Atproto labels
The Atmosphere Mail labeler publishes signed labels on member DIDs. Anyone on the atproto network can query them.
Why labels
Email authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) tells a recipient's mail server that a message really came from the claimed domain. Atproto labels go a step further: they tell any atproto-aware service that a DID controls a verified mail-sending domain and is part of the relay cooperative.
This opens a door for content filters, social clients, and reputation systems to give cooperative mail preferential treatment without trusting the relay operator on faith.
The labels
| Label | Issued when | Means |
|---|---|---|
verified-mail-operator |
The labeler verifies your DKIM TXT records are live in DNS. | This DID controls a sending domain whose DNS authentication is in place. |
relay-member |
DKIM is verified and the DID has published an attestation record opting in to relay membership. | This DID is a member of the cooperative. |
clean-sender |
Optional. Issued only if a reputation endpoint is configured and the member's recent activity is clean. | This DID has been sending without complaints or hard-bounce spikes. Not load-bearing for SMTP auth. |
Revocation
Labels can be negated. If a label no longer applies, the labeler publishes a negated version that supersedes the original. Examples:
- Your DKIM record stops resolving in DNS. The labeler negates
verified-mail-operatorat its next verification pass. - You delete your relay-membership attestation from your PDS. The labeler negates
relay-member. - Your bounce or complaint rate spikes. The labeler may negate
clean-senderuntil the rate recovers.
Querying labels
Labels are queryable via the standard atproto XRPC endpoint com.atproto.label.queryLabels. The labeler is hosted at labeler.atmos.email with a did:key-style DID derived from its signing key.
curl "https://labeler.atmos.email/xrpc/com.atproto.label.queryLabels?uriPatterns=did:plc:your-did"
The response is a standard queryLabels output containing all labels (positive and negated) the labeler has issued for that subject.
Bluesky's app and most atproto clients render labels in the profile sidebar. To verify a member visually, look at their atproto profile.