# mozilla/hawk

INACTIVE - HTTP Holder-Of-Key Authentication Scheme.  Archived as of April 5th, 2024

Repository: https://github.com/mozilla/hawk
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mozilla-hawk
Language: JavaScript
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: inactive, unmaintained
Archived: true
Last push: 2026-08-20T12:34:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5030, "days_push": 13, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1941, forks 185 (observed 2026-08-28T04:05:57.443123+00:00)

## What it is
A JavaScript implementation of the HTTP Hawk Holder-Of-Key authentication scheme, providing message authentication for HTTP requests. The repository was archived by Mozilla in April 2024 and receives no further updates or support.

## Use cases
- authenticate HTTP requests with HMAC-based holder-of-key scheme
- implement Hawk auth in a Node.js server
- add request signing to an HTTP client
- verify Hawk-protected API endpoints
- maintain a legacy service that uses Hawk authentication

## When to choose
- you need to interoperate with an existing system that already uses the Hawk scheme
- you are maintaining legacy code that depends on the hawk npm package
- you want a reference implementation of the Hawk protocol

## When to avoid
- starting a new project needing HTTP authentication - use OAuth 2.0, JWT, or mTLS instead
- you need maintained, supported software with security updates
- you need an actively developed auth solution

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: auth, http-client, http-server
- domain: security, web-development, apis
- platform: -
- tags: holder-of-key, http-authentication, hawk-scheme, archived, mac-based-auth, nodejs, javascript

## Member repositories
- mozilla/hawk (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:57.443123+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:08:07.062339+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mozilla/hawk (fetched 2026-08-28T04:05:57.443123+00:00, sha 2d720eed863c)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/hawk (fetched 2026-08-29T10:47:33.694384+00:00, sha 0d307d8bc19c)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.