The Versia Protocol is designed as a communication medium for federated applications, leveraging the HTTP stack. Its simplicity ensures ease of implementation and comprehension. {{ className: 'lead' }}
The words **MUST**, **MUST NOT**, **SHOULD**, **SHOULD NOT**, and **MAY** are used in this document as defined in [RFC 2119](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119).
- **Entity**: A generic term for any JSON object in the protocol, such as an [Actor](./entities/actors), a [Note](./entities/note), or a [Like](./entities/likes). Entities are uniquely identified by their `id` property.
The Versia Protocol is heavily inspired by the [ActivityPub](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/) specification. It is designed to be simple and easy to implement, with a focus on the following concepts:
- **Simple Structures**: Entities are represented as JSON objects. No JSON-LD, no complex data structures, just plain JSON.
- **Modularity**: The protocol is divided into a **core protocol** and **extensions**. Implementations can choose to support only the core protocol or add extensions as needed.
- **Namespacing**: To avoid extension conflicts, all extensions are namespaced.
- **Signatures**: Most types of interactions **must** be signed with a private key. Unlike other protocols, signatures are **mandatory**, not optional.