# Unbrokered

> Mode 0: the credential is an opaque UTF-8 string whose meaning the two parties agreed upon before the connection existed.

Canonical: https://provider.diverge.network/2.3.0/authorization/unbrokered/
Specification revision: 2.3.0

The unbrokered mode is designated by mode byte `0`. No third party
vouches for the connector.

- **Form.** The credential is the remainder of the payload after the
  mode byte: a UTF-8 string, running to the end of the payload. There
  is no length field, and the empty string is a well-formed
  credential.
- **Opacity.** The connectee does not parse the string, and this
  revision constrains neither its length nor its content beyond valid
  UTF-8. The manner in which the connectee judges it is the
  connectee's own. **Remark.** The string is whatever the two parties
  agreed before the connection existed, such as a bearer token or a
  signed assertion.
- **Malformation.** A credential that is not valid UTF-8 cannot be
  read, and is treated as any rejected credential is: closure of the
  connection, and nothing else.