StarPunk/docs/architecture/indieauth-client-diagnosis.md

IndieAuth Client Registration Issue - Diagnosis Report

Date: 2025-11-19 Issue: IndieLogin.com reports "This client_id is not registered" Client ID: https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com

Executive Summary

The issue is caused by the h-app microformat on StarPunk being hidden with both hidden and aria-hidden="true" attributes. This makes the client identification invisible to IndieAuth parsers.

Analysis Results

1. Identity Domain (https://thesatelliteoflove.com) ✅

Status: PROPERLY CONFIGURED

The identity page has all required IndieAuth elements:

<!-- IndieAuth endpoints are correctly declared -->
<link rel="authorization_endpoint" href="https://indieauth.com/auth">
<link rel="token_endpoint" href="https://tokens.indieauth.com/token">

<!-- h-card is properly structured -->
<div class="h-card">
  <h1 class="p-name">Phil Skents</h1>
  <p class="identity-url">
    <a class="u-url u-uid" href="https://thesatelliteoflove.com">
      https://thesatelliteoflove.com
    </a>
  </p>
</div>

2. StarPunk Client (https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com) ❌

Status: MISCONFIGURED - Client identification is hidden

The h-app microformat exists but is invisible to parsers:

<!-- PROBLEM: hidden and aria-hidden attributes -->
<div class="h-app" hidden aria-hidden="true">
  <a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
</div>

Root Cause

IndieAuth clients must be identifiable through visible h-app or h-x-app microformats. The hidden attribute makes the element completely invisible to:

1. Microformat parsers
2. Screen readers
3. Search engines
4. IndieAuth verification services

When IndieLogin.com attempts to verify the client_id, it cannot find any client identification because the h-app is hidden from the DOM.

IndieAuth Client Verification Process

1. User initiates auth with client_id=https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com
2. IndieLogin fetches the client URL
3. IndieLogin parses for h-app/h-x-app microformats
4. FAILS: No visible h-app found due to hidden attribute
5. Returns error: "This client_id is not registered"

Solution

Remove the hidden and aria-hidden="true" attributes from the h-app div:

Current (Broken):

<div class="h-app" hidden aria-hidden="true">
  <a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
</div>

Fixed:

<div class="h-app">
  <a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
</div>

If visual hiding is desired, use CSS instead:

.h-app {
  position: absolute;
  left: -9999px;
  width: 1px;
  height: 1px;
  overflow: hidden;
}

However, best practice is to keep it visible as client identification, possibly styled as:

<footer>
  <div class="h-app">
    <p>
      <a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
      <span class="p-version">v0.6.1</span>
    </p>
  </div>
</footer>

Verification Steps

After fixing:

1. Deploy the updated HTML without hidden attributes
2. Test at https://indiewebify.me/ - verify h-app is detected
3. Clear any caches (CloudFlare, browser, etc.)
4. Test authentication flow at https://indielogin.com/

Additional Recommendations

1. Add more client metadata for better identification:

   <div class="h-app">
     <img src="/static/logo.png" class="u-logo" alt="StarPunk logo">
     <a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
     <p class="p-summary">A minimal IndieWeb CMS</p>
   </div>
   

2. Consider adding redirect_uri registration if using fixed callback URLs

3. Test with multiple IndieAuth parsers:

   • https://indiewebify.me/
   • https://sturdy-backbone.glitch.me/
   • https://microformats.io/

References

• IndieAuth Spec - Client Information Discovery
• Microformats h-app
• IndieWeb Client ID