Phil Skentelbery
dd85917988
Architect analysis identified the root cause of 'client_id is not registered' error: h-app microformat is hidden from parsers. Includes: - Complete diagnosis of IndieAuth client registration issue - ADR-006: IndieAuth Client Identification decision record - Implementation guidelines for developer Developer task: Remove hidden attributes from h-app div. 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
139 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
139 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
# IndieAuth Client Registration Issue - Diagnosis Report
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**Date:** 2025-11-19
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**Issue:** IndieLogin.com reports "This client_id is not registered"
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**Client ID:** https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com
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## Executive Summary
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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.
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## Analysis Results
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### 1. Identity Domain (https://thesatelliteoflove.com) ✅
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**Status:** PROPERLY CONFIGURED
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The identity page has all required IndieAuth elements:
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```html
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<!-- IndieAuth endpoints are correctly declared -->
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<link rel="authorization_endpoint" href="https://indieauth.com/auth">
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<link rel="token_endpoint" href="https://tokens.indieauth.com/token">
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<!-- h-card is properly structured -->
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<div class="h-card">
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<h1 class="p-name">Phil Skents</h1>
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<p class="identity-url">
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<a class="u-url u-uid" href="https://thesatelliteoflove.com">
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https://thesatelliteoflove.com
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</a>
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</p>
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</div>
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```
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### 2. StarPunk Client (https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com) ❌
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**Status:** MISCONFIGURED - Client identification is hidden
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The h-app microformat exists but is **invisible** to parsers:
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```html
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<!-- PROBLEM: hidden and aria-hidden attributes -->
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<div class="h-app" hidden aria-hidden="true">
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<a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
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</div>
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```
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## Root Cause
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IndieAuth clients must be identifiable through visible h-app or h-x-app microformats. The `hidden` attribute makes the element completely invisible to:
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1. Microformat parsers
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2. Screen readers
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3. Search engines
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4. IndieAuth verification services
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When IndieLogin.com attempts to verify the client_id, it cannot find any client identification because the h-app is hidden from the DOM.
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## IndieAuth Client Verification Process
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1. User initiates auth with client_id=https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com
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2. IndieLogin fetches the client URL
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3. IndieLogin parses for h-app/h-x-app microformats
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4. **FAILS:** No visible h-app found due to `hidden` attribute
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5. Returns error: "This client_id is not registered"
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## Solution
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Remove the `hidden` and `aria-hidden="true"` attributes from the h-app div:
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### Current (Broken):
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```html
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<div class="h-app" hidden aria-hidden="true">
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<a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
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</div>
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```
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### Fixed:
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```html
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<div class="h-app">
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<a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
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</div>
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```
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If visual hiding is desired, use CSS instead:
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```css
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.h-app {
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position: absolute;
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left: -9999px;
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width: 1px;
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height: 1px;
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overflow: hidden;
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}
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```
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However, **best practice** is to keep it visible as client identification, possibly styled as:
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```html
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<footer>
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<div class="h-app">
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<p>
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<a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
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<span class="p-version">v0.6.1</span>
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</p>
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</div>
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</footer>
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```
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## Verification Steps
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After fixing:
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1. Deploy the updated HTML without `hidden` attributes
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2. Test at https://indiewebify.me/ - verify h-app is detected
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3. Clear any caches (CloudFlare, browser, etc.)
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4. Test authentication flow at https://indielogin.com/
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## Additional Recommendations
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1. **Add more client metadata** for better identification:
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```html
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<div class="h-app">
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<img src="/static/logo.png" class="u-logo" alt="StarPunk logo">
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<a href="https://starpunk.thesatelliteoflove.com" class="u-url p-name">StarPunk</a>
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<p class="p-summary">A minimal IndieWeb CMS</p>
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</div>
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```
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2. **Consider adding redirect_uri registration** if using fixed callback URLs
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3. **Test with multiple IndieAuth parsers**:
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- https://indiewebify.me/
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- https://sturdy-backbone.glitch.me/
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- https://microformats.io/
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## References
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- [IndieAuth Spec - Client Information Discovery](https://indieauth.spec.indieweb.org/#client-information-discovery)
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- [Microformats h-app](http://microformats.org/wiki/h-app)
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- [IndieWeb Client ID](https://indieweb.org/client_id) |