The Intent Token: A Cryptographic Authorization Primitive for Autonomous Agents

This document specifies the Intent Token, a cryptographic authorization primitive for autonomous AI agent systems. An Intent Token binds an autonomous agent action to a cryptographically signed, human-declared authorization envelope before that action is executed. The Intent Token addresses a fundamental gap in existing authorization frameworks: while OAuth 2.0, OIDC, and related standards govern identity and access at the session level, no standardized primitive exists for governing what an autonomous agent is authorized to DO at the moment of action. The Intent Token provides this primitive. It is model-agnostic, transport-agnostic, and composable with existing authorization infrastructure.