only those Data Instances in the Data Registration, which are related to parent kData Instances in Data Registration of the Data Grant referenced with inheritsFromGrant (see § 6.7.2 Inheritance)

6.7.2. Inheritance

InheritInstances Data Grant doesn’t provide access to the Data Registration, so application can’t get the list of all the Data Instances. Neither it provides a list of specific Data Instances in the Data Registration.

To find Data Instances from that Data Registration, application first needs to access parent Data Instances from Data Registration which Data Grant referenced by inheritsFromGrant makes accessible. Based on shape tree definition, each parent Data Instance will reference all its child Data Instances.

Both parent and child Data Registrations have to be in the same Data Registry. Since only one Data Registration for specific shape tree can be created in any given Data Registry. All parent Data Instances are from one Data Registration and all child Data Instances are from one Data Registration.

6.7.3. Delegation

Application doesn’t need to handle delegated Data Grants in any special way. To know if Data Grant was issued by currently logged in user or someone else, application should rely on dataOwner information in the Data Grant.

6.8. Access Receipt

Access Receipt helps to establish data sharing between two social agents. Once received the authorization agent should prompt the user to approve creating § 6.2 Social Agent Registration for that data owner. If user approves § 6.2.1 Reciprocal Registration can be associated and subscription for notifications established to keep track on the latest § 6.6 Access Grant. Once reciprocal registration gets associated there is no further need for its data owner to send access receipts to the agent registered in that reciprocal registration.

6.9. Access Need Group

An Access Need Group is a collection of Access Needs used to communicate an access request to Social Agents.

An Authorization Agent uses them during § 7 Gathering Authorizations from the user.

6.10. Access Need

An Access Need represents the requirement of one specific type of data represented by a shape tree, as part of an Access Need Group.

Complete this section based on implementation of UI for Authorization Agent Service

7. Gathering Authorizations from the user

The most common case is authorizing an application based on its § 6.10 Access Need. The authorization screen should combine those Access Needs with existing § 5.1 Access Authorization if one exists. It should also assist the user in composing new Access Authorization, taking into account all their:

• Data Registries with Data Registrations and Data Instances

• § 6.6 Access Grant with § 6.7 Data Grant others issued to them (available via all the § 6.2.1 Reciprocal Registration)

8. Sharing resources indicated by the application

When the application has already been registered, and the user wants to initiate a sharing-specific § 4.2 Data Instance, an authorization flow with resource indication is available.

9. Generating Access Grant from Access Authorization

Based on an § 5.1 Access Authorization, authorization agent can generate an § 6.6 Access Grant. For § 5.2 Data Authorization using AllFromRegistry, SelectedFromRegistry scope, a single § 6.7 Data Grant gets generated. Similar for data authorization using Inherited scope and inheriting from data authorization with one of those two scopes. Here a data authorization gets directly translated into a data grant, only changing type and all authorization specific properties to grant specific properties.

For data authorization using All or AllFromAgent, zero or more data grant gets generated. This number depends on a number of Data Registries owned by the social agent giving the authorization, as well as number of data grants given to them by other social agents. Data authorization with Inherited scope will also have zero or more data grants if it is inheriting from data authorization using one of those two scopes.

Example of an implementation can be found in [SAI-JS] and [SAI-JAVA]