{
  "dataset": "glossary",
  "record": {
    "id": "decentralized-identifier",
    "term": "Decentralized Identifier (DID)",
    "category": "identity",
    "short_def": "A globally unique identifier that its owner controls directly, without a central registration authority, verifiable by cryptography.",
    "long_def": "A DID is a URI (did:method:id) that resolves to a DID document containing public keys and service endpoints, letting the controller prove ownership by signing. Because no central registry issues it, a DID gives an agent a portable, self-controlled identity — a building block for agent identity and verifiable credentials.",
    "see_also": [
      "agent-identity",
      "verifiable-credentials",
      "web-bot-auth"
    ],
    "etymology_origin": {
      "value": null,
      "verify_status": "verify-against-primary-at-build",
      "source_hint": "https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/ — Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0, a W3C Recommendation (2022)"
    },
    "related_to": [
      "agent-identity",
      "verifiable-credentials",
      "web-bot-auth",
      "http-message-signatures"
    ],
    "contrast_with": "Unlike an account issued and revocable by a central provider, a DID is controlled by its holder's keys — no issuer can take it away or is needed to verify it.",
    "example": "An agent could present a DID and sign a challenge to prove it is the same agent across sites, without any site-specific account.",
    "source": "https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/",
    "status": "active",
    "why_it_matters": "Portable, self-controlled identity is a precondition for trusted agents on the agentic web; DIDs and verifiable credentials are how an agent proves who it is without a central gatekeeper.",
    "sameAs": [
      "https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/"
    ],
    "bridge_entity": "agent-identity",
    "last_verified": "2026-07-06",
    "md_twin": "/glossary/decentralized-identifier.md"
  }
}