GoDaddy launches ANS API and standards site for verifiable agent identity

aboutus.godaddy.net

5 points·tmuhlestein··3 comments

GoDaddy just published the Agent Name Service (ANS) API) and an accompanying standards site for defining identity and lifecycle management for autonomous agents.

ANS pairs a human-readable name with cryptographically verifiable identity, using PKI/X.509 and DNS-style discovery. It’s designed to work alongside frameworks like A2A, MCP, and other emerging agent protocols.

What’s new:

Public ANS API is now live (registration, discovery, certificates, revocation, etc.) ANS Standards site with the current spec + architecture Open adapter layer for interoperability without framework lock-in

GitHub repo available for builders

Links:

Standards → hhttps://www.agentnameregistry.org/ Repo → https://github.com/godaddy/ans-registry API keys → https://developer.godaddy.com/keys

Given the rise of autonomous agents, this aims to solve identity, trust, and lifecycle governance at internet scale.

Curious what HN thinks: Do we need shared, neutral identity infrastructure for agents — or should each framework solve this independently?

The PR mentions registration, renewal, and revocation. Are these operations fully automated (e.g., ACME-style), and do they include audit hooks or webhooks for external trust monitors?

Yes, agent registration lifecycle events are automated. And every agent registration uses ACME-style automation to associate its certificates to its fully qualified domain name. We will enable manual actions in addition to this, such as obtaining an OV certificate or using selfie-ID validation to better identify the agent owner.

Right now there are no audit hooks implemented for external trust monitors, such as to integrity monitors or W3C verifiable credentials or reputational oracles.

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