RFC 8030

Generic Event Delivery Using HTTP Push

๐Ÿ“… published December 2016, from ietf

1. Introduction โœจ

Okay so, bestie, we're starting with the title block and let me tell you, it's giving main character energy ๐Ÿฆ‹. This is RFC 8030: Generic Event Delivery Using HTTP Push ๐Ÿ’–. It's a Standards Track document from the IETF, dated December 2016, and it was written by M. Thomson (Mozilla), E. Damaggio, and B. Raymor, Ed. (Microsoft). It's ISSN 2070-1721 ๐ŸŽ€. Nothing in the title block says it obsoletes or updates another RFC, so there's nothing to replace or patch ๐Ÿ’….

Read this first, then keep going ๐Ÿซถ. The section below is the intro, and it's a whole vibe.

Many applications on mobile and embedded devices need to stay connected all the time so that real-time events, like incoming calls or messages, can be delivered (or "pushed") quickly ๐ŸŒธ. These devices usually have limited power, so finding more efficient ways to serve app needs is a huge win for the whole ecosystem ๐Ÿ”‹.

Radio is a big power hog ๐Ÿ˜ญ. Radio communications eat a major chunk of a wireless device's energy budget, so it's not a small thing.

Here's the tea ๐Ÿต: when multiple apps each keep their own persistent connections or sessions going, they can waste the device radio, because every single session brings its own overhead ๐Ÿ’€. Keep-alive traffic, which is used so middleboxes don't time out sessions too early, can add up to a lot of waste ๐Ÿ™ˆ. Maintenance traffic ends up dominating over the long run, since the events themselves are relatively rare โœจ.

So the move is to consolidate all real-time events into one session ๐Ÿ‘‘. A single service gathers all the events and hands them off to applications as they arrive. That means just one session, so you avoid all those duplicated overhead costs ๐Ÿ’…. Iconic, honestly.

The W3C Push API [API] describes an API that lets web applications use a consolidated push service ๐Ÿงš. This document builds on that work by describing a protocol that can be used to:

  • request the delivery of a push message to a user agent,
  • create new push message delivery subscriptions, and
  • monitor for new push messages.

A standardized way to deliver events matters a lot for the W3C Push API ๐Ÿ“, especially since application servers might need to use multiple push services. Right now, the subscription, management, and monitoring jobs are handled by proprietary protocols ๐Ÿ™„. Those work fine, but they don't get the perks that standardization brings ๐Ÿ’œ.

This document intentionally does not describe how a push service is discovered ๐Ÿ”. Discovery is left for future efforts, if it turns out to be needed at all. For now, user agents are expected to be configured with a URL for a push service ๐ŸŽ€.

1.1. Conventions and Terminology ๐Ÿ“š

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119]. ๐Ÿซถ

This document defines the following terms, so let's get everyone on the same page ๐Ÿค“:

  • application: Both the sender and the ultimate consumer of push messages. Lots of applications have parts that run on a user agent and other parts that run on servers ๐Ÿ“ฑ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ.
  • application server: The part of an application that usually runs on a server and asks for a push message to be delivered ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ.
  • push message subscription: A message delivery context set up between the user agent and the push service, and shared with the application server. Every push message is tied to a push message subscription ๐Ÿ”—.
  • push message subscription set: A message delivery context set up between the user agent and the push service that groups multiple push message subscriptions into a set ๐Ÿ—‚๏ธ.
  • push message: A message sent from an application server to a user agent through a push service ๐Ÿ’Œ.
  • push message receipt: A delivery confirmation sent from the push service to the application server ๐Ÿงพ.
  • push service: A service that delivers push messages to user agents ๐Ÿšš.
  • user agent: A device and software that receives push messages ๐Ÿ“ฒ.

Examples in this document use the HTTP/1.1 message format [RFC7230] ๐ŸŒˆ. Lots of the exchanges can be done with HTTP/1.1:

  • Subscribing for Push Messages (Section 4)
  • Requesting Push Message Delivery (Section 5)
  • Replacing Push Messages (Section 5.4)
  • Acknowledging Push Messages (Section 6.2)

When an example depends on HTTP/2 server push, the more verbose frame format from [RFC7540] is used ๐ŸŽฌ:

  • Receiving Push Messages for a Subscription (Section 6)
  • Receiving Push Messages for a Subscription Set (Section 6.1)
  • Receiving Push Message Receipts (Section 6.3)

All examples use HTTPS over the default port (443) rather than the registered port (1001) ๐Ÿ”. A push service deployment might prefer this setup to give user agents the best shot at reaching the service ๐ŸŽฏ. A push service might also use HTTP alternative services to redirect a user agent to the registered port (1001), which gets the perks of the standardized HTTPS port without losing reachability (see Section 3) ๐Ÿฆ‹. This would only show up in the examples through the Alt-Used header field [RFC7838] in requests from the user agent to the push service ๐Ÿ‘€.

Examples don't include specific methods for push message encryption or application server authentication, because the protocol doesn't define a mandatory system ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™€๏ธ. If you want to see how the W3C Push API [API] handles its requirements, check out the examples in Voluntary Application Server Identification [VAPID] and Message Encryption for WebPush [ENCRYPT] ๐Ÿ’–.

2. Overview โœจ

okay so push services have a cast of three ๐ŸŽญ: the user agent, the push service, and the application server. let's get into the vibe ๐Ÿ’…

    +-------+           +--------------+       +-------------+
    |  UA   |           | Push Service |       | Application |
    +-------+           +--------------+       |   Server    |
        |                      |               +-------------+
        |      Subscribe       |                      |
        |--------------------->|                      |
        |       Monitor        |                      |
        |<====================>|                      |
        |                      |                      |
        |          Distribute Push Resource           |
        |-------------------------------------------->|
        |                      |                      |
        :                      :                      :
        |                      |     Push Message     |
        |    Push Message      |<---------------------|
        |<---------------------|                      |
        |                      |                      |

                      Figure 1: WebPush Architecture

so at the very start ๐ŸŽ€, the user agent creates a new message subscription and then hands it off to its application server. this subscription is the root of every interaction after that, literally the foundation of the whole thing ๐Ÿงš. the application server uses it to send messages to the push service for delivery to the user agent, and the user agent uses it to keep an eye on the push service for any incoming message ๐Ÿ‘€.

to give you more control over who gets to do what ๐Ÿ”, a message subscription is split into two resources, each with different powers:

  • A subscription resource is used to receive messages from a subscription and to delete a subscription. It is private to the user agent ๐Ÿคซ.
  • A push resource is used to send messages to a subscription. It is public and shared by the user agent with its application server ๐Ÿ“ฃ.

it's expected that each application gets its own unique subscription ๐Ÿ’œ. but the protocol has no hard rules about how many there can be. you can make multiple subscriptions for the same application, or several applications can share one subscription. just know that sharing subscriptions has security and privacy implications, so think before you share ๐Ÿ™ˆ.

subscriptions have a limited lifetime โณ. either the push service or the user agent can also end one at any time, so user agents and application servers have to be ready to handle changes in the subscription state. no surprises allowed, bestie ๐Ÿ’….

2.1. HTTP Resources

this protocol uses HTTP resources [RFC7230] and link relations [RFC5988]. here are the resources it defines ๐ŸŒธ:

  • push service: This resource is used to create push message subscriptions (Section 4). A URL for the push service is configured into user agents.
  • push message subscription: This resource provides read and delete access for a message subscription. A user agent receives push messages (Section 6) using a push message subscription. Every push message subscription has exactly one push resource associated with it.
  • push message subscription set: This resource provides read and delete access for a collection of push message subscriptions. A user agent receives push messages (Section 6.1) for all the push message subscriptions in the set. A link relation of type urn:ietf:params:push:set identifies a push message subscription set.
  • push: An application server requests the delivery (Section 5) of a push message using a push resource. A link relation of type urn:ietf:params:push identifies a push resource.
  • push message: The push service creates a push message resource to identify push messages that have been accepted for delivery (Section 5). The push message resource is also deleted by the user agent to acknowledge receipt (Section 6.2) of a push message. ๐Ÿงพ
  • receipt subscription: An application server receives delivery confirmations (Section 5.1) for push messages using a receipt subscription. A link relation of type urn:ietf:params:push:receipt identifies a receipt subscription. ๐Ÿฆ‹

3. Connecting to the Push Service

okay the connection part is so important ๐Ÿ”’. the push service MUST use HTTP over Transport Layer Security (TLS) [RFC2818] following the recommendations in [RFC7525]. it shares the same default port number (443/TCP) with HTTPS, but it MAY also advertise the IANA-allocated TCP System Port (1001) using HTTP alternative services [RFC7838] โœจ.

here's the tea ๐Ÿต: the default port (443) has really broad reachability, but it's mostly used for web browsing, and it usually comes with a shorter idle timeout than other ports configured in middleboxes. for WebPush, that would cause unnecessary radio activity just to keep the connection alive on battery-powered devices ๐Ÿ”‹. not ideal, no cap.

advertising the alternate port (1001) lets middleboxes tune their idle timeouts for connections that are specifically for push, where data is expected to show up pretty rarely ๐ŸŒˆ.

middleboxes SHOULD comply with REQ-5 in [RFC5382], which states that "the value of the 'established connection idle-timeout' MUST NOT be less than 2 hours 4 minutes" ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ.


4. Subscribing for Push Messages

to make a new subscription, the user agent sends a POST request to its configured push service resource ๐Ÿ“ฎ.

POST /subscribe HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net

a 201 (Created) response means the push subscription was created ๐ŸŽ‰. the URI for the push message subscription resource that was created in response to the request MUST be returned in the Location header field ๐Ÿ“.

the push service MUST provide a URI for the push resource that goes with the push message subscription, in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push" ๐Ÿ”—.

distributing the push URI to the application server is an application-specific thing ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ. but confidentiality protection and application server authentication MUST be used so this URI is not disclosed to unauthorized recipients (Section 8.3). it's giving security, periodt ๐Ÿ”.

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:52 GMT
Link: </push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push"
Link: </subscription-set/4UXwi2Rd7jGS7gp5cuutF8ZldnEuvbOy>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push:set"
Location: https://push.example.net/subscription/LBhhw0OohO-Wl4Oi971UG

4.1. Collecting Subscriptions into Sets

okay this one's a total efficiency glow-up โšก. grouping push message subscriptions into a subscription set can be a huge win for both push services and user agents ๐Ÿฆ‹. the push service MAY provide a URI for a subscription set resource in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push:set" ๐Ÿ’œ.

when a subscription set comes back in a push message subscription response, the user agent SHOULD include that set in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push:set" in later requests to create new push message subscriptions ๐Ÿซถ.

a user agent MAY skip the subscription set if it can't receive push messages in an aggregated way for the whole lifetime of the subscription ๐Ÿ™ƒ. this could happen if the user agent is monitoring subscriptions on behalf of other push message receivers.

POST /subscribe HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net
Link: </subscription-set/4UXwi2Rd7jGS7gp5cuutF8ZldnEuvbOy>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push:set"

the push service SHOULD send back the same subscription set in its response ๐Ÿ”. it MAY return a new subscription set instead, but only if it can't reuse the one the user agent gave it ๐Ÿซ .

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:52 GMT
Link: </push/YBJNBIMwwA_Ag8EtD47J4A>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push"
Link: </subscription-set/4UXwi2Rd7jGS7gp5cuutF8ZldnEuvbOy>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push:set"
Location: https://push.example.net/subscription/i-nQ3A9Zm4kgSWg8_ZijV

a push service MUST return a 400 (Bad Request) status code for requests that contain an invalid subscription set ๐Ÿšซ. it MAY return a 429 (Too Many Requests) status code [RFC6585] to turn down requests that leave out a subscription set ๐Ÿ›‘.

how a push service figures out that requests come from the same user agent is up to the implementation ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธ. it could look at ambient info like the TLS connection, source IP address, and port. implementers, a gentle reminder: some heuristics can produce false positives, which means legit requests might get rejected by accident ๐Ÿฅบ.


5. Requesting Push Message Delivery

an application server asks for a push message to be delivered by sending an HTTP POST request to a push resource that a user agent handed to it ๐Ÿ“ฌ. the content of the push message goes in the body of the request โœ‰๏ธ.

POST /push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net
TTL: 15
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf8
Content-Length: 36

iChYuI3jMzt3ir20P8r_jgRR-dSuN182x7iB

a 201 (Created) response means the push message was accepted ๐Ÿฅณ. the URI for the push message resource that was created in response to the request MUST be returned in the Location header field. but heads up โš ๏ธ: this does NOT mean the message reached the user agent yet. accepted is not the same as delivered, bestie ๐Ÿ’€.

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:55 GMT
Location: https://push.example.net/message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt

5.1. Requesting Push Message Receipts โœจ

okay bestie, so an application server can slap the Prefer header field [RFC7240] on its request with the "respond-async" preference ๐Ÿ’…. That's how it asks the push service to confirm when a push message is delivered and then acknowledged by the user agent ๐Ÿซถ. The push service MUST support delivery confirmations ๐Ÿ”ฅ.

POST /push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net
Prefer: respond-async
TTL: 15
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf8
Content-Length: 36

iChYuI3jMzt3ir20P8r_jgRR-dSuN182x7iB

When the push service accepts the message for delivery with confirmation, it MUST return a 202 (Accepted) response ๐Ÿ™Œ. A URI for the push message resource that was created in response to the request MUST be returned in the Location header field ๐Ÿ“. The push service MUST also provide a URI for the receipt subscription resource in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push:receipt" ๐ŸŽ€.

HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:55 GMT
Link: </receipt-subscription/3ZtI4YVNBnUUZhuoChl6omUvG4ZM>;
        rel="urn:ietf:params:push:receipt"
Location: https://push.example.net/message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt

For subsequent receipt requests to the same origin [RFC6454], the application server SHOULD include the returned receipt subscription in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push:receipt" ๐Ÿงพ. This gives the push service the option to aggregate the receipts, which is so smart ๐Ÿง โœจ. The push service SHOULD return the same receipt subscription in its response. It MAY return a new receipt subscription if it's unable to reuse the one the application server provided ๐Ÿฆ‹.

An application server MAY omit the receipt subscription if it's unable to receive receipts in an aggregated way for the lifetime of the receipt subscription ๐ŸŒธ. This might be necessary if the application server is monitoring receipt subscriptions on behalf of the other push message senders ๐Ÿ‘€.

A push service MUST return a 400 (Bad Request) status code for requests that contain an invalid receipt subscription ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™€๏ธ. If a push service wants to limit the number of receipt subscriptions that it maintains, it MAY return a 429 (Too Many Requests) status code [RFC6585] to reject receipt requests that omit a receipt subscription ๐Ÿšฆ.

5.2. Push Message Time-To-Live โฐ

okay so a push service can seriously boost delivery reliability by storing push messages for a while ๐Ÿ’–. User agents are often only intermittently connected, so short-term storage at the push service is a total lifesaver ๐Ÿ›Ÿ.

Delaying delivery might also be used to batch communication with the user agent, which conserves radio resources ๐Ÿ”‹โœจ.

Some push messages stop being useful once a certain amount of time passes ๐Ÿ™ˆ. Delivering them after they've stopped being relevant is wasteful ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ. For example, if the push message is a call notification, getting it after the caller already hung up is of zero value ๐Ÿ“ž๐Ÿ’€. The app at the user agent then has to suppress the message so it doesn't pop up a useless alert ๐Ÿšซ.

An application server MUST include the TTL (Time-To-Live) header field in its request for push message delivery โณ. The TTL header field holds a value in seconds that suggests how long a push message is retained by the push service ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ.

The TTL rule specifies a non-negative integer, representing time in seconds. A recipient that parses and converts a TTL value to binary form SHOULD use an arithmetic type with at least 31 bits of non-negative integer range ๐Ÿงฎ. If a recipient receives a TTL value greater than the greatest integer it can represent, or if any of its subsequent calculations overflows, it MUST consider the value to be 2147483648 (2^31) ๐Ÿซข.

TTL = 1*DIGIT

A push service MUST return a 400 (Bad Request) status code in response to requests that omit the TTL header field ๐Ÿšซ.

A push service MAY retain a push message for a shorter duration than requested ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™€๏ธ. It shows this by returning a TTL header field in its response with the actual TTL. This TTL value MUST be less than or equal to the value the application server provided ๐Ÿ’….

Once the TTL period elapses, the push service MUST NOT attempt to deliver the push message to the user agent ๐Ÿ›‘. A push service might tweak the TTL value to account for time accounting errors in processing. For instance, distributing a push message within a server cluster might rack up errors from clock skew or propagation delays ๐ŸŒ.

A push service isn't obligated to account for time the application server spent sending a push message to the push service, or for delays while sending a push message to the user agent ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ. So the application server needs to account for transit delays when it picks a TTL header field value ๐Ÿง .

A Push message with a zero TTL is immediately delivered if the user agent is available to receive it โšก. After delivery, the push service is allowed to remove a push message with a zero TTL right away ๐Ÿ’จ. That might happen before the user agent acknowledges receipt by performing an HTTP DELETE on the push message resource. So an application server can't count on getting acknowledgement receipts for zero TTL push messages ๐Ÿ˜ญ.

If the user agent is unavailable, a push message with a zero TTL expires and is never delivered ๐Ÿชฆ.

5.3. Push Message Urgency ๐Ÿ”‹

For a battery-powered device, it's often critical that it stays dormant for long stretches ๐Ÿ˜ด. Radio communication in particular eats up power and limits how long the device can keep running ๐Ÿชซ.

To avoid burning resources on trivial messages, it's super helpful if an application server can communicate the urgency of a message, and if the user agent can ask the push server to only forward messages of a specific urgency ๐ŸŽฏ๐Ÿ’œ.

An application server MAY include an Urgency header field in its request for push message delivery ๐Ÿ“ฃ. This header field indicates the message urgency. The push service MUST NOT forward the Urgency header field to the user agent ๐Ÿ™Š. A push message without the Urgency header field defaults to a value of "normal" ๐Ÿซถ.

A user agent MAY include the Urgency header field when monitoring for push messages, to indicate the lowest urgency of push messages it's willing to receive ๐Ÿ””. A push service MUST NOT deliver push messages with lower urgency than the value the user agent indicated in its monitoring request ๐Ÿšท. Push messages of any urgency are delivered to a user agent that doesn't include an Urgency header field when monitoring for messages ๐ŸŒˆ.

The grammar for the Urgency header field is as follows:

Urgency = urgency-option
urgency-option = ("very-low" / "low" / "normal" / "high")

In order of increasing urgency:

+----------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| Urgency  | Device State                | Example Application      |
|          |                             | Scenario                 |
+----------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+
| very-low | On power and Wi-Fi          | Advertisements           |
| low      | On either power or Wi-Fi    | Topic updates            |
| normal   | On neither power nor Wi-Fi  | Chat or Calendar Message |
| high     | Low battery                 | Incoming phone call or   |
|          |                             | time-sensitive alert     |
+----------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+

                 Table 1: Illustrative Urgency Values

Multiple values for the Urgency header field MUST NOT be included in requests. Otherwise, the push service MUST return a 400 (Bad Request) status code ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™€๏ธ.

5.4. Replacing Push Messages ๐Ÿ”„

A push message the push service has stored can be replaced with new content ๐Ÿ’ซ. If the user agent is offline while the push messages are being sent, updating a push message avoids the situation where outdated or redundant messages get sent to the user agent ๐Ÿ—‚๏ธโœจ.

Only push messages that have been assigned a topic can be replaced ๐Ÿท๏ธ. A push message with a topic replaces any outstanding push message with an identical topic ๐Ÿ‘ฏโ€โ™€๏ธ.

A push message topic is a string carried in a Topic header field ๐Ÿงต. A topic is used to correlate push messages sent to the same subscription, and it doesn't convey any other semantics ๐Ÿซง.

The grammar for the Topic header field uses the "token" rule defined in [RFC7230] ๐Ÿ“–.

Topic = token

For use with this protocol, the Topic header field MUST be restricted to no more than 32 characters from the URL and filename-safe Base 64 alphabet [RFC4648] ๐Ÿ”ค. A push service that receives a request with a Topic header field that doesn't meet these constraints MUST return a 400 (Bad Request) status code to the application server ๐Ÿšซ.

A push message replacement request creates a new push message resource and simultaneously deletes any existing message resource with a matching topic ๐Ÿ’ฅ. If an attempt was made to deliver the deleted push message, an acknowledgment could arrive at the push service after the push message has already been replaced ๐Ÿ˜ตโ€๐Ÿ’ซ. Delivery receipts for such deleted messages SHOULD be suppressed ๐Ÿ™ˆ.

The replacement request also replaces the stored TTL, Urgency, and any receipt subscription associated with the previous message in the matching topic ๐Ÿ”.

A push message with a topic that isn't shared by an outstanding message to the same subscription is stored or delivered as normal ๐Ÿ™Œ.

For example, the following message could cause an existing message to be replaced:

POST /push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net
TTL: 600
Topic: upd
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=utf8
Content-Length: 36

ZuHSZPKa2b1jtOKLGpWrcrn8cNqt0iVQyroF

If the push service identifies an outstanding push message with a topic of "upd", then that message resource is deleted ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ. A 201 (Created) response indicates that the push message replacement was accepted ๐ŸŽ‰. A URI for the new push message resource created in response to the request is included in the Location header field ๐Ÿ“.

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:57:02 GMT
Location: https://push.example.net/message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt

The value of the Topic header field MUST NOT be forwarded to user agents ๐Ÿค. Its value is neither encrypted nor authenticated ๐Ÿ”“โš ๏ธ.

6. Receiving Push Messages for a Subscription ๐Ÿ“ฌ

okay so this is where the user agent actually gets to hear the messages ๐Ÿฆ‹ It asks for new push messages by sending a GET request to a push message subscription resource ๐Ÿ’– The push service doesn't reply to that request right away. Instead, it uses HTTP/2 server push [RFC7540] to send the contents of each push message as soon as an application server sends it ๐Ÿ”ฅ

A user agent MAY include an Urgency header field in its request. The push service MUST NOT deliver messages with lower urgency than the value of the header field, as defined in Table 1 (Illustrative Urgency Values) โœจ

Each push message gets pushed as the response to a synthesized GET request that shows up in a PUSH_PROMISE ๐Ÿงš That GET is aimed at the push message resource the push service made when the application server asked for delivery. The response headers SHOULD provide a URI for the push resource corresponding to the push message subscription, in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push" ๐ŸŽ€ The response body is the entity body from the most recent request the application server sent to the push resource. Literally the freshest copy ๐Ÿ’…

Here's an example request made over HTTP/2 ๐Ÿ‘€

HEADERS      [stream 7] +END_STREAM +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /subscription/LBhhw0OohO-Wl4Oi971UG
  :authority     = push.example.net

The push service permits the request to remain outstanding. When a push message is sent by an application server, a server push is generated in association with the initial request. The response for the server push includes the push message ๐ŸŒธ

PUSH_PROMISE [stream 7; promised stream 4] +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt
  :authority     = push.example.net

HEADERS      [stream 4] +END_HEADERS
  :status        = 200
  date           = Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:56 GMT
  last-modified  = Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:55 GMT
  cache-control  = private
  link           = </push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV>;
                    rel="urn:ietf:params:push"
  content-type   = text/plain;charset=utf8
  content-length = 36

DATA         [stream 4] +END_STREAM
  iChYuI3jMzt3ir20P8r_jgRR-dSuN182x7iB

HEADERS      [stream 7] +END_STREAM +END_HEADERS
  :status        = 200

A user agent can also request the contents of the push message subscription resource immediately by including a Prefer header field [RFC7240] with a "wait" preference set to "0" โšก In response to this request, the push service MUST generate a server push for all push messages that have not yet been delivered. No waiting around, bestie ๐Ÿ’œ

A 204 (No Content) status code with no associated server pushes indicates that no messages are presently available. This could be because push messages have expired ๐Ÿ™ˆ


6.1. Receiving Push Messages for a Subscription Set

okay so receiving messages for a subscription set is basically the same as for a single subscription, with a few small differences ๐Ÿ“ If a subscription set is available, the user agent SHOULD use the subscription set to monitor for push messages, rather than individual push message subscriptions. Way less overhead, iykyk ๐Ÿซถ

A user agent requests the delivery of new push messages for a collection of push message subscriptions by making a GET request to a push message subscription set resource. The push service doesn't respond to this request. Instead, it uses HTTP/2 server push [RFC7540] to send the contents of push messages as they are sent by application servers ๐Ÿฆ‹

A user agent MAY include an Urgency header field in its request. The push service MUST NOT deliver messages with lower urgency than the value of the header field, as defined in Table 1 (Illustrative Urgency Values) โœจ

Each push message gets pushed as the response to a synthesized GET request sent in a PUSH_PROMISE. That GET is aimed at the push message resource the push service created when the application server requested message delivery. The synthetic request MUST provide a URI for the push resource corresponding to the push message subscription, in a link relation of type "urn:ietf:params:push". This lets the user agent tell where each message came from ๐Ÿงš The response body is the entity body from the most recent request an application server sent to the push resource.

Here's the example request, made over HTTP/2 ๐ŸŒˆ

HEADERS      [stream 7] +END_STREAM +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /subscription-set/4UXwi2Rd7jGS7gp5cuutF8ZldnEuvbOy
  :authority     = push.example.net

The push service permits the request to remain outstanding. When a push message is sent by an application server, a server push is generated in association with the initial request. The server push's response includes the push message ๐Ÿ’–

PUSH_PROMISE [stream 7; promised stream 4] +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt
  :authority     = push.example.net

HEADERS      [stream 4] +END_HEADERS
  :status        = 200
  date           = Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:56 GMT
  last-modified  = Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:55 GMT
  link           = </push/JzLQ3raZJfFBR0aqvOMsLrt54w4rJUsV>;
                    rel="urn:ietf:params:push"
  cache-control  = private
  content-type   = text/plain;charset=utf8
  content-length = 36

DATA         [stream 4] +END_STREAM
  iChYuI3jMzt3ir20P8r_jgRR-dSuN182x7iB

HEADERS      [stream 7] +END_STREAM +END_HEADERS
  :status        = 200

A user agent can request the contents of the push message subscription set resource immediately by including a Prefer header field [RFC7240] with a "wait" preference set to "0" โšก In response, the push service MUST generate a server push for all push messages that have not yet been delivered. Instant gratification ๐Ÿ”ฅ

A 204 (No Content) status code with no associated server pushes indicates that no messages are presently available. This could be because push messages have expired ๐Ÿ’€


6.2. Acknowledging Push Messages

okay this part is so important ๐Ÿ˜ญ To make sure a push message reaches the user agent at least once, the user agent MUST acknowledge receipt of the message by performing an HTTP DELETE on the push message resource ๐Ÿซถ

DELETE /message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt HTTP/1.1
Host: push.example.net

If the push service receives the acknowledgement and the application has requested a delivery receipt, the push service MUST return a 204 (No Content) response to the application server monitoring the receipt subscription ๐ŸŽ€

If the push service doesn't get the acknowledgement within a reasonable amount of time, the message is considered not yet delivered. The push service SHOULD keep retrying delivery of the message until its advertised expiration โณ

The push service MAY stop retrying delivery of the message before its advertised expiration, for reasons like an unresponsive user agent or operational constraints ๐Ÿ™ˆ If the application has requested a delivery receipt, then the push service MUST return a 410 (Gone) response to the application server monitoring the receipt subscription. Rip receipt ๐Ÿ’€


6.3. Receiving Push Message Receipts

the application server asks the push service for receipts by sending an HTTP GET request to the receipt subscription resource ๐Ÿ“ฌ The push service doesn't reply to that request right away. Instead, it uses HTTP/2 server push [RFC7540] to send push receipts whenever the user agent acknowledges a message (Section 6.2) โœจ

Each receipt gets pushed as the response to a synthesized GET request sent in a PUSH_PROMISE. That GET is aimed at the same push message resource the push service created when the application server requested message delivery. The response includes a status code showing the result of the message delivery, and it carries no data ๐Ÿงš

Here's the example request, made over HTTP/2 ๐Ÿ’…

HEADERS      [stream 13] +END_STREAM +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /receipt-subscription/3ZtI4YVNBnUUZhuoChl6omUvG4ZM
  :authority     = push.example.net

The push service permits the request to remain outstanding. When the user agent acknowledges the message, the push service pushes a delivery receipt to the application server. A 204 (No Content) status code confirms that the message was delivered and acknowledged ๐ŸŒŸ

PUSH_PROMISE [stream 13; promised stream 82] +END_HEADERS
  :method        = GET
  :path          = /message/qDIYHNcfAIPP_5ITvURr-d6BGt
  :authority     = push.example.net

HEADERS      [stream 82] +END_STREAM
                        +END_HEADERS
  :status        = 204
  date           = Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:56:56 GMT

If the user agent fails to acknowledge the push message, and the push service stops retrying delivery before the message's advertised expiration, then the push service MUST push a failure response with a status code of 410 (Gone) ๐Ÿ’”


7. Operational Considerations ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

7.1. Load Management

a push service is likely to be juggling a very large number of open TCP connections ๐ŸŒŠ Managing those connections well can depend on being able to move them between server instances.

A user agent MUST support the 307 (Temporary Redirect) status code [RFC7231]. A push service can use it to spread load around when a new subscription is requested ๐Ÿฆ‹

A server that wants to spread out load can do it with HTTP alternative services [RFC7838]. Alternative services let you redistribute load while keeping the same URIs for various resources, which is lowkey genius ๐Ÿง  A user agent can make a smooth transition by using the GOAWAY frame once it has set up a replacement connection ๐Ÿซถ

7.2. Push Message Expiration

storing push messages based on the TTL header field can take up a potentially huge amount of space on a push service ๐Ÿ˜ญ A push service isn't obligated to store messages forever. It can tell an application server how long it plans to keep a message by using the TTL header field (Section 5.2) โณ

A user agent that isn't actively monitoring for push messages won't receive messages that expire during that gap ๐Ÿ™ˆ

Push messages that are stored and haven't been delivered to a user agent get delivered once the user agent starts monitoring again ๐Ÿ’Œ Stored push messages SHOULD include a Last-Modified header field (Section 2.2 of [RFC7232]) showing when an application server requested delivery ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ

A GET request to a push message subscription resource with only expired messages gets a response as though no push message was ever sent. Zero drama ๐Ÿ’…

Push services might need to limit the size and number of stored push messages so they don't get overloaded ๐ŸŒธ To limit message size, the push service MAY return a 413 (Payload Too Large) status code [RFC7231] in response to requests that include an entity body that is too large. Push services MUST NOT return a 413 status code in response to an entity body that is 4096 bytes or less in size. Small messages are always welcome, periodt ๐ŸŽ€

To limit the number of stored push messages, the push service MAY respond with a shorter Time-To-Live than the one the application server proposed in its request for push message delivery (Section 5.2) โฑ๏ธ Once a message has been accepted, the push service MAY later expire the message before its advertised Time-To-Live. If the application server requested a delivery receipt, the push service MUST return a failure response (Section 6.2) ๐Ÿฅ€

7.3. Subscription Expiration โณ

okay so sometimes a subscription has to get terminated so it can be refreshed ๐Ÿ”„ and this applies to BOTH push message subscriptions AND receipt subscriptions. bestie, it's giving clean lifecycle energy โœจ

A push service MAY expire a subscription at any time ๐Ÿ’… and if there are outstanding requests to an expired push message subscription resource (Section 6) from a user agent, or to an expired receipt subscription resource (Section 6.3) from an application server, that MUST be signaled by returning a 404 (Not Found) status code. no cap, the 404 is non-negotiable ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™€๏ธ

A push service MUST return a 404 (Not Found) status code if an application server tries to send a push message to an expired push message subscription. the sender gets told it's gone, periodt ๐Ÿ’€

A user agent can remove its push message subscription by sending a DELETE request to the corresponding URI ๐Ÿ—‘๏ธ and an application server can remove its receipt subscription by sending a DELETE request to the corresponding URI too. same energy, different lane ๐Ÿฆ‹

7.3.1. Subscription Set Expiration ๐Ÿงบ

A push service MAY expire a subscription set at any time, and it MUST also expire all push message subscriptions in the set ๐Ÿ‘‘ that's the whole squad going down together, lowkey dramatic but iconic. If a user agent has an outstanding request to a push subscription set (Section 6.1), that MUST be signaled by returning a 404 (Not Found) status code ๐ŸŒธ

A user agent can request that a subscription set be removed by sending a DELETE request to the subscription set URI ๐ŸŽ€ and this MUST also remove all push message subscriptions in the set. the set goes, the members go, no exceptions ๐Ÿซถ

If a specific push message subscription that's a member of a subscription set gets expired or removed, then it MUST also be removed from its subscription set ๐Ÿงš no ghost members allowed!

7.4. Implications for Application Reliability ๐Ÿ“

okay real talk, a push service that doesn't support reliable delivery over flaky network connections or failing applications on devices forces the device to acknowledge receipt directly to the application server ๐Ÿ˜ญ which means extra power drain just to set up and keep (usually secure) connections going to each individual app server. the battery is SCREAMING ๐Ÿ”‹๐Ÿ’€

Push message reliability can be super important if messages carry info that's critical to the state of an application. repairing state can be expensive, especially for devices with limited communications capacity ๐Ÿฅฒ and knowing a push message was correctly received saves you from retransmissions, polling, and state resynchronization. it's like a little receipt that says "we're good bestie" ๐Ÿงพ๐Ÿ’–

The availability of push message delivery receipts means the application developer isn't tempted to build alternative mechanisms for message delivery in case the push service fails to deliver a critical message ๐Ÿ™ˆ because setting up a polling mechanism or a backup messaging channel to make up for these shortcomings negates almost all of the advantages a push service provides. don't do it, it's not worth it ๐Ÿ’…

However, reliability might not be necessary for messages that are transient (e.g., an incoming call) ๐Ÿ“ž or messages that get quickly superseded (e.g., the current number of unread emails) ๐Ÿ“ฌ those can be a little more chaotic and that's fine โœจ

7.5. Subscription Sets and Concurrent HTTP/2 Streams ๐ŸŒˆ

If the push service requires that the user agent use push message subscription sets, then it MAY limit the number of concurrently active streams with the SETTINGS_MAX_CONCURRENT_STREAMS parameter within an HTTP/2 SETTINGS frame [RFC7540] ๐Ÿฆ‹ The user agent MAY be limited to one concurrent stream to manage push message subscriptions, and one concurrent stream for each subscription set returned by the push service. this could force the user agent to line up its subscription requests one at a time, so no multitasking for this one ๐Ÿ™ƒ

8. Security Considerations ๐Ÿ”

okay this part is SERIOUS bestie, so pay attention ๐Ÿšจ This protocol MUST use HTTP over TLS [RFC2818] following the recommendations in [RFC7525]. this covers any communications between the user agent and the push service, plus communications between the application server and the push service. all URIs therefore use the "https" scheme ๐Ÿ”’ and that gives confidentiality and integrity protection for subscriptions and push messages from external parties. lock it down ๐Ÿ’œ

8.1. Confidentiality from Push Service Access ๐Ÿ‘€

The protection TLS gives you does NOT protect content from the push service ๐Ÿ˜ณ without extra safeguards, a push service can inspect and modify the message content. yikes ๐Ÿ’€

Applications using this protocol MUST use mechanisms that provide end-to-end confidentiality, integrity, and data origin authentication ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ the application server sending the push message and the application on the user agent that receives it are frequently just different instances of the same application, so no standardized protocol is needed to set up a proper security context. the subscription info that goes from the user agent to its application server is also a convenient medium for key agreement, which is honestly so clever ๐Ÿง โœจ

For this requirement, the W3C Push API [API] has adopted Message Encryption for WebPush [ENCRYPT] to secure the content of messages from the push service ๐Ÿ” other scenarios can be addressed by similar policies, so mix and match as needed ๐Ÿซถ

The Topic header field exposes information that allows more granular correlation of push messages on the same subject ๐Ÿ‘€ and that might be used to aid traffic analysis of push messages by the push service. so be careful with what you put in Topic ๐Ÿ™ˆ

8.2. Privacy Considerations ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™€๏ธ

Push message confidentiality does NOT ensure that the identity of who is communicating, and when they are communicating, is protected ๐Ÿ˜ญ however, the amount of info that's exposed can be limited, so that's the goal ๐Ÿ’–

The URIs provided for push resources MUST NOT provide any basis to correlate communications for a given user agent. It MUST NOT be possible to correlate any two push resource URIs based solely on their contents ๐Ÿงฉ this lets a user agent control correlation across different applications or over time. of course, this doesn't prevent correlation using other info a user agent might expose, so it's not a magic shield ๐Ÿ™ƒ

Similarly, the URIs the push service gives out to identify a push message MUST NOT provide any information that allows for correlation across subscriptions. Push message URIs for the same subscription MAY contain information that would allow correlation with the associated subscription or other push messages for that subscription ๐ŸŽ€

User and device information MUST NOT be exposed through a push or push message URI ๐Ÿšซ no leaking your deets, bestie ๐Ÿ’…

In addition, push URIs established by the same user agent, or push message URIs for the same subscription, MUST NOT include any information that allows them to be correlated with the user agent ๐ŸŒธ

Note: This need not be perfect as long as the resulting anonymity set ([RFC6973], Section 6.1.1) is sufficiently large. A push URI necessarily identifies a push service or a single server instance. It is also possible that traffic analysis could be used to correlate subscriptions. ๐Ÿ‘€ the vibe is "close enough, but stay aware" ๐Ÿซถ

A user agent MUST be able to create new subscriptions with new identifiers at any time ๐Ÿฆ‹ fresh start whenever you want, iconic.

8.3. Authorization ๐Ÿ”‘

This protocol does not define how a push service establishes whether a user agent is permitted to create a subscription, or whether push messages can be delivered to the user agent ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ A push service MAY choose to authorize requests based on any HTTP-compatible authorization method available, and there are multiple options (including experimental ones) with varying levels of security ๐Ÿงš The authorization process and any associated credentials are expected to be configured in the user agent along with the URI for the push service ๐Ÿ“‹

Authorization is managed using capability URLs for the push message subscription, push, and receipt subscription resources ([CAP-URI]) ๐Ÿ—๏ธ A capability URL grants access to a resource based solely on knowledge of the URL. so if you have the link, you're in ๐Ÿ’…

Capability URLs are used for their "easy onward sharing" and "easy client API" properties โœจ and these properties make it possible to avoid relying on prearranged relationships or additional protocols between push services and application servers. no extra handshake drama needed ๐Ÿ™Œ

Capability URLs act as bearer tokens ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ knowing a push message subscription URI implies authorization to either receive push messages or delete the subscription. knowing a push URI implies authorization to send push messages. knowing a push message URI allows for reading and acknowledging that specific message. knowing a receipt subscription URI implies authorization to receive push receipts. every URI is basically a key ๐Ÿ”‘

Encoding a large amount of random entropy (at least 120 bits) in the path component ensures that it's difficult to successfully guess a valid capability URL ๐Ÿง ๐Ÿ’ช so make those paths super random, no "/my-cute-url" allowed ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™€๏ธ

8.4. Denial-of-Service Considerations ๐Ÿšง

A user agent can control where valid push messages originate by limiting the distribution of push URIs to authorized application servers ๐ŸŽฏ Ensuring that push URIs are hard to guess means only application servers that have actually received a push URI can use it ๐Ÿซถ

Push messages that aren't successfully authenticated by the user agent won't be delivered, but this can still present a denial-of-service risk ๐Ÿ˜ฐ Even a relatively small volume of push messages can cause battery-powered devices to exhaust their power reserves ๐Ÿ”‹๐Ÿ’€

To address this case, the W3C Push API [API] has adopted Voluntary Application Server Identification [VAPID], which lets a user agent restrict a subscription to a specific application server ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ the push service can then identify and reject unwanted messages without contacting the user agent. bye bye spam ๐Ÿ‘‹

A malicious application with a valid push URI could use the greater resources of a push service to mount a denial-of-service attack on a user agent ๐Ÿ˜ˆ so Push services SHOULD limit the rate at which push messages are sent to individual user agents ๐Ÿšฆ

A push service MAY return a 429 (Too Many Requests) status code [RFC6585] when an application server has exceeded its rate limit for push message delivery to a push resource ๐Ÿข The push service SHOULD also include a Retry-After header [RFC7231] to indicate how long the application server is requested to wait before making another request to the push resource โฐ

A push service or user agent MAY also terminate subscriptions (Section 7.3) that receive too many push messages ๐Ÿ›‘

A push service is also able to deny service to user agents ๐Ÿ˜ฌ Intentional failure to deliver messages is difficult to tell apart from faults, which might happen due to transient network errors, interruptions in user agent availability, or genuine service outages. it's a whole mess to untangle ๐ŸŒ€

8.5. Logging Risks ๐Ÿ“œ

Server request logs can reveal subscription-related URIs, or relationships between subscription-related URIs for the same user agent ๐Ÿ‘€ Limits on log retention and strong access control mechanisms can make sure URIs aren't revealed to unauthorized entities. lock your logs, bestie ๐Ÿ”

9. IANA Considerations ๐ŸŒธ

This protocol defines new HTTP header fields in Section 9.1 ๐ŸŽ€ New link relation types are identified using the URNs defined in Section 9.2, and port registration is defined in Section 9.3

9.1. Header Field Registrations ๐Ÿ“‹

HTTP header fields are registered within the "Message Headers" registry maintained at https://www.iana.org/assignments/message-headers/ ๐Ÿ—‚๏ธ

This document defines the following HTTP header fields, and the following entries have been added to the "Permanent Message Header Field Names" registry ([RFC3864]) โœจ

+-------------------+----------+----------+--------------+
| Header Field Name | Protocol | Status   | Reference    |
+-------------------+----------+----------+--------------+
| TTL               | http     | standard | Section 5.2  |
| Urgency           | http     | standard | Section 5.3  |
| Topic             | http     | standard | Section 5.4  |
+-------------------+----------+----------+--------------+

The change controller is: "IETF (iesg@ietf.org) - Internet Engineering Task Force" ๐Ÿซถ and that's the registry glow-up, bestie ๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒˆ

okay so IANA is getting three brand new link relation URNs, bestie ๐ŸŽ€ They're going into a fresh "Web Push Identifiers" registry, and that registration follows the procedures in Section 4 of [RFC3553] โœจ. The matching "push" sub-namespace also got entered in the "IETF URN Sub-namespace for Registered Protocol Parameter Identifiers" registry ๐Ÿ’…

The "Web Push Identifiers" registry runs under the IETF Review policy [RFC5226] ๐Ÿ‘‘

Here's what the registry template looks like ๐ŸŒธ

Registry name:  Web Push Identifiers

URN Prefix:  urn:ietf:params:push

Specification:  RFC 8030 (this document)

Repository:  http://www.iana.org/assignments/webpush-parameters/
Index Value:  Values in this registry are URNs or URN prefixes that
   start with the prefix "urn:ietf:params:push".  Each is registered
   independently.

Every registration in this registry comes with a few details ๐Ÿงš Here they are, in their fields ๐Ÿ’–

URN:  A complete URN or URN prefix.

Description:  A summary description.

Contact:  Email for the person or group making the registration.

Index Value:  As described in [RFC3553]

Reference:  A reference to a specification describing the semantics
   of the URN or URN prefix.

   URN prefixes that are registered include a description of how the
   URN is constructed.  This is not applicable for specific URNs.

And these three URNs are the starter pack, loaded in as the initial content of the "Web Push Identifiers" registry ๐Ÿ“

URN:  urn:ietf:params:push

Description:  This link relation type is used to identify a resource
   for sending push messages.

Contact:  The WEBPUSH WG of the IETF (webpush@ietf.org)

Reference:  RFC 8030 (this document)

URN:  urn:ietf:params:push:set

Description:  This link relation type is used to identify a
   collection of push message subscriptions.

Contact:  The WEBPUSH WG of the IETF (webpush@ietf.org)

Reference:  RFC 8030 (this document)

URN:  urn:ietf:params:push:receipt

Description:  This link relation type is used to identify a resource
   for receiving delivery confirmations for push messages.

Contact:  The WEBPUSH WG of the IETF (webpush@ietf.org)
Reference:  RFC 8030 (this document)

9.3. Service Name and Port Number Registration ๐ŸŒˆ

Service names and port numbers live in the "Service Name and Transport Protocol Port Number Registry", which you can find at <https://www.iana.org/assignments/service-names-port-numbers/> ๐Ÿฆ‹

Following [RFC6335], IANA has given us System Port number 1001 and the service name "webpush" ๐Ÿ’œ Here's the entry ๐Ÿ’…

Service Name:
   webpush

Port Number:
   1001

Transport Protocol:
   tcp

Description:
   HTTP Web Push

Assignee:
   The IESG (iesg@ietf.org)

Contact:
   The IETF Chair (chair@ietf.org)

Reference:
   RFC 8030 (this document)

10. References ๐Ÿ“š

10.1. Normative References ๐Ÿ’–

These are the references the spec leans on hardest, so bookmark them ๐Ÿ”ฅ

[CAP-URI]  Tennison, J., "Good Practices for Capability URLs", W3C
           First Public Working Draft capability-urls, February 2014,
           <http://www.w3.org/TR/capability-urls/>.

[RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
           Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.

[RFC2818]  Rescorla, E., "HTTP Over TLS", RFC 2818,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC2818, May 2000,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2818>.

[RFC3553]  Mealling, M., Masinter, L., Hardie, T., and G. Klyne, "An
           IETF URN Sub-namespace for Registered Protocol
           Parameters", BCP 73, RFC 3553, DOI 10.17487/RFC3553, June
           2003, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3553>.

[RFC3864]  Klyne, G., Nottingham, M., and J. Mogul, "Registration
           Procedures for Message Header Fields", BCP 90, RFC 3864,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC3864, September 2004,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3864>.

[RFC4648]  Josefsson, S., "The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data
           Encodings", RFC 4648, DOI 10.17487/RFC4648, October 2006,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4648>.

[RFC5226]  Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
           IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC5226, May 2008,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5226>.

[RFC5382]  Guha, S., Ed., Biswas, K., Ford, B., Sivakumar, S., and P.
           Srisuresh, "NAT Behavioral Requirements for TCP", BCP 142,
           RFC 5382, DOI 10.17487/RFC5382, October 2008,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5382>.

[RFC5988]  Nottingham, M., "Web Linking", RFC 5988,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC5988, October 2010,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5988>.

[RFC6335]  Cotton, M., Eggert, L., Touch, J., Westerlund, M., and S.
           Cheshire, "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
           Procedures for the Management of the Service Name and
           Transport Protocol Port Number Registry", BCP 165,
           RFC 6335, DOI 10.17487/RFC6335, August 2011,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6335>.

[RFC6454]  Barth, A., "The Web Origin Concept", RFC 6454,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC6454, December 2011,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6454>.

[RFC6585]  Nottingham, M. and R. Fielding, "Additional HTTP Status
           Codes", RFC 6585, DOI 10.17487/RFC6585, April 2012,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6585>.

[RFC7230]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
           Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing",
           RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, June 2014,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>.

[RFC7231]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
           Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content", RFC 7231,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC7231, June 2014,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>.

[RFC7232]  Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext Transfer
           Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Conditional Requests", RFC 7232,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC7232, June 2014,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7232>.

[RFC7240]  Snell, J., "Prefer Header for HTTP", RFC 7240,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC7240, June 2014,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7240>.

[RFC7525]  Sheffer, Y., Holz, R., and P. Saint-Andre,
           "Recommendations for Secure Use of Transport Layer
           Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security
           (DTLS)", BCP 195, RFC 7525, DOI 10.17487/RFC7525, May
           2015, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7525>.

[RFC7540]  Belshe, M., Peon, R., and M. Thomson, Ed., "Hypertext
           Transfer Protocol Version 2 (HTTP/2)", RFC 7540,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC7540, May 2015,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7540>.

[RFC7838]  Nottingham, M., McManus, P., and J. Reschke, "HTTP
           Alternative Services", RFC 7838, DOI 10.17487/RFC7838,
           April 2016, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7838>.

10.2. Informative References ๐Ÿซถ

These ones are background reading, not required homework ๐Ÿงš

[API]      Beverloo, P., Thomson, M., van Ouwerkerk, M., Sullivan,
           B., and E. Fullea, "Push API", W3C Editor's Draft push-
           api, November 2016, <https://w3c.github.io/push-api/>.

[ENCRYPT]  Thomson, M., "Message Encryption for Web Push", Work in
           Progress, draft-ietf-webpush-encryption-06, October 2016.

[RFC6973]  Cooper, A., Tschofenig, H., Aboba, B., Peterson, J.,
           Morris, J., Hansen, M., and R. Smith, "Privacy
           Considerations for Internet Protocols", RFC 6973,
           DOI 10.17487/RFC6973, July 2013,
           <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6973>.

[VAPID]    Thomson, M. and P. Beverloo, "Voluntary Application Server
           Identification for Web Push", Work in Progress,
           draft-ietf-webpush-vapid-01, June 2016.

Acknowledgements ๐ŸŒธ

big thank you to everyone who gave serious technical input to this doc ๐Ÿฅน Ben Bangert, Peter Beverloo, Kit Cambridge, JR Conlin, Lucas Jenss, Matthew Kaufman, Costin Manolache, Mark Nottingham, Idel Pivnitskiy, Robert Sparks, Darshak Thakore, and many others ๐Ÿ’œ

Authors' Addresses ๐ŸŽ€

Martin Thomson
Mozilla
331 E Evelyn Street
Mountain View, CA  94041
United States of America

Email: martin.thomson@gmail.com


Elio Damaggio
Microsoft
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA  98052
United States of America

Email: elioda@microsoft.com


Brian Raymor (editor)
Microsoft
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA  98052
United States of America

Email: brian.raymor@microsoft.com

that's the whole spec, bestie!! ๐ŸŒˆโœจ๐Ÿ’…

๐Ÿ“ฆ where this page comes from