The original Bookmarks specification (Bookmark Storage (XEP-0048) [1]) used the widely available Private XML Storage (Private XML Storage (XEP-0049) [2]), but stored all bookmarks in a single element. When the specification was moved to the Standards Track and Draft, it was also updated to use the user's Pubsub service (Best Practices for Persistent Storage of Private Data via Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0223) [3]), but kept this single element containing all bookmarks inside a single Pubsub item.
Most implementations have kept to the original, Private XML Storage based solution, and while some newer implementations have used Pubsub, these are limited in capability by the use of a single item, which prevents safe atomic updates of individual bookmarks.
Finally, while some clients used custom XML elements to store additional private metadata about bookmarks, this was usually stripped when any bookmark was edited by another client.
This specification resolves all three issues by providing a new Bookmarks specification to migrate to, and takes the opportunity to update the XML namespace in use as well. The URL storage is dropped, since it is rarely used. Storage of URL bookmarks is therefore out of scope.
This specification was originally entitled "Bookmarks 2: This Time It's Serious". Any implication of a sense of humour has been removed with the change in title.
Clients store each bookmarked chatroom as a Pubsub item within the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node. Each item SHALL have, as item id, the Room JID of the chatroom (eg, coven@chat.shakespeare.lit). While a client can typically assume a chatroom based on Multi-User Chat (XEP-0045) [4], clients are free to store chatrooms based on any particular groupchat protocol.
The payload of the item SHALL be a conference element qualified by the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' namespace, with the following syntax:
| Element or Attribute | Definition | Datatype | Inclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'autojoin' attribute | Whether the client should automatically join the conference room on login. | boolean defaulting to false [5] | OPTIONAL |
| 'name' attribute | A friendly name for the bookmark, specified by the user. Clients SHOULD NOT attempt to autogenerate this from the JID. | string | OPTIONAL |
| <nick/> element | The user's preferred roomnick for the chatroom, if different to that specified by User Nickname (XEP-0172) [6]. In the absence of this element being present, the nickname from User Nickname (XEP-0172) [6] SHOULD be used if present. | string | OPTIONAL |
| <password/> element | A password used to access the chatroom. Note this is not intended to be a secure storage. | string | OPTIONAL |
| <extensions/> element | A set of child elements (of potentially any namespace). Clients MUST preserve these (particularly preserving unknown elements) when editing items. | XML Elements | OPTIONAL |
Note: The datatypes are as defined in XML Schema Part 2 [7].
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='Council of Oberon'
autojoin='true'>
<nick>Puck</nick>
</conference>
This bookmark would be displayed as 'Council of Oberon' and, if activated, would attempt to join the conference room 'council@conference.underhill.org' with nickname 'Puck'.
Note that a bookmark item MUST contain only one conference room.
Note also that a conference element has no truly mandatory attributes or child elements, thus the following is legal:
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'/>
A client interested in bookmarks SHOULD include the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1+notify' feature in its Entity Capabilities (XEP-0115) [8], as per Personal Eventing Protocol (XEP-0163) [9], so that it receives notifications for updates done by other clients of the user, and reacts accordingly. The actual notifications are explained in the Bookmark Notifications section of this specification.
<iq from='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' to='capulet.lit' type='result' id='disco1'>
<query xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'>
<identity category='client' type='pc' name='poezio'/>
<feature var='http://jabber.org/protocol/disco#info'/>
<feature var='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1+notify'/>
<!-- … -->
</query>
</iq>
Once connected, a client first retrieves the current list of bookmarks. It then SHOULD join every MUC identified by the items’ 'id' attribute that have an 'autojoin' attribute that is set to "true" or "1".
NOTE: A future version of this specification might refer to PubSub Since (XEP-0312) [10] or a similar protocol to reduce the need for full synchronisation on each connection.
<iq from='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='get' id='retrieve1'>
<pubsub xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub'>
<items node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'/>
</pubsub>
</iq>
<iq type='result'
to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony'
id='retrieve1'>
<pubsub xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub'>
<items node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'>
<item id='theplay@conference.shakespeare.lit'>
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='The Play's the Thing'
autojoin='true'>
<nick>JC</nick>
</conference>
</item>
<item id='orchard@conference.shakespeare.lit'>
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='The Orcard'
autojoin='1'>
<nick>JC</nick>
<extensions>
<state xmlns='http://myclient.example/bookmark/state' minimized='true'/>
</extensions>
</conference>
</item>
</items>
</pubsub>
</iq>
Adding a bookmark means publishing a new item, with the bookmark JID as id, to the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node.
publish-options (as defined in XEP-0060) MUST be supported by the server in order to check that the node is correctly configured before publishing a new conference. This is especially important to avoid leaking your bookmarks to your contacts for instance.
<iq from='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='set' id='pip1'>
<pubsub xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub'>
<publish node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'>
<item id='theplay@conference.shakespeare.lit'>
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='The Play's the Thing'
autojoin='true'>
<nick>JC</nick>
</conference>
</item>
</publish>
<publish-options>
<x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='submit'>
<field var='FORM_TYPE' type='hidden'>
<value>http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#publish-options</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#persist_items'>
<value>true</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#max_items'>
<value>10000</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#send_last_published_item'>
<value>never</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#access_model'>
<value>whitelist</value>
</field>
</x>
</publish-options>
</pubsub>
</iq>
<iq to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='result' id='pip1'/>
Editing a bookmark means republishing the item, with the same bookmark JID as id, to the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node.
Note that clients MUST preserve any XML elements they do not understand, particularly including unknown elements, within the <extensions/> element of the bookmark.
publish-options (as defined in XEP-0060) MUST be supported by the server in order to check that the node is correctly configured before publishing a new conference. This is especially important to avoid leaking your bookmarks to your contacts for instance.
<iq from='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='set' id='pip2'>
<pubsub xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub'>
<publish node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'>
<item id='orchard@conference.shakespeare.lit'>
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='The Orchard'
autojoin='true'>
<nick>JC</nick>
<extensions>
<state xmlns='http://myclient.example/bookmark/state' minimized='true'/>
</extensions>
</conference>
</item>
</publish>
<publish-options>
<x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='submit'>
<field var='FORM_TYPE' type='hidden'>
<value>http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#publish-options</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#persist_items'>
<value>true</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#max_items'>
<value>10000</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#send_last_published_item'>
<value>never</value>
</field>
<field var='pubsub#access_model'>
<value>whitelist</value>
</field>
</x>
</publish-options>
</pubsub>
</iq>
<iq to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='result' id='pip2'/>
Removing a bookmark means retracting an existing item, identified by the bookmark's JID, form the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node.
This implies that server support for the "delete-items" pubsub feature is REQUIRED.
A 'notify' attribute SHOULD be included on the <retract/> element in order to inform other online clients of the deletion.
<iq from='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='set' id='remove-bookmark1'>
<pubsub xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub'>
<retract node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' notify='true'>
<item id='theplay@conference.shakespeare.lit'/>
</retract>
</pubsub>
</iq>
<iq to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='result' id='remove-bookmark1'/>
When a client is sent an event from the Pubsub service for the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node, it SHOULD join the room immediately if the 'autojoin' attribute is both present and true.
<message from='juliet@capulet.lit' to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='headline' id='new-room1'>
<event xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#event'>
<items node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'>
<item id='theplay@conference.shakespeare.lit'>
<conference xmlns='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'
name='The Play's the Thing'
autojoin='1'>
<nick>JC</nick>
</conference>
</item>
</items>
</event>
</iq>
On the other hand, if the event is a retract notification, the client SHOULD leave the room immediately.
<message from='juliet@capulet.lit' to='juliet@capulet.lit/balcony' type='headline' id='removed-room1'>
<event xmlns='http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#event'>
<items node='urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1'>
<retract id='theplay@conference.shakespeare.lit'/>
</items>
</event>
</iq>
Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0060) [11] is used for data storage, specifically through the use of private, personal pubsub nodes (described in Best Practices for Persistent Storage of Private Data via Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0223) [3]) hosted at the user's virtual pubsub service (see Personal Eventing Protocol (XEP-0163) [9]).
A server MAY choose to unify the bookmarks from both Private XML Storage (XEP-0049) [2] based and the current Bookmark Storage (XEP-0048) [1].
It is encouraged to at least support unification between Private XML Storage because as of 2019 this is still the storage backend that is implemented in the majority of clients.
A server that supports unifying bookmarks from Private XML Storage (XEP-0049) [2] and Bookmarks 2 (This Time it's Serious) (XEP-0402) [12] SHOULD announce the "urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1#compat" feature on the account. Clients may use that feature as an indication that it is safe to store bookmarks using only Bookmarks 2 (This Time it's Serious) (XEP-0402) [12] without losing backward compatibility to clients that are only using Private XML Storage (XEP-0049) [2].
A server that supports unifying bookmarks between Best Practices for Persistent Storage of Private Data via Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0223) [3] and Bookmarks 2 (This Time it's Serious) (XEP-0402) [12] SHOULD announce the "urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1#compat-pep" feature on the account.
When a client publishes a new item, the server MAY collate all items, casting them into the 'storage:bookmarks' namespace and setting the jid attribute to the item id in each case. When contained within a storage element qualified by the 'storage:bookmarks' namespace, this will be the correct format for both current and previous variants of Bookmark Storage (XEP-0048) [1]
If a client publishes a replacement list of bookmarks via the older specifications, a server MAY examine the list and update the individual items as required, sending updates or retraction notifications as needed. Servers electing to perform this OPTIONAL behaviour SHOULD NOT send notifications for unchanged items.
This specification relies fully on a number of others. Most particularly, support for this protocol is available if Best Practices for Persistent Storage of Private Data via Publish-Subscribe (XEP-0223) [3] is supported.
Server side unification between Private XML Storage (XEP-0049) [2] bookmarks and PEP Native Bookmarks is announced with the feature "urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1#compat" on the account.
Server side unification between the current use of XEP-0048 bookmarks (PEP) is annouced with the feature "urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1#compat-pep" on the account.
The authors would like to note that much of the syntax description was copied exactly from Bookmark Storage (XEP-0048) [1] by Rachel Blackman, Peter Millard, and Peter Saint-Andre. Much of the remainder of this specification is based closely on their work.
Security considerations related to object persistence via publish-subscribe are described in XEP-0060 and XEP-0223.
The client needs to make sure that the server actually supports the "http://jabber.org/protocol/pubsub#publish-options" feature, before relying on it. If it's not supported, the client should configure the 'urn:xmpp:bookmarks:1' node first (see xep-0060), before adding any bookmarks.
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The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is defined in the XMPP Core (RFC 6120) and XMPP IM (RFC 6121) specifications contributed by the XMPP Standards Foundation to the Internet Standards Process, which is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in accordance with RFC 2026. Any protocol defined in this document has been developed outside the Internet Standards Process and is to be understood as an extension to XMPP rather than as an evolution, development, or modification of XMPP itself.
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Discussion on other xmpp.org discussion lists might also be appropriate; see <http://xmpp.org/about/discuss.shtml> for a complete list.
Errata can be sent to <editor@xmpp.org>.
The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".
1. XEP-0048: Bookmark Storage <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0048.html>.
2. XEP-0049: Private XML Storage <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0049.html>.
3. XEP-0223: Best Practices for Persistent Storage of Private Data via Publish-Subscribe <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0223.html>.
4. XEP-0045: Multi-User Chat <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0045.html>.
5. In accordance with Section 3.2.2.1 of XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes, the allowable lexical representations for the xs:boolean datatype are the strings "0" and "false" for the concept 'false' and the strings "1" and "true" for the concept 'true'; implementations MUST support both styles of lexical representation.
6. XEP-0172: User Nickname <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0172.html>.
7. XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes <http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema11-2/>.
8. XEP-0115: Entity Capabilities <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0115.html>.
9. XEP-0163: Personal Eventing Protocol <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0163.html>.
10. XEP-0312: PubSub Since <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0312.html>.
11. XEP-0060: Publish-Subscribe <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0060.html>.
12. XEP-0402: Bookmarks 2 (This Time it's Serious) <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0402.html>.
Note: Older versions of this specification might be available at http://xmpp.org/extensions/attic/
Advanced to Draft per Council vote from 2020-03-04.
First draft
END