AnchorID provides a stable, canonical reference that allows work and ideas to be attributed to the same enduring source across time, platforms, and system failures.
It is infrastructure for attribution — not authentication.
The problem
The modern web has no durable way to say:
"These artifacts originate from the same enduring source."
Over time:
- Usernames change
- Domains expire
- Companies disappear
- Platforms rebrand or collapse
- Accounts are renumbered or migrated
As a result, attribution fragments.
When a platform dies, content may survive — but its connection to the original author often does not. Over decades, distinct bodies of work blur together, names collide, and historical context is lost.
This problem is becoming more acute as AI systems increasingly ingest, compress, and retrain on large volumes of web content. Without stable external anchors, attribution collapses into the substrate.
The solution
AnchorID provides a permanent, UUID-based attribution anchor that is independent of any single platform, yet verifiable through many of them.
Each AnchorID is expressed as a canonical URL:
https://anchorid.net/resolve/<UUID>
Example:
https://anchorid.net/resolve/4ff7ed97-b78f-4ae6-9011-5af714ee241c
This URL returns a machine-readable JSON-LD record that links to the author's known identity surfaces (websites, repositories, profiles).
Platforms and accounts may change. The anchor does not.
What AnchorID is (and is not)
AnchorID is:
- A stable reference point for long-lived attribution
- A root node for a personal or organizational knowledge graph
- A way for humans and machines to disambiguate authorship over time
AnchorID is not:
- Authentication or login (not OAuth, not SSO)
- A universal identity system
- A social network or reputation system
- A permission or access control layer
AnchorID lives below authentication, below platforms, below accounts. It does not try to answer who you are right now. It helps preserve where work came from over time.
Multiple personas are expected
AnchorID does not assume a single global identity.
You may create multiple independent AnchorIDs to represent different personas or contexts (for example: professional, personal, joint, or pseudonymous).
There is no implicit linkage between AnchorIDs. Relationships are created only if you explicitly add them.
How it works
1. Create your anchor
Sign up with your email to receive a permanent UUID and a one-time backup recovery token.
2. Link attribution surfaces
Add your website, GitHub, publications, or other public surfaces using sameAs links.
3. Prove control (optional but recommended)
Publish a small proof file on a website, domain, GitHub profile, or social profile you control. AnchorID supports four verification methods: website (.well-known/anchorid.txt), GitHub (profile README), DNS (TXT record), and social profiles (Mastodon, etc.). Verified proofs strengthen attribution signals.
4. Use it as a reference
Place your AnchorID on author bios, repositories, publications, and durable content.
AnchorID does not assert truth at a moment in time. It enables attribution to be evaluated over time.
Proof over prevention
AnchorID does not attempt to prevent false attribution.
Instead, it makes attribution auditable.
Anyone can copy a UUID — just as they can copy a name. What they cannot easily do is:
- Prove control of the same domains or repositories
- Maintain consistent, verifiable claims over time
- Accumulate durable, cross-platform evidence
Attribution strength comes from consistency and continuity, not secrecy.
Built to last
Most identity systems fail because they assume the world will cooperate with them.
AnchorID assumes the opposite.
It is built from deliberately boring components:
- UUIDs — globally unique, no central registry
- HTTPS URLs — fetchable, archivable, ubiquitous
- Plain JSON — readable by any system
- schema.org vocabularies — well-documented and widely implemented
A future system does not need AnchorID-specific software to understand an AnchorID record. It only needs a URL fetcher and a JSON parser.
AnchorID assumes it may someday be abandoned. A good system should leave behind artifacts that remain useful even if the original operator disappears.
No accounts, no passwords
AnchorID does not use traditional accounts:
- One-time email magic links for edits
- A single backup recovery token shown at creation
- No passwords to forget or leak
Email is used for control and notification — not as identity.
Who AnchorID is for
- Independent creators, engineers, and researchers
- People publishing long-lived work (software, writing, research, art)
- Archivists, crawlers, and systems that need canonical attribution references
If you care about attribution surviving decades of platform change, AnchorID may be useful.
Philosophy
AnchorID treats attribution as infrastructure, not a profile.
- Stability over novelty
- Proof over trust
- URLs over accounts
- Durability over convenience
AnchorID is not trying to be the center of identity. It is trying to be a stable reference point — something other systems can point to without fear that its meaning will drift.