OAuth

An open standard for delegated authorization: it lets an app or agent act on a user's behalf with scoped, revocable access, without sharing the user's password.

OAuth is the established rail for delegated authority; as agents act for users on the agentic web, scoped revocable tokens are how that delegation stays safe.

term
OAuth
category
identity
short_def
An open standard for delegated authorization: it lets an app or agent act on a user's behalf with scoped, revocable access, without sharing the user's password.
long_def
OAuth issues an access token that grants a specific scope for a limited time, so a user can authorize an agent to read their calendar or place an order without handing over credentials. Tokens can be scoped and revoked, which makes OAuth the mainstream way to delegate authority to software — and a natural fit for authorizing agents.
see_also
delegation agent-identity verifiable-credentials
etymology_origin
— verify-against-primary-at-build ↗ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth — OAuth 1.0 published 2010; OAuth 2.0 (RFC 6749) in 2012
related_to
delegation agent-identity agent-as-buyer
contrast_with
Unlike sharing a password, which grants total access, OAuth grants a scoped, time-limited, revocable token — the app never sees the credential.
example
Authorizing an agent to book travel via OAuth grants only the booking scope, and can be revoked later without changing the user's password.
source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth
status
active
why_it_matters
OAuth is the established rail for delegated authority; as agents act for users on the agentic web, scoped revocable tokens are how that delegation stays safe.
sameAs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAuth
bridge_entity
delegation
last_verified
2026-07-06
md_twin
/glossary/oauth.md

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