Allow existing relative DID document references - #13
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Make the did:web publisher profile explicitly accept relative DID URLs wherever DID Core permits them, including during resolver validation. Publishers can reuse existing DID documents while Trust Manifest signatures retain absolute `kid` values. Resolve references against the validated issuer DID, retain exact issuer and controller checks, and confine key selection to that DID document. Explain the did:web exception in ADR-0027 and illustrate it in the trust guide.
jonathanhefner
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Sep 9, 2026
Group signature-header rationale and key-selection rationale in the ADR, explain shorthand within the guide retrieval flow, and express the normative exception alongside document validation and key selection. Remove duplicated procedure and constraints, match unwrapped guide prose, and format `did:web` consistently. Preserve the compatibility rule and issuer authorization requirements.
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The did:web publisher profile already describes resolving relative DID URLs, but also requires did:web document validation, whose absolute-only rule can reject those documents before key selection. This change makes the compatibility exception explicit so publishers can reuse DID documents containing references such as
#release-signing-key.DID Core's relative-reference rules take precedence wherever they permit shorthand, including during resolver validation. References resolve against the validated issuer DID, never the HTTPS retrieval URL. The signature's
kidremains absolute, and the existing issuer, controller, assertion authorization, and in-document key-selection requirements remain in place. ADR-0027 records the adoption rationale, and the trust guide illustrates the matching references.This PR targets
agent/define-did-web-entry-signaturesfor review alongside upstream Agent-Card#110. It does not choose a verification-method type.Validation:
git diff --checkpassed.References: DID Core relative DID URLs, did:web document-handling rules.
AI usage disclosure: This PR was prepared with AI assistance under the requester's direction for human review.