Connectionless Exchanges

Introduction

Forming an enduring Connection is not always desirable. In a world where verifiable credentials are ubiquitous and connections are mandatory for interacting, individuals will end up managing thousands of keys for thousands of different parties - concert venues, public transit, bouncers, IoT devices, etc. In these and other cases where multiple interactions over time is unlikely, an ephemeral relationship would be appropriate.

Connectionless credentials or verifications refers to the ability to create a credential offer or request a verification without needing to establish a persistent pairwise connection first. While DIDComm is still used, the connection made is ephemeral, meaning it disappears after a few minutes. This results in better performance (3x faster than issuing a credential via connection) and lower friction for the end-user (fewer buttons to press on their device).

Connectionless exchange is done via URLs, which can be sent through text, email, or encoded into a QR Code.

Connectionless Credentials

Trinsic Studio

In Trinsic Studio:

Select the credential you'd like to issue and click "Issue"
Input the credential values
Click on "Generate QR Code/Link" or "Email"

Using the Credentials API

Use the POST /credentials endpoint and omit the connectionId from the parameters to create a connectionless credential offer. More information can be found in the API Reference.

Connectionless Verifications

Trinsic Studio

In Trinsic Studio:

Select the Verification Template you'd like to use and click "Request"
Click on "Generate QR Code/Link" or "Email"

Using the Credentials API

Use the PUT /verifications/policy/{policyId} endpoint or the POST /verifications/policy endpoint to create a connectionless verification. More information can be found in the API Reference.