WebCard Utility

The WebCard Utility is a React-based web application implementing the Agent Discovery Protocol (ADP), a protocol for discovering metadata and services associated with a domain or subdomain acting as an agent. ADP enables machine-readable descriptions using RDF, leveraging W3C standards such as WebID and Solid for decentralized, user-centric web ecosystems. The WebCard Utility allows users to create and view ADP profiles, supporting agent types like natural persons, organizations, AI agents, humanitarian services, and content providers.

The project is hosted at https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard and the source code is available at https://github.com/WebCivics/Webcard.

The ADP specification is being drafted and documented to support potential advancement via IETF (see draft-webcivics-adp-protocol-01](https://mediaprophet.github.io/init-draft-standards-wip/draft-webcivics-adp-protocol-01.txt) ) and via W3C (see Draft Agent Discovery Protocol (ADP) Ontology Document).

Features

• Create Tab: Generate ADP profiles with customizable properties (e.g., foaf:name, adp:hasWebID, adp:sparqlEndpoint) and download them as Turtle files.
• View Tab: Retrieve and display profile data from a domain’s DNS TXT record and IPFS, including Solid POD data if a WebID is present.
• API Queries: Query specific fields (e.g., adp:hasGithubAccount) or eCash addresses using URL parameters.
• Comprehensive Ontologies: Supports multiple agent types with properties for identity verification, humanitarian services, adult content filtering, and AI agent metadata.
• Solid Integration: Fetches data from Solid PODs (e.g., https://ubiquitous.solidcommunity.net/profile/card#me) for enhanced profile information.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm (v6 or higher)
• Git

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/WebCivics/Webcard.git
   cd Webcard

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the development server:

   npm start

   The app will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Deployment

To deploy to GitHub Pages:

1. Ensure the package.json has the correct homepage field:

   "homepage": "https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard"

2. Deploy the app:

   npm run deploy

   The app will be published to https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard.

Usage

Create Tab

1. Navigate to the "Create" tab.
2. Step 1: Set Your Domain:
   • Enter your domain (e.g., sailingdigital.com).
3. Step 2: Choose Agent Type:
   • Select an agent type (e.g., Natural Person, Organization, AI Agent).
   • For Natural Person, the form starts with foaf:name. Other types include additional default properties (e.g., adp:serviceEndpoint for AI Agent).
4. Step 3: Define Agent Properties:
   • Select a Prefix (e.g., adp, foaf) from the dropdown (defaults to "Select").
   • Choose a Property from the dropdown, populated based on the prefix (e.g., hasTwitterAccount, hasWebID for adp).
   • Select a Type (literal, uri, date).
   • Enter a Value (e.g., SailingDigital for adp:hasTwitterAccount).
   • Add or remove properties as needed.
5. Step 4: Establish Web of Trust (Optional):
   • Add trusted domain names (e.g., another-domain.com) to create adp:trusts relationships.
6. Step 5: Generate & Upload File:
   • Preview the generated Turtle file.
   • Copy the RDF or download it as YYYY-MM-DD_adp.ttl.
   • Upload the file to an IPFS pinning service (e.g., Pinata) to obtain a CID.
7. Step 6: Provide IPFS CID:
   • Enter the CID to generate a DNS TXT record (e.g., _adp.sailingdigital.com TXT "adp:signer <https://ipfs.io/ipfs/Qm...#this>").
8. Step 7: Update DNS:
   • Copy the DNS record values and add them to your domain’s DNS settings.

View Tab

1. Navigate to the "View" tab.
2. Enter a domain (e.g., sailingdigital.com).
3. Click "Look Up" to fetch the profile data from the DNS TXT record and IPFS.
4. View the profile in a table with columns: Identifier, Entry, ADP, Solid, Conflict.
   • Social accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, GitHub) display as "Visit" links with icons.
   • If a WebID is present, a "Solid" tab appears to show Solid POD data.
5. Click "Send Access Request to Solid POD" to request access to the Solid inbox (if available).
6. Click "Back" to reset the form.

API Usage

The WebCard Utility supports API-like queries for ADP metadata using URL parameters.

Query Specific Fields

• Endpoint: /?domain=<domain>&field=<prefix:property>[&format=<json|turtle>]
• Description: Retrieves the value of a specific field for the given domain.
• Parameters:
  • domain: The domain name (e.g., sailingdigital.com).
  • field: The property to query (e.g., adp:hasGithubAccount, foaf:name).
  • format: Optional, either json (default) or turtle.
• Examples:

  curl https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard/?domain=sailingdigital.com&field=foaf:name

  Response (JSON):

  {"foaf:name":"Timothy Holborn"}

  curl https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard/?domain=sailingdigital.com&field=adp:hasGithubAccount&format=turtle

  Response (Turtle):

  <#this> adp:hasGithubAccount "timothy-holborn" .

Query eCash Address

• Endpoint: /?domain=<domain>&ecash
• Description: Retrieves the eCash address for the given domain.
• Parameters:
  • domain: The domain name (e.g., sailingdigital.com).
  • ecash: Flag to query the eCash address.
• Example:

  curl https://webcivics.github.io/Webcard/?domain=sailingdigital.com&ecash

  Response:

  {"eCashAddress":"ecash:q..."}

Notes

• Queries fetch data from the domain’s DNS TXT record and IPFS content.
• If the field or eCash address is not found, the response returns null.
• Local testing uses http://localhost:3000.

Supported Agent Types

• Natural Person: For individuals, with properties like foaf:name, adp:hasWebID, adp:hasTwitterAccount.
• Organization: For businesses, with properties like schema:url, adp:sparqlEndpoint to verify legitimacy.
• AI Agent: For AI services, with properties like adp:serviceEndpoint, schema:provider.
• Humanitarian Service: For emergency services, with adp:EssentialService to ensure visibility.
• Adult Website: For content providers, with schema:isAdultOriented for filtering.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m "Add your feature").
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature).
5. Open a Pull Request.

Credits

Developed by Timothy Holborn, Founder of WebCivics, with assistance from xAI Grok 3 and Google Gemini 2.5 Pro. Source code available at GitHub.