|Agent-Auth.
Host

Host

A host is the persistent identity of the client environment where agents run — representing the place the agent operates from.

A host is the persistent identity of the client environment where agents run. It represents the place the agent is running from — a Claude Code session, a Cursor installation, a ChatGPT connector, or a background worker. On the server, it's a registered keypair plus metadata.

What is a host?

Every agent is registered under a host. This lets the server reason about the long-lived client environment separately from the individual runtime agent. Two different conversations in Claude Code are two different agents, but they share the same host.

A host is an identity record, not a running process. A client uses its host identity when registering agents, checking status, or performing host-authenticated operations like key rotation and revocation.

For delegated agents, a host must be linked to at most one user. For autonomous agents, a host may exist without any linked user.

Host establishment

Hosts are created in one of two ways:

  • Dynamic registration — the host is first seen as part of agent registration. If the server doesn't recognize the host's public key, it creates a new host in pending state and waits for user approval.
  • Pre-registration — a user or administrator registers the host before any agent exists, through the server's dashboard, admin API, or another mechanism.

In both cases, the result is the same host record: a keypair (or JWKS URL), an optional linked user, and a set of default capabilities.

Host linking

Linking binds an unlinked host to a specific user. This happens through:

  • Server-side linking — the server links the host through its dashboard, admin API, or another implementation-specific mechanism
  • Delegated registration approval — an unknown host registers a delegated agent, the user approves, and the server links the host to the approving user

Once linked, future delegated agents from this host can be auto-approved for default capabilities. A host cannot be linked to more than one user.

Host states

StateMeaning
activeOperational — can register agents
pendingAwaiting approval (agents registered under it also stay pending)
revokedPermanently disabled — all agents under it are also revoked
rejectedApproval denied — all agents under it are also rejected

A pending host can register agents, but those agents remain pending until the host itself is approved. A host in a terminal state (revoked or rejected) cannot register agents, and all existing agents under it are terminated.

Default capabilities

Hosts carry a set of default capabilities. When an agent is registered under a trusted (linked, active) host requesting only default capabilities, the server can auto-approve without user interaction. This makes repeat agent creation seamless while keeping escalation under user control.

Autonomous agent claiming

When an unlinked host becomes linked to a user, all active autonomous agents under that host are claimed:

  1. Each autonomous agent's capabilities are revoked
  2. Each agent's status is set to claimed
  3. Activity history is attributed to the user
  4. Any resources created by the agent are transferred to the user

A claimed agent is terminal — it cannot be reactivated. If the user wants to continue, the host registers a new delegated agent.