Web DID Integration

This guide covers the did:web method integration for TrustWeave. The did:web plugin provides W3C-compliant DID resolution from HTTPS endpoints.

Overview

The did/plugins/web module provides a complete implementation of TrustWeave’s DidMethod interface using the W3C did:web specification. This integration enables you to:

  • Create and resolve DIDs from HTTPS endpoints
  • Host DID documents at standard web locations (/.well-known/did.json)
  • Support domain-based and path-based did:web identifiers
  • Ensure HTTPS security as required by the W3C spec

Installation

Add the did:web module to your dependencies:

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dependencies {
    implementation("org.trustweave:did-plugins-web:0.6.0")
    implementation("org.trustweave:did-did-core:0.6.0")
    implementation("org.trustweave:did-plugins-base:0.6.0")
    implementation("org.trustweave:common:0.6.0")
}

Configuration

Basic Configuration

The did:web provider can be configured via options or automatically discovered via SPI:

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import org.trustweave.did.*
import org.trustweave.webdid.*
import org.trustweave.kms.*
import okhttp3.OkHttpClient

// Manual creation
val kms = InMemoryKeyManagementService()
val httpClient = OkHttpClient()
val config = WebDidConfig.default()

val method = WebDidMethod(kms, httpClient, config)

SPI Auto-Discovery

When the module is on the classpath, did:web is automatically available:

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import org.trustweave.did.*
import java.util.ServiceLoader

// Discover did:web provider
val providers = ServiceLoader.load(DidMethodProvider::class.java)
val webProvider = providers.find { it.supportedMethods.contains("web") }

// Create method
val options = DidCreationOptions()
val method = webProvider?.create("web", options)

Usage Examples

Creating a did:web 

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val kms = InMemoryKeyManagementService()
val httpClient = OkHttpClient()
val method = WebDidMethod.create(kms, httpClient)

// Create DID for a domain
val options = didCreationOptions {
    algorithm = KeyAlgorithm.ED25519
    purpose(KeyPurpose.AUTHENTICATION)
    purpose(KeyPurpose.ASSERTION)
    property("domain", "example.com")
    property("hostingUrl", "https://example.com") // Optional: publish immediately
}

val document = method.createDid(options)
println("Created: ${document.id}") // did:web:example.com

Resolving a did:web 

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import org.trustweave.did.identifiers.Did
import org.trustweave.did.resolver.DidResolutionResult

val did = Did("did:web:example.com")
val result = method.resolveDid(did)

when (result) {
    is DidResolutionResult.Success -> {
        println("Resolved: ${result.document.id}")
        println("Verification methods: ${result.document.verificationMethod.size}")
    }
    is DidResolutionResult.Failure.NotFound -> {
        println("DID not found: ${result.did.value}")
    }
    else -> println("Resolution failed")
}

Creating did:web with Path 

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// Create DID for did:web:example.com:user:alice
val options = didCreationOptions {
    property("domain", "example.com")
    property("path", "user:alice")
    property("hostingUrl", "https://example.com")
}

val document = method.createDid(options)
// Resolves from: https://example.com/user/alice/.well-known/did.json

Updating a did:web 

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import org.trustweave.did.identifiers.Did

val did = Did("did:web:example.com")
val document = method.updateDid(did) { currentDoc ->
    currentDoc.copy(
        service = currentDoc.service + Service(
            id = "${currentDoc.id}#didcomm",
            type = "DIDCommMessaging",
            serviceEndpoint = "https://example.com/didcomm"
        )
    )
}

Deactivating a did:web 

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import org.trustweave.did.identifiers.Did

val did = Did("did:web:example.com")
val deactivated = method.deactivateDid(did)
println("Deactivated: $deactivated")

Configuration Options

WebDidConfig 

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val config = WebDidConfig.builder()
    .requireHttps(true)                    // Require HTTPS (default: true)
    .documentPath("/.well-known/did.json") // Document path (default: /.well-known/did.json)
    .timeoutSeconds(30)                    // HTTP timeout (default: 30)
    .followRedirects(true)                 // Follow redirects (default: true)
    .build()

DidCreationOptions Properties

  • domain (required): Domain name for the DID (e.g., “example.com”)
  • path (optional): Path component for the DID (e.g., “user:alice”)
  • hostingUrl (optional): Base URL where the document will be hosted
  • timeoutSeconds (optional): HTTP client timeout
  • followRedirects (optional): Whether to follow redirects

DID Format

Domain-based DID 

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did:web:example.com

Resolves to: https://example.com/.well-known/did.json

Path-based DID 

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did:web:example.com:user:alice

Resolves to: https://example.com/user/alice/.well-known/did.json

The path component uses colons (:) in the DID and slashes (/) in the URL path, per W3C specification.

HTTPS Requirement

Per W3C did:web specification, all DID documents must be hosted over HTTPS. The implementation validates this by default but can be configured:

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val config = WebDidConfig.builder()
    .requireHttps(true)  // Enforce HTTPS (default)
    .build()

Document Hosting

To publish a DID document, you need to:

  1. Create the document using createDid()
  2. Host it at the appropriate URL path (/.well-known/did.json)
  3. Ensure HTTPS is enabled
  4. Set proper Content-Type: application/json

Example: Publishing to AWS S3 

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// After creating the DID document
val document = method.createDid(options)

// Upload to S3 or your hosting service
val s3Client = AmazonS3Client.builder().build()
val json = Json.encodeToString(documentToJsonElement(document))
s3Client.putObject(
    "my-bucket",
    ".well-known/did.json",
    json
)

Integration with TrustWeave 

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import org.trustweave.trust.TrustWeave
import org.trustweave.trust.types.getOrThrowDid
import org.trustweave.kms.InMemoryKeyManagementService

val kms = InMemoryKeyManagementService()

val trustWeave = TrustWeave.build {
    customKms(kms)
    did {
        method("web") { domain("example.com") }
    }
}

val did = trustWeave.createDid { method("web") }.getOrThrowDid()
val resolved = trustWeave.resolveDid(did)

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

Error Cause Solution
HTTP 404 Document not found at URL Ensure document is hosted at correct path
HTTP 403 Access denied Check server permissions
Invalid DID format DID doesn’t match did:web format Validate DID string format
HTTPS required Non-HTTPS URL used Use HTTPS for all document hosting
Document ID mismatch Resolved document ID doesn’t match DID Verify document content

Testing

For testing without actual web hosting, the method supports in-memory storage:

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val method = WebDidMethod.create(kms, OkHttpClient())

// Create DID (stored in memory)
val document = method.createDid(options)

// Resolve from memory (if not published to web)
val result = method.resolveDid(document.id)

W3C Specification Compliance

This implementation follows the W3C did:web specification:

  • HTTPS requirement enforcement
  • Standard document path (/.well-known/did.json)
  • Domain and path-based identifiers
  • DID document JSON-LD format
  • Resolution from HTTP endpoints
  • Update and deactivation support

Best Practices

  1. Always use HTTPS: Required by spec for security
  2. Standard path: Use /.well-known/did.json unless necessary to change
  3. Cache documents: Consider caching resolved documents for performance
  4. Content-Type: Serve documents with Content-Type: application/json
  5. CORS headers: If needed, add CORS headers for web access
  6. Document validation: Validate document format before publishing

Troubleshooting

Document Not Resolving

  • Verify the document is hosted at the correct URL
  • Check HTTPS certificate is valid
  • Verify Content-Type header is application/json
  • Check server logs for errors

HTTPS Validation Errors

  • Ensure certificate is valid and not expired
  • Check that the domain matches the certificate
  • Verify redirects preserve HTTPS

Next Steps

References

  • W3C did:web Specification](https://w3c-ccg.github.io/did-method-web/)
  • DID Core Specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/)
  • TrustWeave Core API](../api-reference/core-api.md)
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