ap2-vdc-framework

AP2 Verifiable Digital Credentials (VDC) Framework

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Fetch https://ap2-protocol.org/ap2/specification/ for the VDC framework specification
2. Fetch https://ap2-protocol.org/overview/ for VDC conceptual overview
3. Web-search site:github.com google-agentic-commerce AP2 src/ap2/types mandate for VDC type definitions
4. Web-search ap2 protocol verifiable digital credentials VDC for community guides

Conceptual Architecture

What VDCs Are

Verifiable Digital Credentials (VDCs) are tamper-evident, portable, and cryptographically signed digital objects that serve as the trust building blocks for AP2 transactions. They provide:

• Non-repudiation — Signed credentials prove who authorized what
• Tamper evidence — Any modification invalidates the signature
• Portability — Credentials can be passed between agents and systems
• Selective disclosure — Only necessary data is revealed to each party

VDC Credential Format

AP2 VDCs use the SD-JWT with Key Binding (+kb) format, enabling selective disclosure and cryptographic holder binding.

JSON payloads are canonicalized using JCS (RFC 8785) before signing to ensure deterministic serialization.

Mandate types in AP2

Current releases define two core mandate types, each of which can be open (constrained, unbound) or closed (bound to a specific transaction) — see ap2-agent-authorization:

1. Checkout Mandate — authorizes completing a specific checkout. Formerly called the Cart Mandate.
2. Payment Mandate — authorizes payment for that checkout, and gives the payment ecosystem visibility into the agentic context.

The earlier three-type model (Cart / Intent / Payment) folded the human-not-present case into the open form of the Checkout Mandate rather than keeping it as a separate credential. Confirm the current type list against the live spec and glossary — this is exactly the sort of thing that moves between releases.