MSVA-QUERY-AGENT(1)

NAME
msva-query-agent - query a Monkeysphere Validation Agent

SYNOPSIS
msva-query-agent CONTEXT PEER PKC_TYPE [PEER_TYPE] < /path/to/public_key_carrier

msva-query-agent CONTEXT PEER PKC_TYPE PEER_TYPE PKC_DATA

msva-query-agent --version

ABSTRACT
msva-query-agent validates certificates for a given use by querying a running Monkeysphere Validation Agent.

USAGE
msva-query-agent reads a certificate from standard input, and posts it to the running Monkeysphere Validation Agent. The return code indicates the validity (as determined by the agent) of the certificate for the specified purpose. The agent's return message (if any) is emitted on stdout.

The various arguments are:

CONTEXT
    Context in which the certificate is being validated (e.g. 'https', 'ssh', 'ike')

PEER
    The name of the intended peer. When validating a certificate for a service, supply the host's full DNS name (e.g. 'foo.example.net')

PKC_TYPE
    The format of public key carrier data provided on standard input (e.g. 'x509der', 'x509pem', 'opensshpubkey', 'rfc4716', 'openpgp4fpr')

PEER_TYPE
    The type of peer we are inquiring about (e.g. 'client', 'server', 'peer'). This argument is optional and defaults will be used (based on CONTEXT) if it is not supplied.

PKC_DATA
    This is the actual public key carrier data itself. If less than five arguments are given, then the PKC_DATA is expected on stdin. If five arguments are given, the fifth argument is interpreted as the PKC_DATA. This is likely only useful for supplying an OpenPGP fingerprint with the 'openpgp4fpr' type.

RETURN CODE
If the certificate is valid for the requested peer in the given context, the return code is 0. Otherwise, the return code is 1.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
msva-query-agent's behavior is controlled by environment variables:

MONKEYSPHERE_VALIDATION_AGENT_SOCKET
    Socket over which to query the validation agent. If unset, the default value is 'http://127.0.0.1:8901'.

MSVA_LOG_LEVEL
    Log messages about its operation to stderr. MSVA_LOG_LEVEL controls its verbosity, and should be one of (in increasing verbosity): silent, quiet, fatal, error, info, verbose, debug, debug1, debug2, debug3. Default is 'error'.

COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL DETAILS
Communications with the Monkeysphere Validation Agent are in the form of JSON requests over plain HTTP. Responses from the agent are also JSON objects. For details on the structure of the requests and responses, please see http://web.monkeysphere.info/validation-agent/protocol

SEE ALSO
msva-perl(1), monkeysphere(1), monkeysphere(7)

BUGS AND FEEDBACK
Bugs or feature requests for msva-perl and associated tools should be filed with the Monkeysphere project's bug tracker at https://labs.riseup.net/code/projects/monkeysphere/issues/

AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
Jameson Graef Rollins <jrollins@finestructure.net<gt> Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg@fifthhorseman.net<gt>

The Monkeysphere Team http://web.monkeysphere.info/

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright © 2010, Jameson Graef Rollins and others from the Monkeysphere team. msva-query-agent is free software, distributed under the GNU Public License, version 3 or later.