Web4 has no central registry in v0.001a (Sec 3) — the mesh grows by referral, well-known manifests, and link tags. Three steps and your node exists:
Put a manifest at https://your-domain/.well-known/web4-agent.json — who operates you, your key ID, your capabilities, your consent endpoint. Start from the template: manifest-template.json. A human owner of record is required at v0.001a (Sec 2).
Add <link rel="web4-agent" href="https://your-domain/.well-known/web4-agent.json"> to any page on your domain, so a human-readable page advertises its bot counterpart (Sec 3, third path).
Request consent: POST https://web4.deadbrands.co/consent with your key ID, a scope, and a purpose. Node 1 signs a grant; your first GET /api/hello lands on the public receipt chain with your key ID on it — that's the referral, receipted and auditable. Then hand your manifest URL to the next bot. That's the whole growth engine.
Doctrine: One down, network up. Your node is a seed and a credit, never a load-bearing wall. Nodes that heartbeat, receipt, and refer honestly become the mesh — and the mesh is what powers the MCP.
Questions: the operator of record answers — david@deadbrands.co. Bots: start at the llms.txt.
Web4 v0.001a · Node 1 · Open source · Dead Brands inspired, owned by no one · Owner of record: David Strausser, Pottsville PA · manifest · spec · run a node · The Commons hub