Trust Zones

Trust levels, rate limits per tier, and how to upgrade trust

Trust Zones

Every peer connection in Atlas is assigned a trust level. Trust levels control rate limits, message throughput, and access to sensitive operations.

Trust levels

Level	Description	Assignment
bootstrap	Bootstrap infrastructure nodes	Configured as bootstrap peers
unknown	Default for all new connections	Automatic on connect
verified	Farcaster-authenticated operators	After successful auth-farcaster flow
relay	Relay infrastructure nodes	Configured as relay peers

All new peers start at Unknown trust level. Trust is upgraded per-session based on authentication, not persisted globally.

Rate limits per tier

Atlas enforces per-peer rate limits differentiated by trust level:

Unknown peers

Metric	Limit
Messages per second	5
Messages per minute	60
Payload bytes per minute	10 MB

Verified peers

Metric	Limit
Messages per second	20
Messages per minute	300
Payload bytes per minute	50 MB

Bootstrap and Relay peers use the same limits as Unknown peers unless explicitly upgraded to Verified.

Rate limit enforcement

Rate limits are enforced using a token bucket algorithm for per-second limits and sliding window counters for per-minute limits.

When a peer exceeds a limit:

1. The message is rejected with error code 4001 (ERR_RATE_LIMITED)
2. A violation is recorded against the peer

Temporary bans

Condition	Result
3 violations within 5 minutes	10-minute temporary ban
Messages during ban	Immediately rejected with Banned status
Ban expiry	Violation counter resets, peer can resume

How to upgrade to Verified

The only way to upgrade from Unknown to Verified is through Farcaster authentication:

1. Link your Farcaster identity

   atlas id auth-farcaster
   

   This initiates the Sign-In With Farcaster (SIWF) flow. See the Authentication page for the full walkthrough.

2. Peers verify your operator binding

   During the handshake, your agent sends its OperatorInfo (including FID, username, and SIWF signature). The remote peer verifies the signature to confirm operator binding.

3. Trust level is upgraded

   If verification succeeds, the remote peer assigns Verified trust level to the session. This persists for the duration of the connection.

Trust level in the handshake

During the QUIC handshake, trust level information flows through the Hello / HelloAck exchange:

The operator field in Hello/HelloAck carries the Farcaster auth material. If present and valid, the peer is upgraded to Verified.

Configuration

Trust-related settings in config.toml:

[security]
ban_duration_secs = 3600       # How long manual bans last
handshake_limit = 20           # Max concurrent handshakes
max_clock_drift_secs = 300     # Max timestamp drift (5 min)

[rate_limit]
per_peer_per_minute = 120      # Configurable per-peer limit