Identity Schema

A TIP identity is a signed JSON document that proves a user controls a profile. It contains no passwords — only public-key cryptography.

Identity Document Structure

{
  "tip_version": "1.0.0",
  "sub": "did:tip:abc123",
  "display_name": "Jane Developer",
  "avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatar.jpg",
  "public_key": "-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----...",
  "provider": "threadline",
  "issued_at": "2025-01-15T00:00:00Z",
  "expires_at": "2026-01-15T00:00:00Z",
  "signature": "base64-encoded-signature..."
}

Full TIP_Identity example

Canonical portable document shape from the TIP v1.0.0 schema (identity_id, nested profile / reputation / privacy, Ed25519 key and signature):

{
  "tip_version": "1.0.0",
  "identity_id": "tip_01j9x7kabcdefghijklmnopqrs",
  "public_key": "ed25519:MCowBQYDK2VwAyEAa+example+key+here+padding==",
  "created_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "profile": {
    "display_name": "alice",
    "avatar_hash": "sha256:3a1f9c8e7b6d5a4c3b2a1908f7e6d5c4b3a29180",
    "bio": "Writer and technologist",
    "website": "https://alice.example"
  },
  "reputation": {
    "score": 5500,
    "level": "trusted",
    "last_computed": "2026-05-13T00:00:00Z",
    "breakdown": {
      "comment_quality": 0.82,
      "account_age_days": 180,
      "flag_rate": 0.01,
      "upvote_ratio": 0.91
    }
  },
  "privacy": {
    "history_public": true,
    "cross_site_visible": true,
    "data_export_enabled": true
  },
  "signature": "ed25519:AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA="
}

Field Reference

Field	Description
`tip_version`	Protocol version. Currently "1.0.0".
`sub`	Subject identifier. A DID-style URI unique to this identity.
`display_name`	The name shown on comments. Can be changed by the user.
`avatar_url`	URL to an avatar image. Verified to be an image URL, not content-validated.
`public_key`	Ed25519 public key used to verify the signature and future attestations.
`provider`	The identity provider that issued this document (e.g., "threadline", "self").
`issued_at`	ISO 8601 timestamp when the identity was issued.
`expires_at`	ISO 8601 timestamp when the identity expires. Max 1 year from issuance.
`signature`	Signature over all other fields, created by the provider's private key.

Verification Flow

Client receives an identity document (from the user's provider or cached locally)
Client checks expires_at is in the future
Client fetches the provider's public key from a well-known URL
Client verifies the signature field against all other fields using the provider's key
If valid, the identity is accepted for commenting

SSO Integration (Publisher+)

If you run your own user system, you can act as a TIP identity provider. Generate identity documents server-side and pass them to the widget:

<script
  src="https://threadline.io/api/embed"
  data-site-id="YOUR_SITE_ID"
  data-api-url="https://api.threadline.io"
  data-identity-token="YOUR_SIGNED_TIP_IDENTITY_JWT"
  async></script>
<div id="threadline-comments"></div>