Web Bot Auth

Cloudflare Research (example server)

Cloudflare Research (example server): Entity Summary

Cloudflare Research operates a public example server that serves as the reference implementation and live test environment for Web Bot Auth — implementers use it to validate both signing and verification.

Cloudflare Research (example server): Core Facts

Operator
Cloudflare Research
Key directory
https://http-message-signatures-example.research.cloudflare.com/.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory
Algorithm
Ed25519 (OKP key type)
Published keys
1 test key (as verified 2026-08-27)
Purpose
Validate signer and verifier implementations; serves debug tools for request signatures, JWK key IDs, and directories

Cloudflare Research (example server): Classification Metadata

Entity Class
Reference Implementation
Last verified

Cloudflare Research (example server): Not Identical To

The example server is a test environment, not a production agent operator. Its key is a published test key. The server is not identical to Cloudflare's commercial bot-management products (BotBase, verified-bots lists) and not identical to the IETF standard itself.

Cloudflare Research (example server): FAQ

Should production verifiers trust the example server?
It exists for implementation testing. Trust decisions in production should be made against directories of real agent operators.

Cloudflare Research (example server): References