Khürt Williams<p>Important work happening around HTTP Signatures in the Fediverse. Stronger key validation, better digest handling, clearer test vectors—all steps toward more secure and trustworthy ActivityPub communication.<br>HTTP Signature Upgrades Coming Soon</p><p><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/07/03/http-signature-upgrades-coming-soon/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">activitypub.blog/2025/07/03/ht</span><span class="invisible">tp-signature-upgrades-coming-soon/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/Fediverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fediverse</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/CyberSecurity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CyberSecurity</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/ActivityPub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ActivityPub</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/DigitalIdentity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DigitalIdentity</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/HTTPsignatures" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HTTPsignatures</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/Decentralisation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Decentralisation</span></a> <a href="https://indieweb.social/tags/WebSecurity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WebSecurity</span></a></p>
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#httpsignatures
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洪 民憙 (Hong Minhee)<p><strong>Fedify 1.6</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://hackers.pub/@hongminhee/2025/fedify-1-6" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">hackers.pub/@hongminhee/2025/f</span><span class="invisible">edify-1-6</span></a></p>
Fedify: an ActivityPub server framework<p>We're excited to announce the release of <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/Fedify" target="_blank">#<span>Fedify</span></a> 1.6.1, which marks the beginning of the 1.6 series following the retraction of version 1.6.0. This release introduces significant new capabilities that expand Fedify's deployment options and enhance security compatibility across the <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/fediverse" target="_blank">#<span>fediverse</span></a>.</p><p><strong>🌐 Cloudflare Workers support</strong></p><p>Fedify 1.6 introduces first-class support for <a href="https://workers.cloudflare.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cloudflare Workers</a>, enabling <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/serverless" target="_blank">#<span>serverless</span></a> deployment of <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/ActivityPub" target="_blank">#<span>ActivityPub</span></a> applications at the edge.</p><p><strong>New components</strong></p><ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/kv#workerskvstore-cloudflare-workers-only" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><code>WorkersKvStore</code></a></strong>: A key–value store implementation using <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/kv/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cloudflare's KV API</a> for persistent storage in Workers environments</li><li><strong><a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/mq#workersmessagequeue-cloudflare-workers-only" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><code>WorkersMessageQueue</code></a></strong>: A message queue implementation leveraging <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/queues/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cloudflare Queues</a> for reliable message processing</li>
</ul><p><strong>Key features</strong></p><ul>
<li>Seamless integration with <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/Cloudflare" target="_blank">#<span>Cloudflare</span></a>'s serverless runtime</li><li>Automatic handling of queue message processing through Workers' <code>queue()</code> method</li><li>Support for <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/runtime-apis/nodejs/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Node.js compatibility flag</a> required for Fedify's cryptographic operations</li><li>Manual queue processing via <code>Federation.processQueuedTask()</code> method</li>
</ul><p>For a complete working example, see the <a href="https://github.com/fedify-dev/fedify/tree/1.6-maintenance/examples/cloudflare-workers" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Cloudflare Workers example</a> in the Fedify repository.</p><p><strong>🏗️ Federation builder pattern</strong></p><p>Fedify 1.6 introduces the <code>FederationBuilder</code> class and <code>createFederationBuilder()</code> function to support <a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/federation#builder-pattern-for-structuring" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">deferred federation instantiation</a>. This pattern provides several benefits:</p><ul>
<li><strong>Deferred instantiation</strong>: Set up dispatchers and listeners before creating the federation object</li><li><strong>Better code organization</strong>: Avoid circular dependencies and improve project structure</li><li><strong>Cloudflare <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/Workers" target="_blank">#<span>Workers</span></a> compatibility</strong>: Accommodates binding-based architectures where resources are passed as arguments rather than globals</li><li><strong>Modular setup</strong>: Build complex federations piece by piece before instantiation</li>
</ul><p>The builder pattern is particularly useful for large applications and environments like Cloudflare Workers where configuration data is only available at runtime.</p><p><strong>🔐 HTTP Message Signatures (RFC 9421)</strong></p><p>Fedify 1.6 implements the official <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9421" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">HTTP Message Signatures standard (RFC 9421)</a> specification, the final revision of the HTTP Signatures specification.</p><p><strong>Double-knocking mechanism</strong></p><p>To ensure maximum compatibility across the fediverse, Fedify 1.6 introduces an intelligent double-knocking mechanism:</p><ol>
<li><strong>Primary attempt</strong>: <a href="https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9421" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">RFC 9421</a> (HTTP Message Signatures) for modern implementations</li><li><strong>Fallback</strong>: <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-cavage-http-signatures-12" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Draft cavage version</a> for legacy compatibility</li><li><strong>Adaptive caching</strong>: The system remembers which version each server supports to optimize future requests</li>
</ol><p>This approach ensures seamless communication with both modern and legacy ActivityPub implementations while positioning Fedify at the forefront of security standards.</p><p><strong>Interoperability testing</strong></p><p>The RFC 9421 implementation has been thoroughly tested for interoperability with existing ActivityPub implementations that support RFC 9421 signature verification:</p><ul>
<li><strong>Mitra 4.4.0</strong>: Successfully verified Fedify-generated RFC 9421 signatures</li><li><strong>Mastodon 4.4.0 development version</strong>: Tested RFC 9421 signature verification against Fedify's implementation (refer to <a href="https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/34814" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Mastodon PR #34814</a>, though Mastodon 4.4.0 has not yet been released)</li>
</ul><p>These tests confirm that other ActivityPub implementations can successfully verify RFC 9421 signatures generated by Fedify, ensuring proper federation as the ecosystem gradually adopts the official specification. While these implementations currently support verification of RFC 9421 signatures, they do not yet generate RFC 9421 signatures themselves—making Fedify one of the first ActivityPub implementations to support both generation and verification of the modern standard.</p><p><strong>🔍 WebFinger enhancements</strong></p><p><strong>Dedicated WebFinger lookup</strong></p><p>The new <a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/context#webfinger-lookups" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><code>Context.lookupWebFinger()</code></a> method provides direct access to <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7033" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">WebFinger</a> data, offering developers more granular control over account discovery and resource resolution beyond the higher-level <a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/context#looking-up-remote-objects" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><code>Context.lookupObject()</code></a> method.</p><p><strong>🛠 Context API improvements</strong></p><p><strong>Context data replacement</strong></p><p>The new <a href="https://fedify.dev/manual/context#replacing-the-context-data" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"><code>Context.clone()</code></a> method enables dynamic context data replacement, providing greater flexibility in request processing and data flow management. This is particularly useful for middleware implementations and complex request routing scenarios.</p><p><strong>🚀 Migration considerations</strong></p><p><strong>Backward compatibility</strong></p><p>Fedify 1.6 maintains full backward compatibility with existing applications. The new HTTP Message Signatures and double-knocking mechanisms work transparently without requiring any code changes.</p><p><strong>Node.js version requirement</strong></p><p><strong>Important</strong>: Fedify 1.6 requires Node.js 22.0.0 or later for Node.js environments. This change does not affect applications using Deno or Bun runtimes. If you're currently using Node.js, please ensure your environment meets this requirement before upgrading.</p><p><strong>New deployment options</strong></p><p>For new deployments, consider leveraging Cloudflare Workers support for:</p><ul>
<li>Global edge deployment with low latency</li><li>Serverless scaling and automatic resource management</li><li>Integration with Cloudflare's ecosystem of services</li>
</ul><p><strong>🎯 Looking forward</strong></p><p>Fedify 1.6 represents a significant expansion of deployment possibilities while maintaining the framework's commitment to broad compatibility across the fediverse. The addition of Cloudflare Workers support opens new architectural patterns for federated applications, while the RFC 9421 implementation ensures Fedify stays current with emerging ActivityPub security standards.</p>
<p>For detailed migration guides, API documentation, and examples, please visit the <a href="https://fedify.dev/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Fedify documentation</a>. Join our community on <a href="https://matrix.to/#/#fedify:matrix.org" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Matrix</a> or <a href="https://discord.gg/bhtwpzURwd" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Discord</a> for support and discussions.</p><p><a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/fedidev" target="_blank">#<span>fedidev</span></a> <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/RFC9421" target="_blank">#<span>RFC9421</span></a> <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/HTTPSignatures" target="_blank">#<span>HTTPSignatures</span></a> <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/HTTPMessageSignatures" target="_blank">#<span>HTTPMessageSignatures</span></a> <a class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://hollo.social/tags/CloudflareWorkers" target="_blank">#<span>CloudflareWorkers</span></a></p>
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