The node’s URL

The url option is the node’s public facing URL:

url: https://example.com

It’s used in the following ways:

  • It provides some information about the owner of DIDs and is part of the client_id in OAuth flows. Other parties can use it to identify your node.

  • It’s part of the DIDs the node creates for you when you create a new subject. For example: DID web URLs are constructed as did:web:<domain>:iam:<uuid>.

  • It’s listed in OAuth metadata. For example: the default identity URL is https://<domain>/oauth2/<subject>. This URL is then used to lookup .well-known endpoints.

  • It’s part of the URL for the StatusList2021 revocation mechanism.

There are no strict requirements for it, but please consider the following:

  • You must own the domain.

  • The domain should be stable. It should not change.

  • It should use a TLD that allows for retention of the domain name. For example, a .com domain name can be blocked for a period of time after it’s no longer registered. This will prevent the next owner from using it.

  • The domain should be human readable. Sub-domains from cloud providers are not recommended since they don’t provide information about the owner.

  • There should be a security.txt and robots.txt file at the root of the domain. This is a best practice for security and privacy.

Once chosen, changing it is a disruptive operation; see Changing the node’s base URL for the procedure.