Seeking Feedback on a New Protocol for Efficient Content Synchronization: draft-jurkovikj-collab-tunnel-01

Hi all,
I'm introducing draft-jurkovikj-collab-tunnel-01, an HTTP-based
protocol for efficient content delivery to automated agents. Following
guidance from the WIT Area Directors, I'm bringing this work to the
HTTP WG for technical review.

The Problem: Automated agents waste massive bandwidth fetching full
HTML pages when they only need the core content. Our measurements from
production sites show this wastes 83% of bandwidth and leads to a 90%+
rate of redundant fetches.

The Approach: TCT defines a profile on top of existing HTTP semantics
to solve this. It uses Link headers for discovery, a JSON sitemap for
"zero-fetch" optimization, and a single, well-defined strong ETag
method (SHA-256 over canonical JSON per RFC 8785) to ensure RFC 9110
compliance.

What's New in -01: This is a heavily revised, protocol-focused
specification that responds to expert feedback by:

- Defining a single, RFC 9110-compliant strong ETag method.
- Moving all non-protocol content (policy, energy analysis) out of the
normative sections.
- Providing comprehensive appendices with test vectors, example flows,
and implementation notes.

The draft is here:
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-jurkovikj-collab-tunnel/

Answering Key Architectural Questions:
In his initial review, Mike Bishop raised two excellent questions,
which the -01 draft now addresses:

- On defining the JSON representation: The spec defines the observable
on-the-wire JSON format and its required fields (Section 5), but
explicitly does not constrain how a server generates this from its
internal models.

- On dictionary compression: TCT is complementary. It operates at the
application layer to provide a smaller, semantics-focused
representation and eliminate refetches, while dictionary compression
operates at the content-coding layer.

Running Code & IPR:
The protocol is supported by open-source implementations for
WordPress, Cloudflare, and Python. A Royalty-Free IPR disclosure has
been filed to ensure the standard can be freely implemented by all.

The Ask:
I believe this work is a mature and well-supported starting point for
a working group discussion. I would be grateful for the group's
feedback on the draft, and I would like to formally request a
presentation slot at IETF 125 to walk through the protocol in more
detail.

Best regards,
Antun Jurkovikj

Received on Friday, 14 November 2025 10:16:38 UTC