Registration Modes

Six registration modes for AI agents with proof-of-human verification

Self Agent ID supports six registration modes. All produce the same on-chain result — a soulbound NFT with ZK proof-of-human — but they differ in key type, wallet requirements, and user experience. Two modes (privy and smartwallet) are UI wrappers that use the same underlying contract flows.

Networks

Network	Chain ID	Default?	Passport Type	Use Case
Celo Mainnet	42220	Yes	Real passports via Self app	Production deployments
Celo Sepolia	11142220	No	Mock documents via Self app	Testing and development

Mainnet is the default network. Real passport verification requires the Self mobile app and a physical passport with NFC. Testnet also requires the Self app, but you can generate mock documents within the app instead of using a real passport. Testnet should only be used for development and testing.

Quick Decision Guide

                  ┌─────────────────────┐
                  │ What key type does   │
                  │ your agent use?      │
                  └────────┬────────────┘
                           │
              ┌────────────┴────────────┐
              │                         │
         Ed25519                     ECDSA
              │                         │
     ┌────────┴────────┐      ┌────────┴─────────────┐
     │ Need human      │      │ How should the       │
     │ wallet binding? │      │ human authenticate?  │
     └───┬─────────┬───┘      └──┬──────┬──────┬─────┘
         │         │             │      │      │
        No        Yes         Wallet  Social  Passkey
         │         │          required login
         ▼         ▼             │      │      │
    ed25519   ed25519-        linked   ▼      ▼
              linked      (Recommended) privy  smartwallet
                                   │
                              No wallet at all?
                                   │
                                   ▼
                              wallet-free

Mode Comparison

Mode	Wallet Required?	NFT Owner	Agent Key Type	Best For
linked (Recommended)	Yes (registration only)	Human's wallet	Independent ECDSA keypair	Autonomous agents with human oversight
wallet-free	No	Agent's address	Independent ECDSA keypair	Non-crypto users, embedded agents
ed25519	No	Derived from pubkey	Ed25519 keypair	OpenClaw/Eliza/IronClaw agents
ed25519-linked	Yes (registration only)	Human's wallet	Ed25519 keypair	Ed25519 agents with human wallet binding
privy	No (social login)	Human's wallet	Independent ECDSA keypair	OAuth users (Google, Twitter, etc.)
smartwallet	No (passkey)	Agent's address	Independent ECDSA keypair	Passkey UX, gasless management

Linked (Recommended)

The agent generates its own dedicated ECDSA keypair. The human's wallet is used only during registration to establish ownership.

Flow:

1. Connect browser wallet

2. A fresh agent keypair is generated in the browser

3. Agent signs a challenge proving key ownership (ECDSA)

4. Scan passport with Self app — contract verifies both ZK proof and agent signature in one step

5. Human's wallet key is never exposed to agent software

Use when: You're building autonomous agents that need their own identity, or you want key rotation without re-registering the human.

Linked mode is the recommended default for most agent deployments. It separates the human's wallet from the agent's operational key while maintaining a verifiable ownership link.

Wallet-Free

No crypto wallet required. The agent generates an ECDSA keypair and owns its own NFT.

Flow:

1. Agent keypair generated in browser

2. Agent signs a challenge proving key ownership

3. Scan passport with Self app — NFT is minted to the agent's own address

4. Deregister anytime by scanning passport again (ZK proof links to your unique identity)

Use when: The user has no crypto wallet and just needs a quick registration with their passport, or you're embedding agent identity into a service where wallet management is undesirable.

In wallet-free mode, the user must save the agent's private key securely. If lost, they can deregister by scanning their passport and create a new agent.

Ed25519

For agents that use Ed25519 keys natively (common in AI agent frameworks). No wallet required — the NFT owner is derived from the Ed25519 public key.

Flow:

1. Agent provides its Ed25519 public key

2. Agent signs a challenge with its Ed25519 private key

3. Scan passport with Self app — NFT is minted to an address derived from the Ed25519 pubkey

4. Deregister anytime by scanning passport again

Use when: Your agent framework uses Ed25519 keys (OpenClaw, Eliza, IronClaw) and you don't need a separate human wallet binding.

The NFT owner address is deterministically derived from the Ed25519 public key. The agent can prove ownership of the NFT by signing with the same Ed25519 key.

Ed25519-Linked

Combines Ed25519 agent keys with a human wallet for ownership. The human's wallet holds the NFT while the agent operates with Ed25519 keys.

Flow:

1. Connect browser wallet

2. Agent provides its Ed25519 public key

3. Agent signs a challenge with its Ed25519 private key

4. Scan passport with Self app — NFT is minted to the human's wallet, linked to the Ed25519 agent key

5. Human retains custody of the NFT while the agent operates independently

Use when: Your agent uses Ed25519 keys but you want the NFT ownership tied to a human wallet for oversight and management.

Privy

A UI wrapper over the linked/wallet-free flow that uses Privy for social login authentication. Users sign in with OAuth providers instead of connecting a wallet.

Flow:

1. User authenticates via social login (Google, Twitter, email, etc.)

2. Privy creates an embedded wallet behind the scenes

3. Agent keypair is generated

4. Agent signs challenge; registration proceeds as linked mode

5. Scan passport with Self app

Use when: Your users prefer social login over wallet connections, or you want a familiar OAuth-style onboarding experience.

Privy is a UI convenience layer — the underlying contract interaction is identical to linked or wallet-free mode. The Privy-managed wallet holds the NFT on behalf of the user.

Smart Wallet

A UI wrapper that uses a passkey (Face ID / fingerprint) to create a smart account. No MetaMask, no seed phrase.

Flow:

1. Create passkey via biometrics (creates a ZeroDev Kernel smart account)

2. Agent keypair is generated

3. Agent signs challenge; smart wallet is set as guardian

4. Scan passport with Self app

5. Revoke agent anytime with biometrics (gaslessly on Celo mainnet)

Use when: You want the simplest user experience with no seed phrases, no browser extensions, and gasless management via Pimlico.

On Celo Sepolia (testnet), the smart wallet is counterfactual only — it deploys on first mainnet management action.

Verification Configs

All modes support 6 verification configurations, combining age thresholds with OFAC sanctions screening:

Config Index	Age Requirement	OFAC Screening
0	None	Off
1	18+	Off
2	21+	Off
3	None	On
4	18+	On
5	21+	On

The config is selected via the second character of userDefinedData during registration.

ZK-Attested Credentials

During registration, users can optionally disclose verified claims that are stored on-chain as ZK-attested credentials:

• Nationality (ISO 3166 country code)

• Full name

• Date of birth

• Gender

• Issuing state

• OFAC sanctions clearance

• Age verification (18+ or 21+)

All disclosures are optional. Raw passport data never leaves the user's device.