Error Code Registry
AITP error codes returned in error envelopes (AitpError.code). AITP is JSON-only; codes are string constants in the canonical JSON wire format (see RFC-AITP-0001 §5.6).
Stability: The codes listed below are stable for v0.2. Implementations MUST treat unknown codes as opaque failures and MUST NOT key behavior off codes that are not in this registry. New codes can be added without an RFC; renaming or removing an existing code is a breaking change and requires the RFC process. (v0.2 renamed
DELEGATION_INVALID_GRANT_PROOF→DELEGATION_INVALID_VOUCHERvia that process, as part of the JWS migration — see the delegation table below.)
spec_statuscolumn. Each code below carries aspec_statusof eithercoreordraft.corecodes are part of v0.2 conformance and MAY be emitted by any conformant implementation.draftcodes are reserved for the opt-in draft RFCs (currently RFC-AITP-0010 Session Trust Bundle and RFC-AITP-0011 Multi-hop Delegation) and MUST NOT be used except when implementing the cited draft RFC. Conformance runners MUST treat receipt of adraftcode from an implementation that does not opt into the corresponding draft as a non-conformance.
Code naming convention
Object-level failures use the <OBJECT>_<FAILURE> form (e.g.
MANIFEST_SIGNATURE_INVALID, TCT_EXPIRED,
DELEGATION_SCOPE_EXCEEDED). Envelope-level failures use bare codes
(e.g. INVALID_SIGNATURE, REPLAY_DETECTED). This granularity is
deliberate: a consumer needs to know which object failed, not only
that something failed. New codes proposed via the RFC process MUST
follow this convention.
Envelope-level codes
| Code | Meaning | Retryable | spec_status | Spec |
|---|---|---|---|---|
INVALID_ENVELOPE | Envelope failed schema validation. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0001 §5.6 |
INVALID_SIGNATURE | Signature verification failed. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0001 §5.4 |
REPLAY_DETECTED | Duplicate message_id. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0001 §5.5 |
TIMESTAMP_EXPIRED | Timestamp outside tolerance. | true | core | RFC-AITP-0001 §5.5 |
UNKNOWN_VERSION | Unsupported version field. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0001 §7 |
IDENTITY_FAILED | Identity binding could not be verified. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0002 |
POLICY_VIOLATION | Requested capability not granted. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0004 §4 |
GRANT_OVERFLOW | Peer-issued TCT grants exceed offered_capabilities. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0004 |
INSUFFICIENT_GRANTS | Received peer-issued TCT lacks a capability listed in the receiver's own required_peer_capabilities. | false | core | RFC-AITP-0004 §5.3/§5.4 |
KEY_RESOLUTION_FAILED | Could not resolve issuer or peer keys. | true | core | RFC-AITP-0007 |
Token-format codes (RFC-AITP-0001 §5.4.5)
Returned when a compact-JWS artifact (TCT, grant voucher, delegation token) fails the JOSE-header enforcement rules. The two codes are deliberately distinct so conformance fixtures can assert the rejection reason.
| Code | Meaning | Retryable | spec_status |
|---|---|---|---|
TOKEN_ALG_MISMATCH | JWS header alg is not the sole value derived from the signer's AID — including none (any capitalization) and unknown algorithms. | false | core |
TOKEN_TYP_MISMATCH | JWS header typ does not exactly match the value expected for the verification context (aitp-tct+jwt, aitp-grant+jwt, or aitp-delegation+jwt). | false | core |
TCT-verification codes (RFC-AITP-0005)
Returned when a peer evaluates a TCT outside the handshake context — e.g. via a TCT verification API or local verification of a presented TCT.
| Code | Meaning | Retryable | spec_status |
|---|---|---|---|
TCT_EXPIRED | TCT exp is in the past. | false | core |
TCT_REVOKED | TCT jti is in the issuing peer's deny list. | false | core |
TCT_SIGNATURE_INVALID | TCT JWS signature does not validate under the issuing peer's key. | false | core |
TCT_EXPIRES_AFTER_MANIFEST | TCT exp exceeds the issuing peer's Manifest expires_at (RFC-AITP-0004 §4.3). The peer-issued TCT cannot outlive the credential that authenticates its issuer's key. | false | core |
Downstream PoP codes (RFC-AITP-0005 §6)
| Code | Meaning | Retryable | spec_status |
|---|---|---|---|
POP_CHALLENGE_INVALID | Challenge envelope was malformed or stale. | false | core |
POP_RESPONSE_INVALID | Response signature failed verification against the subject key bound via cnf.jkt. | false | core |
Manifest codes (RFC-AITP-0003)
| Code | Meaning | Retryable | spec_status |
|---|---|---|---|
MANIFEST_EXPIRED | expires_at is in the past. | false | core |
MANIFEST_SIGNATURE_INVALID | Signature verification failed. | false | core |
MANIFEST_POP_FAILED | Proof-of-possession verification failed. | false | core |
INCOMPATIBLE_TRUST_ANCHORS | No overlap in accepted trust anchors. | false | core |
INCOMPATIBLE_IDENTITY_TYPE | Peer's identity.type is not present in the receiver's accepted_identity_types. More specific than INCOMPATIBLE_TRUST_ANCHORS: signals identity-type incompatibility (e.g. pinned_key vs. oidc) rather than trust-anchor incompatibility. | false | core |
MANIFEST_VERSION_UNKNOWN | version not supported by this implementation. | false | core |
Mutual Handshake codes (RFC-AITP-0004)
Returned in error envelopes during the four-message handshake.
| Code | Meaning | spec_status |
|---|---|---|
INCOMPATIBLE_TRUST_ANCHORS | No trust-anchor overlap. | core |
INCOMPATIBLE_IDENTITY_TYPE | Peer's identity type not in accepted_identity_types. | core |
MANIFEST_SIGNATURE_INVALID | Peer's Manifest signature invalid. | core |
MANIFEST_POP_FAILED | Peer's Manifest PoP failed. | core |
POP_VERIFICATION_FAILED | Round-2 PoP signature failed. | core |
NONCE_MISMATCH | pop_nonce_echo mismatch. | core |
AUDIENCE_MISMATCH | TCT aud ≠ self AID. | core |
GRANT_OVERFLOW | TCT grants exceed peer's offered_capabilities. | core |
TCT_EXPIRED | TCT already expired. | core |
TCT_EXPIRES_AFTER_MANIFEST | TCT exp exceeds issuer's Manifest expires_at. | core |
TOKEN_ALG_MISMATCH | Received TCT/voucher JWS alg not the AID-derived value. | core |
TOKEN_TYP_MISMATCH | Received TCT/voucher JWS typ not the expected value. | core |
IDENTITY_FAILED | Peer identity verification failed. | core |
REPLAY_DETECTED | Duplicate message_id. | core |
TIMESTAMP_EXPIRED | Envelope timestamp outside tolerance. | core |
Manifest-service codes
Returned by an HTTP endpoint serving /.well-known/aitp-manifest or by an out-of-band manifest lookup.
| Code | Meaning | spec_status |
|---|---|---|
MANIFEST_EXPIRED | expires_at in the past. | core |
MANIFEST_SIGNATURE_INVALID | Signature verification failed. | core |
MANIFEST_POP_FAILED | Proof-of-possession failed. | core |
MANIFEST_VERSION_UNKNOWN | Version not supported. | core |
MANIFEST_NOT_FOUND | No manifest for the requested AID. | core |
Delegation codes (RFC-AITP-0006)
Delegation-layer codes carry the DELEGATION_ prefix so they cannot be confused with the envelope-level or manifest-level codes that share the same root.
| Code | Meaning | spec_status |
|---|---|---|
DELEGATION_AUDIENCE_MISMATCH | aud ≠ verifier's AID. | core |
DELEGATION_SCOPE_EXCEEDED | scope ⊄ voucher.grants. | core |
DELEGATION_INVALID_VOUCHER | Embedded voucher JWS signature invalid, voucher.iss ≠ verifier's AID, or voucher.sub ≠ outer iss. Renamed in v0.2 from DELEGATION_INVALID_GRANT_PROOF (the grant_proof reconstruction mechanism was removed by the JWS migration). | core |
DELEGATION_SOURCE_TCT_REVOKED | voucher.src_jti is in the issuing peer's deny list. | core |
DELEGATION_INVALID_SIGNATURE | Outer delegation JWS signature invalid, or self-delegation (iss == sub). | core |
DELEGATION_EXPIRED | Token or voucher expired, or exp > voucher.exp. | core |
DELEGATION_POP_FAILED | Proof-of-possession failed. | core |
DELEGATION_MULTIHOP_NOT_SUPPORTED | Multi-hop attempt detected (chain claim present without RFC-AITP-0011 opt-in). | core |
DELEGATION_MULTIHOP_NOT_SUPPORTEDis a core code, not a draft code. Implementations with defaultmax_hops = 0MUST emit this code for any delegation token carrying achainclaim — rejecting multi-hop is the required core behavior, not an optional one. The code is distinct from thedraftcodes in the "Multi-hop delegation codes (RFC-AITP-0011, opt-in)" table below: those codes (DELEGATION_HOP_LIMIT_EXCEEDED,DELEGATION_CHAIN_HASH_MISMATCH) are emitted by implementations that have opted into multi-hop and are validating chain semantics.DELEGATION_MULTIHOP_NOT_SUPPORTEDis the core refusal to even process the chain — a structural rejection before any per-hop verification. See conformance fixturedel-004for the pinned v0.1-era behavior and its v0.2 sibling for the claim-shaped equivalent.
Multi-hop delegation codes (RFC-AITP-0011, opt-in)
These codes are reserved for multi-hop delegation (RFC-AITP-0011 is Draft and not part of core conformance). Implementations that do not opt in will not emit them.
| Code | Meaning | spec_status |
|---|---|---|
DELEGATION_HOP_LIMIT_EXCEEDED | Chain length exceeds max_delegation_hops (default 3). | draft |
DELEGATION_CHAIN_HASH_MISMATCH | chain_hash does not match the chain array contents (truncation or tampering detected). | draft |
Session Trust Bundle codes (RFC-AITP-0010, opt-in)
These codes are reserved for Session Trust Bundles (RFC-AITP-0010 is Draft and not part of core conformance). The granular code set was pinned to align with the aitp-rs adapter that emits them ahead of bundle conformance.
| Code | Meaning | spec_status |
|---|---|---|
BUNDLE_INVALID_SIGNATURE | Coordinator's outer bundle signature failed verification under the coordinator's Manifest key. | draft |
BUNDLE_VERSION_MISMATCH | version is not "aitp/0.2" (or a later version this implementation supports). | draft |
BUNDLE_EXPIRED | expires_at is in the past at verification time. | draft |
BUNDLE_EXPIRY_WINDOW_INVARIANT | expires_at is greater than min(participants[*].tct.exp) (violates RFC-AITP-0010 §6). | draft |
BUNDLE_COORDINATOR_ISSUER_MISMATCH | One or more participant TCT iss claims do not equal coordinator. | draft |
BUNDLE_AUDIENCE_MISMATCH | A participant TCT aud claim does not equal that participant's aid. | draft |
BUNDLE_EMPTY_PARTICIPANTS | participants array is empty. | draft |
BUNDLE_PARTICIPANT_TCT_INVALID | At least one embedded participant TCT failed standard TCT verification. | draft |
BUNDLE_NOT_MEMBER | Receiver's AID is not in participants[*].aid. | draft |
SESSION_BUNDLE_INVALID | Aggregate fallback — implementations MAY return this when a deployment policy requires a single-error surface for bundles, in lieu of the specific codes above. | draft |
Adding a code
Open a PR adding a row to one of the tables above. Verifiers MUST NOT reveal which specific policy check failed beyond the registered code; reason strings are informational only.