Zero Trust Auth*
Welcome to the official Zero Trust Auth* (ZTAuth*) open protocol specification.
ZTAuth* is a governance protocol that operates above authority continuity. Taking valid authority as given, it ensures execution remains compliant with trust policies through Auth* models — enabling selective isolation and governance of execution via Trust Elevation, with runtime restriction through Trust Levels. Supports any origin type, including human and non-human identities.
Pronounce it Zee-Tee-Auth-Star. The star is a wildcard, hinting at
extras like trusted elevation or trusted levels.
For short, use ZTAStar (Zee-Tee-Ei-Star).
ZTAuth* does not replace existing standards such as OAuth, OpenID Connect, or Zero Trust architectures. It adds the governance layer that sits above authority continuity — ensuring that execution, once structurally valid, remains compliant with active trust policies through the full lifecycle of every request.
Authority continuity is formally defined in the PIC Model — Provenance Identity Continuity. ZTAuth* builds its governance layer above it.