JSContact: A JSON Representation of Contact Data Fastmail
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art calext JSON addressbook contacts cards VCARD This specification defines a data model and JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) representation of contact card information that can be used for data storage and exchange in address book or directory applications. It aims to be an alternative to the vCard data format and to be unambiguous, extendable, and simple to process. In contrast to the JSON-based jCard format, it is not a direct mapping from the vCard data model and expands semantics where appropriate. Two additional specifications define new vCard elements and how to convert between JSContact and vCard.
Status of This Memo This is an Internet Standards Track document. This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841. Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at .
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Table of Contents
  • .  Introduction
    • .  Motivation and Relation to vCard, jCard, and xCard
    • .  Notational Conventions
    • .  Data Type Notations
      • .  Objects and Properties
      • .  Type Signatures
      • .  Property Attributes
      • .  The @type Property
    • .  Common Data Types
      • .  Id
      • .  Int and UnsignedInt
      • .  PatchObject
      • .  Resource
      • .  UTCDateTime
    • .  Common Properties
      • .  contexts
      • .  label
      • .  pref
      • .  phonetic
    • .  Internationalization
      • .  Free-Form Text
      • .  URIs
    • .  Validating JSContact
      • .  Case-Sensitivity
      • .  IANA-Registered Properties
      • .  Reserved Properties
      • .  Unknown Properties
      • .  Enumerated Values
    • .  Vendor-Specific Extensions
      • .  Vendor-Specific Properties
      • .  Vendor-Specific Values
    • .  Versioning
      • .  Version Format and Requirements
      • .  Current Version
  • .  Card
    • .  Metadata Properties
      • .  @type
      • .  version
      • .  created
      • .  kind
      • .  language
      • .  members
      • .  prodId
      • .  relatedTo
      • .  uid
      • . updated
    • .  Name and Organization Properties
      • .  name
      • .  nicknames
      • .  organizations
      • .  speakToAs
      • .  titles
    • .  Contact Properties
      • .  emails
      • .  onlineServices
      • .  phones
      • .  preferredLanguages
    • .  Calendaring and Scheduling Properties
      • .  calendars
      • .  schedulingAddresses
    • .  Address and Location Properties
      • .  addresses
    • .  Resource Properties
      • .  cryptoKeys
      • .  directories
      • .  links
      • .  media
    • .  Multilingual Properties
      • .  localizations
    • .  Additional Properties
      • .  anniversaries
      • .  keywords
      • .  notes
      • .  personalInfo
  • .  IANA Considerations
    • .  Media Type Registration
    • .  Creation of the JSContact Registry Group
    • .  Registry Policy and Change Procedures
      • .  Preliminary Community Review
      • .  Submit Request to IANA
      • .  Designated Expert Review
      • .  Change Procedures
    • .  Creation of the JSContact Version Registry
      • .  JSContact Version Registry Template
      • .  Initial Contents of the JSContact Version Registry
    • .  Creation of the JSContact Properties Registry
      • .  JSContact Properties Registry Template
      • .  Initial Contents of the JSContact Properties Registry
    • .  Creation of the JSContact Types Registry
      • .  JSContact Types Registry Template
      • .  Initial Contents of the JSContact Types Registry
    • .  Creation of the JSContact Enum Values Registry
      • .  JSContact Enum Values Registry Property Template
      • .  JSContact Enum Values Registry Value Template
      • .  Initial Contents of the JSContact Enum Values Registry
  • .  Security Considerations
    • .  JSON Parsing
    • .  URI Values
  • .  References
    • .  Normative References
    • .  Informative References
  • Authors' Addresses
Introduction This document defines a data model for contact card data normally used in address book or directory applications and services. It aims to be an alternative to the vCard data format . The key design considerations for this data model are as follows:
  • The data model and set of attributes should be mostly compatible with the model defined for the vCard data format and extensions . The specification should add new attributes or value types where appropriate. Not all existing vCard definitions need an equivalent in JSContact, especially if the vCard definition is considered to be obsolete or otherwise inappropriate. Conversion between the data formats need not fully preserve semantic meaning.
  • The attributes of the card data must be described as simple key-value pairs to reduce the complexity of the representation of the card data.
  • The data model should avoid all ambiguities and make it difficult to make mistakes during implementation.
  • Extensions, such as new properties and components, MUST NOT lead to a required update of this document.
The representation of this data model is defined in the Internet JSON (I-JSON) format , which is a strict subset of the JSON data interchange format . Using JSON is mostly a pragmatic choice: its widespread use makes JSContact easier to adopt, and the availability of production-ready JSON implementations eliminates a whole category of parser-related interoperability issues.
Motivation and Relation to vCard, jCard, and xCard The vCard data format is an interchange format for contacts data between address book service providers and vendors. However, this format has gone through multiple specification iterations with only a subset of its deprecated version 3 being widely in use. Consequently, products and services use an internal contact data model that is richer than what they expose when serializing that information to vCard. In addition, service providers often use a proprietary JSON representation of contact data in their APIs. JSContact provides a standard JSON-based data model and representation of contact data as an alternative to proprietary formats. At the time of writing this document, several missing features in vCard were brought to the attention of the authors such as social media contacts, gender pronouns, and others. This highlights how vCard is not perceived as an evolving format and, consequently, hasn't been updated for about ten years. JSContact addresses these unmet demands and defines new vCard properties and parameters to allow interchanging them in both formats. Two additional documents define the relation of JSContact and vCard: defines new vCard properties and parameters, and defines how to convert JSContact data from and to vCard. The xCard and jCard specifications define alternative representations for vCard data in XML and JSON formats, respectively. Both explicitly aim to not change the underlying data model. Accordingly, they are regarded as equal to vCard in the context of this document.
Notational Conventions The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. The ABNF definitions in this document use the notations of . ABNF rules not defined in this document are defined in either (such as the ABNF for CRLF, WSP, DQUOTE, VCHAR, ALPHA, and DIGIT) or .
Data Type Notations This section introduces the notations and terminology used to define data types in JSContact. The underlying format for JSContact is JSON, so its data types also build on JSON values. The terms "object" and "array" as well as the four primitive types ("strings", "numbers", "booleans", and "null") are to be interpreted as described in . All JSContact data MUST be valid according to the constraints given in I-JSON. Unless otherwise noted, all member names in JSON objects and all string values are case-sensitive. Within the context of JSON objects, the term "key" is synonymous with "member name" as defined in .
Objects and Properties JSContact defines data types for contact information such as addresses or names. This information typically consists of multiple related elements; for example, a personal name and surname together form a name. These related elements are organized in JSContact objects. A JSContact object is a JSON object that has the following:
  1. A unique type name registered in the IANA "JSContact Types" registry.
  2. One or more object members for which the name and allowed value types are specified. Such members are called "properties".
  3. One property named @type with a string value that matches the type name of the JSContact object. In general, this property does not need to be set explicitly as outlined in .
The following sections specify how to define JSContact object types. Sections and then define the exact requirements for property names. The next paragraph illustrates how a JSContact object is defined. The names "Foo" and "baz" are only for demonstration and have no meaning outside the example.
  • A Foo object has the following properties:
    @type: String.
    The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Foo", if set.
    baz: Number (mandatory).
    The baz level of the contact. The value MUST be an integer greater than 0 and less than 10.
The above paragraph illustrates the following:
  • It defines a JSContact object type named "Foo" that has two properties, named "@type" and "baz".
  • The @type property adheres to the rules outlined in . Because of this, it is neither defined to be mandatory nor optional, as this depends on how the Foo object type is used.
  • The baz property value MUST be valid according to the definition of the Number type.
  • The property has one attribute, "mandatory", which specifies that the property MUST be present for a value of the Foo object type to be valid.
  • The free-text description of the baz property describes the semantics and further restrictions for its values.
Type Signatures Type signatures are given for all JSON values and JSContact definitions in this document. The following conventions are used:
String:
The JSON string type.
Number:
The JSON number type.
Boolean:
The JSON boolean type.
A[B]:
A JSON object where all keys are of type A and all values are of type B.
A[]:
A JSON array of values of type A.
A|B:
The value is either of type A or of type B.
*:
The type is undefined (the value could be any type, although permitted values may be constrained by the context of this value).
defines common data types, including signed or unsigned integers and dates.
Property Attributes Object properties may also have a set of attributes defined along with the type signature. These have the following meanings:
mandatory:
The property MUST be set for an instance of this object to be valid.
optional:
The property can, but need not, be set for an instance of this object to be valid.
default:
This is followed by a JSON value. That value will be used for this property if it is omitted.
defaultType:
This is followed by the name of a JSContact object type. A property value of JSContact object type is expected to be of this named type, in case it omits the @type property.
The @type Property
@type: String.
The JSContact type of a JSON object. It MUST match the type name of the JSContact object of which the JSON object is an instance of.
The purpose of the @type property is to help implementations identify which JSContact object type a given JSON object represents. Implementations MUST validate that JSON objects with this property conform to the specification of the JSContact object type of that name. In many cases, the @type property value is implied by where its object occurs in JSContact data. Assuming that both A and B are JSContact object types:
  • An object that is set as the value for a property with type signature "A" MAY have the @type property set. If the @type property is not set, then its value is implied to be A by the property definition.
  • An object that is set as the value for a property with type signature "A|B (defaultType: A)" MAY have the @type property set if it is an instance of A. It MUST have the @type property set if it is an instance of B. If, instead, the defaultType attribute is not defined, then the @type property MUST also be set for A.
  • An object that is not the value of a property, such as the topmost object in JSON data (directly or as a member of an array), MUST have the @type property set.
Common Data Types In addition to the standard JSON data types, a couple of additional data types are common to the definitions of JSContact objects and properties.
Id Where "Id" is given as a data type, it means a String of at least 1 and a maximum of 255 octets in size, and it MUST only contain characters from the "URL and Filename Safe" base64url alphabet, as defined in , excluding the pad character ("="). This means the allowed characters are the ASCII alphanumeric characters ("A-Za-z0-9"), hyphen ("-"), and underscore ("_"). In many places in JSContact, a JSON map is used where the map keys are of type Id and the map values are all the same type of object. This construction represents an unordered set of objects, with the added advantage that each entry has a name (the corresponding map key). This allows for more concise patching of objects and, when applicable, for the objects in question to be referenced from other objects within the JSContact object. The map keys MUST be preserved across multiple versions of the JSContact object. Unless otherwise specified for a particular property, there are no uniqueness constraints on an Id value (other than, of course, the requirement that you cannot have two values with the same key within a single JSON map). For example, two Card objects might use the same Ids in their respective photos properties. Or within the same Card, the same Id could appear in the emails and phones properties. These situations do not imply any semantic connections among the objects.
Int and UnsignedInt Where "Int" is given as a data type, it means an integer in the range -253+1 <= value <= 2 53-1, which is the safe range for integers stored in a floating-point double, represented as a JSON Number. Where "UnsignedInt" is given as a data type, it means an integer in the range 0 <= value <= 2 53-1 represented as a JSON Number.
PatchObject A PatchObject is of type "String[*]" and represents an unordered set of patches on a JSON object. Each key is a path represented in a subset of the JSON Pointer format . The paths have an implicit leading "/", so each key is prefixed with "/" before applying the JSON Pointer evaluation algorithm. A patch within a PatchObject is only valid if all the following conditions apply:
  1. The pointer MAY reference inside an array, but if the last reference token in the pointer is an array index, then the patch value MUST NOT be null. The pointer MUST NOT use "-" as an array index in any of its reference tokens (i.e., you MUST NOT insert/delete from an array, but you MAY replace the contents of its existing members. To add or remove members, one needs to replace the complete array value).
  2. All reference tokens prior to the last (i.e., the value after the final slash) MUST already exist as values in the object being patched. If the last reference token is an array index, then a member at this index MUST already exist in the referenced array.
  3. There MUST NOT be two patches in the PatchObject where the pointer of one is the prefix of the pointer of the other, e.g., "addresses/1/city" and "addresses".
  4. The value for the patch MUST be valid for the property being set (of the correct type and obeying any other applicable restrictions), or if null, the property MUST be optional.
The value associated with each pointer determines how to apply that patch:
  • If null, remove the property from the patched object. If the key is not present in the parent, this is a no-op.
  • If non-null, set the value given as the value for this property (this may be a replacement or addition to the object being patched).
A PatchObject does not define its own @type property. Instead, the @type property in a patch MUST be handled as any other patched property value. Implementations MUST reject a PatchObject in its entirety if any of its patches are invalid. Implementations MUST NOT apply partial patches.
Resource The Resource data type defines a resource associated with the entity represented by the Card, identified by a URI . Later in this document, several property definitions refer to the Resource type as the basis for their property-specific value types. The Resource type defines the properties that are common to all of them. Property definitions making use of Resource MAY define additional properties for their value types. A Resource object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST NOT be "Resource"; instead, the value MUST be the name of a concrete resource type (see ).
kind: String (optional).
The kind of the resource. The allowed values are defined in the property definition that makes use of the Resource type. Some property definitions may change this property from being optional to mandatory.
uri: String (mandatory).
The resource value. This MUST be a URI as defined in .
mediaType: String (optional).
The media type of the resource identified by the uri property value.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use this resource. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the resource in relation to other resources. Also see .
label: String (optional).
A custom label for the value. Also see .
UTCDateTime The UTCDateTime type is a String in "date-time" format , with further restrictions that any letters MUST be in uppercase and the time offset MUST be the character "Z". Fractional second values MUST NOT be included unless they are non-zero, and they MUST NOT have trailing zeros to ensure there is only a single representation for each date-time. For example, "2010-10-10T10:10:10.003Z" is conformant, but "2010-10-10T10:10:10.000Z" is invalid; the correct encoding is "2010-10-10T10:10:10Z".
Common Properties Most of the properties in this document are specific to a single JSContact object type. Such properties are defined along with the respective object type. The properties in this section are common to multiple data types and are defined here to avoid repetition. Note that these properties MUST only be set for a JSContact object if they are explicitly mentioned as allowable for this object type.
contexts
contexts: String[Boolean].
The contexts in which to use the contact information. For example, someone might have distinct phone numbers for work and private contexts and may set the desired context on the respective phone number in the phones property. This section defines common contexts. Additional contexts may be defined in the properties or data types that make use of this property. The enumerated common context values are:
  • private: the contact information that may be used in a private context.
  • work: the contact information that may be used in a professional context.
label
label: String.
The labels associated with the contact data. Such labels may be set for phone numbers, email addresses, and other resources. Typically, these labels are displayed along with their associated contact data in graphical user interfaces. Note that succinct labels are best for proper display on small graphical interfaces and screens.
pref
pref: UnsignedInt.
A preference order for contact information. For example, a person may have two email addresses and prefer to be contacted with one of them. The value MUST be in the range of 1 to 100. Lower values correspond to a higher level of preference, with 1 being most preferred. If no preference is set, then the contact information MUST be interpreted as being least preferred. Note that the preference is only defined in relation to contact information of the same type. For example, the preference orders within emails and phone numbers are independent of each other.
phonetic The following properties define how to pronounce a value in the language indicated in the Card language property or the language tag of its localizations. Exemplary uses of these properties are defining how to pronounce Japanese names and romanizing Mandarin or Cantonese name and address components. The properties are defined as follows:
phonetic: String.
The phonetic representation of a value. Any script language subtag in the Card language property MUST be ignored and not used with the phonetic property. If this property is set, then at least one of the phoneticScript or phoneticSystem properties that relate to this value MUST be set.
phoneticScript: String.
The script used in the value of the related phonetic property. This MUST be a valid script subtag as defined in .
phoneticSystem: String.
The phonetic system used in the related value of the phonetic property. The enumerated values are:
  • ipa: denotes the International Phonetic Alphabet.
  • jyut: denotes the Cantonese romanization system "Jyutping".
  • piny: denotes the Standard Mandarin romanization system "Hanyu Pinyin".
The relation between the phoneticSystem, phoneticScript, and phonetic properties is type-specific. This specification defines this relation in the Name and Address object types, respectively. The following example illustrates the phonetic property for a name:
Example of a phonetic Property for the Name "John Smith" as Pronounced in the USA "name": { "components": [{ "kind": "given", "value": "John", "phonetic": "/ˈdʒɑːn/" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Smith", "phonetic": "/smɪθ/" }], "phoneticSystem": "ipa" }
Internationalization JSContact aims to be used for international contacts and address book data. Notably, text values such as names and addresses are likely to cover a wide range of languages and cultures. This section describes internationalization for free-form text values as well as Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).
Free-Form Text Properties having free-form text values MAY contain any valid sequence of Unicode characters encoded as a JSON string. Such values can contain unidirectional left-to-right and right-to-left text, as well as bidirectional text using Unicode Directional Formatting Characters as described in Section 2 of . Implementations setting bidirectional text MUST make sure that each property value complies with the requirements of the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm. Implementations MUST NOT assume that text values of adjacent properties are processed or displayed as a combined string; for example, the values of a given name component and a surname component may or may not be rendered together.
URIs Several properties require their string value to be a URI as defined in . Implementations MUST make sure to use proper percent-encoding for URIs that cannot be represented using unreserved URI characters. defines how to convert Internationalized Resource Identifiers to URIs. JSContact makes no recommendation on how to display URIs, but the WHATWG URL Living Standard (see "Internationalization and special characters" (Section 4.8.3) of ) provides guidance for URLs found in the context of a web browser.
Validating JSContact This specification distinguishes between three kinds of properties regarding validation: IANA-registered properties and unknown properties, which are defined in this section, and vendor-specific properties, which are defined in . A JSContact object is invalid if any of its properties are invalid. This document defines whether each property is mandatory or optional. A mandatory property MUST be present for a JSContact object to be valid. An optional property does not need to be present. The values of both required and optional properties MUST adhere to the data type and definition of that property.
Case-Sensitivity All property names, object type names, and enumerated values are case-sensitive, unless explicitly stated otherwise in their definitions. Implementations MUST handle a JSContact object as invalid if a type name, property name, or enumerated value only differs in case from one defined for any JSContact version known to that implementation. This applies regardless of what JSContact version the Card object defines in its version property. defines how to handle unknown properties.
IANA-Registered Properties An IANA-registered property is any property that has been registered according to the IANA property registry rules as outlined in . All properties defined in this specification, including their object value types and enumerated values, are registered at IANA. Implementations MUST validate IANA-registered properties in JSContact data, unless they are unknown to the implementation (). They MUST reject invalid IANA-registered properties. A property is invalid if its name matches the name of an IANA-registered property but the value violates its definition according to the JSContact specification version defined in the Card version property. IANA-registered property names MUST NOT contain ASCII control characters (U+0000 to U+001F, U+007F), the COLON (U+003A), or the QUOTATION MARK (U+0022). They MUST only contain ASCII alphanumeric characters that match the ALPHA and DIGIT rules defined in or the COMMERCIAL AT (U+0040) character. IANA-registered property names MUST be notated in lower camel case.
Reserved Properties IANA-registered properties can be reserved (). Implementations MUST NOT set properties having a reserved name in JSContact objects for which this property is reserved or all objects if the property context in the registry is "not applicable". Reserved properties have no type, and their type signature is "not applicable". Any JSContact object including a property that is reserved in context of this object MUST be considered invalid. This document reserves one property as described below.
extra
extra: not applicable.
The reserved property "extra" provides implementors with a property name that is certain to never occur as a property in any JSContact object. Implementations might want to map unknown or vendor-specific properties to a variable with this name, but this is implementation-specific.
Unknown Properties Implementations may encounter JSContact data where a property name is unknown to that implementation but the name adheres to the syntactic restrictions of IANA-registered property names. Implementations MUST make sure that such a name does not violate the case-sensitivity rules defined in . If the property name is valid, then implementations MUST NOT treat such properties as invalid. Instead, they MUST preserve them in the JSContact object. Implementations that create or update JSContact data MUST only set IANA-registered properties or vendor-specific properties. Preserving properties that are unknown to the implementation is to allow applications and services to interoperate without data loss, even if not all of them implement the same set of JSContact extensions.
Enumerated Values Several properties in this document restrict their allowed values to a list of String values. These values are case-sensitive. If not noted otherwise for a specific property, the initial list of values for such properties is registered at IANA in the "JSContact Enum Values" registry. Implementations MUST only set IANA-registered or vendor-specific values for such properties.
Vendor-Specific Extensions Vendors may extend properties and values for experimentation or to store contacts data that is only useful for a single service or application. Such extensions are not meant for interoperation. If, instead, interoperation is desired, vendors are strongly encouraged to define and register new properties, types, and values at IANA as defined in . defines the naming conventions for IANA-registered elements.
Vendor-Specific Properties Vendor-specific property names MUST start with a vendor-specific prefix followed by a name, as produced by the "v-extension" ABNF below. The prefix and name together form the property name. The vendor-specific prefix MUST be a domain name under control of the service or application that sets the property, but it need not resolve in the Domain Name System . The prefix "ietf.org" and its subdomain names are reserved for IETF specifications. The name MUST NOT contain the TILDE (U+007E) and SOLIDUS (U+002F) characters, as these require special escaping when encoding a JSON Pointer for that property. Vendor-specific properties MAY be set in any JSContact object. Implementations MUST preserve vendor-specific properties in JSContact data, irrespective if they know their use. They MUST NOT reject the property value as invalid, unless they are in control of the vendor-specific property as outlined in the above paragraph. The ABNF rule "v-extension" formally defines valid vendor-specific property names. Note that the vendor prefix allows for more values than Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) ; therefore, JSContact implementations can simply validate property names without implementing the full set of rules that apply to domain names.
ABNF Rules for Vendor-Specific Property Names v-extension = v-prefix ":" v-name v-prefix = v-label *("." v-label) v-label = alnum-int / alnum-int *(alnum-int / "-") alnum-int alnum-int = ALPHA / DIGIT / NON-ASCII ; see RFC 6350, Section 3.3 v-name = 1*(WSP / "!" / %x23-2e / %x30-7d / NON-ASCII) ; any characters except CTLs, DQUOTE, SOLIDUS, and TILDE
The value of vendor-specific properties can be any valid JSON value, and naming restrictions do not apply to such values. Specifically, if the property value is a JSON object, then the keys of such objects need not be named as vendor-specific properties, as illustrated in :
Examples of Vendor-Specific Properties "example.com:foo": "bar", "example.com:foo2": { "bar": "baz" }
Vendor-Specific Values Some JSContact IANA-registered properties allow their values to be vendor-specific. One such example is the "kind" property, which enumerates its standard values but also allows for arbitrary vendor-specific values. Such vendor-specific values MUST be valid "v-extension" values as defined in . The example in illustrates this:
Example of a Vendor-Specific Value "kind": "example.com:baz"
Vendors are strongly encouraged to specify a new standard value once a vendor-specific one turns out to also be useful for other systems.
Versioning Every instance of a JSContact Card indicates which JSContact version its IANA-registered properties and values are based on. The version is indicated both in the version property within the Card and in the version parameter of the JSContact media type. All IANA-registered elements indicate the version at which they were introduced or obsoleted. A JSContact version consists of a major and minor version. Differing major version values indicate substantial differences in JSContact semantics and format. Implementations MUST be prepared for property definitions and other JSContact elements that differ in a backwards-incompatible manner. Differing minor version values indicate additions that enrich JSContact data but do not introduce backwards-incompatible changes. Typically, these are new property enum values or properties with a narrow semantic scope. A new minor version MUST NOT require implementations to change their processing of JSContact data. Changing the major version number resets the minor version number to zero.
Version Format and Requirements A version value starts with the numeric major version, followed by the FULL STOP character (U+002E), followed by the numeric minor version. Later versions are numerically higher than former versions, with the major version being more significant than the minor version. A version value is produced by the following ABNF:
The ABNF for JSContact Version Values jsversion = 1*DIGIT "." 1*DIGIT
Current Version This specification registers JSContact version value "1.0" ().
Card This section defines the JSContact object type Card. A Card stores contact information, typically that of a person, organization, or company. Its media type is defined in . shows a basic Card for the person "John Doe". As the object is the topmost object in the JSON data, it has the @type property set according to the rules defined in .
Example of a Basic Card { "@type": "Card", "version": "1.0", "uid": "22B2C7DF-9120-4969-8460-05956FE6B065", "kind": "individual", "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "given", "value": "John" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Doe" } ], "isOrdered": true } }
Metadata Properties This section defines properties about this instance of a Card such as its unique identifier, its creation date, and how it relates to other Cards and other metadata information.
@type
@type: String (mandatory).
The JSContact type of the Card object. The value MUST be "Card".
version
version: String (mandatory).
The JSContact version of this Card. The value MUST be one of the IANA-registered JSContact Version values for the version property. Also see .
Example for the version Property "version": "1.0"
created
created: UTCDateTime (optional).
The date and time when the Card was created.
Example for the created Property "created": "2022-09-30T14:35:10Z"
kind
kind: String (optional; default: "individual").
The kind of the entity the Card represents. The enumerated values are:
  • individual: a single person
  • group: a group of people or entities
  • org: an organization
  • location: a named location
  • device: a device such as an appliance, a computer, or a network element
  • application: a software application
Example for the kind Property "kind": "individual"
language
language: String (optional).
The language tag, as defined in , that best describes the language used for text in the Card, optionally including additional information such as the script. Note that values MAY be localized in the localizations property.
Example for the language Property "language": "de-AT"
members
members: String[Boolean] (optional).
The set of Cards that are members of this group Card. Each key in the set is the uid property value of the member, and each boolean value MUST be "true". If this property is set, then the value of the kind property MUST be "group". The opposite is not true. A group Card will usually contain the members property to specify the members of the group, but it is not required to. A group Card without the members property can be considered an abstract grouping or one whose members are known empirically (e.g., "IETF Participants").
Example for the members Property "kind": "group", "name": { "full": "The Doe family" }, "uid": "urn:uuid:ab4310aa-fa43-11e9-8f0b-362b9e155667", "members": { "urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af": true, "urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519": true }
prodId
prodId: String (optional).
The identifier for the product that created the Card. If set, the value MUST be at least one character long.
Example for the prodId Property "prodId": "ACME Contacts App version 1.23.5"
relatedTo
relatedTo: String[Relation] (optional).
The set of Card objects that relate to the Card. The value is a map, where each key is the uid property value of the related Card, and the value defines the relation.
The Relation object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Relation", if set.
relation: String[Boolean] (optional; default: empty Object).
The relationship of the related Card to the Card, defined as a set of relation types. The keys in the set define the relation type; the values for each key in the set MUST be "true". The relationship between the two objects is undefined if the set is empty. The initial list of enumerated relation types matches the IANA-registered TYPE parameter values of the vCard RELATED property ():
  • acquaintance
  • agent
  • child
  • co-resident
  • co-worker
  • colleague
  • contact
  • crush
  • date
  • emergency
  • friend
  • kin
  • me
  • met
  • muse
  • neighbor
  • parent
  • sibling
  • spouse
  • sweetheart
Example for the relatedTo Property "relatedTo": { "urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6": { "relation": { "friend": true } }, "8cacdfb7d1ffdb59@example.com": { "relation": {} } }
uid
uid: String (mandatory).
An identifier that associates the object as the same across different systems, address books, and views. The value SHOULD be a URN , but for compatibility with , it MAY also be a URI or free-text value. The value of the URN SHOULD be in the "uuid" namespace . describes multiple versions of Universally Unique IDentifiers (UUIDs); UUID version 4 is RECOMMENDED.
Example for the uid Property "uid": "urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6"
updated
updated: UTCDateTime (optional).
The date and time when the data in the Card was last modified.
Example for the updated Property "updated": "2021-10-31T22:27:10Z"
Name and Organization Properties This section defines properties that name the entity represented by the Card and its related organizations and roles. It also describes how to refer to the entity represented by the Card in spoken or written language.
name
name: Name (optional).
The name of the entity represented by the Card. This can be any type of name, e.g., it can, but need not, be the legal name of a person.
Name Object A Name object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Name", if set.
components: NameComponent[] (optional).
The components making up this name. The components property MUST be set if the full property is not set; otherwise, it SHOULD be set. The component list MUST have at least one entry having a different kind property value than "separator". Name components SHOULD be ordered such that when their values are joined as a String, a valid full name of the entity is produced. If so, implementations MUST set the isOrdered property value to "true". If the name components are ordered, then the defaultSeparator property and name components with the kind property value set to "separator" give guidance on what characters to insert between components, but implementations are free to choose any others. When lacking a separator, inserting a single space character in between the name component values is a good choice. If, instead, the name components follow no particular order, then the isOrdered property value MUST be "false", the components property MUST NOT contain a NameComponent with the kind property value set to "separator", and the defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set. shows an example for the name "Vincent van Gogh". Note how a single name component value may consist of multiple words.
Example of a Surname with Two Words "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "given", "value": "Vincent" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "van Gogh" } ], "isOrdered": true }
illustrates a name with a second surname such as a Spanish name. Additional examples are shown in Figures and .
Example of a Second Surname "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "given", "value": "Diego" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Rivera" }, { "kind": "surname2", "value": "Barrientos" } ], "isOrdered": true }
isOrdered: Boolean (optional; default: "false").
The indicator if the name components in the components property are ordered.
defaultSeparator: String (optional).
The default separator to insert between name component values when concatenating all name component values to a single String. Also see the definition of the kind property value "separator" for the NameComponent object. The defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set if the Name isOrdered property value is "false" or if the components property is not set.
full: String (optional).
The full name representation of the Name. The full property MUST be set if the components property is not set.
Example for the full Property "full": "Mr. John Q. Public, Esq."
sortAs: String[String] (optional).
The value to lexicographically sort the name in relation to other names when compared by a name component type. The keys in the map define the name component type. The values define the verbatim string to compare when sorting by the name component type. Absence of a key indicates that the name component type SHOULD NOT be considered during sort. Sorting by that missing name component type, or if the sortAs property is not set, is implementation-specific. The sortAs property MUST NOT be set if the components property is not set. Each key in the map MUST be a valid name component type value as defined for the kind property of the NameComponent object (see below). For each key in the map, there MUST exist at least one NameComponent object that has the type in the components property of the name. illustrates the use of the sortAs property. The property value indicates that the middle name followed by both surnames should be used when sorting the name by surname. The absence of "middle" indicates that the middle name on its own should be disregarded during sort. Even though the name only contains one name component for the given name, the sortAs property still explicitly defines how to sort by the given name; otherwise, sorting by it would be undefined.
phoneticScript: String (optional).
The script used in the value of the NameComponent phonetic property. See for more information and for an example.
phoneticSystem: String (optional).
The phonetic system used in the NameComponent phonetic property. See for more information and for an example.
Example for the sortAs Property "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "given", "value": "Robert" }, { "kind": "given2", "value": "Pau" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Shou Chang" } ], "sortAs": { "surname": "Pau Shou Chang", "given": "Robert" }, "isOrdered": true }
Example for the phonetic and localizations Properties { "@type": "Card", "language": "zh-Hant", "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "surname", "value": "孫" }, { "kind": "given", "value": "中山" }, { "kind": "given2", "value": "文" }, { "kind": "given2", "value": "逸仙" } ] }, "localizations": { "yue": { "name/phoneticSystem": "jyut", "name/phoneticScript": "Latn", "name/components/0/phonetic": "syun1", "name/components/1/phonetic": "zung1saan1", "name/components/2/phonetic": "man4", "name/components/3/phonetic": "jat6sin1" } } }
NameComponent A NameComponent object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "NameComponent", if set.
value: String (mandatory).
The value of the name component. This can be composed of one or multiple words such as "Poe" or "van Gogh".
kind: String (mandatory).
The kind of the name component. The enumerated values are:
  • title: an honorific title or prefix, e.g., "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Dr.".
  • given: a given name, also known as "first name" or "personal name".
  • given2: a name that appears between the given and surname such as a middle name or patronymic name.
  • surname: a surname, also known as "last name" or "family name".
  • surname2: a secondary surname (used in some cultures), also known as "maternal surname".
  • credential: a credential, also known as "accreditation qualifier" or "honorific suffix", e.g., "B.A.", "Esq.".
  • generation: a generation marker or qualifier, e.g., "Jr." or "III".
  • separator: a formatting separator between two ordered name non-separator components. The value property of the component includes the verbatim separator, for example, a hyphen character or even an empty string. This value has higher precedence than the defaultSeparator property of the Name. Implementations MUST NOT insert two consecutive separator components; instead, they SHOULD insert a single separator component with the combined value. This component kind MUST NOT be set if the Name isOrdered property value is "false".
phonetic: String (optional).
The pronunciation of the name component. If this property is set, then at least one of the Name object properties, phoneticSystem or phoneticScript, MUST be set. Also see .
nicknames
nicknames: Id[Nickname] (optional).
The nicknames of the entity represented by the Card.
A Nickname object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Nickname", if set.
name: String (mandatory).
The nickname.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the nickname. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the nickname in relation to other nicknames. Also see .
Example for the nicknames Property "nicknames": { "k391": { "name": "Johnny" } }
organizations
organizations: Id[Organization] (optional).
The company or organization names and units associated with the Card.
An Organization object has the following properties, of which at least one of the name and units properties MUST be set:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Organization", if set.
name: String (optional).
The name of the organization.
units: OrgUnit[] (optional).
A list of organizational units, ordered as descending by hierarchy (e.g., a geographic or functional division sorts before a department within that division). If set, the list MUST contain at least one entry.
sortAs: String (optional).
The value to lexicographically sort the organization in relation to other organizations when compared by name. The value defines the verbatim string value to compare. In absence of this property, the name property value MAY be used for comparison.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which association with the organization applies. For example, membership in a choir may only apply in a private context. Also see .
An OrgUnit object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "OrgUnit", if set.
name: String (mandatory).
The name of the organizational unit.
sortAs: String (optional).
The value to lexicographically sort the organizational unit in relation to other organizational units of the same level when compared by name. The level is defined by the array index of the organizational unit in the units property of the Organization object. The property value defines the verbatim string value to compare. In absence of this property, the name property value MAY be used for comparison.
Example for the organizations Property "organizations": { "o1": { "name": "ABC, Inc.", "units": [ { "name": "North American Division" }, { "name": "Marketing" } ], "sortAs": "ABC" } }
speakToAs
speakToAs: SpeakToAs (optional).
The information that directs how to address, speak to, or refer to the entity that is represented by the Card.
A SpeakToAs object has the following properties, of which at least one of the grammaticalGender and pronouns properties MUST be set:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "SpeakToAs", if set.
grammaticalGender: String (optional).
The grammatical gender to use in salutations and other grammatical constructs. For example, the German language distinguishes by grammatical gender in salutations such as "Sehr geehrte" (feminine) and "Sehr geehrter" (masculine). The enumerated values are:
  • animate
  • common
  • feminine
  • inanimate
  • masculine
  • neuter
Note that the grammatical gender does not allow inferring the gender identities or assigned sex of the contact.
pronouns: Id[Pronouns] (optional).
The pronouns that the contact chooses to use for themselves.
A Pronouns object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Pronouns", if set.
pronouns: String (mandatory).
The pronouns. Any value or form is allowed. Examples in English include "she/her" and "they/them/theirs". The value MAY be overridden in the localizations property.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the pronouns. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the pronouns in relation to other pronouns in the same context. Also see .
Example for the speakToAs Property "speakToAs": { "grammaticalGender": "neuter", "pronouns": { "k19": { "pronouns": "they/them", "pref": 2 }, "k32": { "pronouns": "xe/xir", "pref": 1 } } }
titles
titles: Id[Title] (optional).
The job titles or functional positions of the entity represented by the Card.
A Title object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Title", if set.
name: String (mandatory).
The title or role name of the entity represented by the Card.
kind: String (optional; default: "title").
The organizational or situational kind of the title. Some organizations and individuals distinguish between titles as organizational positions and roles as more temporary assignments such as in project management. The enumerated values are:
  • title
  • role
organizationId: Id (optional).
The identifier of the organization in which this title is held.
Example for the titles Property "titles": { "le9": { "kind": "title", "name": "Research Scientist" }, "k2": { "kind": "role", "name": "Project Leader", "organizationId": "o2" } }, "organizations": { "o2": { "name": "ABC, Inc." } }
Contact Properties This section defines how properties contact the entity represented by the Card.
emails
emails: Id[EmailAddress] (optional).
The email addresses in which to contact the entity represented by the Card.
An EmailAddress object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "EmailAddress", if set.
address: String (mandatory).
The email address. This MUST be an addr-spec value as defined in .
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use this email address. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the email address in relation to other email addresses. Also see .
label: String (optional).
A custom label for the value. Also see .
Example for the emails Property "emails": { "e1": { "contexts": { "work": true }, "address": "jqpublic@xyz.example.com" }, "e2": { "address": "jane_doe@example.com", "pref": 1 } }
onlineServices
onlineServices: Id[OnlineService] (optional).
The online services that are associated with the entity represented by the Card. This can be messaging services, social media profiles, and other.
An OnlineService object has the following properties, of which at least the uri or user property MUST be set:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "OnlineService", if set.
service: String (optional).
The name of the online service or protocol. The name MAY be capitalized the same as on the service's website, app, or publishing material, but names MUST be considered equal if they match case-insensitively. Examples are "GitHub", "kakao", and "Mastodon".
uri: String (optional).
The identifier for the entity represented by the Card at the online service. This MUST be a URI as defined in .
user: String (optional).
The name the entity represented by the Card at the online service. Any free-text value is allowed. The service property SHOULD be set.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the service. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the service in relation to other services. Also see .
label: String (optional).
A custom label for the value. Also see .
Example for the onlineServices Property "onlineServices": { "x1": { "uri": "xmpp:alice@example.com" }, "x2": { "service": "Mastodon", "user": "@alice@example2.com", "uri": "https://example2.com/@alice" } }
phones
phones: Id[Phone] (optional).
The phone numbers by which to contact the entity represented by the Card.
Phone object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Phone", if set.
number: String (mandatory).
The phone number as either a URI or free text. Typical URI schemes are "tel" or "sip" , but any URI scheme is allowed.
features: String[Boolean] (optional).
The set of contact features that the phone number may be used for. The set is represented as an object, with each key being a method type. The boolean value MUST be "true". The enumerated method type values are:
  • mobile: this number is for a mobile phone.
  • voice: this number supports calling by voice.
  • text: this number supports text messages (SMS).
  • video: this number supports video conferencing.
  • main-number: this number is a main phone number such as the number of the front desk at a company, as opposed to a direct-dial number of an individual employee.
  • textphone: this number is for a device for people with hearing or speech difficulties.
  • fax: this number supports sending faxes.
  • pager: this number is for a pager or beeper.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the number. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the number in relation to other numbers. Also see .
label: String (optional).
A custom label for the value. Also see .
Example for the phones Property "phones": { "tel0": { "contexts": { "private": true }, "features": { "voice": true }, "number": "tel:+1-555-555-5555;ext=5555", "pref": 1 }, "tel3": { "contexts": { "work": true }, "number": "tel:+1-201-555-0123" } }
preferredLanguages
preferredLanguages : Id[LanguagePref] (optional).
The preferred languages for contacting the entity associated with the Card.
A LanguagePref object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "LanguagePref", if set.
language: String (mandatory).
The preferred language. This MUST be a language tag as defined in .
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the language. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the language in relation to other languages of the same contexts. Also see .
Example for the preferredLanguages Property "preferredLanguages": { "l1": { "language": "en", "contexts": { "work": true }, "pref": 1 }, "l2": { "language": "fr", "contexts": { "work": true }, "pref": 2 }, "l3": { "language": "fr", "contexts": { "private": true } } }
Calendaring and Scheduling Properties This section defines properties for scheduling calendar events with the entity represented by the Card.
calendars
calendars: Id[Calendar] (optional).
The calendaring resources of the entity represented by the Card, such as to look up free-busy information.
A Calendar object has all properties of the Resource data type, with the following additional definitions:
  • The @type property value MUST be "Calendar", if set.
  • The kind property is mandatory. Its enumerated values are:
    • calendar: The resource is a calendar that contains entries such as calendar events or tasks.
    • freeBusy: The resource allows for free-busy lookups, for example, to schedule group events.
Example for the calendars Property "calendars": { "calA": { "kind": "calendar", "uri": "webcal://calendar.example.com/calA.ics" }, "project-a": { "kind": "freeBusy", "uri": "https://calendar.example.com/busy/project-a" } }
schedulingAddresses
schedulingAddresses: Id[SchedulingAddress] (optional).
The scheduling addresses by which the entity may receive calendar scheduling invitations.
A SchedulingAddress object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "SchedulingAddress", if set.
uri: String (mandatory).
The address to use for calendar scheduling with the contact. This MUST be a URI as defined in .
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use the scheduling address. Also see .
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the scheduling address in relation to other scheduling addresses. Also see .
label: String (optional).
A custom label for the scheduling address. Also see .
Example for the schedulingAddresses Property "schedulingAddresses": { "sched1": { "uri": "mailto:janedoe@example.com" } }
Address and Location Properties This section defines properties for postal addresses and geographical locations associated with the entity represented by the Card.
addresses
addresses: Id[Address] (optional).
The addresses of the entity represented by the Card, such as postal addresses or geographic locations.
Address Object An Address object has the following properties, of which at least one of components, coordinates, countryCode, full or timeZone MUST be set:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Address", if set.
components: AddressComponent[] (optional).
The components that make up the address. The component list MUST have at least one entry that has a kind property value other than "separator". Address components SHOULD be ordered such that when their values are joined as a String, a valid full address is produced. If so, implementations MUST set the isOrdered property value to "true". If the address components are ordered, then the defaultSeparator property and address components with the kind property value set to "separator" give guidance on what characters to insert between components, but implementations are free to choose any others. When lacking a separator, inserting a single space character in between address component values is a good choice. If, instead, the address components follow no particular order, then the isOrdered property value MUST be "false", the components property MUST NOT contain an AddressComponent with the kind property value set to "separator", and the defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set.
isOrdered: Boolean (optional; default: "false").
The indicator if the address components in the components property are ordered.
countryCode: String (optional).
The Alpha-2 country code .
coordinates: String (optional).
A "geo:" URI for the address.
timeZone: String (optional).
The time zone in which the address is located. This MUST be a time zone name registered in the IANA Time Zone Database.
contexts: String[Boolean] (optional).
The contexts in which to use this address. The boolean value MUST be "true". In addition to the common contexts (), allowed key values are:
  • billing: an address to be used for billing.
  • delivery: an address to be used for delivering physical items.
full: String (optional).
The full address, including street, region, or country. The purpose of this property is to define an address, even if the individual address components are not known.
defaultSeparator: String (optional).
The default separator to insert between address component values when concatenating all address component values to a single String. Also see the definition of the kind property value "separator" for the AddressComponent object. The defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set if the Address isOrdered property value is "false" or if the components property is not set.
pref: UnsignedInt (optional).
The preference of the address in relation to other addresses. Also see .
phoneticScript: String (optional).
The script used in the value of the AddressComponent phonetic property. Also see .
phoneticSystem: String (optional).
The phonetic system used in the AddressComponent phonetic property. Also see .
The following example illustrates the use of the address property for "54321 Oak St, Reston, CA 20190, USA". Additional examples are shown in .
Example of an Address in the USA "addresses": { "k23": { "contexts": { "work": true }, "components": [ { "kind": "number", "value": "54321" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": " " }, { "kind": "name", "value": "Oak St" }, { "kind": "locality", "value": "Reston" }, { "kind": "region", "value": "VA" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": " " }, { "kind": "postcode", "value": "20190" }, { "kind": "country", "value": "USA" } ], "countryCode": "US", "defaultSeparator": ", ", "isOrdered": true } }
AddressComponent Object An AddressComponent object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "AddressComponent", if set.
value: String (mandatory).
The value of the address component.
kind: String (mandatory).
The kind of the address component. The enumerated values are:
  • room: the room, suite number, or identifier.
  • apartment: the extension designation such as the apartment number, unit, or box number.
  • floor: the floor or level the address is located on.
  • building: the building, tower, or condominium the address is located in.
  • number: the street number, e.g., "123". This value is not restricted to numeric values and can include any value such as number ranges ("112-10"), grid style ("39.2 RD"), alphanumerics ("N6W23001"), or fractionals ("123 1/2").
  • name: the street name.
  • block: the block name or number.
  • subdistrict: the subdistrict, ward, or other subunit of a district.
  • district: the district name.
  • locality: the municipality, city, town, village, post town, or other locality.
  • region: the administrative area such as province, state, prefecture, county, or canton.
  • postcode: the postal code, post code, ZIP code, or other short code associated with the address by the relevant country's postal system.
  • country: the country name.
  • direction: the cardinal direction or quadrant, e.g., "north".
  • landmark: the publicly known prominent feature that can substitute the street name and number, e.g., "White House" or "Taj Mahal".
  • postOfficeBox: the post office box number or identifier.
  • separator: a formatting separator between two ordered address non-separator components. The value property of the component includes the verbatim separator, for example, a hyphen character or even an empty string. This value has higher precedence than the defaultSeparator property of the Address. Implementations MUST NOT insert two consecutive separator components; instead, they SHOULD insert a single separator component with the combined value. This component kind MUST NOT be set if the Address isOrdered property value is "false".
phonetic: String (optional).
The pronunciation of the name component. If this property is set, then at least one of the Address object phoneticSystem or phoneticScript properties MUST be set. Also see .
Additional Address Examples The following example illustrates the use of the address property for "46, 1 Sukhumvit 51 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand".
Example of an Address in Thailand "addresses": { "k25": { "components": [ { "kind": "number", "value": "46" }, { "kind": "name", "value": "1 Sukhumvit 51 Alley" }, { "kind": "subdistrict", "value": "Khlong Tan Nuea" }, { "kind": "district", "value": " Watthana" }, { "kind": "locality", "value": "Bangkok" }, { "kind": "country", "value": "Thailand" }, { "kind": "postcode", "value": "10110" } ], "defaultSeparator": ", ", "isOrdered": true } }
The following example illustrates the use of the address property for "2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8994" and its Japanese localization ().
Example of an Address in Tokyo and Its Localization in Japanese "addresses": { "k26": { "components": [ { "kind": "block", "value": "2-7" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": "-" }, { "kind": "number", "value": "2" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": " " }, { "kind": "district", "value": "Marunouchi" }, { "kind": "locality", "value": "Chiyoda-ku" }, { "kind": "region", "value": "Tokyo" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": " " }, { "kind": "postcode", "value": "100-8994" } ], "defaultSeparator": ", ", "full": "2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8994", "isOrdered": true } }, "localizations": { "jp": { "addresses/k26": { "components": [ { "kind": "region", "value": "東京都" }, { "kind": "locality", "value": "千代田区" }, { "kind": "district", "value": "丸ノ内" }, { "kind": "block", "value": "2-7" }, { "kind": "separator", "value": "-" }, { "kind": "number", "value": "2" }, { "kind": "postcode", "value": "〒100-8994" } ], "defaultSeparator": "", "full": "〒100-8994東京都千代田区丸ノ内2-7-2", "isOrdered": true } } }
Resource Properties This section defines properties for digital resources associated with the entity represented by the Card.
cryptoKeys
cryptoKeys: Id[CryptoKey] (optional).
The cryptographic resources such as public keys and certificates associated with the entity represented by the Card.
A CryptoKey object has all properties of the Resource data type, with the following additional definition:
  • The @type property value MUST be "CryptoKey", if set.
The following example shows how to refer to an external cryptographic resource.
Example of cryptoKeys with External Data "cryptoKeys": { "mykey1": { "uri": "https://www.example.com/keys/jdoe.cer" } }
The following example shows how to embed key data in the CryptoKey. The key data is depicted in multiple lines only for demonstration purposes.
Example of cryptoKeys with Embedded Data "cryptoKeys": { "mykey2": { "uri": "data:application/pgp-keys;base64,LS0tLS1CRUdJTiBSU0EgUFVC TElDIEtFWS0tLS0tCk1JSUJDZ0tDQVFFQSt4R1ovd2N6OXVnRnBQMDdOc 3BvNlUxN2wwWWhGaUZweHhVNHBUazNMaWZ6OVIzenNJc3UKRVJ3dGE3K2 ZXSWZ4T28yMDhldHQvamhza2lWb2RTRXQzUUJHaDRYQmlweVdvcEt3Wjk zSEhhRFZaQUFMaS8yQQoreFRCdFdkRW83WEdVdWpLRHZDMi9hWkt1a2Zq cE9pVUk4QWhMQWZqbWxjRC9VWjFRUGgwbUhzZ2xSTkNtcEN3Cm13U1hBO VZObWh6K1BpQitEbWw0V1duS1cvVkhvMnVqVFh4cTcrZWZNVTRIMmZueT NTZTNLWU9zRlBGR1oxVE4KUVNZbEZ1U2hXckhQdGlMbVVkUG9QNkNWMm1 NTDF0aytsN0RJSXFYclFoTFVLREFDZU01cm9NeDBrTGhVV0I4UAorMHVq MUNObE5ONEpSWmxDN3hGZnFpTWJGUlU5WjRONll3SURBUUFCCi0tLS0tR U5EIFJTQSBQVUJMSUMgS0VZLS0tLS0K" } }
directories
directories: Id[Directory] (optional).
The directories containing information about the entity represented by the Card.
A Directory object has all properties of the Resource data type, with the following additional definitions:
  • The @type property value MUST be "Directory", if set.
  • The kind property is mandatory. Its enumerated values are:
    • directory: the resource is a directory service that the entity represented by the Card is a part of. This typically is an organizational directory that also contains associated entities, e.g., co-workers and management in a company directory.
    • entry: the resource is a directory entry of the entity represented by the Card. In contrast to the "directory" type, this is the specific URI for the entity within a directory.
In addition, the Directory object has the following property:
listAs: UnsignedInt (optional).
The position of the directory resource in the list of all Directory objects having the same kind property value in the Card. If set, the listAs value MUST be higher than zero. Multiple directory resources MAY have the same listAs property value or none. Sorting such same-valued entries is implementation-specific.
Example for the directories Property "directories": { "dir1": { "kind": "entry", "uri": "https://dir.example.com/addrbook/jdoe/Jean%20Dupont.vcf" }, "dir2": { "kind": "directory", "uri": "ldap://ldap.example/o=Example%20Tech,ou=Engineering", "pref": 1 }
links
links: Id[Link] (optional).
The links to resources that do not fit any of the other use-case-specific resource properties.
A Link object has all properties of the Resource data type, with the following additional definitions:
  • The @type property value MUST be "Link", if set.
  • The kind property is optional. Its enumerated values are:
    • contact: the resource is a URI by which the entity represented by the Card may be contacted; this includes web forms or other media that require user interaction.
Example for the links Property "links": { "link3": { "kind": "contact", "uri": "mailto:contact@example.com", "pref": 1 } }
media
media: Id[Media] (optional).
The media resources such as photographs, avatars, or sounds that are associated with the entity represented by the Card.
A Media object has all properties of the Resource data type, with the following additional definitions:
  • The @type property value MUST be "Media", if set.
  • The kind property is mandatory. Its enumerated values are:
    • photo: the resource is a photograph or avatar.
    • sound: the resource is audio media, e.g., to specify the proper pronunciation of the name property contents.
    • logo: the resource is a graphic image or logo associated with the entity represented by the Card.
Example for the media Property "media": { "res45": { "kind": "sound", "uri": "CID:JOHNQ.part8.19960229T080000.xyzMail@example.com" }, "res47": { "kind": "logo", "uri": "https://www.example.com/pub/logos/abccorp.jpg" }, "res1": { "kind": "photo", "uri": "data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAASABIAAD/4..." } }
Multilingual Properties This section defines properties for localizing the content of the Card in human languages.
localizations
localizations: String[PatchObject] (optional).
The property values localized to languages other than the main language of the Card. Localizations provide language-specific alternatives for existing property values and SHOULD NOT add new properties. The keys in the localizations property value are language tags ; the values are of type PatchObject and localize the Card in that language tag. The paths in the PatchObject are relative to the Card that includes the localizations property. A patch MUST NOT target the localizations property.
Conceptually, a Card is localized as follows:
  • Determine the language tag in which the Card should be localized.
  • If the localizations property includes a key for that language, obtain the PatchObject value. If there is no such key, stop.
  • Create a copy of the Card, but do not copy the localizations property.
  • Apply all patches in the PatchObject to the copy of the Card.
  • Optionally, set the language property in the copy of the Card.
  • Use the patched copy of the Card as the localized variant of the original Card.
A patch in the PatchObject may contain any value type. Its value MUST be a valid value according to the definition of the patched property. localizes the name property by completely replacing its contents in Ukrainian language with Cyrillic script.
Example of Localizing a Top-Level Property { "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "title", "value": "Mr." }, { "kind": "given", "value": "Ivan" }, { "kind": "given2", "value": "Petrovich" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Vasiliev" } ] }, "localizations": { "uk-Cyrl": { "name": { "components": [ { "kind": "title", "value": "г-н" }, { "kind": "given", "value": "Иван" }, { "kind": "given2", "value": "Петрович" }, { "kind": "surname", "value": "Васильев" } ] } } } }
localizes the title name by patching inside the titles property. All properties, except the name property in the Title object, are left as is.
Example of Localizing a Nested Property "name": { "full": "Gabriel García Márquez" }, "titles": { "t1": { "kind": "title", "name": "novelist" } }, "localizations": { "es": { "titles/t1/name": "escritor" } }
Additional Properties This section defines properties for which none of the previous sections are appropriate.
anniversaries
anniversaries: Id[Anniversary] (optional).
The memorable dates and events for the entity represented by the Card.
An Anniversary object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Anniversary", if set.
kind: String (mandatory).
The kind of anniversary. The enumerated values are:
  • birth: a birthday anniversary
  • death: a deathday anniversary
  • wedding: a wedding day anniversary
date: PartialDate|Timestamp (mandatory; defaultType: PartialDate).
The date of the anniversary in the Gregorian calendar. This MUST be either a whole or partial calendar date or a complete UTC timestamp (see the definition of the Timestamp and PartialDate object types below).
place: Address (optional).
An address associated with this anniversary, e.g., the place of birth or death.
A PartialDate object represents a complete or partial calendar date in the Gregorian calendar. It represents a complete date, a year, a month in a year, or a day in a month. It has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "PartialDate", if set.
year:
UnsignedInt (optional). The calendar year.
month: UnsignedInt (optional).
The calendar month, represented as the integers 1 <= month <= 12. If this property is set, then either the year or the day property MUST be set.
day: UnsignedInt (optional).
The calendar month day, represented as the integers 1 <= day <= 31, depending on the validity within the month and year. If this property is set, then the month property MUST be set.
calendarScale: String (optional).
The calendar system in which this date occurs, in lowercase. This MUST be either a calendar system name registered as a Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR) or a vendor-specific value. The year, month, and day still MUST be represented in the Gregorian calendar. Note that the year property might be required to convert the date between the Gregorian calendar and the respective calendar system.
A Timestamp object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Timestamp", if set.
utc: UTCDateTime (mandatory).
The point in time in UTC time.
illustrates anniversaries with partial dates and a timestamp. Note how the @type property is set for the Timestamp object value according to the rules defined in .
Example for the anniversaries Property "anniversaries": { "k8": { "kind": "birth", "date": { "year": 1953, "month": 4, "day": 15 } }, "k9": { "kind": "death", "date": { "@type": "Timestamp", "utc": "2019-10-15T23:10:00Z" }, "place": { "full": "4445 Tree Street\nNew England, ND 58647\nUSA" } } }
keywords
keywords: String[Boolean] (optional).
The set of free-text keywords, also known as tags. Each key in the set is a keyword, and each boolean value MUST be "true".
Example for the keywords Property "keywords": { "internet": true, "IETF": true }
notes
notes: Id[Note] (optional).
The free-text notes that are associated with the Card.
A Note object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Note", if set.
note: String (mandatory).
The free-text value of this note.
created: UTCDateTime (optional).
The date and time when this note was created.
author: Author (optional).
The author of this note.
An Author object has the following properties, of which at least one property other than @type MUST be set:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "Author", if set.
name: String (optional).
The name of this author.
uri: String (optional).
The URI value that identifies the author.
Example for the notes Property "notes": { "n1": { "note": "Open office hours are 1600 to 1715 EST, Mon-Fri", "created": "2022-11-23T15:01:32Z", "author": { "name": "John" } } }
personalInfo
personalInfo: Id[PersonalInfo] (optional).
The personal information of the entity represented by the Card.
A PersonalInfo object has the following properties:
@type: String.
The JSContact type of the object. The value MUST be "PersonalInfo", if set.
kind: String (mandatory).
The kind of personal information. The enumerated values are:
  • expertise: a field of expertise or a credential
  • hobby: a hobby
  • interest: an interest
value: String (mandatory).
The actual information.
level: String (optional).
The level of expertise or engagement in hobby or interest. The enumerated values are:
  • high
  • medium
  • low
listAs: UnsignedInt (optional).
The position of the personal information in the list of all PersonalInfo objects that have the same kind property value in the Card. If set, the listAs value MUST be higher than zero. Multiple personal information entries MAY have the same listAs property value or none. Sorting such same-valued entries is implementation-specific.
label: String (optional).
A custom label. See .
Example for the personalInfo Property "personalInfo": { "pi2": { "kind": "expertise", "value": "chemistry", "level": "high" }, "pi1": { "kind": "hobby", "value": "reading", "level": "high" }, "pi6": { "kind": "interest", "value": "r&b music", "level": "medium" } }
IANA Considerations
Media Type Registration This document defines a media type for use with JSContact data formatted in JSON.
Type name:
application
Subtype name:
jscontact+json
Required parameters:
None
Optional parameters:
version This parameter conveys the version of the JSContact data in the body part. It MUST NOT occur more than once. If this parameter is set, then the values of all JSContact version properties in the body part MUST match the parameter value.
Encoding considerations:
This is the same as the encoding considerations of application/json, as specified in .
Security considerations:
See of RFC 9553.
Interoperability considerations:
While JSContact is designed to avoid ambiguities as much as possible, when converting objects from other contact formats to/from JSContact, it is possible that differing representations for the same logical data or ambiguities in interpretation might arise. The semantic equivalence of two JSContact objects may be determined differently by different applications, for example, where URL values differ in case between the two objects.
Published specification:
RFC 9553
Applications that use this media type:
Applications that currently make use of the text/vcard media type can use this as an alternative.
Fragment identifier considerations:
A JSON Pointer fragment identifier may be used, as defined in .
Additional information:
Magic number(s):
N/A
File extensions(s):
N/A
Macintosh file type code(s):
N/A
Person & email address to contact for further information:
calsify@ietf.org
Intended usage:
COMMON
Restrictions on usage:
N/A
Author:
See the "Authors' Addresses" section of RFC 9553.
Change controller:
IETF
Creation of the JSContact Registry Group IANA has created the "JSContact" registry group. The new registry definitions in the following sections all belong to that group.
Registry Policy and Change Procedures Registry assignments that introduce backwards-incompatible changes require the JSContact major version to change; other changes only require a change to the minor version. The registry policy for assignments that require the JSContact major version to change is Standards Action (). The registry policy for other assignments is Specification Required (). The designated expert (DE) decides if a major or minor version change is required and assigns the new version to the "JSContact Version" registry. Version numbers increment by one, and a major version change resets the minor version to zero. An assignment may apply multiple changes and to more than one registry at once, in which case a single version change is sufficient. If the registry policy is Specification Required, then the DE may decide that it is enough to document the new assignment in the Description item of the respective registry. A registration MUST have an intended usage of "common", "reserved", or "obsolete".
  • A "common" usage denotes an item with shared semantics and syntax across systems. Up-to-date systems MUST expect such items to occur in JSContact data.
  • A "reserved" usage reserves an item in the registry without assigning semantics to avoid name collisions with future extensions or protocol use. Implementations MUST NOT expect or add items with such names outside the protocols or extensions that use them; otherwise, any such JSContact data is invalid.
  • An "obsolete" usage denotes an item that is no longer expected to be added by up-to-date systems. A new assignment has probably been defined, covering the obsolete item's semantics. Implementations MUST expect such items to occur in JSContact data up to the "Until Version" registry field, inclusively. They MUST NOT add such items for any version after which the item was obsoleted; otherwise, any such JSContact data is invalid.
The intended usage of registry items may change between versions, but the DE must carefully consider the impact on existing implementations and standards before doing so. The registration procedure is not a formal standards process but rather an administrative procedure intended to allow community comments and to check whether it is coherent without excessive time delay. It is designed to encourage vendors to document and register new items they add for use cases not covered by the original specification, leading to increased interoperability.
Preliminary Community Review Notice of a potential new registration MUST be sent to the Calext WG mailing list <calsify@ietf.org> for review. This mailing list is appropriate for soliciting community feedback on a proposed registry assignment. The intent of the public posting to this list is to solicit comments and feedback on the choice of the item name or value, the unambiguity of its description, and a review of any interoperability or security considerations. The submitter may submit a revised registration proposal or abandon the registration completely at any time.
Submit Request to IANA Registration requests can be sent to IANA <iana@iana.org>.
Designated Expert Review The primary concern of the DE is preventing name collisions and encouraging the submitter to document security and privacy considerations. A new type name, property name, or enumerated value MUST NOT differ only in case from an already-registered name or value. For a common-use registration, the DE is expected to confirm that suitable documentation is available to ensure interoperability. The DE should also verify that the new assignment does not conflict with work that is active or already published within the IETF. The DE will either approve or deny the registration request and publish a notice of the decision to the Calext WG mailing list or its successor, as well as inform IANA. A denial notice must be justified by an explanation, and in the cases where it is possible, concrete suggestions on how the request can be modified to become acceptable should be provided.
Change Procedures Once a JSContact registry group item has been published by IANA, the Change Controller may request a change to its definition. The same procedure that would be appropriate for the original registration request is used to process a change request. JSContact registrations do not get deleted; instead, items that are no longer believed appropriate for use are declared obsolete by a change to their "Intended Usage" field; such items will be clearly marked in the IANA registry. Significant changes to a JSContact registry item's definition should be requested only when there are serious omissions or errors in the published specification, as such changes may cause interoperability issues. When review is required, a change request may be denied if it renders entities that were valid under the previous definition invalid under the new definition.
Creation of the JSContact Version Registry IANA has created the "JSContact Version" registry. The purpose of this new registry is to define the allowed value range of JSContact major and minor version numbers. The registry entries sort numerically in ascending order by the "Major Version" column, and entries with equal "Major Version" sort numerically in ascending order by the "Minor Version" column. The registry process is outlined in .
JSContact Version Registry Template
Major Version:
The numeric value of a JSContact major version number. It MUST be a positive integer.
Highest Minor Version:
The maximum numeric value of a JSContact minor version for the given major version. It MUST be zero or a positive integer. All numbers less than or equal to this value are valid minor version values for the given major version.
Initial Contents of the JSContact Version Registry The following table lists the initial valid major and minor version number ranges. JSContact Version Registry
Major Version Highest Minor Version Reference
1 0 RFC 9553
Creation of the JSContact Properties Registry IANA has created the "JSContact Properties" registry. The purpose of this new registry is to allow interoperability of extensions to JSContact objects. The registry entries sort alphabetically in ascending order by the following columns: "Property Name" first, "Property Context" second, and "Since Version" third. Equal entries sort in any order. The registry process for a new property is outlined in .
JSContact Properties Registry Template
Property Name:
The name of the property. The property name MUST NOT already be registered for any of the object types listed in the "Property Context" field of this registration. Other object types MAY have already registered a different property with the same name; however, the same name MUST only be used when the semantics are analogous.
Property Type:
For properties with intended usage other than "reserved", this is the type of this property, using type signatures as specified in . The property type MUST be registered in the "JSContact Types" registry. For reserved property names, the value MUST be the verbatim string "not applicable".
Property Context:
A comma-separated list of JSContact object types () that contain the property. For reserved property names, the value MAY be the verbatim string "not applicable".
Intended Usage:
May be "common", "reserved", or "obsolete".
Since Version:
The JSContact version on which the property definition is based. The version MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Until Version:
The JSContact version after which the property was obsoleted; therefore, it MUST NOT be used in later versions. The Until Version value either MUST NOT be set or MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Change Controller:
Person or entity responsible for requesting a change to the entry's definition ("IETF" for RFCs from the IETF stream).
Reference or Description:
A brief description or RFC number and section reference where the property is specified. This must include references to all RFC documents where this property is introduced or updated. For reserved property names, the reference or description MAY be omitted.
Initial Contents of the JSContact Properties Registry The following table lists the initial "common" usage entries of the "JSContact Properties" registry. For all properties, the Since Version is "1.0", the Until Version is not set, the Change Controller is "IETF", and RFC section references are for RFC 9553. JSContact Properties with "common" Usage
Property Name Property Type Property Context
@type String Address (), AddressComponent (), Anniversary (), Author (), Card (), Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), EmailAddress (), LanguagePref (), Link ), Media (), Name (), NameComponent (), Nickname (), Note (), OnlineService (), Organization (), OrgUnit (), PartialDate (), PersonalInfo (), Phone (), Pronouns (), Relation (), SchedulingAddress (), SpeakToAs (), Timestamp (), Title ()
address String EmailAddress ()
addresses Id[Address] Card ()
anniversaries Id[Anniversary] Card ()
author Author Note ()
calendars Id[Calendar] Card ()
calendarScale String PartialDate ()
components AddressComponent[] Address ()
components NameComponent[] Name ()
contexts String[Boolean] Address (), Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), EmailAddress (), LanguagePref (), Link (), Media (), Nickname (), OnlineService (), Organization (), Phone (), Pronouns (), SchedulingAddress (). Also see Sections and .
coordinates String Address ()
countryCode String Address ()
created UTCDateTime Card (), Note ()
date PartialDate|Timestamp Anniversary ()
day UnsignedInt PartialDate ()
defaultSeparator String Address (), Name ()
directories Id[Directory] Card ()
emails Id[EmailAddress] Card ()
features String[Boolean] Phone ()
full String Address (), Name ()
grammaticalGender String SpeakToAs ()
isOrdered Boolean Address (), Name ()
keywords String[Boolean] Card ()
kind String AddressComponent (), Anniversary (), Calendar (), Card (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), Link (), Media (), NameComponent (), PersonalInfo (), Title ()
label String Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), EmailAddress (), Link (), Media (), OnlineService (), PersonalInfo (), Phone (), SchedulingAddress (). Also see Sections and .
language String Card (), LanguagePref ()
level String PersonalInfo ()
links Id[Link] Card ()
listAs UnsignedInt Directory (), PersonalInfo ()
localizations String[PatchObject] Card ()
media Id[Media] Card ()
mediaType String Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), Link (), Media (). Also see .
members String[Boolean] Card ()
month UnsignedInt PartialDate ()
name Name Card ()
name String Author (), Nickname (), Organization (), OrgUnit (), Title ()
nicknames Id[Nickname] Card ()
note String Note ()
notes Id[Note] Card ()
number String Phone ()
onlineServices Id[OnlineService] Card ()
organizationId String Title ()
organizations Id[Organization] Card ()
personalInfo Id[PersonalInfo] Card ()
phones Id[Phone] Card ()
phonetic String AddressComponent (), NameComponent ()
phoneticScript String Address (), Name ()
phoneticSystem String Address (), Name ()
place Address Anniversary ()
pref UnsignedInt Address (), Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), EmailAddress (), LanguagePref (), Link (), Media (), Nickname (), OnlineService (), Phone (), Pronouns (), SchedulingAddress (). Also see Sections and .
preferredLanguages String[LanguagePref] Card ()
prodId String Card ()
pronouns Id[Pronouns] SpeakToAs ()
relatedTo String[Relation] Card ()
relation String[Boolean] Relation ()
schedulingAddresses Id[SchedulingAddress] Card ()
service String OnlineService ()
sortAs String[String] Name ()
sortAs String Organization (), OrgUnit ()
speakToAs SpeakToAs Card ()
timeZone String Address ()
titles Id[Title] Card ()
uid String Card ()
units OrgUnit[] Organization ()
updated UTCDateTime Card ()
uri String Author (), Calendar (), CryptoKey (), Directory (), Link (), Media (), OnlineService (), SchedulingAddress (). Also see .
user String OnlineService ()
utc UTCDateTime Timestamp ()
value String AddressComponent (), NameComponent (), PersonalInfo ()
version String Card ()
year UnsignedInt PartialDate ()
The following table lists the initial "reserved" usage entries of the "JSContact Properties" registry. For this property, the Change Controller is "IETF", and the RFC section reference is for RFC 9553. JSContact Properties with "reserved" Usage
Property Name Property Type Property Context Intended Usage Reference/Description
extra not applicable not applicable reserved
Creation of the JSContact Types Registry IANA has created the "JSContact Types" registry. The purpose of this new registry is to avoid name collisions for JSContact type names and provide a complete reference for all data types used for JSContact property values. The registry entries sort alphabetically in ascending order by the "Type Name" column. Equal entries sort in any order. The registry process for a new type is outlined in .
JSContact Types Registry Template
Type Name:
The name of the type.
Intended Usage:
May be "common", "reserved", or "obsolete".
Since Version:
The JSContact version on which this type definition is based. The version MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Until Version:
The JSContact version after which the type definition was obsoleted; therefore, it MUST NOT be used in later versions. The Until Version value either MUST NOT be set or MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Change Controller:
Person or entity responsible for requesting a change to the entry's definition ("IETF" for RFCs from the IETF stream).
Reference or Description:
A brief description or RFC number and section reference where the Type is specified. For reserved type names, the reference or description MAY be omitted.
Initial Contents of the JSContact Types Registry The following table lists the initial "common" usage entries in the "JSContact Types" registry. For all of these types, the Since Version is "1.0", the Until Version is not set, the Change Controller is "IETF", and RFC section references are for RFC 9553. JSContact Types with "common" Usage
Type Name Reference/Description
Address
AddressComponent
Anniversary
Author
Boolean
Calendar
Card
CryptoKey
Directory
EmailAddress
Id
Int
LanguagePref
Link
Media
Name
NameComponent
Nickname
Note
Number
OnlineService
Organization
OrgUnit
PartialDate
PatchObject
PersonalInfo
Phone
Pronouns
Relation
SchedulingAddress
SpeakToAs
String
Timestamp
Title
UnsignedInt
UTCDateTime
The following table lists the initial "reserved" usage entry of the "JSContact Types" registry. For this type, the version is "1.0", the Change Controller is "IETF", and the RFC section reference is for RFC 9553. JSContact Types with "reserved" Usage
Type Name Reference/Description
Resource
Creation of the JSContact Enum Values Registry IANA has created the "JSContact Enum Values" registry. The purpose of the new registry is to allow interoperable extension of semantics for JSContact properties with enumerable values. Each such property will have a subregistry of allowed values. The registry entries sort alphabetically in ascending order by the following columns: "Property Name" first, "Property Context" second, and "Since Version" third. The enum values sort alphabetically in ascending order. Equal entries sort in any order. The registry process for a new enum value or adding a new enumerable property is outlined in .
JSContact Enum Values Registry Property Template This template is for adding a subregistry for a new enumerable property to the "JSContact Enum Values" registry.
Property Name:
The name(s) of the property or properties where these values may be used. This MUST be registered in the "JSContact Properties" registry.
Context:
The list of allowed object types where the property or properties may appear, as registered in the "JSContact Properties" registry. This disambiguates where there may be two distinct properties with the same name in different contexts.
Since Version:
The JSContact version on which the enum value definition is based. The version MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Until Version:
The JSContact version after which the enum value definition was obsoleted; therefore, the enum value definition MUST NOT be used in later versions. The Until Version value either MUST NOT be set or MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Change Controller:
Person or entity responsible for requesting a change to the entry's definition ("IETF" for RFCs from the IETF stream).
Reference or Description:
A brief description or RFC number and section reference for the semantics of the value.
Note that the initial contents will be the initial list of defined values for the enum, using the template defined in . A subregistry will be created with these values for this property name/context tuple.
JSContact Enum Values Registry Value Template This template is for adding a new enum value to a subregistry in the "JSContact Enum Values" registry.
Enum Value:
The verbatim value of the enum.
Since Version:
The JSContact version on which the enum value definition is based. The version MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Until Version:
The JSContact version after which the enum value was obsoleted; therefore, the enum value MUST NOT be used in later versions. The Until Version value either MUST NOT be set or MUST be one of the allowed values of the version property in the "JSContact Version" registry (see ).
Change Controller:
Person or entity responsible for requesting a change to the entry's definition ("IETF" for RFCs from the IETF stream).
Reference or Description:
A brief description or RFC number and section reference for the semantics of the value.
Initial Contents of the JSContact Enum Values Registry For all entries in each subregistry created in this section, the Since Version is "1.0", the Until Version is not set, the Change Controller is "IETF", and RFC section references are for RFC 9553.
Property Name:
contexts
Context:
Address
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for contexts (Context: Address)
Enum Value Reference/Description
billing
delivery
private
work
Property Name:
contexts
Context:
Calendar, CryptoKey, Directory, EmailAddress, LanguagePref, Link, Media, Nickname, OnlineService, Organization, Phone, Pronouns, SchedulingAddress
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for contexts (Context: Calendar, CryptoKey, Directory, EmailAddress, LanguagePref, Link, Media, Nickname, OnlineService, Organization, Phone, Pronouns, SchedulingAddress)
Enum Value Reference/Description
private
work
Property Name:
features
Context:
Phone
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for features (Context: Phone)
Enum Value Reference/Description
fax
main-number
mobile
pager
text
textphone
video
voice
Property Name:
grammaticalGender
Context:
SpeakToAs
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for grammaticalGender (Context: SpeakToAs)
Enum Value Reference/Description
animate
common
feminine
inanimate
masculine
neuter
Property Name:
kind
Context:
AddressComponent
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: AddressComponent)
Enum Value Reference/Description
apartment
block
building
country
direction
district
floor
landmark
locality
name
number
postcode
postOfficeBox
region
room
separator
subdistrict
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Anniversary
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Anniversary)
Enum Value Reference/Description
birth
death
wedding
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Calendar
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Calendar)
Enum Value Reference/Description
calendar
freeBusy
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Card
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Card)
Enum Value Reference/Description
application
device
group
individual
location
org
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Directory
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Directory)
Enum Value Reference/Description
directory
entry
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Link
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Link)
Enum Value Reference/Description
contact
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Media
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Media)
Enum Value Reference/Description
logo
photo
sound
Property Name:
kind
Context:
NameComponent
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: NameComponent)
Enum Value Reference/Description
credential
generation
given
given2
separator
surname
surname2
title
Property Name:
kind
Context:
PersonalInfo
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: PersonalInfo)
Enum Value Reference/Description
expertise
hobby
interest
Property Name:
kind
Context:
Title
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for kind (Context: Title)
Enum Value Reference/Description
role
title
Property Name:
level
Context:
PersonalInfo
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for level (Context: PersonalInfo)
Enum Value Reference/Description
high
low
medium
Property Name:
phoneticSystem
Context:
Address, Name
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for phoneticSystem (Context: Address, Name)
Enum Value Reference/Description
ipa
jyut
piny
Property Name:
relation
Context:
Relation
Initial Contents:
JSContact Enum Values for relation (Context: Relation)
Enum Value Reference/Description
acquaintance
agent
child
colleague
contact
co-resident
co-worker
crush
date
emergency
friend
kin
me
met
muse
neighbor
parent
sibling
spouse
sweetheart
Security Considerations Contact information is very privacy sensitive. It can reveal the identity, location, credentials information, employment status, interests and hobbies, and social network of a user. Its transmission and storage must be done carefully to protect it from possible threats such as eavesdropping, replay, message insertion, deletion, modification, and on-path attacks. The data being stored and transmitted may be used in systems with real-world consequences. For example, a malicious actor might provide JSContact data that uses the name of another person but insert their contact details to impersonate the unknown victim. Such systems must be careful to authenticate all data they receive to prevent them from being subverted and ensure the change comes from an authorized entity. This document only defines the data format; such considerations are primarily the concern of the API or method of storage and transmission of such files.
JSON Parsing The security considerations of apply to the use of JSON as the data interchange format. As for any serialization format, parsers need to thoroughly check the syntax of the supplied data. JSON uses opening and closing brackets for several types and structures, and it is possible that the end of the supplied data will be reached when scanning for a matching closing bracket; this is an error condition, and implementations need to stop scanning at the end of the supplied data. JSON also uses a string encoding with some escape sequences to encode special characters within a string. Care is needed when processing these escape sequences to ensure that they are fully formed before the special processing is triggered, with special care taken when the escape sequences appear adjacent to other (non-escaped) special characters or adjacent to the end of data (as in the previous paragraph). If parsing JSON into a non-textual structured data format, implementations may need to allocate storage to hold JSON string elements. Since JSON does not use explicit string lengths, the risk of denial of service due to resource exhaustion is small, but implementations may still wish to place limits on the size of allocations they are willing to make in any given context, to avoid untrusted data causing excessive memory allocation.
URI Values Several JSContact properties contain URIs as values, and processing these properties requires extra care. discusses security risks related to URIs. Fetching remote resources carries inherent risks. Connections must only be allowed on well-known ports, using allowed protocols (generally, just HTTP/HTTPS on their default ports). The URL must be resolved externally and not allowed to access internal resources. Connecting to an external source reveals IP (and therefore often location) information. A maliciously constructed JSContact object may contain a very large number of URIs. In the case of published address books with a large number of subscribers, such objects could be widely distributed. Implementations should be careful to limit the automatic fetching of linked resources to reduce the risk of this being an amplification vector for a denial-of-service attack.
References Normative References Time Zone Database IANA vCard Elements IANA Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions -- Part 1: Country codes International Organization for Standardization Domain names - concepts and facilities This RFC is the revised basic definition of The Domain Name System. It obsoletes RFC-882. This memo describes the domain style names and their used for host address look up and electronic mail forwarding. It discusses the clients and servers in the domain name system and the protocol used between them. Domain names - implementation and specification This RFC is the revised specification of the protocol and format used in the implementation of the Domain Name System. It obsoletes RFC-883. This memo documents the details of the domain name client - server communication. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types This second document defines the general structure of the MIME media typing system and defines an initial set of media types. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels In many standards track documents several words are used to signify the requirements in the specification. These words are often capitalized. This document defines these words as they should be interpreted in IETF documents. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. vCard MIME Directory Profile This memo defines the profile of the MIME Content-Type for directory information for a white-pages person object, based on a vCard electronic business card. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps This document defines a date and time format for use in Internet protocols that is a profile of the ISO 8601 standard for representation of dates and times using the Gregorian calendar. The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data Encodings This document describes the commonly used base 64, base 32, and base 16 encoding schemes. It also discusses the use of line-feeds in encoded data, use of padding in encoded data, use of non-alphabet characters in encoded data, use of different encoding alphabets, and canonical encodings. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF Internet technical specifications often need to define a formal syntax. Over the years, a modified version of Backus-Naur Form (BNF), called Augmented BNF (ABNF), has been popular among many Internet specifications. The current specification documents ABNF. It balances compactness and simplicity with reasonable representational power. The differences between standard BNF and ABNF involve naming rules, repetition, alternatives, order-independence, and value ranges. This specification also supplies additional rule definitions and encoding for a core lexical analyzer of the type common to several Internet specifications. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Internet Message Format This document specifies the Internet Message Format (IMF), a syntax for text messages that are sent between computer users, within the framework of "electronic mail" messages. This specification is a revision of Request For Comments (RFC) 2822, which itself superseded Request For Comments (RFC) 822, "Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text Messages", updating it to reflect current practice and incorporating incremental changes that were specified in other RFCs. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Tags for Identifying Languages This document describes the structure, content, construction, and semantics of language tags for use in cases where it is desirable to indicate the language used in an information object. It also describes how to register values for use in language tags and the creation of user-defined extensions for private interchange. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. A Uniform Resource Identifier for Geographic Locations ('geo' URI) This document specifies a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for geographic locations using the 'geo\' scheme name. A 'geo' URI identifies a physical location in a two- or three-dimensional coordinate reference system in a compact, simple, human-readable, and protocol-independent way. The default coordinate reference system used is the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS-84). [STANDARDS-TRACK] vCard Format Specification This document defines the vCard data format for representing and exchanging a variety of information about individuals and other entities (e.g., formatted and structured name and delivery addresses, email address, multiple telephone numbers, photograph, logo, audio clips, etc.). This document obsoletes RFCs 2425, 2426, and 4770, and updates RFC 2739. [STANDARDS-TRACK] JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Pointer JSON Pointer defines a string syntax for identifying a specific value within a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) document. The I-JSON Message Format I-JSON (short for "Internet JSON") is a restricted profile of JSON designed to maximize interoperability and increase confidence that software can process it successfully with predictable results. Non-Gregorian Recurrence Rules in the Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) This document defines extensions to the Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) (RFC 5545) to support use of non-Gregorian recurrence rules. It also defines how Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV (CalDAV) (RFC 4791) servers and clients can be extended to support these new recurrence rules. Guidelines for Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs Many protocols make use of points of extensibility that use constants to identify various protocol parameters. To ensure that the values in these fields do not have conflicting uses and to promote interoperability, their allocations are often coordinated by a central record keeper. For IETF protocols, that role is filled by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). To make assignments in a given registry prudently, guidance describing the conditions under which new values should be assigned, as well as when and how modifications to existing values can be made, is needed. This document defines a framework for the documentation of these guidelines by specification authors, in order to assure that the provided guidance for the IANA Considerations is clear and addresses the various issues that are likely in the operation of a registry. This is the third edition of this document; it obsoletes RFC 5226. Uniform Resource Names (URNs) A Uniform Resource Name (URN) is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that is assigned under the "urn" URI scheme and a particular URN namespace, with the intent that the URN will be a persistent, location-independent resource identifier. With regard to URN syntax, this document defines the canonical syntax for URNs (in a way that is consistent with URI syntax), specifies methods for determining URN-equivalence, and discusses URI conformance. With regard to URN namespaces, this document specifies a method for defining a URN namespace and associating it with a namespace identifier, and it describes procedures for registering namespace identifiers with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This document obsoletes both RFCs 2141 and 3406. Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words RFC 2119 specifies common key words that may be used in protocol specifications. This document aims to reduce the ambiguity by clarifying that only UPPERCASE usage of the key words have the defined special meanings. The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a lightweight, text-based, language-independent data interchange format. It was derived from the ECMAScript Programming Language Standard. JSON defines a small set of formatting rules for the portable representation of structured data. This document removes inconsistencies with other specifications of JSON, repairs specification errors, and offers experience-based interoperability guidance. Informative References International Phonetic Alphabet IPA SIP: Session Initiation Protocol This document describes Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), an application-layer control (signaling) protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating sessions with one or more participants. These sessions include Internet telephone calls, multimedia distribution, and multimedia conferences. [STANDARDS-TRACK] The tel URI for Telephone Numbers This document specifies the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) scheme "tel". The "tel" URI describes resources identified by telephone numbers. This document obsoletes RFC 2806. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a compact sequence of characters that identifies an abstract or physical resource. This specification defines the generic URI syntax and a process for resolving URI references that might be in relative form, along with guidelines and security considerations for the use of URIs on the Internet. The URI syntax defines a grammar that is a superset of all valid URIs, allowing an implementation to parse the common components of a URI reference without knowing the scheme-specific requirements of every possible identifier. This specification does not define a generative grammar for URIs; that task is performed by the individual specifications of each URI scheme. [STANDARDS-TRACK] Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRIs) This document defines a new protocol element, the Internationalized Resource Identifier (IRI), as a complement of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). An IRI is a sequence of characters from the Universal Character Set (Unicode/ISO 10646). A mapping from IRIs to URIs is defined, which means that IRIs can be used instead of URIs, where appropriate, to identify resources. The approach of defining a new protocol element was chosen instead of extending or changing the definition of URIs. This was done in order to allow a clear distinction and to avoid incompatibilities with existing software. Guidelines are provided for the use and deployment of IRIs in various protocols, formats, and software components that currently deal with URIs. xCard: vCard XML Representation This document defines the XML schema of the vCard data format. [STANDARDS-TRACK] vCard KIND:application This document defines a value of "application" for the vCard KIND property so that vCards can be used to represent software applications. [STANDARDS-TRACK] vCard Format Extensions: Place of Birth, Place and Date of Death The base vCard 4.0 specification defines a large number of properties, including date of birth. This specification adds three new properties to vCard 4.0: place of birth, place of death, and date of death. [STANDARDS-TRACK] vCard Format Extensions: Representing vCard Extensions Defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Converged Address Book (CAB) Group This document defines extensions to the vCard data format for representing and exchanging certain contact information. The properties covered here have been defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Converged Address Book group, in order to synchronize, using OMA Data Synchronization, contact fields that were not already defined in the base vCard 4.0 specification. [STANDARDS-TRACK] vCard KIND:device This document defines a value of "device" for the vCard KIND property so that the vCard format can be used to represent computing devices such as appliances, computers, or network elements (e.g., a server, router, switch, printer, sensor, or phone). [STANDARDS-TRACK] jCard: The JSON Format for vCard This specification defines "jCard", a JSON format for vCard data. The vCard data format is a text format for representing and exchanging information about individuals and other entities, for example, telephone numbers, email addresses, structured names, and delivery addresses. JSON is a lightweight, text-based, language- independent data interchange format commonly used in Internet applications. vCard Format Extensions: ICANN Extensions for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) This document defines extensions to the vCard data format for representing and exchanging contact information used to implement the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) operational profile for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP). The property and parameter defined here are used to add values to RDAP responses that are consistent with ICANN policies. DNS Terminology The Domain Name System (DNS) is defined in literally dozens of different RFCs. The terminology used by implementers and developers of DNS protocols, and by operators of DNS systems, has changed in the decades since the DNS was first defined. This document gives current definitions for many of the terms used in the DNS in a single document. This document updates RFC 2308 by clarifying the definitions of "forwarder" and "QNAME". It obsoletes RFC 8499 by adding multiple terms and clarifications. Comprehensive lists of changed and new definitions can be found in Appendices A and B. vCard Format Extensions for JSContact Fastmail IIT-CNR JSContact: Converting from and to vCard Fastmail IIT-CNR Universally Unique IDentifiers (UUIDs) Cisco Systems Uncloud University of Washington Unicode Standard Annex #9: Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm The Unicode Consortium Revision 48 URL Living Standard WHATWG
Authors' Addresses Fastmail
PO Box 234 Collins St. West Melbourne VIC 8007 Australia rsto@fastmailteam.com
IIT-CNR
Via Moruzzi, 1 Pisa 56124 Italy mario.loffredo@iit.cnr.it