● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
Proposal for a new email protocol, HMTP, built on existing web technologies
Key points
- HMTP is a proposed email protocol built on HTTP.
- It uses existing web standards like TLS, WebFinger, and ActivityPub.
- The system would not be compatible with current SMTP-based email.
- It allows for per-user mailbox delegation without DNS MX records.
Reimagining Email Infrastructure
A new email protocol, HMTP (Hypertext Mail Transfer Protocol), is proposed as a modern alternative to SMTP. The design focuses on replacing every element of traditional email, including sending, receiving, gateways, and keys, by utilizing established web technologies. The goal is to learn and explore current technologies rather than to replace the existing mail system directly, and it would only communicate within its own HMTP network.
Leveraging Existing Web Standards
The HMTP design does not introduce new technologies but instead assembles existing, standardized, and widely deployed components. The core of the protocol is HTTP, which provides built-in features like TLS, virtual hosting, and a comprehensive set of status codes (e.g., 202 Accepted, 429 Too Many Requests, 404 Not Found). This approach also benefits from existing HTTP infrastructure such as proxies, load balancers, and libraries available in various programming languages.
Key Technologies and Features
The proposed tech stack for HMTP includes HTTP, TLS, WebFinger, ActivityPub, Webmention, Ed25519, HPKE, and sigchains. One significant feature is improved discovery and delegation, which functions similarly to an MX record but without relying on DNS. This is achieved through a static JSON document served via HTTP, allowing for per-user mailbox delegation where each mailbox of a domain can reside on a different provider. WebFinger (RFC 7033) is specifically mentioned as a technology that already handles this type of user discovery.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
A new email protocol, HMTP (Hypertext Mail Transfer Protocol), is proposed as a successor to SMTP, leveraging existing web standards like HTTP, TLS, and WebFinger. This design aims to address SMTP's limitations by re-imagining email infrastructure using battle-tested components, though it would not interoperate with current email systems.