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ACA-Py

Project Description

ACA-Py (Aries Cloud Agent Python) is an open-source framework designed to facilitate the creation, management, and utilization of decentralized digital identities. ACA-Py enables secure, interoperable communication between entities using decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials, adhering to standards such as DIDComm, OpenID4VCs and the W3C Verifiable Credentials.

It is both a full implementation of Aries Interop Profile (AIP) 2.0 and a toolkit for building issuers and verifiers beyond the AIP protocols, such as using OpenID4VCs and the UN Transparency Protocol (UNTP). ACA-Py operates in the second and third layers of the Trust Over IP framework using DIDComm messaging and Aries DIDComm and other credential exchange protocols. The "cloud" in the name means that ACA-Py runs on servers (cloud, enterprise, IoT devices, and so forth), and is not designed to run on mobile devices.

While ACA-Py continues to support its initial DIDComm and Aries technical stack, it has evolved to include support for other important Verifiable Credential technologies, including OpenID4VCs and SD-JWTs, W3C VCDM Data Integrity credentials, a variety of DID Methods, and more. The “toolkit” nature of ACA-Py allows for it to be easily deployed in a wide variety of decentralized trust use cases. ACA-Py’s welcoming community and plugin-based extensibility makes it easy for others to build on its strong foundations.

ACA-Py emphasizes security, privacy, and user control, aligning with the broader goals of fostering an open, interoperable, and decentralized identity ecosystem. It is actively maintained and developed by a global community, contributing to the advancement of digital identity solutions.

ACA-Py includes published documentation, a formal plugins model with a repository of maintained plugins, a tools repository, a powerful deployment load testing capability, and a repository of example controllers.

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