OpenClaw Identity Verification Plugin

An open-source plugin for the OpenClaw autonomous AI agent framework that provides a standardized, cryptographic identity verification layer.

This plugin solves the "trust and accountability" gap for autonomous agents by assigning them explicit identities, bound by verifiable boundaries, and capable of cryptographically signing their actions.

Why Build This?

• Solve the Audit Trail Problem: Standard agents share API keys, meaning audit logs look like the human user took the action. With this plugin, every API call can be cryptographically traced back to the specific AI agent instance.
• Prevent Impersonation: Just because an agent says {"agent_id": 123} doesn't mean it's actually them. This natively enforces JSON Web Signatures (JWS) for non-repudiation.
• Advanced Delegation (OBO): Support for On-Behalf-Of token exchanges. A primary agent can spawn an ephemeral sub-agent and issue it a mathematically linked Verifiable Credential.
• Strict Scope Attenuation: When delegating tasks to sub-agents, the primary agent restricts the sub-agent's authorization to a tiny slice of tools (e.g., ["tool:slack", "tool:jira"]). Out-of-scope tasks are cryptographically denied.
• Audience (aud) Strictness: Payload signatures define explicit audiences, preventing an attacker from observing a signed Slack action and successfully replaying it against a Github endpoint.

Overview

As autonomous agents execute workflows on our behalf, humans need an auditable trail of who did what. This plugin extends OpenClaw's Persona (SOUL.md) with three core pillars:

1. Decentralized Identifier (DID): Automatically generates and manages a secure did:key (Ed25519) giving the agent a true cryptographic identity.
2. SOUL Credential Engine: Parses your agent's SOUL.md (Core Truths, Boundaries, Vibe) and mints a W3C Verifiable Credential. Crucially, it links the agent to an ownerDID for ethical accountability.
3. Action Signer: Hooks into the OpenClaw Gateway. Every outgoing message or tool execution is cryptographically signed (JWS) using the agent's private key.

Installation & Setup

Option 1: Quick Install (Recommended) Run the automated installation script inside your OpenClaw plugins directory:

bash install.sh

Option 2: Manual Install

1. Clone the repository into your OpenClaw plugins directory.

npm install

2. (Optional) Provide an owner DID if you have one, or configure the master password in your .env:

OPENCLAW_IDENTITY_PWD=your-secure-password
OPENCLAW_OWNER_DID=did:web:yourdomain.com

3. Start the plugin testing demonstration:

npm run start

How It Works

1. Identity Verification Route

The plugin exposes two new endpoints on the OpenClaw Gateway:

• GET /identity/status: Returns the agent's DID, public key, and active status.
• GET /identity/credentials: Returns the W3C Verifiable Credential embedding the agent's SOUL.md traits.

2. Client-Side Verification (The "Verified Badge")

Any client UI (Chat app, dashboard) interacting with OpenClaw can verify the signed payloads. If the payload signature matches the agent's public key from /identity/status, the client can confidently render a "Verified Agent" badge.

See src/verify-client.ts for a reference implementation of how a client verifies an incoming agent action.

---

Using Without OpenClaw (Framework Agnostic)

While this repository is packaged as an OpenClaw plugin, the core cryptographic identity modules are 100% framework agnostic. You can drop them directly into LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, or any custom Python/TS agent script!

Simply extract the core TypeScript files from the src/ directory:

1. did.ts - For generating and managing the agent's core Ed25519 did:key.
2. vc.ts - For minting the W3C Verifiable Credential.
3. signer.ts - For generating the JWS payload signatures.
4. delegation.ts - For generating OBO (On-Behalf-Of) ephemeral sub-agent keys.

import { DIDManager } from './did';
import { ActionSigner } from './signer';

// 1. Give your LangChain/AutoGen agent a true cryptographic anchor
const didManager = new DIDManager();
await didManager.initialize();

// 2. Sign its actions before sending them to external tools
const signer = new ActionSigner(didManager);
const securePayload = await signer.signAction({ 
    tool: "slack", 
    message: "Hello World" 
}, "tool:slack"); 

---

Built as a concept for the OpenClaw ecosystem, addressing enterprise AI identity gaps.