DIDComm

Identity Protocol

Specification for secure, asynchronous, end-to-end encrypted messaging between parties identified by Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs). Defines envelope formats, encryption, signing, threading, transport-independence, and protocol-on-protocol patterns — anything party-to-party that needs DID-rooted authentication and confidentiality can be expressed as a DIDComm protocol. Higher-order protocols (issue-credential, present-proof, etc.) inherit DIDComms security, privacy, decentralization, and transport independence. Works over any transport: HTTP, BlueTooth, SMTP, raw sockets, etc.

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Details

License Spec: Apache 2.0; multiple independent implementations (didcomm-rs, didcomm-jvm, didcomm-python, walt.id, SpruceID, Aries family)
Dev Status 🟢 Active
Dev Status Detail Released — DIDComm v2 reached DIF Approved Spec status July 2022; v2.1 in production
Owner Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) — non-profit standards body; spec maintained by the DIDComm Messaging Working Group
Owner - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Governing Body DIF (DIDComm Messaging Working Group)
Governing Body - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Country International (DIF: USA-incorporated, global membership)
Start Year 2019
Stack Specification only (no canonical implementation stack); reference implementations in Rust (didcomm-rs by DIF), Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Java, Go, Swift
Funding DIF (member-funded standards body)
Funding - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Last Investigated Jul 1, 2026

Topology view

This tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.

Topology view: DIDCommThis tool in the centre and the things it is directly related to. Each line names the kind of relationship.DIDCommdid:peer (Basis for, Composes with, Conforming implementations, Identifies via, Interoperates with, Protocol spoken by)did:peerOpenVTC (Basis for, Conforming implementations, Protocol spoken by)OpenVTCPersonhood Credentials (PHCs) (Based on)PersonhoodCredentials…Trust Spanning Protocol (Basis for, Protocol spoken by)TrustSpanning Pro…VCs (Basis for, Based on, Conforms to)VCsVerifiable Relationship Credentials (VRCs) (Based on)VerifiableRelationship…W3C DIDs (Based on, Identifies via)W3C DIDsW3C VCs (Composes with)W3C VCsAnimo (Conforming implementations, Protocol spoken by)AnimoAnonCreds (Conforms to)AnonCredsDIDs (Conforms to, Interoperates with, Protocol spoken by)DIDsDock.io / Truvera (Conforming implementations, Protocol spoken by)Dock.io /Truvera

19 more related entities are not drawn; see the list below or open the Graph Explorer.

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Use Case Domains

Identity & Trust

Affordances

End-to-end encrypted Sovereign identity

Identity Protocol Attributes

Owner - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Origins Hyperledger Aries community (DIDComm v1); DIF migration and v2 redesign 2020-2022
Database N/A — specification is a transport-layer messaging protocol; persistence is implementation concern (typically wallet-side encrypted message stores)
Query Language N/A — DIDComm is asynchronous message passing; query patterns are implemented as application-layer protocols (e.g., discover-features, basic-message) running over DIDComm
Data Formats JWE (JSON Web Encryption) + JWS (JSON Web Signature) wrappers; JSON message bodies
Mobile Support Yes (transport-agnostic; multiple mobile SDKs and wallet implementations)
Web Support Yes (HTTPS transport)
Native Apps Yes (Bluetooth, raw sockets, push-notification mediator patterns)
Terms Open standard, free to implement; DIF IPR protections require working group membership for normative contributions
Funding - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Funds Unknown — DIF working group funded by member dues and member-organization staff time; reference implementations developed by member organizations on their own funding (Indicio, Anonyome, Mattr, walt.id) without a published per-spec budget
Based On W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs); JOSE (JWE/JWS); IETF cryptographic primitives
Governing Body - List
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Permissions Implementation-defined at the DIDComm layer — DIDComm itself does not specify authorization model; subprotocols (issue-credential, present-proof, etc.) define their own permission semantics, and trust is rooted in DIDs of communicating parties
Authentication & Identity DID-rooted — sender and recipient identified by DIDs whose keys are used for signing and encryption
Storage Model Stateless protocol — no message persistence at the protocol layer; mediators may queue messages for offline recipients
Interoperability Multiple independent implementations (Aries, walt.id, SpruceID, didcomm-rs); transport-independent
Data Portability High — messages are self-contained signed/encrypted artifacts portable across transports; mediator handoff supported; relationships portable across device changes via key rotation (from_prior JWT)
Governance & Decision Making DIF DIDComm Working Group governance — open meetings (Mondays 12pm PST), IPR-protected contributions under DIF membership, consensus-driven specification process; chartered January 2020 building on Hyperledger Aries community work; aligns with W3C, IETF, and Aries communities
Protocol Maturity / Standardization DIF Approved Spec (v2 since July 2022); v2.1 current; production deployments in government, travel, and enterprise
Identity Standards W3C DIDs; W3C VCs (commonly carried as DIDComm payloads); DIF DIDComm v2.1
Identity Standards - List
DID Methods Supported Any DID method — DIDComm is method-agnostic (did:key, did:web, did:peer, did:ion, did:indy, etc.)
DID Methods Supported - List
Key Management Per DID method; DIDComm uses keys from DID documents for signing/encryption
Credential Types Transport for any credential format (W3C VC, AnonCreds, mDoc, etc.); not credential-format-specific
Credential Types - List
Verification Method JWS signatures verifiable against DID document keys
Privacy Features Anoncrypt (anonymous encryption hides sender identity); routing through mediators for metadata privacy; per-message ephemeral keys
Authentication Methods Authcrypt (signed + encrypted) and Anoncrypt (anonymous encryption); DID rotation support for relationship lifecycle
Revocation Mechanism Per credential format (DIDComm carries revocation messages but does not define revocation semantics); DID rotation for key compromise
Agent Types Supported Edge agents (people, IoT), cloud agents, mediators, routing agents — full agent topology supported
Wallet/Client Types Mobile wallets, cloud agents, web wallets; reference implementations in Rust, JavaScript, Python, JVM, .NET
Recovery Mechanisms Relationship-level rotation via from_prior JWT mechanism (rotate sender DID and re-establish thread continuity); credential-level recovery handled by carried credential protocols rather than DIDComm itself
Compliance / Regulations Used in eIDAS, GDPR, and similar regulatory contexts as the secure communication layer underneath verifiable credential exchange; deployed in EUDI Wallet implementations and Indy/Aries deployments in government identity programs
Credential Exchange Protocols Issue Credential v2, Present Proof v2, Out-of-Band, DID Exchange — all DIDComm sub-protocols
Trust Framework Transport-agnostic — works under any trust framework (eIDAS 2.0, TOIP, etc.); used in BC Government, US DHS SVIP, IATA travel, IDUnion
Cost Model Free — open standard, royalty-free under DIF IPR policy; implementation cost limited to chosen libraries and infrastructure
Censorship Resistance High — works over any transport including SMTP, Bluetooth, sneakernet; no required server

Relationships

How this tool connects to other tools and organizations, from relationships reviewed by the OpenHaven data steward. They describe how projects connect, not how good they are.

Based on
Conforms to
Developed by
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Funded by
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Identifies via
Member of suite
  • W3C SSI Suite
Requires
  • HTTPS
Stewarded by
  • Decentralized Identity Foundation
Composes with
Interoperates with
Basis for
Conforming implementations
Protocol spoken by